Last Christmas Card?

I think this is the last one anyway, unless it turns out I have forgotten someone.  This is another one of the images I stamped and colored back in October.  See, it pays to think ahead!  I still have several Christmas images colored and waiting to put on cards or tags just in case I need more.

I apologize for the bad light quality in these photos.  My Ott light gave up the ghost this week, and I shot these using ambient light and my iPhone flash.  The colors are much richer in person.

The green shape was sponged with Distress Ink in  Peeled Paint. The ribbon  is from my stash.
The embossing folder is from Cuttlebug. Green cardstock is from Stampin' Up! - I have no idea what the color name is.
I embellished the snowflakes with Stickles and the water with Diamond Glaze.

The image is from Woodware Stamps; the set is called Penguin Fun.  The large white die cut on the front of the card was done with my Stampin' Up! Top Note die - the small square is a Spellbinders die.  The rest of the die cut shapes were done with my Silhouette.  The snowflakes inside the card were done with a Martha Stewart punch I found this week at TJ Maxx for $4.99!!!  TJM and Ross are two of my favorite places to look for stamping and scrapping supplies at great prices.  It's hit or miss, but every once in a while I score something great like this.

The font for the sentiment is Honey Script - I used the Print & Cut feature of my Silhouette to center the sentiment in the shape and then cut it. I sponged the edges of the finished piece with Stampin' Up!'s Riding Hood Red.

That's it for today's card - hope you enjoyed it.

Challenge Card

This was a challenge card for one of my stamp groups.  Each month, the hostess gets to choose a paper, image or technique that she wants the other group members to work with.  The next month, we all show what we've done with her inspiration piece.  Last month, my friend Crickett chose a patterned paper.  I liked the colors, but I found the quilt-square design a little busy for my taste.  I decided to use it as a scalloped border accent om the card, and pull colors from it for the rest of the card.  

I used some of the new waffle weave ribbon from the Stampin' Up! mini catalog - it is GORGEOUS!!  I also used my new toy - a Pearl Pen from Viva Decor. The stamp set I used was from MME - it's called "I Believe", and I believe that I got it last year.  Not sure if it is still available.  I'm pretty sure the sentiment came from a Stampin' Up! set, but I can't tell you which one.  I have committed the sacrilege of SEPARATING MOST OF MY SU! SETS and now I have no idea which set some of them came from.  I had to do it - I was accumulating too many stamps that I never used, so I decided to break up the sets, keep the ones I loved and sell the rest.  I will be doing loads of eBay listings soon - probably after Christmas.  If you're looking for individual SU! stamps, stay tuned and I will let you know when I list them.  In the meantime, enjoy the card!

Holiday Cardinal Card

As promised, here's another card inspired by PaperCrafts Magazine "Holiday Cards" 2010.  Randee Elsing created the inspiration card and when I saw it, there were elements of it that looked familiar.  Sure enough, when I checked my Silhouette library, there they were!

I tweaked the original color scheme and design a bit to make it my own, but kept the beautiful simplicity of the original.  Randee's card was a bit more elegant, and mine leans a little in the country-inspired direction.  I hope you enjoy it!

Told you I'd get to it eventually...

I have a habit of purchasing things and letting them.... um... marinate for a while before I use them.  So it should come as no surprise to you that the inspiration for this card came from PaperCrafts Holiday Cards magazine from last year.  I didn't have time to even LOOK at the magazine when I bought it right in the middle of the holiday season of 2010.  Fortunately, I came across it again a couple of months ago when I was putting together some project kits to work on at my friend's stamping event.  

The card bears only a passing resemblance to the one that inspired it - I have changed out the papers, embellishments, sentiment, and pretty much everything else to make the idea work with the supplies I had on hand.  Thanks to Jessica Bavier who created the card that inspired me!  I'll be sharing another card inspired by this magazine in my next post.

Stamp Till You Cramp 2011

My friend Shelly is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  A couple of weeks ago, I went to her Stamp Till You Cramp - a day-long stamping event.  She generally has two or three of these a year, and this one was Christmas themed.  Shelly always has great projects for us to do, and this STUC was no exception.  Here are some of the cards we made:

Ignore the odd shadows on some of these - they were photographed sideways and the photos rotated later on.  Anyhow.. some really pretty cards using some of the new products from the latest Stampin' Up! mini catalog.  If you want to see more, jump on over to Shelly's blog and tell her I sent you.

Better late than never...

Yes, it's a Thanksgiving card a week late.  Sigh.  I really liked it though, and wanted to share it with you.  No more Fall cards after this.  I promise.  Not until next Fall anyway.

Belated Fall Card Post

Technically, it's not the first day of Winter yet, so I'm sneaking in these Fall-themed cards I made a while back.

The images are from a retired Stampin' Up! set called Fall for All.  For the background on the little boy card, I used a Sizzix embossing folder with an argyle pattern. I've probably had it for about five years, and this is the first time I've used it! I tend to do that a lot.  I may not use something right away, but eventually I will find a project that calls out for it. I've also found myself really loving the vintage Stampin' Up! sets that I bypassed when they were current.  At the time, I wouldn't buy anything that had to be hand colored, but now that's exactly what I'm seeking out.  I've had some good luck finding them on eBay.

The woodgrain paper on the little girl card is from a retired Stampin' Up! designer series paper pack.  I wish I had more of it - that blue looks amazing with autumn colors.

Hope you enjoy these, even though I'm getting them up a little late.  I hope to be more seasonally on target soon.