« November 2019 | Main | January 2020 »
Hi crafty friends,
In the past few years, I've posted a list of my favorite projects created during the year. It's a nice way to reminisce about what I've created and to see what stands out in the bunch. Here is my top list of 2019:
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I wish you a happy, healthy and inspired year 2020!
Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Party Time)
I decided to pair the Christmas sELFies stamp set with the Snow Day papers from Crate Paper (an older collection) for something colorful. The image was colored with Copic markers and I added a few sparkly details using Nuvo glitter markers. I created a tag out of the yellow polka dot paper and I added vanilla sequins on the polka dots for texture. I made an oversize reinforcer for the hole of the tag using a 1" circle punch and I threaded Pear Pizzazz chevron ribbon, tying it in place with thick baker's twine.
For the sentiment, I found "Be merry this season" in a current stamp set, so I embossed it in Aqua Tinsel embossing powder on patterned paper, dit-cut with the Layering Ovals and matted it with Lovely Lipstick foil paper (from last Spring's SAB offering) with a scalloped oval. The card background was die-cut using the Confetti Card dies from Concord & 9th. Because my card had a lot of layers and the ribbon overlapping at the top, I chose to make an oversize envelope for it. It happens that I had purchased both some 12" x 12" paper and the 6" x 6" pad as well, so I was able to find a leftover piece of the larger paper to make a matching envelope.
Supplies
Stamps: Christmas sELFies (My Favorite Things); Fêtes étincelantes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Berry Burst, Whisper White, Lovely Lipstick Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Snow Day (Crate Paper)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Accessories: Layering Ovals Dies, Stampin' DImensionals, Scalloped Border Punch,
Circle Punches, Pear Pizzazz Chevron Ribbon, Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine,
Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!); Wonky Stitched Rectangles Dies (My Favorite Things);
Markers (Copic); Aqua Tinsel Embossing Powder (Ranger); Confetti Card Dies (Concord & 9th);
Glitter Markers, Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Snow Day Border Stickers (Crate Paper);
Vanilla Cream Sequin Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards)
Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketch #416
I've purchased the Happy Mailbox Cubbies stamp set a little while ago but hadn't made a project with it yet. I finally took the plunge today, pairing it with some older Authentique patterned papers. I embossed the mailbox image with gold powder and watercolored it using inks and my Starry Gansai Tambi watercolor set. The fun part of this stamp set is that the matching dies included with it die-but slits and opening doors on all of the mailboxes. You can then stamp and color the additional parcels and envelopes images and tuck them in there where you please. It makes for such a cute little scene. I went with something Christmasy here, but this would work well all year long.
Because the focal point was the mailbox row, the rest of the card is fairly simple. I did add Distress Grit-Paste at the bottom using the Snowcap layering stencil and I sprinkled Distress Mica Flakes on the wet paste. I also added a very thin border of Golden Crystal glimmer paste around the largest piece of patterned paper and a piece of gold satin ribbon. The card was a bit bulky, so I made an oversize envelope using patterned paper from the same collection and I added a postage stamp die-cut for the address block.
Supplies
Stamps: Happy Mailbox Cubbies (Art Impressions)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Patterned Paper: Peaceful (Authentique)
Ink: VersaMark; Real Red, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!);
Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Golden Crystal Glimmer Paste (Nuvo); Aquapainter Brush, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Palette Knife, Envelope Punch Board, Gold Satin Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Distress Mica Flakes, Distress Grit-Paste (Ranger); Snowcap Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz);
Postage Stamp Dies (Hero Arts); Dotted Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Starry Colors Watercolors (Gansai Tambi)
Inspiration: Little Red Wagon #528 (Any winter holiday)
After spotting the Plush Frosty Mitten die in my stash, I decided to put it to use to make something for this Christmas season. Initially, I was thinking of using the felt I had found at the dollar store recently, but I realized I had already made felt mittens before and it might be more fun to see how it'd look out of patterned paper. I found some old Basic Grey holidays paper leftovers and I put together the turquoise mitten.
Initially, when I cut the mitten pieces, I was planning on having the pattern on both sides of the mitten. I soon found out that you have to remember to turn the paper around before die-cutting the second mitten side so that the fingers line up when you put the pattern on the outside! Rookie mistake... Usually, I would have corrected with another piece, but because I was working with leftovers, that wasn't a option, so I used the aqua side and I added a die-cut snowflake to decorate the front of the mitten instead. I added a pompom from the pack that was also part of my dollar store run. The fun sparkly thread is another recent find from the craft store. It's DMC Étoile thread. I like that it has shine without being as stick as Kreinik thread is. I purchased it to use in my cross stitching projects, but it became a perfect option to stitch the mittens. I used some tinsel trim to make a loop and added buttons as well. (I used my glue gun to add the pompom and the button.) I had found some peppermint candy canes at the dollar store, so I slipped one inside. I discovered that the paper mittens are stiffer than the felt version so that don't open up as much and therefore cannot contain as much. My idea to slip if candy inside along with the candy cane sort of fell by the wayside. I did like the result so much, though, that I decided I wanted to make some more to share at the office. I made seven more, each one different, going through the rest of my Holidays Basic Grey papers (and reminiscing all the while about the Basic Grey glory days). Because my additional mittens were not solid, I switched the snowflake on them to a more substantial version so that it would show up better and I used bigger pompoms to keep the proportions right.
Supplies
Cardstock: Red Metallic Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Basic Grey
Dies: Plush Frosty Mitten (Memory Box); Snow Crystals (KaiserCraft);
Christmas Day Snow (Echo Park)
Thread: DMC Étoile
Accessories: Buttons (Autumn Leaves); Pompoms, Candy Canes (Dollar Store);
Tinsel Trim (Stampin' Up!)
Inspiration: CAS(E) This Sketch #352
I was intrigued by the CAS(E) sketch this week as it's different from what we usually work with so I decided to give it a go using patterned papers to see how it would turn out. I reached for the Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper again and I love the look of the mixed patterns. For the top stripes, I used cardstock, with a sentiment embossed in gold, and a piece of matching ribbon underneath.
I made two cards at once and they are slightly different because the first one was my sample and the sentiment was stamped a little too close to the left edge, which left a lot of open space to fill at the other end. I used a ribbon bow to solve that problem. On the second card, I spaced my sentiment better and I was then able to put the bow following the angle of the ribbon and the space was still filled nicely. I think I like the second one better, but it's fun to see two versions of a same concept.
Sentiment reads, "May this festive season be filled with memorable moments and wonderful memories."
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime de Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Real Red
Designer Series Paper: Toile Tidings
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots, Very Vanilla Medium Envelopes,
Garden Green 3/8" Double-Stitched Ribbon, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder
Inspiration: Fab Friday #179 + Inspired By #103
I realized the Fab Friday sketch would make a great shaker card, and that it would look cool filled with the Snowflake sequins from the Holidays catalogue. I pulled out the Feels Like Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper, which never disappoint. I created a frame using stitched rectangles dies, and I stamped the biggest sentiment from the Greatest Part of Christmas stamp set on the winter scenery paper, in NIght of Navy ink. (I love this hostess set - this is the fifth project I use it on this week!) I added a punched ornament in the top right corner, also punched out of patterned paper from the same pack, and I added a bit of ink with a sponge dauber to give it shape. I topped it with a stamped image colored with Stampin' Blends markers, from the Free Skate stamp set. The ornament still felt a little bare, though, so I found a snowflake that was the perfect size in the Seasonal Layers dies set. I used Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper to die-cut the snowflake.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Feels LIke Frost
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento; Night of Navy, Purple Posy Classic Inc
Accessories: Seasonal Layers Dies, Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack,
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, White Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Blends Markers, Detailed Skate Dies, Snowflake Sequins,
Foam Adhesive Strips, Window Sheet, Stitched Rectangle Dies
Inspiration: Global Design Project #220 + TGIF #243 (Use Your Favorite)
My most favorite suite from the Holidays catalogue is the Brightly Gleaming suite. I rarely purchase every single item from a suite, but this time, I did use the collecton code and ordered it all. I love the colors, the copper accents, the elegant patterns. As for the stamps, I recently acquired the Greatest Part of Christmas hostess set and I love the variety of sentiments in there - various fonts, various sizes and great sentiment options. I'm having fun incorporating them in my projects.
The design was based on the inspiration project shared on the Global Design Project page. I picked the largest sentiment from the hostess stamp set and embossed it in Copper powder on one of the neutral sheets of patterned paper, then I used the Stitched Nested Labels dies to die-cut it out, and I decided to mat it with a size larger using Pretty Peacock cardstock. The metallic border at the bottom of the sample card was recreated with a piece of the printed ribbon from the same suite.
The top of the tag felt very empty, so I pulled out the Brightly Gleaming foil elements and added a bauble. It was getting lost against the background, though, so I had the idea to punch a circle out of a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, which made it stand out more asnd allowed me a way to pop the bauble on dimensionals without it showing. I was trying to figure out how to glue the copper piece without glue oozing out and I realized I could completely fill the whole circle with the Shimmery Crystal Effects and then layering the copper element on top. This in turn added dimension, gloss and shimmer to my ornament and made it really pretty. The tag still felt too bare, so I remembered the copper stars and added a couple.
I used the ornament punches from the suite to decorate my envelope, adding one of the copper twigs as well.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Pretty Peacock
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Brightly Gleaming
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements, Stitched Nested Labels Dies,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Star Designer Elements, 1/2" Classic Weave Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Shimmery Crystal Effects, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder
Inspiration: MFT Sketch $468 + Lawn Fawnatics #67
This card was inspired by a background which was created with water colored with Nuvo Shimmer Powder leftover on my work surface. I picked up a piece of white watercolor paper to sponge the color and ended up with a background that I really loved. It should be mentioned that because I mopped up some colored water instead of shaking the pigment from the bottle to the paper, there are some spots that are shimmery but most of the background is just plain color. This technique turned out more like a watercolored background, whereas when you shake the pigments right out of the bottle, the glimmer is really intense.
(This was made with the Storm Cloud shimmer powder.) I embossed the background with the Winter Snowflakes 3D folder from Sizzix and I decided to use the cups from the Thanks a Latte stamp set. Textured embossing powder was added on the first cup for the foam, and I sprinkled Snowflake Sequins on my background to fill the space a bit. I finished off my card set with a Sapphire Metallic envelope stamped to match.
Supplies
Stamps: Thanks a Latte (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; NIght of Navy, Blushing Bride Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Thanks a Latte Dies, Outside In Stitched Rectangle Dies,
Everyday Sentiment Banners Dies, White Texture Embossing Powder (Lawn Fawn);
Winter Snowflakes 3D Embossing Folder (Sizzix); Storm Cloud Shimmer Powder (Nuvo);
A2 Sapphire Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Snowflake Sequins,
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic)
Inspiration: Colour Inkspiration #67 + Tuesday Morning Sketches #534
I tested out my recently acquired Sip Sip Hooray bundle. Because the color combo was including Grapefruit Grove and I wanted my bubbles to be sparkly, I pulled out the Grapefruit Grove foil paper from last SAB's offering to mat my Mint Macaron cardstock. I stamped the two glasses in Basic Grey ink and added colorful liquid inside, then I added a few items to the glass. I stamped "Chin chin" between the two glasses. (By the way, I was curious to see if this expression was only used by French speakers, since the English version has "Sip Sip" in it. I googled the origin of Chin Chin and it apparently comes from the Italian Cin Cin, pronounced Chin Chin, which means Cheers. French speakers use Chin Chin a lot and also the word Cheers. Our own French version, though, is Santé, which translates to "health". Interesting how other languages focus on fun and we focus on health... while drinking!)
The sketch has twigs peeking behind the ribbon bow so I pulled out my catalogue and looked at current products sets to see what I had in my stash (punch or dies) to work this detail in. I spotted some in the Detailed Peacock die set (which I would never have thought to look in). I wasn't sure which colour to do the foliage in, since my background was already Mint Macaron. I went with the colour I had used to stamp the twig in the drink: Mossy Meadow.
The card was cute but looking a little plain, so I looked through embellishments and realized the Brightly Gleaming elements would look nice with this colour combo, so I added a copper twig to my existing foliage and a copper sar on the left drink. I then looked at my ornements and I decided to cheat a little and bring out last year's faceted dots. The kit included two of the colours I was using so it was a good occasion to put them to good use.
At the last minute, I also decided to cover the glasses with the Shimmery Crystal Effects from the Holidays catalogue. The texture is interesting. It's not quite like the Crystal Effects we carried before, which was evening out nicely. This one is thicker and more lumpy when it is applied to the card (although now that the product has dried, it has evened out). There's also a bit of a yellow tint to it, but I also found it was not as obvious after the product had dried. I was very curious when I bought it about what kind of shimmery effect it would produce, since the picture from the catalogue does not show it very well. It's not the gloss itself that is shimmery but it contains micro glitter particles with green and orange light reflection on them. I've just started using it but my first impression of the product is that it is a little hard to get out of the tube (and it's probably going to be worse once it's half-empty, based on past experience with similar packaging) and I don't know what to think of the shimmery effect. Worse-case scenario, I'll end up using it as regular glue for delicate elements, as I know Crystal Effects has a really strong hold. I'm also happy with the nozzle as so far it hasn't clogged on me (a very frustrating recurring problem with past Crystal Effects bottles) but I'm just starting to use it, so we'll see how it holds up.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Levons nos verres (Sip Sip Hooray)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape, Mint Macaron, Grapefruit Grove,
Grapefruit Grove Foil Paper (SAB)
Ink: Gorgeous Grape, Mint Macaron, Grapefruit Grove, Basic Grey
Accessories: Detailed Peacock Dies, Sip & Celebrate Dies,
Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements, Faceted Dots, Shimmery Crystal Effects,
Gorgeous Grape 1/4" Mini Striped Ribbon, White Medium Envelopes
Inspiration: MFT Colour Challenge #131 + Little Red Wagon #528 (Any winter holiday)
I'm in need of more Stampin' Up! Christmas cards to send out so I looked through my current stamps and decided to make something with the Making Christmas Bright stamp set. The colorful combo from the MFT challenge seemed like a good match to make something festive and fun.
I used the Buffalo Check background stamp on Poppy Parade cardstock and ran the stamped cardstock through the Big Shot using the Subtle 3D embossing folder to add texture. It was a good step to add because the resulting plaid looks like fabric.
The various light bulbs from the stamp set were stamped in the challenge's colors and punched out with the matching punch. I also added the little tops in green cardstock.
I was looking through my current dies to find a border die I could use and I pulled out the Stitched Lace die, which I haven't used much yet since buying it. I used the border die to create a border the right size to my main panel and I layered the white die-cut lace underneath. For the sentiment, I die-cut the word Noël out of silver glimmer paper, using the Joyeux Noel dies.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Illuminez les Fêtes (Making Christmas Bright), Buffalo Check
Cardstock: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana
Ink: Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Stitched Lace Dies, Joyeux Noël Dies, Silver Glimmer Paper,
White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals,
Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder
Inspiration: Fab Friday #178 + MFT Sketch #467
I took advantage of the day of free shipping offered by Stampin' Up! to get a few last supplies from the Holidays catalogue as well as some new goodies from the upcoming minicatalogue and SAB promotion. I have had my eye on the two Holidays catalogue hostess sets, which were not available during preorder, so I was finally able to get my own sets. I'm still cranking out a few last-minute Christmas cards as I ran out of Stampin' Up! cards to send to my team. The first thing I grabbed from the order to stamp with was the Holiday Haul stamp set.
I thought the Fab Friday colour combo would pair great with it. It's funny, it reminds me of a colour combo I used quite a few times in demos back when Stampin' Up! had done one of its big colour overhaul. Back then, I was combining Bravo Burgundy, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke. Four retired colours and now I'm using four new shades, with a very similar result. There is something about this darker combination that has a classic retro vibe that I like.
As for the sketch, I used the MFT sketch with the four circles. I punched four 1-3/4" circles out of scrap paper and placed them with temporary adhesive on my cardstock to line them up properly, and then I punched them out. I ran the cardstock through the Big Shot using the Hammered Metal 3D embossing folder for texture. The card base was stamped with the stars from the Holidays Haul stamp set and I decided I also wanted texture on the Mossy Meadow cardstock showing through the punched windows, so I used the brand-new Stone 3D embossing folder. (Keep an eye out for this one during 2020 SAle-A-Bration. It's part of a Level 2 set with matching stamps.)
I then started stamping my images and I fussy cut the images out. I had initially placed the reindeer in the fourth window, but this one was looking a little empty, so I decided there was room for a sentiment in there as well. I went looking and realized the second hostess set from the Holidays catalogue was full of sentiments that could work. My initial thought was to stamp a short sentiment and cut it out in word blocks, but then I realized one of the sentiment would work very well in a circle. The first one I used was too big - I realized when I punched it out that it was only fitting in the same size circle punch and I tested it on the card and didn't like the look. I picked another sentiment that was slightly smaller and that looks way better. I sized down to the 1-1/2" Circle punch and now that we see the dark green around the sentiment, the design is more balanced. I didn't want to lose the cute reindeer, so I had him jump between the two panels.
To embellish slightly, I added a piece of Seaside Spray metallic ribbon (one of my favorites we've ever carried) and I added gold metallic pearls to the wheels. I wonder how much I'll use that stamp set. It was one of those sets that I loved on sight, but also had a feeling I would have trouble using. I was happy to find out the images are easy to handcut, which should help, but we'll see how many designs this inspires. This one is about to retire in a few weeks, so I think that will impact how much I use it. There are non-Christmas images in the set, though (pumpkins, hearts, balloon) so I might try to make a few generic cards with it before I move on to the Spring and SAB stuff.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Haul, Ce que j'aime à Noël
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White
Ink: Merry Merlot, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Metallic Pearls, Seaside Spray Metallic Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, 1-3/4" and 1-1/2" Circle Punches, Stone 3D Embossing Folder,
Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder
Inspiration: Just Us Girls #516 (Anything Goes) + sketch from S&CT Winter 2019 Magazine (page 30)
I was reading the latest S&CT magazine and a sketch caught me eye and immediately sparked inspiration. I pulled out the new Winter Wonderland papers from Doodlebug, which I hadn't had a chance to do anything with yet, and the little snowman from the sketch reminded me of the Snow Fun stamp set from Avery Elle. Ironically, while I have yet to ink the four other snowmen from the stamp set, they are smaller and the scale was wrong so I reverted to using the same snowman I had already used before. I was in the mood to try something different so I embossed my image in silver powder on watercolor paper and pulled out my Gansai Tambi watercolors. What the picture does not pick up is that I used the pearlescent watercolor to make my snowman's body glisten. I started with shading in blue and rosy cheeks, let this part dry while I was coloring his scarf and hat, and then I went back and added the pearlescent layer. I like how this little detail brings him to life.
I initially thought I would dig into my old Bigz dies for a large snowflake, but I remembered I had stylized snowflake dies from KaiserCraft that might work, which is what I ended up using, with Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper. I wanted to add a piece of die-cut rickrack between the two papers, but I couldn't find my rickrack die where it should usually be placed, so I moved on to another idea. I found some mini striped purple ribbon in my stash that was the perfect color and width, and I made my own little dainty bow using a few mini glue dots. I had the glitter sprinkles from this collection, so I added a few to the card.
For the sentiment, I die-cut a banner using the Simple Wavy Banners dies from Lawn Fawn and I curved a sentiment stamp from the same Avery Elle set to stamp in Blueberry Bushel ink on Soft Sky cardstock. I added a little bird from the same kit that was also embossed and watercolored.
The card base was made from a 12 x 12 pink cardstock I picked up at my local store (no name on it, so I'm not even sure what the brand and color is). It's a coincidence that it matches the Doodlebug line. Both were purchased at the same time, but I was looking to fill a hole I've noticed in my cardstock collection. I mostly use Stampin' Up! cardstock for the majority of my projects (current and retired) since I have all the inks and find you get a really nice quality and quantity for a reasonable price. That being said, I've noticed recently that every time I have to pair patterned papers with a bright, bubblegum pink, my cardstock collections falls a little short. If you have any suggestion to make (in 8-1/2" X 11"), please let me know. Looking at pictures online can be so deceiving.
This card will be going out to the staff of my local scrapbook store. The owner has been raving about the Winter Wonderland as being her favorite winter paper line ever (and I know she LOVES purple, which probably explains in part why she was so taken with this collection), so I hope she'll appreciate receiving a card made with it. I need to pop this in the mail tomorrow as I'm cutting it close. I've already mailed all of my other Christmas cards over a week ago, but I wanted to make a new one using this new line specifically.
Supplies
Stamps: Snow Fun (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!); Pink (unknown); Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Patterned Papers: Winter Wonderland (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark; Blueberry Bushel Classic Ink, Soft Sky, Highland Heather (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Snow Fun Dies (Avery Elle); Snow Crystals Dies (KaiserCraft);
Watercolors (Gansai Tambi); White Square Envelope (envelopes.com);
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Paper, Mini Stampin' DImensionals, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Gorgeous Grape Mini Stripe Ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Simple Wavy Banners Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Glitter Sprinkles Winter Assortment (Doodlebug Design); Circle Layering Dies (Tonic)
Inspiration: Festive Friday #49 (Flocking + Metallic Paper + Embossing Folder)
I filled an Advent calendar with craft supplies for my niece last year and she really loved it. She not so subtly told me this year she would love to have one again. It was already in the plans, so she's been opening her little doors diligently throughout December. When I placed my preorder, I picked the flower punch as a freebie, planning to gift it to her. She loves punches and I think she was hoping to have a flower one, so this was perfect.
I've recently received a point reward from Sephora that was packaged in a cool polka dot box, which I made sure to keep so that I could upcycle it. It was the right size for the punch, so I delicately opened the box and lined the clear window with an embossed piece of red foil paper to hide the content of the box. I also peeled back the point sticker from the window and was happy to find out it was coming off easily without leaving any glue residue behind. I placed the punch inside along with the black shredded paper I've recycled from the gift and I tied a piece of striped vanilla satin ribbon and a piece of red pompom trim around the box. To finish it off, I added a folded tag with the number 25 die-cut on it so this will be her gift for the 25th of December. (The Advent calendar was ending on the 24th.)
Supplies
Stamps: Accrochés avec soin (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Red Foil Paper, Black Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: various scraps
Accessories: Washi Tape (Michaels); Fold-Up Tags Die-namics (My Favorite Things);
Alphanumeric Script Dies (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Fallins Petals Embossing Folder,
Vanilla Striped Satin Ribbon, Real Red Pompom Trim (Stampin' Up!)
Inspiration: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #438
I need to crank out a few cards for my downline members before the end of the year, so I decided to make two of the same design, keeping things simple. I used the Greatest Part of Christmas hostess set I recently acquired and die-cut it with the Stitched Shapes dies. I used the beautiful Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper for the background and tied a piece of Garden Green double-stitched ribbon around. I was going through my dies trying to figure out what the rounded piece from the sketch could be on my card and when I spotted the Flourish dies, I decided the flourish would look nice. I also purchased the Toile Tidings glitter enamel dots on my latest order, so I added a few red ones to the flourish to mimick berries.
To decorate the interior of the card and the envelope, I fussy cut some images from the toile design and glued them in place. Those are simple, but I am happy with the elegant result achieved.
Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Garden Green
Designer Series PAper: Toile Tidings
Ink: Garden Green
Accessories: Flourish Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stitched Shapes Dies,
Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots, Very Vanilla Envelopes, Stitched Rectangles Dies
I was really excited to get my hands on the Special Delivery Kit as I had wanted a cute pick-up truck die for a while. I've already made a pumpkin-filled truck with the backside view dies, and I was inspired to make a Christmas version with the side-view truck dies. I also realized the Pines Branches from Crate Paper's Snowflake collection would make perfect Christmas trees for the back of the pick up. They're thin, but by wrapping them with twine, they look like trees when they're wrapped for delivery - which makes sense since they are onthe pick-up truck!
I used patterned papers that are provided in the kit, and woodgrain cardstock for the frame. I added sequins to the rims for dimension and shine and decided to put pearlescent vellum in the window. It looks awesome - it looks like frosted windows! (If you're ever lived in a cold climate, you know exactly what I mean. I remember at my old job, we had offices all across the globe and the Sweden office had windshield scrappers done with the company logo as corporate gifts, which we thought was a very clever thing to hand out to clients. Gotta live in a cold country for it to make sense, though.)
Back to crafting, I was inspired to use the gold-foil tags that were sitting on my desk to add my sentiment. I pulled out various options, stamped them on a Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet to test them out and "Salutations hivernales" had the best look and size of the bunch. I used the Mixed Media Powder in Lime to emboss my sentiment. I recently picked up both Scarlet and Lime as they were the two colours on sale, and it it perfect for Christmas projects. I've picked a few differents brands of embossing powder with chunks in them, but so far, the Mixed Media Powders jars have been my favorite as they are still fine enough to use on stamped images without distorting the result. I also like that the result is little speckles rather than a really mottled look. It really depends on what you want to add the powder to and what your own style is. Because I'm more cutesy than mixed media grunge, to me those powders are easier to incorporate in my regular projects.
The addition of the tassel was inspired by the fact that they were out on my desk (they're from the same kit of the gold-foil tags and since I'm down to a couple of pieces, I'm leaving them out on my desk in the hope to use them and not have to find a new spot to put them away). The tag was too bare, so I went hunting for little snowflakes to add in Soft Sky ink and since the die-set includes a snowflake and the pearlescent vellum was already out, I got inspired to add one to the tag. The die set also includes a mini-bow, which I die-cut out of red to see how it looked. I tried it on the tag and hated the result, so I moved it to the tassel instead. I also tied two gold jingle bells to the top of the tassel using gold cord. Finally, I used the vanilla sequins again to sprinkle a few here and there.
As a last-minute touch, I also decided the truck was missing a side mirror. The kit comes with a little sheet that shows you which piece you need for each truck set-up and the side view is not including mirrors, but I decided mine would. I did find it looked more to my liking that way.
The card was quite bulky so I decided to forego a regular A2 envelope and create an oversized one out of patterned paper. I pulled a sheet of patterned paper in matching colours out of a Christmas stack and used my beloved Envelope Punch Board to make the envelope. I used a tag from the same paper stack for s spot for the address.
Supplies
Stamps: Sous le gui, Serene Snowflakes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!); Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Woodgrain Cardstock in Neutrals (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned Papers: Vintage Truck - Sweater Weather (Queen & Co); Evergreen Cabin (Craft Smith)
Ink: VersaMark; Soft Sky Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Special Delivery Kit (Queen & Co);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Tassel, Tag, Jingle Bells, Gold Cord, Envelope Punch Board,
Linen Threads (Stampin' Up!); Lime Mixed Media Powder (Ranger);
Vanilla Cream Sequin Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards); Pine Branches (Crate Paper);
Dotted Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Chevron Stripes Die-namics (My Favorite Things)
Inspiration: ColourQ #299 + Just Us Girls #516
This was one of those cards where I didn't have a clear plan when I got started. Only thing I had was a starry background that was created with some new mediums I wanted to play with.
I was very happy when Deco Foil came out with its Transfer Gel Duo, which allow you to foil without a heat machine. I was curious and I grabbed a jar at my local store to test it out. I made a couple of backgrounds at once, this one using the Hocus Pocus stencil from TIm Holtz. I used another new item I was curious to test: black watercolor paper! I remember wondering earlier this year when I was working with Nuvo's shimmer powders if black watercolor existed and how the powders would look on it. Then, not long afterwards, my local store owner mentioned in one of her weekly videos that she had black watercolor come in. She was already sold out when I asked for a pack to be put aside, but she called this week to confirm she had received some more. I will say the first try with the shimmer powders was not conclusive. You get the shimmer but not the colour, which was a little disappointing. Because the colour was not popping, I decided to add the stenciling on top with the foiled stars.
Here is another thing I noticed and want to share. I invested in Pixie spray to use my stencils, which I love, but it does not adhere well to watercolor paper (gave me that problem on white watercolor paper before and on the black one again today). Because of that, some of the gel seeped underneath the stencil and I would say about half of the stars are not really crisp. The background was still usable, but I will keep this in mind in the future when pairing stencils and watercolor paper. The foil I used on the stars is Amber Watercolor. It has a nice ombre look that goes from soft gold to dark copper, which gave the starry background great dimension.
Once I was done with the background, I went hunting for images that would look cool pair with it. Nothing was really jumping out at me until I spotted the Fortune Teller Tabby set and thought that could look cool. I picked an unusual colour combo from an old ColourQ challenge and pulled out the Take the Stage Die-namics to create curtains around the tabby. Lawn Fawn does have curtains on the Theater Shadow Box Add-On set, but they're significantly smaller. Initially, I thought I wanted to use the Reveal Wheel to have various sentiments appear in the crystal ball, but I couldn't get the table placed where I wanted it using the dies as is and I didn't want to fiddle, so I switched to another idea instead. Because new year is coming up, I decided to switch the original sentiment from "I predict your day will be..." to "I predict your year will be..." Thanks to my sentiment spreadsheet, I was able to quickly filter the options to find a Lawn Fawn set where the word "year" would be included in a sentiment. I pulled out two options, but the Yeti or Not stamp set had the best size and font of the two options, so I performed stamp surgery and cut my clear stamps apart so that I could insert the new word in the existing sentiment. I was hesitant the first time I ever did that, but I've quickly discovered it is totally worth it.
For the floor, I decided to have her be in a fog cloud, so I used the Puffy Cloud Borders die and I added fine glitter around the edge. There was empty room above the cat's head and I decided it might look nice to fill in the space with the year. I wanted to do a banner and remembered there is a small one in the Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up, but the numbers I wanted to use would have been too big for the little banners, so I ended up using the string on its own and gluing the numbers directly on it. I like how that detail turned out. I then added a few copper stars from Stampin' Up! to fill where the stencil didn't have any, and I decorated my matching envelope.
Supplies
Stamps: Fortune Teller Tabby, Yeti or Not (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Summer Starfruit, Rich Razzleberry, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Whisper White,
Grapefruit Grove Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!); Black Watercolor Paper (Stonehenge)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!);
VersaMark
Dies: Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up, Fortune Teller Tabby, Puffy Cloud Borders (Lawn Fawn);
Take the Stage Die-namics (My Favorite Things); Mini Caps Alpha and Numbers (Taylored Expressions)
Accessories: Amber Watercolor Foil (Deco Foil); Hocus Pocus Stencil (Tim Holtz);
Antique Shades Iridescent Shimmering Watercolour Paints (Cosmic Shimmer);
A2 Anthracite Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Gold Uni Pen (Posca); Markers (Copic);
Star Designer Elements, Calypso Coral Stampin' Emboss Powder, Sponge Dauber,
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Shimmer Powders (Nuvo)
Inspiration: ColourQ #299 + Just Us Girls #516
This was one of those cards where I didn't have a clear plan when I got started. All I had was a background created during a testing new mediums session.
I was very happy when Deco Foil came out with its Transfer Gel Duo, which allow you to foil without a heat machine. I was curious and I grabbed a jar at my local store to test it out. I made a couple of backgrounds at once, this one using the Hocus Pocus stencil from TIm Holtz. I used another new item I was curious to test: black watercolor paper! I remember wondering earlier this year when I was working with Nuvo's shimmer powders if black watercolor existed and how the powders would look on it. Then, not long afterwards, my local store owner mentioned in one of her weekly videos that she had black watercolor come in. She was already sold out when I asked for a pack to be put aside, but she called this week to confirm she had received some more. I will say the first try with the shimmer powders was not conclusive. You get the shimmer but not the colour, which was a little disappointing. Because the colour was not popping, I decided to add the stenciling on top with the foiled stars.
Here is another thing I noticed and want to share. I invested in Pixie spray to use my stencils, which I love, but it does not adhere well to watercolor paper (gave me that problem on white watercolor paper before and on the black one again today). Because of that, some of the gel seeped underneath the stencil and I would say about half of the stars are not really crisp. The background was still usable, but I will keep this in mind in the future when pairing stencils and watercolor paper. The foil I used on the stars is Amber Watercolor. It has a nice ombre look that goes from soft gold to dark copper, which gave the starry background great dimension.
Once I was done with the background, I went hunting for images that would look cool pair with it. Nothing was really jumping out at me until I spotted the Fortune Teller Tabby set and thought that could look cool. I picked an unusual colour combo from an old ColourQ challenge and pulled out the Take the Stage Die-namics to create curtains around the tabby. Lawn Fawn does have curtains on the Theater Shadow Box Add-On set, but they're significantly smaller. Initially, I thought I wanted to use the Reveal Wheel to have various sentiments appear in the crystal ball, but I couldn't get the table placed where I wanted it using the dies as is and I didn't want to fiddle, so I switched to another idea instead. Because new year is coming up, I decided to switch the original sentiment from "I predict your day will be..." to "I predict your year will be..." Thanks to my sentiment spreadsheet, I was able to quickly filter the options to find a Lawn Fawn set where the word "year" would be included in a sentiment. I pulled out two options, but the Yeti or Not stamp set had the best size and font of the two options, so I performed stamp surgery and cut my clear stamps apart so that I could insert the new word in the existing sentiment. I was hesitant the first time I ever did that, but I've quickly discovered it is totally worth it.
For the floor, I decided to have her be in a fog cloud, so I used the Puffy Cloud Borders die and I added fine glitter around the edge. There was empty room above the cat's head and I decided it might look nice to fill in the space with the year. I wanted to do a banner and remembered there is a small one in the Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up, but the numbers I wanted to use would have been too big for the little banners, so I ended up using the string on its own and gluing the numbers directly on it. I like how that detail turned out. I then added a few copper stars from Stampin' Up! to fill where the stencil didn't have any, and I decorated my matching envelope.
Tip: I wanted to add Crystal Effects on the crystal ball, but I have noticed in the past that it sometimes change the colour of the dye ink underneath, especially for inks with red or pink undertones. So I decided to test out what would happen if I applied a thin layer of microglaze over my crystal ball before adding the Crystal Effects. I'm happy to report that it works very well! Only thing is that I had applied Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer on around the edges and the microglaze totally dulled the sparkle. That was not a problem since I have the Shimmering Crystal Effects from Stampin' Up! and I got the shimmer back when I applied it.
Supplies
Stamps: Fortune Teller Tabby, Yeti or Not (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Summer Starfruit, Rich Razzleberry, Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral, Whisper White,
Grapefruit Grove Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!); Black Watercolor Paper (Stonehenge)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!);
VersaMark
Dies: Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up, Fortune Teller Tabby, Puffy Cloud Borders (Lawn Fawn);
Take the Stage Die-namics (My Favorite Things); Mini Caps Alpha and Numbers (Taylored Expressions)
Accessories: Amber Watercolor Foil (Deco Foil); Hocus Pocus Stencil (Tim Holtz);
Antique Shades Iridescent Shimmering Watercolour Paints (Cosmic Shimmer);
A2 Anthracite Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Gold Uni Pen (Posca); Markers (Copic);
Star Designer Elements, Calypso Coral Stampin' Emboss Powder, Sponge Dauber,
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush, Shimmer Powders (Nuvo)