MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas, Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays!

Wishing you happy times filled with many blessings.

Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth.  

Isn't that a wonderful wish for the holidays in these troubled times.

I am back to my blues again which I love when making snowflake cards.  I took a piece of white cardstock and stamped the snowflake from Hero Arts.  I inked the stamp with my 2 most favourite colours of blue Distress inks; Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean, sprayed with water and stamped.
When that was nice and dry, I added some little white dots using my Signo pen then cut away the panel on either side of the stamped snowflake.  The card front was too plain, so I placed my paper into a Swiss Dots embossing folder, got out my trusty rubber mallet and hit it for some randomly placed embossing.  I added 2 scored lines under the snowflake for interest.
I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts then mounted the card front using pop dots over the sentiment.

 I am adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- CHRISTMAS THEMED

Simon Says- WINTER INSPIRATION

CAS on Sundays- CHRISTMAS

Time Out Challenge- WORDS INSPIRED

The Male Room- MASCULINE CHRISTMAS


 Thanks so very much for coming by to take a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Hero Arts/ Distress inks/ Signo wh pen/ pearl/ Cuttlebug EB folder/ rubber mallet/ ScorPal/ silver twine

Ready for Christmas

Good Morning.  Are you feeling ready for Christmas yet?  Such a busy time.  I don't particularly like going grocery shopping but I do love walking into the grocery store and seeing the colourful, wonderful display of all the poinsettia plants.  They have such a presence and a beauty like no other.

So, meet today's card made using the Christmas Pride stamp from Penny Black.  Simply stamped the flower twice with Versamark ink then heat embossed with white Embossing powder.  I took my Fired Brick and Picked Raspberry Distress ink pads and rubbed the ink directly from the pad onto the paper till all the white areas were covered up.  I then sprayed with water to blend.  I let that dry a bit then wiped over to remove the ink that was sitting on top of the white embossed outline.  I stamped the flower twice so I could cut it out and layer it with pop dots and mount it to my card front.  

I stamped the sentiment from Penny Black then added some red splatters to tie the whole card together.

The black pearls and the silver twine were the finishing touches.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- ANYTHING CHRISTMAS THEMED

CAS on Sundays- CHRISTMAS

Shopping Our Stash- RED ALERT

Brown Sugar- CHRISTMAS

Winter Wonderland- FUSSY AND FANCY

Thanks so very much for taking time out of you busy schedule to come by and take a look.  

Have a great week.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black/ wh. Embossing powder/ bl Memento ink/ Versamark ink/ Distress inks/ paint brush to splatter, silver twine/ bl. pearls

The Big Day

The big day is almost here and Santa is all ready to go.  

Today, I am playing along with the Clean and Simple challenge at Splitcoast - Holiday Sparkle.

I began by printing off the Santa digital from Birdie Brown.  (He is not available as a digi anymore but is offered in a stamp set from MFT.)   I cut Santa out and coloured him using Copic markers.  I added some sparkle with the cute little pom-pom.  The die-cut was left in the die and sponged with Mowed Lawn and Shabby Shutters Distress inks then splattered with water to represent snow.  

For my card front I partially embossed my background and added scoring lines to define the embossed area.  

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Little Red Wagon- SNOWFLAKES

Simon Says- BLING IT ON

(sparkle pom-pom)

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS

Brown Sugar- RED, WHITE AND GREEN

Sentimental Sundays- ANYTHING GOES

Hope you are feeling ready for the big day.  

I so appreciate that you took time from your busy day to come over and take a look.

Supplies:  stamps- PTI, Digi/ Distress inks/ die-Spellbinders/ eb folder/ ScorPal/ sparkle pom-pom/ Copic Markers/ pop dots

Shining Lights

Shining lights everywhere, it must be Christmas Time.

Here is a fun card I made doing some random embossing on my card front with a rubber mallet.  

  I decided to use two different folders this time to get a variation of textures and design onto the cardstock and I was very pleased at how it turned out.

Here is what I did:

First, I stamped the sentiment from Penny Black in the bottom corner of my white cardstock.  By doing that, I would know where I wanted to place the random embossing.  I placed that into a Cuttlebug Embossing folder (Swiss Dots) then hit it with a rubber mallet.  I took it out then placed it into a different folder and hit it some more to give a pattern within a pattern.  

Next, came the lights.  It is a fun, new die-cut from Penny Black called Sparkle String.

I die-cut the string in black then die-cut the lights in different colours.  I glued it all together then added Glossy Accents over the lights to give them some sparkle and shine.   

 Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Penny Black/ die- Penny Black/ Embossing folders-Cuttlebug/ bl. Memento ink/ Glossy Accents/ rubber mallet

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- BLING IT ON

 Shopping Our Stash- FAVOURITE TECHNIQUE

(random embossing)

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS

Holly and Berries

Happy Saturday.  I am being inspired this am by the challenge at Splitcoast and the Pendleton Site.  I saw a houndstooth jacket and so my card was born.  

I began by stamping the houndstooth with Grey Memento ink  and added it to my card front.  The wreath is a digital image from Delicious Doodles.  I printed it off, coloured it with Copic markers then added Glossy Accents to the red berries....they just shine IRL and have such a great texture.  

I then stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts onto a piece of vellum so the houndstooth could still be seen behind.  That's it.  Pretty quick and easy.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

The Male Room- CHRISTMAS

Addicted to Stamps- INSPIRATION PHOTO

Brown Sugar- RED, WHITE AND GREEN

Use Your Stuff- RED AND WHITE

Sister Act- ANYTHING GOES

Many thanks for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Hero Arts, digi- Delicious Doodles/ Memento Bl./ Barn Red Distress ink/ Copic Markers/ pop dots/ Glossy Accents

Jump for Joy!

Bringing you a little smile today.  I still can't seem to stop making Christmas cards.  At this rate, I will have some cards ready for next year! LOL

I saw this sweet little digi snowman from Digi Stamp Boutique and just had to have him.  I love his joyous smile.  Then, I saw this challenge at Splitcoast- Get to Work, use something from an office.  I decided I would place this little guy onto a postage stamp background.  Do they even use postage stamps in an office anymore?  Oh well, went with that anyways.

So, I began by printing off the snowman, coloured him with Copics markers, added some sparkle with my Stella Winks pen to the white areas and cut him out.  The postage stamp die-cut is from Spellbinders.  I sponged it with Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress ink while still in the die.  By doing that, it leaves such a nice white border.  I splattered on some plain water then some water mixed with Perfect Pearls for some shimmer.

Got out my rubber mallet again and did some random embossing on my card front (sorry it is hard to see from the photo)  I really like the look.  For those of you that have not read about that before, I place my cardstock into an embossing folder and hit it with a rubber mallet.  You can add the embossing to just the areas you want instead of having an all over embossed look.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Addicted to CAS- DOTS

Little Red Wagon- SNOWFLAKES

Simon Says- BLING (added Stella Winks)

Shopping Our Stash- FAVOURITE TECHNIQUE

 (playing with Distress inks)

The Crafter's Cafe- CHRISTMAS

Hope my card gives you a little bit of joy at this busy time of year.

Thanks so much for coming by to take a look.

Supplies:  stamps- digi, Mama Elephant/ Distress ink/ Stella Wink pen/ Spellbinders/ pop dots/ sponging tool/ Perfect Pearls/ eb folder/ rubber mallet

In the Woods

Morning.  Today I wanted to make a nature card to send to a friend who lives out in a rural area surrounded by beautiful woods.  This is what I came up with.

The main panel (blue bkg.) is a piece of leftover inked paper that I made by rubbing Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress inks onto my acrylic block, sprayed with water then pressed onto my paper.  

(I always keep my leftover mistakes or pieces I am not sure what to do with...no wonder my kids call me a hoarder although I usually find a use for them sometime in the future! LOL)

Next, I stamped the Memory Box trees and die-cut them.  The deer is also a Memory Box die that was added over the white panel and then on top of the blue. 

The base of my card was embossed part way down in an embossing folder.  By leaving the bottom unembossed (is that a word??) it is easy to add a sentiment and this one is from Hero Arts.  To give a crisp edge the area where the embossing ends, I scored 2 lines.  It gives it a more finished look.

Simon Says- CHRISTMAS

Addicted to Stamps- CAS

Brown Sugar- WINTER

Use Your Stuff- CHEVRONS

Paper Crafter's Crafts- CHRISTMAS

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Memory Box, Hero Arts/ die- Memory Box/ Distress ink/ acrylic block/ eb folder/ Memento bl ink

It's Snow Fun

Happy Saturday.  I just have not used my vintage image stamps enough this year so decided to get one out and finally use it today.  I was inspired by the challenge at Splitcoast and the Papyrus card site.  Such wonderfully inspiring cards there.

So, a few years ago, I won a Stampin Up Jumbo Wheel and have never used it.  It is one of those large wheels that you snap into a handle and roll onto your paper.  I inked it up with Versamark and rolled it across the top and the bottom of my paper.  I then heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I sponged the whole card front with Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress inks and splattered some water over the ink to add to the snowy feel.

Next, I masked the bottom and top then stamped the image of the children with black Memento ink.  I added scoring lines on either side of the image to define the center area.  The silver twine and the pearl were the finishing touches.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- CHRISTMAS

Addicted to CAS- DOTS

CASology- OLD

Shopping Our Stash- FREE IS GOOD

STAMPlorations- CHOICE 

(October Stamp and Emboss Challenge)

I hope you Christmas preparations are coming along nicely.  I so appreciate that you took time out out of your busy schedule to come by and take a peek.

Supplies:  stamps- SU (wheel), Stampendous/ Distress ink/ wh. embossing powder/ bl Memento ink/ silver twine/ pearl

Joy to the World

I don't do well with sketches.  I don't know why but I hit a mental block when I try to make a card based on a sketch.  So today I surprised myself.  At Splitcoast the challenge on Wednesdays is a sketch.  I did it...I made this card based on the sketch.

This is a simple one to create.  First, I inked up the evergreen stamp from Rubbernecker with Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress inks, sprayed with water and stamped. I stamped the sentiment touching the image to it tie it all together.  I then cut away the piece behind the image to create a panel.   After embossing a piece of dark green paper in a Cuttlebug EB folder, I added it to show under the cut away panel.  The addition of the little red pearls was the finishing touch.

I am also adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAYS

CASology- OLD
(that eb folder is one of the first ones I bought yrs ago)

Crafts Galore Encore- CHRISTMAS 

The Craft Garden- CHRISTMAS

Kylie is Addicted to Stamps- CHRISTMAS


Thanks for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Mama Elephant, Rubbernecker/ Distress ink/ Memento bl ink/ red pearls/ pop dots/ utility knife/ eb folder

Santa's Here!!

As the big day quickly approaches, I find I can't stop making more cards for Christmas.  I guess that is a good thing as I need some more for giving and sending.

Today's card is a super simple one inspired by this cute little Santa from Birdie Brown.  It is a digi that I got last year when she was selling on Etsy.  It is no longer available as she is designing for MFT and they now have a set with this Santa in it.  Check it out...super cute!

So, Santa was printed, coloured with Copics and cut out.  I mounted him onto some Christmas paper with the cutest font that I have hoarded in my stash for years.  I then did some random embossing on white cardstock, stamped the sentiment from Kaiser and added it over the Santa with pop dots. The finishing touch was to add a sparkly pom-pom to the top of his hat.

Adding my card to these challenges:

CASology- OLD 

(this dp is super old and been in my stash for years)

Addicted to Stamps- CAS

Crafts Galore Encore- ANYTHING GOES

Through the Purple Haze- ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Sparkles Monthly Challenge- THE BIG GUY

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamps- Kaiser, Digi/ Copic markers/ bl Memento ink/ pop dots/ rubber mallet/ eb folder/ pom-pom

Woodsy Christmas

Step away from the snowflake!! LOL  I told myself that today when I came up with this card playing along with the CAS Challenge at Splitcoast.  

I made the woodgrain paper....seriously it couldn't be EASIER!!  You need to try it!

Here is what I did.

First, I applied lines of Elmer's School Glue to my cardstock.  Then, when it was dry, I rubbed Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs and Vintage Photo Distress, Black Soot ink pads directly over the glue lines and sprayed with water to blend the colours.  You will need to give that a few minutes to dry as well.

I then scored the lines and stamped the trees with Stazon ink.

HINT:  when stamping over a painted or distressed surface, use Stazon ink for a better impression

I love the look of the woodgrain.  Keeping the natural feel of it all, a twine bow was the finishing touch and the sentiment from Hero Arts.

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Virginia's View- DISTRESSING

Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES

The Mixed Media Challenge- HOME (I live beside a Conservation Area)

Time Out- EMBOSSING

Crafty Cardmakers- DISTRESSING

Hope you Christmas preparations are going well.  I so appreciate you taking the time to come and take a look today.

Supplies:  stamps- Northwoods, Mark's Finest, Hero Arts/ Distress and Memento Ink/ Scoring Tool/ twine/ Elmer School Glue

Double Embossed Christmas

Some cards are just impossible to photograph.  You either loose the detail or the colour.  This card was one of those until I got out the black backgrounds.  So here it is in all it's white purity.

I began by placing my dies from Simon Says and Lawn Fawn onto my cardstock and ran it through my Cuttlebug with a rubber mat under that.  What the rubber mat is designed to do is to let you emboss with a die and not cut through your paper.  I made sure to leave an area plain so I could stamp my sentiment from PTI and embossed it with silver.   That was the first embossing.

I then took out my embossing folder from Cuttlebug, place my the cardstock that was embossed with the snowflakes into it and embossed it again.  You can see how it added the circles and lines onto the paper.  I think it looks pretty cool.  Lastly, I did some scoring and then die-cut the snowflake and covered it with glitter and added a jewel to the center.

Adding my card to these challenges:

Addicted to CAS- DOTS

Addicted to Stamps- HOLIDAY

Brown Sugar- ANYTHING GOES

Weekly Christmas Cards- ANYTHING GOES

Pile it On- SPRINKLE IT

Thanks so much for coming by and taking a look.

Supplies:  stamp- PTI/ dies- SSS, Lawn Fawn/ jewel/ glitter/ embossing folder/ silver embossing powder