Embossing Folder Stamping

I've never tried embossing folder stamping before, but I watched some videos, and it couldn't get any easier.  You ink up the raised side of an embossing folder, spritz on some water, then make an impression on your card stock.  I made several impressions -- reinking and spritzing each time.  It looks a little different each time, depending upon how much ink and water you apply.  For this project, I used a snowflake embossing folder (which says both Sizzix and Stampin Up on it) and a little blue cube of unmarked ink (one of these little inch-square ink pads you get in a cheap stamp set).

After trimming the resulting images down, adding a sentiment, and mounting them on some blue snippets, they made quite nice Christmas cards. I made a set of three, and have a few more versions of the snowflakes left over for possible use.

The card is for these challenges:

ABC Christmas -- Don't Overdo It
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #268 -- blue
Happy Little Stamper's CAS challenge -- embossing folder stamping
Catch the Bug -- Keep it Simple.
CRAFT #351-- Christmas
Kraftin Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- anything goes
 Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Pixie's Snippet Playground #216  -- use snippets

Gold and white Christmas

I'm trying to keep a slow but steady pace on making Christmas cards this year. This is the latest, using the current sketch from Sketch Saturday.

I used glittery gold EP from Powder Keg, which I'm pretty sure has been out of business for a while. On one white snippet, I gold-embossed a tree (Manufacturer unknown) and on another I gold-embossed the sentiment (Hero Arts?  -- yes, I am being very helpful on the supply list today, aren't I?).
I embossed a 1/4 sheet snippet with the Swiss dot folder and cut it in two, applying the wider piece to my base card. Following the sketch, I used gold washi tape for the line between the embossed and unembossed areas and created a little fish-tail flag. I matted the gold tree on a snippet of gold paper, added it to the card, The sentiment has fish-tail ends on both sides.
I made a second, similar card to use up the other Swiss-dot-embossed snippet, using a gold-embossed ornament image that's been sitting around since before Christmas as the main image. So, two cards done.

I'm entering these challenges:

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #264 -- Cute or anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Sketch Saturday #395 -- sketch
Pixie's Snippet Playground #212  -- must use snippetwss
Word Art Wednesday #218 -- Anything Goes

Brought to you by the letter S

Hazel asked for things that begin with S for this week's Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge. Let's see how many we can use.

My card features Snowmen Stamped on a Snippet of white card Stock and covered with Sparkling Wink of Stella glitter. The edges are Sponged with Colorbox Ice Blue chalk ink. That Snippet is mounted on an angle on a Snippet of Silver Shimmer paper. I used the current Sketch at Sketch Saturday for this card, and it gave me an opportunity to use a Snippet of my favorite Snowflake paper (this is a great way to get some impact from that paper without using up a lot of it).  I also used a Strip of Snowflake ribbon and and another Silver Shimmer paper Snippet.  I accented the lower corner with Snowflake dome Stickers. The card base is Stampin Up Night of Navy card Stock.

In addition to qualifying as an S card, this card is for these challenges:

Sketch Saturday #373
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #241 -- begins with S
 Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
The Ribbon Girl -- any image with ribbon
The Paper Shelter -- use ribbon or lace
Word Art Wednesday # 196 -- anything goews
Pixie's Snippet Playground #189-- use snippets

Vintage holiday card

The theme this week at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge is vintage. I have some vintage style little gift enclosure cards (or whatever you want to call the little card you stick under the bow on a gift) and found this cute little holly girl among the set. I rounded the edges and put the image on a mat made with a Spellbinder's framed die. (This is the best use I have found yet for that die).  The sort-of-vintage-looking holly paper was a perfectly sized snippet, and a little distress ink toned down the busy appearance it had.  Sentiment comes from a cardstock sticker sheet.

Challenges:
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #228 -- vintage
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- May: anything Christmas

Less than 20 minutes

Hazel's challenge this week was to make a  Christmas card in 20 minutes or less. Since that's about how much time I have to devote to craftubf right now, it worked perfectly for me.  I upcycled these this frosty, glittery tree scene by matting it on a darker blue and added a sentiment in Night of Navy.  I was done with time to spare, and I have an entry for April Rudolph Days, too.

these are the challenges:
Rudolph Days April -- christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #226 -- 20 minutes or less
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra for April -- anything Christmas

Splattered and tied

The COTM theme for a group I'm in is "paint splatter technique." Calling this a technique is a bit of a stretch, since all I did was mix a little water and reinker, load up a paint brush, and flick it. I guess it makes an interesting background -- easy enough to do, and you could make bg paper any combo of colors you wanted to.

The tree is embossed with a glittery white  EP called Winter Wonderland.  It looks quite glittery in real life.

I used a scrap of the paint-splattered paper  to make a tiny tag for my sentiment, and a scrap of embroidery thread

The card is for 365 Card challenge #279, to use gingham. I think the gingham ribbon goes will with the casual look of the paint splatters.

For all the Whos in Whoville

A few weeks ago, the Technique Lovers Challenge at SCS was making a folded tree. Couldn't be simpler -- you take half a circle and put three folds in it, and you're done. I made several of them that day, figuring they'd be useful on Christmas cards.

Sure enough, those trees are proving handy to have around as I make Christmas cards. This one fit perfectly into this week's sketch at 365 cards #277.

There's something about the trees I made that makes them look a little Seussical. I think they'd be perfect for Cindy-Lou Who, don't you? (Actually, I suspect they would also look quite elegant if done in an embossed white, and I need to try that).  I happen to have a pad of Christmas dp someone gave me that also has that sort of Seussical feel to it. Personally, I like my Christmas stuff traditional, so I've been struggling to use this paper in ways I can live with. I think the little Whoville tree card with the whimsical circles and squares on the dp actually works pretty well together.

Ultra hip Christmas

Yesterday my husband had on a Sirius Radio station that I think was called "ultra hip Christmas," and the music was all stuff that sounded like it was from the late 50s or early 60s, so I guess it was ultra hip back then. This image from Alley Way Stamps sort of has that same retro feel to it, so I chose it for the current Inspiration Challenge #16 at The Alley Way Stamps.  You can see the inspriation comes from the colors of the inspiration photos, espcially the stockings and Santa's elves.

This is also for the Holly Jolly Christmas challenge to include "Three Rs" on your card.  My Rs are Red, Rhinestones and Rounded Corner.

Finally, this is for Victorine Originals Challenge #47, Anything Christmas.

In addition to digis from TAWS, I used rhinestones, paper ribbon from K&Co., colored pencils and OMS, and a corner rounder.