Several Christmas Cards

It's almost that time!!!  Merry Christmas to everyone in blogland.  I've been swamped with birthday celebrations and family gatherings, but I thought I share a few quick Christmas cards that I've made this year.  All three of these are so simple to make and easy to mail.

First up, is one that my friend Barb taught me to make.  She had seen one similar on SCS so we recreated it using the Woodgrain impression plate and the bow from Bells & Boughs (PTI).  The wreath was made with a 1" circle punch and a scallop circle punch (SU).

Next is a simple card using Scenic Season (SU) and the sleigh from In the Meadow (PTI).

Lastly is a card that I made which was inspired by a card my friend Connie made, which was inspired by a card Debbie Olson made HERE.

  I wish each one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Blessings,

For Your Inspiration #20

I need to start off this post by wishing my oldest daughter a very Happy Birthday!  Today she turns 13!!!

I made her birthday card based on our inspiration photo for the latest For Your Inspiration challenge.  Here is the picture:

And here is my card:

As you can see I chose to incorporate the colors of the photo.  I stamped several white swirls from Grunge Me (PTI) on the purple frame and the numbers to mimic the clouds.  The white panel was embossed with the Sheet Music impression plate from PTI.

We've got lots of birthday celebrations planned starting tonight with family, then tomorrow with her friends.  Can't believe how quickly 13 years have passed!

Be sure to check out the amazing cards the rest of the DT created for this challenge.  Their links are on my sidebar.

I'm also entering this in the Stampin' Sisters in Christ #119 challenge which is to make a birthday themed project.


Blessings,




All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:  Big Birthday Wishes, Grunge Me, "happy" sentiment (unknown)
Paper:  White, Tempting Turquoise (SU), Old World mat stack (purple frame - DCWV)
Ink:  Fresh Snow, black (memento)
Other:  Sheet Music IP, By the Numbers dies, rhinestones colored with copic B05, Top Note die (SU)

For Your Inspiration #19

Welcome back to another For Your Inspiration challenge.  This gorgeous photo is in Brisbane, Australia -- home of our own DT member Michelle.  Isn't it gorgeous?

I love the colors in this photo.  The slight touches of turquoise really caught my eye.  I decided to create a card based on the beautiful hues in the photo.

I just had to use the new Quatrefoil cover plate die from Papertrey.  WOW, that makes such a lovely die cut. I purposely left a few of the pieces in the die cut because I thought it had great visual interest that way.  I just layered it over a piece of pp from the Guidelines collection and added some satin Lavender Moon ribbon, which I pleated.  My flower was cut using various Cuttlebug flower dies and felt.

This card is also for Papertrey's Make it Monday this week which is to pleat your ribbon.  I haven't played along with Make it Monday since they first started.

Please be sure to see what the rest of the DT created based on this photo and be sure to join us for this challenge.  You have until Wednesday, December 14th to play along.

This challenge is sponsored by Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps and they are offering two free rubber stamps to a randomly chosen participant in this challenge.  Enter your card over on the For Your Inspiration blog and check out the free stamps.

All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:  Mixed Messages
Paper: white, guidelines pp
Ink:  purple
Other:  lavender moon satin ribbon, quatrefoil die,  felt, flower 1 dies (cuttlebug), tag punch (MS), rhinestone brad

Flourished Tree

Here's a fun Christmas card using non-traditional colors.  I used the negative die cut from my In the Meadow tree and layered some patterned paper behind it.  I stamped the flourishes over the stripes to match the Hawaiian Shores cardstock.

I used the sketch from CAS-ual Fridays 29:

I'm also entering this for Our Creative Corner's challenge to make a project with a Christmas Tree on it
and the Friday Mashup 34 to make a Christmas themed card.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,




 All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:   Fancy Flourishes, Holiday Words (stampendous)
Paper:   White, Hawaiian Shores, Spring Moss, Everyday Blessings pp
Ink:   Breeze (CTMH), Black (memento)
Other:  Tree die from In the Meadow, New Leaf Twine, Rhinestones

For Your Inspiration #18

Happy Thursday everyone!  Welcome back to another inspiration challenge from For Your Inspiration.  As always, you have two weeks to play along.  Take a look the photo for this challenge:

Gorgeous!  Makes me miss Arizona and riding our Harley through the mountains to see the red rocks of Sedona.

Here's my card based on the photo.  I went with the sun peeking through the clouds and created this Stampscapes scene.  For once, I didn't use the colors in the photo.  I'm trying to stretch myself with these challenges.

I wasn't sure how this would turn out when I started, but in the end I really liked the result.  The image of the kids running reminds me of my girls rejoicing!

This was created using a variety of Stampscape images on glossy cardstock.  First I brayered some color on the top and bottom of the glossy paper using a Kaleidacolor rainbow pad called Baby Powder.  Here are links to the stamp I used in case you are interested.

• Nature Sheet 7 (path, trees, tall grass)
• Crepuscular Rays 115G (sun)
• Cloud Bar 119F (clouds)
• Oak Branch 203G (tree images on the sides)
• Running Kids 230B

Please be sure to check out the rest of the DT projects.  Links are on my sidebar.

Blessings,





Stamps:  Stampscapes (see above)
Paper:   True Black (PTI), Glossy White
Ink:   Kaleidacolor Baby Powder, black (memento)
Other:  brayer

16th Birthday

This is for my nephew's 16th birthday.  He's the oldest of all the nieces and nephews and I remember when he was born like it was yesterday.  There's something really special about the first child born to one of your siblings.  I still cannot believe that he's turning 16.

I used the Mat Stack 3 die and stamp set along with Make a Wish additions for my images and sentiment.  I trimmed off an edge of the Top Note die cut from Stampin' Up just for something different.  I also thought I'd add a bit of a black scalloped circle behind the Mat Stack for some visual interest.  Hope that isn't too girly for him:)

This card is also for two challenges:  Wee Memories Birthdays and Parties and Card Caravan #6 Birthdays.


Blessings,




All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:  Mat Stack 3, Make a Wish Additions
Paper:  White, Black (PTI), blue & red unkown
Ink:  Pure Poppy, black, bahama blue (memento)
Other:  Mat Stack 3 & Mat Stack 3 Layerz dies, Top Note (SU!), scallop circle (spellbinders)

Paper Dolls Challenge # Whatever

I'm part of a wonderful blog group called the Papertrey Paper Dolls.  For a while there we were on a roll with our challenges and commenting and then we all got busy with other things.  Renee posted an easy challenge for us last month so that we can jump start our mojos and participate again.  Thanks Renee!

Any other Dolls out there ready to get this group going again?  I cannot believe how I fell behind in our challenges.  So I am making it a point to do better -- even with the busy holidays coming up.  If I keep waiting until I'm not busy, I'll never get any of these done.

Here is my card for Renee's challenge: to CASE Dawn McVey.  I chose to CASE the first card in THIS POST that Dawn made for the August PTI release.

I just love the look of New Leaf ink on Kraft cardstock.  I don't think it shows up well in the photo, but I also stamped over the leaves in white ink for a subtle shadow effect.

The little white tag at the top of the sentiment panel was cut from the top of the bookmark die and edged at the bottom with the Mat Stack 4 die.

Hope you'll play along with this great challenge too!

Blessings,




All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:  Harvest Berries, BG basics Retro
Paper:  Kraft, White
Ink:  New Leaf, Fresh Snow, Haystack (palette), White (Memories)
Other:  Mat Stack 4 die, bookmark die, corner rounder, button, DMC floss, paper piercer

It's time for the next For Your Inspiration Challenge!  As always you have two weeks to play along with us.  This challenge is sponsored by Paper Pretties.  One randomly selected participant will win five (5) free digital stamps from their store.

We also have a new Design Team member to announce today.  The very talented Vicki Dutcher is joining the FYI team.  Have you seen her work?  I'm sure you have.  I love her style.  I also love the fact that she made an awesome tutorial on watermarking your photos using Gimp 2.0.  I found that at the beginning of the year and have pointed others to it ever since.  Thanks again Vicki!  Please stop by and welcome her to our team.

And now for the inspiration photo.  Take a look at this lovely shot.  I want to live there!

This photo had an Asian feel to me.  Maybe it was the clean lines or the fact that the light fixtures reminded me of chopsticks.  In any case, I chose to work with the Fan-tastic digi from the Paper Pretties store.

I definitely wanted to capture the lighting of the photo so I sponged two shades of yellow ink on my white paper after printing out the digi.  I also sponged a bit of orange around the edges.

Did you notice the reflection at the bottom?  Pretty cool huh?  I was formatting the digital image in Word and one of the options I stumbled upon printed a slight reflection under the image.  I just had to go with that and that's how this card was born.  I drew the little floating bridge under the girl and then stamped the tree reflection as well.  I sponged a little bit of blue ink in the water for a better effect.  The girl image is colored with Prismacolor pencils.

Please be sure to visit the rest of the DT to see how they were inspired by the photo.  Their links are on my sidebar.




 

Stamps:  Fan-tastic digi (Paper Pretties), Tree (Stampscapes), Signature Greetings (PTI)
Paper:  Black, white, Harvest Gold (PTI),
Ink:   Black (memento), Buttercup, Goldrush (CTMH), Dandelion (memento), Brilliance Sky Blue
Other:  sponges, Prismacolor pencils, Copic Marker gray

October PTI Blog Hop + WMC #73

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It's time for the October Papertrey Blog hop.  Here is the inspiration photo for this hop:

Aren't those fabric pumpkins adorable?  I kept the pumpkin theme and the colors and came up with this card.

A couple of pieces of Fall colored patterned paper and a cute pumpkin image and this came together in no time.  I'll keep it short so you can keep hopping along.

I'm also entering this into the Wee Memories Free for All challenge for this week.

Blessings,




All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps: 2009 Autumn Tags, First Fruits
Paper:  Vintage Cream, Ripe Avocado, First Fruits pp, 2008 & 2009 Bitty Dot pp
Ink:   Orange Zest, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate
Other:  Ripe Avocado buttons, Melon Berry button, DMC floss, Apron Lace punch (fiskars)

For Your Inspiration #16

Happy Thursday everyone!  Welcome to a new For Your Inspiration challenge.  Take a look at this stunning photo.  WOW!!  Those colors are amazing.

I based my card on those colors.  When I looked at this I knew that I wanted to use Raspberry Fizz and Ocean Tides.  There were so many directions to go, and I ended up with this:

This card started with the beautiful scroll-embossed frame panel that was given to me by a stamping buddy.  The Mat Stack 1 dies fit perfectly inside the frame to make a simple, yet elegant card.  This was the first time I've used the Bloom Builders #3 die.  I really love it.  I need more time to make a lot more flowers like this:)

Please be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the DT made.  Links are on my sidebar.

Blessings,



 All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:  Mat Stack 1, Asian Fusion (sentiment)
Paper:  Black, Vintage Cream, Raspberry Fizz, Ocean Tides
Ink:  Ocean Tides, black (memento)
Other:  Bloom Builders #3 die, Mat Stack 1 die, Layerz Mat Stack 1 die, Scrollwork (CB folder), Raspberry Fizz twill ribbon, brad (Target $1 spot), black pen

Psalm 91

I love this scripture of promise!  Psalm 91 is such an encouraging chapter in the bible.

This is for the anything goes challenge #110 at Stampin' Sisters in Christ.  You can see the challenge HERE.

For Your Inspiration #15 -- Stained Glass

Welcome back to another For Your Inspiration challenge.  This week we are sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps.   I hope you take time to play along with our challenge.  One randomly selected winner will receive seven free digi stamps from Bugaboo.  You have until Wednesday, 10/19 to submit a project based on the photo below.

Here is our beautiful inspiration photo.  It is taken inside the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Canada.

I chose to work with the Flower Block - Tulip image because it reminded me of stained glass.  I colored in each flower block and drew some framing lines with Copic markers and a gold paint pen. I was not happy with the results so I started cutting into the base to trim away some of the lines. I ended up snipping away at the base until I was left with only the flower blocks. I added a piece of black cardstock behind the card front to make the images pop.  That looked more like stained glass to me.

It's hard to tell in my photo, but the gold paint pen really helps this shine in real life. I also added a few strands of gold / twine cording for more shine.

Please be sure to stop by each of the FYI design team blogs to see what they created based on this photo. Their links are on my sidebar.






 
Stamps:   Flower Blocks - Tulip2 (Bugaboo digi), Out on a Limb sentiments (PTI)
Paper:   Stampers Select White, True Black (PTI)
Ink:   black (memento)
Other:  gold paint pen, copic markers, prismacolor pencils, scor-pal, gold twine

Papertrey September 2011 Blog Hop

I'm so glad to be joining the Papertrey Blog Hop once again.  I was bummed to miss it last time.  This month we have a wonderful rainbow colored photo for inspiration.

I love those clean lines and the graphic pattern.  Not sure I'd want my floor looking like that, but I do love the photo:)  I found a striped chipboard frame in my stash, bought at the Target dollar spot a few years ago, that was perfect for my card.

You'll have to excuse the poor lighting in this picture.  It's gloomy here and I couldn't get a good shot.

I used the new Bells & Boughs set to create a fun wedding card.  The scored lines help frame the sentiment. 

I also added two horizontal striped pattern images above and below the sentiment for visual interest.  The solid blue rectangles were mistakes.  I actually placed the stamp backwards on the block and didn't realize it until I stamped onto the base.  Instead of throwing it out I chose to flip the stamp over (the right way) and stamp pink lines over the blue blocks.

Happy hopping!






All supplies from Papertrey Ink unless stated.

Stamps:   Bells & Boughs, Botanical Silhouettes, Grunge Me
Paper:   Stampers Select White
Ink:   Hawaiian Shores, Smokey Shadow, Pretty in Pink (SU!)
Other:  Bells & Boughs dies, scor-pal, chipboard frame (Target), pink DMC floss, pink rhinestones