Yuletide cheer

  

This card was inspired by this year's blog banner for the Jingle Belles blog ( which is kind of an annual tradition for the Jingle Belles..) I was inspired by the bright poinsettias and the sparkly gold elements.

The poinsettia image was gold embossed on watercolor paper, then watercolored. After the paint dried, a little dark green paint was splattered over the panel, which was then outlined in gold Stickles. The sentiment is gold embossed and outlined in Stickles. A gold cord was wrapped around the base card. ( I debated using some of those sparkly dots you see in the photo background, but decided against it. Do you think I should?)

This card is entered in these challenges.

Jingle Belles -- inspired by banner

ABC Christmas -- W is for Watercolor

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Make it sparkle

Double Trouble #181 (all 3 twists -- make a card, add ribbon/cord, and enter in partner site -- Jingle Belles)

Word Art Wednesday #675 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2448 -- anything goes

Simon Say Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes

Winter Fun

What's cuter than a  penguin? How about a penguin sliding in the snow?

This is just a fun little Christmas card using a simple fun fold.  I started with a black card base and created white panels by embossing them with a snowflake folder. The image is colored in pencils, with some Wink of Stella added on the snow shooshing up under the sled. The image was die cut and mounted on a slightly larger die-cut circle. The inside sentiment (you can see a bit of it peeking out) is hidden when the card is completely closed.

This card is entered in these challenges

Can you you handle the pressure -- use an EF, optional winter fun

Double D -- winter

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #675 -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore-- anything goes

Polkadoodles #47 -- anything goes

Gem of a Challenge #23 -- anything goes

Warm Heart

 

I tried something different: let's call it coloring with twine.  Instead of coloring the heart in this cute image, I filled in the shape with baker's twine.What do you think of it?

The digi image is colored with pencils , I even penciled in the knitted ribs on his hat and gloves. The dark blue strip is a piece of white core cardstock I came across in my snippets file.  I embossed it with snowflakes and sanded the high spots with sandpaper, although I guess I should have sanded more to reveal more of the white core.  The sentiment is on a tag trimmed with a hand-drawn stitched border. The snowflake is a brad. 

This card is entered in thse challenges:

Double Trouble #180 -- stitch it up

Double D -- winter

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Emboss it

Can you handle the pressure -- use embossing folder

Word Art Wednesday #673 -- anything goes

Pattie's Creations #224 -- use an image

Digi Chooseday #46 --anything goes

Gem of a Challenge #22 -- anything goes

Stems and flowers

 

I love these Tim Holtz flowers, and decided to use them for a CAS card. The card is a mini slimline. The

All that was left of the snippets after die-cutting

patterned panel, which features a very subtle pattern, was run through an embossing folder for some added texture and interest.

The flower and greenery were cut from some snippets of white and green paper, then arranged on ghe page along with a sentiment stamped of the same bit of paper as the flower was cut from. A satin bow was added. The edges of the embossed panel and the sentiment were run lighly over the ink pad for a little definition.

This card is for these challenges:

Word Art Wednesday # 673 -- anything goes

Snippets Playground #493 --use snippets

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Week 2445 -- anything goes

Can You handle the pressure? -- use an embossing folder

Thinking of you .... a latte

This card started with the inapiration photo that Inspiration Station has posted. I was inspired by the warm autumn colors and the juxtaposition of a warm drink with a colorful pumpkin. This digi image from Stamplorations seemed a good representation of that juxtaposition, and it was perfect for one of my favorite techniuqes, paper piecing. I dug out some snippets, including patterned papers to use for the paper piecing and cardstock for the various layers. Originally I was going to create a sentiment that said "thinking of you a latte," but decided to limit the groan factor and played it straight.

Inspiration photo

         

some snippets used/considered

 

This card is entered in these challenges:

Inspiration Station #67 -- inspired by image theme and colors

Double Trouble #179 -- lotsa layers (main challenge and 2 twist challenges)

Coffee Lovers Fall/winter blog hop -- coffee theme

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- thinking of you

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- thinking of you

Snippet Playground #492 -- use snippets (all paper piecing and all layered elements,)

Word Art Wednesday #673 -- anything goes

Pattie's Creations #224 -- use an image

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2444 -- anything goes

Digi Chooseday #44 -- anything goes

Crafts Galore Encore #129 -- anything goes

Fun with masking

 

Ardyth has a tutorial at SCS where she uses masking and stenciling to create a sort of impressionistic holly wreath. I took her idea of masking (creating a reverse mask with the negative from a big circle and the positive of a smaller circle), but I stamped a small square stamp repeatedly instead of stenciling to fill in the wreath. I used about 4 different shades of pink ink. The result looks a little like a one of those wreaths made by weaving ribbon around a wreath form. Ardyth also suggested blending some gray ink on the inner and outer edges of the wreath, and it really does make a difference and gives the image some dimension.  To complete the card, I punched some small silver circles to embellish the wreath, added a pink-ombre bow and embossed a sentiment in silver.

I chose pink because it's breast cancer awareness months, and the Jingle Belles are donating to breast cancer research for every card entered in their pink gallery. Grab some pink supplies, create a card ad enter it.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Jingle Belles -- pink cards for the cure

ABC Christmas - U is for unusual Christmas colors

Word Art Wednesday #669 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2441 -- anything goes

Guitar celebration

 

 

Made a card for a friend who enjoys guitars. I didn't have a guitar image, so I found this clipart online and printed it on pale blue cardstock. Die-cut it into a circle, then die-cut several thin circles from snippets of different cool colored card stock. Used them as intertwined frams around the circle.  Found a really intersting piece of patterned paper wit some foil diamond shapes that provided an interesting contrast to all those circles and used that as background for the image.

This card is entered in these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday -- patterned paper

Snippets Playground #490-- use snippets (see photo)

Word Art Wednesday #669 -- anything goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2440 -- anything goes

A cut Above -- anything goes with die-cuts

Crafts Galore Encore #128 -- anything goes