Elf Duties--Reminder Post

I'm back to remind you that there's still time to play along with Jo and me at Christmas Kickstart: Wreath it Up.  The gallery is filling up with such wonderful cards and it's amazing how many have wreaths that are also in my stash!  

My first card was made with stencils, so this time I wanted to use one of my wreath stamps.  I settled on a much loved 2004 Art Impressions woodblock stamp.  Luckily, I still have an old fashioned stamp positioner.  

I started by inking the entire stamp in Altenew Misty Mint.  Then I used a sponge dauber to randomly add Mountain Pine.  I went back and forth until I was happy with the results.  I used an old set of circle dies to cut my wreath, a red cardstock circle and a circle inked in Mountain Pine.  I attached everything to a circle card made with the same die as the green mat.  One of my favorite sentiment stamps is a little 2003 Hero Arts woodblock stamp and it was just the right size for the center of my wreath.  Decided I needed a bow, so die cut 2 old PPP bows from red and white.  They're so thin, I stacked both colors 2 high.  Amazing how much better they looked!  I added Christmas Red Stickles to the berries and the center of the bow.  Be sure to stop by the blog to check out Jo's card and why not join the gallery?!

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Time Out Challenge #278

Hard to believe I've been on the Time Out Challenge DT for a year!  I still remember how surprised and honored I felt when Nonni told me I was selected to join the team.  This is our last challenge for 2024 and it is my last post as a member of the team.  I have decided to step down, but I do treasure the opportunity I had to work with these talented ladies.  I'll definitely be a player next year!

We have a fun holiday photo with plenty to inspire you for Time Out Challenge #278.  Check out the blog for a close up.

If you know me, you won't be surprised that the wreath inspired my card.  I do love wreaths!  I used an old woodblock Art Impressions stamp that I still love as much as the first time I saw it.  

The wreath in the photo has a couple shades of green and I actually used 3 CN9 inks:  Clover, Evergreen and Artichoke.  I inked, spritzed with water and stamped on watercolor paper multiple times, until I was happy with the look.  Luckily I still have an old fashioned stamp positioner.  I used the same inks to color the circle mat and added Christmas Red Stickles to the berries.  The little PPP bows were cut from a beautiful red cardstock and I attached them just in the center.  The red cardstock is almost gone, but there was enough for the red mat die cut with a MFT rectangle.  I die cut a tiny gold circle for the center of the bow to tie in with the mat and the Birch Press Merry Christmas Vintage Sentiment.  You can find lots of inspiration from our guest designer and my teammates on the blog, along with all the challenge details.  Our sponsor is Gina K, so better check it out!

I'm entering SSS Monday (Stickles) and WAW.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Christmas Cards

I always love making Christmas cards and that goes for this year, too.  Here are some of my latest cards.

I used my BD discount in February to get Starry Arches from Simply Graphic.  Cecile Ribon always inspires me and I had seen a few cards she made with it.  The first card I made used the negative die cut along with the little birds from Poppystamps Nordic Majestic Bloom.    

I covered the wings with shimmer and used a fine line gray pen for the eyes.  A couple little branches also die cut from white scraps were placed under the birds.  Starry Arches was die cut from the inside of a Mama Elephant frame diecut.  The panel is backed with silver metallic cardstock and the Winnie and Walter sentiment is stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist. 

Finished off with white crochet thread tied across the card top, inspired by my friend, Stella.  I'm entering AAA Cards and SSS Wednesday.

Here's the card I made with the positive Starry Arches diecut which I glued to a small red panel.  The trees from CN9 and SSS were die cut from Memory Box green glitter cardstock.  

The sentiment from The Greetery's Peaceful Olive hadn't been used until now, as I got it after last year's cards were done.  The red ink is PTI's Pure Poppy and the green is Versafine Clair Green Oasis.  

I used scraps, except for the card base, so I'm entering The Snippets Playground.  

Apparently, I'm on a red, green and white kick!  Here's my card for Woodblock Wednesday using Penny Black's 2013 Christmas Reds & Greens and an old Impression Obsession sentiment.

I stamped in Versafine Clair Green Oasis and then went over the berries with a red pen followed by Christmas Red Stickles.  The little bow is from an old Pretty Pink Posh die set and the dotted rectangle is from AJVD.  

I love the fresh, classic look and didn't even add splatters this time!  I'm also entering PBSC.

One more card using the same color scheme.  This one is for Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero.  The challenge theme is to make a card to send to a family member.  My card is for my late cousin's wife. 

She likes traditional holiday colors and has several Christmas trees in her house.  I die cut the tree from an older Hero Arts card kit, colored the star with a gold shimmery gel pen and covered the embossed dots with Christmas Red Stickles.  I stacked the tree 3 high and glued it to the SSS Frames diecut.  I cut it from red and from white so I could have a thin white frame around the red. 

Luckily, I had enough of the green cardstock scrap I used for the tree to cut a small rectangle.  The sentiment from an old HA set called Christmas Messages was stamped in PTI Pure Poppy.  I photographed this card on a plate we received years ago filled with homemade Christmas cookies made by my cousin's wife.  

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

A Few More Christmas Projects

Hubby got the outside lights up a few days ago & I'm slowly decorating inside.  The tree makes me happy just with the lights, but I will add the balls tomorrow, hopefully!  I've gotten a lot of cards mailed, but I'm not finished yet.  I started with the ones going the farthest & I'm working my way west.

Amy has a monthly challenge called Woodblock Wednesday & I loved pulling out Art Impressions Small Pine Spray (over 10 yrs old) & the 2010 DeNami sentiment.  

The Spellbinders square & Fleur de Lis dies are also old.  I used 3 off white papers--something I would never have done when I started stamping.  The card is PTI Rustic Cream, the image is gold embossed on watercolor paper & the fancy mat is Michael's cream cardstock.

I used markers scribbled on an acrylic block & picked up with a damp brush to do the watercoloring.  Just flicking the end of the marker with the damp brush gave me the little brown splatters.  I do love simple & elegant, so this is my kind of card.  I'm also entering SSS Monday.

I love PPP Layered Tree die which can be used for many different looks depending on colors & techniques.  This time I wanted a special card for a relative who is big on Christmas trees & uses only traditional green & red for all her decorating.  

I double embossed a white panel with Zing green glitter ep & then die cut the sections.  There were a couple little spots where the embossing came off, but they were easily repaired.  The trunk was die cut from a brown scrap & the star was stacked 3 high with the top layer being silver metallic cardstock.  I've never used the little ornaments in the set & they're so cute.  I die cut them from red metallic cardstock which stood out perfectly with the shimmery tree.  

Discovered that glue dots were an ideal way to attach the star & the ornaments.  I like the subtle white embossed snowflake background & only an inside sentiment to let the tree take center stage!  I'm entering SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday & Christmas Kickstart.

My final project is for the December Poppystamps challenge.  This may be the most fun I've ever had making a tag!  I pulled out Poppystamps Tunnel Tags & Sloping Hillside dies. 

Amazingly, what I had in mind worked without having to redo anything!  I used some of my overflowing white scraps & a piece of Memory Box blue glitter cardstock I'd already cut into.  First I partially die cut the tag & moved it up before finishing diecutting to make a slightly shorter tag.  Then I die cut Sloping Hillside from the tag.  Next I needed the same size tag for the back & managed to get it right--whew!  I glued a piece of the glitter cardstock to the back tag where the opening would be & then glued the top tag in place.  The trees were brushed with a shimmer pen & covered in Shimmer Pico Embellisher.  I'll have a short video on IG if you want to see the shimmer & sparkle.  Another little scrap of the glitter cardstock was die cut with circle dies for the hole reinforcer & I added white crochet thread.  The perfect sentiment from a Winnie & Walter set was stamped in Versafine Clair Morning Mist.  I'm also entering SSS Monday, SSS Wednesday & The Snippets Playground.  

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Birthday and Valentine's Day

I didn't let myself do much shopping over the holidays as I'm really trying to use what I have.  My first card is a good example.  

I've had SSS Grid Play stencil & SSS/PPP Damask Greetings stamp set a long time, but neither had been used.  Recently Laura Bassen posted a card on IG that I totally loved.  My card looks very different, but shows how being inspired doesn't mean copying.  I have so many ink pads, I hardly ever pull out my Hero Arts ink cubes.  For this card I used Passion Flower, Ultra Pink & Cornflower.  

The damask images were stamped in Delicata Silvery Shimmer.  For the sentiment, I combined SSS Painted Happy Birthday word die cut & the little words from SSS Anna's Flowers.  I added black & silver splatters plus black Pico Embellisher dots.  I'm entering SSS Flickr challenge, Stay Crafty with Hero use circles & Time Out New challenge--my newly used products hopefully qualify.

Next is my first Valentine of 2022.  I used SSS Heart Banner die, an old MFT sentiment, Spellbinders Floral embossing folder, red Altenew watercolor marker, Liquid Pixie Dust & Hero Arts red ombre sequins. 

The hearts were stacked 4 high & are really sparkly from adding Pixie Dust to the ink from the marker.

Pretty simple card which took me a whole evening to complete--haha!  At least I'm happy with the result.  I'm entering SSS Flickr.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.

Happy 4th of July to my US friends!

Hope everyone is having a safe, fun holiday in the US.  We're watching fireworks on TV & hoping most people take the advice to leave fireworks to the experts.  Everything is so dry & wildfires have already burned a lot of acres.  Plus--big booms make Fritz pretty uncomfortable.

Anyway, wanted to share some cards I've recently made.  

I follow Scrapbook & Cards blog where they recently had challenges celebrating their Summer Magazine release.  The Guest Designer for the sketch challenge is a nurse I "met" on IG.  That motivated me to enter the challenge & I'm honored my card was one they showcased in this blog post!  

I had so much fun using products from many different companies: Pinkfresh Studio, Sizzix, Pretty Pink Posh, Taylored Expressions, My Favorite Things, Poppystamps & AJVD.  

Plus inks, ep & embellishments from Ranger, Lawn Fawn, Pico Embellisher, JudiKins & Eyelet Outlet.  Not sure who made the silver glitter paper that was a scrap.  Ask me if you want info on a specific product.

Next is the card I entered for ITP PTI Challenge to use only dies.  I made my version of a mini slimline using printed paper from the pack I got in the $1 sale years ago.  

The Merry & Bright tree dies were a gift from a friend long ago & I do love the fun look!  I used scraps of New Leaf cardstock & added lines of Lime Stickles.  I've had these wooden stars forever & they were just what I needed here.  The Pure Poppy strips were die cut with AJVD strip die using the partial diecutting technique to make them long enough.  Yes--I did fail to position the plate correctly the first time.  That's what I get for doing it at 11pm--haha!  

The sentiment from Bold Borders: Yuletide was stacked, brushed with shimmer & covered with Nuvo Glaze.  Originally I planned to do a landscape card, but realized in time that I liked this layout a lot better.

My final card is for ITP PTI challenge to make an intricate card.  I had a couple dies that would work, but decided on Shape Shifters: Oval 3.  I've never separated the 3 dies, as I'm afraid it'd take me forever to line them up.  I covered the white die cut with shimmer spray which is so pretty in person.  The sweet little bird is Feathered Friends Mini 8.  

The inks are Lilac Grace, Amethyst Allure, Royal Velvet, Soft Stone, Weathervane, Smokey Shadow & Honey Nut.  I rounded the corners of the Weathervane panel & used the flag die from Tag Sale: Quilted, rather than the branch that comes with the bird.  I've always loved these leaves from Garden Gild, which I die cut from Soft Stone.  The sentiment is from Simple Stems & the black dots are Pico Embellisher.  I'm also entering SSS Wednesday.

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.  If your blog address is in your profile or comment, I will visit you.