Encre, papier, ciseaux

From Packaging to Card

I wanted to give a little token of appreciation to two coworkers who help me sell my handmade cards at the Quebec City office, so I made the following packaging for them. Both tags were inspired from projects I saw on Pinterest and adapted to tags. The nice kraft wrapping paper was found in the dollar bin at the M store.

 

 

 

After unwapping her gift, my coworker kept the little note I had written for her and gave me back the tag, thinking I could recycle it into something else. And sure enough, it was sitting on my desk so today, when I looked at online challenges, I decided to include it on a card. I wasn't sure what to make for the card background. I was thinking black patterned paper and I was out of the stripes patterned I had in mind, so I was about to heat emboss a pattern on black cardstock when my eye caught the washi tape Stampin' Royalty challenge #310 and I remembered I had a bunch of black and gold washi tapes! That worked out pretty well, creating a striped background that was muted enough to not compete with the tag.

I went even further with my recycling as I had a black baker's twine piece with a black safety pin that I had kept from a coat I bought earlier this fall. It was sitting on my desk and I thought it would match my black, gold and white theme nicely. I used the safety pin to hang a wooden snowflake (Snowflake Elements) from.

When I finished the card, I debated whether to add a sentiment or leave it blank. It felt a little bare, so I drew inspiration from the Pals Paper Arts challenge #281 and added a sentiment from the Six Sayings hostess stamp set (get it while you can! It's a great set and it's retiring with the Holidays catalogue on January 4th). A piece of Gold Metallic Foil Doily was added underneath.

I also played with the Paper Craft Crew Card Challenge #175. It's a tic tac toe grid this week and I used a deer, my favorite holiday colour (gold!) and a Christmas Theme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Six souhaits (Six Sayings)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Thick Whisper White
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Designer Washi Tape, Gold Organza Ribbon, Black Baker's Twine,
Safety Pin, Snowflake Elements, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Stag Trio Dies (W Plus 9),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Metallic Foil Doilies, Star Framelits Dies, Chevron Embossing Folder,
White Square Envelope

 

Forest Deer

This week's Hand Stamped Sentiment challenge #228 is an inspiration piece. I was inspired to use the deer from the Jolly Christmas stamp set and the tree patterned paper from the Season of Cheer Designer Series Paper. The design of the card was inspired by MFT Sketch #261.

I was unsure I would like the card I was putting together at first, but I kept plugging along at it and finally ended up with something I like. I had to switch the sketch around a bit because the last part of my sentiment was big ("and to all a happy new year") and I wanted to include the "Merry Christmas" part at first. The merry Christmas included in the set was too big to fit with my design, but I liked the idea of using the little banner image from the set, so I inked it with markers without the wording and stamped it on Soft Sky cardstock, then I used the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set to fill in the banner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Sourire de fin d'année (Jolly Christmas), Souhaits de joie (Holly Jolly Greetings)
Cardstock: Mossy Meadow, Soft Sky, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Season of Cheer
Ink: Night of Navy, VersaMark
Accessories: Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots,
Envelope Punch, Iced Rhinestone Embellishments, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Metallic Foil Doilies

 

White Christmas

I spent the first week of the Holidays sick with a cold, so any time I might have had to create swiftly went out the window. Now that I'm back to feeling like myself and that my family has gone home, I'm back to my stamping room. I drew inspiration from Try Stamping on Tuesday #251 and Nacho Average challenge #174. The starting point was a piece of thick Whisper White cardstock that had previously been embossed with the Boughs and Berries embossing folder for another project, but discarded. I added the little house and sentiment from the Cozy Christmas set, and I added Silver Mini Brads on the poinsettias of the embossed sentiment. The corners were punched with the Curvy Corner Trio Punch, I added rhinestones and a piece of Silver Cording Trim. Dazzling Diamonds glitter was added to the house image with the two-way glue pen. Then, I finished off the card with a couple of Winter Wonderland Embellishments. (I stocked up on those since they are retiring - they're my favorite!)

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Noël au chaud (Cozy Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Soft Sky
Ink: Night of Navy, VersaMark
Accessories: Winter Wonderland Embellishments, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Curvy Corner Trio Punch,
White Medium Envelope, Silver Cording Trim, Boughs and Berries Embossing Folder, Silver Mini Brads

 

Mail from the North Pole

This year, I found a full-size Christmas mailbox at the M store and thought it would look great by the post at the entrance of my condo. After putting my decorations up, I figured my three-year-old niece would certainly end up opening the mailbox to see if that was anything inside, so I thought I could make a little card for her from Santa.

sure enough, on Christmas day when she visited with her parents, the very first thing she did after taking off her coat was go straight to the mailbox! I knew she wouldn't get that excited about a card at her age, but I read her the note that was written inside, which was Santa congratulating her on being a nice girl this year and telling her he hoped she'd enjoy her new toys. I then asked her if she wanted to make a drawing for Santa to put inside the mailbox in return and she got all excited about that. So sweet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Color Me Christmas
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink
Patterned Papers: Be Merry (Recollections)
Accessories: Red Polka Dot Ribbon, Softly Falling Embossing Folder,
Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Dazzling Diamonds Fine Glitter,
Frosted Sequins, Alphabet Stickers (Doodlebug Designs), Envelope Punch Board

 

You're in my Thoughts

I reorganized my Pinterest boards over the holidays and stumbled unto a cool card I wanted to copy. This is pretty close to the original card, with a few tweaks here and there. I selected the "You're in my Thoughts" sentiment from the Watercolor Wishes stamp set (currently sold in the annual Stampin' Up! catalogue) to make a generic card that could be used for a few different occasions.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Tant de joie, Pensées au pinceau (Watercolor Wishes)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Typeset
Ink: Calypso Coral, Mint Macaron, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Scallop Tag Topper Punch, Mint Macaron Lace, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Lace Trim, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Scallop Trim Punch, Sequins, Sponge Dauber,
Corner Rounder Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope

 

Falling Wishes

When I saw the Mojo Monday sketch #428 and the Simon Says Stamp Monday Winter Wonderland challenge, I thought I could pair it with snowflakes on a non-Christmasy card. I got the Tag Topper Punch through Stampin' Up!'s Year-End Sale, so I knew I wanted to put it to good use. The snowflakes were die-cut with a retired die called Snow Flurry, out of Dazzling Diamonds and Silver Glimmer Paper. The top of the tag was decorated with a piece of White 3/8" Glitter Ribbon (Holidays Catalogue, p. 29).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Médaillons séduction (A Round Array)
Cardstock: Going Grey
Patterned Papers: Hello Winter (Echo Park)
Ink: Midnight Muse
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds and Silver Glimmer Paper, Snow Flurry Bigz Die,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, White 3/8" Glitter Ribbon,
Clear Chunky Glitter, Sticky Strip, White Medium Envelope,
Angle Tag Topper Punch, Ticket Corner Punch

 

Cardinal Tag

Still playing around with the Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit pieces and making cards. The design of this one was inspired by As You See It Challenge #117 and the Color Throwdown challenge #373. The sentiment comes from the Oh What Fun stamp set and the cardinal comes from the Joyful Season stamp set. The background was embossed with the Woodland embossing folder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Hourra pour Noël (Oh, What Fun), Saison de joie (Joyful Season)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Thick Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Garden Green
Accessories: Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit, Regals Designer Buttons, Stampin' Dimensioanls,
White Medium Envelope, Curvy Corner Trio Punch

 

Golden Wishes

When I saw the Freshly Made Sketch #217, I knew it would be perfect to use the last gold snowflake from my Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit. Since the snowflake is covered with gold glitter, I also thought I could use the Create with Connie and Mary colour combo (#386) as well. The card base was created out of Thick Whisper White cardstock for sturdiness and clear-embossed with the snowflake from the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set. The Softly Falling embossing folder was used on the center white panel, which I matted with a piece of Black Glimmer Paper (currently offered at a reduced price during the Year-End Clearance by Stampin' Up!).

The sentiment was created with the Christmas Greetings Thinlits dies out of Gold Glimmer Paper and I inked part of a sentiment from the Oh What Fun stamp set with Basic Black Archival ink (covering the part I did not want inked with  a post-it note).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Hourra pour Noël (Oh, What Fun), Souhaits de joie (Holly Jolly Greetings)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit, Glimmer Paper (Gold, Black),
Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelope, Softly Falling Embossing Folder,
Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies

Scribbled Note

Today's card design was inspired by the Retro Sketch #194. I thought the circles on it would be a good chance to use the Scribbles dies. The papers used come from the Silver Bells paper pad from Kaiser Craft. By selecting the non-Holidays print, I was able to do a generic card with the papers. I also drew inspiration from the Just Us Girls #323 challenge (sequins) and the Monday Simon Says Stamp challenge (Just a Pinch). I decided to add just a pinch of shimmer, with a few of the scribbles die-cut out of Silver Glimmer Paper and a few shimmery sequins.

The sentiment was stamped with the Watercolor Wishes stamp set (a must-have) and reads, "A Simple Note." I'm trying to make cards with more generic sentiments (or maybe even some without - gasp!) because no matter how many cards I keep on hand at the office, it seems what my colleagues are looking for at a specific time does not fit with the sentiments of cards I have on hand, so I'm making a conscious effort to fill in the gaps by having "thinking of you", "just a note", "from all of us" and other similar cards on hand. The sentiment here was stamped and embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss powder on Mint Macaron cardstock and I felt it lacked a little something and I thought a lace pattern would look lovely so I went looking for a background stamp and stumbled instead onto the (retired) Gossamer Lace single stamp, which was the perfect touch to make the tag more interesting. A piece of Mint Macaron Lace Trim was also added to the card, as well as a bit of Silver Cording Trim (which won't be coming back one the Holidays Catalogue come to an end so stock up while you can).

The corners of the patterned paper were punched with the Curvy Corner Trio Punch, and a Iced Rhinestone Embellishment (on sale this week as part of the Weekly Deals - time to stock up!) was added in the center of one of the scribble die-cuts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Calypso Coral + Mint Macaron + Basic Grey + Smoky Slate + Silver

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Pensées à l'aquarelle (Watercolor Wishes), Gossamer Lace
Cardstock: Basic Grey
Patterned Papers: Silver Bells (KaiserCraft)
Ink: VersaMark, Mint Macaron, Smoky Slate
Accessories; Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Mint Macaron Lace Trim, Silver Glimmer Paper,
Sequins, Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Silver Cording Trim, White Medium Envelope,
Corner Rounder Punch, Scribbles Dies (MFT)

 

Sparkly Christmas

When I saw the Freshly Made Sketch #216, I knew I could use a Project Life card to mimick the sketch, so I reached for the 2015 Hello December Project Life Cards. I looked for an image that could fit in the circle and landed on the Joyful Season stamp set, thinking I could pair it with the Christmas Greetings Framelits as well.

The colour combo was inspired by the Fab Friday challenge #79. I don't know if I like the final result or not. I think I need to sleep on it and look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. Right now, I'm simply not excited about the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Souhaits de joie (Joyful Season)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Real Red, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla
Ink: Pool Party, Mossy Meadow, Real Red, VersaMark
Accessories: Lace Trim, Real Red Pompom Trim, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots,
Curvy Corner Trio Punch, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder, Woodland Embossing Folder,
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder, Iced Rhinestone Embellishments, Silver Sequin Trim,
Vanilla Medium Envelope, Banner Punch, Silver Foil Paper, Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies,
Project Life Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Starry Tree

This card was inspired by Simon Says Stamp (Holly Jolly Stamping) and MFT Sketch #258. When looking at my single stamp collection to find the Gossamer Lace stamp, I stumbled onto the retired Star Tree image and thought I hadn't used it in a while so when I picked out the Sleigh Ride paper stack, I thought the tree could look great paired with it. I used Platinum Embossing Powder to keep with the brown tones of the papers, and embossed the image on Midnight Muse cardstock before handcutting it. I backed the image with a piece of patterned paper die-cut with the Starburst Framelits Dies and a circle of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper under it.

The sentiment was stamped with the Christmas Bliss photopolymer stamp set in Midnight Muse ink and embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder. Metallic brads were added in each corner and a piece of knotted Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker's Twine was added as well. Sequins were added on the tree and around it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Star Tree, Christmas Bliss
Cardstock: Midnight Muse
Patterned Papers: Sleigh Ride (Bo Bunny)
Ink: VersaMark, Midnight Muse
Accessories: Metallic Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper,
Starburst Framelits Dies, Circle Framelits Dies, 2013-2015 In Color Sequins, Opal Whisper Sequins,
White Medium Envelope, Embossing Powder (Clear, Platinum), Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker's Twine

 

Knitted

The ColourQ combo this week (320) was very interesting and I wanted to use it on a project, but I was wondering if I could use it for something winter-y. Decided to pair it with the Make a Mitten stamp set, which I wanted to pull out at least once this season, and the Nacho Average Sketch #171. I knew I also wanted to use the Designer Frames embossing folder so I made my card a 3-1/4" x 6-1/2" size to balance it out.

I was very tempted to use the "Merci, tu as le coeur sur la main" sentiment, which means "you wear your heart on your sleeve" but in French the expression says "you have your heart in your hand" and the link between the hands and the mittens would have been great, but again in my quest to make generic cards, I decided to use the Bitty Banners stamp set and matching Framelits instead to write simply "For You." I used the Triple Banner punch to create a banner and embossed it with the Softly Falling embossing folder.

(On a side note, my Christmas Tree Tag card from last week got picked as the Top Nacho project - how cool!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Make a Mitten, Bannières bitty (Bitty Banners)
Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil
Ink: Blushing Bride, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Snowflake Elements, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals,Ovals Bigs Die, Large Oval Punch, Mitten Punch, Stampin' Write Markers, Sequins,
Banners Framelits Dies, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Triple Banner Punch,
Softly Falling Embossing Folder, Designer Washi Tape, Tall Envelope, Crisp Cantaloup Thick Baker's Twine

 

Ho Ho Ho

I'm so happy with how this card turned out. This is the kind of card that makes me smile when I look at it. There's something uplifting about the Santa image and the bright colours. The colour combo was inspired by the Pals Paper Arts challenge #278 and the design is from As You See It challenge #115.

The Santa Stache stamp set was my favorite last year and I knew I wanted to ink it at least once this year even though it's retired. Looking at the colour combo, I rememebered the Season of Style Designer Series Paper Stack which I have tons of pages left on, so that's what I used for the polka dot background. I paired it with a piece of 2015-2017 In Color Designer Paper, on which I glued a piece of Real Red Pompom Trim, over which I added a Vintage Faceted Button tied with a piece of Silver Cording Trim.

The sentiment was created with the (retired) Oh, Goodies! stamp set. The sentiment is actually Ho Ho Ho, but I inked one of the words with a Real Red Stampin' Write marker and used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the word in some of the circles. It was a last-minute idea that finishes the card nicely and add to the whimsy of the overall design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Santa Stache, Oh Goodies!
Cardstock: Cucumber Crush, Watercolor Paper
Designer Series Papers: Season of Style, 2015-2017 In Color Paper Stack
Ink: Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Crumb Cake, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Aqua Painter Brush, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Real Red Pompom Trim,
Vintage Faceted Button, Silver Cording Trim, Stampin' Dimensionals, Wooden Element,
Iced Rhinestone Embellishments, Envelope Punch Board, White Paper Doilies, Black Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen...

While the Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit was out, I kept working with it and came up with this second card. I had initially planned on using the other sparkly snowflake I had left from the kit, but it wasn't working as nicely as I had thought, so I looked for other options and thought I'd handcut a deer from the Home for Christmas Designer Series paper as my main image. I framed it with a silver Metallic Doily and a punched circle of Red Glimmer Paper.

The sentiment was stamped with the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set on a die-cut tag from the same kit, and I used the little stars and snow stamp from the set to stamp my red cardstock strip.

The card background was covered with a piece of 2015-2017 In Color Designer Series Paper and to soften the look, I layered vellum on top of it. To add interest, I placed the striped mask (p. 157 of annual catalogue) at an angle, applied VersaMark ink to the vellum (taping my ink pad directly on the project) and then pourred Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss powder all over it. The resulting shimmer is subtle but definitely adds flair to the finished card. The corners of the vellum were punched using the Curvy Corner Trio Punch.

An Ice Rhinestone Embellishment was added to the red strip, and I used silver sequins from the kit in each corner. I threaded a piece of Mint Macaron lace on the tag (also from kit) and tied a Garden Green Designer button on it using Silver Cording Trim.

The design was inspired by the December Viva la Verve Sketch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Souhaits de joie (Holly Jolly Greetings)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Real Red, Vellum
Designer Series Paper: 2015-2017 In Color Paper Stack, Home for Christmas
Ink: Real Red, Basic Grey Archival, VersaMark
Accessories: Regals Designer Buttons, Silver Cording Trim, Curvy Corner Trio Punch,
Stampin' Dimensionals, 2" Circle Punch, Metallic Doilies, Ticket Corner Punch (retired),
White Medium Envelope, Red Glimmer Paper, Iced Rhinestone Embellishments,
Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit, Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Let It Snow And Ski!

Inspiration behind this card: Mojo Monday Sketch #426, The Cat's Pajamas #304 and Simon Says Stamp (Let It Snow).

The sentiment comes from the Joyful Season stamp set and translates to "May your Holidays be covered under a blanket of warmth and joy," which I thought linked nicely to the skiing penguin image. A little wooden snowflake from the Snowflakes Elements pack was added on top of my ribbon and rickrack "pennants" and a bow made out of shimmery ribbon. I cut out a piece of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper with pinking shears to put under the penguin image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Pray for Snow (The Cat's Pajamas), Saison de joie (Joyful Season - Stampin' Up!),
Project Life Instantanés de saison 2015 (Project Life Seasonal Snapshots 2015)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Patterned Papers: Cozy (Authentique)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Accessories: Red Embossing Powder, Pinking Shears, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Snowflake Elements Embellishments, Markers,
White Velvet Rickrack, White Polka Dot Organza Ribbon, Shimmery Ribbon, White Envelope

From Tag to Card: Merry

I purchased the Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit and knew after doing the 10 tags as instructed, I wanted to step up the tags and make something more intricate with the kit contents. This is the first card I made using some of the tag items, namely the sparkly gold snowflake, the red thick baker's twine, the Mint Macaron lace and the printed tag. The rest of the elements I drew from my stash.

Doesn't the Berries and Boughs embossing folder look crisp and elegant on white cardstock? I used our Thick Whisper White cardstock (p. 149 of annual catalogue) for the embossing so that the cardstock wouldn't crackle like the regular Whisper White tends to do and it worked wonderfully. The "joyeux" was cut out of Red Foil Paper and I glued it onto a strip of Real Red cardstock that was embossing with the Stylish Stripes embossing folder. I picked this die-cut sentiment (Voeux Thinlits Dies) so that it would fit in with two challenges I wanted to take part in: Friday Mashup #235 (dies) and Just Us Girls #322 ("Merry"). Then, to finish off the sentiment, I looked in the Oh What Fun stamp set and there was a few "Noël" to choose from, but I stamped "Ne pas ouvrir avant Noël" and cut off the bottom of the sentiment to have it alone on a little banner piece. I used Garden Green on Mint Macaron cardstock, which is a nice unexpected match.

The card design was inspired by the MFT sketch #257.

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

  Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit - 139602 - CAD $26

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Hourra pour Noël (Oh, What Fun)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Thick Whisper White, Real Red, Mint Macaron
Ink: Garden Green
Project Kit: Oh What Fun Tag
Accessories: Red Foil Paper, Berries and Boughs Embossing Folder,
Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder, White Medium Envelope

 

@Mrs. Claus

Today's page was inspired by the Just Add Ink challenge #291 - Just Add C. I went with "Claus" as my inspiration word and picked out some pictures of my niece with her Santa Claus hat.

I had some new Christmas papers and matching die-cuts that I was itching to try, so I pulled out some pictures from last Christmas and a Project Life page protector and went to work. This one came together very easily and I really like the result. The pictures of my niece haming it up for the camera are pretty adorable, too.

Have a closer look at the upper right panel - I used the Boughs & Berries embossing folder on a piece of green patterned paper, to create a subtle vintage frame that matches the retro vibe of the papers and die-cuts. The embossing folders are the right size to emboss 4" x 6" panels, so they are perfect for Project Life pages. Keep in mind that the frame ones are particularly great to frame a journaling panel or a die-cut or stamped image. I just discovered one more use for this embossing folder aside from cards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: This and That Rotary Date Stamp
Ink: Black Archival Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Claus & Co (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Washi Tape, Claus & Co Die-cuts (Simple Stories),
Boughs & Berries Embossing Folder, Alphabet Stickers (American Crafts, Doodlebug Designs),
Stampin' Dimensionals, Claus & Co Wood Veneer embellishments (Simple Stories),
Black journaling pen

 

Christmas Circles

This card came together in a flash. Looking at the weekly challenges online this morning, the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge #151 caught my eye and I knew there was something interesting to be done using the circle grid sketch. As I was working on other projects, the Claus & Co paper from Simple Stories caught my eye, as there is a patterned paper that has lines of circles and I thought it would look fantastic on a card. I cut a panel and decided to keep the full height to keep as many circles as possible, so I went for a 6" x 3-1/4" card.

The Red Glimmer Paper circle was sitting on my desk from another project I didn't use it on earlier today, and as I was looking through my green buttons, the Big Designer Buttons we used to carry caught my eye and fitted great over the glimmer circle. I threaded Black Baker's Twine in it, then added a stamped and punched sentiment from the Project Life 2015 Seasonal Snapshots stamp set. A bit of Old Olive Trim finishes the card off. Super simple, but the fun paper really makes the card.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Project Life Instantanés de saison 2015 (Project Life Seasonal Snapshots 2015)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Real Red
Patterned Papers: Claus & Co (Simple Stories)
Ink: Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Old Olive Trim, Red Glimmer Paper, 7/8" and 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Basic Black Baker's Twine, Narrow Envelope

 

Oldies Revisited

If I've been scrapbooking for 12 years, the stickers I used for the main image of this card are probably just as old. Back when I started, we had no local store and my first supplies pretty much consisted of a mish mash of items selected at random in an online store. That was before companies were issuing full suites of matching products so let me tell you that even though colors sometimes seem similar online, there's always a few surprises in store when you receive your box of goodies and try to match things up on a project. Anywho, back then, the offering was not as extensive as it is now and stickers were sort of a staple, so those vintage Christmas images found their way in my cart back then - and even though I used a couple on a page, the rest of the stickers have been gathering dust in my stash since. When I purged some of my supplies recently, I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, thought, thinking paired with the right stuff, they might turn into something usable. I decided today was the day I was taking the challenge, and the Nacho Average challenge #170 fitted the colours of the images beautifully. The design of the card was inspired by Freshly Made Sketch #215.

Since my main image had a Christmas tree on it, I thought it was befitting that I would use the "Oh Christmas Tree" sentiment from the Cozy Christmas stamp set, and the torn edge of the sticker inspired me to die-cut my sentiment using a torn-edge Nestabilities die I have.

I snuck a few Stampin' Up items in there. You'll recognize the Mossy Meadow satin ribbon, the Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, the retired Top Note die and Houndstooth Embossing Folder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Noël au chaud (Cozy Christmas)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, Mossy Meadow Satin Ribbon,
Vanilla Medium Envelope, Top Note Die, Houndstooth Embossing Folder,
Snowflakes Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Wood Embellishments, Metallic Floss (DMC)

 

Hunting Trophy

I did a little bit of crafting before going to sleep and when I went to bed, ideas were still rolling around in my head. One card design popped up and the concept of the card was so clear that I actually went back to my craft room to put all of the elements on my stamping table so I could put together the card the next day. This one came together fairly quickly and I'm glad that the design worked as I had hoped.

This week's Simon Says Stamp challenge calls for masculine card, and this one fits the theme with the hunting and wood paneling look. I hesitated using the melon hue on a masculine card, but I wanted a strong contrast and other colours just wouldn't have had the punch the melon has.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sourire de fin d'année (Jolly Christmas), Hardwood, Hourra pour Noël (Oh, What Fun)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Melon Mambo
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black Archival
Accessories: Stag Trio (W Plus 9). Nestabilities, Black Glimmer Paper, Metallic Brads,
Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Silver Foil Paper, White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals