Encre, papier, ciseaux

Comfort and Joy - Poinsettia

Inspiration: October 2021 Card Maps Sketch

I'm on the fence about this one. I followed the holly sketch from October 2021 and decided to use my Layered Poinsettia dies from Spellbinders. I've purchased two sets of poinsettias dies - one from Spellbinders and one from Stampin' Up! and so far, I've been very underwhelmed with the results I've achieved with both. I think I might have to explore YouTube videos to see if I can find tips on how to get better results as poinsettias are classic and I would love to be more happy with the flowers I create for my Holidays cards.

Instead of one rectangle, I actually used two, placed at an angle. I just made that change so that I could use the scraps I had on my desk as much as possible. I've made a good dent in my Comfort and Joy collection with all the cards I've put together this week, but I still have enough paper to make more projects with it.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Tourbillon de flocons (Beautiful Blizzard - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pistachio Pudding, Silver Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Comfort and Joy (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Antique Linen Distress (Ranger)
Dies: Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn);
Layered Poinsettia (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Beaded Pearls, Peaceful Poppies Sequins, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Clear Faceted Gems, Scripty 3D Embossing Folder.
Riding Hood Red Folded Ribbon, Always Artichoke Cotton Twine (Stampin' Up!);
White Gold Metallic Thread (DMC); Blending Tool (Ranger)

 

Comfort and Joy - Miss Anya

Inspiration: October 2021 Card Maps Sketch

I kept working with the Comfort and Joy collection and the October Card Maps sketches. The sketch I was using had a Santa on it, but I spotted my Miss Anya All Year set and since I hadn't used the winter girl, I decided it would fit well to stand in place of Santa. I colored her in shades to match my papers and fussy cut the image out.

Included with the patterned paper was a small sheet of stickers, and I realized the "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas block would be a good size on my card. If you look closely, the edge of her hair even follows the shape of the sentiment nicely! I hesitated every so slightly because I've been making quite a few English Christmas cards these past few months and I'm going to end up not having enough French cards on hand when the Holidays roll around. That being said, this was working out so beautifully here that I couldn't resist going with the more pleasing design option rather than the practical choice.

To keep the sentiment legible, I placed the block on top and the circle behind (although it is shown the opposite way on the sketch). I used the snowflake pattern for the top portion and the mitten pattern for the bottom section. I looked at my ribbon spools to find something to tie around the papers as my horizontal strip and I settled on black lace. I've seen a lot of black on Christmas projects this year, so even though this collection is from five years ago, it's still very much on trend.

I started going through my embellishments and put a few possible options aside, but when I found the Winter Wonderland and Frosted Finishes embellishments, I loved the look so I went with one of each, sprinkled around the card.

I repeated the cross stitched circle on the Metallic Anthracite envelope and used the mitten sticker as well.

This is one of those cards where I have been able to include a little bit of everything that I like: stamping, die-cutting, coloring, ribbon, patterned paper, stickers... Love the result. 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Miss Anya All Year (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Evening Evergreen, Pistachio Pudding (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Stickers: Comfort and Joy (My Mind's Eye)
Dies: Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables, Cross Stitched Circle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Markers (Copic); A2 Metallic Anthracite Envelope (Envelopes.com);
Frosted Finishes and Winter Wonderland Embellishments, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Black ½" Trim Lace (Stampin' Up!)

 

Comfort and Joy - Deer

Inspiration: October 2021 Card Map Sketch

I have those beautiful Comfort and Joy papers and matching ephemera pieces from My Mind's Eye that date back to 2016, that I wanted to use. I went back to my Card Map sketches and ended up with this card. One of the patterned paper has seasonal wreaths on it, so I punched one out and layered a piece die-cut with the Encircled With Beauty die set (in black cardstock). I wanted a rick rack square, so I used my Zig Zag Rectangle Stackables dies from Lawn Fawn and shortened the piece of a square by running it through the die-cutting machine a second time. I layered the wood deer die-cut on the circle with dimensional adhesive and tied Evening Evergreen ribbon at the bottom. The ephemera pack included little banners, which was perfect, so I layered two, and the top one felt empty, so I fished a heart sticker from the Winter Farmhouse mini sticker tablet. I layered the patterned paper on Pear Pizzazz cardstock and added it to the Evening Evergreen card base.

I embellished my envelope and the inside of the card and was about to call the card done when I realized I found it a little boring. I decided I might need to embellish further, so I tied two jingle bells to the ribbon bow using Cherry Cobbler twine. I have some old brads sitting on my desk because I'm trying to get them used, so I cut the prongs off a darker square metal brad and added it at an angle on the other side of the ribbon. I dug through my Stampin' Up! embellishments and decided to add a Candy Dot to the heart sticker. I also found the Expressions in Ink ephemera pack and decided to add gold foliage behind the deer for a bit of layering. The card now feels more complete to me.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black, Evening Evergreen (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Ephemera Pack: Comfort and Joy (My Mind's Eye)
Dies: Zig Zag Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn); Encircled with Beauty (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Evening Evergreen Chevron Weave Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Cotton Twine,
Mini Jingle Bells, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, 2" Circle Punch, Expressions in Ink
Ephemera Pack, Rich Regals Candy Dots, Very Vanilla Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!);
Square Metal Brads (Making Memories)

 

Comfort and Joy - Wreath

Inspiration: October 2021 Card Maps Sketch

The next sketch that caught my eye was the one with the leaf wreath. I wasn't initially sure what I would make with this one, but then I thought it looked like the Magic Iris Snowflake Add-On die, so I pulled it out with white glitter paper and it became the starting point of the card. I absolutely love the wooden patterned paper with white snowflakes on it, so I used it as the card background. I reused a leftover piece of mitten patterned paper from the previous card and glued that on as the rectangle piece. I looked through my dies and selected the Deco Labels dies for the label piece. I actually used the die on three different patterns before I found something I was happy with when layered. I did add black doodling around the border to try and make it stand out even more.

For the sentiment piece, I happened to have a long tag on the sticker sheet, so I stamped the "Happy Holidays" sentiment from the Beautiful Blizzard set (retired) in black ink, and I added three gems from the Genial Gems pack. Isn't the green a perfect match?

At this point, I realized that while the card looked nice, the center of the snowflake circle was way too open and that the card looked too empty. The sticker sheet included a wreath, which I had pulled off, tried over the snowflake circle, decided I didn't like and put back on the sticker sheet. But I decided to revisit the idea again - this time, I popped the wreath on dimensional adhesive and I decided I would try adding a dimensional bow. I created red buffalo plaid bows in two sizes, using the Put a Bow on It dies from Lawn Fawn. I liked the middle size better, so I went with that, and once the bow was added to the wreath, I decided I liked the layering, so I kept the sticker in the end.

I repeated the Deco Labels on the envelope and used the tree sticker. I used my leftover small bow on the tree sack. This is a gamble, as a 3D embellishment on an envelope might get ripped up in transport, but I could slip the envelope in a clear envelope (as long as you add the postage stamp on the clear envelope so it can be stamped, that works) if I really want to play it safe. I did use liquid glue to make sure the bow would be really secure.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Tourbillon de flocons (Beautiful Blizzard - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Evening Evergreen, Pistachio Pudding (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Stickers: Comfort and Joy (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Dies: Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables, Magic Iris Snowflake Add-On,
Put a Bow on It (Lawn Fawn); Deco Labels (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Genial Gems, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Metallic Anthracite Envelope (Envelopes.com); White Glitter Paper (Et Cetera)

 

Spooky Hat Tag

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Anything Goes) 

You wouldn't know based on the size of the finished tag, but there are many hours that went into creating it. I was fiddling around in my craft room, trying to find a thread leading to inspiration. I had Tim Holtz's Crossbones stencil out on my desk and decided to ink a tag and layer the stencil to see how it would look. I grabbed a scrap of Crumb Cake cardstock on my desk and started inking with a blender tool... and I went down the rabbit hole. I inked and layered and spritzed and dried and painted and splatted and stamped and glittered until I ended up with this lovely tag.

A few details:

• The image was watercolored with Distress Oxide inks. I love the creamy look of it watercolored on kraft cardstock. It comes from a Recollections set called Haunted Scribble (purchased last year). 
• I used Heat & Stick powder to cover the bats with Tim Holtz's nightfall Distress glitter. I find I don't get as even of a coverage with this product as I wish I did. The jar I own has been in my drawers for over a decade, so I'm tempted to buy a new jar from either Stampin' Up! or Ranger to see if it makes a difference (but it might not, so I'm afraid of buying in double for nothing.)
• I dyed seam binding using Distress Oxide sprays. I didn't have white or vanilla seam binding, so I started with Daffodil Delight binding and made it darker using a mix of Vintage Photo and Spiced Marmalade.
• The spiderweb image was embossed in Rose Gold embossing powder. 
• I added gold splatter using Gansai Tambi watercolors and overstamped the word Spooky in Antique Gold ink from Altenew.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Weathered, Wicked Cool, From the Crypt (Stampin' Up!);
Halloween Scribble (Recollections)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Grapefruit Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Craft Basic Black (Stampin' Up!);
Walnut Stain, Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade, Shaded Lilac,
Brushed Corduroy, Fossilized Amber, Black Soot Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aqua Painter Brush,
Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Heat & Stick, Star Punches (Stampin' Up!);
Crossbones Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous);
Stencil Brushes, Antique Bronze Distress Crayon, Blender Tools (Ranger);
Rose Gold Embossing Powder (Simon Says Stamp); Gansai Tambi Starry Watercolors (Kuretake)

 

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

In a galaxy far, far away, a little girl was about to celebrate her ninth birthday...

...and she picked Star Wars as her birthday party theme. And her auntie, which is only vaguely familiar with the Star Wars universe (as she tried to get into the movies and just couldn't muster any interest for it) really struggled to get into the theme. I've been warned months ago this is the theme she was going for and there has been a lot of Googling on my part to try and find inspiration for a costume as well as for the packaging of her gift. The character that appeals to me the most is Grogu, because he is really adorable. I remembered having seen cutesy interpretation of him on Disney merchandise, so I went searching for those type of images and I found an adorable mini backpack with a simplified version of Grogu that I thought I could do in paper piecing. I will say, paper piecing is not something I have done a lot of in my crafting career, as it has never been my thing, but in the spirit of trying to make my niece happy, I decided to give it a go tonight.

I am really pleased with what I managed to achieve, both because I stepped way out of my comfort zone to get this gift bag achieved, but also because I managed to use some retired cardstock that has been sitting in my stash for a long time. That Green Galore cardstock (which has been retired by Stampin' Up! a good 15 years ago) is so obnoxiously bright, it is really hard to work into designs, but it really is the perfect shade for The Child. The orange is Dusty Durango, the pink is Powder Pink and the brown is Cinnamon Cider (not retired, but not my favorite and I have a feeling I'll be stuck with leftovers when it retires). 

I've invested in a lot of stitched dies in recent years, but I was thankful I had some regular dies to do my basic shapes. I went back to my old Nestabilities ovals. I used a wide one for the face and narrow ones for the ears, cutting the top off straight. (I layered my two ovals and cut them at the same time to make sure they'd be symetrical). I used the smaller oval die to the pink part of the ears and penciled a line that looked like the image I was working from. Again, I cut both shapes at the same time. The brown clothes are also just an oval. and I found some mini tag punches from an old Stampin' Up! punch pack. I used one shape for the sleeves and I cut the other tag shape in half to make the hands. I used layering circle dies from Tonic to make the carriage, and I used a grey marker to add the detailing, basing my doodling on the image. I used a green marker to add the facial expression, and I punched two circles out of black cardstock for the eyes, adding highlights with a white gel pen. All of my pieces were inked in matching ink before I assembled my image.

I knew I wanted gold stars on black cardstock for the background. I always try to recycle gift bags instead of buying new ones when I can. This is especially easy with a lot of shops switching to paper bags when plastic bags were retired. I used a Christmas bag here that was the right size and had black with stars on the sides, so I knew that would work out with what I was planning to put on the front and the back. I found a larger stencil from Stampin' Up! from a few years ago and I paired it with Gold Glitz glitter gel from Gina K Designs. I made sure to do the stars on two pieces of black cardstock, and I set aside to dry.

While going through my stencils, I had also spotted the Radiating Rays stencil from MFT. I thought it would look cool used behind Grogu, so I added Soft Suede ink to a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock with my blender brush, matted in Dusty Durango and I added my Grogu to the center using foam adhesive. Once the gold glitter gel was dry, I glued the panels to both sides of my gift bag and punched holes in the cardstock with a Crop-a-Dile. I pulled out Going Grey chevron ribbon and used it to make new handles (the one from the former bag having silver in them, which was not working with the gold stars).

Initially, I called this done, but later that same evening, I started wondering if I would be able to write my niece's name at an angle to mimick the sliding text at the beginning of the Star Wars movies. I was curious, so I started fiddling around in Word and then I thought, surely, someone's done it before me and shared the how-to online. It didn't take long before I found someone sharing how to do it in PowerPoint, but the same options exist in Word, so I went back to testing it out. It was working, but with only her first name, the angle was barely showing, so I started typing "In a galaxy far, far away, a little girl was celebrating her ninth birthday..." and the slanting became way more apparent. I played with the placement of the words until I got the result I was hoping for. I put the text in yellow and added a black fill and then I sent to print. I cut the cardstock at an angle and added the cardstock to the backside of the bag. I'm pretty pleased with that added detail. I think this will please my niece. As a final touch, I went looking for tissue paper and I found a piece of white tissue paper I had spritzed with Distress Oxide spray last year in something like Marmalade, I believe. I liked how it looked in the bag, so I went with that. Tissue paper is another thing that I try to upcycle rather than buy. So many stores use it when they ship items, this gives me a nice variety to choose from when I do my own packaging.

So I'm both happy with what I was able to come up with and to be leaving the galaxy behind and back to more cutesy stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Cinnamon Cider, Powder Pink, Green Galore, Dusty Durango,
Grey Granite (Stampin' Up!)
Stencils: Radiating Rays (My Favorite Things); Hearts & Stars (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Green Galore, Powder Pink, Smoky Slate, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede, Cinnamon Cider (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Large and Narrow Ovals (Nestabilities from Spellbinders); Layering Circles (Tonic)
Accessories: Gold Glitz Glitter Gel (Gina K. Designs); White Gell Pen (Gelly Roll);
Blender Brushes (Taylored Expressions); Mini Tag Punches, Circle Punch,
Stampin' Write Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

Elfs on a Shelf

Inspiration: Global Design Project #314

My local scrapbook store owner added new items to her clearance section. I saw the Elfs and Their Shelf dies and remembered I have purchased this stamp set years ago. I checked out my stash and realized I did not have the dies, so I snagged them at the store for a very reasonable price. This set therefore became the starting point of this card. The Global Design Project sketch was working well with its horizontal line that I could transform into my shelf. I had found the Christmas Town papers from Doodlebug and was liking the colorful Christmas hues to pair with my elfs, so I based my coloring on the paper collection.

I had no clue what I was planning to make exactly, so I stamped all of the set images, colored and die cut them. Then I started playing with the images on the card and decided to do the elf pair on the shelf, the gifts at the bottom and the stocking hung on the corner of the paper square. The top of the card was really bare, so I added my die-cut Merry Christmas sentiment there. I used some red chunky glitter paper (a happy clearance find from Michaels two years ago) for the first word and Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper for the second word. 

After making a matching envelope out of patterned paper and decorating the inside of the card with a leftover stamped image, I was left with the image of the little girl holding the sign and thought she would make a fabulous tag, as it leaves space to write the recipient's name. I used leftover pieces of the same papers from my desk to make a cute tag, threaded with red twine.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Elfs and Their Shelf (Neat & Tangled)
Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!);
Chunk Glitter Paper (Recollections)
Patterned Papers: Christmas Town, Milk & Cookies Petite Print (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Dies: Small Dotted Circles, Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables, 
Cross Stitched Circle Stackables (Lawn Fawn); Elfs and Their Shelf (Neat & Tangled);
Sentiment Labels (Simon Says Stamp); Joyeux Noël (Les ateliers de Karine)
Accessories: Markers (Copic); Envelope Punch Board, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

Monogrammed Mini Curvy Boxes

Inspiration: TGIF challenge #338

Earlier, when I was going through my dies to finish up a project, I spotted the Mini Curvy Keepsakes Box dies and thought this box would be great for the Halloween treat packages I'm working on. I went back to the Boo Crew papers. I used the same patterned paper but used a different side on both.

Of all the packaging dies I own, this one is arguably the simplest to use: you die-cut the whole box in one pass and not a drop of glue is required to put together. I just use my bone folder to round the paper up and then you slide the left and right side over the handle and you're done. I used the oval and star tags from the same die set and to monogram the boxes, I used the Alphanumeric Cutout Lower Alphabet from Tim Holtz with black foil sheets. I tied ribbon on the boxes and added a spider on the side of the plaid box and a little ghost on the side of the black box.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Whisper White, Black Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Boo Crew (Simple Stories)
Dies: Mini Curvy Keepsakes Box Dies (Stampin' Up!); Ghouls and Tree (Simon Says Stamp); 
Spider Web, Alphanumeric Cutout Lower (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: 1-1/2" Metallic Mesh Ribbon, Black 3/8" Glittered Organdy Ribbon,
Gold Cord, Eyelets (Stampin' Up!)

 

Tree and Ornements

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #664

I was very intrigued by the Pixel Christmas stamp from Impression Obsession. I love the image itself, but I'm very curious to play with different techniques and see how it comes out best. I tried googling pictures of samples made with it before purchasing the stamp, but could not find much online, so I guess it'll be up to me to experiment.

Here, I stamped the image in Early Espresso ink on Crumb Cake cardstock. I dusted off my old Stampin' Pastels and using a dauber, I added colour to the elements of the image. I also inked the edges of the cardstock with Early Espresso ink.

I overstamped a greeting and the little stars from the Christmastime 3 stamp set from Tim Holtz, and embossed the images in Aqua Tinsel embossing powder from Ranger. I created a mat for my main image using the Deckle Trimmer to keep with the vintage look. I inked a Coastal Cabana card base and added my image to it.

I was trying to think of think of embellishments to add to the card and remembered the shapes I had made with my mould. It included an ornament and the sizing was working well, so I colored it with my waxes and glued it to the top of the Christmas tree. I also found the Tiny Bells from Tim Holtz - I tied a metallic thread bow on top of a bell and a jingle bell and added those to the tree as well to add a bit of dimension and interest.

I stamped the image tone on tone on a seafoam envelope to match the card.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Pixel Christmas (Impression Obsession); Christmastime 3 (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Coastal Cabana (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Early Espresso, Coastal Cabana, VersaMark (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Aqua Tinsel Embossing Powder (Ranger); Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic);
Tiny Bells (Tim Holtz for idea-ology); A2 Seafoam Envelope (Envelopes.com);
Blender Brushes (i-crafter); Metallic Thread (Altenew); Christmas Sparkle Mould (Prima Marketing);
Sage Leaves, White Gold and Graphite Waxes (Finnabair)

 

Birthday Wishes

Inspiration: Tuesday Morning Sketch #627

I found the It's Your Birthday stamp set from The Greetings Farm in the clearance section for $0.99 so it was hard to pass up at that price. I decided to pair it with the Happy cake Day! paper pad from Pebbles. I embossed one of the fun scripty sentiments in gold on polka dot paper and die-cut it out with the Stitched Shapes dies from Stampin' Up! I matted with a circle die and a scalloped circle die (both from Spellbinders). 

I created two panels out of patterned paper and matted those with Pool Party and Watermelon Wonder cardstock. I added a bow of Call Me Clover ribbon topped with two buttons and golden yellow baker's twine. I stamped and colored two images from the stamp set, fussy cut them out and added one image next to the sentiment block and the gift image over the ribbon at the bottom. I added gems, a mini pompom and a clay heart to the card to finish it up.

I stamped the gift image repeatedly on the envelope in matching colour ink and glued patterned paper to the flap.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: It's Your Birthday (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Watermelon Wonder, Call Me Clover, Pool Party, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!
Patterned Papers: Happy Cake Day! (Pebbles)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Blushing Bride, Pool Party, 
Watermelon Wonder, Call Me Clover, Blueberry Bushel, Crushed Curry (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Circle and Scalloped Circles Nestabilities Dies (Spellbinders); Markers (Copic);
Blue Lagoon Gems (Pretty Pink Posh); Chunky Rainbow Sparkle Jewels (Little Things from Lucy's Cards);
Sweet & Tart Heart Sprinkles (Trinity Stamps); Buttons (Foof-a-La);
Golden Yellow Baker's Twine (May Arts); Black & White Mini Pompoms (Queen & Co)

Boo Library Pocket

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday

This one will definitely be for my younger niece, as her favorite activity is going to the local library. She's been in love with books since she was a toddler and the love is still going strong. I used the Library Card stamp and die set, along with the Boo Crew collection from Simple Stories. I used the Alphabet roller stamp Stampin' Up! used to carry to add her name to the library card. Both embellishments come from the Decorative Brads pack. I added a piece of Tangelo Twist ribbon and black mini-sequin trim on the edge of the pocket. Super simple, but very adorable.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps and Dies: Library Card (Hero Arts); Alphabet Roller Stamp (Stampin' Up!)
Inks: Basic Grey, Marigold Morning, Pumpkin Pie (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Decorative Brads: Boo Crew (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Black Mini Sequin Trim, Tangelo Twist Ribbon, Brights Candy Dots,
Ices Rhinestone Embellishments, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

Magic Kingdom

Inspiration: Page from Traci on Doodlebug Design blog

Just like many others, I'm sure, I got really excited when I found out Doodlebug Design was coming out with a Disney-inspired line. I was even more excited that it came out while I was working on my last DIsney trip album. Of course, this line has been designed with all of the cuteness and charm Doodlebug is known for. I have been sitting on this collection for a few weeks now, but when I spotted the amazing page from Traci on the Doodlebug blog, I marked it as I knew it would be an easy layout to reproduce. I especially liked the idea of including tag-shaped pictures. Most companies like Doodlebug, Simple Stories, Carta Bella and Echo Park all include a full page of cut-apart tags in their collections nowadays, so this layout could be reproduced in various colour schemes and themes.

I'm really not going to take credit for this one as I made a pretty close copy of the original, but I did let my creativity roam free towards the end when it came time to embellish. For the title, I used two Thickers set that have been in my stash for a long time: Emma (red) and Lindsay (black). The red polka dot alphabet with the fun font screams Minnie to me. I like using Thickers when there's not too many letter repeats in a title, as repeats tend to decimate a sticker set prematurely and in those instances, I turn to dies instead.

This will be the front page of our day at Magic Kingdom and I thought the castle Doodle-pop would be in its right spot on this page. I found when I layered the sticker over the cut-apart tag that the two castle images were not lining up (not the same scale). I didn't like the towers and flags showing underneath, so I strategically used the firework stickers from the Doodle-pop pack to hide them. The third firework sticker came from the Mini Icons sticker pack.

To fill the top right corner, I added Balloon Bouquet Shape Sprinkles. I did one at the end of the twine, but it looked funny on its own so I went back and added two more balloons. In the center, I used two washi tape postage stamps. I LOVE when Doodlebug does washi stamps. I had the traveling themed roll and was using them everywhere so I was excited to see this new roll. You get a ton, too, so it's a good deal. I did a little punched hidden Mickey as well.

Another fun element is the two Mickey eyelets I added to some of the tags. Those eyelets were actually purchased in Disney World in 2005 when my sister and I had done our road trip there together. Back then, Disney was carrying a few scrapbooking items. I was on a pretty strict budget at the time, but I had just discovered scrapbooking a couple of years prior and knew I would be making an album about our trip, so the Mickey-shaped eyelets was the element I picked to bring back. I have a few leftovers so I'll work them into my new album.

The picture I included is the first picture we took at Magic Kingdom that morning. We had a reservation at Be Our Guest and had to wait outside until it was time to go in. My niece found this rock that was just the right size for her to sit on and for some reason, she was really proud of that seat and she actually asked me to take a picture. That was an easy enough way to make her happy, so I obliged.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); White (American Crafts)
Patterned Papers, Mini Icon Stickers, Cardstock Stickers: Fun at the Park (Doodlebug Design)
Accessories: Festive Assortment Mini Jewels, Adventure Awaits Doodle-Pops Cardstock Sticker,
Balloon Bouquet, I Love That Place and Travel Time Shape Sprinkles, Fun at the Park Washi Tape,
 Ladybug Baker's Twine (Doodlebug Design); Mickey Eyelets (Disney);
Emma and Lindsay Thickers (American Crafts); Nested Tags Dies (Scrapbook.com);
Diamond Art Pebbles (Finnabair); Halloween's Night Baker's Twine, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals,
Mini Oval Punch (Stampin' Up!); Disney Mickey Icons Punch (EK Success)

 

Asking for Directions

Inspiration: Just Us Girls #605 + MFT Color Challenge #174

I babysat for my younger niece this weekend and I figured I'd stamp an image that I could color while she was working on her own drawing so we could craft together. I had the Oddball Amelia stamp out on my desk, so this is what I worked on. The image was colored with Prismacolor pencils. I hadn't really planned how I would be using this image, so I basically just picked colours based on my own whimsy at the time, but when I sat down to include the image on a card later, I realized that I had picked basically the same colours as the MFT color challenge. 

I die-cut my image with a stitched oval, inked the edges with Tea Dye ink from Stampin' Up! (long retired) and then I went looking through my patterned papers for something for the background. I found this awesome rustic wood paper from Les ateliers de Karine I had picked a couple of sheets up of and I used a stitched rectangle die to make it my background. The image was already filling a big chunk of the card, so I based my design on the Freshly Made sketch, as I liked simply adding the diagonal stripes to the corner to get my dash of colour in.

I picked up leftover strips of Calypso Coral, Mossy Meadow and Soft Sky. The last strip was already dry embossed, so I picked two other folders for the other colours and embossed them as well. I had this gold foil strip that I had previously embossed with the Star Trim and it worked so well, I really wanted to include it. I didn't want to skip the other colours, so I ended up going for four stripes (even though uneven numbers are usually better design-wise). 

For the sentiment, I found a strip in my Snarky Small Talk sticker book from Tim Holtz that says "When I ask for directions, please do not use words like 'East'." It was perfect with the girl holding a map image and it added the black colour from the combo as well (and it's funny). 

For the envelope, I repeated the stripes in colorful washi tape and stamped the image in Tea Dye ink, then inked the edges of the Very Vanilla envelope.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Oddball Amelia (Stamping Bella)
Cardstock: Mossy Meadow, Soft Sky, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla, Gold Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Bois rustique (Les ateliers de Karine)
Ink: Tea Dye (Stampin' Up!); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Stitched Oval Stackables Dies, Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Square Lattice and Alphabet Press Embossing Folders, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!); Pencils (Prismacolor); Glossy Accents (Ranger);
Small Talk Snarky (Tim Holtz for idea-ology); Star Trim Impresslits (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)

 

Make It Merry: Card #3

Inspiration: October 2021 Card Maps Sketch

This card is pretty simple, but I love the resulting look. I paired the poinsettia chipboard piece with a few stamped elements from the Merriest Moments stamp set. I also pulled out the retired pearl clusters for the center of the poinsettia. The sentiment was embossed in black powder on the green ledger patterned paper and die-cut with a stitched circle. The sketch didn't have a vertical line, but I decided to add a piece of silver satin ribbon to fill in the space a little bit more. I added two decorative brads from the collection on each end.

I wasn't sure the size of card I would need to keep the proportions from the sketch, so I started with the poinsettia and build out. The finished card measures 4½" x 7". I made a matching envelope using patterned paper. 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux moments (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Decorative Brads: Make It Merry (Simple Stories)
Ink: Old Olive, Poppy Parade (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Stitched So Sweetly, Merriest Frames (Stampin' Up!);
Circle Double Stitched (Art Impressions)
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pearl Clusters,
Silver Satin Ribbon, Black Stampin' Emboss Powder (Stampin' Up!)

 

Make It Merry: Card #2

Inspiration: Card Maps October 2021

I think this second card showcases the charm of the Make It Merry collection from Simple Stories better than my first one. Because the collection has a modern feel to it, I tried to reflect that in the design and pick cleaner lines than I had on the first card. 

I followed the sketch pretty closely, but I did move the sentiment to the left and I skipped the ribbon coming out of the oval. I had put the Chevron stripe die-cut in between my two patterned paper and I wasn't liking the addition of the ribbon or cords I tried, so I switched gear. Without the ribbon, the bottom of the panel felt a little bare, though, so I added a couple of additional chipboard pieces to fill the space better and make the card more balanced. I also played with a few mini banner options on the left side before I was happy with the look. This adorable Santa is probably my favorite image from the collection (even though the retro chair, typewriter and phone are all tugging at my heartstrings as well).

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux moments (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Black Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Decorative Brads, Chipboard Stickers: Make It Merry (Simple Stories)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Chevron Stripes Die-namics (My Favorite Things); Eyelets (Unknown);
Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keeper); 5¼" x 5¼" Square Cards and Envelopes (DoCrafts);
Mini Banner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Gumball Green Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Black Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Wonderful Gems, 1/8" Handheld Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Circle Double Stitches Dies (Art Impressions); Stitched Oval Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Pumpkin Latte

Inspiration: The Card Concept #161

I thought that the colour combo from The Card Concept challenge might work well to do a fall card using the Lovely Latte dies from Lawn Fawn's latest release. The release also includes a cute Peppermint Strips Backdrop, but I figured that if I cut it up twice and turned a piece upside down, I might get a nice plaid pattern. A fun way to stretch this background beyond Christmas-themed cards. I also used the Stiched Scallop Rectangles Frames over the top.

I paper pieced the latte cup and then I went looking for sentiment options. I used the Thinking Thanks & Peace stamp set from the current Stampin' Up! holidays minicatalogue. I embossed the "thinking of you" sentiment on Very Vanilla cardstock using Peeled Paint Distress embossing glaze and fussy cut the words. I used a leftover piece of vanilla twine from a kit and layered the sentiment over it with Stampin' DImensionals. I picked pearls and sequins in matching colours to fill in the space around my elements.

I repeated the die-cut cup on the envelope and inside the card as well. 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Paix et reconnaissance (Thinking Thanks & Peace - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze,
Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaMark
Dies: Lovely Latte, Peppermint Stripes Backdrop, Stitched Scallop Rectangle Frames (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Very Vanilla Baker's Twine, Foam Adhesive Strips, Brights Sequins,
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Gold Foil and Café au Lait Pearls (Studio Katia);
Wildflower Sequins Mix (Pretty Pink Posh); Terracotta Sequins (Cartwright's); Liquid Applique (Marvy);
A2 Oak Woodgrain Envelope (Envelopes.com); Peeled Paint Distress Embossing Glaze (Ranger)

 

Seasonal Snowflakes

Inspiration: Hand Stamped Sentiments #374

Inspired by the Hand Stamped Sentiments sketch, I decided to pick some soft colours to go with the snowflakes bundle from the Stampin' Up! July-December minicatalogue. I wanted to fill the circle with a soft snowflake and overstamp a sentiment, so I picked Soft Sea Foam and overstamped the sentiment in Misty Moonlight. As I started putting the card together, I was about to go get the In Color Designer Series Paper stacks and then I realized I might actually find those colours in the Penguin Playmates DSP pack. I got this one just as SAB was coming to an end and to be honest, I was not necessarily super excited over it, but I was running out of SAB options to pick out so I thought, paper is always useful and I can always make envelopes with the monochromatic side.

I did my main background with the Fresh Freesia paper and overstamped some of the snowflakes from the stamp set in the same ink colour. I used the adorable polka dot paper for the center strip, embossed the snowflakes strip from the Stitched Snowflakes dies in the center, and I layered the Misty Moonlight paper on both sides. I have not purchased Fresh Freesia ribbon (my ribbon collection has gotten really extensive over the last two decades I've been crafting, so I'm trying to use up what I have first to make up room), but I realized I could use the Stampin' Blends markers on white crinkled seam binding ribbon to make my own. The ribbon is pretty narrow so it was coming up a little too delicate on the overall design, so I added Misty Moonlight grosgrain ribbon to give it more visual weight.

I had die-cut the sentiment with the Stitched Shapes dies, but I was finding the white cardstock was fading a little bit on the white polka dot paper, so I used the Encircled in Beauty dies to give the circle an edge with Just Jade cardstock. I added a few snowflakes die-cut out of Soft Sea Foam cardstock, and I embellished the card with rhinestones, pastel pearls and opals. I made a matching envelope out of the same Designer Series Paper collection (overstamping the polka dot design with the snowflake stamps once again). 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux flocons (Merry Snowflakes)
Cardstock: Misty Moonlight, Whisper White, Just Jade, Soft Sea Foam
Designer Series Paper: Penguin Playmates
Ink: Misty Moonlight, Soft Sea Foam, Fresh Freesia
Dies: Stitched Rectangles, Encircled in Beauty, Stitched Snowflakes, Tailor Made Tags
Accessories: Misty Moonlight Grosgrain Ribbon, White Crinckled Seam Binding Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Opal Rounds, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Pastel Pearls, 
 Envelope Punch Board, Fresh Freesia Stampin' Blends Markers

 

Make It Merry: Card #1

Inspiration: Card Maps 2021

There was a new quarterly Card Maps sketch sheet that just came out in October and since the sketches are holiday-themed, I thought I'd pair them with the Make It Merry collection from Simple Stories. The big snowflake on the sketch reminded me of the Magic Iris Snowflake Add-On die, so that was the starting point of the design. I used a cut-apart for the notebook page underneath, the bird pattern for the strip and the buffalo check for the background. For the sentiment, I used a current set from the Stampin' Up! minicatalogue that had a nice script font and embossed it with red glitter embossing powder. 

I was testing out button options and couldn't make it work to my liking, so I switched gears and made a bow out of Real Red curly ribbon and added a decorative brad over it. I found a couple of small ephemera images in the Bits & Pieces pack that I tucked underneath for layering. I added Glossy Accents to the heart on the tag.

On the left side of the note page, I added a clip sticker from the sticker book and little leaves from the puffy stickers. I kinda like the result but I'm not thrilled about it. I think it's the sentiment layer that does not work as well with the design. Too white, I think. After the fact, I thought maybe embossing on a piece of black cardstock might have given more definition to it. Oh well, at least I have one more Christmas card done. I totally depleted my Christmas card stash last year, so there is a bit of pressure to get a bunch done this year so I have enough for everyone on my list.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Voeux sincères (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Bits & Pieces, Decorative Brads: Make It Merry (Simple Stories)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Real Red Glitter Stampin' Embossing Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Real Red Curly Ribbon, Circle Punches, Spiral Border Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Magic Iris Snowflake Add-On Dies (Lawn Fawn); Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic);
5¼" x 5¼" Square Cards and Envelopes (DoCrafts)

 

Burger and Fries Combo

Inspiration: Paper Players #561 (Spooky)

This is one more Halloween packaging project made with the Boo Crew collection from Simple Stories. This time I went back further in time and pulled out the Fry Box Bigz L die and the Hamburger Box Bigs L die that Stampin' Up! used to sell. It was fun to revisit those shapes, which work especially well with double-sided paper. On a side note, I've noticed that papers sold in paper pads from certain company tend to be one-sided, even if their paper are double-sided when sold by the sheets (I'm thinking of Crate Paper as an example). I've learned the hard way that it can limit how you can use the papers and I now prefer to stick to double-sided when the choice is available. This is a good example here, as both containers are pretty inside and out without requiring any extra work.

Embellishing was really fast and easy, as I used a mix of ribbons, Bits & Pieces die-cut images, faux Halloween seals stickers, foam stickers and decorative brads. I made sure to use the same pattern on the French fries box and hamburger box so that they would look like a set. I made two so that I have one for each of my nieces. I'm usually keep my fancier/pricier embellishments like decorative brads for scrapbook pages or projects less disposable than packaging, but in this case, by an unfortunate turn of events, I ended up with doubles of the foam stickers and decorative brads, so I don't want to sit on those for years to come, which is why I am using those embellishments more liberally than I usually would. Companies are coming out with such amazing collections years after years, so I'm starting to embrace the approach of "if you love it, use it." 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Decorative Brads, Bits & Pieces, Journaling Bits, Foam Stickers: Boo Crew (Simple Stories)
Dies: Fry Box Bigz L Die, Hamburger Box Bigz L Die (Stampin' Up!)
Embellishments: Tangelo Twist Satin Ribbon, Basic Grey Striped Satin Ribbon,
Very Vanilla Striped Satin Ribbon, Smoky Slate Chevron Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Halloween Puffy Stickers (Recollections)

 

Something Wicked Pocket

Inspiration: Just Us Girls #604 (Halloween) 

I am really excited about how this treat bag turned out. I ended up working on this in sequences. At first, a couple of weeks ago, I had sprayed a dollar store clothespin with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink, let it dry and then I covered the sides with Boo Crew patterned paper, inked the edges and embellished it with a fussy cut image and a chipboard sentiment. I left it aside to have ready to embellish a treat bag when the time would come.

I recently put my hands on the Jack-O-Lanterns stencil from Simple Stories. I find this one to be really cool because it works as a full background, but I also very much plan to use the individual faces to stencil on Halloween stamped images or die-cuts. I really wanted to test the stencil with some sort of black glitter paste, which I don't happen to have on hand, so I improvised. I needed a treat bag, so I went looking through my stash and pulled out the now-retired chevron bags from Stampin' Up! I blended an ombre look using Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon and Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide inks with blender brushes. I used Dried Marigold on the back of the pocket as well so that it would show when the top of the bag is folded over, but you can barely tell I've added this ink colour as it doesn't show up much once dry. For the embossing, I was thinking of creating my own paste with black glitter and liquid glue, but then I remembered seeing a lot of crafting videos where people were using the Nuvo Drops or Liquid Pearl with a palette knife to fill in their stenciled images, so I investigated to see if I had black, and turns out, I do have black Enamel Accents! I had no clue if that would work, but I used both a scraper and a silicon spatula to fill in the details and it worked out way better than I anticipated. I was planning to sprinkle my fine black glitter over the top before it dried, but I liked the glossy look so much that I changed my mind. I made sure to use Pixie spray on the stencil before using it so it wouldn't shift, but I have to say, the details of the faces came out so crisp! And the result is pretty flat, so I was able to glue a layered die-cut on top easily and the shine is amazing! I barely use my Liquid Pearls anymore, so I have to revisit this technique to put them to good use.

So the pocket got left aside to dry overnight and then I decided to do the embellishing on it today. I went back to the Boo Crew collection since the colours would match. I used a banner and a flower sticker at the top and I placed one of the cute tag cut-aparts over the folded edge of the bag, clipping it in place with the clothespin. I had a polka dot scrap that I slid under the edge of the tag, and I added star stickers from the collection and star sequins from Stampin' Up!'s current Halloween suite.

The Chicken Wire die (from Impression Obsession) is a recent acquisition. I jumped on it when my local store showed it in a "what's new" video as a chicken wire die had been on my wish list for a long time. I have a stamp, but I love that this die is really dainty (craft companies have made so much strides and the images are not as bulky as they were when die-cutting started to appear on the crafting scene). I've noticed this is the kind of generic detailing that can be worked into many projects and adds texture and details without taking precedence over other elements. I had pulled my foil papers out thinking I might do copper, but then the Generous Grapefruit holographic paper caught my eye. It was a freebie during SAB a few years ago and even though I didn't think much of it at the time because I wasn't a fan of the Grapefruit colour, I have thoroughly enjoyed using this foil paper. It reads more as a rose gold/copper colour and the holographic treatment makes it that much more special. This is one of those craft items that you end up with a little randomly and that you later wish you could stock up on if you run out. I think I might be able to find something similar in the mirror cardstock from Tonic when that happens.

I tried covering as little as possible of my cute jack-o-lantern pattern on the envelope, but I did add two sentiment strips at the bottom to balance the overall design better. The back of the envelope seemed too bare, especially since the orange ink was not showing up (I should have done the same ombre on the back), so I used a strip of the 2" x 2" square cut-apart paper, more sentiment strips and a little candle holder sticker on the side. I didn't think when I started this treat holder that it would end up so intricate, but this might be my favorite Halloween project I've done so far this year.

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Cardstock Stickers: Boo Crew (Simple Stories)
Ink: Crackling Fire, Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide, Black Soot (Ranger)
Dies: Chicken Wire (Impression Obsession)
Accessories: Cute Stars Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Chevron Treat Bags (Stampin' Up!);
Jack-O-Lanterns Stencil (Simple Stories); Black Enamel Accents, Black Soot Distress Oxide Spray (Ranger);
Blender Brushes (Picket Fence Studios); Silicon Spatula (Nuvo); Clothespin (Dollar Store)

 

Merriest Christmas

Inspiration: CAS Colours & Sketches #439

The CAS Sketch reminded me of the Foursquare Backdrop Portrait die from Lawn Fawn with its design and also of the Textures & Frames stamp set offered by Stampin' Up! during its fall Sale-A-Bration promotion. I just received this stamp set and I thought the rectangle was larger than what it is, so I quickly realized that using the rectangle image for the top box would not work out like I had envisioned. Instead of stamping directly on the card base, I went back to the die I had in mind. I pulled out the Holly Days collection from Simple Stories (which I am so excited to finally have on hand) and picked the little star design to create my backdrop. The die has four squares, so I snipped the border at the top to transform them into a large rectangle. I inlaid two cardstock squares stamped with the Textures & Frames set, and layered images from the Holly Days stamp set from Simple Stories.

At the top, I used white cardstock embossed with the beautiful Jeweled Snowflakes 3D embossing folder from Sizzix. I couldn't do an inlay there since my shape was different from the die, so I just overlapped the patterned paper. I was about to go looking for a large Christmas stamp set when I caught glimpse of the Hustle & Bustle Thickers in my stash and decided to give those a try. The "Merriest Christmas" sentiment filled the space nicely, so that was my pick. I added two more snowflake thickers below as well. The bottom felt a little bare, so I stamped "fa la la la la" from the Holly Days set and added the candy cane image I had already colored previously. (No matching dies for this set, so they need to be fussy cut.) I picked a Rose Quartz metallic envelope to go with the card and decorated it with a leftover die-cut square and images from the sticker book.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Cardstock: Cotton Candy (Bazzill); Pool Party, Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Pool Party, Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Jeweled Snowflakes 3D Embossing Folder (Sizzix); Markers (Copic);
Foursquare Backdrop Portrait Dies (Lawn Fawn); Hustle & Bustle Thickers (American Crafts);
A2 Rose Quartz Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, 
Share What You Love Artisan Peals (Stampin' Up!); Moss Green Pearls (Studio Katia);
Glitter Gloss and Midas Gold Aqua Shimmer Brushes (Nuvo)