Made Time To Stamp!

Hi Friends!

I'm happy to be back fairly quickly after my last post. Thanks so much for the nice and wonderfully encouraging comments you left on that post. They are very much appreciated. After another very busy week, I managed to eek out some time in my crafty space yesterday and got two cards made. Whoo hooo for me! :) Hope you enjoy.

I picked up Lawn Fawn's Let It Snow stamp set after seeing this post and watching the video on how Nichol Magouirk created her card. I thought the gold and white was beautiful.  I also saw this card and liked the blue and white version. So, I set out to case the cards. I thought this stampset was a new one, but apparently it was released a couple of years ago. Shows what I know!

For this card, I used Close To My Heart's Crystal Blue ink in first and second generation. I don't usually make square cards, so I decided to put the 4x4 square stamped piece on a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card base. To fill up the extra space on either side, I used a scrap piece of glittered cardstock and trimmed off 1/4 inch strips. The happy holidays sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's mini set called Winter Penguin. I added some glitter glue using a Viva Decor Paper Pen that I picked up at Hobby Lobby last year. 

This is my version of the card that inspired me to buy the stamp set. I pretty much cased the card Nichol made. I happened upon the Delicata Gold Ink pad at Joann's on sale with an extra % off the sale price coupon (whooo hooo!) I discovered I don't own any straight gold embossing powder. How is that possible? Shrugs...so I used some gold that also has some glitter to it. Not too bad. Knowing myself as I do, I chose not to add any snow to the trees. It would not have ended well. Instead, my one veer away from the original design was to add some gold ink along the edge of the hill. I like it! 

That's it from me today. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a happy and creative day!

*Ü*

Jeanne

Embossed Snowflakes Cards

I've been enjoying using heat embossing in my stamping recently. It's fun to revisit techniques you learned and kind of moved away from. When I saw this beauty of a card on Wizard's Hangout, I knew I wanted to play, too! I liked it in blue and decided it was so much fun, I wanted to try in pinks, too.

Oh, Wow!

I think these are about my most favorite cards so far this season. 

I'm so glad I saw the idea and was able to play.

Please follow the link above for great steps on how to create this look for yourself.

Stamps Used:

Merry and Bright

Frosted set from the workshop in the CTMH 2013 Fall/Winter Idea Book

Inks:

Outdoor Denim, Sky, Twilight,

Vineyard Berry, Hollyhock, Blush

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have a lovely day.

Jeanne

Hexagon Christmas Tree

When I saw this card I just loved the idea of using hexagon shapes to make a tree. I thought it would be super fun to use Doodlebug paper, too. I have to admit it took a little arranging and rearranging to get them lined up in a pleasing way.  Edited to add a direct link to specific card

*Ü*

I've not jumped on board the sequin bandwagon really. I like the look but am not sure it's for me. I found these neat looking flat sequins at Hobby Lobby and thought I'd give them a try. The package was 75 cents on sale...not a huge out of pocket expense to try it. I picked them up with the goober stick (not the official name) from Lifestyle Crafts and it left a residue. Sigh. 

Sentiment is from Paper Smooches Christmas Sampler. Also used Doodlebug Twine for the bow.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Hope you have a happy day!

Colorful Trees

I saw this idea on the web somewhere, but didn't note or save where. I've been trying to find the inspiration link for a few days and I'm just not having any luck. I want to say it was Jennifer McGuire, but I can't find it on her blog. If you've seen this idea, send me the link and I'll give proper credit.

It's super easy really. You stamp your image(Warm Hearts, Paper Smooches), color it in with markers (I chose Sharpies), then cover the trees with Liquid Glass (CTMH) or Glossy Accents. My Liquid Glass had some bubbles in it, so it's not quite as smooth as I had hoped. Then I decided to use a technique I've seen my friend, Alanna, use to add score lines. I like how it set off the trees. Add your sentiment (Merry & Bright, CTMH) and you are good to go. 

Not my usual style, but fun nonetheless.

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you have a great start to your weekend. 

Stay warm!

Merry Christmas Dotty Tree

I just started following KWernerDesign's blog again recently and perked right up when I saw this card. I know how to do that technique. *Ü*

Yay! How fun, right? 

I have a triangle punch that I used and it fit on a post-it. I taped that down on my cardstock, found some dot stamps in my stash and pulled out CTMH colors: Pear, Topiary, Ponderosa Pine and Holiday Red. The star is from a Hero Arts stamp set and the Merry Christmas is a Paper Smooches Christmas Sampler sentiment. The twine is Doodlebug. I used an older border punch along the bottom edge. I believe it's from EK Success. I've had it for several years. Oh the embossing folder is a Darice one that I picked up at Joann's. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you have an awesome weekend.

Glittery Stripes Happy Holidays Card

I honestly can't decide if this card is a good one or not. Something seems off to me. Probably the size of the focal point versus the background. I saw this card on the Lawn Fawn blog (actually it's the second card featured on the blog post) and thought it looked really, really cool. I wanted to try my hand at it. I found some of that glitter(Rock Candy distress glitter), and had the super sticky tape. I don't have those stamps sets used, but I made do with what I do have. Here's the final result.

The more I look at it the more I don't really care for it, to be honest. 

I'm glad I tried it, but I will probably have to go back to the drawing board.

I found the banner on CTMH's Artiste Cricut Cartridge. It's two pieces layered on top of each other. I ran the outline piece through my Xyron sticker maker and added silver glitter. Mainly because I don't own any silver embossing powder I've discovered. (egads, and I call myself a crafter? LOL). The "holly" is a Martha Stewart branch punch with some small red gems and a bit of Doodle twine. The happy holidays is from a retired CTMH stamp set called Seasonal Thoughts and is the only sentiment that would really fit in that space. 

All in all, a good idea, in theory but not as good as I'd hoped in execution. 

Oh well, can't win 'em all!

Now the next card I share...that one I do like!

*Ü*

Glittery Christmas Tree Card

Remember yesterday when I realized I didn't own any gold embossing powder or ribbon? Well, that has changed!  When I was out doing my grocery shopping, Wal-Mart was out of a few things I needed, so gosh darn it, I had to head over to Target and since Michaels is right next door...LOL I also had a 50% off coupon burning a hole in my wallet...

Here's what I made with the items I purchased today:

Oh my goodness, I am so excited about this embossing powder by Stampendous! It's called Jeweled Gold (transparent). I took a chance on it over an opaque gold ep and I'm so glad I did! I love how sparkly it is! I stamped the tree with Versamark ink and added the embossing powder and heat set it.

You may also notice some photo corners...I used my coupon on these Vintage dies from Cuttlebug. I've hemmed and hawed about getting this set of four dies for a long time and I figured I wouldn't do better than 50% off. I had overlooked this set for a long time, too, but recently have seen cards using this particular die and I just love the look. I am happy to have finally added them to my stash.  I cut the corners with the gold cardstock I used in my previous card and adhered them using a quickie glue pen. I wanted to add a little something more and futzed around, adding a gold glitter pen and cutting that off and then adding just a line of the gold glitter pen. Before I cut the corners with the gold cs, I tried using white paper and wanted to use the ep on them, but try as I might...I couldn't get it to cover properly. But I had a few white corners sitting on my desk. I tried adding them but didn't like it. Then I noticed the cut away scroll looking piece from the die. I thought they looked cool, so I attached them using the same glue pen. Neat, huh?

The card looked like it still needed something. And I got the bright idea to add the strip of gold around the the edge of the card. I tried to cut them to mitered corners, but that didn't work out well, so I fudged the corners and decided it looked pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

The ribbon is from the holiday ribbon aisle and was on sale for 50% off! Whoo hooo! Love how it looks.

It took time to get this card done, but oh boy, I do think it was worth the effort.

Wait until you see the other card I made today....that's coming up in a separate post because this one is long enough!

Jeanne

Another Christmas Tree and a Snowflake Card

I'm back! And I've got two cards to share this time!

I've been seeing a lot of cards around the blogosphere using Kraft cardstock and white ink. I recently picked up a bunch of Kraft cardstock at Archiver's on their discontinued rack and have been itching to try white ink on it. Here's the result of that attempt today.

(Click on the photo to enlarge it if you like) I think I ended up with a bit of a homespun feel. I stamped the tree in CTMH's white pigment ink, which takes forever to dry. To speed up that process, I added super fine clear embossing powder and heat set it. Then I played around with using red elements so that I could use my newly acquired red/white striped ribbon.

This is a Bazzill ribbon 15 yards/spool and I got it for a whopping $1.99-for the whole spool! Archiver's is having their Holiday Spectacular weekend this weekend to kick off the holiday season. I went yesterday morning with Jessica, but she was no fun-kept yanking on my hand and asking if we could go home, and I couldn't really look around. So, I went back this morning to browse to my heart's content-and I even snagged their special coupon sheet that has a different coupon each week for the next 7 weeks. (Yesterday they had run out of the allotment and I got there 10 minutes after they opened!) While checking out this ribbon, a nice lady stood next to me looking as well. She commented that she is getting married and had been looking for a black/white striped ribbon like this one to use on her invitations, but she hadn't been able to find any anywhere. I mentioned maybe SU might have some and we parted ways. About 5 minutes later, I was in another part of the store and discovered several rolls of black/white striped ribbon! So, I flagged her down and showed her. She was so tickled! She picked up all they had and kept thanking me. I was happy to have been able to help her. We parted ways again, then next thing I knew, she came up to me with her planner and showed me the invitation she was going to make. Wow! It was striking and the ribbon A's had would work perfectly. I was so happy for her!

Okay...sorry about that tangent, but wanted to share this woman's happiness. I think the rest of the card is pretty self explanatory anyway. I added some red Stickles at the end to add a little "oomph" to the card.

This next card is inspired by one that Erin G. of Inky Smiles shared. She is so creative, isn't she? Anyway, I was going by memory here and ended up with a similar, but different card. I was thinking she had done her card on white! And I also realized she colored in on the embossed parts and I colored in on the de-bossed parts (is that the correct term?)

After I Cuttlebugged the card front with the snowflakes embossing folder, I used the  Sakura Gelly Roll clear glitter pen and colored in the areas that were recessed. I decided not to color in every single flake because I thought it would overpower the card. On the snowflakes I didn't use the glitter pen, I added a rhinestone. Then I used the sentiment from Hero Arts Winter's Butterfly stamp set (which is all snowflakes and this sentiment). I stamped it in Grey Wool, then again with Crystal Blue to give it a chilled effect. I don't know if that was necessary, but oh well. I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. Thanks for the idea, Erin!

Thanks again for stopping by. And thanks SO much for all the sweet comments you've left about my new profile picture. You sure know how to make a girl feel nice!

Jeanne

 

Stuff I used:

Christmas Tree card~

Stamp: Winter Shaped (Inkadinkado)

Paper: Kraft (Archiver's), Holiday Red, White (CTMH)

Ink: Holiday Red (CTMH)

Accessories: Bazzil ribbon, Red Stickles, Ink Essentials White opaque pen (Ranger)

Tools: Rectangle/Scallop Nestabilities, sponge for inking edges

Snowflake Card~

Stamp: Winter's Butterfly (Hero Arts)

Paper: White Cardstock (CTMH)

Ink: Grey Wool, Crystal Blue (CTMH)

Accessories: White organdy ribbon (my stash), Gelly Roll Pen (Sakura), rhinestones (my stash)

Tools: Cuttlebug, snowflakes embossing folder

Golden Happy Holidays Card

Well, I have to tell you...for as simple "looking" this card may be, it sure took me a heck of a long time to complete it. I was completely inspired by this card I saw on the I{heart}2 Stamp blog. It was created by Becca Feeken of the Amazing Paper Grace blog. Isn't hers stunning?  Well, here is my version...note I said inspired this time, not copied.

First off, I stamped the image in Brilliance Galaxy Gold pigmented ink by Tsukineko, but quickly determined it was just a little too soft to really stand out. So, I thought I'll just heat emboss it with gold embossing powder. Looked all around for it and came to realize I don't own any gold ep! Well, okay then, I found some Pearl ep and decided to use that. Then I had problems getting even coverage and somehow some black flecks of embossing powder got into the jar. Ugh. Finally got a decent image and decided to cut the tree out. Well, I messed that up, so it was back to the drawing board. Let's say I stamped and embossed this image many times! I finally used some ultra fine clear embossing powder and called it good.

The little strip of dp you see is from Martha Stewart (Michaels just set up the Christmas display and, oh my heavens, I could go broke if I bought even half of what appealed to me). There are a couple of new paper packs available and this one is called Golden Woodland paper pack. There are some really pretty designs in it. Well, that little strip is from a page that looks like this:

See that border at the bottom? I cut that off and used the lattice border punch from Martha Steward. I then attached it to the gold cardstock (which I bought separately from the paper pack, in the scrapbook papers aisle). Well, that didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. I cut the first strip too small, then when I was punching the new strip, I couldn't get it lined up right! Sigh.

But I hung in there and wanted to use gold ribbon. Guess what? Yep...I don't own any gold ribbon either! Deep sigh.

But, in spite of (or maybe because of) all the hassle, I think the card came out pretty well. Let's just say...if I was thinking of using this design as my holiday cards this year...I have definitely changed my mind! LOL

This is the first card I've tried to create today, let's hope any others come together a little more smoothly (and quickly).

Thanks for stopping by and giggling along with me over the making of this card.

Jeanne

Stuff I used:

Stamp:Clear Christmas Tree stamp (Martha Stewart)

Paper: Golden Woodland paper pack (Martha Stewart), gold cardstock (??)

Ink: Galaxy Gold (Tsukineko)

Accessories: ultra fine clear embossing powder (Ranger). gold brads, white organdy ribbon (stash), pop dots

Tools; heat gun, Lattice border punch (Martha Stewart)