There's Snow Buddy Like You

Hello friends!  I'm here to share a card that I made for the current challenge at Just Us Girls.  They have a terrific winter mood board for inspiration. 

And I have a fun little winter card that I made recently using the January 2025 card kit from Simon Says Stamp.

Isn't he the cutest little yeti?  I had so much fun putting this card together.  I started by stamping and Copic coloring the trees, mountains, yeti and the two hearts, one that he's holding and one up by the sentiment.  Everything was die cut with the matching dies and the neat thing is that the yeti die cuts his hands so that you can insert little items like the heart I used.  The sentiment is also from the same set.

Next I used a piece of patterned paper that looks like snow falling for the background, then layered on a "snow hill" that had been die cut with a hillside border.  I left enough room to tuck in the mountains and tree, then added the trees and yeti.  I used Copic markers to add a touch of blue shadow atop the hills and underneath the yeti and two trees.  The sentiment and little heart were added and I called it done.

Thanks for taking a look and I hope you have a great weekend!

Stef

I also invite you to come on by tomorrow when my new Paper Players card goes live.

• SSS Get Yeti stamps and dies
• Honey Bee Stamps Horizon Slimline Borders die
• Photoplay Yeti for Winter Custom patterned paper
• Copics - R39, 37, 35, 20, G29, 17, 05, BG78, 75, 72, 000, 0000, E29, 37, 33

Rupert Says HB2U for Color Hues

Hello friends!  Today I'm sharing my card for the new challenge at Color Hues. I am hosting for the next two weeks and have chosen the color combo navy and lime green.  

Color Hues

I'm also sharing over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme this week is to add texture and at A Cut Above, where it is always anything goes with dies and this month has an optional theme "New".  This is a new challenge to me, so I think that might fit the theme??  

My card uses Rupert, the cute dragon die set from Tim Holtz.  I first saw this die a year ago when my lovely teammate Carol used it for her CH card linked here.  I was so smitten with her card, and Rupert, that I eventually found the set on sale and he came home to my craft room.  And now he's going to be on a birthday card for one of my two young great nephews.

Rupert is a rather large die so he ended up on an A7 card.  I started by die cutting all the parts of the dragon from navy, lime green and a small amount of gray cardstock.  I cut enough to make two dragons (the other will go on a card for donation), so when I put together the second one, it was much easier than figuring out the first one lol!

For the background I ink blended lime green, dark blue and black inks with a halo effect, then splattered it with white iridescent spray.  While that dried, the balloons, letters and number were all die cut from holographic cardstock.

I added two additional layers of scrap cardstock under Rubert, cutting away a bit of the layers under his neck so the twine would not create a bump under him.  The balloons were added with thin foam tape and the ends of the twine were glued to his hands (I guess that's what they are??? ;-)), then the sentiment was added to the right side to complete the card.

So what are you inspired to create with these colors?  There are so many possibilities, as my incredibly talented teammates and Guest Designer Esther will show you over on the challenge blog, so please pop over and see their fabulous creations!  The challenge will remain open until 9 am Wednesday January 29th, and I hope to see your card in the gallery!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Tim Holtz/Sizzex Rubert and Vault Seasonal Sketches (letters and number) dies
• MFT Balloon Stax dies
• Simon Says Stamp Limelicious and Galaxy inks; Black Soot Distress ink
• Concord & 9th Midnight and Sprout cardstock; SSS Holographic cardstock
• Lawn Fawn Silver Baker's Twine
• Hero Arts White Iridescent Spray

Azalea Bunch for The Paper Players

Hello friends! The team at The Paper Players is all ready to go for 2025 and our first challenge of the year, hosted by the lovely Elizabeth, starts today!  It's color week and she's selected three wonderful colors.  And neutrals are welcome too.

The Paper Players

These colors definitely made me think of flowers and Spring, so that's the direction I took with this challenge.

I used products from many crafty manufacturers to create this.  The flowers were part of the Stamptember 2024 collaboration with Altenew and Simon Says Stamp. I have oodles of floral stamps but no azaleas until this stamp set made its way into my craft room.

I started by stenciling the stamped image with Altenew inks (listed below), then using the matching die to cut it out.  The background panel was die cut from white using a Honey Bee Stamps layering frame die, then I softly ink blended some orange in the middle so that it would highlight the floral arrangement.  It was then layered on a panel of Concord & 9th Clementine cardstock and added to the card base.  The floral image was added onto two additional die cut layers, then arranged on the card, along with fussy cut the sentiment to finish things off.

I hope to see your card in our gallery this week and definitely encourage you to visit the challenge blog for more inspiration and ideas from my talented teammates!  The challenge remains open until Friday 1/17 at 3pm EST.

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp/Altenew Azalea Bunch stamp, die and stencils
• Stampendous Birthday Messages stamp set
• Honey Bee Stamps Spring Vine Layering Frame die
• Altenew inks - Pink Diamond, Pinkalicious, Rubellite, Snapdragon, Firefly, Green Field, Shadow Creek and Mountain Pine
• White gel pen 

Take Care for Color Hues

Happy New Year, friends!  To start off 2025, we have a new challenge at Color Hues, where the lovely Sheri has chosen a beautiful combination of red and kraft.

Color Hues

I thought I would use an older illlustrated panel by Emily Midgett for this challenge. I don't believe Emily sells these anymore but she has many, many stamps she's illustrated for Simon Says Stamp and other companies, which she shares through her blog posts (blog linked HERE).  At any rate, rather than have these panels continue to collect dust (figuratively - they're stored in a cabinet lol!), I decided I would use them more frequently, when I could, and this color combination was a perfect place to start.

Using three different groups of reds, I colored the two flowers and the grapes with Copic markers and one Olo marker.  I used Olos for the leaves because the light browns are much closer to kraft than I could achieve with my Copics.  I love the drama I can get when coloring with those reds.

After the coloring was complete, I used a rectangle die to trim down the panel.  I added some Latte ink blending around the edges, then followed that by edging with gold then adding splatter.

While that dried, I die cut the sentiment from gold and layered it on a second white layer for just a tiny bit of dimension.  It was adhered to the vellum shadow die cut then added to the now dry panel.  I added two additional panels of scrap cardstock under the colored image for a small amount of lift off the white card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I do hope you'll make time to join us for our first challenge of 2025!  I encourage you to visit the challenge blog (linked above) to see the stunning creations by my oh, so talented teammates and our guest designer, Stephanie Severin!  The challenge will remain open until 9 am Tuesday 1/14.

Take care!

Stef

• Emily Midgett Illustrated Panel
• Altenew Stylish Greetings die set
• Simon Says Stamp Latte ink
• SSS Matte Gold cardstock
• Gansi Tambi Starry Colors gold metallic paint
• Copics - (R39, 37, 35, 32), (R59, 46, 27, 14), (R89, 59, 85)
• Olos - YO 4.6, 4.3, 4.1, and RV 1.7 for the grapes

Poinsettia Swag for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  I'm back with my reminder card for The Flower Challenge.  This month we're adding sparkle to our floral cards.

TFC 98R

 

Time for one more poinsettia card for the season!

I started by stamping the Simon Says Stamp Poinsettia Swag image on offsetting corners, then colored them with Olo markers. The bracts are in red, leaves in an aqua color and then I used a silver gel pen for the berries and the interior cyathium.  I did use Google to find the name of the poinsettia parts and found out that the flowers are actually on the inside of that small cyathiums on the poinsettia interior.  Such a fascinating and beautiful plant!

The panel was trimmed down and matted on a panel of dark aqua that had been die cut with the Pinkfresh Studio Folk Edge rectangle die.  The SSS Fancy Holidays die was cut from Altenew Milky Way Glitter cardstock, adhered to the vellum shadow then added to the card and that finished things off.  I toyed with the idea of adding gems but opted to leave them off. 

If you haven't had a chance to join us this month, I hope you can find a few spare minutes to get some crafting in and share your sparkly floral card with us! The challenge will be open until the 25th then the team is taking a break for the month of January, returning to start our 2025 challenges in February. 

Before you head off, I encourage you to use the link above to see the beautiful inspiration created by my oh so talented teammates!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you have a wonderful time during the holidays and I'll be back on January 1st with my DT card for Color Hues.

Take care!

Stef

 

Merry & Bright for The Paper Players

Hello friends!  I'm back with my card for The Paper Players' new challenge.  The lovely Ann is hosting our monthly Color Challenge and has chosen the luscious combination of Cherry Cobbler, Pretty Peacock and Gold, along with any neutral of your choice.

The Paper Players

I actually ended up making three different cards for this challenge but decided this was the best of the bunch.

Not too long ago I'd purchased this leafy die set and loved how it filled an entire A2 card.  I started by die cutting the large die from both peacock and white cardstocks, then layered them up for a small bit of dimension.  The berries were cut from red glitter cardstock and adhered to the larger image.

A panel of white was then lightly ink blended with a color very similar to the peacock cardstock.  When the ink dried, the big leafy image was added to the panel, which was then glued to the card base.  The sentiment was die cut from matte gold metallic cardstock and then adhered to the vellum shadow die.  I'd used double sided adhesive on the back of the vellum before die cutting, which isn't visible from the front and made it a snap to adhere to the card front.  The last step was to add some gold pearls.

It would be wonderful to have you join us this week!  The challenge will remain open until 3pm ET Friday 12/13.  I do hope you'll be able to carve out a bit of crafty time for yourself this busy holiday season and play along with us, but before you do I encourage you to use the link above to see the fabulous cards by talented teammates have created for your inspiration!

This will be the final challenge of the year for The Paper Players and we can't tell you how much we appreciate your participation this year!  I hope you have a joyous holiday season and come back to see us on January 12th for our first 2025 challenge!

Thanks for visiting.  Happy holidays and take care!

Stef

• Simon Says Stamp Abundant Leaf Background and Merry & Bright dies
• Concord & 9th Peacock, Altenew Brillian Red Glitter and SSS Matte Gold cardstocks
• Honey Bee Stamps mixed pearls
• Altenew Teal Tempest ink

Merry Christmas for The Flower Challenge

Hello friends!  How are your Christmas plans shaping up?  My house is decorated and now it's time to send cards and presents, and probably make a few more Christmas cards lol!  

Are you ready to play over at The Flower Challenge?  This month our theme is to Add Sparkle to your floral images.  Perfect for the holidays or anytime really if you love sparkle.  

The Flower Challenge

 

For this card, I used a die set that I've had since September or October and have been itching to create with, and this was the perfect opportunity.

I think this might be my favorite card that I've created for Christmas this year.  It was hard to narrow down my color choices but, in the end, went with white-ish flowers, turquoise leaves and branches, and red berries.

After the flowers were die cut from white cardstock, the poinsettias were lightly inked with a light tan in the centers.  The smaller flowers were inked with a light pink.  The centers were cut from some champagne Luxe Glitter paper to go along with the Matte Champagne metallic paper used for the background and sentiment.

The leaves and branches were die cut from C&9 card stocks along with some gorgeous turquoise glitter paper.  I kept the berry branches white and added red glitter berries.  Putting this together was so much easier than I imagined as the base has an imprint of where all the die cuts should go.  The sentiment was red heat embossed on the same Matte Champagne metallic cardstock then die cut and added with some foam tape.  

How are you inspired to add sparkle to your floral card?  I do hope you'll be able to sneak in some crafty "you" time during this busy season and join us this month!  The challenge will remain open until the 25th and we'll be back with reminder cards on the 15th.  My amazingly talented teammates have created some gorgeous cards for this challenge, so I encourage you to use the link above and take a look!

Thanks for visiting and take care!

Stef

• C&9 Festive Blooms dies
• C&9 Aqua Sky and Oceanside cardstock
• Tonic Turquoise Lake glitter paper
• SSS Matte Champagne cardstock, Champagne Luxe Glitter and Crimson Red Glitter papers
• SSS Latte, Surf and Raindrop inks
• Altenew Pink Diamond ink