Encre, papier, ciseaux

Merry Stripes

Inspiration: The Card Concept #138B + Little Red Wagon #559 (Stripes)

I'm slowly easing into Christmas cards as I've received my Holidays minicatalogue preorder and as I'm seeing more Christmas challenges appear online as well. This card was definitely inspired by the inspiration picture from the Card Concept. As beautiful as the tree and gifts are, it was the holiday pillow propped on the chair that caught my eye. I loved the simplicity. I loved the red on pink stripes. I really loved the single word with the typing font. And I realized I could really easily incorporate all of those elements in a card.

The first thing I did was pull out my Typo Lowercase Alphabet Bigz die from Tim Holtz and die-cut the letters for the word Merry, including the period at the end, which I thought was a nice touch. I found a piece of black suede paper in my scrap drawer, so it added a nice texture. I had a feeling I would need to go oversize in order to incorporate the BIgz alphabet on my project, so I laid out the letters to figure out which size I needed and I landed on a 7" x 3-1/2" card.

I cut a Very Vanilla thick cardstock piece of that size, I used my wide purple tape to mask the middle and I spritzed Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide spray on it. I then grabbed my Gansai Tambi watercolors and added stripes over it. I embraced the uneveness, which adds fun and whimsy to the card.

At this point, I was torn between keeping the card as is or adding a touch of embellishing. I was hoping to add a small poinsettia in the corner using my new poinsettia dies. While I was trying out stuff, I remembered the Plush Poinsettia specialty paper that was also part of my preorder. It includes vellum sheets with holiday patterns in white flocking. Since I had used vanilla cardstock, I was hesitant, but I handcut the images to try them out and it looked pretty cute (even in white), but I decided to try inking the images with Distress Oxide ink to see how it would look. I really liked the result, so I ended up adding the flowers, leaves and branch to the card. I used the new Beaded Pearls (one of my favorite embellishments from the new minicatalogue) and a few beads and gems as well. I'm really happy with the result.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Black Suede Paper (Chatterbox)
Specialty Paper: Plush Poinsettia
Ink: Spun Sugar, Cracked PIstachio, Festive Berries Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Dies: Typo Lowercase Alphabet Bigz (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: Beaded Pearls (Stampin' Up!); Blender Brushes (Picket Fence Studio);
Gansai Tambi Watercolors (Kuretake); Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide Spray (Ranger);
Pearls - Glossy Berry Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards); August Crystals (Studio Katia)

 

Cathedral Window

Inspiration: Frank Garcia Class - Lesson #1 - on Scrapbook.com + Fusion (colours from inspiration picture)

I watched the first lesson of the Frank Garcia class yesterday and was inspired to start crafting along with him. While my card is very much inspired by his project, the result is quite different. I did reproduce those elements from his original card:

• the paper and cardstock layers with the marker-inked edges and the dimensional tape
• the Lawn Fawn backdrop die on white cardstock
• the Liquid Pearl border
• the glitter-covered wreath
• the little bells hung with twine in the center of the wreath.
• a stamped sentiment on a banner die-cut

 I used the Santa Baby paper collection from Prima, one of my favorites with its soft hues. I don't really have big Prima flowers on hand, so I knew I'd have to come up with another plan, so I started hunting for supplies and when I spotted the Cathedral Window Etcetera pieces I bought last year and have yet to use, I knew this could look great. I also pulled out the Christmas paper dolls.

For the wreath, I knew I had some green and white opalescent box wreaths from last year's Stampin' Up! catalogue. They were wrapped smaller than I remembered, though, but I knew they're made of string of wire that can be unwrapped and reworked into another shape. I played with the idea of following the edge of the window at the top and then I also tried wrapping it around a spritz bottle to form a larger wreath and I liked that idea better. I did that with two wreaths and I layered them on top of one another using my glue gun. I then put Distress Collage Medium over the leaves and sprinkled white fine glitter over it. The window piece was spritzed with Brushed Pewter Distress Mica Spray and I used the Collage Medium to add snow on the top and bottom, sprinkling the same white fine glitter again. 

I did look at the very few Prima flowers I have, but they weren't the right look. I did find, however, the vanilla paper shapes I bought from Prima years ago and I pulled out a little embossed star, which was a nice way to ground the little guy's feet. While I was looking through embellishments, I also found last year's Snowflakes & Stars wire elements and decied to add a copper star on top of the paper one.

For the sentiment, I went back to my Stitched with Cheer stamp set, which I've used over and over through the years. I picked out Rococo Rose as my ink to stamp and I like how well it blends with the Prima papers. I added a few rhinestone embellishments, snowflake sequins, and I decided to add a silver and grey button to tie in with the darker paper doll, threaded with Soft Sky cotton twine. I alternated two colours of Liquid Pearl to create the border and I added drops of clear Crystal Drops around the card.

I like the final result and I'm surprised that this still feels like a very "me" card, as the original shown by Frank is very different from my usual style. I'm looking forward to watching the other videos from his class and see if they also inspire something.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cousu avec joie (Stitched with Cheer - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Mint Macaron (Stampin' Up!)
 Patterned Papers: Santa Baby (Prima Design)
Ink: Rococo Rose (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Quilted Backdrop Die (Lawn Fawn); Crystal Fine Glitter (Martha Stewart);
Cathedral Windows Etcetera (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); 
White Opal, Platinum Liquid Pearl, Distress Collage Medium (Ranger); Morning Dew Crystal Drops (Nuvo);
Frosted Finishes Embellishments, Winter Wonderland Embellishments, Mini Jingle Bells,
Snowflake Sequins, Stampin' DImensionals, Bunch of Banner Dies, Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker,
Snowflakes & Stars Wire Elements (Stampin' Up!); Christmas Paper Dolls (Tim Holtz for Idea-ology)

 

Hidden Santa Bear

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #540

So I was not planning on making a Christmas card today but I recently stumbled unto die-cut pieces I was gifted last year when I took part in an international Christmas card exchange. One of the ladies was nice enough to slip a little cello envelope in her card containing pieces die-cut out of white cardstock using the Santa Bear in Pot from The Scrapping Cottage, and she added a colour picture of the assembled piece for reference on the bag. I found the bag again during my recent scrap room cleanup and ended up at the top of the pile when I put everything away last week. Today, I wanted to craft but had trouble getting the ball rolling so I decided inking up my little bear pieces while watching the latest Tim Holtz video on Facebook would get me in the groove (and it did). I picked random Distress Oxide colours and they kept reminding me of an old paper pad from many years ago. I didn't take me long to find it - it's Handmade Holiday from Simple Stories. (I never realized it was from Simple Stories as it was before I started following their releases closely, so it must be one of the first collection I purchased from them.) The darker colour and shabby look worked with the bear really well. I was trying to decide which colour to use for the pot and I decided to glue the die-cut on the back of a piece of polka dot patterned paper and handcut it instead. I inked the edges for depth.

For the design, I was eager to use the latest Mojo Monday sketch, as I love long narrow cards. This seems to be the new rage, as slimline card dies are popping up everywhere lately. This one was sized perfectly to work with 6" x 6" patterned paper. (Julee includes the measurements for each pieces on her sketches, so you can quickly see how to keep the right proportions.) I used a piece of kraft paper with a snowflake and poinsettia border but it looked a little lost of the card, so I matted it with Bravo Burgundy cardstock. I was wondering what to add to the card background to make it less boring. Because of the size, background stamps and embossing folders would have been tricky, so I pulled out my stencils. I picked the Sparkle stencil from Tim Holtz and it worked out perfectly.

For the two pieces, I used a scrap of paper and layered one of the die-cuts over it (cut down slightly smaller than it's original size). I added Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla cotton twine tied in a bow, which filled the space nicely. I backed my bear with plaid paper die-cut with a stitched circle and inked the edges so that the plaid paper would blend better with the darker burgundy cardstock. On a whim, I decided to pull out my Dymo and emboss "Happy Holiday" on a strip of Crumb Cake cardstock, which I also inked. It doesn't stand out that well, so I was tempted to repeat the same step using Core'dinations cardstock, but it looked nice enough that I just decided to keep what I had. I pulled out the Home for Christmas enamel dots and added a few around the card.

I knew I had to handmake an envelope, but couldn't use the 6" x 6" patterned paper, so I pulled out my cardstock stacks to find a suitable colour. (Those stacks were bought at Michaels specifically so that I would have affordable cardstock in a variety of colours when I needed to make an envelope and didn't have patterned paper to match on hand.) I picked a vanilla cardstock, made my envelope and inked the edges to have a matching antique look. I added a few die-cuts from the collection, and I used the scraps from the cardstock to add a rectangle inside the card, which I like to do when I am using a dark colour for my card base.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy (Stampin' Up!);
Vanilla Cardstock (Recollections)
Patterned Papers: Handmade Holidays (Simple Stories)
Inks: Vintage Photo, Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick, Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint,
Antique Linen Distress Oxide (Ranger); Mellow Moss Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Festive Farm Cotton Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board,
Home for Christmas Enamel Dots (Stampin' Up!); Blender Brushes (Picket Fence Studio);
Sparkle Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); Label Maker (Dymo);
Circle Double Stitched Dies (Art Impressions); White Gel Pen (Gelly Roll);
Santa Bear in Pot Dies (The Scrapping Cottage)

 

2019 Christmas Party

This is a second layout that was inspired by the Workshop brochure from KaiserCraft (September 2018) I made. I saw this gorgeous page with very soft stenciling and a myriad of layered patterned papers with distressed edges, and I knew it would be easy to reproduce and perfect to use paper scraps.

I went looking through my pictures for a portrait-style one and I didn't have to look for long. I saw the picture of our group taken at last year's office party and I knew it would work well. I picked a sheet of Midnight Muse and applied white Craft ink through the Falling Snowflakes stencil using a blender brush. Then I layered various pieces of papers from the Season of Cheer Designer Series paper pack. What's funny is that when I started reading the instructions for the layout in the brochure, I saw measurements, so I thought, this is going to be so fast... Turns out there's measurements for the first two layers and then you're on your own! Haha! Makes sense, since it's really just using paper scraps, but I got my hopes up in vain.

To finish the page, I fussy cut some of the poinsettias from the patterned paper to tuck underneath the upper left corner and I also used leftover cardstock snowflakes I had from using the snowflake background plate die Stampin' Up! was selling about two years ago. I had some in aqua and blue in colors that were a close-enough match so I went with that. I then found the Make it Merry Doo-Dads pack from October Afternoon with only three pieces left in there, so I used the green bracket piece in the lower corner of the page and the "Meet me under the mistletoe" bubble near the flowers. I added the year on the first die-cut using the Alphanumeric Script dies from Tim Holtz and I covered the Hello Honey numbers with Glitter Crystal Effects. I would have loved to use the third die-cut from the kit as well, but its background was off-white and clashed with the papers I was already using. I sprinkled rhinestones and sequins around the page and I finished by handwriting my journaling in white gel pen, including the names of everyone directly on the picture. I've seen that on some of my older layouts recently and it's made me want to start doing it again. (Creative cycles, right?)

Speaking of older stuff, I had a tin with an assortment of older leftover embellishments that I don't know where to store and don't want to get rid of, so because I've been rearranging my craft room, the tin was out on my desk and after I was done with the page, I thought, I should have a look inside the tin and see if there's anything in there I could work into the page. That's where I found the Merry Christmas charm, which is very old, but the color works and I had this empty spot on the right side of the layers where I had previously considered adding something, so there it went. 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Midnight Muse (Stampin' Up!)
Craft Ink: Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Season of Cheer (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Make It Merry Doo-Dads (October Afternoon); Falling Snowflakes Stencil (Carta Bella);
Alphanumeric Script Dies (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Clear Faceted Gems, Distressing Tool, Jumbo Rhinestones,
Shimmery Crystal Effects, Glitter Enamel Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); White Gel Pen (Gelly Roll);
Blender Brush (Picket Fence Studios); Assorted Moonshine Sequins (Simon Says Stamp);
Merry Christmas Charm (Making Memories)

 

Serene Snowy Scenes

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #513 + Try Stampin' on Tuesday #459

It's a little random that I'm putting together Christmas cards when the weather outside is finally 40 Celcius with the humidex factor (on a side note, I went from wearing knit sweaters to shorts and t-shirts in a span of two weeks - crazy!). They were inspired by a decoupage kit I found while rearranging my papers. It was late and I figured I could quickly put the images together while watching crafting videos on YouTube. As I was assembling the kit's images, I realized that the scene colours might work with the Frosted papers from KaiserCraft. I pulled the 6" x 6" paper pad and indeed, they look gorgeous paired together. That's when inspiration started flowing and so I kept going, putting the first card together.

I used one of the vintage picture cut-apart images from the pad to stick behind my main image and the sentiment circle was also part of the die-cut inserts at the end of the pad. I glued Distress mica flakes around the central patterned paper to stay with the vintage look. The navy corners are part of the decoupage kit and the silver foiled snowflakes too. I really like how this one turned out, it's very elegant.

The following night, I decided to make a card with the second image while all of the supplies were still out. I looked at challenge sketches for inspiration and decided to use the one from Try Stampin' on Tuesday. I will admit that it is not that obvious now that the card has been heavily layered, but the sketch was my starting point. I initially planned on tucking the sentiment die-cut underneath my papers, but it just didn't look as pretty as when I was adding it over using Dimensionals, so I just went with what looked best. I love how this one turned out as well, and I'm looking forward to using those to sent out wishes at Christmas time this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Seaside Spray
Patterned Papers: Frosted (KaiserCraft)
Ink: Stormy Sky, Ground Espresso Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Outside In Stitched Rectangles Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Distress Mica Flakes, Glossy Accents, Blender Tool (Ranger);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Bashful Blue Satin Ribbon, Pearl Basic Jewels,
Crumb Cake Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!); A2 Nautical Blue Linen Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Winter Snow Globe - and Tag!

Inspiration: As You See It #221 (My favorite type of card to send is...)

My favorite type of card to send (and to make) is Christmas cards! I always send out a big bunch every year, and I have a weak spot for Christmas-themed supplies. It's a good thing I send a lot of Christmas cards because I sure do purchase Christmas-themed supplies a lot.

Here, I combined some older supplies with more recent ones. The snow globe pouches from My Favorite Things came out not that long ago, but the stamp set is an old Pure Innocence set I pulled out. I had wanted to ink it again and the size was great to fit into the snow globe. The sentiment at the bottom comes from Lawn Fawn's Ready Set Snow stamp set and was the perfect size. I filled the globe with Distress mica flakes.

The polka dot background was a pre-embossed paper Stampin' Up! used to sell, ready to be inked. I used Blue Parakeet opal polish from Cosmic Shimmer. From the front, the background looks green, but when you move the card around, you see the blue opalescent shimmer when it catched the light. The polka dot strip was also of my own doing: I used a Tim Holtz stencil and two products: Esmeralda Green glimmer paste and Spa Sprite Glacier paste, both from Nuvo. The stencil is a shifter stencil, so I let the first colour of paste dry, then moved the stencil and did the second row in a different colour. I love the look.

To finish the card off, I added stitched rickrackand a snowflake topped with a piece of holly to fill in the space a little.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Flurry of Love - Pure Innocence (My Favorite Things); Ready, Set, Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!);
Green Glitter Paper (Unknown Source)
Designer Series Paper: ? (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Tall Snow Globe, Stitched Rickrack (My Favorite Things);
Ready Set Snow, Stitched Snowflakes (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Pencils (Faber-Castell); Distress Mica Flakes (Ranger);
Blue Parakeet Opal Polish (Cosmic Shimmer); Bubble Stencil (Tim Holtz);
Sea Sprite Glacier Paste, Esmeralda Green Glimmer Paste (Nuvo);
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Metallic Pearls, Crumb Cake Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up)

 

 

After die-cutting my paper for the snow globe, I ended up with a very pretty rounded shape that looked very much like a tag. So I stamped a couple of images from the Santa's Elves stamp set to add to it, an eyelet at the top and I threaded some cord and voilà! Cute tag using my paper scraps.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: BB Santa's Elves (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!); Green Glitter Paper (Unknown Source)
Designer Series Paper: ? (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Dies: BB Santa's Elves, Tall Snow Globe, Stitched Rickrack, Fold-Up Tags (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Markers (Copic); Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up);
Blue Parakeet Opal Polish (Cosmic Shimmer); Bubble Stencil (Tim Holtz);
Sea Sprite Glacier Paste, Esmeralda Green Glimmer Paste (Nuvo);
Green and White Trim (Michaels)

 

Snowman Selfie

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Party Time)

I decided to pair the Christmas sELFies stamp set with the Snow Day papers from Crate Paper (an older collection) for something colorful. The image was colored with Copic markers and I added a few sparkly details using Nuvo glitter markers. I created a tag out of the yellow polka dot paper and I added vanilla sequins on the polka dots for texture. I made an oversize reinforcer for the hole of the tag using a 1" circle punch and I threaded Pear Pizzazz chevron ribbon, tying it in place with thick baker's twine.

For the sentiment, I found "Be merry this season" in a current stamp set, so I embossed it in Aqua Tinsel embossing powder on patterned paper, dit-cut with the Layering Ovals and matted it with Lovely Lipstick foil paper (from last Spring's SAB offering) with a scalloped oval. The card background was die-cut using the Confetti Card dies from Concord & 9th. Because my card had a lot of layers and the ribbon overlapping at the top, I chose to make an oversize envelope for it. It happens that I had purchased both some 12" x 12" paper and the 6" x 6" pad as well, so I was able to find a leftover piece of the larger paper to make a matching envelope.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Christmas sELFies (My Favorite Things); Fêtes étincelantes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Berry Burst, Whisper White, Lovely Lipstick Foil Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Snow Day (Crate Paper)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Accessories: Layering Ovals Dies, Stampin' DImensionals, Scalloped Border Punch,
Circle Punches, Pear Pizzazz Chevron Ribbon, Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine,
Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!); Wonky Stitched Rectangles Dies (My Favorite Things);
Markers (Copic); Aqua Tinsel Embossing Powder (Ranger); Confetti Card Dies (Concord & 9th);
Glitter Markers, Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Snow Day Border Stickers (Crate Paper);
Vanilla Cream Sequin Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards)

 

Happy Mail

Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketch #416

I've purchased the Happy Mailbox Cubbies stamp set a little while ago but hadn't made a project with it yet. I finally took the plunge today, pairing it with some older Authentique patterned papers. I embossed the mailbox image with gold powder and watercolored it using inks and my Starry Gansai Tambi watercolor set. The fun part of this stamp set is that the matching dies included with it die-but slits and opening doors on all of the mailboxes. You can then stamp and color the additional parcels and envelopes images and tuck them in there where you please. It makes for such a cute little scene. I went with something Christmasy here, but this would work well all year long.

Because the focal point was the mailbox row, the rest of the card is fairly simple. I did add Distress Grit-Paste at the bottom using the Snowcap layering stencil and I sprinkled Distress Mica Flakes on the wet paste. I also added a very thin border of Golden Crystal glimmer paste around the largest piece of patterned paper and a piece of gold satin ribbon. The card was a bit bulky, so I made an oversize envelope using patterned paper from the same collection and I added a postage stamp die-cut for the address block.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Happy Mailbox Cubbies (Art Impressions)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Patterned Paper: Peaceful (Authentique)
Ink: VersaMark; Real Red, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!);
Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Golden Crystal Glimmer Paste (Nuvo); Aquapainter Brush, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Palette Knife, Envelope Punch Board, Gold Satin Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Distress Mica Flakes, Distress Grit-Paste (Ranger); Snowcap Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz);
Postage Stamp Dies (Hero Arts); Dotted Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Starry Colors Watercolors (Gansai Tambi)

 

Not So Basic Mittens

Inspiration: Little Red Wagon #528 (Any winter holiday)

After spotting the Plush Frosty Mitten die in my stash, I decided to put it to use to make something for this Christmas season. Initially, I was thinking of using the felt I had found at the dollar store recently, but I realized I had already made felt mittens before and it might be more fun to see how it'd look out of patterned paper. I found some old Basic Grey holidays paper leftovers and I put together the turquoise mitten. 

Initially, when I cut the mitten pieces, I was planning on having the pattern on both sides of the mitten. I soon found out that you have to remember to turn the paper around before die-cutting the second mitten side so that the fingers line up when you put the pattern on the outside! Rookie mistake... Usually, I would have corrected with another piece, but because I was working with leftovers, that wasn't a option, so I used the aqua side and I added a die-cut snowflake to decorate the front of the mitten instead. I added a pompom from the pack that was also part of my dollar store run. The fun sparkly thread is another recent find from the craft store. It's DMC Étoile thread. I like that it has shine without being as stick as Kreinik thread is. I purchased it to use in my cross stitching projects, but it became a perfect option to stitch the mittens. I used some tinsel trim to make a loop and added buttons as well. (I used my glue gun to add the pompom and the button.) I had found some peppermint candy canes at the dollar store, so I slipped one inside. I discovered that the paper mittens are stiffer than the felt version so that don't open up as much and therefore cannot contain as much. My idea to slip if candy inside along with the candy cane sort of fell by the wayside. I did like the result so much, though, that I decided I wanted to make some more to share at the office. I made seven more, each one different, going through the rest of my Holidays Basic Grey papers (and reminiscing all the while about the Basic Grey glory days). Because my additional mittens were not solid, I switched the snowflake on them to a more substantial version so that it would show up better and I used bigger pompoms to keep the proportions right.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Red Metallic Foil (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Basic Grey
Dies: Plush Frosty Mitten (Memory Box); Snow Crystals (KaiserCraft);
Christmas Day Snow (Echo Park)
Thread: DMC Étoile
Accessories: Buttons (Autumn Leaves); Pompoms, Candy Canes (Dollar Store);
Tinsel Trim (Stampin' Up!)

 

Toile Greetings

Inspiration: CAS(E) This Sketch #352

I was intrigued by the CAS(E) sketch this week as it's different from what we usually work with so I decided to give it a go using patterned papers to see how it would turn out. I reached for the Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper again and I love the look of the mixed patterns. For the top stripes, I used cardstock, with a sentiment embossed in gold, and a piece of matching ribbon underneath.

I made two cards at once and they are slightly different because the first one was my sample and the sentiment was stamped a little too close to the left edge, which left a lot of open space to fill at the other end. I used a ribbon bow to solve that problem. On the second card, I spaced my sentiment better and I was then able to put the bow following the angle of the ribbon and the space was still filled nicely. I think I like the second one better, but it's fun to see two versions of a same concept. 

Sentiment reads, "May this festive season be filled with memorable moments and wonderful memories."

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime de Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Real Red
Designer Series Paper: Toile Tidings
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots, Very Vanilla Medium Envelopes,
Garden Green 3/8" Double-Stitched Ribbon, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Winter Shaker

Inspiration: Fab Friday #179 + Inspired By #103 

I realized the Fab Friday sketch would make a great shaker card, and that it would look cool filled with the Snowflake sequins from the Holidays catalogue. I pulled out the Feels Like Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper, which never disappoint. I created a frame using stitched rectangles dies, and I stamped the biggest sentiment from the Greatest Part of Christmas stamp set on the winter scenery paper, in NIght of Navy ink. (I love this hostess set - this is the fifth project I use it on this week!) I added a punched ornament in the top right corner, also punched out of patterned paper from the same pack, and I added a bit of ink with a sponge dauber to give it shape. I topped it with a stamped image colored with Stampin' Blends markers, from the Free Skate stamp set. The ornament still felt a little bare, though, so I found a snowflake that was the perfect size in the Seasonal Layers dies set. I used Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper to die-cut the snowflake.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Whisper White
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Feels LIke Frost
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento; Night of Navy, Purple Posy Classic Inc
Accessories: Seasonal Layers Dies, Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack,
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, White Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Blends Markers, Detailed Skate Dies, Snowflake Sequins, 
Foam Adhesive Strips, Window Sheet, Stitched Rectangle Dies

 

Christmas Wishes

Inspiration: Global Design Project #220 + TGIF #243 (Use Your Favorite)

My most favorite suite from the Holidays catalogue is the Brightly Gleaming suite. I rarely purchase every single item from a suite, but this time, I did use the collecton code and ordered it all. I love the colors, the copper accents, the elegant patterns. As for the stamps, I recently acquired the Greatest Part of Christmas hostess set and I love the variety of sentiments in there - various fonts, various sizes and great sentiment options. I'm having fun incorporating them in my projects.

The design was based on the inspiration project shared on the Global Design Project page. I picked the largest sentiment from the hostess stamp set and embossed it in Copper powder on one of the neutral sheets of patterned paper, then I used the Stitched Nested Labels dies to die-cut it out, and I decided to mat it with a size larger using Pretty Peacock cardstock. The metallic border at the bottom of the sample card was recreated with a piece of the printed ribbon from the same suite. 

The top of the tag felt very empty, so I pulled out the Brightly Gleaming foil elements and added a bauble. It was getting lost against the background, though, so I had the idea to punch a circle out of a piece of Night of Navy cardstock, which made it stand out more asnd allowed me a way to pop the bauble on dimensionals without it showing. I was trying to figure out how to glue the copper piece without glue oozing out and I realized I could completely fill the whole circle with the Shimmery Crystal Effects and then layering the copper element on top. This in turn added dimension, gloss and shimmer to my ornament and made it really pretty. The tag still felt too bare, so I remembered the copper stars and added a couple. 

I used the ornament punches from the suite to decorate my envelope, adding one of the copper twigs as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Pretty Peacock
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Brightly Gleaming
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Brightly Gleaming Foil Elements, Stitched Nested Labels Dies,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Star Designer Elements, 1/2" Classic Weave Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Shimmery Crystal Effects, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

 

Christmas Lights

Inspiration: MFT Colour Challenge #131 + Little Red Wagon #528 (Any winter holiday)

I'm in need of more Stampin' Up! Christmas cards to send out so I looked through my current stamps and decided to make something with the Making Christmas Bright stamp set. The colorful combo from the MFT challenge seemed like a good match to make something festive and fun.

I used the Buffalo Check background stamp on Poppy Parade cardstock and ran the stamped cardstock through the Big Shot using the Subtle 3D embossing folder to add texture. It was a good step to add because the resulting plaid looks like fabric.

The various light bulbs from the stamp set were stamped in the challenge's colors and punched out with the matching punch. I also added the little tops in green cardstock.

I was looking through my current dies to find a border die I could use and I pulled out the Stitched Lace die, which I haven't used much yet since buying it. I used the border die to create a border the right size to my main panel and I layered the white die-cut lace underneath. For the sentiment, I die-cut the word Noël out of silver glimmer paper, using the Joyeux Noel dies.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Illuminez les Fêtes (Making Christmas Bright), Buffalo Check
Cardstock: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana
Ink: Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade, Granny Apple Green, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Stitched Lace Dies, Joyeux Noël Dies, Silver Glimmer Paper,
White Medium Envelope, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals,
Clear Wink of Stella Brush, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

 

Holiday Haul

Inspiration: Fab Friday #178 + MFT Sketch #467

I took advantage of the day of free shipping offered by Stampin' Up! to get a few last supplies from the Holidays catalogue as well as some new goodies from the upcoming minicatalogue and SAB promotion. I have had my eye on the two Holidays catalogue hostess sets, which were not available during preorder, so I was finally able to get my own sets. I'm still cranking out a few last-minute Christmas cards as I ran out of Stampin' Up! cards to send to my team. The first thing I grabbed from the order to stamp with was the Holiday Haul stamp set.

I thought the Fab Friday colour combo would pair great with it. It's funny, it reminds me of a colour combo I used quite a few times in demos back when Stampin' Up! had done one of its big colour overhaul. Back then, I was combining Bravo Burgundy, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke. Four retired colours and now I'm using four new shades, with a very similar result. There is something about this darker combination that has a classic retro vibe that I like.

As for the sketch, I used the MFT sketch with the four circles. I punched four 1-3/4" circles out of scrap paper and placed them with temporary adhesive on my cardstock to line them up properly, and then I punched them out. I ran the cardstock through the Big Shot using the Hammered Metal 3D embossing folder for texture. The card base was stamped with the stars from the Holidays Haul stamp set and I decided I also wanted texture on the Mossy Meadow cardstock showing through the punched windows, so I used the brand-new Stone 3D embossing folder. (Keep an eye out for this one during 2020 SAle-A-Bration. It's part of a Level 2 set with matching stamps.)

I then started stamping my images and I fussy cut the images out. I had initially placed the reindeer in the fourth window, but this one was looking a little empty, so I decided there was room for a sentiment in there as well. I went looking and realized the second hostess set from the Holidays catalogue was full of sentiments that could work. My initial thought was to stamp a short sentiment and cut it out in word blocks, but then I realized one of the sentiment would work very well in a circle. The first one I used was too big - I realized when I punched it out that it was only fitting in the same size circle punch and I tested it on the card and didn't like the look. I picked another sentiment that was slightly smaller and that looks way better. I sized down to the 1-1/2" Circle punch and now that we see the dark green around the sentiment, the design is more balanced. I didn't want to lose the cute reindeer, so I had him jump between the two panels.

To embellish slightly, I added a piece of Seaside Spray metallic ribbon (one of my favorites we've ever carried) and I added gold metallic pearls to the wheels. I wonder how much I'll use that stamp set. It was one of those sets that I loved on sight, but also had a feeling I would have trouble using. I was happy to find out the images are easy to handcut, which should help, but we'll see how many designs this inspires. This one is about to retire in a few weeks, so I think that will impact how much I use it. There are non-Christmas images in the set, though (pumpkins, hearts, balloon) so I might try to make a few generic cards with it before I move on to the Spring and SAB stuff.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Haul, Ce que j'aime à Noël
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White
Ink: Merry Merlot, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Metallic Pearls, Seaside Spray Metallic Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, 1-3/4" and 1-1/2" Circle Punches, Stone 3D Embossing Folder,
Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder

 

Snow Much Fun... with the New Doodlebug Line

Inspiration: Just Us Girls #516 (Anything Goes) + sketch from S&CT Winter 2019 Magazine (page 30)

I was reading the latest S&CT magazine and a sketch caught me eye and immediately sparked inspiration. I pulled out the new Winter Wonderland papers from Doodlebug, which I hadn't had a chance to do anything with yet, and the little snowman from the sketch reminded me of the Snow Fun stamp set from Avery Elle. Ironically, while I have yet to ink the four other snowmen from the stamp set, they are smaller and the scale was wrong so I reverted to using the same snowman I had already used before. I was in the mood to try something different so I embossed my image in silver powder on watercolor paper and pulled out my Gansai Tambi watercolors. What the picture does not pick up is that I used the pearlescent watercolor to make my snowman's body glisten. I started with shading in blue and rosy cheeks, let this part dry while I was coloring his scarf and hat, and then I went back and added the pearlescent layer. I like how this little detail brings him to life.

I initially thought I would dig into my old Bigz dies for a large snowflake, but I remembered I had stylized snowflake dies from KaiserCraft that might work, which is what I ended up using, with Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper. I wanted to add a piece of die-cut rickrack between the two papers, but I couldn't find my rickrack die where it should usually be placed, so I moved on to another idea. I found some mini striped purple ribbon in my stash that was the perfect color and width, and I made my own little dainty bow using a few mini glue dots. I had the glitter sprinkles from this collection, so I added a few to the card.

For the sentiment, I die-cut a banner using the Simple Wavy Banners dies from Lawn Fawn and I curved a sentiment stamp from the same Avery Elle set to stamp in Blueberry Bushel ink on Soft Sky cardstock. I added a little bird from the same kit that was also embossed and watercolored.

The card base was made from a 12 x 12 pink cardstock I picked up at my local store (no name on it, so I'm not even sure what the brand and color is). It's a coincidence that it matches the Doodlebug line. Both were purchased at the same time, but I was looking to fill a hole I've noticed in my cardstock collection. I mostly use Stampin' Up! cardstock for the majority of my projects (current and retired) since I have all the inks and find you get a really nice quality and quantity for a reasonable price. That being said, I've noticed recently that every time I have to pair patterned papers with a bright, bubblegum pink, my cardstock collections falls a little short. If you have any suggestion to make (in 8-1/2" X 11"), please let me know. Looking at pictures online can be so deceiving. 

This card will be going out to the staff of my local scrapbook store. The owner has been raving about the Winter Wonderland as being her favorite winter paper line ever (and I know she LOVES purple, which probably explains in part why she was so taken with this collection), so I hope she'll appreciate receiving a card made with it. I need to pop this in the mail tomorrow as I'm cutting it close. I've already mailed all of my other Christmas cards over a week ago, but I wanted to make a new one using this new line specifically.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Snow Fun (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!); Pink (unknown); Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Patterned Papers: Winter Wonderland (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: VersaMark; Blueberry Bushel Classic Ink, Soft Sky, Highland Heather (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Snow Fun Dies (Avery Elle); Snow Crystals Dies (KaiserCraft);
Watercolors (Gansai Tambi); White Square Envelope (envelopes.com);
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter Paper, Mini Stampin' DImensionals, Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder,
Gorgeous Grape Mini Stripe Ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Simple Wavy Banners Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Glitter Sprinkles Winter Assortment (Doodlebug Design); Circle Layering Dies (Tonic)

 

Advent Calendar 25th Box

Inspiration: Festive Friday #49 (Flocking + Metallic Paper + Embossing Folder)

I filled an Advent calendar with craft supplies for my niece last year and she really loved it. She not so subtly told me this year she would love to have one again. It was already in the plans, so she's been opening her little doors diligently throughout December. When I placed my preorder, I picked the flower punch as a freebie, planning to gift it to her. She loves punches and I think she was hoping to have a flower one, so this was perfect. 

I've recently received a point reward from Sephora that was packaged in a cool polka dot box, which I made sure to keep so that I could upcycle it. It was the right size for the punch, so I delicately opened the box and lined the clear window with an embossed piece of red foil paper to hide the content of the box. I also peeled back the point sticker from the window and was happy to find out it was coming off easily without leaving any glue residue behind. I placed the punch inside along with the black shredded paper I've recycled from the gift and I tied a piece of striped vanilla satin ribbon and a piece of red pompom trim around the box. To finish it off, I added a folded tag with the number 25 die-cut on it so this will be her gift for the 25th of December. (The Advent calendar was ending on the 24th.)

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Accrochés avec soin (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Red Foil Paper, Black Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: various scraps
Accessories: Washi Tape (Michaels); Fold-Up Tags Die-namics (My Favorite Things);
Alphanumeric Script Dies (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Fallins Petals Embossing Folder,
Vanilla Striped Satin Ribbon, Real Red Pompom Trim (Stampin' Up!)

 

Traditional Toile

Inspiration: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #438

I need to crank out a few cards for my downline members before the end of the year, so I decided to make two of the same design, keeping things simple. I used the Greatest Part of Christmas hostess set I recently acquired and die-cut it with the Stitched Shapes dies. I used the beautiful Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper for the background and tied a piece of Garden Green double-stitched ribbon around. I was going through my dies trying to figure out what the rounded piece from the sketch could be on my card and when I spotted the Flourish dies, I decided the flourish would look nice. I also purchased the Toile Tidings glitter enamel dots on my latest order, so I added a few red ones to the flourish to mimick berries. 

To decorate the interior of the card and the envelope, I fussy cut some images from the toile design and glued them in place. Those are simple, but I am happy with the elegant result achieved.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Ce que j'aime à Noël (Greatest Part of Christmas)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Garden Green
Designer Series PAper: Toile Tidings
Ink: Garden Green
Accessories: Flourish Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stitched Shapes Dies,
Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots, Very Vanilla Envelopes, Stitched Rectangles Dies

 

Christmas Ride

I was really excited to get my hands on the Special Delivery Kit as I had wanted a cute pick-up truck die for a while. I've already made a pumpkin-filled truck with the backside view dies, and I was inspired to make a Christmas version with the side-view truck dies. I also realized the Pines Branches from Crate Paper's Snowflake collection would make perfect Christmas trees for the back of the pick up. They're thin, but by wrapping them with twine, they look like trees when they're wrapped for delivery - which makes sense since they are onthe pick-up truck! 

I used patterned papers that are provided in the kit, and woodgrain cardstock for the frame. I added sequins to the rims for dimension and shine and decided to put pearlescent vellum in the window. It looks awesome - it looks like frosted windows! (If you're ever lived in a cold climate, you know exactly what I mean. I remember at my old job, we had offices all across the globe and the Sweden office had windshield scrappers done with the company logo as corporate gifts, which we thought was a very clever thing to hand out to clients. Gotta live in a cold country for it to make sense, though.) 

Back to crafting, I was inspired to use the gold-foil tags that were sitting on my desk to add my sentiment. I pulled out various options, stamped them on a Stamp-a-ma-jig sheet to test them out and "Salutations hivernales" had the best look and size of the bunch. I used the Mixed Media Powder in Lime to emboss my sentiment. I recently picked up both Scarlet and Lime as they were the two colours on sale, and it it perfect for Christmas projects. I've picked a few differents brands of embossing powder with chunks in them, but so far, the Mixed Media Powders jars have been my favorite as they are still fine enough to use on stamped images without distorting the result. I also like that the result is little speckles rather than a really mottled look. It really depends on what you want to add the powder to and what your own style is. Because I'm more cutesy than mixed media grunge, to me those powders are easier to incorporate in my regular projects.

The addition of the tassel was inspired by the fact that they were out on my desk (they're from the same kit of the gold-foil tags and since I'm down to a couple of pieces, I'm leaving them out on my desk in the hope to use them and not have to find a new spot to put them away). The tag was too bare, so I went hunting for little snowflakes to add in Soft Sky ink and since the die-set includes a snowflake and the pearlescent vellum was already out, I got inspired to add one to the tag. The die set also includes a mini-bow, which I die-cut out of red to see how it looked. I tried it on the tag and hated the result, so I moved it to the tassel instead. I also tied two gold jingle bells to the top of the tassel using gold cord. Finally, I used the vanilla sequins again to sprinkle a few here and there.

As a last-minute touch, I also decided the truck was missing a side mirror. The kit comes with a little sheet that shows you which piece you need for each truck set-up and the side view is not including mirrors, but I decided mine would. I did find it looked more to my liking that way.

The card was quite bulky so I decided to forego a regular A2 envelope and create an oversized one out of patterned paper. I pulled a sheet of patterned paper in matching colours out of a Christmas stack and used my beloved Envelope Punch Board to make the envelope. I used a tag from the same paper stack for s spot for the address.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sous le gui, Serene Snowflakes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!); Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Woodgrain Cardstock in Neutrals (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned Papers: Vintage Truck - Sweater Weather (Queen & Co); Evergreen Cabin (Craft Smith)
Ink: VersaMark; Soft Sky Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Special Delivery Kit (Queen & Co); 
Stampin' Dimensionals, Tassel, Tag, Jingle Bells, Gold Cord, Envelope Punch Board,
Linen Threads (Stampin' Up!); Lime Mixed Media Powder (Ranger);
Vanilla Cream Sequin Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards); Pine Branches (Crate Paper);
Dotted Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Chevron Stripes Die-namics (My Favorite Things)

 

Christmas Cascade

I have been trying to find inspiration to use my Doodlebug Design stamps and when I spotted the Flippin' Awesome dies in my stash, I realized it would be a great way to use the various small images from the Christmas Magic stamp set. I looked for my matching patterned paper but it looks like it has grown legs and walked away to hide somewhere, so I pulled out the Milk & Cookies papers instead. I stamped and colored all of the images to match the papers, used the dies to cut out the images and I started putting together the individual blocks and assembling the mechanism. This card has a lot of little elements on it, so it took a while to finish. I sat down three different times at my desk before I got it done.

(Probably took longer because I was watching Christmas movies on my laptop while i was crafting. As I side note, I started streaming shows on my laptop a couple of years ago, which was a good way to catch up on TV shows I wanted to watch while crafting, even though I don't have a TV in that room. I was not liking how only certain shows are available on the channel websites and the fact that they include ads that you cannot skip was driving me up the wall. Then, recently, a technician came to my place to update my modem and he mentioned at the same time I could access all of my recordings from the Bell app and also the website. I realize this is probably old news for a lot of people, but once I realized I could access most of what I have on my recorder and even away from home, that blew my mind. LIke, a couple of weeks ago, I babysat for my niece and after they were down for the night, I was able to watch shows I had recorded at home, from my sister's living room. I also love that the ads are the actual ones from TV and that I get to skip them if I want. It's much better for my sanity, but it also cuts down on viewing time. Anyway, all that to say that I've been watching my Countdown to Christmas movies while making my Christmas cards. I think it takes me a little while longer to craft when I'm watching TV than when I just have music on in the background, though - as proven by how long this card took to finish!) 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Christmas Magic (Doodlebug Design); Voeux nombreux et joyeux (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Real Red, Pretty in PInk, Gumball Green, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Milk & Cookies (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Lost Lagoon Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Flippin' Awesome, Flippin' Awesome Add-On (Lawn Fawn);
Wonky Stitched Rectangles Stax, Stitched Domes (My Favorite Things);
Christmas Magic (Doodlebug Design)
Accessories: Washi Tape (Michaels); Markers (Copic);
Golden Ochre Glitter Marker (Nuvo); July and August Crystals (Studio Katia);
Candy Carnival Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Design); White Gel Pen (Gelly Roll);
A2 Rose Quartz Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com);
Emerald Envy Glitter Stampin' Emboss Powder (Stampin' Up!)

 

Holiday Ornament

Inspiration: Mojo Monday #526

This card was inspired by the Mojo Monday sketch. I pulled out of the Stitched Ornaments dies from Lawn Fawn and paired them with the gorgeous Snowflake collection from Crate Paper. The big sentiment is from Stampin' Up! and I like how it filles the space when adding at an angle over the other elements. I added a few sequins and a faceted dot in the center of the ornament.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, Champagne Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Snowflake (Crate Paper)
Dies: Joyeux Noël (Stampin' Up!); Stitched Ornaments, Dotted Rectangles,
Outside In Stitched Rectangles (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, 2019-2021 In Color Faceted Dots,
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Sequins (Little Things from Lucy's Cards)

Winter Mitten

After I found felt at my local dollar store, which you've seen me use on my Cocoa Stand card, I thought I would pull out the Plush Frosty Mitten dies from Memory Box and make some mittens with it. I wasn't feeling all that inspired until I started wondering how the die would look paired with patterned papers intead. So I went to the patterned paper I've put aside to work on upcoming projects and I found some old Basic Grey holiday collections. I selected a few scraps and die-cut the pieces I needed. I used some new DMC étoile I found at my local craft store. I really like it because it's sparkly, but much softer than metallic thread, so it made stitching much easier and faster. To make life easier for myself, I stitched the mitten first and then the cuffs separately and I used adhesive strip to add the cuffs in place.

I had initially planned on having patterns on both sides of the mittens, but I messed up when I die-cut the pieces, forgetting that I had to use the backside of the paper for the second piece, in order to have the pattern I wanted out on the outside of the mitten once I put the two pieces together. Instead of wasting paper, I used the aqua piece and decided to decorate it with a die-cut snowflake and to add a pompom in the center. I found those at the same place I found the felt, and I like them because they have metallic flecks in them (silver on the white pompoms, and the assortment also includes red and green). I used my glue gun to add the pompom, the buttons and the loop for hanging the ornament.

The initial idea for the mittens was to prepare holiday gifts for the office, with a few treats stuck in them. What I found is that the felt version will let you slip stuff inside easily. The patterned paper version - not so much. It's too stiff. I was able to slide a candy cane in, but I don't think it'd accomodate much more. That being said, it makes a cute ornament.

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers: Blitzen (Basic Grey)
Dies: Plush Frosty Mitten (Memory Box); Christmas Day Snow (Echo Park)
Buttons: Autumn Leaves
Pompoms: Dollar Store
Floss: DMC étoile (C816, C699)

 

Something Old, Something New...

No, I'm not sharing anything wedding-related today, but I did pair a very old die with some new patterned papers and Tim Holtz dies to make the cute little Christmas basket I'll be sharing today. Case in point to prove how old the basket die is: is what part of the original Big Shot flyer when Stampin' Up! added the die-cutting machine to its offering in 2008. (Wow, I didn't realize I've had my Big Shot and this die for this long before I did the math, but I remember the announcement was made at the first convention I ever attended, which is how I remember the exact year.) The reason I remembered about this die today is that Stampin' Up! announced this week that they won't be doing their Stampin' Success magazine anymore. This is a bummer since this was a staple of the company for a very long time, but people tend to get their information online nowadays so I can see how they felt that the magazine was maybe not the best medium to make information accessible anymore. Anyway, I was going through some old magazines and when I found the Stampin' Sucess, I leafed through them to reminisce. I jotted a few notes of stuff I was seeing that could spark inspiration for upcoming projects and one of those notes was to pull out the basket die again, which I hadn't used in ages. 

For patterned papers, I pulled out the Winter Wonderland paper from Heidi Swapp. I was so in love when I saw it online - and then when I got the actual pack, I was really bummed at how washed out the colors were. While I love the patterns, they're really faded in person so I wasn't sure how exciting they would turn out on project. I had planned to buy single sheets initially, and I quickly figured out that the paper pad was definitely more economical, so now I have this big stack that I'll try and use best as possible. I figured I'd pair them with the basket die. I started die-cutting the pieces for the basket and as I was putting it together, I realized that the paper are one-sided and that the inside of the basket is therefore left blank, which is a little boring. I hesitated for a moment - do I stamp the backside of the pieces? Ink them? Do I switch to another paper collection altogether?

What saved the original basket was the fact that I spotted the Deck the Halls - Colorize dies on my desk and  realized that the colors of the papers would work well with the die-cut pieces, so I got working on them. My first idea was to simply add a bow to the top of the basket handle. It looked a little empty, so I decided I would do two leaves on each side. But because we die-cut by colors, I also had the other twigs and berries, so I added those as well and then I decided the pinecones would look really cute.

I was then debating about adding a piece of fuzzy trim at the bottom of the basket, but at that point, I got curious about how adding the strings from the same die kit would look. I tried just one to start and found out it's the perfect length to go from one side of the basket to the other. I kid you not, it reaches the seam precisely. So I die-cut a few more, added the smaller bows which were already die-cut from my first pass anyway, and I picked red tinsel to add to the bottom of the basket. I was then wondering if I should do a tag or sentiment somewhere. I looked in the paper pad for something neutral to stamp on and I realized that the papers have a strip that you can cut away, but it has some patterns on it. The one I picked had a tag that said "from:" on it. I thought it would look great if I signed my name on it and then when I give the basket away, the person will know who it came from. I added a punched border to make it prettier, punched a little tree from a sheet of patterned paper and added two gold pearls, plus an extra bow at the top that I had leftover from die-cutting a green string.

Considering how uninspired I was when I started the basket, I'm really happy with where I landed. I love this die set from Tim Holtz, I think that the individual small pieces will be really easy to incorporate in various designs. I'm especially looking forward to using those strings some more!

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Bazzill, Craft Smith
Patterned Paper: Winter Wonderland (Heidi Swapp)
Dies: Basket & Blooms Bigz XL (Stampin' Up!/Sizzix)); 
Deck the Halls - Colorize (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: Metallic Pearls, Border Punch, Circle Punch, Stampin' DImensionals, 
Stampin' Write Marker, Red Tinsel Trim (Stampin' Up!)

 

Hot Cocoa Stand

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #568

The Color Throwdown colors this week would have made a fantastic fall card, but I was in Christmas mode and I looked for a way to make it work. I had the Cocoa Stand stamp set from Avery Elle I wanted to use and I realized the brown would work great for the wooden stand, the blue for the sky and snow and that I could probably get away with working in orange details and just a touch of green for the greenery. 

Since it was my first project using the stamps, I didn't know how much of a card front they would cover, so I started by stamping and coloring the images with Copic markers and die-cutting them to see the space I had to work with for the design.I had heard a lot of great things about the Glitter Markers from Nuvo, so I tried out a set of three from my local store. The Crushed Papaya matched my coloring perfectly, so I added a touch of shimmer with the marker to the orange part of the design. I love how it looks - gorgeous shimmer without being too much.

My first idea was to use only the stand on the card front and use the sleigh and elements for the envelope. I then changed my mind and decided to keep them on the card to create a scene. My first idea was to go horizontal, but once I overlapped the sleigh over the side of the stand, I decided to go vertical instead. To create the sky, I inked a piece of white cardstock with a mix of Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide inks. I spritzed with water, then added speckles of diluted white gouache, and I stenciled the stars from the Sparkle layering stencil from Tim Holtz using Red Bronze metallic gilding polish from Cosmic Shimmer. It was hard to get the fine lines from the stars with a sponge, so I finished the details using a fine paintbrush. (Once I was finished, I realized I should have added the white snow afterwards so that some of it was in front of the stars, but that's really just me splitting hairs.)

Because I love the Wonky Scalloped Frames dies, I decided to frame my scene with the largest one. I also happened to stop at what I call my "fancy dollar store" on Friday (if Walmart and the Dollar Store had a baby, that'd be the result - it's really big and they have everything under the sun at very affordable prices) and I found 8½ x 11 felt sheets. I now there are different qualities of felt and not all of it die-cut nicely, but among their vast choice of colors, they had a nice steel blue that caught my attention and I decided to grab it to give it a try. Not only does it die-cut beautifully and neatly, but I also found out when I checked the receipt that they sell for 33 cents (Canadian) a sheet. That is a real steal for felt. Now, I want to go back and have a closer look at the colors they have available. It so happened that the blue felt matched my design perfectly, so I used it for my scalloped frame (and backed it with cardstock because the felt was too soft to handle while trying to glue it down, so adding the cardstock back made it easier to work with it.

Because I had so much blue on the design, I wanted my card base to be orange. It felt a little bare when I placed the design on it, so I tried embossing a piece of copper cardstock cut to 4" x 5-1/4" and embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder. The resulting embossed piece was gorgeous but it was barely showing underneath the scalloped frame, which felt like a waste of foil paper, so I embossed a piece of 4-1/4" x 5½" Cajun Craze cardstock with the Woodgrain folder, used Soft Suede ink to highlight the embossing using a dauber and I finished it off with a soft brushing of the same red bronze gilding polish around the edges. What a difference to the card adding that texture made! 

For the envelope, I picked a Sapphire metallic envelope and simply added a piece of narrow orange washi tape. I absolutely love how this card turned out. One of my faves this season!

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cocoa Stand (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Bordering Blue, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire
Distress Oxide Inks (Ranger); Soft Suede Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Cocoa Stand Dies, Wonky Scalloped Frames Dies (Avery Elle); 
Sparkle Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz); Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder,
Washi Tape, Stampin' DImensionals (Stampin' Up!); Opaque White (Copic);
Red Bronze Metallic Gilding Polish (Cosmic Shimmer); Markers (Copic);
Ember Glow Glitter Marker Set (Nuvo); A2 Sapphire Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Nutty or Nice

Inspiration: Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch #355

This older Stampin' Up! set has been a long time favorite, and when I pulled out the Holiday Village papers from Bo Bunny, I decided they would look nice paired with the nutcracker. In recent years, Bo Bunny has taken a vintage turn with their papers and their new style does not really line up with mine, but I do have a lot of their older collections. This one has a beautiful soft feel to it and I love the non-traditional colours, with shades of soft yellow and pinks.

While looking for Christmas embellishments, I found some mica flakes and decided to glue some around the corners of my papers. I also added silver tinsel trim, wooden snowflakes and epoxy brads. I love the look of epoxy accents, but I hate the fact that they always end up yellowing. This is especially frustrating considering they are not inexpensive. You can see here that the polka dot background the snowflake have a definite yellow hue to them, but the fact that the papers are yellow helped me work around that and work them into my design.

I colored my nutcracker using my Faber-Castell watercolor pencils and for the first time, I tried regular paintbrushes with a little bucket of water, instead of waterbrushes. I wanted to see if that would produce better results. The answer is no, for now. If anything, I found it harder to control the brushstrokes, but since it was my first try, I probably shouldn't draw conclusions right away. I'll also give my brushes a try with different mediums as well to see what works better with each medium.

Finally, I used a sentiment from the same stamp set and embossed it in Melon Mambo powder on Smoky Slate cardstock. I used a cut-apart from the paper to decorate a matching metallic green envelope.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Santa Stache (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate (Stampin' Up!); Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Patterned Papers: Christmas Village (Bo Bunny)
Ink: VersaMark; Jet Black (StazOn)
Accessories: Albrecht-Dürer Watercolor Pencils (Faber-Castell); A2 Fairway Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com);
Sentiment Labels Dies (Simon Says Stamp); Wonky Stitch Rectangle Dies,
Wonky Stitch Square Dies (My Favorite Things); Wooden Snowflakes (Studio Calico);
Iridescent Flakes (Arnold Grummer's); Make It Merry Designer Brads (October Afternoon);
Silver Tinsel Trim, Melon Mambo Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Ticket Corner Punch (Stampin' Up!)

 

Critters & Cocoa

Inspiration: Try Stampin' on Tuesday #430

I had put my Tree Farm stamp set aside so that I could use it again this season and when I pulled out the For the Love of Winter papers from Photoplay, I decided it could work well with the stamp set. The images are quite big and I wanted to create a scene. Because I wasn't sure how much room it would take on the card, I stamped, colored and handcut the images first, selected a die to create the background (Hero Arts' Postage Stamps Infinity Dies) and from there, I decided I would mount the panel on a 4½" x 6" card. I had an idea of the patterned papers I wanted to use for my background, but midway through making my main panel, I got the idea to pull out the Hail Storm Specialty papers from Tonic and then I had to rearrange background papers for a better fit.

I had also put aside a roll of sparkly blue organza ribbon, purchased last year but unused up until now (not for lack of trying). It was working well on this card, but it was getting lost between the two papers, so I cut and punched a strip of Very Vanilla cardstock before adding the ribbon and it instantly looked better.

The border punch I used on the vanilla cardstock creates tiny snowflakes, which I made sure not to discard, and I was able to use them in the top left corner (topped with rhinestones), and inside the card as well to decorate.

I found a sentiment that reads "For a warm season," which was the perfect size and font and goes great with the cocoa-chugging critters. The sentiment was embossed in Platinum powder on navy patterned paper and punched out. I added four pearls to anchor the sentiment lock in place.

Since I was making an oversized card, I used my Envelope Punch Board to make a matching envelope. I added a piece of patterned paper die-cut with the Postage Stamps dies and a hot cocoa sticker from the paper pack.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Tree Farm (Essentials by Ellen); Cousu avec joie (Stitched with Cheer - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Tip Top Taupe, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers and Stickers: For the Love of Winter (Photoplay)
Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento); VersaMark
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Christmas Traditions Punch, Envelope Punch Board,
Pearl and Rhinestone Basic Jewels (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic); 
Blue Sparkly Organza Ribbon (Celebrate It); Platinum Embossing Powder (Ranger);
Snowflake Edger Punch (EK Success)

 

Christmas Sweater Vest

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Christmas) + Festive Friday 44 (ribbon + metallics + inspiration theme - boss' day)

I'm not usually into shaped cards all that much, but when I saw the Sweater Vest dies from Sunny Studio online a couple of months ago, there was something about it that struck my fancy. I was really excited to see the dies shown in my local store weekly new items video, along with the Cable Knit embossing folder, so I made sure to have the owner put one aside for me (with two of their new adorable Christmas paper stacks). When I came back from the store, it's the first thing I pulled out to play with. With Christmas coming up, I wanted to make an "ugly sweater vest" version, but it will also work for other occasions and more generic masculine projects as well. I love the argyle dies, along with the stitching.

There are a couple of things I discovered while working on this project.

1) The patterned paper cracked when I ran it though the Big Shot using the Cable Knit embossing folder. The paper became really fragile and the white core shows, affecting the clarity of the Christmas lightbulb pattern a bit. I didn't want to waste good paper so I ran with it, but next time, I'll lightly spritz the paper with water so that it has more give and I'll also add a layer of printing paper with the patterned paper inside the folder to help prevent the crackling.

2) Be mindful of the way you place the bottom strip die on your patterned paper if the pattern has a direction. I didn't know when I ran it through but the top of the band is straight and the bottom has rounded corner to follow the shape of the sweater, so I was not able to simply turn the band around. The design is tone on tone, so I doubt most people would have noticed, but having the gifts and ornaments upside down was distracting me, so I did a second die-cut to rectify (I recycled the other band inside the card, where I didn't mind it as much).

You can get a shaped card that opens up two ways: die-cut two pieces separately, score the top of the second sweater about a 1/2" down and add adhesive only above the scored line, to get a fold. I used the second method: I prepared a regular-sized A2 card base folded at the top and I placed the die over it, making sure the fold was going OVER the top of the die so that it wouldn't cut the two layers apart. The trick to keeping your full shape is to then add a third layer (in this instance, my patterned paper vest) over the top of the card base and this way, the fold is hidden.

I alternated two patterns of losanges for the argyle pattern and used the stitched X on the green losanges. During my shopping, I had also picked up some neat red confetti from Pretty Pink Posh, which looked really nice placed in the middle of the losanges. For the collar, I layered three of the dies included in the kit and added the bow tie on top. I really love this tie die, as it includes scored lines to mimick the folds and it has the little center as a separate die, which adds nice dimension.

I picked an Anthracite Metallic envelope and decorated it with losanges to match and a dotted rectangle for the address block and as I was about to call it done, the Real Red curly ribbon from Stampin' Up! caught my eye on the side of my desk. I placed it on the vest between the bottom strip and the sweater and really liked the way it added color and texture, so I used my glue strip to glue it down. (I used to use that adhesive all the time for ribbon and such and then I forgot all about it when the 1/8" double-sided tape came out. I remembered I still had some when I took inventory of my adhesive last week. I'll definitely use up the glue lines I have left - which will then free up a space in my rotating caddy for other tools or glue.)

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Very Merry (Sunny Studio)
Accessories: Real Red 1/8" Curly Ribbon, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Anthracite Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Red Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh);
Cable Knit Embossing Folder, Sweater Vest Dies (Sunny Studio)

 

Pair of Skates

Inspiration: Just Add Ink #478 (Just Add H) + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Christmas)

The inspiration letter from Just Add Ink is H, which kept bringing me back to the word "Hiver" (winter). I had the perfect papers in the Feels Like Frost paper stack. I love those papers - the soft colors and silver foil are gorgeous. For the layout, I pulled out my Cardmaps 5 publication and picked one of the bonus sketches at the end. I knew the skate image would be perfect, so I stamped the skate twice in Night of Navy cardstock on Thick Whisper White cardstock and die-cut them out. I then watercolored them using ink.

Since the Free Skate stamp set is only offered in English, I went looking for a French sentiment in my other sets. I found "Have a nice Holiday season" in the Christmas Traditions stamp set from the punch box kit offered last year. I got it on the sale at the end of the catalogue period, which was late in the season, so I hadn't had the chance to ink it up yet. I liked how the shape of the sentiment fit the curve of the skate nicely, so I stamped it on patterned paper from the same collection and die-cut with the Stitched Shapes dies.

I wanted to watercolor the holly and berry image amd to stamp the image in Night of Navy to match the rest of the card so to avoid ink bleeding, I pourred clear embossing powder on the ink before it dried to protect the ink and be able to watercolor. I used Rococo Rose and Soft Sea Foam. Those two colors look great with Purple Posy. Now that the ink is finally available, I'll have to revisit that soft color combo on other projects.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Free Skate
Cardstock: Purple Posy, Thick Whisper White, Soft Sea Foam, Highland Heather
Designer Series Paper: Feels Like Frost
Ink: Night of Navy, Seaside Spray, Rococo Rose, Soft Sea Foam, Highland Heather
Accessories: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder,  Stitched Shapes Dies, Detailed Skate Dies,
White Medium Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aqua Painter Brush, Seaside Spray 1/4" Metallic Ribbon

 

Have Yourselfie a Merry Little Christmas

Inspiration: MFT Sketch #458 + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Christmas)

I love everything Birdie Brown, and she hit a home run with her latest stamp set, Christmas sELFies. It includes adorable selfies from with different winter characters. Here, I went Christmas with my card, but the snowmen and polar bear could work really well for more generic cards. I can't wait to play with the other images some more, but for this card, I picked the North Pole trio: Rudolph, Santa and an elf. I used the sketch to layer three different patterned papers from the cute Holiday Cheer paper pack from Sunny Studio. I tied some green and white trim between the top and bottom panels and I also added white sequin trim between two of the lines on the pattern paper. I die-cut snowflakes out of Tropical Tide glitter cardstock, which matches the patterned papers very nicely.

I was kind of excited that this stamp set does not require the purchase of a die set (instant savings!). The image are just squares. I created my own Polaroid by cutting a white rectangle and stamping the image centered at the top. I used my Polychromos pencils to color the image. I blended some of the colors with mineral spirits. By the way, my store owner shared the best tip in one of her weekly videos: you can use the Alcohol Ink Blending Pen from Ranger and fill it with mineral spirits (Gamsol), whic allows you to blend your pencil coloring without the use of stumps. I was so excited when I heard that because I like the use of mineral spirits to get an even look, but I've always hated how finicky stumps are. Initially, I had a few and I used sanding paper to take the last color off, so it was taking forever to color an image. I later invested in doubles of a few sizes and I was using the same tip for the same colour family, but I still felt like stumps were a hurdle to work with. Enter the alcohol ink blending pen - it's a game changer! It works really well, especially the smaller tip, and you really just have to scribble on scrap paper to take off the last color, like you would with regular blending pens. It works great, in large or small areas. But learn from my mistake - add a very SMALL amount of mineral spirit inside the marker. I was too generous when I filled mine and it not only leaked everywhere when I was fililng it, but the pen kept leaking for weeks even after I took some of the liquid out. I took I had either ruined it or that the tip was not working, but after a while, it stabilized and now I've got the perfect flow. I also like that I don't have to keep the mineral spirit open on my desk and run the risk of knocking it over, so this one is a big win.

I wanted Rudolph's nose to stand out so I trying options - clear gem, red gem, I was thinking of doing red Stickles and then I realized that the red confetti from Pretty Pink Posh I bought this week are the exact size of his nose! The metallic shine is just perfect so I added it to my image with a dab of glue. I also added gems in a few spots on the card, including clear ones on the tuques at the bottom of the card.

For the envelope, I picked a green metallic one and I embossed my image with pink powder in the corner. I repeated the same embossed image inside the card as well.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Christmas sELFies (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White
Patterned Papers: Holiday Cheer (Sunny Studio); Tropical Tide Glitter Cardstock (Tonic)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!); VersaMark; Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Melon Mambo Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Fairway Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Wonkly Stitched Rectangle Dies (MFT);
Red Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); July and August Crystals (Studio Katia);
Polychromos Pencils (Faber-Castell); Christmas Day Snow Dies (Echo Park);
White and Green Cord Trim, White Sequin Trim (Michaels)

 

Christmas Tree Tag

This project started with recycling leftovers from another project. A couple of weeks ago, I made a shaker card with the Stitched Tree Frames dies from Lawn Fawn. I used black foam to create the shaker edge, so I was left with the inside part of the tree both in foam and in patterned paper. I knew this would make a great tag so I put those die-cut elements aside to reuse later. Yesterday, I was looking at some Christmas washi tapes on my desk and thought they would make great ribbon for the tree, so I started decorating it. I also got the idea to add the fun red trim Stampin' Up! currently sells in its Holidays catalogue. I then stamped and watercolored cute images from the Snow Fun Avery Elle stamp set, using my Faber-Castell watercolor pencils and a waterbrush.

I die-cut a second piece of patterned paper from the Merry Little Christmas pack from Pebbles for the back, glue everything together and I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole at the top. I looking in my box of ribbon scraps (once a spool is down to less than a meter, I take it off the spool to save on space and into that box it goes). I found some Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, threaded it through the hole and I tied a white baker's twine bow, threadng two gold jingle bells on it.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Snow Fun (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Neenah Solar White
Patterned Papers: Merry Christmas (Carta Bella); Merry Little Christmas (Pebbles)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Accessories: Merry Little Christmas Washi Tape (Pebbles); Gold Jingle Bells, Black Foam (unknown);
Watercolor Pencils (Faber-Castell); White Baker's Twine, Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

Jingle Bells Tree

With my love of retro-inspired things with a modern kick, I tend to appreciate the lines Steven Duncan designs for Carta Bella. The Merry Christmas has that mix of vintage baubles, old-fashioned Christmas trees and nicely-dressed people getting ready for the Holidays. While the designs are absolutely gorgeous, they are not necessarily easy to design with because those papers are crowded! I was trying to decide where to get started with the paper stack and the Christmas Tree dies from Lawn Fawn caught my eye. Those dies are not new, they were released last year. They are new to me, though, because I was late to the parade getting them­. I scored the frame dies during a sale at my local store, but unfortunately, she didn't have the Ouside In dies that matched so I soon realized that this was creating a difficulty for making shakers since I didn't have the matching piece for the back. It goes without saying that there are many things that I could have create with that set of dies on their own, but because they were purchased after the Holidays, I have moved on to other seasonal projects and it got left behind - until this week.

I finally managed to purchased the other dies I wanted, and when I spotted the patterned paper with the tree branches and hanging ornaments, I thought it'd look great die-cut with the tree. It felt a little bare on its own, but I used the other green paper from the same stack to do the frame and that's when I got the idea of pulling out the newly released Mini String of Lights dies to decorate the front of my shaker. Those light bulbs take a while to put together because you need two die-cuts for each - the light with the little hole for the light reflection and the full piece to back it with (in this instance, white). You can thankfully die-cut four lights at at time, which I did in three colors of cardstock, then I did all my white, and the strings in an emerald green. I pulled out my glue pen and got working on it. It's easy but it takes a minute or twenty. I used a black foam sheet to create a raised frame. I keep trying that technique but the foam gets squished when going through the Big Shot and ends up being slightly larger than the die-cut paper so it shows. It's less obvious when using black foam instead of white, but still, the best option still remains stacking die-cut cardstock. Because the tree is so large, I decided the foam sheet would be a more economical option, though. I thought for sure I would have green sequins to fill the tree with, but it turns out I only have pale mint or olive green, which would have clashed, so I went with Moonstone sequins. It turned out great, I think the sparkle highlights the other elements so it was a good choice.

The top of the tree was decorated with a star. (I realized after I was done that I had the choice of two stars, since there's one in every die set, and I ended up picking the smaller one, where I think the bigger one would have fit better...) I covered the yellow cardstock with Liquid Stardust to make it shine, and it still felt a little bare, so I pulled out a gold faceted gem, which completed the look nicely.

For the envelope, I picked a Sapphire metallic envelope, added a die-cut from one of the patterned papers and finished it off with two light bulb puffy stickers. The inside of the card was decorated with the little pieces of light bulb strings I had left from trimming the tree. I rarely make cards with no stamping, so this is fun and different—yet still me because of all the cutesy thrown in there.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, Hello Honey, Poppy Parade, Whisper White
Patterned Papers and Puffy Stickers: Merry Christmas (Carta Bella)
Dies: Mini String of Lights, Stitched Christmas Tree Frames, Dotted Rectangle Stackables,
Outside In Stitched Christmas Tree Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Liquid Stardust (Lawn Fawn); Window Sheets, Gold Faceted Gems, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Sapphire Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Moonstone Sequins (Simon Says Stamp)