Merry December Snowman

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share my snowy merry December card with this adorable Small Snowman (DIE899-Q) from Impression Obsession for their current challenge. You can find it HERE.

I started with a monoprint abstract background (one of those I didn't like that now I love) and cut the Stitched Tag (DIE798-Y) from the print. Then came the snowman pieces. I popped up his hat, with the hat band cut from the same monoprint. Silver glitter paper was for the sentiment from Typewriter Sentiments (DIE905-Y). I popped up the entire tag on a textured blue background wrapped with Metallic Blue Kreinik thread, with two of the Primitive Snowflakes (DIE893-YY) peeking out. A couple of the snowballs from the Snowman set are also are popped up for dimension. A little textured blue cardstock for the main panel, and white for the base, and he is ready to pop in the mail for a merry December greeting.

Thank you for stopping by and I wish you the loveliest of celebrations (in the 2020 way!) for the new year to come. Happy Crafting in 2021!

Freshly Made Sketches #466

Hello everyone! It's our last sketch for 2020! The lovely Jen T is our hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

I took a detour from Christmas and winter cards this week and made a cute little greeting using some new goodies from Honey Bee Stamps (and a few others)!

I started out by stamping my bee with Hero Arts Intense Black ink, and coloring with Copics. I stamped my YOU with the same ink, and cut out both with the coordinating dies. Out came the blender brushes and Seedless Preserves and Dusty Concord DOX inks and the Honeycomb Stencil from Picket Fence Studios for my background. Using my Dotted Square frame dies from TSOL, I cut a square to hold my bee. I had some fun glitter cardstock from The Paper Studio that matched my ink, and I used that for my bee's sunglasses, as well as the background panels in the sketch, and my BEE die cut. A few sequins from my stash, and all done!

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, January 4th. On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week's challenge who will be known as the "Queen or King of Clean". The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a "Perfect Princess or Prince". Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see the beautiful cards they have created this week!

 

December Release Day for Picket Fence Studios

It's the 14th of the month, and that means Release Day for Picket Fence Studios! 

I have been battling vertigo for several days, so will have a short post today, but hopefully can be back soon with more on the release!

My card for today shows off the new Burst of Sun Stencil, and images from Do Good Recklessly.

I used a combination of DOX reds and corals for the stencil color. I then embossed my microphone and sentiment in Black Ebony (WOW!) embossing powder on the top. The sequins are from the Black Russian Sequin Mix.

I hope you will check out the entire release, and find LOTS to play with! Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out Picket Fence Studios for the entire release!

Festive Friday #0074

Happy Friday!

Today there is a new challenge up at Festive Friday! We're celebrating Christmas, and using our fabulous Inspo List #FF0074 to inspire us (below). If you are new to the FF Challenges, you can choose any three items (or more!) from our list to inspire your creativity. Your card does not have to be about Christmas in particular.

I wanted to use the Peace on Earth dies from MFT, and built the rest of my card around the list. I chose holly, stars, peace on earth, red, and green.

My holly and green coordinating papers are from Stampin' Up! I added a few red rhinestones for sparkle. 

I hope you will join us for this challenge. Remember, you can choose any three from the list, for any occasion or theme! And what a fun list! 

For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Challenge Design team!

Ann Schach

Beth McCullough

Sharon Hashimoto Burkert

Melanie Hungerford

Helen Jennings

Stephanie Lanzalotto

Melva Peters

Judy Rozema

Freshly Made Sketches #465

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday, and Jacquie is our hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches with a fun tag card!

I had decided on snowflakes for my main theme (using the tree from the Paper Players Challenge), and rummaged in my "unfinished" box to see what I could find.

I had the light blue layered snowflake (from ages ago; I don't think he thought he would make it on a project!), the silver glitter "merry", and a bag of little wooden snowflakes from Fun Stampers Journey. I cut my tag and punched a hole, then grabbed a speckled stamp (Stampin' Up! retired) and made my background with my WOW! Embossing Pad and Bright White Opaque Embossing Powder. I added a couple of snowdrifts using a stitched die (Whimsy Stamps) and some gorgeous Ice Silver Shimmer cardstock (CutCardStock). A couple of trims (Really Reasonable Ribbon) and the sentiment, and the tag was done! I felt the background needed a little kick of some texture, so added the Softly Falling embossing folder (SU!) on my Crumb Cake cardstock base. 

I love how it turned out! What do you think?

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, December 14th. On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week's challenge who will be known as the "Queen or King of Clean". The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a "Perfect Princess or Prince". Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see the beautiful cards they have created this week!

 

I am linking up at:

The Paper Players

 

Freshly Made Sketches #464

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday, and my pleasure to be the sketch hostess at Freshly Made Sketches this week!

Last week I had so many layers (which I love), that this week decided to keep it pretty CAS. I pulled out an adorable holiday set from Reverse Confetti (currently out of stock - sorry!): Holiday Gnomes.

I started by giving my little CAS scene some depth with a stencil from Taylored Expressions. I didn't even have to ink up my blue blender brush; I just wanted a very subtle color. I had enough ink already on my brush and it turned out just how I envisioned.

Next I stamped and colored my gnome, using Hero Arts Black and Copic markers. I added a lot of Nuvo Shimmer pen to his hat and star, and it is so sparkly! The house is stamped on patterned paper from Amy Tangerine. I layered all of this on a green panel and white cardstock base. A little die cut cloud (Whimsy Stamps), a banner sentiment, and it's all done!

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, December 7th. On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week's challenge who will be known as the "Queen or King of Clean". The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a "Perfect Princess or Prince". Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see the beautiful cards they have created this week!

 

I am also linking up at:

Sparkles Forum Challenges - #134 - Use a Stencil

Miniature Creations

Happy December, Everyone! It's a new month, and a brand new challenge has launched today: Mini Marvellous Masterpieces! I am pleased to be a part of the Design Team, as small things are such fun to make! You can read all about the new challenge and the details HERE.

But first, before you go, I want to share my miniature creation with you! I made a cute tag - probably my last "fall" creation (although you never know!) for the year. We have had the loveliest temperatures for November. Usually we are in cold and blustery snow, but this past week we had mid 50's and it was delightful. We were able to get outdoors and take some short road trips with our dog, Sophie, AND hang the outside Christmas lights without a coat!

So -- my tag today was inspired by the MMM Mood Board, which you can see below. I chose the beautiful leaves and colors for my inspiration. The best part about this tag is that all of the elements were in my "unfinished box." Things I had started to use, or made previously, but never put together - with the exception of the sentiment.

I cut the tag from a watercolored square that was in my mixed media prints and paints. It pulled many of those mood board colors in. I love that little corner of Bundled Sage DOX in the lower right - a darker and cooler green that is peeking into the tag. The gold and burgundy leaves are Ash Leaves Dies from Picket Fence Studios. The sentiment is from the beautiful Phoenix Rising stamp set by Visible Image Stamps. My stamped leaf was watercolored and then fussy cut. I added my favorite gold metallic thread from Kreinek, and two types of twine at the top. Here is the mood board that we hope will inspire you too!

Our challenge is open for two weeks, so you have plenty of time to create! Be sure to check out what the rest of the team has made; there are 3D projects, jewelry, tags, ATCs and more! Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrating A Birthday!

I couldn't be more pleased to celebrate the 13th birthday of Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps! As a former DT member and current customer, I know that they offer some amazing products, and the owner, Korin, is as nice as they come! I am happy to share some of my favorite makes today on this last day of the birthday celebration month. BUT today is the last day of their Black Friday 20% off sale, so be sure to grab the deals while you can!

I am sharing several cards today in no particular order - just ones I had a lot of fun making. Links to the products are below.

First up is a fun gate fold favorite, KITTY LOVE.

Next is one of my all time favorite snowmen - SNOWMAN SOUP.

Third is a cute pairing of coffee and donuts from YOU & ME.

And finally, this precious deer from FUR-EVER FRIENDS. I love him so much!

Happy Birthday, SNSS and Korin! So excited for you, your family, and your company!

Festive Friday #0073

Happy Friday!

Today there is a new challenge up at Festive Friday! We're celebrating the Winter Solstice, and using our fabulous Inspo List #FF0073 to inspire us (below). If you are new to the FF Challenges, you can choose any three items (or more!) from our list to inspire your creativity. Your card does not have to be about the Winter Solstice in particular.

I chose these three items from the Inspo List: purple, snowflakes, metallics. I am so glad purple was a choice! It's a color I love to see on cards, but for some reason, I rarely use it myself! I had the large snowflake left over from another project, so cut another smaller one from Winter Snowflakes Dies (PFS) and added some confetti and metallic sequins from my stash. The background is dry embossed with a snow embossing folder. The frame and sentiment are from SSS.

I hope you will join us for this challenge. Remember, you can choose any three from the list, for any occasion or theme! And what a fun list!

For more inspiration, be sure to visit the rest of the Festive Friday Challenge Design team!

Freshly Made Sketches #463

Hello everyone! It's Wednesday, and that means a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! The very talented Amy is our hostess this week!

Usually I look at the sketch and then choose what I am going to make depending on what I think will work well with the sketch. This week I was determined to use my new stamps from Ink to Paper - this lovely Deer To Me set. I'm glad I grabbed it on the first day, as it's sold out now! I missed out on the last deer set (Winter Wonder - which is now back in stock!), so I didn't hesitate when I saw this one. Anyway, I struggled with the sketch more than I normally would because of my determination to use the deer. I had two deer, then more foliage, then fewer patterns..... but I finally settled on one deer and the sweet sentiment. I added a tiny floral sprig from the set in the corner.

I love how the deer dies have texture on them! I used patterned paper from Bo Bunny and a retired Elizabeth Crafts Design set of nested stitched rectangles to cut all of my paper and cardstock. I tied gold metallic thread around the bottom of the card.

I hope you will join our sketch challenge this week, and add your creations to our gallery! 

 

This challenge will end at 3:00 EST time on Monday, November 30th. On Tuesday, we will announce the winner of this week's challenge who will be known as the "Queen or King of Clean". The team will choose other gallery favorites to be known as a "Perfect Princess or Prince". Be sure to stop at the Freshly Made Sketches blog, and click on the names of my teammates to see what beauty they have created this week!

 

Visible Image Stamps' Dragonfly Dreams

I love a good collage stamp! Especially since I am not the most creative at putting collages together. So when it comes all neat and tidy like Dragonfly Dreams from Visible Image Stamps, I am in love!

I made a watercolor background using Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters DOX. I stamped the collage on top with VersaFine Onyx Black (my favorite Clair Nocturne went dry on me - I think I didn't close the lid tight!).

For embellishments, I added Boiled Sugar Acrylic Drops from Trinity Stamps randomly to mimic the circles in the stamped images. After adhering this panel to a textured complimentary green, I tied my favorite Gold Metallic thread (Kreinik) around the bottom of the card, and adhered everything to a black cardstock base.

This stamp set comes with the large dragonfly collage, and three different sentiments. I fit the Self Reflection sentiment right in with the collage. 

There are some GREAT DEALS at Visible Image Stamps during their Black Friday Sale -- some stamps are up to 70% off! Check it out here ---> SALE. Links to the products I have used are below.

Challenges:

• Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes

Phoenix Rising

Today I am super excited to finally be able to share one of the new releases from Visible Image Stamps! There are six new sets in this release, and I am getting inky this weekend to show you more. Today's new set is called PHOENIX RISING. I absolutely love the images and accompanying sentiments. Take a peek:

I had this background piece still on my desk from an earlier project. I made it with Nuvo Shimmer Powders. I ADORE these powders. Think Brushos with an incredible amount of shine. I used Atlantis Burst and Golden Sparkler. I have a Boomerang video on my Instagram account, where you can see the shine in my previous project with the background. (And I am fewer than TEN followers away from 1000! I would love to have you follow me there to get to my goal!). 

I stamped the Phoenix in VersaMark ink, and then embossed with WOW! Primary Ebony Embossing Powder. I did dip his tail in a hybrid mixture I made from several powders that the ashes are also embossed with. I liked the "coming from the ashes" in one ethereal look, and then bursting upward with a solid new look. The sentiment is also embossed in black. I love how it turned out!

Tune in tomorrow for another creation using new stamps from the Visible Image November Release!

25 Days of Christmas Tags with Picket Fence Studios!

 

Today Picket Fence Studios is joining Tracey McNeely and her spectacular 25 Days of Christmas Tags event. This is the 10th year! You can find all the details over on Tracey's blog, as well as the link to all of the Picket Fence Studios tag inspiration. There is so much festive fun! 

I started with the Candy Cane Lane Stencil. This is a must have and a STEAL on sale for $1.99 (link below)! I used my Life Changing Blender Brushes and Worn Lipstick DOX for a faded and subtle background. I then die cut my tag, and two layers of snow, using some shimmery white and silver cardstock. 

Next I stamped the larger elegant reindeer and holly from On A Christmas Walk, and embossed them with Clear Gloss WOW! Embossing Powder. I colored each with Copic markers, and cut them out with the Coordinating Dies. I added Blush Pink Pearls from Kaiser for my holly berries, and a few gorgeous Moonshine Sequins for bling and sparkle. These sequins are amazing! My trims are pink organza and silver cord from my stash.

Thank you to all of the amazing sponsors for this event, and to Tracey, especially for all of the fun. There are many ways to win so head on over to Tracey’s main post for all the details! So many prizes and giveaways!

I hope that you will also follow me on Instagram! I am a handful away from 1000 followers! Here is the link.