Encre, papier, ciseaux

Making It on Santa's List

Inspiration: Sketch Saturday #539 + The Paper Players #418 (Poppy Parade + Smoky Slate + So Saffron)

I wanted to use the Signs of Santa stamp set some more so I pulled it out with the matching Santa's Workshop Designer Series Paper. I then noticed that if I only pulled out the red papers from the pack, I could use this week's Paper Players color combo. Red. yellow and grey is an unusual color combo for Christmas, but by keeping red the main colour and using the other two as touches, I find that it works out pretty well. I used the Swirls & Curls embossing folder behind Santa for a windy night king of look, and I used the adorable Santa crest in the top corner to fill in the space. matching enamel shapes were also used (snowflakes and little bow). The images were colored using the Stampin' Blends markers. I'm really excited that we're starting to have a more complete range of colours, which offers more creative freedom. For the circle, I used vellum, which allowed me to mimick the sketch without distracting from the design and adding more colour.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Panneaux de Noël (Signs of Santa)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Basic Grey, So Saffron, Whisper White, Vellum
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Santa's Workshop
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark, So Saffron, Smoky Slate
Accessories: Stampin' Blends Markers, White Medium Envelope,
Galvanized Buttons, White Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes, Blending Pen, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Poppy Parade Ribbon, Curls & Swirls Embossing Folder, Santa's Signpost Framelits

 

Merry Christmas and Crafty New Year

Inspiration: Clean&Simple Sketch #97 + ColourQ #169

This project evolved into something much more complicated than I first intended for it to be. I had seen the Clean&Simple sketch previously and when I woke up, I had this idea that I could use the Crafty dies as the three elements from the sketch and Crafty Turnabout stamp to make a background. And then I got this idea to turn it into a Holidays card by stamping something like "Have a crafty Christmas."

So I went looking at past ColourQ combos for inspiration and picked something Christmas-y. I stamped the turnabout, die-cut the scissors, stamp and paintbrush and assembled everything. And then I realized that the die-cuts were getting totally lost in the background! Not good. So I pulled out a sheet of vellum to solve the problem and die-cut it to A2 size using the Stitched Rectangle Stackables dies from Lawn Fawn.

Then I went hunting for Christmas stamps in English. Now, I mostly stamp in French so I tend to favour French sets whenever I can. That being said, most companies offer only English sets and when I like the images enough, I will purchase the set no matter what the language is. Which means that I have a lot of English sentiments lying around. Because I am always looking for the perfect sentiment, I have compiled all of the sentiments from the sets I own into an Excel spreadsheet so I can look for specific keywords. This works out WAY better than my old method of stamping images in a binder. So today I went to my trusty spreadsheet and started looking up "have a merry Christmas" and "happy new year." I was shocked to find out how little options I had. Especially with all the Lawn Fawn sets I own, I would have expected more results to come out! Anyway, the closest hit was "Merry Christmas and happy new year" from a Papertrey Ink set, so I pulled it out, and using a marker, I crossed happy out and handwrote crafty underneath. I looked at the result and was not too happy, so I decided to use alphabet dies instead.

Initially, I had planned on making an A2 card. But the more I was looking at the card, the more I wanted the wider sentiment strip and I liked having the background peek out from underneath the vellum, so I made a 5-1/4" x 5-1/4" card base. While looking for sentiment stamps, I had also stumbled unto the Stitched Rectangle Frames and decided they would look nice framing the vellum. So with all of those new ideas colliding, I started assembling the card.

I was practically finished and the die-cut letters were bugging me. Too big and taking away from the visual triangle. So I carefully lifted them up and used a small alphabet stamp set instead to add crafty back in. I added a bit of red washi tape at the top because I couldn't use glue underneath the vellum without it showing and the vellum was poking up, so washi was a pretty way to solve the problem. I then added a die-cut button, a silver brad on the scissors, a couple of red gems, Crystal Effects on the little heart, button and paint, and I decided I was done.

I kept thinking it was a shame to waste the die-cut letters so I recycled them as embellishment for the card. I added the little thread loop and needle from the same die set, and used the stamp rectangle for the address box. A couple of sequins from the stamp set were added as well. When you look at the final result, it's not clean and simple no more, but you can still recognize the sentiment banner and three main elements that were the starting point.

 

 

 

 

 

Colour Combo: Real Red + Basic Grey + Pear Pizzazz + Bermuda Bay + White

 

Supplies
Stamps: Crafty Turnabout (Concord & 9th); Tree Trimming Trio (papertrey Ink); Alphabet (Studio G)
Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Grey, Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz, Brushed Silver, Whisper White, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Real Red, Basic Grey, Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Crafty Dies (Concord & 9th); Glossy Accents (Ranger); 
Stitched Rectangle Stackables, Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Frames (Lawn Fawn);
White Square Envelope, Silver Brad (Stampin' Up!); July Crystals (Studio Katia)

 

Retro Ride

Inspiration: Fab Friday #150 + Fusion (sketch, turned 90 degrees)

The Fusion sketch was perfect to take the Home for the Holidays dies out for a spin (!). I found some old wood sheets Stampin' Up! used to sell, which was perfect to add the car paneling. I did a bit of sponging on the edges of the snowbanks so that they would be more defined, but the rest of pretty straightforward die-cutting. I like the Fab Friday colour combo - makes for a different Christmas card, and goes well with the retro vibe of the die set.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Tranquil Tide, Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss, Mint Macaron, Basic Black, Whisper White,
Galvanized Metallic Paper, Wood Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Subtles
Ink: Weathered Wood Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Home for the Holidays Dies (Tim Holtz for Sizzix);
White Medium Envelope, Blackberry Bliss Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

 

Peeking Walrus

Inspiration: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #383 (stamping + red + plaid) + CAS(E) This Sketch #297

I wanted to play with my Polar Peek-a-Boo Pals stamp set (which I absolutely love!) and I decided to pair it with the Christmas 8" x 8" papers from Tim Holtz. The initial idea was pretty simple: use the Rectangle Peek-a-Boo Window die from MFT to create a shaker card and have one of the polar pals peeking from it. I had a hard time deciding which critter to choose, but I decided the walrus worked well with the plaid paper. The paper pad includes snowflake-patterned window sheet, which was perfect for the shaker.

I was looking for a French sentiment and I decided to use a tag from the Tags & Tidings bundle, the circle one that reads "Do not open before Christmas." I threaded three ribbons (black, white, silver) in it for added texture. I added two wooden snowflakes, topped with red pearls. Initially, I was planning to use my Vintage Drops from Nuvo somewhere on the card, but because the red pearls were out, on a whim, I tried out adding the small ones all around the frame. I liked the effect, so I glued them in place with Stampin' Up!'s fine-tip glue. For the final touch, I used the Frosty Sparkle Glitter Kiss all around the edge of the card for a frosted look.

I used the leftover piece from the window to decorate a red envelope to match.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Polar Peek-a-Boo Pals (Avery Elle); Étiquettes des Fêtes (Tags & Tidings - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Lost Lagoon, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Christmas (Tim Holtz)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Lost Lagoon (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Jupiter Metallic A2 Envelope (envelopes.com); Rectangle Peek-a-Boo Window Die-namics (My Favorite Things);
Pearls Berry Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards); Markers (Copic); White Gelly Roll Pen (Sakura);
Dotted Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Frosty Sparkle Glitter Kiss (Cosmic Shimmer);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Christmas Tags Thinlits (Stampin' Up!)

 

Snowy Village

Inspiration: Little Red Wagon #471 (Just a Sentiment)

I have a few new things put aside to play with and I was looking through current challenges for inspiration on where to start. My Winterberry paper pad had a gorgeous paper with a snowy village scene that screamed to be paired with the gorgeous script sentiments from the Joyeux Noel Thinlits set from Stampin' Up! (2018 Holidays Catalogue). It was perfect for the Little Red Wagon challenge, which calls for a card that focuses on the sentiment. I knew I wanted to use either metallic or glimmer paper for the sentiment, and I decided on the Black Foil sheets from the Holidays Catalogue (they're hidden in the Halloween section, but they can be used for way more, as evidenced here. I also had sheets of black fun foam that I used to back with foil die-cuts for dimension. (Not-so-fun fact: a couple of years ago, I bought a pack of black and white fun foam sheets to add dimension to die-cuts and projects. I put them away when I got home and later couldn't for the life of me remember where they were. When I cleaned out the closet this summer, I found them and thought I should be very careful when putting them away again so that I would know where they are this time. What do you know, I still cannot remember. I live in a condo, it's not like there's a million places they could be. So a new pack of fun foam came home with me this week. Praying that those will not get lost!!)

Because the paper does most of the work, I knew I wouldn't need much else to finish the card, but I did want to embellish a little to make sure it was not too bare. I used my beloved Dotted Scalloped Rectangles dies for the patterned paper and added white fine glitter to the roofs and landscape. (This is the same fine glitter I recently raved about because it is snow white and does not have colour in it - perfect here to add shine without distracting from the sentiment and scene.) Sparkling clear confetti were added as snow and two wooden snowflakes found at my local Omer DeSerres (the pack includes natural wood, green and brown). Candy Dots were added to the center of the snowflakes, and little red pearls to the houses. Because the paper was a 6" x 6" page and I used almost the full width (scalloped rectangle measures 5-1/2" x 4-1/4"), I went oversize with the card base and made it 6" x 4-3/4". I used a larger envelope for it as well. (Those were given to me years ago, when a company I was working for did some Spring cleaning and we had some envelopes for Christmas cards we were not going to use anymore. The assistant knew I was a crafter, so they were gifted to me. I've used them sporadically over the years for oversized cards, but they're huge - 7-1/2" x 5-3/4" - so too large for most cards.)

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Black, Going Grey, Merry Merlot, Black Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Winterberry (My Mind's Eye)
Accessories: Wooden Snowflakes, Black Fun Foam (Omer DeSerres); White Fine Glitter (Martha Stewart);
Dotted Scalloped Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs); White Envelope (unknown);
Joyeux Noel Thinlits Dies, Regals Candy Dots (Stampin' Up!); Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix (Pretty Pink Posh);
Pearls - Glossy Berry Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards)

 

Falling Snow

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Make your own background) + Try Stampin' on Tuesday Tic-Tac-Toe #6 (glitter + trees + winter) + Mix It Up challenge #49 (colours)

The starting point of this card was a video I spotted on YouTube of an artist sketching with watercolor pencils and it made me wonder if I could get an equally cool background using my Stampin' Up! watercolor pencils (she was using Faber Castell watercolor pencils). So I pulled out a piece of watercolor paper, masked the edges and scribbled colours on the paper using Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Flirty Flamingo, Night of Navy and Balmy Blue. It took a few layers before I achieved this saturated look. The result is not bad, but the watercolor pencils are still not my favorite medium to use. I did find that by rubbing my Aqua Painter brush on the tip of the pencil until I built up a nice amount of pigment on the brush, I was able to transfer more colour to the page and get nice saturated colour without getting pencil marks (which tend to remain even when using a very light touch when putting pencil to paper). Based on the result I was seeing in the video, I would think there are different qualities of watercolor pencils (as with every colour medium) and because the Stampin' Up! pencils are affordable, the pigment is not as rich and blendable as some others. They are a great options for beginners to discover watercolor, but as of now, they are still not a preferred option of coloring.

Another fun tip I discovered, though, is that you can get a nice splatter effect easily by flicking your Aqua Painter brush directly on the tip of the pencil over the paper! This might be the easiest way of getting colored speckles I've found so far.

The branch and snowflake dies come from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits dies set. I used Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper for the snowflakes and adhesive sheets on the back to simplify gluing them in place. I used a white gel pen to add snow to the top of my die-cut branch. The sentiment comes from the Making Christmas Bright stamp set and reads something like "May these Holidays be sparkling with joy," which goes well with the shimmery snowflakes. I'm a little mad that I got a smear on the bottom sentiment. I should have known - purple inks are always more pigmented and tend to smear more than other Classic inks, and they don't dry as fast on watercolor paper, so this is made worse. I stamped my sentiment and then cut my paper to size and that's when I smeared the ink while manipulating the paper. I decided I could live with it, so I finished the card as is.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Illuminez les Fêtes (Making Christmas Bright)
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Night of Navy, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Watercolor Pencils, Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies, White Gel Pen

 

Santa's Beard

Inspiration: As You See It #188 (Vitesse rouge)

When I first saw the As You See It challenge to make a red card in ten minutes, I just thought, there's no way. I'm not a fast crafter (I like to cut and glue carefully, weigh out ideas and compare options) PLUS I'm not a clean and simple stamper. I've also done challenges with time limits in the past and while I can do it, I usually end up with cards that I never use or sell. (Quick suggestion to the AYSI team: maybe your speed challenge could be 20-minute cards instead of 10?)

Cue inspiration in the form of a Christmas edition of a French-Canadian magazine that I bought yesterday. There's an article in it on Santa where they have this handcut white mustache and beard on it, which caught my attention because it was paper craft. Then this morning, when I woke up, a light went on and I thought, there's my 10-minute red card right there! I have this Msutache Framelits die that Stampin' Up! sold years ago that was the perfect size and starting point for the card. The beard is simple a 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" square of Shimmery White cardstock, on which I trimmed the side to make the top narrower. I handcut strips at the bottom, rounded the cardstock with a bone folder and I snipped the ends at an angle. (The magazine one is a straight cut, but I liked the look better after trimming the ends.) At the top, I used a Small Oval punch for the mouth opening and it was ready to glue down on a leftover piece of red patterned paper I found in my scraps. I also found a leftover piece of red cardstock big enough for a card base - it was 12 x 12 cardstock initially, so I was able to use the 1" strip I cut off from the card base to die-cut my Ho Ho Ho with alphabet dies. I added Glitter Gloss to the letters for a bit of shine. Finally, I added little red gems on the backdrop and I was done!

The best part of this card is that it works both in English or in French so I can send it to anyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Red (Bazzill); Shimmery White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Romantique City of Love (Reminisce)
Dies: Lowercase and Uppercase Alphabet (Recollections); Mustache Framelit (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: July Crystals (Studio Katia); A2 Jupiter Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Small Oval Punch (Stampin' Up!)

 

Sweet Penguin Wishes

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #95 + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Anything Goes)

I sat down to stamp and pulled out all kinds of new goodies: the gorgeous Freezin' Season papers from Simple Stories, the Sweet Holiday Penguins stamp set from My Favorite Things (so happy to see Canadian artist Stacey Yacula featured by MFT), the new Vintage Drops from Nuvo and the mini Snowcap stencil from Tim Holtz.

I stamped and colored all of the images from the set, to match the papers' colors. For the middle panel, I used two papers and added snow to the separation using the mini Snowcap stencil and Grit Paste. I added white glitter to the paste while it was still wet, for glistening snow. (I used Martha Stewart cristal fine glitter and I love that it's pure white - it glitters, but it has no shades of blue, purple or pink in it so the effect is really reminiscent of real snow. Trust me, I live in Quebec, so I've already seen a lot of snow in my lifetime!)

I was looking at circle options to mat my penguin and I landed on the center piece of the Prem layering circles from Birch Press Design (layers A and B). It goes well with the snowflake pattern and the open design doesn't make the circle overwhelming to the design. I looked for sentiment that would fit the remaining space and settled on "Best Christmas Wishes to you" from an old Stampin' Up! set. Finally, I added little beads of Nuvo drops in various colours. I used the remaining images to decorate the inside of the card and a matching envelope. (I used a Blonde Metallic A2 envelope from my envelope haul I've previously shared.)

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sweet Holiday Penguins (My Favorite Things); Souhaits gracieux (Christmas Blessings - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Barely Banana, Pool Party, Granite Grey, Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Freezin' Season (Simple Stories)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Midnight Muse (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Markers (Copic); Blonde Metallic A2 Envelope (envelopes.com);
Dotted Rectangle Stackables, Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn);
Grit Paste (Ranger); White Crystal Fine Glitter (Martha Stewart);
Stampin' Dimensionals, So Saffron Taffeta Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Aquatic Mist and Silver Moondust Glitter Drops, Pale Gold Glitter Dust, Earl Grey Vintage Drops (Nuvo);
Prem Layers A, B and C Dies (Birch Press Design); Sweet Holiday Penguins Die-namics,
Wonky Stitched Ovals Die=namics (My Favorite Things)

 

Twinkling Christmas Lights

Inspiration: SUO Challenge #209 (Holiday Catalogue) + Clean & Simple Sketch #93 + ColourQ #266

I wanted to use the Making Christmas Bright stamp set and pick something colorful, so I went looking at old ColourQ challenges for inspiration. Combo #266 caught my attention, and I picked current colors to recreate a similar look, pairing Shaded Spruce, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green and Mango Melody. The result is unexpected and a little bit retro, which goes with the big bulb Christmas lights perfectly.

The design is quite simple: I stamped the strings in Shaded Spruce, stamped the Christmas bulbs in all four colour on a strip of white cardstock and punched the lights out with the matching punch. Using a strip of cardstock will make your life easier when punching, and you will have less waste - the punch has two pieces on it, since you can make the top a different colour. While this is a cool feature, it can also produce a lot of little pieces if you're cutting through a regular cardstock sheet. The cardstock strip solves that problem.

I added the curly strings of lights in Granny Apple Green ink to fill the rest of the space. Then, I started gluing the top row of lights and used the Craft Whisper White ink to stamp the light glow at the bottom of each bulb. I make sure to do that before gluing the bottom row or lights, which would have been in the way of the stamping. I added the glow at the bottom of those as well.

The sentiment was stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink. It's not part of the colour combo, but it pairs really nicely with the Mango Melody cardstock as it is just a shade darker. It made the sentiment easier to read than if I had used tone-on-tone ink. The last embellishments was the part where I flip-flopped for a while. I didn't think I had current buttons to fill in the space, so I went looking through my current dies to see what could work. When I spotted the retro-looking stars in the Santa's Signpost Framelits set, I thought it could fit the card well. I wasn't sure what to cut the stars out of, but finally opted for Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper. I was still unsure, so I looked at embellishments, I spotted the tinted faceted buttons, and all three colors were going with my color scheme really nicely, so I started going back and forth between ideas. I finally tried topping the little stars with Glitter Enamel Dots and when I did, it made the whole card feel more complete, so I stuck with this idea and I'm happy with the final result. The Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper also ties in with the white glow around the lights, so it works.

 

 

 

    

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Illuminez les Fêtes (Making Christmas Bright)
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Granny Apple Green, Shaded Spruce, Whisper White,
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Ink: Poppy Parade, Mango Melody, Granny Apple Green, Shaded Spruce,
Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Accessories: Christmas Bulb Builder Punch, Glitter Enamel Dots, White Medium Envelope

 

Christmas Hipster

Inspiration: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #381 + ColourQ #225

Aren't those new Tim Holtz by Sizzix dies awesome? I really love the hipster look to them, with the glasses and monocle. I wasn't sure which character to begin with and in the end, I looked at colour combos for inspiration, and I picked a combo that had coral and brown in it, which led me towards the reindeer. I worked in a couple of other new items in the design as well: the Shifter Mint stencil and the Winter Snowflakes 3D embossing folder (which is the best snowflake embossing folder I've seen so far).

I ran my Antique Bronze Distress crayon over the snowflakes' raised surface to highlight them a bit and I love the soft shimmer it gave them. I will say, I kept being drawn to the Distress crayons when they came out, but I was doubtful I would really use them since I don't do a whole lot of mixed medias. I ended up getting two free crayons with an online order, so I had the chance to play with them. The colors were randomly picked for me and I ended up with teal and pumpkin orange, two colors I love, but despite playing with them and having fun, I still was not sure this was something useful. It was only a year later when I saw some black crayon being used on an embossed piece of silver cardstock to highlight the raised surface that I figured that maybe neutral colors would be more useful. So on my next trip to the store, I grabbed Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze , and those colors were a game changer for me with that product. I have not put them away since buying them - they sit on my desk next to my scissors and adhesives and I've used them quite a few times to distress elements. What I love most is how easily the crayon can be smudged. This is perfect for smaller areas where applying ink would be too dark or too difficult to reach. You simply use your fingers and smudge away. Here, I added detailing to the scarf with the same crayon as well.

Isn't that striped stencil just delightful? I think the fact that you get the thin and large lines , and can easily alternate the colours makes a huge difference on the end result. I see myself using this one a ton, and not only for Christmas. For the sentiment, I wanted to make a small tag like on the sketch and I lucked out: while looking for something else, I spotted the small stitched tab in the Stitched Labels Framelits set. I had already matted my deer with a stitched square (my initial plan was to add the deer directly to the striped cardstock), so the stitched tab looks like the continuity of it. I also found the perfectly-sized sentiment, which reads "Merry Christmas to you and yours" from the Tags & Tidings stamp set (Stampin' Up!'s 2018 Holidays Catalogue).

For the borders, I dusted off the Adorning Accents Edgelits and matching embossing folders. Festive Farm cotton twine was tied around the striped cardstock and two deep red pearls were added to the vellum square. I'm loving how this untraditional Christmas card turned out.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Étiquettes des Fêtes (Tags & Tidings - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral, Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Cool Yule Thinlits, Winter Snowflakes 3D Embossing Folder (Sizzix);
Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stitched Labels Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits,
Adorning Accents Edgelits and Embossing Folders (Stampin' Up!); Shifter Mint
Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); Stitched Rectangles Stackables (Lawn Fawn)

 

A Moose With Attitude

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Let's Get Ready for Christmas) + MFT Sketch #405 + Little Red Wagon #466 (Use a Stencil)

There was no doubt in my mind I was going to purchase the Merry Moose dies after seeing the Tim Holtz Sizzix Christmas release video. Not only is it perfect for Canadian Christmas cards, but this is the cutest moose die I've ever seen. There is just something about his puffed out chest and his knobby little legs that scream confidence and attitude! I liked the angled card sketch from MFT to go with it, and I wanted papers that had a homey, woodland feel so I pulled out the Festive Farm Design Series Paper from Stampin' Up! (2018 Holidays Catalogue), which were perfect to pair with the dies. The long tall tree comes from the same set. There's a separate die that cut the pieces you need to either add foliage to the tree or in this case, I turned the pieces into snow instead. I used the Snowcap stencil from Tim Holtz (also newly released this year) to add snow on the ground.

The sentiment was also die-cut. I used Core'dinations cardstock for almost all of my pieces, which allowed me to grunge it up a bit and add texture with the distressing. I moved the strip from the sketch to the top of the card, and instead of a big embellishment (which I didn't have room for with the large sentiment), I added three iridescent stars around the strip instead. I made a matching envelope out of the same patterned paper and Core'dinations cardstock. This card took surprisingly long considering the ideas kept coming and I didn't really try out various ideas, like I sometimes do. There's quite a few little details to die-cut to embellish the moose, so this can be deceiptively long to put together. I did back every single piece of cardstock I die-cut with Big Shot adhesive sheets, which allowed me to stick the minuscule pieces quickly without having to fidget with glue. Adding the sheets took a bit of time, but less than adding glue would have taken, I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Neutrals and Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Festive Farm
Dies: Stitched Oval Stackables, Dotted Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn);
Merry Moose (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Meilleurs Voeux Dies (Dee's Distinctively)
Accessories: Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More); Antique Bronze Distress Crayon (Ranger);
Texture Paste, Envelope Punch Board, Big Shot Adhesive Sheets (Stampin' Up!);
Snowcap Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)

 

Pretty Poinsettia

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Stamp On It) + Clean & Simple #87

This is another card that I created while going blind. I grabbed a couple of random supplies - the Festive Farm Designer Series Paper and the Stylish Christmas stamp set from the annual catalogue - and I started working off of the sketch I had picked. It didn't start as intended, as I cut my white wood paper a quarter inch too narrow. Before I went back and cut another piece, I decided to see if I could make it work instead. That's how the sparkly border came about. And because my star-patterned paper was too long, I decided to turn it into a banner instead. Those unplanned changes actually made the card more interesting in the end,

The flourish from the stamp set was stamping with Champagne Mist Glimmer Paint, which I applied to the stamp with a sponge dauber. The little snowflakes from the same stamp set were also added to the patterned paper with the Grey Granite ink. Metallic pearls in silver were added to the center of the poinsettia. I'm really happy with how this card turned out - it's so different from the last card I have made with the same stamp set. This one has more of a vintage feel to it. I'm totally in love with this stamp set - it is just a little hard to use as you need to apply ink very very lightly if you want to keep the details of the Distinktive stamp visible. I was struggling with my Cherry Cobbler ink pad more than I had with the Poppy Parade one before. Not sure why...

The sentiment reads, "Happy New Year" and was borrowed from the Feathers & Frost stamp set just so I could have something in French, as Stylish Christmas has not been translated.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Stylish Christmas, Plumes et givre (Feathers & Frost)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Festive Farm
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Grey Granite
Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Champagne Mist Glimmer Paint, White Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Festive Farm Cotton Twine, Metallic Pearls, Detailed Leaves Thinlits,
Joyous Noel 6" x 6" Glimmer Paper

 

Christmas Cheers

Inspiration: Lawn Fawnatics #35 (Coffee, Tea and Treats) + Sunday Stamps #186

I was really inspired by the sketch from Sunday Stamps and excited that I could easily work the new Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle Windows in it! The design of this one came really easily. I used the new Really Rainbow Christmas paper from Lawn Fawn, and added a piece of white Grosgrain cardstock (also part of their new release). The texture of this new paer is so cool!

I decided to play up the colors and emboss my sentiment with Melon Mambo embossing powder on turquoise paper. I also played up the rainbow colors in my little elves and their drinks, and with the colorful gems I added around them. This is definitely not your typical Holidays card!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Helpers (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Highland Heather, Daffodeil Delight, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Really Rainbow Christmas, Woodgrain Cardstock in Neutrals (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Highland Heather (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: White Gel Pen (Gelly Roller); Gems (Little Things by Lucy's Cards);
Melon Mambo Stampin' Emboss Powder, White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Markes (Copic); Holiday Helpers Lawn Cuts, Reverse Stitched Scalloped Circle Windows Lawn Cuts,
Lacy Borders Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn)

 

 

Three Birdies Singin' in a Tree

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #86 + Simon Says Stamp (Wednesday) + Little Red Wagon #457

The starting point of this card was the new Double Slider Surprise die from Lawn Fawn and a couple of items that I had left on my desk to include in a future project. Quite a while ago, I had tested out a newly acquired stencil from Echo Park called Knitted Sweater and tested it out with Pearl Lustre Gilding Polish on Crumb Cake cardstock. I had left it aside to use on a project at some point, but it had remained unused up until now. A few weeks ago, I realized that those test pieces could pair well with the Cozy patterned papers from Authentique. As I was starting to plan out what to use with the double slider die, I realized the test pieces could be used for the side panels and the patterned papers for the main card. I went looking through my Lawn Fawn stamps for something that could pair well with the patterned papers. While I had a few options, I wasn't sure what to add to the sliding panels that would add to the card. In the end, I settled on the Winter Sparrows set.

The Little Red Wagon challenge calls for old or new trends. It's funny, because Lawn Fawn is bringing back all kinds of interactive cards to the forefront with the dies it keeps issuing. Last year, we had the Magic card. This time, we had the double-slider card. Those are nothing new, though: I remember trying both of those techniques when I started stamping about 15 years ago, based off of tutorials that I found on Splitcoast Stampers. I specifically remember the double-slider card I had made - it had funky stars on it, and a purple-green-turquoise combo and I was so pleased with it! (Want to take a peek? Here it is.) I had also taught an interactive card at a local store and that was one of the techniques we tried together. So is this an old or new trend? I think it's an old trend that's gaining traction again.

For the side inserts, I capitalized on a Stampin' Up! stamp set called Animal Talk, which I have always really liked. The images have an animal sound with a translated sentiment separately. The original "translation" reads "So Sweet", but I used another Holidays sentiment instead and added my own asterisk with a white gel pen. That prompted me to add the little notes above the head of the sparrows to mimick chirping and it filled in the void nicely, making the card feel more complete.

I worked on this card over the course of two days so I lost count of time, but it required quite a bit of work! Those double sliders are not quick cards, as you need to decorate two panels plus your card front overall.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Push Here, Winter Sparrows (Lawn Fawn);
Paroles d'animaux (Animal Talk), Cousu avec joie (Stitched with Cheer - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Cozy (Authentique)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Soft Suede, Marina Mist Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Needlepoint Embossing Border Folders,
White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Clear Faceted Gems,
Cable Knit 3D Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!); Knitted Sweater Stencil (Echo Park);
Stitched Snowflakes Lawn Cuts, Double Slider Surprise Lawn Cuts, Winter Sparrows Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Jupiter Metallic A2 Envelopes (envelopes.com);
Pearl Lustre Gilding Polish (Cosmic Shimmer)

 

High Five!

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #507

I liked the pretty color combo from Color Throwdown and wanted to play with it, but I also wanted to use the new Lawn Fawn stuff, so I ended up turning this combo into an untraditional Holidays color combo. The two shades of greens were perfect for the elves, anyway, and I had this idea to use the new Reveal Wheel Square Add-On die: use the reveal wheel to show the toys that are inside the decorated box.

It also appeared to me that the elves had their hand up like they were about to high five, so I capitalized on that and made it as if they are pleased with a job well done. The Stampin' Up! 2018 Holidays Catalogue is introducing a really cool 3D embossing folder called Corrugated, which looks like a cardboard box, so needless to say, it worked perfectly with the boxing and packaging theme of this card!

For reference, the new square add-on measures 3-3*4" x 3-3/4". With the matting, I ended up with a card that measures 4-3/4" x 4-3/4". It's a cute, but still substantial size.

TIP: The lid is a separate stamp from the box, so you can choose to have it closed or open. And the die set includes a tiny line that follows the shape of the inside of the box, so you can die-cut a slit and place characters or toys inside. Very clever! Anyway, I used the dies to die-cut the lid and the bow, but that created a lot of white borders when stacking the two pieces on top of the box. I used my scissors to take off the bottom white border of the bow and the lid. I find that the finished piece looks much more cohesive that way and looks like one stamped image.

 

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Granny Apple Green + Tranquil Tide + Gorgeous Grape + Pool Party

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Helpers (Lawn Fawn); Polka Dot (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper Stacks: Brights, 2017-2019 In Color (Stampin' Up!)
Inks: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Pool Party, Tranquil Tide ((Stampin' Up! Classic Inks)
Accessories: Corrugated 3D Embossing Folder, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Adhesive Foam Strips (Stampin' Up!);
Reveal Wheel Lawn Cuts, Reveal Wheel Square Add-On Lawn Cuts, Holiday Helpers Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn);
Markers (Copic); White Square Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Skating on the Pond

Inspiration: Stamping Bella August Challenge (Create a Scene) + Try Stampin' on Tuesday #376

The "create a scene" challenge was the perfect kick I needed to get my Skating Rink Backdrop stamp inked. I was a little surprised at the size, because it's much larger than the image on the front. I will fill out a whole card front. Since the majority of the scene is mostly snow, though, coloring it is not so bad. I decided to do a darker blue sky, as we usually don't get a lot of sun during the winter, and I like how it looks against the green trees. I've added a touch of Stickles to the snow on the trees to make it sparkle, and I added pearls to mimick falling snow. While this is a cool detail, it was born out of necessity because I had a small black fleck on the top of the cardstock that was bothering me, so I used a pearl to cover it up. The sentiment reads, "Best wishes," so the card could be used for a variety of occasions.

I like that Stamping Bella has recently been adding smaller images to its offering. While I enjoy coloring, I prefer small and medium images to larger ones, both because I run out of patience after a while and also because larger images don't leave room to embellishing the finished cards, and that's a part of the creative process which I enjoy. I generally don't buy the Stamping Bella dies as I tend to use the images as is, but I knew if I wanted to add the skaters to the rink without having to do a boatload of masking, dies would be the way to go. Isn't the little bear with the tuque just sassy? I really love that collection.

For the background, I picked a sheet of patterned paper from the Snow Day collection so that I could make the characters' outfits really colorful. I glued the three characters in the background directly on the cardstock, and I used Mini-Stampin' Dimensionals for the three characters in the foreground, and the North Pole sign. I like how having the sign outside of the image links the main image and the card.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cousu avec soin (Stiched All Around - Stampin' Up!); Skating Rink Backdrop,
Little Bits Christmas Collection Skating Quartet, Little Bits Christmas Collection Figure Skaters (Stamping Bella)
Cardstock: Morning Marigold, Rose Red, Whisper White
Patterned Paper: Snow Day (Crate Paper)
Ink: Lovely Lipstick, Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: White Square Envelope (envelopes.com); markers (Copic); Stickles (Ranger);
Little Bits Christmas Collection Skating Quartet Cut It Out Die, Little Bits Christmas Collection
Figure Skaters Cut It Out Die (Stamping Bella); Elegant Eggplant Baker's Twine, Mini-Stampin' Dimensionals.
Pearl Basic Jewels, Ticket Corner Punch (Stampin' Up!)

 

Elegant New Year Wishes

Inspiration: Just Add Ink #421

The Joyous Noel suite is one of the most elegant in the catalogue and even though the samples are already eye-catching, I think the items from this suite are even more striking in person. Every single sheet of the Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper is gorgeous. And embellished with copper accents, which are scrumptious next to the Sahara Sand, Tranquil Tide and Merry Merlot.

I paired it with an adorable stamp set called Feathers & Frost. Since there was a lot to love in the 2018 Holidays Catalogue, I was trying really hard to narrow down my preorder list. I kept going back and forth with this stamp set (in parts because I initially thought it was only available in English), but I liked the images and the sentiments' font, so I used my hostess benefits to sneak it into my preorder. No regrets there - it's just adorable, and it looks great heat-embossed!

Thanks to the gorgeous paper and ribbon, this card is fairly simple while still packing a lot of punch. To mimick the sketch, I decided to punch out the foliage and omit part of the image. "Happy New Year" was embossed in copper powder on Merry Merlot cardstock  (a striking combo) and I added one of those awesome wire elements behind the image and sentiment strip. Those are beautiful, but I can tell they will be hard to work into cards because they don't like flat and you have nowhere to glue them down with! They'll need to be hung or tucked behind something else, like I did here. That ribbon is pretty fun, too. There's a slight difference between the two sides, but the copper is actually more of a sheen than an actual colour. For those who might be afraid it's really shiny, it's not - it's more on the shimmery side.

It's very rare that I don't mat my card and have the patterned paper directly on the card base, but I was liking the look and didn't want to distract from it.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Plumes et givres (Feathers & Frost)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Watercolor Paper
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Joyous Noel
Ink: VersaMark, Tranquil Tide, Merry Merlot, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Blending Pen,
Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Snowflake & Star Wire Elements, 2-1/2" Circle Punch,
Merry Merlot & Copper 5/8" Reversible Ribbon, White Medium Envelope

 

Extraordinary Snowflake

Inspiration: MFT Sketch #397 and Color Throwdown #505

The soft colours from the combo inspired me to pull out the Beautiful Blizzard bunble. You can never go wrong with a beautiful snowflake sets, as those are very versatile, and Stampin' Up! came up with a great one this year. I particularly like the Thinlits cover plate, which can be used to either create a snowflake-filled card layer, or to get multiple delicate snowflakes to use on your projects. Because I knew I would be able to use the leftover snowflakes on other projects, I switched from using the Smoky Slate cardstock as the layer to the Pool Party cardstock, figuring I might have an easier time working Pool Party into future projects (we'll see if I was right). I had initially pulled out Blushing Bride, but the pink was not as soft as I wanted, so I went back to my cardstock and tried out Powder Pink and Petal Pink as well, then decided I liked Powder Pink the best. (Lots of pale dusty pinks available with the color revamp.) There's something a little vintage about the feel of those three colours together.

I wanted a sentiment that could fill a circle and that is why I picked two sentiments that I paired together: "Snowflakes are unique in their own beautiful way and you are extraordinary." Because the French has a longer word, the first part of the sentiment falls on four lines and made it easier to balance out in the circle (if you look at the English version, it would be longer and narrower). I was trying out options to mat my circle with a scalloped circle - my initial idea was Silver Foil, and I also tried out Silver Glimmer Paper, but when I spotted and tried out the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, I liked the result much better as it was not distracting from the sentiment piece, but just framing it delicately.

One thing I was excited about seeing back in the Holidays catalogue are the shimmer paints! I majorly loved those when then came out years ago and I have been using them consistently since they retired. Champagne Mist has always been my favorite (and it's back!), but we're also getting two brand-new colors: Vegas Gold and Bright Copper, plus getting Frost White back. They are great for painting, but more importantly, to create your own shimmer mist with our Stampin' Spritzers bottles. The Pool Party layer felt a little bare, so I pulled out the mist I had made with the glimmer paint (you just add a few drops of paint to rubbing alcohol, shake gently and you are good to go) and I covered the cardstock with it.

The pink strip was embossed with the Swirls & Curls embossing folder, and I added matching ink to the front side of the folder before running it into the Big Shot. It gave the design definition and added interest to the overall design.

A corner rounder punch was used on two opposite corners of the snowflake-covered cardstock, to match the sketch, but also to soften the design a bit. Finally, pearls were added to the center of the snowflakes. The resulting card is pretty flat, so this will be easily mailable without extra postage.

 

 

 

 

Color Combo: Smoky Slate + Pool Party + Powder Pink

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Tourbillon de flocons (Beautiful Blizzard)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Powder Pink, Whisper White, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Ink: Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Powder Pink
Accessories: Swirls & Curls Embossing Folder, Blizzard Thinlits, Layering Circle Framelits,
Pearl Basic Jewels, White Frost Shimmer Paint, Stampin' Spritzer, Envelope Punch Board (Corner Rounder)

 

Santa's List

Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketches #349

I figured I could use the panel from the Freshly Made sketch to create a little scene with the adorable characters from the Santa's Workshop suite. I was initially planning on stamping the characters from the set and coloring them myself, but when I pulled out the Designer Series Paper, I spotted some images that I figured probably fit the Framelits dies, as Stampin' Up! has been doing that in recent years. Sure enough, all of the Framelits fit the images on the DSP perfectly. Thanks to that, the card shaped up pretty quickly. I did borrow the border die from the Detailed Leaves Thinlits set to add a bit of pizzazz to my card, and I tied a little tag from the Santa's Workshop Framelits with Garden Green baker's twine (new in the Holidays catalogue). The French sentiment reads, "All Smiles This Christmas." I would have really liked to use the sentiment that says "I hope you get everything on your list this Christmas" but it was too large for the tag, so I selected design over saying. Little enamel dots and snowflakes were added to the red polka dot paper, and two red rhinestones to the top of the card.

What the picture does not show is that this Specialty DSP has white flocking on it! Such a fun detail. Stampin' Up! had a gorgeous white-flocking flourish paper many moons ago that I used all the way to the very last piece of the paper pack, so I'm happy to see white flocking again. This paper is entirely different, as we went from elegant to totally whimsical.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Panneaux de Noël (Signs of Santa)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Smoky Slate
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Santa's Workshop
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Santa's Signpost Framelits, Santa's Workshop Enamel Shapes, Garden Green Baker's Twine,
Detailed Leaves Thinlits, Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels, White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Buffalo Check Christmas

Inspiration: Global Design Project #150

Today's card shows a lot of the new Christmas stuff I'm really excited about from the 2018 Holidays Catalogue, particularly the gorgeous photo-realistic papers from the All is Bright Designer Series Paper pack and the gorgeous Merry Christmas Thinlits - which have been translated to French!! The font is absolutely gorgeous and has a retro, classic vibe to it. The paper is also midway between classic and modern, because of the pine boughs and white Christmas lights. Some of the designs on the back of the pages are more whimsical, though, so you can get two very different looks from one paper pack depending on which patterns you choose to use.

Two more items I was over the moon about were the Corrugated 3D embossing folder and the Buffalo Check background stamp. For this stamp, I jumped ship and decided to get the unmounted version for the first time. My background stamp collection started with wood-mount and I've stuck with that option even after the clear-mount became available. That being said, the last few times I used background stamps, especially the ones with a striped or geometric pattern, I found it hard to line it perfectly on my card base and also to get an even impression, so for the Buffalo Check I decided to try unmounted in order to be able to use a stamping platform with it. It goes without saying that it really shows if you stamp plaid crooked, and because the squares were the lines meet up are full images, it helps to ink the stamp twice and use a stamping platform to repeat the image. This was my first try at using it and the difference really showed when I overstamped a second time.

As for the Corrugated embossing folder, this is one of those patterns that, just like for the Subtle embossing folder I raved about all month, you wonder how come it took so long for us to have one. Of course, I know it's because those patterns would have been hard to produce before the 3D folders hit the market, but I think it's pretty ironic that the two folders I'm most excited about are the two with the most basic patterns to them: linen texture and corrugated texture. I was really excited to test out the Corrugated one and let me tell you, it does exactly what it promises and the resulting cardstock looks just like the real thing - especially when you pair it with Crumb Cake cardstock like I did here. It totally changed the look of my card, especially since the little die-cut tag (made with a die from the sentiment Thinlits set) seemed a little bare. I don't have the stamp set that goes with the dies. I kept going back and forth on it but I found the words to be big (and if I'm honest, I don't really like the mix and match sentiment sets all that much) so I didn't get it. The catalogue period is just starting out so we'll see if I regret it, but for now, I don't have the frame stamp that would go with the die-cut, and that's when I got the idea to dry-emboss the tag.

The cotton twine comes from another suite, the Festive Farm one, but the Cherry Cobbler twine matches those papers nicely. This is another item that kept getting on and off the order, and I finally used it to round out my hostess benefits. I still have the previous cotton twine from years ago (the one that included Soft Sky, Whisper White and Wild Wasabi in the pack) and at first view, it seems like this one is a little thinner, which I like better, so I'm happy with the purchase.

Of course, the lovely Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper made a comeback for the sentiments, and I used the Sprig Punch on the green glimmer paper to fill out around the little tag. This is another item I got individually (there is a bundle with a stamp set), as I like adding little sprigs peeking out from under layers or with flowers and a punch makes it easier to do repeats than a die does, as evidence by the three sprigs added here.

Quick tip: I've lined up the back of a sheet of glimmer paper in each color with a piece of Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet (Annual Catalogue, p. 213). Gluing those intricate words and twigs would be time-consuming otherwise with any kind of glue, so you just need to peel off the back and you're done with your piece. I also didn't bother adding adhesive only to the back of what I needed - I did the whole 6" x 6" page as I know I mostly use glimmer paper for embellishments. If I ever use a piece for something else, I'll simply cut into a second sheet, since the pack has multiple of every colour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Buffalo Check
Cardstock: Shaded Spruce, Call Me Clover, Crumb Cake
Designer Series Paper: All is Bright
Ink: Shaded Spruce
Accessories: Joyeux Noël Thinlits Dies, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope, Sprig Punch,
Joyous Noel 6" x 6" Glimmer Paper, Stampin' Dimensionals, Festive Farm Cotton Twine,
Corrugated 3D Embossing Folder

 

Wrapped in the Warmth of Christmas

Inspiration: July VSN challenge G + Try Stampin' on Tuesday #372 (with the sketch flipped 90 degrees) + ColourQ #12 + Stamp Ink Paper #158

When I saw the VSN challenge calling for a card with a holiday theme, I decided it was my chance to get my Holiday Hugs stamp set inked. I looked at past ColourQ challenge for quick inspiration and thought the combo #12 could work nicely. I sort of liked the combo, but I thought I could like it even better if I changed some of the colours to close equivalents, so in the end, I chose Call Me Clover, Real Red, Soft Sea Foam and Powder Pink. That allowed me to include some of the newly released colors in my card as well. I wasn't sure what I thought of Soft Sea Foam - it's really pale and it can look like the colour of scrubs depending on what you pair it with. In this combo, I think it works well, though.

I found in a past Christmas set and sentiment that translates to "Wrapped in the warmth of Christmss." It was perfect to go with my hug image, and the size worked well to fit the curve of the image. I hadn't initially thought to add the pink piece of cardstock to the tag, but the card suddenly became more vibrant and interesting when I did. I used the snowflake row from the same stamp set to add a bit of decoration at the top, to fill the empty space.

The main image was stamped and embossed with Copper embossing powder on watercolor paper and watercolored with inks. A piece of copper-patterned washi tape was added to the tag to tie with the copper embossing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Hugs (W Plus 9); Diagonal Stripe, Souhaits en rafales (Snowflake Sentiments - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Call Me Clover, Real Red, Soft Sea Foam, Powder Pink (Stampin' Up!);
Grana Satinata Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper (Fabriano)
Ink: Call Me Clover, Powder Pink, Soft Sea Foam, Real Red, Sahara Sand,
Soft Suede (Stampin' Up! Classic Inks); VersaMark
Accessories: Holiday Hugs Dies (W Plus 9); Confetti Card Dies (Concord & 9th);
Holiday Toppers CutUps, Toppers CutUps (The Cat's Pajamas); Button (Autumn Leaves);
White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Washi Tape, Softly Falling Embossing Folder,
Powder Pink 3/8" Shimmer Ribbon, Project Life Corner Punch, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Baker's Twine, Aqua Painter Brush (Stampin' Up!)

 

Sharing Christmas Joy

The Stylish Christmas stamp set is possibly my favorite set from the new 2018-2019 Stampin' Up! annual catalogue. It was love at first sight when I spotted it and there was something so very appealing about the bright samples shared in the catalogue to highlight it. I was looking at my new ink pads (they're still on the corner of my desk, I haven't changed the inks in my caddy yet to reflect the new color families) and I thought Call Me Clover, Granny Apple Green and Poppy Parade would make a terrific color combo, especially for a modern Christmas twist. Inspired by the Paper Players sketch #399, I put together this creation.

The Stylish Christmas stamp set has not been translated to French, so I borrowed a sentiment from the retired Tin of Tags stamp set, which I thought suited the style of the images. Gold pearls were added to the center of the poinsettia, and glitter enamel dots to the panels. A piece of the awesome Granny Apple Green ribbon was tied to the center of the card. This ribbon looks really nice - the weaving pattern creates tone on tone stripes and it has a very nice sheen that's not too overpowering. The back panel was also embossed with the Subtle embossing folder (told you I'd be reaching for this one often!), which I used in both directions to create a linen-like pattern.

This card was also inspired by the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (Bright and Cheerful).

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Stylish Christmas, Coffret d'étiquettes (Tin of Tags)
Cardstock: Granny Apply Green, Call Me Clover, Poppy Parade, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper Stack: 2018-2020 In Color
Ink: Granny Apply Green, Call Me Clover, Poppy Parade, VersaMark
Accessories: Metallic Pearls, Granny Apple Green 1/2" Textured Weave Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, Glitter Enamel Dots, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

 

Christmas on the Farm

Inspiration: Merry Monday #294 + Just Us Girls #445 (Black + Red + my choice: blue)

I would not necessarily have thought to use the Hay There stamp set for a Christmas card, but Merry Monday's challenge this week was to include a barn on our card. I was racking my brains trying to figure if I had anything remotely close to a barn, which I didn't think I did, but then I thought of the barn in Hay There and even though it's not a Christmas set, I figured I could add snow to it using the Winte Village stamp set. Turned out that the snow in that stamp set is for flat roofs, but while looking through my Lawn Fawn stamps for Christmas embellishments to use on the animals, I spotted a pointy snowdrift in Frosty Fairy Friends (meant for the fairy house). I also found a Santa hat, a gift and a scarf in Baash Humbug, which were the perfect size for the farm animals. Because I had pulled out the Frosty Fairy Friends set, I got the idea to use the Christmas lights image as well. Size-wise, those are some kick-ass big lights in comparison to the barn, but it looked so adorable, I just couldn't leave them off. I colored the lights with bright-colored markers and added a paler halo with a softer color around the lights. It adds such a nice touch to the light detail. Glossy Accents was added to make the bulbs shiny as well.

I knew i wanted to use the blue gingham paper from the Gotta Have Gingham paper pack for the sky, and the Stitched Hillside Backdrop: Portrait die for the ground. There were a lot of trials and errors with this one before I found the combo I liked the best. Initially, I had used Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper from Stampin' Up!, but the shimmer has color in it, so it was a little distracting and the hills were getting lost in there. My Tonic specialty papers were out and I spotted the little polka dots patterns. I die-cut the Hail Storm (blue) first, but it was too much blue with the sky, so I went for Snowdrop Meadow (white) instead. I liked the look, but since I had already die-cut the blue, I figured I could use both to add definition to the two snow-covered hills.

Once the farm was put together, I decided to die-cut a Merry Christmas out of red cardstock, and add a few stitched snowflakes as well. One of the Christmas sets I had pulled out was Christmas Dreams and I got the idea to use the ribbon bow at the top of the card, over the scalloped frame. By the way, when you cut your card base a regular 4-1/4" x 5-1/2", you see the color of the card between the scallops of the frame, so I cut my card base a tad smaller (4" x 5-1/4") to avoid having the white showing. It's a nice trick to keep in mind, depending on the look you are trying to achieve.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Hay There, Baaah Humbug, Christmas Dreams, Frosty Fairy Friends (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned and Specialty Papers: Gotta Have Gingham (Lawn Fawn); Hail Storm and Snowdrop Meadow (Tonic)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, VersaMark
Dies: Stitched Hillside Backdrop: Portrait, Stitched Snowflakes, Baaah Humbug, Frosty Fairy Friends,
Hay There, Christmas Dreams (Lawn Fawm); bonne fete merci joyeux Noel (Simple à souhait)
Accessories: Glossy Accents (Ranger); Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Alcohol Markers (Copic);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board, Black Stampin' Emboss Powder (Stampin' Up!)

Yuletide Angel

Inspiration: Merry Monday #293 + Retro Rubber #88

This week's Merry Monday challenge calls for angels. A quick scan of my stamps confirmed that I didn't have a lot of option, but I did have the one image that popped into my head when I read the challenge: the angel from the Yuletide Montage stamp set. I believe I added this set to my supplies over a decade ago. (I know it's one of my oldest sets because there are some pictures of projects made with it on page 1 of my Splitcoast Stampers gallery!!) Although I love the images from this set. I have trouble creating with it because it's outside of my usual comfort zone.

I was doubtful that I was going to like the card when I first started working on it, but thankfully, it started taking shape as I plugged along and in the end, I am pleased with the result. The main image was stamped on Crumb Cake cardstock in Soft Suede ink and colored with Prismacolor pencils. (Just for kicks, have a look at one of the cards I had made back in 2005 with this set, also using my Prismacolor pencils. There's been some progress...) I picked the Frosted papers from KaiserCraft to go with it and I inked everything to match the vintage look of the image. (Last week, one of the challenges website had a shabby chic theme - I was hoping to join but didn't have time, but I think the theme stayed on my mind.)

I think the card really took shape when I added pearls to the sentiment circle, a little wooden snowflake and a sparkly chipboard piece that I randomly found while looking for the wood snowflakes. That's when I decided I was going to love this card after all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Yuletide Montage (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Frosted (KaiserCraft)
Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: 1/2" Lace Trim, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope, Pearl Basic Jewels,
Sponge Daubers (Stampin' Up!); Sparkly Chipboard (Making Memories);
Wood Snowflakes (Studio Calico); Stacked Deckle Rectangles Dies (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)

 

Christmas Hats

Inspiration: Merry Monday #290 + Freshly Made #337

I couldn't think of any Christmas stamps I own that have bells on it, but I knew I had jingle bells in my embellishments, so I decided to make a card using the Jolly Friends stamp set and add bells to the characters' hats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Jolly Friends, Quatuor des Fêtes (Four the Holidays - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Season of Cheer (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Hello Honey (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Mini Jingle Bells, Rhinestone Accents,
Cheery Cobbler Baker's Twine, Envelope Punch Board, Santa Hat Punch (Stampin' Up!)
Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies, Stitched Square Frames Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Sequins (Little Things by Lucy's Cards); Markers (Copic)

 

Santa Comes But Once a Year

This card is inspired by Merry Monday challenge #277 + Hand Stamped Sentiments #283 + Create with Connie and Mary #497, plus some older supplies I found in my supplies while cleaning (old Stampin' Up! Christmas rub-ons and Queen & Co. felt border).

The Merry Monday challenge called for the use of a stencil. I couldn't decide between two options, so I used them both! The Zig Zag Dots stencil for the background with gold glitter paste from Nuvo, and the Bricked stencil on the side of my sentiment square. The big bold sentiment is one of the rub-ons I found in the Old Saint Nick pack.

While I like all of the various elements of my card separately, I think all together, the card might feel a little busy. I need to sleep on it to see how I feel about it with a fresh eye.

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Jingle All the Way (My Favorite Things), Flannel Plaid (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Real Red, Lemon Lime Twist, Garden Green (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Lemon Lime Twist, Garden Green (Stampin' Up! Classic Ink)
Accessories: Old Saint Nick Rub-Ons, White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sequins, Texture Paste (Stampin' Up!),
Jingle All the Way dies, Stitched Mini Scallop Square STAX Die-namics (My Favorite Things),
Markers (Copic), Golden Crystal Glimmer Paint (Nuvo), Scroll Felt Fusion (Queen & Co), White and Gold Gel Pens,
Ice Cube Mix Jewels (Little Things from Lucy's Cards), Zig Zag Dots Stencil (Simon Says Stamp),
Bricked Stencil (Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous)

 

New Year Stitched Ornaments

The starting point for this card was the TGIF challenge #140, to choose one of the team's design to copy. I picked Cathy's box design and translated it to a card. I had been wanting to use the Stitched Ornaments dies from Lawn Fawn and they were perfect with this design. I used the I Love Winter papers from Echo Park and they were the starting point for my color combo. I picked matching colors for my ornament, which I topped with a piece of Champagne Foil paper.

I liked Cathy's detail of using vellum for the sentiment, but I didn't want to hide the ornament too much, so I heat-embossed my sentiment in red powder on vellum and added it to the bottom instead. I used mini glue dots on each end of the banner and glued them a bit closer together to make the center of the banner curl up for dimension.

I wanted to add a little something in the diamonds on the ornament and the only color I had that would fit nicely was Liquid Pearl. As much as I tried, I couldn't make nice little pearls, I always ended up with Hershey Kisses instead (one of the beef crafters have had with Liquid Pearls for as long as it's been available), so I finally ended up using a needle to flatten it out and fill in the diamond shape instead. Looks like I'll be adding some Nuvo metallic drops to my shopping list to avoid this problem in the future. I also added a line of little dots on each side of the patterned paper using Sea Breeze Jewels Drops for something subtle to finish off the card.

 

 

 

  

Supplies
Stamps: Cousu avec joie (Stitched with Cheer)
Cardstock: Real Red, Dapper Denim, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze, Vellum, Champagne Foil
Patterned Paper: I Love Winter (Echo Park), Subles Designer Paper Pack (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Stampin' Dimensionals, Brights Enamel Shapes, Liquid Pearl,
Sea Breeze Jewel Drops (Nuvo), Red Embossing Powder, Bunch of Banners Framelits, Nestabilities Dies,
Stitched Ornaments Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn), Sweetheart Twine (Lawn Fawn), Stitched Shapes Framelits

 

Out of the Box

I had a bit of free time this weekend and it had been on the back of my mind that I wanted to make Christmas treat boxes for the office. I discovered that I was able to buy a pack of sheets with all of the same pattern from Lawn Fawn, so I ordered a few of my favorite patterns. I selected Donner from the Perfectly Plaid Christmas collection, thinking it would make some adorable Christmas treat boxes. Most of the Lawn Fawn paper I've bought was in 6" x 6", which does not fit the Scalloped Treat Box die, unfortunately, The last time I was at the Bulk Barn store, I brought back a few different candies to sample. I finally landed on an assortment of Christmas Eggies, Christmas Mike & Ike and some jelly wreaths. I swear, the colors of those were made to match the paper perfectly, especially the Eggies, which could not have worked better.

The box has a little surprise when it's empty: I've added the back of the animals inside the box, which will show only once the candy is done, and I've also added a piece of green Bokeh in the Snow paper (the Pine Needle Twist sheet) to the side opposite the clear window so that we see the bokeh effect behind the critters. (Also to hide the corner tabs and make the finishing prettier).

A snowflake tag was created with the Winter Tiny Tags dies, spritzed with Vanilla Smooch Spray and stamped with the To and From stamp from For You, Deer. I used the Sweetheart twine on the bear boxes (with the image stamped in Gumball Green) and I used Wild Wasabi cotton twine on the deer boxes (with the image stamped in Poppy Parade).

At the last minute, I decided I wanted the critters to hold something Christmasy, so I pulled out the Christmas Like No Otter set and found a little present that was the right size.

My design didn't appear that intricate to me when I made my initial sample, but in the end, I ended up spending many hours on making my 18 boxes for colleagues and family members. That made me wonder the amount of time that Lawn Fawn spends on their own samples that they send out to stores who carry their stuff. (My local store always have a bunch of them and they are always pretty and quite intricate - somebody's doing a lot of coloring and die-cutting somewhere!)

Challenge inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (party!) + Lawn Fawnatics #19 + Just Add Ink #391 + TGIF #139

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Christmas Like No Otter, For You, Deer (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Window Sheet
Patterned Papers: Perfectly Plaid Christmas - Donner (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Poppy Parade, Gumball Green, Tuxedo Black Memento
Dies: Christmas Like No Otter,  For You, Deer, Scalloped Treat Box, Winter Tiny Tags (Lawn Fawn),
Stitched Shapes Framelits (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Sweetheart Twine (Lawn Fawn), Cotton Twine (Stampin' Up!), Black Journaling Pen,
Copic Markers, White Gel Pen, Vanilla Smooch Spritz
Candy: Christmas Mike & Ike, Christmas Eggies, Jelly Wreaths

 

Noel Night

I had been wanting to try out the eclipse technique for a while and finally got inspired to include it on a card using the word Noël. I used the Large Letters Framelits, and as their name implies, the letters are quite large so I had to use a word with a limited amount of letters. French words tend to be long, so Noël was a good option. What's exciting is that the Framelits set includes the punctuation as well, so I was easily able to add the two dots on the E. I used the Night in Bethlehem stamp set to create my scene, and the beautiful colour combo was inspired by Create with Connie and Mary #489. The scene with the letters was so large, I had to make a 4-1/2" x 6" card and keep the layout quite simple. I only added a narrow ribbon and stamped the top of the card with the stitch image from Christmas Quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Nuit à Bethléem (Night in Bethlehem), L'étoffe de Noël (Christmas Quilt)
Cardstock: Fresh Fig, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Neutrals
Ink: Fresh Fig, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Large Letters Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Pewter Stampin' Emboss Powder, Fresh Fig 1/8" Ribbon

 

Vive le vent

These two cards were copied from Craft-somnia Momma.Her card caught my eye and I decided to make my own version since I was in need of cards for my dowline. I changed the red dots for metallic enamel shapes, used the Stitched Shapes Framelits for the circle and added the ribbon, but the rest is true to her design.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cantiques de Noël (Carols of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Emerald Envy, Real Red
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Merry Music
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento, Emerald Envy Ombre
Accessories: Layering Ovals Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Emerald Envy Ribbon,
Stampin' Write Markers (Emerald Envy, Real Red), Metallic Enamel Shapes,
Silver Metallic Thread, White Medium Envelope