My 2016 Favorite Projects

Today's post is a recap of my favorite projects created during 2016. This is always hard for me because I can't really judge my own work subjectively.

As it should be, my design teams feature prominently in my favorites, The Cat's Pajamas and Purple Onion Designs.

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And here are a few from some of my other favorite stamp companies:

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Although I haven't crafted as much in 2016 as in past years, I still enjoy this wonderful hobby. The cardmaking community is a close knit one and I am happy to be a part of it. I pray that your 2017 is filled with joy, spirituality and good health.

#thereasonfortheseason

Christmas morning is the perfect time to end my #thereasonfortheseason series with today's card. If you missed the others, you can find them here.

I used an embossing folder to emboss snowflakes on a linen cardstock front embossing the bottom portion, flipping the folder around and embossing a small portion of the top in order to leave a blank space for the sentiment from the Inspired: Jesus Mini Stamp set. I then used the Inspired: Jesus Die to cut two layers from plain white cardstock and one from gold metallic cardstock. I stacked them together and attached to the card front alongn with a few sequins for a clean and simple design.

Products: Papertrey Ink stamps and die, PTI and Michael's metallic cs, Verve sequins, Darice embossing folder, Ranger Archival ink

May you have a blessed Christmas with your family and friends.

Little Baby Jesus (#thereasonfortheseason)

Today's faith based Christmas card is another one for my #thereasonfortheseason series. If you missed the others, you can find them here.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

I stamped the image from the Neat and Tangled Little Baby Jesus set onto Neenah cardstock twice so I could stack them and then cut out with the matching dies. The baby Jesus portion was trimmed closer and then attached to the hay with foam tape for dimension. I prepared the background by using the smooshing on acetate technique with blueberry sky ink onto Ranger Distress watercolor card stock and then added more water with a wet brush. Splatters of Hero Arts Unicorn white ink completed the look. After cutting out the watercolor piece with a wonky stitched rectangle die, I stamped part of the sentiment directly onto the panel. The rest of sentiment was stamped onto a double ended flag which was attached with a layer of foam tape. A few stars cut from gold metallic cardstock and attached with foam dots finished it up. 

Products: Neat and Tangled stamps and dies, PTI, Ranger Distress watercolor and Michael's gold metallic cs, MFT dies, Hero Arts ink, PTI and MFT ink, Copic Markers

Copics: N1, N3, N5, E00, E01, E13, W00, E81, YR30, YR31, YR20, YR23

Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days. My Christmas prep is done so all I have to do is enjoy the day. We will be heading out for a Church service in the early evening which is always so special and moving. I love the candle lighting, communion, the music, everything. 

Christmas Blessings

I created a trio of tags back in August that I decided I needed for cards since I was a bit short of the number of Christmas cards for mailing.

I created very simple backgrounds using patterned paper since the tags were really oversized and detailed enough. Plus frankly, I didn't have much time to get that creative anyway. Here are the individual photos:

Products: Essential by Ellen dies, Paper Smooches stamps and dies, Carta Bella, My Mind's Eye and Illustrated Faith dp, Bazzill and PTI cs, Michael's mirrored cs, Hemptique cord, MFT ink, Copic Markers
Copics: W00, E81, YG0000, YG01, YG03

Thanks for stopping by.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas {Purple Onion Designs}

Good morning. Another Christmas card today featuring images from the Snow Day! collection by Stacey Yacula.

I used the masking technique to stamp this little trio of carolers, Noel, Moose and Snowball and then colored with Copic Markers. The snow bank was cut using The Cat's Pajamas Wavy Stitched Border and  the We Wish You a Merry Christmas sentiment was stamped on it. The image and sentiment pieces were attached to a patterned paper background. The musical note was cut twice from smokey shadow cardstock and stacked together.

Products: Purple Onion Designs stamps, Illustrated Faith dp, PTI cs, Sakura Gelly Roll pen, MFT and The Cat's Pajamas dies, MFT ink, Copic Markers
Copics: Bear-W00, E81, W1, R11, Moose-E41, E42, E44, W00, W1, W2, W5, R11, R20, Bunny-W00, E81, C00, C1, C3, R11; Sweater,Scarves, Gloves-R20, R22, R24, YG0000, YG01, YG23; Shadows/Ground-W00, E81, W1

Check out the Purple Onion Designs blog for more inspiration.

Sweet Wishes

I have yet another Christmas card today that I created for the current (and last!) Lawnscaping #144 Challenge. 

This card is one of those that has languished in my in progress bag for a while. It took a major need for Christmas cards and the challenge to get it finished. The two gingerbread cookies from the Oh Snap set were cut out using the matching dies and then colored with Copic markers. I placed them onto to a cookie sheet than I cut from metallic cardstock using the Verve Rounded Rectangle die and then scored it on the two short sides. After cutting out the patterned paper tag using a die from the Paper Smooches Gift Tags 2 dies, I attached the cookie sheet piece to it. I cut out a small tag using a die from the Tiny Tags die set, then stamped the sentiment from the Milk and Cookies stamp set using schoolhouse red ink. After tying the small tag onto the larger tag using twine, the whole piece was secured to the card background.

Products: Lawn Fawn stamps and dies, MFT metallic cs, PTI cs, Hemptique twine, Paper Smooches and Verve dies, Simon Says and Memento ink, Copic Markers
Copics: E50, E51,E53, E55, E57, R24

Lots of activity around here as I am sure it is at your house. Thanks for stopping by.

It is the Night of Our Dear Savior's Birth (#thereasonfortheseason)

Today's faith based Christmas card is another one for my #thereasonfortheseason series. If you missed the others, you can find them here.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

I cut the image panel from linen cardstock using the Papertrey Ink Basic Bookmark 3 die. After stamping the sentiment from the O Holy Night set using bermuda bay ink, I stamped the angel and nativity from the Petite Places: Navity Mini stamp set using blackberry bliss ink and the star using daffodil delight ink. I cut out the manger from cardstock using the Petite Places: Navity die set. I added some seam binding ribbon at the top and attached to a patterned paper background using foam tape.

Products: Papertrey Ink samps and dies, Doodlebug dp, PTI cs, The Cat's Pajamas seam binding, PTI and Simon Says dies, Stampin' Up ink

Blessing to you.

You Will Name Him Jesus (#thereasonfortheseason)

I used several different Papertrey Ink stamp sets to create today's faith based Christmas card for for my #thereasonfortheseason series. If you missed the others, you can find them here.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

After stamping the nativity image from the Star of Wonder using blueberry ink, I cut out with a circle die and then matted with cardstock. I then stamped several of the foliage from the Holiday Greens set using catkin and raspberry ripple ink and cut out with the matching dies. I prepared the background by flicking a small amount of blue gray watercolor ink on the card front and then stamped the sentiment from the Inspired;Jesus Mini Stamp set using blueberry ink. After layering the foliage and nativity pieces onto the card base using a combo of glue and foam tape, I used the Inspired:Jesus die to cut a couple of layers with the top one cut from raspberry ripple cardstock. After stacking them together, the piece was attached to the layered cluster. I finished it with stacked star cut with a die from the Small Sketched Stars die set.

Products: Papertrey Ink stamps and dies, PTI and Stampin' Up cs, MFT, Simon Says and Stampin' Up inks, Kuretake Zig Watercolor Brush Marker

Blessings to you.

Wise Men Still Seek Him (#thereasonfortheseason)

Welcome to another card for my #thereasonfortheseason series. If you missed the first two, you can find them here.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

I used a dual stitched circle die to cut an opening in a white linen cardstock panel and then stamped the image from the Papertrey Ink  Star of Wonder set onto the cutout portion using blackberry bliss ink. After stamping the sentiment from the Petite Places:Nativity Mini set using midnight muse ink,  I sandwiched the two pieces together with strips of foam tape. For a clean and simple card, I added a gold mirrored cardstock snowflake cut with a die from the Reverse Confetti Snowflake Trio set and a scattering of sequins. 

Papertrey Ink stamps, PTI cs, Michael's gold mirrored cs,Verve sequins, Lil Inker Designs and Reverse Confetti dies, Stampin' Up ink

Blessings to you!

Christ the Savior is Born (#thereasonfortheseason)

Welcome to my second installment of my #thereasonfortheseason series. If you missed the first one, it is here.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

I can't do a faith based series without using stamps from one of my favorite companies, Verve. The stable from the Weary World set was stamped onto Neenah cardstock and cut out with the matching die from the Starry Stable die set then colored with Copic Markers. After the sentiment was stamped onto a stitched rectangle the stamped piece was attached with foam tape and matted with silver metallic cardstock. I applied Ranger Diamond stickles to the edge of the star and than topped it with a star cut from the same silver metallic cardstock. The image piece was attached to an embossed background.  

Products: Verve stamps and dies, PTI and Michael's metallic cs, Ranger Stickles, Darice embossing folder, MFT ink, Copic markers
Copics: Baby Jesus-E00, E01, E13, E81; Stable-W00, W1, W2, W5, E40, E41, E42, E44; Hay-YR30, YR31, YR21, YR23, YR26; Sky-B91, B93, B95, B97

Blessings to you!

Merry & Bright {Purple Onion Designs}

Today's card is another reminder that the annual Purple Onion Designs Holiday sale is winding down. All stamps are 25% off until December 7 so you have two more days to get those orders in at this discounted price!

If you haven't considered the Merriness Set during this sale (or any other time), you really should. It is chock full of small holiday/winter images that work great on cards or gift tags. I have used two of the images on my CAS card, stamping directly onto the card base. After coloring with Copic markers, I stamped the Merry & Bright sentiment using pure poppy ink and added some glittery snow to anchor the snowman and tree. A few enamel dots and festive twine wrapped around the card and tied in a bow finished it up.

Products: Purple Onion Designs stamps, PTI cs, The Twinery twine, Doodlebug enamel dots, MFT ink, Copic Markers
Copics: Snowman-W00, E81, YR30, YR31, YR23, R20, R22, R24, B41, B32; Tree-YG0000, YG01, YG13, Y21

Come Let Us Adore Him (#thereasonfortheseason)

A Sunday seems the perfect day to start a series of faith based Christmas cards that I am tagging as #thereasonfortheseason. Although, I make both secular and religious Christmas cards my heart really belongs to faith affirming cards. Even on my secular creations, a faith message is stamped inside. The #thereasonfortheseason cards will be featured periodically throughout the month interspersed between other types of projects.

Afterall, Jesus is the reason for the season. 

I cut a piece from both black and white cardstock using the largest die from the Simon Says Quadrangle Frames set. The nativity image from the Illustrated Faith Christmas set was stamped onto the center white portion and colored with Copic markers. The sentiment from the same set was stamped onto a stitched circle using bermuda bay ink. Both pieces were attached to a tag cut with the largest die from the Paper Smooches Gift Tags 2 die set. After creating an aqua seam binding ribbon treatment in the tag hole, the tag was attached to the prepared background with foam tape. Stamped stars on the tag and a few wood veneer stars finished it up.

Products: Illustrated Faith stamps, Doodlebug dp, PTI cs, Studio Calico wood veneer stars, Paper Smooches, MFT and Simon Says dies, Stampin' Up and MFT ink, Copic Markers
Copics: Clothing-W00, E81, V12, V15, V17, G20, G21, G24, BG11, BG23, BG34; Manger-W00, W1, W2

I am submitting this to the Color Throwdown #241 challenge.

I hope you will stick with me throughout the month of December as I share my faith based cards with you.

Happy Howlidays

I have another pet related Christmas card today since I discovered another dog lover on my card list.

After stamping the images from the Reverse Confetti Puppy Love set (which is actually a Valentine/love themed set), I cut out with the matching dies then colored with Copic markers. The tiny holly image from The Cat's Pajamas Bunny Snowglobe set was stamped onto the dog bowl for a more festive look. The sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Happy Howlidays set was stamped using pure poppy ink onto a banner cut with a die from the Paper Smooches Banner Dies set. All the images and sentiment piece were attached to patterned panel cut with a pierced rectangle die using foam tape. The image panel was adhered to a linen cardstock background which was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.

Products: Reverse Confetti Stamps and Dies, Lawn Fawn stamp and dp, PTI cs, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Paper Smooches die, PTI and MFT ink, Copic Markers
Copics: Dog-W00, E81, E41, E42, E44; Dog Dish-G40, G43, G46, W00, E81

Have a great weekend!

Joy to the World {Purple Onion Designs}

The annual Purple Onion Designs Holiday sale is going strong All stamps are 25% off until December 7!

Today's card is a masculine one that I am submitting to this week's Merry Monday #224 Masculine challenge. After cutting out the lacy scallop circle from linen cardstock, I backed it with red cardstock and stamped the Joy image using pinefeather ink. I prepared the card base by adding two narrow strips of patterned paper and silver metallic cardstock onto a kraft card base. The second sentiment from the  Holidoodle Greeting Set was stamped using vermillion ink directly to the card base. After attaching the image piece using foam tape, I added a scattering of enamel dots to finish up a simple masculine Christmas card.

Products: Purple Onion Designs stamps,Lawn Fawn dp, PTI and Michael's metallic cs, Doodlebug enamel dots, Reverse Confetti die, Ranger and PTI ink

It's hard to believe that it is already December 1. I am not prepared for the holidays as per usual. It's hard not to stress out about it but I am trying!

Ho Ho Ho

Good morning. I have another Christmas card today. I'm working on these as fast as I can. I just have so much going on right now that it is hard to fit everything in.

I've had these images colored since March so I thought it was finally time to get them onto a card. The images from the Reverse Confetti Jolly Holiday set were stamped and then cut out with the matching dies. I prepared the background with a color wash using Tumbled Glass Distress ink and then stamped the sentiment bubble directly onto the panel. The image pieces were attached with foam tape. The snowflakes were cut with the Reverse Confetti Snowflake Trio die set and attached with a small circle in a contrasting color, then topped with an enamel dot.

Products: Revere Confetti stamps and dies, Ranger Watercolor and PTI cs, Doodlebug enamel dots, Ranger, MFT and Simon Says ink
Copics: Santa-E000, E00, E01, E13, R20, C00, C1, R22, R24, R27, N1, N3, N5, W00, E81, G00, G02, G07; Reindeer-E50, E51, E53, E40, E41, E44, R22, R24, R27, BG0000, BG10, BG11

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Christmas Wreath and a Sale! {Purple Onion Designs}

The annual Purple Onion Designs Holiday sale is underway. All stamps are 25% off until December 7!

Today's card is a clean and simple one using some older stamps. I started out by smearing Versamark ink in a haphazard manner onto the Merry Background stamp. After stamping it onto white linen cardstock, I heat embossed it with silver pearl for a tone on tone look and then cut out with a stitched rectangle die. I really wanted more "blank" spots but I think I got a little carried away with the Versamark. Next time I will try masking off before inking. I then stamped the Boxwood Wreath onto Neenah cardstock and cut out with a stitched circle die, coloring with Copic markers. I matted both pieces with pure poppy cardstock. After adding a diagonal strip of pure poppy cardstock on the cardbase the image panel was attached to the embossed background with a layer of craft foam.

Products: Purple Onion Designs stamps, PTI and Neenah cs, Wow embossing powder, Lil Inker Designs dies, Versamark and MFT ink, Copic Markers
Copics: Leaves-G20, G21, G24; Bow-R20, R22, R24; Shadows-W00, E81

While you are shopping check out more fun projects on the Purple Onion Designs blog.

Dachshund Through the Snow

Good morning. I hope all my USA readers had a Happy Thanksgiving. I had a delicious dinner with my aunt, sister and her family in my hometown. Unfortunately my husband had to stay home because he has a very bad cold and he didn't want to pass along his sickies.

I created a background by brushing on a soft color wash of Tumbled Glass distress ink onto a water color cardstock rectangle cut with a stitched die. A snowy hill was created with the combination of a die from the Simon Says Wavy Scallop Stitches set and the same stitched rectangle die and attached to the watercolor panel with foam tape. Snowflakes were stamped with aqua mist ink and the dog paws with stormy sea ink. The sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Happy Howlidays set was stamped directly onto the background panel using pure poppy and Black ink. I then stamped out cut out the dog, Christmas lights and reindeer hat from the Happy Howlidays set and colored with Copic markers. The tree from the Lawn Fawn Snow Day was stamped with green parakeet ink and cut out with the matching die. All the images were attached with foam tape for dimension. The panel was attached to a patterned paper background and twine tied around the top of the card finished it up.

Products: Lawn Fawn stamps and dies, Lawn Fawn dp, PTI, Ranger Watercolor and Bazzill cs, The Twinery Twine, Simon Says MFT dies, Ranger Distress, MFT, PTI and Simon Says ink, Copic Markers
Copics: Dog-E40, E41, E42, E44; Antlers-E40, E41, E42, E44, W00, W1, W2; Lights-YG0000, YG01, YG23, R20, R27

I am not a Black Friday shopper except for a bit of internet shopping. I will be spending the day decorating for Christmas instead. Thanks for stopping by.

{The Cat's Pajamas} TCP Tuesday #328

It's time for another TCP Tuesday at The Cat's Pajamas with a theme of snow for a tag, card or other project. The challenge runs for two weeks and The Cat’s Pajamas products are not required although it makes us happy when you use our stamps and dies.

I created a trio of gift tags using the Holiday Tag Duo CutUps as the tag base with metallic gold thread inserted through the tag holes and a mirrored gold snowflake cut using the Snowflake Lace Paper CutUps. 

For the first tag I stamped a portion of one of the large flourishes from the Winter Style set using pure poppy ink finished with a a gold mirrored snowflake and a small red rhinestone. The middle tag was cut from patterned paper and the snowy hill cut with the  Hill & Dale  Cutups. I stamped the snow angel first with soft stone ink and then the penguin image both from the Penguin Joy set. The stamped piece was attached with foam tape for dimension. For the third tag, I used the snowflake cutout piece from the Holiday Tag Duo CutUps backed with patterned paper. I then stamped a portion of one of the smaller leafy flourishes Winter Style set using pure poppy ink.

Products: The Cat's Pajamas stamps and dies, Carta Bella dp, PTI cs, Recollections mirrored cs, Kaisercraft rhonestone, MFT and PTI ink, Copic Markers
Copics: C00, C1, Y13, Y35, E81, R22, R24, R27

Here are the details:

1. Every other Tuesday a new challenge will be posted on The Cat's Pajamas blog and our Facebook page.
2. If you want to play along you just upload your design to The Cat's Pajamas blog page using the InLinkz button by the Monday, 11:55 EST before the next challenge.
3. You are not required to use a Cat’s Pajamas stamp or die but if you have them we would love to see them.
4. On the following TCP Tuesday, the winner will be chosen from the previous challenge and will receive a Cat Cash Voucher for $10 or $15 if a TCP product is use.

Merry Christmoose

Today's project is a masculine Christmas card.

The moose and tree images from the Reverse Confetti Merry Christmoose were all cut out with their matching dies and then colored with Copic Markers.The snowflake cluster was stamped using vermillion ink and then also cut out with the matching die. I prepared the background by cutting a stitched rectangle from patterned paper and then used another circular stitched die to cut a circle and backed it with a different patterned paper. These were layered onto a kraft small scalloped base. The sentiment was stamped using red vermillion ink onto a small strip of white cardstock and attached to the card front along with the images using a combo of glue and foam tape.

Copics: Trees-YG61, YG63, YG67, E33, E37; Moose-E50, E51, E53, E57, W00, W1, W2, W5, R20
Products: Reverse Confetti stamps and dies, Carta Bella dp, PTI and Bazzill cs, MFT and Lil Inker Designs die, Ranger and MFT ink, Copic Markers

Have a great weekend.