Encre, papier, ciseaux

Tree and Ornements

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #664

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

Make It Merry: Card #3

Inspiration: October 2021 Card Maps Sketch

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

Make It Merry: Card #2

Inspiration: Card Maps October 2021

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

Seasonal Snowflakes

Inspiration: Hand Stamped Sentiments #374

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

Make It Merry: Card #1

Inspiration: Card Maps 2021

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

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

Tic Tac Toe Challenge Guest Designer - Framed Fawn

Inspiration: Tic Tac Toe Challenge #133 (Black + Stripes + Wreath)

One of the cards I entered in the weekly Tic Tac Toe challenge was picked as their spotlighted card of the week, I was invited to be a guest designer for one of their upcoming challenge if that was something I was interested in. I hadn't guest designed in a while and thought it could be fun to sneak something creative in my to-do list.

This is this week's board. The wreath element caught my eye because I have this adorable set from Avery Elle called Christmas Critters that include a fawn with a wreath around his neck. That was my starting point and I decided to frame him with the Wonky Scalloped Frames dies. So as you can guess, I was going to go for the line with the ribbon, but when I started getting my elements ready and working on a layout, I was not liking the addition of ribbon, so I switched gears. I was using the Home for Christmas 6 x 6 Mega Pack from Carta Bella, which includes black, and I wanted to use one of my favorite paper for the background, the one with stripes and snowflakes. So that became my new line, the center horizontal line.

I stamped the fawn in black ink on white cardstock and colored him and the night sky with Copic markers. I then used the Falling Snow stencil from Simon Says Stamp with white embossing paste to add snow. I added a few freckles to the fawn with a white gel pen.

You will spot a lot of new products that came out this year on my card, as I was inspired to use what was around on my desk. I used the Layered Pine stamp set and die from Avery Elle to create boughs to place on both sides of the card. The set includes two Christmas light images, the round bulbs and the straight bulbs. I picked the latter version, colored them in red and green and I started die-cutting them out, but I was not liking the look of the white border against the pine bough, so I decided to hand cut the lights so that I could follow the outline. Those are tiny so that took patience and precision! I covered the lights with a touch of Glossy Accents.

Another recent item is the Vault Series: Christmas 2021 dies from Tim Holtz for Sizzix. I used the smallest 3D star to add to the top of the frame (that was my first time using those, love the look!) and I also used the big loopy Christmas word. Because I have the Home for Christmas sticker book, I was able to pick a sticker that says Merry and use it to form a full sentiment. I tried die-cutting it out of black glitter paper, but it had not cut fully through, so I changed my mind and used green patterned paper instead, which looked just as nice.

My local scrapbook store had just restocked on the Christmas Sparkle silicon mould when I last stopped by, so I jumped on it. I was really curious to test it out when I came back home, so I first filled the shapes with moulding paste, and I was on the fence about the results, so I tried filling the shapes with hot glue to compare. So those shapes had been left sitting on my desk overnight to dry and when I started working on this card, they were ready to be used and I decided the poinsettia might look nice on the card. To color it, I used my waxes from Finnabair. I haven't done a lot of mixed medias, but I'm slowly dipping my toes in with a few products. I like how the poinsettia turned out! It got even better when I added the Gold Sparkle Crystals in the center. I added those gems to the fawn's collar and to the star as well, and I added two additional crystal stars to the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Layered PIne, Christmas Critters (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Evening Evergreen, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book: Home for Christmas (Carta Bella)
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Vault Series Christmas 2021 (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); 
Layered Pine, Wonky Scalloped Frames (Avery Elle)
Accessories: Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More); Gold Sparkle Crystals (Studio Katia);
Markers (Copic); Glossy Accents (Ranger); Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!);
Falling Snow Stencil (Simon Says Stamp); Burgundy, Graphite and White Gold Metallic Waxes,
Old White Matte Wax (Finnabair); Christmas Sparkle Silicon Mould (Prima Marketing)

 

Drumming Nutcracker

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Anything Goes)

This card started with me wanting to test out the Merry Melody 3D embossing folder. I pulled out my old Core'dinations cardstock so that I could sand the surface and show the embossing better. I looked at the available colours and thought if I used Pool Party, I could pair it with the Cozy Winter - Sugar and Spice Creative Pad from P13 I had been keeping nearby to work into my upcoming projects. I absolutely loved the images in this pad, but I didn't get the matching paper, so this ended up being a great starting point. I thought I would just do the background and fussy cut a few images for now, but the wheels started turning and I started envisioning a layout so I ended up making a full card. A lot of ideas came from what was around on my desk, like the Wonderful Snowflakes die-cuts and the Voeux sincères stamp set from Stampin' Up!. I love script sentiments, but they can sometimes be tricky to work into a design because it needs a really large flat surface to stamp such a long sentiment on a card. Inspired by something I had seen in the minicatalogue, I stamped the sentiment on a white cardstock scrap and fussy cut it out. I used the Soft Succulent ink and it looks really nice with the collection.

I was not liking the "naked" snowflake center, so I die-cut a smaller one out of Soft Succulent cardstock, made the cardstock sparkly with a Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer brush and I added a crystal in the center. Before adding my sentiment, I added glue accents on my die-cut images and poured Tinsel Glitter on it. I love the sparkle and retro vibe it gives the card, and it really dressed up the images. I had found this tiny striped heart in the cut-aparts and I decided I wanted to wrap it in twine and hang it at the top of the card. After adding a few more crystals, the center of the frame still felt a little empty to me, so I remembered I had music notes in a Essential Planners die set from Elizabeth Craft Designs (I'm really getting my money's worth out of those die sets!) so I die-cut a couple of notes from the same Core'dinations cardstock and added them to my background. Small detail, but it really made a difference to make the card feel finished.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Voeux sincères (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Pool Party Core'dinations (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Cozy Winter - Sugar and Spice Creative Pad (P13)
Ink: Soft Succulent (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Planner Essentials 10 (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Christmas Day Snow (Echo Park)
Accessories: Merry Melody 3D Embossing Folder, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Twine,
Wonderful Snowflakes (Stampin' Up!); Sugar Cookie Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing);
Enamel Dots (Violet Studio); Tinsel Glitter (Recollections)

 

Row of Nutcrackers

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Texture)

I decided the next stamp set I wanted to ink was Avery Elle's Nutcrackers. I decided to go the conservative road when I purchased that set and I skipped the matching dies, so that meant that I had to fussy cut the images. The result is pretty even, since the images are fairly simple. I colored the images with Copic markers, but did the gold touches with my Gansai Tambi Starry watercolour palette to get creamy, even gold touches.

I knew I wanted to use an embossing folder for the texture challenge, so I went through my stack, pulled a few options I thought would look nice and then I decided to use the mustache folder. I've had this one for over a decade and I honestly think I've never managed to use it once before. I like the look, but themed patterns are harder to fit in a design, especially when it's directional. (More recent folders are often offered in square format so that the embossing can be used on portrait or landscape cards, but this is not the case with this older folder.) As I was going through the folders, I caught a glimpse of the Impresslits and thought those could look cool as well. I couldn't decide between Star Trim and Holly Berries, so I ended up doing both!

The striped paper comes from the new Holly Days collection from Simple Stories. I embossed the sentiment in Rustic Wilderness Distress glaze. For another touch of texture, I added the gold holly leaves from Stampin' Up!, which are made of some sort of stiff fabric. I did the berry with a Say it With Crystals gem. I used a leftover strip of the embossed white cardstock on the envelope, and repeated the stamping of the nutcracker as well.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Nutcrackers (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Evening Evergreen, Pool Party, Whisper White, Gold and Red Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Holly Days (Simple Stories)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark; Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Rustic Wilderness Distress Embossing Glaze (Ranger);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Gold Holly Leaves (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic);
A2 Seafoam Envelope (Envelopes.com); Frayed Denim Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing);
Gansai Tambi Starry Watercolors (Kuretake); Mustache Embossing Folder (Lifestyle Crafts);
Star Trim and Holly Berries Impresslits (Tim Holtz for Sizzix);
Dotted Rectangle Stackables, Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn) 

 

Holly Jolly Pinwheel Card

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Card + Envelope)

I came across a new (to me) type of 3D card this weekend and since I had the Holly Jolly papers and ephemera pieces out, I decided to test it out using my paper scraps. It is super quick and easy to put together. The measurements are pretty much all the same, so it is a hard one to mess up. The only thing you want to keep in mind is to keep it flat when embellishing so that you can flatten the card to put in an envelope - although I did hang a couple of hanging ornaments on one side, but I made sure to make an oversize envelope to make room for it, as my A2 envelopes would have been too tight.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Candy Red (Tonic); Pearlescent Vellum (Lawn Fawn)
Patterned Papers, Bits and Pieces, Enamel Dots: Holly Jolly (Simple Stories)
Dies: Stitched Oval Stackables (Lawn Fawn); Planner Essentials 11 (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Accessories: Mini Tassels (Violet Studio); Beads (Bead Landing);
Envelope Punch Board, Stampin' Dimensionals, Merry Merlot/Copper
Reversible Ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Sequins (Cartwright's)

 

Busy Sidewalks

Inspiration: Global Design Project #310

This card is the result of a lot of random supplies colliding. I was really hoping to ink the Holiday Scenes stamp set from last year's Tim Holtz release. I still had on my desk a little paper doll I had colored with Distress embossing glaze when I purchased the new Prize Ribbon colour. I also had the Hustle & Bustle Thickers out on my desk from a previous projects. In the pack, I spotted a sentiment that reads, "Busy Sidewalks." I realized that the Holiday Scenes include a vintage street scene and that the paper's doll scale would work pretty well with it, so those three elements became the spark being the design.

I was looking for a colour scheme so I referred to my weekly challenge sheet. I didn't see anything current that could work with the elements, but when a weekly challenge comes to an end and I like a sketch or combo I didn't have time to use, I will keep a copy of the picture in my document for future reference. This came in handy here, as the soft combo from a past Just Add Ink challenge was perfect to go with the paper doll.

Before I started crafting, I made a quick clean up of my desk and I found a piece of white cardstock I had embossed with the Winter Snowflake 3D embossing folder. I decided to ink the cardstock with Tattered Rose DIstress ink and use it as my background. I stamped the street scene in Misty Moonlight ink on Seafoam Spray cardstock and used my Deckle Trimmer to cut the top and bottom edge. I inked all sides with Misty Moonlight ink. I hadn't introduced the green yet on my project, so I pulled out the Just Jade cardstock, die-cut a couple of snowflakes out of it and layered them following the sketch. I still felt I was missing something and I had found this interesting leftover piece of Just Jade cardstock that was already stamped with the Buffalo Check pattern, so I tried it as a layering piece and liked the look, so I decided to switch the second snowflake for a Misty Moonlight one.

To juj the background up, I spritzed water in my gold watercolor pan and used Tim Holtz's splatter brush to add speckles. While the gold watercolor was out, I also added some to the snowflakes's tips and to the edge of the buffalo plaid cardstock. I started gluing my elements in place and adding the Thickers words over everything. It was an interesting challenge to get those words situated as most of the letters are not linked together, which I had not noticed. I had to rearrange a couple of times so that I could overlap the two words, but still have them easily readable. I added Say It in Crystals gems and a green enamel dots to finish embellishing. 

I used my leftover snowflake die-cut to embellish the inside of the card and decorated an additional paper doll for the envelope. This card is a little different from how I usually design my cards, but I like where I ended up with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Scenes (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous); Buffalo Check (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Misty Moonlight, Just Jade, Seaside Spray, Blushing Bride, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Misty Moonlight, Blushing Bride (Stampin' Up!); Tattered Rose Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Accessories: Sponge Daubers (Stampin' Up!); Hustle & Bustle Thickers (American Crafts);
Tattered Rose, Prize Ribbon and Peeled Paint Distress Embossing Glaze, Splatter Brush (Ranger);
A2 Sapphire Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com); Winter Snowflakes 3D Embossing Folder (Sizzix);
Frayed Denim Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing); Green Fields Enamel Dots (Altenew);
Gansai Tambi Starry Colors Watercolors (Kuretake); Paper Dolls (idea-ology);
VersaMarker Pen (Tsukineko); Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic)

 

Winter Gentleman

Inspiration: Hand Stamped Sentiments #372 + Inspired By #187

I wanted to test out some recent purchases when I sat down to craft today. I started with the Cable Knit background stamp from Impression Obsession. I was really curious to see how it looks. It was a stamp my local store carried that had me really curious as I love knit patterns, but I couldn't find much online when I googled it to find samples of how it looked, so this purchase was a little bit of a gamble. (Verdict: I love how it looks.) I looked at current colour combo challenges for inspiration, and so I stamped the image on Merry Merlot cardstock with matching ink.

The other purchase I couldn't wait to use was the Vault Series: Christmas 2021 dies from Tim Holtz for Sizzix. Tim made an awesome selection, as I love every image included in this set, the vintage gentleman most of all. Because the colour combo was including Cinnamon Cider, that's the colour I used for the silhouette. It seemed a little plain, so I overstamped a background image from Music & Advert.

The snowflake is also something I've received recently. I made a purchase online and was able to use a "free gift with purchase" code. I had no idea what would be added to the order and had my expectations set pretty low, but receiving a Tim Holtz die was a happy surprise. While I might not have splurged on those dies, I definitely like the look enough to work them into designs. I picked champagne glitter paper (my favorite vintage, versatile glitter paper colour) and I placed the snowflake in the corner of the square, as per the Inspired By sketch. I didn't want to go back to pink for the square, so I pulled out Very Vanilla as a neutral for the design. I found a piece of cardstock in my folder that had already been previously embossed with a Stripe embossing folder. It reminded me of the wood texture from the Inspired By challenge picture so I cut it size and matted it with Cinnamon Cider cardstock. I looked through French stamps to find a sentiment and I immediately loved how the "Joy" word was looking and how it was exactly the width of my cardstock. I made sure to use my stamping platform as I didn't know if the stamping would come out evenly with the embossing, but it worked out well. I inked the edges with my Tea Dye vintage ink spot, a product Stampin' Up! carried many years ago. I distressed the edges of the stamped background and inked the edges of the card base.

The card still somehow felt a little bare so I stamped pink snowflakes on my vanilla cardstock and found a tab die in my trusty Planner Essentials dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs. This is where I reused some scraps on my desk. Early on, I had planned on using the Typewriter 3D embossing folder from Tim Holtz and cut the pieces apart to spell out Noel. I started with Copper foil paper and it was competing too much with the die-cut snowflake. I repeated the same steps with Petal Pink cardstock and inked the raised letters in Merry Merlot ink and I was still very underwhelmed by the result. That's where I switched to stamps and moved on, but I didn't want to waste my foil paper so I die-cut the embossed scraps and I LOVE the look! You don't see the letters, you just see the texture and it looks like hammered metal. Very cool! I also had this bow from the same Christmas 2021 die set that I kept trying on the card and putting away and revisiting and I finally decided to top the tab with it. I included a Say It in Crystals gem on the tab as well. (My local scrapbook store owner needed to make room for all of the seasonal releases that were coming up so she offered a mega sale on a lot of amazing stuff last month. As part of this sale, I scored Say It in Crystal packs at 40% off. Those are gorgeous, but an be pricey, so I made sure to grab a few favorites. This pinkish one comes from the Diamond pack.)

I added a few more die-cuts inside the card and on the envelope to finish off the set nicely.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Music & Advert (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous);
Cable Knit (Impression Obsession Rubber Stamps);
Tourbillon de flocons, Vive Noël (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Petal Pink, Very Vanilla, Cinnamon Cider (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Merry Merlot, Petal Pink, Cinnamon Cider, Tea Dye (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Vault Series Christmas 2021, Fanciful Snowflakes (Tim Holtz for Sizzix);
Zig Zag Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn); Planner Essentials 4 (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
Embossing Folders: Stripes (Stampin' Up!); Typewriter (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: Diamond Say It in Crystals (Prima Marketing); A2 Metallic Bronze Envelope (Envelopes.com);
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Faceted Dots, Sponge Daubers, Distressing Tool (Stampin' Up!)

 

One Sketch, Two Cards

Inspiration: TGIF challenge #333 + Simon Says Stamp Monday (Stamp It)

The sketch immediately made me think of the Simple Stripes backdrop die from Lawn Fawn. I looked through my 6" x 6" paper pads and landed on 'Tis the Season from Echo Park (2013 - wow, didn't realize this pad was this old!). I picked five patterns and die-cut the background die out of each. I arranged the strips in a pleasing manner on two card base. 

Then I went to select stamps. I have recently looked at older cards I had posted in my Splitcoast Stampers gallery and it reminded me that I used to stamp with Cat Pajamas' sets all the time years ago. It reminded me how cute those are, so that's where I went digging. I pulled a few sets that might work and I ended up stamping three images so that I could color them all at once.

I fussy cut the bear image from No Peeking first, and paper pieced the gift image, adding shading with Copic markers. I used vellum for the center panel and added a fine frame made of red cardstock around, which was inspired by leftover pieces on my desk. I embossed a frame using the old Designer Frames embossing folders from Stampin' Up! I stamped "Surprise!" in VersaMark ink and embossed it in red glitter embossing powder. Finally, I picked up a green button that was also left on my desk, threaded Poppy Parade woven ribbon in it and added it to the corner of the vellum. I'm really please with the result on this one.

I also had the singing penguin image, also colored and paper pieced and the scale was also working well for the design, so I used the same idea (leftover fine frame, vellum rectangle, red embossed sentiment), but in this case, I added a stitched oval die-cut to fill in the space a little better. Then I popped up the last word of the sentiment on Dimensionals (mostly because the word was totally unreadable with the embossing), two sparkly gems on each side, and I stamped the music notes with Jet Black StazOn ink.

I still have quite a few strips leftover from my die-cutting so we'll see what I use those for. Maybe glue them on cardstock and die-cut tags? I also have my leftover colored image to use on something.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps:  No Peeking, Joy to the World (The Cat's Pajamas); Coffret d'étiquettes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: 'Tis the Season (Echo Park)
Ink: VersaMark; Jet Black StazOn; Real Red, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Stitched Oval Stackables, Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables,
Simple Stripes: Portrait (Lawn Fawn); Lots of Labels (Stampin' Up!);
Fine Frame Cover (Altenew)
Accessories: Designer Frames, Wonderful Gems, Poppy Parade Woven Ribbon,
Real Red Glitter Embossing Powder (Stampin' Up!); Button (Foof-a-La);
Black Envelope, Avocado Envelope (envelopes.com); Mini White Pompom (Queen & Co)

 

Winter Festivities

Inspiration: Tuesday Morning Sketch #622

I still had a lot of leftover pieces from die-cutting the Simple Stripes backdrop die in many patterns so when I spotted the Tuesday Morning sketch, I figured I could use some of them for the background section of the sketch, and use some more of the paper pad for the other sections. I already had the penguin image colored, so all that was left to do was fussy cut it.

I die-cut a circle out of polka dot paper and I used some Old Saint Nick white rub-ons that Stampin' Up! carried ages ago to add pattern to the circle. I distressed the edge of the grey patterned paper, layered a bit of mesh ribbon and a piece of Old Olive satin ribbon to match. I added four green buttons in each corner as per the sketch, and I embossed my sentiment ("May the Festivities Begin") in white on black paper. I punched it out with the Washi Tape punch.

Also while looking for embellishments, I found the Claus & Co. wood veneers and decided to add the snowflake shape to my card. I used White Glitz embossing powder from Wow. Here's my feedback on this powder. It looks beautiful - it's white embossing powder with clear glitter that's shaped like tiny little rectangles. I've said it before, I love sparkly stuff that is pure white and does not have color to it when it catches the light, as it is easier to use on project where there is pure white cardstock. My complain with this powder is that most of the glitter does not stay on the project when you melt the powder. It feels like the grains are detail powder, and maybe had it been a coarser embossing powder, the grip would be better? I've used it twice so far and the high shedding makes it very disappointing.

I added Stormcloud pearls, Sparkling Clear confetti and red rhinestones to finish embellishing. I used additional rub-ons on a black envelope and created a red address block.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Peace, Joy and Penguins (The Cat's Pajamas); La splendeur de Noël (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!) 
Patterned Paper: 'Tis the Season (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); VersaMark
Dies: Deco Labels (Stampin' Up!); Simple Stripes: Portrait (Lawn Fawn);
Circle Double Stitched (Art Impressions)
Accessories: Distressing Tool, Old Saint Nick Rub-Ons,
Mesh Ribbon, Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Opaque Bright White Super Fine, White Glitz Embossing Powder (Wow!);
Stormcloud Pearls (Studio Katia);Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix (Pretty Pink Posh);
Claus & Co. Wood Veneer (Simple Stories); Buttons (Foof-a-La);
Midnight Black Envelope (envelope.com)

 

Christmas Movie Marathon

Inspiration: Inspired By #185 (Save Waste Paper - this page was done at the end of a crafting week with a lot of the leftovers from previous projects made with the Jingle All the Way collection)

While I was making my Christmas cards with the Jingle All the Way collection this week, I spotted a little TV image in the cut-aparts with Christmas Movie Marathon! on it. I thought that could make a great starting point for layout with a list of the Christmas movies I watched last year. Those can get repetitive, but they make great background noise when I scrap because I don't really have to pay close attention to follow the story. I can just safely assume when I am not looking that they are either baking cookies while throwing flour at each other, decorating the Christmas tree or ice skating together... 

Because Simple Stories almost always include a full tag cut-apart page that have images on the front and blank space on the back and that those tags are all the same size, I realized you cut leave two together, fold in the center and create either a mini-card or in this case, an adorable insert, in which I had enough room to handwrite my list. What was even more serendipitous was that the little pocket with slits from the Planner Essentials dies is the perfect size to house that little booklet. Love when things work out like that! I had a lot of fun using a mixture of fussy cut images, foam stickers and regular stickers as well as ribbon and pearls to embellish the page. I have put together 11 projects with this collection so far and I've barely made a dent in the stickers and embellishments. I'm realizing the content stretches a long way! I don't think I will be able to finish this one off quite yet, so I will probably move on to other supplies soon.

Since this side of the page was already quite full, I used the backside to add the date. I had the words "Christmas" and "Noel" fussy cut from the patterned papers. Christmas was too large, so I went with Noel. The Sticker Book includes number stickers from 1 to 31, so I borrowed the 20, the 2 and cut apart the 30 to create my year. It was getting lost amongst the background, so I added the numbers to a grid Snap Card, and cut it to size. When I had used my Fine Frame Cover die, I forgot I needed to use my precision plate to get good results, so I ended up with a Cherry Cobbler rectangle that was not entirely cut through. I did like the detailed frame it created, so I decided to use it here and create a shaker element, and layer my date over it. The Bits & Pieces kit also had a TV, but this one says "It's a Wonderful Life" on the screen, so I used this one on this side of the page. I went through my stickers to embellish the page some more and I also used an adorable gold heart from a Cocoa Vanilla collection that has nothing to do with Christmas. 

If you look closely at the second picture, you will see I have a tiny sliver of red paper that I glued on the plaid paper. This is actually the leftover portion from cutting the right edge off with decorative scissors. Now, that's using all of your scraps!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Books, Bits & Pieces, Element Stickers, Foam Stickers: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
Dies: Fine Frame Cover (Altenew); Planner Essentials 2, 10, 11, 35,
Reinforcement Variety Pack (Elizabeth Craft Design)
Accessories: These Days Gold Glitter Puffy Hearts (Cocoa Vanilla);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Window Sheets, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots,
Evening Evergreen Woven Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Sequins (Cartwright's); Gold Foil and Vintage Shimmer Pearls (Studio Katia)

 

Merry Tree Trio

Inspiration: The Paper Players #555 + Time Out Challenge #193 (Colored Card Base)

I've been playing with the Jingle All the Way collection from Simple Stories all week and I decided to use the cute Christmas trees I had fussy cut from a cut-apart image. I also had leftover die-cut fine frames so I layered a polka dot Snap card, then a scrap of Very Vanilla cardstock embossed with the Christmas Tree Pattern 3D embossing folder and a Cherry Cobbler fine frame, varying the angles to get a funky look.

I found a cute sentiment in the chipboard stickers pack that was the perfect width, so I popped it up on dimensional adhesive, and I added a smaller sentiment strip from the sticker book (added to cardstock for stability) at the top, to mirror the sentiment. I slipped a snowflake element sticker underneath and then I added pearls, gems and star to the snowflake and trees to embellish them. I finished the card off with a few enamel dots.

I placed the last two cut trees I had inside the card, and found additional trees on another snap card to use on my envelope. I also added another sentiment sticker from the sticker book.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Snap Cards, Sticker Book, Element Stickers: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
3D Embossing Folder: Christmas Tree Pattern (Sizzix)
Dies: Fine Frame Cover (Altenew); Wonky Stitched Rectangle Stax (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Round Iridescent Gems, Vintage Shimmer and Exotic Onyx Pearls (Studio Katia);
Glossy Black Gems (Pretty Pink Posh); Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More);
Very Vanilla Envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

 

Oh Christmas Tree

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Anything Goes)

This card was inspired by the Christmas Mice stamp set from Avery Elle. I thought it was SO cute when it first came out and kept going back and forth on it, but finally talked some sense into myself and passed up on it. Which is why I was SO happy to find both the stamps and dies in the Clearance section this year for a really good price! Jumped on it this time.

So I was looking forward to inking it up and I looked at older Christmas papers to pair up with it. I found Market Street from My Mind's Eye (2015). As I was looking through the papers, I remembered that I had also gotten the journaling cards that go with this collection, so I pulled them out and while sifting through. I found one with a Christmas tree on it that was the perfect size to go with my mice. The mice also have their hands up (to clink cups together, I think), but by giving them ornaments, they look like they are decorating the tree. Serendipity.

I also thought I could add pearls or gems or sequins over the ornament dots on the tree to give them shine and dimension. Again, the size worked perfectly with what I had on hand. The stamp set included little stockings, so I hung one on each side of the sentiment. Speaking of which, I had found the word Noel in gold foiling on a journaling card. I had handcut it and planned on adding it to my card as the sentiment, but once I started putting together, I found out the shape and scale was off, so I retired that idea and simple kept Oh Christmas Tree. I was planning on hiding the English words and adding something in French instead, but hey, when it works so well, why fight it! I thought the tree topper would hide the text, but because the star is holographic, you can still see the text through so it doesn't matter.

For the background, I layered a few papers. I dry-embossed the ombre paper with the Christmas Tree Pattern 3D embossing folder from Sizzix, which was the perfect complement to my main image. I created my card base with Evening Evergreen and did a layer of Soft Succulent on top. The cardstock seemed a little bare so I stenciled the Snow Magic design with a blender brush over it. The patterned paper ends up hiding most of it, but it still made a difference to have that little bit of inking on the edge. I added a piece of Evening Evergreen ribbon, and tied gold metallic thread and pink baker's twine over it for texture.

I reused additional journaling cards inside the card and on my handmade envelope. I had enough patterned paper left to make my own envelope, so I decided to go for it.  On a side note, I finally found some bins at the office supplies store (Staples) that are the perfect size to accommodate scrapbook paper. They are tall enough to be able to add the lid and they are stackable, although there is NO way I will be able to lift the bin once it's full of paper, as it weighs a ton. I've done my best to organize my patterned paper and while the system was getting better, I still had to have papers in various spots of my room so when I was looking for a specific collection, it was always turning into a wild goose chase. So now I have Christmas together, Halloween together, Summer together, Fall together and the rest is organized by company. I think this will follow my crafting logic better. I knew I had a lot of pattern papers (that's my biggest crafting weakness), but seeing it all together like that was still a shock to the system. So you'll probably see more matching envelopes in the future as I need to wittle my paper stash down.

This Christmas card just makes me smile. Don't the mice look so happy?

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Christmas Mice (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Journaling Cards: Market Street (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent, Petal Pink (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Christmas Mice (Avery Elle); Outside In Stitched Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn)
3D Embossing Folder: Christmas Tree Pattern (Sizzix)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board, Baker's Twine (Stampin' Up!);
Snow Magic Stencil (Echo Park); Markers (Copic); Metallic Thread (Altenew);
Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More); Rose Pink and Moss Green Pearls,
Gold Sparkle Crystals (Studio Katia); Jewels - Ice Cube Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards);
Peony Sequins (Cartwright's); Midas Touch and Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brushes (Nuvo);
Blender Brushes (Taylored Expressions)

 

Snowglobe Shaker

Inspiration: Freshly Made Sketch #499 + Tic Tac Toe #127 (Red + FREE + globe)

So I was done crafting for the evening (or so I thought) but as I was putting things away, I spotted on the Tic Tac Toe grid that I could make a line using the supplies I had in my Jingle All the Way collection. So I pulled out the snowglobe chipboard piece and a tag, and left those aside for my next crafting session. But then I saw the Freshly Made sketch and realized that I had two leftover scraps already shaped like corners from cutting off the patterned paper for the cover and inside of my corner fold card. I was intrigued on what it would look like so I put them on vanilla cardstock and layered the tag with the snowglobe image and I was liking the look. I figured I could do embossing on my back piece, so I looked through my retired embossing folders and when I spotted the Softly Falling folder, I thought the falling snow would look lovely paired with the snowglobe image. I then got the idea of adding a tiny frame from the Fine Frame Cover die from Altenew as an overlay (initial idea was to make in narrower than the corner pieces). I was really planning to just pull out the tools I needed and lay them out so I'd have a quick starting point for my next crafting session, but at that point, I was curious to see how the pieces would look together and the ideas kept coming, so I decided to ride the inspiration wave to the end.

I'm glad I did. It turned out into one of those easy crafting sessions where the ideas come easily and everything you try out works on the first try. Even the sentiment tag, which I didn't center properly on the scrap I was using, turned out off-center on the die-cut piece was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed me to tie my twine in a bow and not hide the sentiment.

The tag was too blank and I needed to back the snowglobe image with something. I was planning to do a circle of patterned paper, but while looking through my circle dies, I found the Wonky Circle Frames dies from Avery Elle and decided a shaker would be even cooler. At the top of the tag, I ended up using my last piece of unraveled silver tinsel trim from Prima Marketing. (I shared in a previous post that you can unravel the tinsel trim, which is made out of five plies, to get strands that are not as thick and easier to embellish with.) I was also looking for something to line the corner pieces with so that it didn't feel so bare and I remembered I had peel-offs, so I added thin silver strips on each side and that finished it off nicely. For something that was done on the fly late in the evening, that turned out quite well! 

 

 

 

  

 

Supplies
Stamps: Étiquettes des Fêtes (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Silver Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Sticker Book: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
Ink: VersaMark
Dies: Étiquettes de Noël (Stampin' Up!); Circle Double Stitched (Art Impressions);
Wonky Circle Frames (Avery Elle); Fine Frames Cover (Altenew)
Accessories: Iridescent Silver 8mm Sequins, Vanilla Cream Sequin Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards);
White, Moonshine Snowflake Sequins (Cartwright's); Always Artichoke, Pistachio Pudding
Thick Baker's Twine, Black Mini Sequin Trim, Stampin' Dimensionals, Window Sheets,
Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Emboss Powder Softly Falling Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!); 
Silver Peel-Offs (Starform); Christmas Sparkle Trims (Prima Marketing)

 

Vertical Merry Christmas

Inspiration: TGIF Challenge #330

I still have not ordered anything from Stampin' Up!'s holidays minicatalogue, but I liked the idea of picking a sample from the minicatalogue to draw inspiration from. The sample from page 20 with the vertical sentiment caught my eye. I've been working with Simple Stories' Jingle All the Way collection all week and I noticed that one of the cut-aparts had nice retro lettering on it that could easily be fussy cut so that became the starting point of the card. I cut out the letters, laid them over vellum to figure out how tall the word Merry would be and then I selected my card size based off of that (3½" x 7½").

I was originally planning to use the poinsettias from the foam stickers, but they would probably have overwhelmed the design, so I ended up using the two sprigs that were cut out of the same image, and a poinsettia image I had previously fussy cut from patterned paper and left on my desk. I matted the vellum with the soft aqua patterned paper and picked a nice polka dot dark green for the background. I looked for an English sentiment to stamp repeatedly on the background as in the sample and used Season's Greetings from Stylish Christmas, as it has a retro font that matched the handcut font nicely.

To complete the sentiment, I stamped the "merry Christmas y'all" sentiment from my Cozy with You stamp set and bubble cut the word Christmas to add with Mini Stampin' Dimensionals on my card. I filled in the empty space with enamel dots, pearls and crystals. I also added a linen thread bow as per the original sample. I was liking the result but finding the card a little bland still, so I ended up reaching for my Distress Mica flakes to add something in the corners, keeping with the retro look.

I made a matching envelope out of patterned paper to match the envelope size, using one of the tag cut-apart for the address block.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Stylish Christmas (Stampin' Up!); Cozy With You (The Greeting Farm)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Sticker Sheet: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
Ink: Shaded Spruce, Merry Merlot (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Pearl - Glossy Berry Mix (Little Things from Lucy's Cards);
Gold Foil Pearls, Gold Sparkle Crystals (Studio Katia);
Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Linen Thread, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots,
Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!); Distress Mica Flakes (Ranger)

 

Christmas Joy Snowman

Inspiration: In[k]spire Me #456 (sketch)

Here is one more card I created using my Jingle All the Way collection. I'm still shocked that I vacillated on buying this collection as I've been using it so many times and I love how projects made with it turn out. My starting point for this card was the In[k]spire Me sketch. Initially, I placed my elements as the sketch was showing, but then my die-cut snowman was facing off of the card and it didn't look right. I looked at cut-aparts and stickers, but the other snowmen I had were too small, so I decided to rotate the sketch to have the snowman in the bottom left corner instead and it looked much better. I found a row of Christmas light in the chipboard pack to embellish the top and I added a ribbon and mini black sequin trim to the bottom for added texture.

For the sentiment, I stamped a "Christmas Joy" banner and embossed it in Real Red glitter powder, then used the matching dies to cut it out. I added a dab of Glossy Accents on the eyes of the snowman and a few enamel dots to finish it off. I decorated a matching envelope using stickers and ephemera, as well as little snowflakes leftover from the snowflake border punch I used on my previous card. 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Cousu avec joie (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Chipboard Stickers: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Real Red Glitter Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Black Mini Sequin Trim, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, Mint Macaron Ribbon,
Bunch of Banners Dies, Doily Builder Dies, Rhinestones (Stampin' Up!);
Glossy Accents (Ranger); Vanilla Square Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Santa Flip Corner Card

Inspiration: Festive Friday #91 (fun fold + patterned paper + ribbon)

This is another card for my Jingle All the Way series. When I saw the fun fold element in the challenge list, I went to the Splitcoast Stampers website to have a look at their tutorials for inspiration. I had never seen a flip corner card before and it seemed simple so I decided to give it a try. It worked out really well with the elements I was designing with.

I ended up decorating the inside heavily to make it pretty and hide little bits of adhesive and ribbon that were peaking from underneath my turned corner. I wanted to use a tag from the cut-apart sheet for my message block and thought it would be fun to tuck it in a pocket instead of gluing it down. I had those triangles leftover from doing patterned paper on the folded corner side, so that was a perfect way to use my leftover pieces. I used another cut-apart tag on the envelope as well. I'm really pleased with the resulting card.

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Bits & Pieces, Sticker Book: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
Dies: Layering Squares (Stampin' Up!); Wonky Stitch Rectangle Stax (My Favorite Things)
Accessories: Elegant Evergreen Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Rhinestones,
Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!); Liquid Appliqué (Marvy);
A2 Envelope (envelopes.com);  Christmas Sparkle Trims (Prima Marketing);
Snowflake Edger Punch (EK Success)

 

Santa's List

Inspiration: MFT Sketch #555

About a month ago, I made a card set using a winter Doodlebug collection to donate for the Children's Hospital. The lady who's in charge of this is stopping by the local scrapbook store about once a month to pick up our donated cards until she has enough for all of the kids to get their own card. I'm hoping to have a few more to donate next time I stop by the store, so I figured I could pull out another Christmas collection and try to make a new series. This time, I pulled out Jingle All the Way from Simple Stories. This one was purchased last year and I let myself get enamored with it, so I have quite a few elements to work with. I've updated my weekly challenge sheet so that I have a starting point to put cards together.

This one was inspired by the MFT sketch. I found the little Santa on a journaling card, so I fussy cut him. I was planning on adding him to a die-cut circle, but then I spotted this cool hexagon shape on one of the cut-apart papers, so I decided to use this instead. I popped the Santa on dimensional adhesive and because his hand was uneven due to the fact that the image was going over the edge of the paper (and therefore the fingers were missing), I used a candy cane from the puffy stickers pack to hide that little problem.

I found a mailbox in the ephemera pack, so I decided to use that and I also spotted on another cut-apart sheet a special delivery square with a postage stamp, so I decided to tuck that somewhere on the card as well. Now that I knew which images I would be working with, I went through the patterned papers to select patterns that would complement them nicely. I decided to use the tree row for the middle strip and the candlelight on black for the background. Sitting on my desk was the Christmas Sparkle trim from Prima Design I recently acquired and I decided tinsel would be cool on this Christmas card. 

Let me share a tip I discovered about this tinsel. It's cute, but it's really thick. Not a problem on packaging or 3D projects, but somewhat tricky on cards. I found out it's made out of five strands that are woven together. So if you prefer, you can carefully untangle the strands and use them separately. Bonus: You will also stretch your trim on more projects if you use the strands apart. Here, I decided two strands was giving me enough fluff and coverage. The center cord on the silver tinsel is white, though, so it starts showing more when it's untangled and the tinsel is more sparse, but it depends on the look you are going for. You don't have to unweave the whole thing: here, I just cut the length I needed and use the tip of my paper piercer to unknot the trim.

I added a vanilla border punched out with an older border punch and I went back to the puffy stickers to embellish the mailbox. I pulled out the older Home for Christmas enamel dots to add a few to the cards. I added glitter to the cut-apart border and Santa's belt buckle using the Lemon Drizzle glitter marker from Nuvo.

My finished card measures 8½" x 4". I made a matching envelope out of cardstock, added patterned paper to the front and a Snap card for the address block. I repeated the tree row paper again. On the envelope flap, I used a paper scrap from my desk and a couple of stickers from the sticker book. I also used a sticker inside the card, as well as another hand-cut flower that hadn't made its way onto the card.

The last thing I did was add Liquid Appliqué to the fur trim on the Santa suit. I've had this product for years and in the past, I've always puffed it with my heat gun right away or after a couple of hours of letting it dry. This time, I followed the instructions more closely and let it dry overnight. I like the result so much better! The texture is just perfect and there's less "air" in it, so it's more compact and I expect  it won't get squished as much in the envelope. This really added the perfect finishing touch to the card. Word to the wise, though - puffy stickers can't withstand heat and the side of the candy cane melted just a tad, but thankfully, I saw that it was happening and moved the heat gun away quickly so I saved my sticker, but passing the wisdom along...

First one down... let's see how many I can get done before the end of this weekend.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Sticker Book, Bits & Pieces, Puffy Stickers: Jingle All the Way (Simple Stories)
Accessories: Lemon Drizzle Glitter Marker (Nuvo); Deco Scissors (Fiskars);
Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board,
Scalloped Border Punch (Stampin' Up!); Liquid Appliqué (Marvy); 
Christmas Sparkle Trims (Prima Marketing)

 

Winter Wonderland Quartet

I still had four card bases leftover from creating with Lawn Fawn's Simple Stripes: Diagonal die, so I kept using my Winter Wonderland cut-aparts and putting cards together. 

So on my previous cards, I used some of the cut-aparts images and didn't need the frame so rather than cutting through it, I used my paper cutter to take the center out and keep the frames. This allowed me to make shakers really quickly. The border was the perfect size to hide adhesive foam strips underneath and I had some Snowflake Sequins mix from a previous Stampin' Up! holidays catalogue that I filled my shakers with. 

I used Tim Holtz's deckle trimmer to mat the images that weren't turned into shakers. I was loving those two images too much to hide them, so I decorated around them instead. The snowman had a little text bubble with an English sentiment, so I got creative and hid it underneath a stitched oval die-cut, on which I created my own French sentiment.

I also stamped a French sentiment, embossed in white, at the top of the cut-apart with the animal pyramid. I remembered as I was looking for my French stamps that I have this cute fluffy chenille fiber, perfect to add a bit of texture to the card. I tied it with a bit of sparkly crochet thread. I used an oldie but goodie snowflake punch with holographic bling (which is outrageously expensive but so beautiful...) in the center on two of the cards.

I still need to make envelopes for those cards, are most are very bulky with the shakers and I don't think they will fit comfortably in A2 envelopes, and I have to write a little note for the kids who will receive the cards inside. Last year, I crafted for the seniors. This year, for the kids. It's extremely satisfying to use my time and supplies to make somebody's holidays a little brighter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Douceurs glacées, Coffre d'étiquettes, Cousu avec joie, Tempête de souhaits (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Highland Heather (Stampin' Up!);
Blue Cashmere Pearlescent, Cobalt Blue Glitter, Blue Obsidian Mirror (Tonic)
Ink: VersaMark; Polished Pink, Blueberry Bushel (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Icons Stickers, Winter Hugs Shape Sprinkles: Winter Wonderland (Doodlebug Design)
Dies: Simple Stripes Diagonal Backdrop, Stitched Oval Stackables (Lawn Fawn);
Joyeuses Fêtes (Lime Citron); Joyeux Noël (Les ateliers de Karine)
Accessories: Foam Adhesive Strips, Stampin' Dimensionals, Snowflake Sequins,
White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Window Sheets, Blueberry Bushel 1/8" Ribbon,
Highland Heather Mini Striped Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
White Sparkly Crochet Thread, Turquoise Chenille Fiber (?);
Deckle Trimmer (Tim Holtz for Tonic); Snowflake Punch (EK Success);
Holographic Gems (Recollections)

 

Winter Wonderland Trio

Inspiration: Global Design Project #301 

So I mentioned in my Expedition Everest page post that I wanted to keep using Doodlebug's Winter Wonderland collection to make cards. Specifically, I was eager to test out the newly-released Simple Stripes: Diagonal background die from Lawn Fawn. I was really intrigued by it and very curious to see it done with patterned papers (so far, I've only seen colorful cardstock background in the samples posted). 

Here is the thing: be prepared to work on a card set as you will end up with a ton of pieces. If you simply alternate two patterns, you will get a minimum of two cards. Here, I did the same pattern twice on each card, and that gave me a total of five backgrounds. It is quite pleasant to assemble the pieces, it feels like putting a puzzle together and you get a very even result that would be quite challenging to get by assembling paper scraps on your own (especially with the diagonal pattern).

Once I was done with the backgrounds, I fiddled around for a little while before I found an idea that I liked to get going on a card, but once I did, I worked on all three cards in a row and it all went smoothly. I reused some leftovers pieces from my scrapbook page (the remaining bunting pieces) and the negative space from the sentiment on one card and the leftover letters on the other. As I previously mentioned, my local scrapbook store is organizing a drive for cards for a children's hospital and this was the inspiration behind those cards. I tried to keep them youthful and fun for that reason.

I turned one of the cards to the side so that I could use the ski lodge image and turn it into a shaker. It's a little unusual to have the fold on the side like that, but it still works. Some of the patterns from the stripes are sideways, but since it's just a backdrop, it is really not a big deal. I would remind you to think about the direction of your patterns when you are die-cutting your paper, though, if that sort of details matter to you.

The big yeti card was a really quick design since I used a 3" x 4" cut-apart piece. There was an English sentiment at the top, which I hid with a strip of cardstock and I die cut a new French sentiment out of the beautiful Blue Cashmere pearlescent cardstock from Tonic. Since I had gotten my Snowflake sequins out for the shaker, I used some of the sequins to embellish the two other cards, including by gluing the clear holographic cupped sequins over the tree "foliage."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Blueberry Bushel, Smoky Slate (Stampin' Up!);
Blue Cashmere Pearlescent, Cobalt Blue Glitter (Tonic) 
Patterned Papers, Icons Stickers, Winter Hugs Shape Sprinkles: Winter Wonderland (Doodlebug Design)
Dies: Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Frames, Bunting Borders, Simple Stripes Diagonal Backdrop (Lawn Fawn);
Sentiment Labels (Simon Says Stamp); Joyeuses Fêtes (Lime Citron);
Joyeux Noël (Les ateliers de Karine)
Accessories: Swimming Pool Mini Paper Doilies (Doodlebug Design);
Ticket Corner Punch, Foam Adhesive Strips, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Snowflake Sequins, Window Sheets (Stampin' Up!)

 

Here Comes Santa Claws

Inspiration: CAS Colours & Sketch #408

This card is totally out of season, but the seaweed Christmas tree worked well with the sketch and this cute stamp has unfortunately been sitting on my stash uninked since it was released. (Yikes.) I looked through my seasonal papers and found leftover papers from the Winter Wonder collection from Bella Blvd. that were getting all crinckled at the bottom of the box, so I pulled them out and got working on this card. I made a conscious effort to keep the design streamlined and I do like where I landed. My favorite part is the pink banner, as it was cut out of a leftover scrap on my desk, where I had tested the new Kitsch Flamingo Distress ink and die-cut a circle for another project, but I had enough leftover cardstock inked with pink to cut this banner out. Because it was the edge of the inking, it creates a very nice ombre effect, and the water spritzing I had done also mimicks bubbles, so I love the look.

The larger panel was die-cut with the Confetti Card dies and the smaller rectangle was handcut and I added stitching using the Just Stitching Double Rectangles dies. I added Midas Touch Aqua Shimmer to the star and Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer to the bubbles.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Christmas Fishes (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette (Stampin' Up!); Solar White (Neenah)
Patterned Papers: Winter Wonder (Bella Blvd.)
Ink: Kitsch Flamingo Distress Oxide (Ranger); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Dies: Christmas Fishes, Just Stitching Double Rectangles,
Simple Wavy Banners (Lawn Fawn); Confetti Card Dies (Concord & 9th)
Accessories: Markers (Copic); Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Blender Tool (Ranger); Midas Touch and Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brushes (Nuvo);
A2 Rose Quartz Metallic Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Gilded Ornaments

I revisited my favorite papers today, the Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper, and mixed them with the Wonder of the Season Specialty DSP. This last pack is entirely white, so I enjoy coloring the background to make the foil details stand out. Stampin' Up! will be offering blending brushes in the upcoming January-June minicatalogue, so those are nice to add soft ink blending without any harsh lines. This is what I used on my foiled paper to add a bit of Old Olive inking, and then I added splatter by adding ink to a clear block, spritzing water and flicking the ink off the edge with a paintbrush. The iridescent pearls are the perfect complement to the colours of the Brightly Gleaming papers. By the way, those papers are currently offered at 50% off if you are interested in getting a pack for yourself, but they are retiring by the end of the week, so they are retiring soon.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Fêtes étincelantes (Christmas Gleaming)
Cardstock: Night of Navy, Old Olive, Pretty Peacock, Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Wonder of the Season, Brightly Gleaming
Ink: Old Olive, Night of Navy
Accessories: Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Blending Brush, Iridescent Pearls,
White Medium Envelopes, White Baker's Twine, Ornament Punches,
Old Olive/Pretty Peacock Ribbon, Aqua Painter Brush, Stampin' DImensionals

 

Traditional Stockings

I am still working on catching up with my downline cards. I was able to get the cute hostess set from the August-December minicatalogue on my last order, called A Merry Hello, and I was eager to use it before Christmas has come and gone. I paired the set with the beautiful Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper that made a comeback this year, to my delight. The stamp set has not been translated, so I went to another Holiday set to get a French sentiment (from the Poinsettia Petals set), that reads, "May your holidays be filled with magic and wonder." I used little branches from the Poinsettia dies and the Mini-Curvy Keepsakes Box dies. To make the stockings more interesting, I used an Aqua Painter brush to color some of the details using Soft Seafoam ink, I added ribbon from the All the Trimmings Ribbon Combo Pack to line the cardstock, and a few glitter enamel dots.

I am really liking the look of the Real Red, Garden Green and Soft Seafoam together. Classic red and green combo, but the soft green and vanilla adds a nice softness and vintage feel to the final result.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: A Merry Hello, Pétales de poinsettia (Poinsettia Petals)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Soft Seafoam
Designer Series Paper: Toile Tidings
Ink: Real Red, Garden Green, Soft Seafoam
Accessories: Poinsettia Dies, Mini-Curvy Keepsakes Box Dies, Gold Glitter Enamel Dots,
Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots, Very Vanilla Medium Envelope,
All the Trimmings Ribbon Combo Pack, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aqua Painter Brush

 

Walking in Winterland

I purchased beautiful Mintay papers earlier this fall and I realized I had not gotten around to using them just yet. I pulled them out and I let the beautiful patterns be the starting point of my card. I decided to layer the branch and mailbox over one of the frames, and add a poinsettia image as well. I picked a sentiment that says "Vive le vent," the French version of the jingle bells song, that was just the right size for the frame and I stamped it in Pretty Peacock ink. I layered a piece of Soft Sky cardstock behind, dry embossed with the Swirls & Curls embossing folder, and I dry brushed White Frost glimmer paint over it. While the paint was out, I added some to the edges of the knit patterned paper as well.

I tied a piece of natural ribbon and hung two jingle bells to the knot - a rose red one and a mini silver one, using my beloved metallic thread from Altenew. I added a couple pieces of chipboard and I framed my sentiments with Ivory Seashell crystal dots. I also added Fresh Snowfall glitter accents to the snowflake and the branches, and a few Wonderful Gems to the center of the poinsettia and to frame the sentiment.

I made a matching envelope out of cardstock, with another frame die-cut for the address block and more Crystal Drops and Glitter Accents.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Parfum de Noël (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pretty Peacock, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!); Pumpkin Spice (Recollections)
Patterned Papers: Winterland (Mintay)
Ink: Pretty Peacock (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Envelope Punch Board, Wonderful Gems, Mini Jingle Bells, Ribbon,
Stampin' Dimensionals, White Frost Glimmer Paint, Swirls & Curls Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!);
Ivory Seashell Crystal Drops, Fresh Snowfall Glitter Accents (Nuvo); 
Rose Gold Jingle Bells (Fun Stampers Journey)

 

Elf Christmas Tags

In general, I don't buy a lot of shaped dies that require assembly, but the little His and Hers elves from the recent Elizabeth Craft Designs dies did catch my eye and appeared fairly easy to put together. I was curious to see what they looked like assembled so I put the girl together with scraps from my scrap drawers. I went pretty classic since I didn't know what I would be using her on. (On a side note, they are easy to die-cut and put together, but the pieces are really small! Look at those little hands and cuffs...)

Right now, the next thing on my to-do list is wrapping my gifts, so I'm thinking about gift tags to match. I pulled out the new Woodgrain cardstock I got from the latest Lawn Fawn release to make a die with her. I shouldn't say new because Lawn Fawn came out with woodgrain cardstock a while back, but they were previously offering an assorted pack. This time, they separated their colours into individual packs offered in white, kraft and dark brown. That makes me very happy. Assorted packs are a great gateway into products, but afterwards, I like to be able to restock on favorite colours. I decided to go classic and use the white woodgrain for my tag. I pulled out additional red and olive cardstock and die-cut a pretty cool "Merry Christmas" French die I found at my local store while picking up the new Lawn Fawn release. Sentiment dies are hard to find in French and the fonts offered are not always that varied, so I found this one to be really cool and different (and reasonably priced). Since the elf had been put together previously, that tag came together in a matter of minutes and I do like the result. I didn't string ribbon on it just yet, I'll wait until I'm ready to add the tag to the actual package to see how I go about it and which ribbon I use.

The next day, I put together a similar tag using the little boy this time. I used the Gift Wrapped stamp set and got the idea to use the bow image as well. I had a leftover Old Olive ribbon piece on my desk from another project where it was not quite working, which I used along with the gold-embossed bow image. The sentiment reads, "A very merry Christmas" and was embossed in white powder. 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Enveloppé d'amour (Gift Wrapped - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: White Woodgrain (Lawn Fawn); Close to Cocoa, Early Espresso, Whisper White,
Real Red, Gold Foil Sheets (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: ? (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Holiday Elf - Hers (Elizabeth Craft Designs); Nested Tags (Scrapbook.com);
Joyeux Noël (Les ateliers de Karine)
Accessories: Gold Glitter Enamel Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Trimming the Town Ribbon Combo Pack (Stampin' Up!); White Gel Pen (Gelly Roll)

 

Three Trees

I decided the next paper collection I wanted to play with was Mistletoe Kisses from Simple Stories (already a few years old). I discovered I had a die-cut pack to go with it, so I pulled the images out to see what was in it, and the three trees caught my eye. I based the design around a November 2017 Card Maps sketch and quickly put together this sweet card. When cutting the middle band, I made sure to size it so that we would see the word Noel and to place the threes so that the word could still be seen.

The pearl dangle was already on my desk, from trying out my jewelry tools, so I hung it from the silver cord bow. I added three Crystal Stars above the threes and stamped my sentiment in red ink on a white banner die-cut. The sequin is actually something upcycled from clothes I bought years ago, and the sequin comes from the little pack that was given to repair the garment (not even sure what the piece of clothing was). It also contained beads, which you will see use on my "Not A Creature Was Stirring" card. I will often find inspiration from random elements left on my desk, so I don't always clean everything away, as it sometimes make for unexpected inspiration.

A matching envelope was decorated with a sticker from the paper collection kit.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sous le gui (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Stickers and Bits & Pieces: Mistletoe Kisses (Simple Stories)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Lace Trim Border Punch, Silver Cord (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Seafoam Envelope (envelopes.com); Everyday Sentiment Banners Dies (Lawn Fawn);
Beads (Bead Landing); Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More)

 

Frosty Jingle Bell

I am way behind on my monthly downline cards so I'll be trying to catch up in the upcoming weeks. I wanted to use the Sounds of the Season dies and I paired them with the Feels Like Frost Designer Series Paper, which I was happy to see make a comeback in the seasonal mini-catalogue this year. The design is very simple - I let the foil paper and Specialty paper do most of the work. I did add a few blue gems and the Seaside Spray metallic ribbon (my favorite!) to embellish the card.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Pétales de poinsettia (Poinsettia Petals)
Cardstock: Seaside Spray, Mint Macaron, Highland Heather, Silver Foil Paper
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Feels Like Frost
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, White Medium Envelope, Blue Adhesive-Backed Gems,
Seaside Spray Metallic Ribbon, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Banners Pick a Punch