Christmas Cards

I had a couple ideas for a card to enter Winnie & Walter Rerun No. 25.  Finally last night I sat down & made a card based on Lydia's Wreath card which I loved the second I saw it.  I started with a panel of wc paper that had been spritzed with a gold mist & never used. 

I made a wreath using images from W&W In Bloom: Frenchy's Festive Florals.  The inks are Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy, Pearlescent Thyme & Pearlescent Poppy.  The gold strip & tiny bursts are done with Delicata Golden Glitz.  I gold heat embossed the sentiment twice for a more solid shine.  Stickles Christmas Red & Golden Rod add some sparkle--hard to see in the photo.  The strip of printed paper was a left over scrap from a card you'll see soon.  Love having a flat card for mailing that I really like.  I'm also entering Rudolph Days & AAA Cards.

Next is my card for SSS Flickr Challenge 85.  The SSS Bright Blossoms white outline die cut was left over & still on my table. 

Thought it'd be fun to make it into a Christmas card by using red Heidi Swapp glitter tape behind the openings.  I used Stickles Holly on the leaves for a bit of green.

The sentiment is also SSS & cut from the tape plus white cardstock for the shadow.  I'm also entering HLS Anything Goes with Dies and The Snippets Playground.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop

Our quiet Thanksgiving at home gave me the chance to make my card for today's PTI Blog Hop.  I love this month's inspiration & chose to use the colors, leaves & berries. 

The die cut Mix & Mat: Flourishes was painted in a coppery, gold metallic watercolor--so beautiful in person.  I used several Distress Inks on watercolor paper for the die cut leaves from Harvest Berries & berries from Spruce & Sprigs.  I didn't use foam tape, but did leave the ends of the berries & some leaves unglued for a little dimension.  The sentiment from Lovely Layers was brown heat embossed & the panel was attached to a Vintage Cream card.  I'm grateful every day for my blogging friends, so this card will be sent long before next Thanksgiving.
I'm also entering CAS-ual Fridays, CCCB, Retro Rubber (I've had the sentiment set 5 years) & Die Cut Divas.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all my US friends a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Be safe if you're travelling.  We're spending a quiet rainy day at home watching the parade & football.  Of course, I'll probably work in a little crafting--haha!
I have a couple more Christmas projects to show you.  First is a photo ornament for PTI MIM. 

Our neighbor snapped this shot on the day of hubby's family reunion this summer so we could send a text saying we were thinking of them.  The photo & Enchanted Evening mat were die cut with PTI Mat Stack 3.  The bottom strip was die cut from Spring Rain & the dot wreath from Wreath for all Seasons was stamped using Delicata Silvery Shimmer. 

The little branches are from Spruce & Sprigs.  Probably will send this to my sister.

Next is a card using Ellen Hutson Bold Blossom--my first EH purchase.  Decided to do something different with it to enter the What's Your Favorite challenge celebrating EH's 11th Anniversary.  Gotta say--I really love how it turned out! 

The large & small leaves were die cut from a panel of watercolor paper smooshed with 3 green Distress Inks.  The sparkle is from splattering with my Wink of Stella pen which I also brushed on the white linen card front. 

The center embellishment is at least 15 years old--just what I needed!  The red panel was mounted with foam tape & this one I may hand deliver.  I'm also entering HLS Anything Goes with Dies.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Thanks and Joy

The fog never lifted yesterday, but the good thing is hubby cancelled our leaf raking duties!  We also enjoyed seeing the Oregon Ducks win their football game & I did some crafting--surprise, surprise!  Here's a heads up for you--Lori Hairston is once again presenting Visions of Sugarplums. 

The dates are Dec. 2, 3 & 4--don't miss it!  This will be my second year as a member of her DT--such an honor. 

Concord & 9th is one of my favorite companies, but so far I have very few of their products--none of them holiday.  Fortunately I have sweet friends who send me die cuts & now I have the Tree Ring Background stamp thanks to Rosemary.  I came up with a Christmas card for WCMC9 using the blossom from Floral & Flutter colored red & embellished with a green pearl. 

The tree ring is stamped in Delicata Silvery Shimmer & the little green dots are from the C&9 set called Flourish.  The sentiment is from Winnie & Walter In Bloom: Frenchy's Florals with the Joy silver embossed twice. 

I dry embossed the card front with a piece of burlap--something I learned from Rosemary.  The stamped panel was die cut with AJVD Polka Dot Backdrop Rectangle.  I'm also entering Christmas Card Challenges, HLS Christmas Challenge & ModSquad.

I was inspired by Kimber's tag design on Day 17 of the 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  For my version I finally used a strip of red & green Washi I bought at least a year ago. 

I scored 2 lines above & below & used my Clear Star Gelly Roll pen for a bit of sparkle.

The word is from Hero Arts Merriest Christmas Wishes, the tag is Poppystamps, the bow is white crochet thread & the embellishments are PPP clear confetti.  I'm also entering CAS on Friday.

With Thanksgiving this week, I'm counting my blessings.  So thankful for my blogging friends.  Thank you is the theme at Outside the Box & I used my MB Garden Birch Landscape stencil for the first time. 

I also finally opened 2 of my 3 Distress Oxide ink pads--Broken China & Cracked Pistachio.  I spritzed the panel heavily with Perfect Pearls & splattered some white gesso. 

I made a gray textured frame using Lil' Inker Stitched Rectangles.  SSS Painted Thanks was cut from gray & white cardstock.  I covered the top layer with Crystal Laquer & finished off with PPP marshmallow sequins.  I'm also entering Country View Challenges, CAS-ual Friday Challenge, CropStop, Paru's Card Making Challenges, SSS Monday & Die Cut Divas.  Be safe if you're travelling & thanks so much for taking time to stop by.

Red and Green with Sparkle and Shine!

I enjoy non-traditional colors for Christmas, but I never get tired of red & green.  Add sparkle and shine & I'm even happier!  
First is a card for SSS Flickr Challenge #84.  The theme is holiday, my favorite cards to make.  I also love foil & couldn't resist the new Gina K Fancy Foils--absolutely gorgeous in real life!  I got the red & green--should have also gotten the silver. 

Unfortunately, I could not get good results with my cheap laminator, so gave in & ordered the one Gina K uses.  Under $40, so not too bad.  Until it arrives, I'm back to using self-adhesive foam, which works great.  I had no trouble cutting the Memory Box ornament, even though the string & bow are very narrow.  You just press on the foil & voila!

The PTI frame was sitting on my table, but I wasn't happy with the plain white.  What a difference with simply brushing on a white metallic watercolor.  The card front was covered with a piece of green glitter cardstock that's pretty expensive, but I got it on sale last year.  So beautiful & totally no mess.  The word from SSS Joyeux Noel was cut from black scraps & stacked 4 high.  A single gem seemed like the only embellishment needed.  I'm also entering CropStop,  HLS Anything Goes with Dies & The Snippets Playground. 

Next is my tag inspired by the one Tracey made for Day 16 of The 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  I don't have a die like she used, so instead I used a Penny Black stamp from christmas wishes. 

I stamped in white & embossed with a sparkle powder & stamped again in green.  After coloring the leaves green I added Star Dust Stickles.  The berries are covered with Christmas Red Stickles, as are the letters cut from MFT dies.

I fussy cut the top of the tag & used a PPP die for the bottom.  I tried many angles & lights, but just couldn't get decent pictures.  I'm also entering HLS Christmas Challenge & SSS Monday.  Thanks so much for taking time to stop by.