Gold Christmas

I've missed the last two challenges at Less is More, and they were great challenges, too.   Happily, I'm able to play along this week and the challenge is to use gold.  Ooh, that's a tricky one for me.  I lean first toward natural colors and second toward bright, happy colors.  Rarely gold.  I don't have any gold ink, but I do have some very old gold embossing powder, so I pulled it out to play along.

I stamped this beautiful Penny Black damask pattern background and embossed the entire thing with gold powder.   Then I cut it down to two panels and mounted them on the card base.  I embossed a sentiment on each and called it good.  Two more Christmas cards checked off the list.  These are very shiny!

I've recently returned from taking a troop of 10-year old Girl Scouts camping for three days.  We lucked out and had incredible weather, which was a blessing as our summer so far has been wet and cold!  The girls had a fabulous time exploring the woods and beaches, whittling sticks, sitting around the campfire, and exploring the historic gun batteries.

I'm looking forward to having time later this afternoon to do some blog-hopping.  See you then!

Ann

Let it Snow

I've made another entry for the Less is More "Let it Snow" challenge.  I combined it with the One Layer Wednesday Challenge at Simplicity which is to make a one layer card that feels peaceful.  We don't get a lot of snow here in Western Washington, but when it does snow, I always think there is something so peaceful about those lovely white flakes gently falling from the sky.

Because I don't have a lot of time this week and I really liked the way my previous cards for Less is More turned out, I used the same stamps and layout.  I have been having so much fun with these Martha Stewart snowflake stamps.  This time I used white ink on kraft, which feels soft and peaceful to me.  I stamped the card quickly enough, and then fiddled with the bow for 45 frustrating minutes.  Needless to say, I wasn't feeling very peaceful by the time I was done.  I scratched the bow and just tied a simple knot, which I like better anyway! :)

Since the Less is More challenge is "Let it Snow," I thought I would share two of the cards my 5 and 9-year old girls made this weekend for their teachers' Christmas gifts.  I found a pack of white buttons in different sizes and we decided they would make perfect snowmen.  They turned out so cute!

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft (my last sheet - horror!)

Stamps: Martha Stewart, Hero Arts sentiment

Ink: Color Box frost white

Christmas Cards with Bling

We've returned from a lovely family Thanksgiving having stuffed ourselves silly with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie!  I'm heading into a busy week and won't have a lot of time for card-making, so I worked into the wee hours last night to play along with Less is More and CAS-ual Fridays.  I went a little crazy with the Less is More challenge, a bit of bling, and made five very simple Christmas cards to complete my collection for the year.  Now I've just got to write them, stamp and address them, and pop them into the mail. 

The first two cards use a Martha Stewart snowflake stamp set and were inspired by this card I saw on Pinterest and this old sketch at Clean and Simple Stamping.  If the snowflakes were a little bit lower, I think it would be pretty with a sheer organza ribbon at the top, but I don't happen to have any at the moment.

The next two cards use the fabulous sketch at CAS-ual Fridays.  For the first card I used the same Martha Stewart snowflakes and the second card uses Hero Arts Merriest Christmas Wishes.  The little star gems are by Recollections.

Finally, I used these tiny Recollections flowers to make this super simple Christmas card.  I simply added a big pink gem to the center of each.  I do like red and pink together for Christmas.

Well, if you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. :)  I had fun playing with bling last night, and I'm thrilled to report that my Christmas cards are very nearly finished.  Most years, I would just be getting started.  What a refreshing change!

Sketch Inspiration:

Less is More 42

This week the ladies at Less is More have challenged us to make a clean and simple card featuring a silhouette.  I recently bought this stamp of the three wise men on coupon at Michaels, so I had something new to play with.  Otherwise it would have been a much loved tree stamp, my only other silhouette.  

I first made a one-layer card using masking and sponging. It took some fiddling to get it right.  I started by masking the top and bottom of the inked area, but found I didn't like the defined edge along the top.  I then masked only the bottom and liked that much better.  I masked a moon for the initial sponging, and then removed it and sponged just a bit of color across it.  When I stamped the image, I was concerned about the stars across the face of the moon.  I could have done some fancy masking to leave the palm leaves but remove the stars on the moon, but instead I am choosing to not let it bother me. :)

 

 For my second card, I simply cut out the sponged and inked panel, matted it on navy cardstock, and mounted it on a white card base. I added a Hero Arts sentiment in black.

Now for a question.  I've noticed that many people who ink backgrounds do so using distress inks.  I use an old Colorbox multi-color pad of pigment inks, as that is what I have that works best.  However, I've been so impressed with the cards I've seen using distress inks that I'm thinking of asking Santa for some.  Are people using the ink pads or the bottles of liquid ink, and are people using sponge daubers or brayers?  Are there any tricks I need to know for blending them?   If you have any opinions about distress inks, I'd love to hear them!  Thanks so much.

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white, navy from scrap box
Stamps:  Stampendous traveling far, Hero Arts sentiments
Ink: Color Box pigment inks, Memories black

CPS 244

Good Morning!

I'm just popping in with a quick card I made using the sketch at Card Positioning Systems. I really liked the simplicity of the sketch this week.  I flipped the sketch for my card.  I used two strips of patterned paper across the top and an AMuse stamp.  While I'm a clean and simple gal at heart, it really felt like it was missing something, so I added the ribbon between the two red strips of patterned paper.  Better, although now that I'm looking at it I'm not so sure about the bling.  That may have to come off! :)

Supplies:

Paper: PTI kraft, PTI white, Colorbok patterened paper

Stamps: AMuse

Ink: Brilliance coffee bean

Other: ribbon from stash, prismacolor pencils, bling from stash

OLW 71: Tag- You're It!

The one-layer challenge at Styles Ink is to make tags.  This was a great opportunity to make some Christmas tags.  The tag is a Sizzix die.  I used all AMuse images and Hero Arts sentiments.  My favorite by a long shot is that gorgeous poinsettia stamped in Staz-on blazing red.  Love that stamp. :)

One Layer Wednesday 70

Susan's one-layer challenge this week is to make a red and white card.  I adore her card with its beautiful red snowflakes, and the other thumbnails are beautiful, as well.  What a simple and gorgeous color scheme this is!

I masked a vertical panel along the left side of my card and stamped the largest image from PTI Damask Designs to create a pattern.  Then I peeled back the post-its and stamped a Hero Arts sentiment.  Sounds simple, but it took five tries to get a card that I was happy enough to post.  I love one-layer cards, but the slightest shaky hand can ruin the whole card! 

I loved Susan's card, as well as Karen's challenge card, so I decided to CASE them both.  I love how the images are stamped within an area defined by the border stamp.  I didn't have a Christmas stamp that seemed appropriate, but these flower stamps in red make me think of starlight mints.  I tried a bit of red bling in the center of the large flowers, but it seemed to be too much.  Thank you to both Susan and Karen for the inspiration.

Supplies:

Stamps:PTI damask designs, Hero Arts sentiment, Martha Stewart flowers

Ink: Stazon blazing red (damask card), Brilliance rocket red

Paper: PTI white

Less is More 37

I groaned when I saw that the theme for Less is More 37 was cocktails.  I'm not a cocktail kind of gal, but I was determined to participate since last week I couldn't manage a heart card to save my life! I didn't think I had any cocktail images, so I did a quick Google search and found this fabulous (and free!) Christmas Martini at Wendymade.  I have never used a digital image before, but I gave it the old college try. :)

I printed the first one straight onto my card  base, along with one of her free sentiments.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and added some transparent glitter for a little holiday sparkle!  I'm also linking this to One-Layer Wednesday since it has a triangle in it! 

For my second card, I loosely followed the sketch at Skipping Stones Designs.  I just switched the circle and the sentiment.  I used the computer to generate my own sentiment for this card, as I thought 'Holiday Cheer' was fitting, and then framed the sentiment with scored lines.  This Christmas card will go to my aunt who always serves fuzzy navels at Christmas dinner.  I look forward to that fuzzy navel all year long! :)

 

I'm really pleased with how these turned out, but I have to say I prefer the feel of a stamp in my hands.  However, when you don't have the right stamp, this is a fabulous alternative.

It's been one of those weeks and I've missed visiting a lot of your blogs.  Thank you for your kind comments, and I'll be setting some time aside later this weekend to visit you, as well! 

CAS-ual Fridays 22

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays this week is to make a CAS card with a ribbon tab or loop. I was inspired by this beautiful ribbon in black, gold, and burgundy that I pulled out of the dollar bin at Michaels.

I stamped the Hero Arts branch and flourish tree in Brilliance pearlescent crimson. I just bought this stamp and I adore it. It is matted on PTI scarlet jewel and adhered to a PTI true black card base. I don't believe I've ever used black as the base for a Christmas card. Then I simply added my ribbon loop.

This card was difficult for me to photograph, probably because of the dark papers. You can't really see the ribbon or the beautiful shimmer of the pearlescent ink, but it is lovely IRL.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you've all had a chance to make a card on this World Cardmaking Day! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts branch and flourish tree
Paper: PTI vintage cream, true black, scarlet jewel
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent crimson

Card Patterns 132 and ColourQ 102

Apparently I skipped Halloween and Thanksgiving and went straight to Christmas this week. I liked simplicity of the sketch at CardPatterns this week, and decided to use the beautiful PTI Mehndi Medallion to stamp the panel.

I started out with red, green, and pink, and then remembered the colors from the ColourQ challenge. I loved the addition of blue, but I had a hard time incorporating the gray. I decided to use gray for the two tabs on top of the panel and for the sentiment below. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I think it's growing on me a little bit! :)

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white, blue from scrap box
Stamps: PTI Mehndi Medallion, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink: Brilliance rocket red, ColorBox

Less is More 24

We've just returned from a two week road trip to Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Wyoming. We spent a couple of days driving each way, visited with friends and family along the way back, and spent a week sleeping in our cozy tent in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. My husband and I had been there in the past, but what fun it was to share this beautiful treasure with our two sweet girls. They loved it! Here are just a few of the 600 pictures we took. :)



Now, it's back to business and just in time to play along with Less is More week 24. The challenge is to make a clean and simple card using circles. I used my favorite Rubber Soul polka dot stamps to create a background in red, green, and pink. Then I inked up some new AMuse holiday stamps, cut them out, and popped them up over the dotted background. I've used this simple layout in the past and I quite like it. I'm also pleased to add three more Christmas cards to my stash!




Now I'm off to have a look around and see what I've missed while we were away. Thanks for stopping by to visit today! :)

Supplies:
Paper: PTI white, red from scrap box
Stamps: Rubber Soul, AMuse
Ink: Brilliance rocket red and pearlescent ivy, Memento rosebud

OLW 43

Shimmer, not glitter or bling. That's the challenge this week for One Layer Wednesday 43 at Simplicity.

I have one little tub of pearly white twinkling H2Os that I used quite a number of years ago on my Christmas cards. I was considering using Memento Brilliance pearlescent ink, but I decided to use my little tub of twinkling H2Os because truthfully, it hasn't seen the light in at least 5 years! :)

Previously, I had used it to paint a dove in a "Peace on Earth" stamp, so I suppose Christmas was on the brain. Because the pearly white shimmer makes me think of snow, I pulled out one of my oldest stamps, an All Night Media snowman that I have had for at least 14 years.

For the first try, I stamped the snowman up high on the card, colored the scarf, hat, and carrot nose with prismacolor pencils, and then painted the H2Os on the body. I drew a hill with my Sharpie to ground it. I masked the snowman and a rectangle around it and sponged with pale blue ink. Finally, I added a sentiment.


It was okay, but I wasn't loving it. I decided that I liked the look of the snowman better down toward the bottom of the card. It looked more natural to me. I redid the whole thing in that position and just skipped the masking and sponging. I was happier with this result, although now as I look at this post I keep going back on forth as to which I prefer. :)



Usually by the time the first of December rolls around, I haven't made a single Christmas card. Between this and Susan's previous Christmas challenge, it's nice to have a head start!

Supplies:
Stamps: All Night Media snowman, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink: Stazon black, Versamagic Aspen Mist for sponging
Paper: PTI white
Other: twinkling H2Os, Prismacolor pencils

One Layer Wednesday 41

This week's One Layer Wednesday at Simplicity is a Christmas challenge - red and green on white or cream and only one layer. This is my first time playing along with one of Susan's challenges, although I have been lurking on her blog for most of the last year! I'm finally brave enough, I guess.

I've been expanding my meager stamp collection, based largely on Susan's recommendations, into Stampin' Up, Hero Arts, and PTI. I just purchased this old set (Best Blossoms) on eBay, and while it's not Christmas, I wanted to play with it. Stamped in red and green, I figure it looks festive enough.

I scored a triple frame around the images, and while it was a bit of a pain, I really like how it turned out. I just got the scoring board for Christmas from my mother-in-law, and I honestly don't know how I've lived without it. I'm in love!




I'm not thrilled with my stamping and placement of the leaves, but after several tries it just had to be good enough! I made the first card on vintage cream, and then thought I'd try it on white. I'm not sure which I like better, but I think they're both okay. Sorry for the dark pictures; it's a dreary sort of day in Washington. I'm going to have to work on my photography!

Thank you, Susan, for your inspiration. I'm really happy to finally be playing along!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Hero Arts sentiment
Paper: PTI vintage cream, white
Ink: Brilliance pearlescent ivy, VersaMagic red brick