Encre, papier, ciseaux

Favorites of 2022

To keep with the tradition of posting my favorites of the year, here are my personal stand-outs of 2022:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Skating Tag

I stopped by my local scrapbook store yesterday and lucked out, as the owners had put some of the Distress Sprays in the clearance section for $1 each. The available colours were Hickory Smoke and Blueprint Sketch, so I grabbed both today and sprayed them on the media mat to ink a media heavystock tag. I overstamped an image from the Festive Collage set in HIckory Smoke Archival ink. It didn't show up as much as I expected, but I notice we do see it on the finished tag. I stamped some images from the Vintage Holidays set in VersaMark and embossed them in Prize Ribbon Distress glaze. I used the Holiday Knit stencil and Denim Stencil Butter to add a border at the bottom and I set aside to dry. 

In the meantime, I pulled some white seam binding, sprayed it with water and then sprayed it with Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide spray and Hickory Smoke Distress spray. I crinkled it and let it aside to dry.

Once the tag was dry, I added a few chipboard images from the Celebrate Winter collection. This was sold at a deep clearance price at my store and I figured I could use them on cards or pages even though I don't have the specific matching papers. I also finished a diamond painting project during the holidays and have quite a few leftover diamonds, so I used some in matching colours to embellish the tag.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Festive Collage, Vintage Holidays (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)
Tags: #8 Mixed Media Heavystock Distress Tags (Tim Holtz for Ranger)
Ink: VersaMark
Sprays: Hickory Smoke and Blueprint Sketch Distress, Tumbled Glass and Iced Spruce Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Holiday Knit Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); 
Denim Stencil Butter (The Crafter's Workshop); Gems (Diamond Dotz);
Celebrate Winter Chipboard Accents (Echo Park); Prize Ribbon Distress Embossing Glaze (Ranger)

 

Sweet Gingerbread House

Inspiration: Sunday Stamps #299

The color combo inspired me to pull out the Sweet Gingerbread suite and put together this simple card. The white background was embossed with the Wintry embossing folder an the snowy hill was die-cut out of pastel glitter cardstock from Memory Box. I borrowed a French sentiment from another stamp set to add to the smoke cloud. I used a loose flower flourishes embellishment for the doorknob.

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Blackberry Bliss + Rich Razzleberry + Polished Pink + Mango Melody + White

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sweet Gingerbread (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Polished Pink, Basic White, Rich Razzleberry (Stampin' Up!);
Delicate Pastel Glitter Pad (Memory Box)
Designer Series Paper: Brights, 2021-2023 In Color (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Polished Pink, Mango Melody, Pear Pizzazz, Blackberry Bliss, Soft Sky, Rich Razzleberry (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Loose Flower Flourishes, Gingerbread House Dies, White Medium Envelope,
Distressing Tool (Stampin' Up!)

 

Christmas Town Packaging

I'm trying to use the precious time we have left before Christmas rolls around to finish getting everything ready. I got things off my to-do list today but I was a little off my game so I kept dropping things, getting things crooked, nothing was working quite right. Gift wrapping was part of my to-do list, but inspiration was not really there, so I was planning on waiting for another day, but somehow I found a spark of inspiration and I ended up with packaging that I'm really proud of. As a general rule, Doodlebug will never fail to impress my nieces. The oldest one has turned 10 this fall so I keep thinking at some point, she'll decide it's too childish for her, but because she's really into everything kawaii, Doodlebug keeps holding strong.

The first gift was made out of leftover paper from the Christmas town collection. I simply bent the papier around the gift, added washi paper on both sides and wrapped red scrubby sparkle trim around it. I used a cut-apart image to make a tag, hiding the English sentiment with a strip of Petite Pattern paper, on which I stamped my niece's name. I added gems for the earrings, a little candy sticker and a wax seal over the bow.

The other gift would have been hard to wrap with papers, due to the fact that it was a bunch of little items grouped together, so I decided to make my own box using patterned paper. I pulled out Home for the Holidays, an old collection that dates back to 2013. I reused the same idea for the top of the gift: strip of patterned paper lined with washi tape on both sides, white scrubby sparkle trim wrapped around, a flair in the center of the bow and a tag made out of an album insert piece. I cut it in half, punched the corners, stuck a sentiment banner using dimensional adhesive and stamped my niece's name. I added a few snowflake sequins and a heart sticker in the corner of the box.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Stay Colorful Alphabet (Dear Lizzie for American Crafts)
Ink: Gumball Green (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Flairs, This & That Stickers, Simply Put 4" x 6" Album Inserts: Christmas Town,
Home for the Holidays (Doodlebug Design) 
Accessories: Gem, Stampin' Dimensionals, PInking Hearts Border Punch (Stampin' Up!);
Strawberry, Marshmallow Scrubby  Sparkle Trim (Red Heart);
Washi Tapes (Recollections, American Crafts); Snowflake Wax Seal (Honey Bee); Wax Pellets (Honey Bee);
Tag Corner Punch (We R Memory Keepers); Moonshine Snowflake Sequins (Cartwright's) 

 

Ice Skating Outside

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #251

I kept going with the Santa Express collection, creating new cards based on Mojo Monday sketch #251. The little scene in the circle was punched from one of the Memories & More cards, and matted with Burnished Rose mirror cardstock.

The ribbon used at the bottom is actually one of the ribbons I had dyed with mica Distress spray after watching Tim Holtz's Live presentation. It was actually dyed with orange spray but it dried very pastel and I realized when I held it against the Petal Pink paper that it actually matched, so I decided to put it to good use here. Mrs. Claus' dress was embellished with solid faceted gems. 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies (unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Joyeux Noël (Spellbinders)
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Bermuda Bay; Burnished Rose Mirror Cardstock (Tonic)
Designer Series Paper, Memories & More Cards: Santa Express
Ink: Shaded Spruce
Dies: Layering Circles; Dotted Rectangle Stackables, Mini Slimline Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
3D Embossing Folder: Tasteful Textile
Accessories: Solid Faceted Gems, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Crinkled Seam Binding,
White Medium Envelopes; Mica Distress Sprays (Tim Holtz for Ranger)

 

Snowman Wishes

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #245

Here is one more card made with the Home for the Holidays collection from Doodlebug (2013) and one of the cards & envelopes from Doodlebug, pulled from the School Days kit. The scalloped card is really cute and does half of the job. For the rest of the design, I drew inspiration from an older Mojo Monday sketch, rounding the corners of patterned papers and matting them with green cardstock and silver foil. The little banners are stickers from the cardstock sticker sheet, and so is the wreath image. I wasn't sure which colour to make my main circle, so I thought to use vellum instead, and emboss it using the Wintry embossing folder. The snowman image actually comes from a cut-apart sheet from another Doodlebug collection (Christmas Town), but the colours fit very well. I cut it out and mounted it on dimensional adhesive. The card base was stamped with little snowflakes and I added a piece of red ribbon. I also added a little die-cut bow to the wreath with mini Stampin' Dimensionals to make the bow stand out more.

The sentiment, which reads "to your whole family for the holidays" was stamped in VersaMark and embossed in Emerald Envy glitter Stampin' Emboss powder. I decorated the envelope to match with stickers.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Moments lumineux, Anges de paix (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Lucky Clover, Vellum (Stampin' Up!); Silver Opulent Cardstok Pack (Sizzix)
 Patterned Papers, This & That Cardstock Stickers, Mini Icons: Home for the Holidays, Christmas Town (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark, Granny Apple Green (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Wintry Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Real Red Double Stitched
Satin Ribbon, Emerald Envy glitter embossing powder (Stampin' Up!);
School Days Cards & Envelopes (Doodlebug Design);
Corner Chomper (We R Memory Makers); Mini Wreath Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Christmas Tabbed Card

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #437

The starting point for this card was the white tabbed card from Doodlebug's Cards & Envelopes kit and the "Wish List" sticker. I stamped my sentiment in Emerald glitter embossing powder on it and layered it over ribbon. For the circle on the sketch, I decided to hang a little sticker tag from the ribbon bow. I had previously done two die-cut bows for my other card and picked the one I liked the best, so I reused the other one on the gift here. I added a stamp sticker at the bottom and a heart sticker on the tab, topped with two red gems.

The envelope from the set was turquoise, which didn't match, so I made my own envelope out of patterned paper using the envelope punch board. This street and Christmas house pattern is my favorite from the set - I just find it incredibly cute! Because I love the pattern, I didn't want to hide it too much, but I did need an address block over the busy pattern, so I created a small tag out of one of the album inserts, cutting it down to size and punching it with a tag topper punch. I glued it a little lower to avoid hiding the store and house.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Pétales de poinsettia (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Call Me Clover (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, This & That Cardstock Stickers, Doodles Seals
Cardstock Stickers: Home for the Holidays (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Put a Bow on It (Lawn Fawn); Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board,
Wonderful Gems, Emerald Envy Glitter Embossing Powder, Eyelets, Tag Topper Punch,
Silver Cord, Real Red Double Stitched Satin Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

 

Hilarious

Inspiration: April 2022 Page Maps Sketch

I wanted to craft yesterday and I was struggling to find inspiration, so I decided to put together embellishments, using the Make It Merry collection Simple Stories (released in 2021). Today, I thought if I used the chipboard frames pack and my handmade embellishments, I'd have a nice base for a scrapbook page, so I printed a couple of Christmas pictures and found a sketch for inspiration.

I made my pictures black and white to go with the collection and trimmed them to size for the double-picture frame. I matted the back paper with White Smoke Cardstock (a nice warm white cardstock from My Mind's Eye). 

One of the handmade embellishments I put together was a ribbon cluster, using jewelry clamps and a hanging mother-of-pearl star. I had also done a nice little banner cluster using leftover papers and die-cut images. As well, I had used the Seasonal Sketch dies from Tim Holtz to make layered poinsettias, using the papers from the collection and silver foil paper for the overlay. Those were all arranged on the circle at the top left of the sketch. I thought of using the alphabet stickers from the sticker book for my title, but I was afraid the flat brown letters would get lost in the pattern. Using Thickers gave it a little more shine and weight, giving it enough contrast to stand out.

I typed my journaling in Word and formatted it to fit on one of the cut-apart tags from the papers. I added a sentiment sticker, cut in two, and a cute clip from the cardstock stickers, as well as the word Christmas in a frame at the top of the page. I pulled the two gifts from the puffy stickers and added them to the frame. I used the holly image from the puffy stickers at the right of the title.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: White Smoke (My Mind's Eye); 
Metallic Kraft-stock (Tim Holtz for Idea-ology)
Patterned Papers, Cardstock Stickers, Sticker Book, Puffy Stickers, Enamel Dots,
Decorative Brads, Chipboard Frames: Make It Merry (Simple Stories)
Dies: Seasonal Sketch (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: Baker's Twine (Recollections); Stampin' DImensionals, Ribbons (Stampin' Up!);
Star Charm, Silver Clamp (Bead Landing); Say It WIth Crystals (Prima Marketing);
Garden Party Thickers (American Crafts); White Ricrac (Fabric Store);
Letters to Santa Washi Tape (Carta Bella)

 

Wish on a Snowflake

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #343 + 52 Christmas Card Throwdown (Snowflakes)

Earlier this year, I found some Doodlebug Cards & Envelopes kits on sale. One of the kits was School Days, but since the cards were monochromatic and that Doodlebug introduces the same colours in their various lines, I knew they would probably be easy to pair with other collections. This week, I was playing with the Home for the Holidays collection, so I pulled the red card out of the kit and looked for a design that would work with it. 

I started my design around the snowman block sticker, so I looked though old Mojo Monday sketch for something that would have a long rectangle on it. Inspired by sketch #343, I used a scrap of paper with trees on it and matted it with brushed silver cardstock. In the back, I included two green paper scraps to fill in the space. 

I used the Snowfall stencil from Newton's Nook and Ranger's Metallic White texture paste to add snowflakes in the background. I also die-cut a little snowflake out of white glimmer paper and added to to the snowman block. I stamped a sentiment in VersaMark at the top and embossed it with red powder. I glued the snowman block to the tree paper using dimensional adhesive and wrapped white scrubby sparkle yarn, topped with a glitter button, before adding to the card base. To finish embellishing, I added glitter enamel dots at the top, a decorative brad from a Simple Stories collection and a little red gem. 

I used paper and stickers to embellish the matching envelope, and I cut down one of the album inserts so that it would be added inside the card without showing on the side, so that it would be easier to write a message than on the patterned red.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: Pétales de poinsettia (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Silver Opulent Cardstock (Sizzix); White and Red Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Simply Put 4x6 Album Inserts, Stickers: Home for the Holidays (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: School Days Cards & Envelopes (Doodlebug Design); Make It Merry Decorative Brads (Simple Stories);
Mini Snowflakes Dies (Lawn Fawn); Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); 
Red Embossing Powder (Top Boss); Snowfall Stencil (Newton's Nook); July Crystals (Studio Katia);
Metallic White Texture Paste (Ranger); Santa's Sparkle Buttons (Buttons Galore & More);
Marshmallow Scrubby Sparkle Yarn (Red Heart)

 

Vintage Sled

Inspiration: In[k]spire Me #494

I assembled this cute sled when I received the dies, using red foil paper for the sled base, and I despite auditioning it on a few projects, I couldn't get it to work. Tonight, I was playing with the Make It Merry collection released by Simple Stories in 2021 and I found that I really liked the sled placed over the cardinal paper background. I had this white cardstock embossed with the Ski Lodge embossing folder and while I like the pattern, the white was clashing with the paper, so I embossed a piece of warm white cardstock and it made a huge difference.

I tested the Vintage Merry Christmas die cut out of Lime Color Vibe cardstock and the vintage font matched the sled very well. Before adding the sentiment, I matted the embossed paper with Green Color Vibe cardstock and used my Deckle Trimmer to cut the edges. (I know it got mixed review when it was released, but I personally love the soft vintage touch it adds to projects. I added a cardinal puffy sticker to the top of the sentiment.

The top seemed a little bare, so I cut a stitched banner using the Tasteful Labels dies and I topped it with a decorative brad from the collection. I decorated the inside of the card and the envelope with matching stickers.

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: White Smoke (My Mind's Eye); Lime, Green Color Vibe (Simple Stories);
White Grosgrain (Memory Box); Red Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Puffy Stickers, Sticker Book, Decorative Brads: Make It Merry (Simple Stories)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Vintage Merry Christmas (Carta Bella); Large Vintage Sled (Memory Box);
Tasteful Labels (Stampin' Up!); Dotted Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Ski Lodge Embossing Folder (Spellbinders); 
Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic); Blender Brushes (Waffle Flower);
A2 Fairway Metallic Envelope (Envelopes.com)

 

Santa's Route

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #274 + In[k]spire Me #494

After I was finished packaging my Christmas gifts, I decided to use the Home for the Holidays collection from Doodlebug (2013) to make a card. Hopefully, some more Christmas cards will be collected next year to give to the children's hospital again and those fun, cutesy collections are perfect to make cards for a younger audience, so I figured, why not start the new stash...

I went to my list of old Mojo Monday sketches and picked one based on the Santa image I wanted to use. I liked the idea of making a circle card, so I pulled out my Tonic layering circles dies (the largest ones I have) and prepared the card base, plus three layers of patterned papers. I used the street paper for the rectangle behind Santa and matted it with brushed silver cardstock before die-cutting the circle.

Tip: To ensure that the card stands up on a flat surface, I cut a small portion at the bottom of the card backside. This also ensures that the card stays level when it is displayed. 

I picked a sentiment from the French Spellbinders stamp set (still excited about that one), stamped it in Gumball Green ink and cut the strip at an angle, before adding to the circle and cutting the edge to match. I added a sparkly button from Buttons Galore & More, threaded with silver cord. I added white mini pompoms from Queen & Co to the Santa suit and hat.

The overdyed seam binding I used is actually hand dyed. It was inspired by one of the Facebook Lives Tim did this season, where he used his Distress mica sprays to dye seam binding. I was curious so I tried it with a couple of ribbons I had on hand. The seam binding worked out the best, especially to hold the crinkling after it dried. I got this really cool green shade that will work well with a lot of holiday collections in my stash. I will need to dye more and now I'm wondering if I'll be able to reproduce the same colour, as we know with hand dying that every time produces unique results.

I made a square envelope out of matching patterned paper, using one of the stickers for the address block and adding a stamp sticker, since this card will most likely be hand delivered. Considering how hard it was to find my crafting groove earlier today, I'm pretty happy with this finished project.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux Noël (Spellbinders)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Basic White (Stampin' Up!); Silver Opulent Cardstock (Sizzix)
Patterned Papers, This & That Stickers: Home for the Holidays (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Gumball Green (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Layering Circles (Tonic)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board, Seam Binding (Stampin' Up!);
Santa's Sparkle Buttons (Buttons Galore & More); Black and White Mini Pompoms (Queen & Co);
Mica Distress Sprays (Tim Holtz for Ranger); Silver Cord (Unknown Source)

 

Doubleheader Skating in North Pole

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #249

Having images ready to fussy cut from the Designer Series paper really makes the process of cardmaking faster and easier. Here, I fussy-cut the image of Santa and Mrs. Claus skating together and created a little scene for them based on an old Mojo Monday sketch. I have not been into the DSP as much in recent years, but the Santa Express DSP is right up my alley. I love the retro colours and the variety of patterns in the pack (no repeats in different colours, a personal pet peeve as it makes designing harder).

The sentiment comes from the Angels of Peace stamp set. It's a three-line sentiment, but I inked the first line with a Stampin' Write marker and cut it using a little tag die. I couldn't find ribbon that I like threaded in the dainty tag, so I used an eyelet instead and placed the die-cut bow from the Santa's Train die set underneath. At the bottom of the card, I lined up In Color opal rounds. I liked having Mrs. Claus' cape hanging off the side of the card, so I made an oversize envelope (4½" x 5½") to accommodate for the overhang.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies (Unless Otherwise Noted)
Stamps: Anges de paix
Cardstock: Mint Macaron, Basic White, Granny Apple Green
Designer Series Paper: Santa Express
Ink: Shaded Spruce Stampin' Write Marker
Dies: Santa's Train, Stitched So Sweetly; Lacy Borders (Lawn Fawn)
Do-It-All Gift Tag, Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Eyelets, 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds,
Envelope Punch Board

 

Mrs. Claus' Kitchen

Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketch #565

I thought the Let's Bake dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs could pair nicely with the Baking Spirits Bright collection from Simple Stories, so I started assembling the cooking lady using cardstock in colors that matched the collection. It should be noted that this die set does not include the face part, so you do need to have another matching die set in order to have a complete character. Here, I used the Mrs. Claus die set as well to complete her. She's holding her cookie sheet a little awkwardly so I'm wondering if I picked the right set of arms, since there's a few arm positions to choose from in the set. The little oven mittens are definitely a cute detail, though.

There was this cut-apart image from the paper that reads "Mrs. Claus' Kitchen in a frame, which was perfect for her and for the Freshly Made Sketch, so I added patterned paper at the bottom and matted the side with red cardstock. I've started using the Color Vibe cardstock when using the Simple Stories paper to make color matching easier. I stamped my sentiment on a strip of Mint cardstock using the Joyeux Noël set from Spellbinders and I used the Treasured Tags Pick a Punch to punch the end. I used enamel dots and decorative brads to add details to the images and a little fussy cut cookie at the top, on the edge of the ricrac border.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux Noël (Spellbinders)
Cardstock: Petal Pink (Stampin' Up!); Metallic Kraft-stock (Tim Holtz for Idea-ology);
Mint, Red, White, Pear, Black Color Vibe (Simple Stories)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Decorative Brads, Enamel Dots: Baking Spirits Bright (Simple Stories)
Ink: Mossy Meadow (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Mrs. Claus, Let's Bake (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensioinals, Envelope Punch Board, Treasured Tags
Pick a Punch (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic); Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic)

 

Santa Express

A little something simple inspired by the Santa Express Designer Series paper. I cut the wagon and train images with the matching dies, used the background scene paper and added a strip of green paper at the top. On the Petal Pink card base, I stamped the stars in matching ink.

The sentiment was stamped in Evening Evergreen ink on Mint Macaron cardstock and die-cut using the Stitched Shapes dies. I dug out the retired Santa's Workshop enamel shapes to add a bow to the top of the circle, little green dots to the train and "smoke" coming out of the engine. At the bottom, I used a sparkly white ribbon (now retired). A mini white pompom was added to Santa's hat.

A matching envelope was made out of patterned paper and topped with a shape from the Stitched So Sweetly die set.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies (unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Wagon de cadeaux
Cardstock: Petal Pink, Mint Macaron, Granny Apple Green, Basic White
Designer Series Paper: Santa Express
Ink: Petal Pink, Evening Evergreen
Dies: Stitched So Sweetly, Stitched Shapes, Santa's Train
Accessories: Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes, White Sparkly Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Envelope Punch Board; Black and White Mini Pompoms (Queen & Co)

 

Smiley Santa

Inspiration: The Paper Players #620

The Santa Express suite was the first thing that jumped out at me when I leafed through the new Holidays minicatalogue. I have a sweet spot for train and I love retro-inspired Christmas collections and unusual colour schemes, so it was love at first sight for this suite. I got most of the items, including the Memories & More card pack. One of the 4" X 6" card from this pack became the starting point for this project.

I matted the card with Petal Pink cardstock, punched the bottom with a Round Binding Edge punch, embossed it with the Wintry embossing folder and inked the edges for better definition. I die-cut a pine branch using the Decorated Pine dies and sandwiched it between the two layers. I stamped the little stars and dots from the Decorated with Happiness stamp set in Crumb Cake ink to add to the Santa card's background, and I sprinkled a few Polished Dots in there as well.

The wooden hohoho came from the card pack as well. It doesn't have any colour in the pack (light wood veneer) but I covered it with VersaMark and used the Emerald Envy glitter embossing powder (from many minicatalogues ago) to colour the die-cut. In the back, I tied a bow of Smoky Slate textured ribbon (also retired). That made the card a little bulky, so I handmade a matching envelope out of patterned paper and I made it slightly larger to accommodate the bow.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies (unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Fêtes branchées
Cardstock: Petal Pink, Shaded Spruce
Designer Series Paper: Santa Express
Ink: VersaMark, Petal Pink
Accessories: Emerald Envy Glitter Embossing Powder, Sponge Daubers, Wintry 3D Embossing Folders,
Decorated Pine Dies, Santa Express Memories & More Card Pack, Polished Dots,
Smoky Slate Textured Ribbon, Envelope Punch Board, 
Round Binding Edge Punch (EK Tools)

 

Winston All Bundled Up

Inspiration: Hand Stamped Sentiments #403 (snowman from mood board)

Winston is one of my favorite snowman dies out there and he was on my wish list when Tim released his new dies... until I saw the price. That gave me pause. I was lucky to find him on sale recently, so this is my first time putting him together. I basically just went through my paper scraps and assembled him. I'm happy to report that he is one of the easiest Colorize die-cuts I've put together so far.

Then I was so enamored with the result that I wanted to turn him into a card. I went back to look into my scrap drawers and it turns out that I recently pulled apart some My Mind's Eye 6" x 6" pad, thinking I might have better luck using the paper if it was filed by colours rather than as a full collection and it seems my theory was right, because I found all of the colours I needed to reproduce the Color Throwdown combo, pairing different papers together.

Another recent acquisition is the gorgeous Crest stencil that Tim Holtz just released this week. I love that it looks like a fancy flourish or wallpaper and I think it will class up a lot of my projects. Here, it was paired with the Champagne Stardust Butter, which I couldn't wait to try, and this product does not disappoint. The shimmer is beautiful without being overwhelming, the consistency is great and not too runny and the gold is a nice antique colour that's not too brassy. I'm really pleased with this new purchase, and how it looks on the newsprint paper.

I layered a mustard gold paper and a polka dot one, and I die-cut a Seasonal Seal out of Blue Obsidian mirror cardstock from Tonic. I used Old White wax from Finnabair to highlight the details. At the top, I added a sentiment die-cut out of Cobalt Blue glitter cardstock, layered over vellum. I added mini gold pearls to the scarf and red rhinestones to the berries.

To fit Winston comfortably, I made my card 4½" x 6", which means that I made my own oversized envelope out of 12" x 12" patterned paper and I repeated the Seasonal Seals on the envelope as well.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Navy (My Colors); Textured White (American Crafts); Navy, Green (Bazzill);
Blue Obsidian Mirror, Cobalt Blue Glitter (Tonic)
Patterned Papers: Assorted Scraps (My Mind's Eye, Prima Marketing, Bella Blvd.)
Ink: Antique Linen Distress (Ranger)
Dies: Winston, Colorize (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Seasonal Seals Switchlits (Sizzix); Stitched Mini Scallop 
Square STAX (My Favorite Things); Falalalala (Paper Rose)
Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board,
Metallic Pearls (Stampin' Up!); Champagne Stardust Butter (The Crafters Workshop);
Crest Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); Old White Wax (Finnabair)

 

Santa Gnome

Inspiration: October 2022 Card Maps Sketch + The Paper Players #620

I wanted to put together the cute Holiday Gnome die-cut, so I picked a paper collection to match it with and I pulled out Sugarplum from My Mind's Eye (2016). This is a really quick and easy assembly. I used white velvet paper for the pompom and the hat trim, for a bit of texture.

I then turned to the Card Map sketches for inspiration. I used a 5¼" x 5¼" white card base, but I ended up glittering the edges with the antique gold glitter I have in my Recollections Halloween assorted glitter set. I put double-sided tape on all four sides of the card and burnished the glitter into it. I figured if I didn't like the look, I could just use another card base, but it actually worked out very nicely!

The Ho Ho Ho was die-cut out of glimmer paper and staggered a little bit to add dimension to the design. I used gold striped washi paper between the two papers and a little poinsettia image that was fussy cut from the patterned paper. The snowflake was die-cut using the Sparkly Snowflakes dies and I added another fussy cut snowflake topped with a pearl in the center.

The tree felt a little bare, so I added small metallic pearls from Stampin' Up! to it. I added fussy cut images to the inside of the card and the envelope as well.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Poppy Parade, Basic White, Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz, Soft Sky,
White Velvet Sheets, Champagne Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!); 
Square Card Bases and Envelopes (Docrafts)
Patterned Papers: Sugar Plum (My Mind's Eye)
Dies: Ho Ho Ho (Creative Expressions); Sparkly Snowflakes (Crafter's Companion);
Holiday Gnome (Echo Park)
Accessories: Washi Tape (Unknown Source); Arctic Breeze Pearls (Studio Katia);
Halloween Assorted Glitter Set (Recollections)

 

Holidays Boughs

Inspiration: October 2022 Card Maps Sketch + In[k]spire Me #492

The Card Maps sketches have a sketch with a row of foliage under a sentiment banner and it got me thinking that I could pull out the Deck the Halls Colorize set to create a layered banner underneath the sentiment. I prepared my die-cut pieces, using colours to match the Sugarplum paper collection. I used the whimsical #9 Borders dies to add borders to my central panel and I sprinkled a few of the little star die-cuts from the same set around the card, topped with pearls. I made a matching envelope out of patterned paper as well. 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Joyeux moments (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Blush Pink (Dress My Craft); Cotton Candy (Bazzill);
Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Sugarplum (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Basic Grey (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Deck the Halls Colorize (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); #9 Borders (Photoplay);
Tasteful Labels (Stampin' Up!); Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things);
Everyday Sentiment Banners (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Arctic Breeze Pearls (Studio Katia);
Envelope Punch Board (We R Memory Makers)

 

All Tied Up in a Pretty Bow

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #721 

I really like the look of the Colorize line by Tim Holtz. Some of the earlier designs were not that easy to assemble, but I've noticed that the designs have been perfected and simplified over the seasons. This bowtied is just beautiful and it is really easy to put together. It's not small, so it needs to be worked either on a larger project or take center stage on a regular card. 

I was about to finally put away the Sugar Plum paper collection, but I was curious to test out the bow over this collection's pastel patterns. I initially thought I'd select a more intricate design, but we were losing the details of the bow over it, so I ended up picking the polka dot paper. I also had this Nostalgic Season's Greetings die from Carta Bella that I found on clearance that I thought would look great, as the font and the scale both worked with my design. I used a scrap of green glitter paper to cut it out, and Pink Frosting glitter cardstock for the stars, which I topped with Fine Sparkle Gems.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party (Stampin' Up!);
Green Glitter Paper (Unknown); Pink Frosting Glitter Cardstock (Tonic)
Patterned Paper: Sugar Plum (My Mind's Eye)
Dies: Bowtied Colorize (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Nostalgic Season's Greetings (Carta Bella)
Accessories: Fine Sparkle Adhesive-Backed Gems, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Star Punches (Stampin' Up!)

 

It's a Beautiful World

Inspiration: April 2022 Page Maps Sketch + Lasting Memory Layout Challenge #627 (use three of various products)

I went back to scrapbooking tonight and made a page for the picture of my niece in front of It's a Small World. I know that this ride is polarizing - people either love it or hate, but my family falls in the "love it" category. As kids, we often visited WDW during summer, when the heat was smoldering, so a lazy boat ride in air conditioning was very welcome and since the queue was often pretty short, we've even been known to ride it twice in a row so that we could enjoy and relax. I still get amazed by the amount of details found in the various scenes and I am always happy to revisit this old favorite. It's also classic Disney, which adds to the charm.

This gave me a chance to dive into the Say Cheese Fantasy at the Park collection from Simple Stories, one of my favorites from this release with its charming colours. Most of the design is based off of products from the line. I only die-cut one of the cut-apart images with a scalloped rectangle die, threaded twine to the chipboard tag and stamped my date on a ticket, but the rest all comes from the collection.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Date Stamp (Office Supplies)
Ink: Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Cardstock Stickers, Foam Stickers, Sticker Book, Decorative Brads,
Enamel Dots: Say Cheese Fantasy at the Park (Simple Stories)
Dies: Scalloped Contours (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Golden Yellow Twine (May Arts); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)