Deck the Halls

Hi friends! I've got another challenge card, of course, for three challenges this time. Two of the challenges are good for my Christmas card a week goal. The sketch was Sketchbook Saturday Challenge #23. The other two challenges are: Flourishes Christmas Spirit Challenge #16--song inspired; and TCP Tuesday #171, Christmas with photo inspiration.


For the Flourishes challenge, I used Deck the Halls as my inspiration song, and for the TCP challenge, concentrated on using traditional Christmas colors and focused on decorations and ornaments.

I turned the sketch sideways, and when I did it, I had a very logical reason for it, but now I can't think of what that might have been. It would have worked just as well as a tall card. The first paper I used is of pine branches and holly with red berries. Can you see the ornaments on the next designer paper? I didn't want to cover them up too much, so I used a lattice border punch rather than something solid under the ribbon. I colored the stamp with Copics and used a silver Sharpie opaque marker for the little snowflake ornament that sits on the bow. I used Glossy Accents on the ornaments, but I'm not sure you can tell in the photo. Even close up, it was hard to photograph. That might not be a bad thing. I had to re-apply the Glossy Accents three times on the green ornament because I kept brushing my hand against it. It might be a little bit smushed. 8~D The sentiment was printed on the computer then cut out with a Spellbinders die.

You can see the pine and holly paper better on the inside of the card. It's really pretty paper. It deserves a card all by itself. For this sentiment, after I stamped "Seasons Greetings," it looked kind of bare, so I searched around and found the sparkle stamp in Flourishes' Make a Wish set. I love it when a stamp company includes little accent stamps in their sets. They are so versatile.

Okay, my card is made and photographed, my post is written, and I've cleaned up. I know I must have forgotten something because it's not dark outside yet. Normally, after doing all that, it would be after midnight. I'm sure it will come to me as soon as I hit "publish." ;)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great evening! 

 

Stamps: Holiday Greetings, Christmas Classics, Make a Wish (Flourishes)
Paper: Glad Tidings (K&Co); Gingerbread Fun Mini Pack (Designs by Krista); Recollections
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Inks; Stampabilities; Memento; Opaque paint marker (Sharpie); Copic markers
Dies: Blossom, Floral Doily Motifs, Std Circles Lg, Lacy Squares (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Lattice Chain Large Edger (EK Success); Seam Binding dyed with re-inker (Hug Snug); rhinestones; Perfect Pearls (misted with water); Glossy Accents
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Tea for Two!

Hi friends! I have one card for one challenge today. The Shabby Tea Room challenge #74 this week is "Tea for Two," using blue and green. Here is the inspiration photo:

And, here is my card:

And the inside, with my first attempt at paper piercing.

Thanks for visiting me today. Have a happy day!

 

Stamps: Chairs & Chandelier (Recollections); Quietfire; Gertie "Girly" Stamps (My Mind's Eye)
Paper: Annalee (Prima); Que Sera Sera (K&Co); Best of Brenda Walton (K&Co); Recollections
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Dies: Lacy Squares, Blossom Two, Labels Four, Fancy Tags (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Daisy Edge Punch (Martha Stewart); Seam Binding (Hug Snug); rhinestones; sewing thread
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Never too late

The card I made for today is for two challenges: the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #129 and Flourishes Shades of Sunset Color Challenge (sunset colors). I love the sketch because it is a long, skinny card--fun--and I bought two of the new dimensional punches from EK Success that make rolled flowers, so a long card was easily big enough to be able to use one of the flowers. For the color challenge, rather than use early evening warm sunset colors, I chose to go with the late evening, cooler colors of purple, blue, and deep pink.

I used a pale blue cardstock for the flower and cut two 12" strips, layered and glued them together, inked them with Distress Inks on both sides, then rolled the flower up. After gluing it together, I curled the outside petals down, and the center petals in. I glued a large dark pink rhinestone down inside the flower to cover the center of it. I really like how this flower looks, hence all the close-up photos at the top of the post ;), but it is over an inch high, so I might not use it on a card that I was going to mail someone. Also, it's not in this post, but the carnation dimensional flower punch would make great trim for a crown for a little prince or princess :~D

For the sentiment panel, I used stamps from the Kids at Play set, distressed the edges, then sponged several Distress Inks on the edges, concentrating warmer colors on the left and cooler on the right behind the tree for a "sunset" look. The tiny clear rhinestones are stars in the sky.  I layered this panel on top of a tilted Labels Small die cut that I first embossed with the Tropical Paisley embossing folder.

The rest is pretty standard, I think. Here's a peek at the inside:

Thanks for stopping in, and have a terrific week!

 

Stamps: Kids at Play (Flourishes); Celebrate (Studio G)
Paper: Abrianna (K&Co); Bazzill Basics Tropical Stack; Recollections; The Paper Studio
Ink: Staz-On; Tim Holtz Distress Inks
Accessories: Dies: Labels Small, Parisian Accents (Spellbinders); Punches: Fleur de Lis Edger, Gerber Daisy Dimensional Punch (EK Success); Tropical Paisley embossing folder (Sizzix); ribbon (Offray); twine (Twinery); rhinestones, distressing tool, Perfect Pearls (mixed with water for a mist)
Size: #10 (3.75" x 9")

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Christmas Cheer

I have a confession to make. Now, before you judge me, keep in mind that I've been making cards less than a year. Okay, here it is:

I don't send out Christmas cards.

Eeeekkkk! The sacrilege! I used to, but over the years, I sent fewer and fewer, until I finally just stopped altogether. I'm not really sure why I gave up on Christmas cards, but it may have something to do with how I choose a card for someone. Back when I actually shopped for mass-produced cards, no matter the occasion, I could spend an hour (or more) reading every single card in the store until I found the "perfect" card for that particular person. Everything had to be right--the sentiment, the font, the design, the kind of paper it was printed on, and sometimes even the envelope. So, buying dozens of the same exact card for everyone I know is a bit of a problem. One size does not fit all! You know what I mean? Well, this year will be different.

I've noticed that a lot of people make Christmas cards throughout the year so that, when Christmas finally arrives, they have a whole stash of cards to send out. I couldn't imagine doing that. I mean, who thinks about Christmas cards in the middle of the summer, right? But, now I get it. I just received my first Christmas stamps from Flourishes yesterday and I've been thinking in red and green ever since!

The My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club Sketch #31 for this week was great for a single, simple stamp like the one I chose. The stamp can be prominent, there is room for a small sentiment, and I could show off some fun paper. Of course, if you've read my previous posts, you know that I don't own any Christmas paper. So, I did something new--I used digital paper. Wow! I'm hooked already. It was the middle of the night when I needed the paper, so I just ordered what I wanted on-line, paid a tiny price for it, and Poof!, it was downloaded and printed in a matter of minutes. Lots of choices, no traffic to fight, inexpensive, and best of all, I don't have to scrimp on it because I can always print more! That's the way to go. Of course, I still need my paper packs because I'm a paper-lover, but digital is definitely a great option.

This is the inside:

 

It's already August, so I'm getting a late start, but I've set a new goal for myself. And, I'm hoping by making my goal public, I'll actually stick to it 8~D ! I'm going to make at least one Christmas card a week, which should give me at least 17 Christmas cards before Thanksgiving. I'll need more than that, but at least it's a start. So, if you notice I'm getting behind, feel free to give me a nudge ;)

Thanks for visiting, and have a fantastic weekend!

 

Stamps: Sweets of the Season, Holiday Greetings (Flourishes)
Paper: Gingerbread Fun (Designs by Krista--digital paper); Coredinations; Recollections; Paper Studio
Ink: Copic markers; Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Memento; Staz-On
Dies: Small Labels, Labels Thirteen, Classic Ovals Lg (Spellbinders)
Accessories: Seam Binding, dyed with re-inkers (Hug Snug); brads, rhinestones, sewing thread, dimensionals, Perfect Pearls (mixed with water & used as a mist)
Size: A2 (4.25" x 5.5")

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Zinnias

I recently bought the new book, Copic Coloring Guide, to try to improve my coloring skills, and I practiced on the card I'm sharing with you today. While I'm far from an expert, it was amazing to see how much better I colored once I understood better about the Copic numbering system. I also found that I had been way too heavy-handed with the markers in the past. and flicking isn't nearly as difficult as I was making it out to be.

This card is for two Tuesday challenges: Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #129--Favorite Flowers, and Tuesday Morning Sketches #105. Here's the sketch:

For my flowers, I used a stamp from Flourishes' Zinnias set. What a fun stamp to color. Zinnias come in so many bright, festive colors. I think I used about 30 different markers for this stamp :). I'm sure I could have colored it with less, but what I did seemed to work okay, even if it probably took me way longer to color than it would have if I'd had more Copic experience. After coloring it, I used a pale yellow blending chalk for some of the background.

After spending all that time coloring, I was in a dilemma over what paper to use for the card. A lot of papers looked good with the flowers, but I really wanted the stamp to shine, so, in the end, I went with all white, with just a touch of black ribbon as an accent. (I apologize for how dark the photos are. I tried using brighter images, but any brighter and you couldn't see the embossing on the background paper.) I used two different EK Success edge punches for the left panel and adhered the Lattice Chain over a piece of black organdy ribbon. Even the butterfly is almost all white. I inked the die with black ink before cutting, and left it without any other colors. I embossed the main background panel with a Sizzix embossing plate (Squares), and added black rhinestones and crystal Stickles to the left panels for a little sparkle.

I layered two different Spellbinder dies behind the stamp because the first layer seemed too flimsy, plus being all white, I needed it to show up against the background. 

For the bow, I tied a bow with two loops on each side, then folded it in half so that all the loops fell to one side of the knot in the middle. I hot glued it to the edge of the main image, and rather than put a sentiment on the front of the card, I left long lengths of ribbon hanging to where the sentiment would have gone. I attached the white butterfly to the bow knot.

For the inside, I cut two black corner accents and put them in opposite corners, then stamped a sentiment (also from the Zinnia set) in the lower left corner.  

I've been wanting to make an all-white card for awhile, and attempted it about a month ago, but ended up adding color to the embossing before I was finished. I'm glad I stuck with white for this one. 

Thanks for visiting me today. Have a great weekend!  

 

Stamps: Zinnias (Flourishes)
Paper: Darice; Recollections
Ink: Staz-On; Copics
Accessories: Dies: Classic Circles Lg., Parisian Accents, Parisian Motifs, Lotus Pendant (Spellbinders); Dimensional Butterfly (Cheery Lynn Designs); Squares embossing plate (Sizzix); seam binding (Hug Snug); organdy ribbon (Joann); rhinestones, Stickles; Lattice Chain Lg Edger & Diamond Lace Edger (EK Success); Inkadinkadoo blending chalk; dimensionals
Size: A^ (4.5" x 6.25")

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