Thursday, December 31, 2015

My 2015 Favorite Projects

Today's post is a quick recap of my favorite projects created for 2015. This has become a year end tradition for the cardmaking bloggers and I am happy to participate. 2015 has been a challenging year for me personally so I am praying for better days in 2016. God has a plan for me although I don't always realize it until after the fact.

Naturally my design teams feature prominently in my favorites, The Cat's Pajamas and Purple Onion Designs.









And here are a few from some of my other favorite stamp companies, Mama Elephant, VervePaper Smooches, WPlus9 and Papertrey Ink. 








Thank you so much for being a part of my little corner of the blog world. I wish all of you a year of good health, prosperity and happiness.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Peace on Earth

Today's card features images that I colored back in October for The Daily Marker 30 Day challenge. All the images came from one of my very favorite Christmas sets ever, WPlus9 Drummer Boy. I cut them out with the matching Drummer Boy Die set and colored with Copic Markers.


I prepared the background by using the smooshing technique with Blueberry Sky ink onto Ranger Distress Watercolor cardstock. I then sprayed and tapped Hero Arts Unicorn White spray onto it for a snowy, foggy look. After the background piece dried, I cut it with a My Favorite Things stitched die. I stamped the sentiment and then assembled the scene attaching with a combination of glue and foam tape. I also cut a cross from gold mirrored cardstock using a die from the Simon Says Crosses Die set and placed in the sky rather than a star.

Products: WPlus9 stamps and dies, Ranger and PTI cs,Recollections mirrored cs, Hero Arts spray, Simon Says die, PTI, Memento and Versamark inks, Copic Markers
Copics: Jesus and Manger-E000, E00, E11, E31, E33, E37, YR30, YR31, Y20, E23, E25, E27; Lambs-C00, C1, C3, C5, N1, N3, N5; Donkey-W00, W1, W2, W5, C00, C1; Palm Tree-YG0000, YG91, YG93, E41, E42, E44

This card is a reminder that we need more peace and love in this world. I am signing off for a week or more to spend time with family while celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. May you all have a blessed Christmas.


I am entering tihs card in the Color Throwdown (ctd373)challenge

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Peace Love Joy

I have another Christmas card for you today. I know you are surprised.


I actually used some leftovers from another project using images from the Papertrey Ink Spruce & Springs set with Gumball Green, Sour Apple and Aqua Mist inks and then cut out with matching dies from the Spruce and Sprigs die set. The poinsettia was cut from gold mirrored cardstock using one of the dies from The Cat's Pajamas Poinsettias CutUps.  After stamping the sentiment from the Papertrey Ink Holiday Cheer set using Wet Cement ink onto a Sno Cone cardstock background, I layered the various pieces, topping the flower with a pearl slipping a snowflake cut with a Simon Says Stamp die underneath. I apologize for the darkness of the photo but it was a gloomy day.

Products: Papertrey ink stamps and dies, PTI and MFT cs, Recollections mirrored cs, The Cat's Pajamas die, MFT, Stampin' Up, PTI and Ranger inks

I hope you are enjoying all the holiday prep. Thank you for stopping by.


Tuesday, December 22, 2015

For Unto You is Born

I have another faith based Christmas card today using some of my newest Papertrey Ink stamps and dies.


I used a combination of Petite Places: Nativity Stamp and the matching Petite Places: Navity Die set along with the Scene It: Bethlehem die set to create the Nativity image cut from some older Magnolia patterned paper and cardstock. The Bethlehem portion was inked around the edges with Ranger Antique Linen ink and attached to the patterned paper portion with craft foam.  I stamped the sentiment from the O Holy Night with Versamark ink onto a light blue cardstock background and then neat embossed in silver.

Products: Papertrey Ink stamps and dies, Magnolia dp, PTI and Recollections cs, Ranger embossing powder, Simon Says Stamp and Versamark inks

You might just be reading this while we are in a car for about 10 hours today making our way to North Carolina to spend the remainder of the holidays with my stepdaughter and family. Loaded with food, suitcases, presents and a dog that gets car sick and will want to be held and cuddled the whole way.It should be fun. Or not.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Celebrate the Season

Good morning.We had two different Christmas get togethers this weekend with family so it was a busy one for sure and so great to see everyone.


I have another Christmas card to share with you today - more on the masculine side this time. I stamped the trees and reindeer from the My Favorite Things Winter Wonderland set and cut out with the matching Winter Wonderland Die-namics, All were watercolored (trees in Pinefeather) and then attached to a kraft background cut with Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles die matted in Pinefeather cardstock. The sentiment came from the Papertrey Ink O Holy Night set mainly because it happen to be sitting on my craft table when I needed one.

Products: My Favorite Things stamps and dies, PTI stamp, ink and cs, Versafine ink

My shopping and wrapping is completed. Today is all about  packing for a trip and last minute things to do plus hopefully some rest in between. I hope you are enjoying  your holiday festivities. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Merry

Good morning. We are headed out the door soon but I have another Christmas card to share with you. I actually created it some time ago but just never got it on the blog.


I started out by using the Reverse Confetti Circles 'n Scallops to cut the main image piece from white textured cardstock and Pure Poppy cardstock. I added two trees cut with the Reverse Confetti Branch Out dies. The scripty Merry was cut with a die from the WPlus9 Hand Lettered Holiday set, twice from white cardstock and lastly with Pure Poppy, then layered together for dimension. A few sequins finished it up a simple design.

Products: Reverse Confetti dies, Wplus9 die, Bazzill, Simon Says and PTI cs, Doodlebug sequins

Have a great Sunday.


Friday, December 18, 2015

Got Snow?

I am sharing another Christmas card today. What else? I am addressing mine now and hope to at least get my out of state cards out the door today. I am later than usual but hopefully all will arrive before the big day.


I colored the bunny from the Got Snow? set and then fussy cut out. I then cut the circle from patterned paper and the snowflake from silver metallic paper using the Snowflake CutUps which continues to be one of my favorite dies. The fishtail banner was cut from lime green cardstock using a die from the Easy Rosette CutUps and wrapped silver thread on one end. I stamped the sentiment from the Merry Everything set directly onto the card base. After attaching the circle with craft foam, I secured the snowflake and then the banner and bunny with foam tape. A few sparkly enamel dots finished it up for a clean and simple card.

Products: The Cat's Pajamas stamps and CutUps, PTI dp and cs, Recollections metallic dp, Doodlebug enamel dots, Simon Says ink, Copic Markers
Copics: W00, E81, N1, N3, YG0000, YG01, YG03

Happy Friday. We actually have two Christmas celebrations this weekend with family so it's busy around here.


Tuesday, December 15, 2015

We are Blessed by His Love

Although I create a mix of both faith based and secular type Christmas cards I am well aware that Jesus is the reason for the season. Today's card is most definitely about the Nativity.


Back in October for The Daily Marker 30 Day challenge, I colored up the holy couple from the Simons Says Nativity set cutting the image out with the matching die from the Holy Couple and Barn set. While I had everything out I went ahead and cut out the stable (no it's not a barn even though that is how the die set was name) and the back of the stable from patterned paper and the star from gold mirrored cardstock. It's been kitted up ever since and I thought it was time to get it onto a card. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the linen cardstock background with Dark Chocolate ink and then I attached the images using craft foam on the stable and holy couple. I added the star in the East as well as a few sequins to finish it up.

Products: Simon Says stamps and dies, Carta Bella dp and My Mind's Eye dp, Recollections mirrored cs, Verve sequins, Memento and Simon Says inks, Copic Markers
Copics: Skin-E000, E00, E13; Clothing-W00, E81, E84, E87, BG70, BG10, BG72, BG75

As always, thank you for stopping by.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Peace.Love.Joy

I have another card featuring a tag created for Ellen Hutson 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2015The Day 12 theme features ornaments. I was inspired by the beautiful simplicity of elements on a shaped tag by Dawn Woleslagle.


I took this theme literally and stamped an onaments image twice from the Papertrey Ink Holiday Cheer set onto a white tag cut with the Pretty Pink Posh Decorative Tag 1 die set using Catkin and Pure Poppy inks plus the sentiment with Black ink. I cut another tag from Limeade Ice cardstock and tied the two tags together with a ribbon bow.


I attached the tag set  to a simple textured cardstock and patterned paper background.

Products: Papertrey Ink stamps and dies, Pink Paislee dp, PTI and Bazzill cs, May Arts ribbon, Pretty Pink Posh die, PTI and Simon Says inks




Joy

Today's card features a tag created for Ellen Hutson 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2015The Day 4 theme features snowflakes. I was inspired by the arrangement of greenery and snowflakes so artfully placed on Kay Miller's tag; however, I used more traditional colors.


I stamped three of the images from the Papertrey Ink Spruce & Springs set using Gumball Green, Sour Apple and Pure Poppy inks and then cut out with matching dies from the Spruce and Sprigs die set. I stacked and arranged them onto a tag cut from Smoky Slate cardstock with the Papertrey Ink Tag Sale #5 die and then anchored with a snowflake cut with the Stitched Snowflake Lawn Cuts die set. I tucked in a smaller snowflake left over from another project and after threading some snowflake ribbon through the tag hole I added a red jewel in the snowflake center.


I prepared the background with textured cardstock, a strip of patterned paper and the sentiment cut out from red cardstock using a die from the Papertrey Ink One Liners set.

Products: Papertrey Ink stamps, dies and cs, Doodlebug dp and jewel, Bazzill and Stampin' Up cs, Paper Source ribbon, MFT, PTI and Stampin' up inks



We are off to church soon. It occurred to me that this will be the last week to attend our church for the rest of the year as we have two family gatherings this coming weekend and then we will be headed out of town after that. It makes me sad but hopefully we will attend Christmas Eve services with family there.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Merry Christmas

Today's card features a tag created for Ellen Hutson 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2015. The Day 8 theme features non-traditional colors and texture. I was inspired by Lisa Adametz's tag which featured an embossing paste background and texture galore.


I cut the tag from Berrylicous cardstock and then used a Heidi Swapp stencil and Golden Fiber Paste to create the background. After lifting off the stencil, I sprinkled with white glitter for some extra sparkle. I cut the tree from orchid felt using the Poppy Stamps Stitched Pine Trees die and the branches from white cardstock using the Poppy Stamps Stick Pine Trees die. After attaching to the tag, I added a poinsettia cut from white cardstock and silver metallic dp using The Cat's Pajamas Poinsettias CutUps secured with a mini brad. The sentiment from the My Favorite Things Winter Wonderland set was stamped onto a banner cut with a C.C. Designs die (retired).


I attached the tag to a prepared card base with a layer of craft foam.

Products; MFT stamp, die, cs and button, Recollections metallic dp, PTI die, cs and felt, Heidi Swapp stencil, Golden Fiber Paste, Doodlebug glitter, Poppy Stamps dies, The Cat's Pajamas dies, Delicata ink

Have a great weekend!






Thursday, December 10, 2015

Christmas Gift Tags

Today's gift tags are for the Lawnscaping Challenge: Tag It (#119). I don't make handmade tags for every gift under the tree but I do try to create at least one for each family member. These are three of many more to go.


I cut each tag from plain white cardstock and then layered with patterned paper from the older Lawn Fawn Peace Love Joy pad and a "snow bank" cut from Neenah cardstock. Each tag was finished with a layered and popped up snowflake cut with the Stitched Snowflake Lawn Cuts and twine inserted in the tag holes.


For tag #1, I stamped and cut the penguin from the Winter Penguin mini stamp set and matching Winter Penguin Lawn Cuts. I stamped the heart swirl directly onto the "snow" and attached the image with foam tape.


For tag #2, I stamped and cut the bird, tree and heart from the Snow Day set and cut out with the matching Snow Day Lawn Cuts.. The bird was colored with Copic markers and then I attached the images with foam tape.


For tag #3, I stamped and cut the penguin and snowball from the Toboggan Together set and matching Toboggan Together Lawn Cuts.  I stamped the snowballs directly onto the "snow" and then attached the images with foam tape.

Products: Lawn Fawn stamps, dies and dp, PTI and Neenah cs, Divine Twine, Simon Says and Paper Smooches dies, Memento and MFT inks, Copic Makers
Copics: W00, E81, N1, N3, N5, YR30, YR31, R22, R24, R27

That's it for today. It's busy, busy, busy around here as I am sure it is for you.


Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Santa's Workshop

I am still churning out Christmas cards. I had hoped to mail my cards this week and here I am still working on them. It is giving me the opportunity to use some of the Christmas themed stamps I have purchased the past few months. So there is that.


I stamped several images from the My Favorite Things Winter Wonderland set and cut out with the matching Winter Wonderland Die-namics, coloring all with Copic Markers. I then cut a rectangle from textured white cardstock which I also cut "snow banks" using a die from the Simon Says StampWavy Stitches set. I attached the various images with a a combination of craft foam and glue building a scene to include Santa's workshop and the awaiting reindeer. I added a strip of patterned paper to the card base and then attached the image panel.

Products: My Favorite Things stamps and dies, Doodlebug dp, PTI cs, Simon Says die, Copic Markers
Copics: Building- R22, R24, R27, E50, E51, E53, W00, E81, YR30, YR31, YG0000, YG11, YG23; Sign-W00, E81, Sleigh-C00, C1, R22, R24, R27; Deer-E31, E35, E37; Tree-G40, G43, G46

I feel like I am running so behind but I'm trying not to stress about it. Thanks for stopping by.