Vintage Santa Shaker for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends!  It's time for my monthly Christmas card for the reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations.  This month we're asking everyone to use designer paper.  

Christmas Craft Creations

I really had very little holiday dsp until I bought a card kit from Simon Says Stamp at Christmas and it included some really nice vintage style patterned paper and frames, which I used for this card.

I started with a collage design sheet of paper, trimmed it down and adhered it to a 5 x 7" ivory card base.  Another piece of the paper had Santa's cute face on it, so it was trimmed down to go on the inside of the shaker window.  A piece of acetate was glued to the back of the frame, then foam tape was adhered around the perimeter before adding some of a sequin mix and adhering the piece with Santa on the back.

To make this look old and "vintage" I used a tool to distress the edges of all the pieces of designer paper and ink blended some Vintage Photo Distress Oxide around the outside. As the panels were layered on the card, I made sure to have some tears and have the corners curled up.  After adhering the shaker, I added two sentiment stickers to the bottom front of it and three snowflakes cut from white glitter paper to finish it up.  I do love that Santa face peeking out of the shaker window!

Now is a great time to build your supply of holiday cards, and we'd love to have you play along with us this month.  The challenge is open until 6 pm GMT (2 pm EDT) April 9th.

Thanks for visiting.  Take care!

Stef

• Simple Stories Decorative Christmas Designer Paper
• Tim Holtz Ideology Christmas 2023 Sticker Book and Christmas Layer Frames
• SSS Sensational Snowflake die and Snowflake Hexagon die
• Hero Arts Ivory cardstock, SSS Light-Weight Clear Acetate Sheet, SSS White Glitter paper
• Vintage Photo DOX
• Lucy's Cards Snow on Snow Sequin Mix

Wishing You Joy for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends!  Today's card is for the reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations, where this month we're asking participants to use an embossing folder or stencil.  Easy-peasy, right?

Christmas Craft Creations

I tried a new technique that I saw Jennifer McGuire do, and while the technique results weren't very satisfactory, I did mange to salvage the card and I like how it turned out.

I started with a panel of Tim Holtz White Heavystock, which can take a lot of water and covered the front of my panel with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink.  The technique entails adhering a stencil over the card stock, misting with water, then absorbing the activated ink through the stencil.  This can be done as many times as you'd like until you're happy with the amount of ink removed.  You then dry the panel thoroughly, put the stencil back in place and use a lighter color of ink through the stencil were the ink was removed.  

Well, as I applied Picked Raspberry DOX through the stencil, it just didn't seem vibrant enough, so then I tried the same color in regular Distress ink and it was too dark!  Awwkkk! So my only alternative at that point was to apply some white glitter glitz gel through it and it did turn out beautifully.

After the glitz gel dried, I trimmed the panel down and added directly to a white card base.  The Joy sentiment and sub-sentiments were silver heat embossed then adhered to the card front with thin foam tape.  For additional the final touch, a few holographic stars were added, including one in the middle of the O in Joy.  I was very happy that I managed to save my card and add it to my holiday card stash!

We would love to have you join us, the challenge stays open until Tuesday, March 12th at 6pm GMT.  

Thanks for stopping by and take care!

Stef

• Gina K Stellar Snowflake Stencil and White Glitter Glitz Gel
• Simon Says Stamp Stained Glass Greetings stamps and die and Sentiment Labels die
• Trinity Stamps Oh My Stars Holographic Confetti Mix
• Villainous Potion DOX, Picked Raspberry DOX and Distress ink, Versamark

Dear Santa for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello, friends!  It's time for our reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations, where the current theme is glitter and sparkle!

Christmas Craft Creations

For me, Christmas cards often go hand in hand with glitter and/or sparkle, so I made a fun little scene card with some glittery, sparkly snow.

This scene uses the sweet Dear Santa stamp and die set from Colorado Craft Company and illustrated by Anita Jeram.  I started the card with a panel of Distress Watercolor, where I sprayed some Shiny Bauble Distress Mica Spray for the background.  While that dried, I cut a simple snowbank from white cardstock, used a Copic marker along the top and to create a path to the mail box then covered those areas with Stardust Stickles.

Next the stamped images were colored with Copic markers.  I made a mistake by coloring the bottom edge around the critters and mailbox blue, which I didn't realize until after die cutting.  It just looked odd against the snowy background, so I trimmed it away and that's why the bottom of the image is fussy cut.  I decided not to fussy cut the entire image because it was so detailed around the dog and after adding the image to the card, it really isn't that noticeable, at least I hope not to the recipients!  The final steps were to add the sentiments and use the Stardust Stickles on the top of the mailbox.  In real life, the sparkle is amazing!  You can see it better in the photo below

Thanks so much for visiting, and I hope you will take some time to join us and build up your store of holiday cards!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps and Dies:  CCC Dear Santa

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Distress Watercolor

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:  Shiny Bauble Distress Mica Spray, Stardust Stickles

Copics:  R59, 46, 27, 05, YR27, 24, 23, 21, C5, 3, 1, 00, W3, 1, 0, E27, 25, 23, 21, G09, 02, BG07, 45, 53, 01, 000

Peace on Earth for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends!  I hope you're having an enjoyable holiday season!  Today I'm sharing my reminder card for the current challenge at Christmas Craft Creations, where our theme this month is decoration. 

Christmas Craft Creations

I decided to use a beautiful embossing folder with ornaments for my card.

I started with an A2 panel of white cardstock and ink blended three shades of green over it, then embossed it with the Simon Says Stamp Verdant Ornaments folder. Next I used a silver gel pen on all the highest raised areas.  This really isn't a hard process and I think the results are beautiful!

The sentiment was silver heat embossed on dark green cardstock then die cut with a sentiment label die and layered across the entire panel before adding to the silver mat and green card base.  No need for bling with the silver highlighting the beautiful, embossed images!

Thanks for taking time to visit!  Now I realize most are done making Christmas cards for this year, but it you're wanting to build your stash for next year, come join us this month and every month next year (we have a lot of fun challenges coming up in 2024!).  This challenge will remain open until Tuesday January 9th 6pm GMT.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps: SSS Making Spirits Bright

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SSS Midnight Green and Matte Silver

Embossing:  SSS Verdant Ornaments folder

Ink:  Altenew Jade, Eucalyptus, and Forest Fern; Versamark

Other:  SSS Ultra Fine Silver embossing powder, Altenew Silver Gel Pen

Christmas Hats for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends, it's time for our reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations!  For our November challenge, we're asking you to add a hat to your design.

CCC

I decided to have some fun with this challenge and created an A7 card with lots of cute critters wearing hats.

I couldn't have had a more perfect stamp and die set in my stash that the Christmas Hats one from Colorado Craft Company and illustrated by Anita Jeram.  After coloring all the critters with Copic markers, they were die cut along with the trees in the background.

The next step was to create the background.  On an A7 panel, I ink blended Simon Says Stamp Galaxy for the sky, then added a panel of snowy hills that I hand cut from a panel of white.  Before adhering to the panel, I used a light blue ink both on the base of the piece and at the top of the hills, then glued it down.  The trees were die cut from dark green cardstock, then I used a dark brown Copic marker to color the trunks before adding to the background.  Next, the sentiment was white heat embossed, then the critters were adhered either with glue or foam tape.  Before adding to the card base, I sprayed the panel with shimmer spray then added "snow" with white paint.

Thanks for stopping by and I do hope you'll join us this month for this fun challenge!  In the meantime, please take a moment to visit the challenge blog, where my talented teammates have lots of inspiration for you.

Take care!

Stef

Stamps and dies:  CCC/AJ Christmas Hats, Honey Bee Stamps Pine Trees

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  SSS Galaxy and Marine; Memento Tuxedo Black; Versamark

Other:  SSS Fine Detail embossing powder, Hero Arts White Iridescent Shimmer Spray, Dr. Ph Martins Bleed Proof White

Copics:  R89, 59, 29, 27, G99, 94, 82, 28, 09, 03, B28, 26, 24, 21, 0000, E47, 44, 43, 42, T4, 2, 0, YR27, 24, 23, Y21, C3, 1, 0, W5, 3, 1, 0

Sparkle and Shine for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends!  Today I'm sharing my reminder card for the October challenge at Christmas Craft Creations.  This month our theme is monochromatic.

CCC

I love making monochromatic cards for Christmas, they are especially great for CAS, or in my case, Clean and Layered.

I've had the Gina K Sparkle and Shine stamp set for at least a year and haven't used it, so this challenge was the perfect place to showcase one of the beautiful images in the set.  I started by silver heat embossing the tree and star on a panel of Simon Says Stamp Peacock cardstock and the sentiment on a separate scrap of the same.  Both were die cut with MFT Stitched dies, then I ink blended SSS Ocean around the edges of the panel.  It wasn't quite dark enough so I brought in some SSS Galaxy, which is a dark blue, then went over it again with Ocean to get a nice blend.  I added a bit around the edges of the sentiment strip as well.

I then ink blended a separate A2 size panel of peacock in the same manner, thinking it would cover the entire card base after layering the embossed panel of matte silver.  But I felt it just needed that bit of white around the edges, so it was die cut to create a mat that was then added to the card base.  The sentiment was added with thin foam tape and the finishing touch was to sprinkle about some holographic stars from Trinity Stamps.  Since this card design lends itself to making multiples, that's what I did, but changing up the cardstock and metallic colors.  So who knows, maybe someday one of them may pop up on my blog for a different challenge!

If you're working on your Christmas cards, then why not head over to CCC and join us this month?  We have prizes that are given randomly, which is an additional incentive to adding a card to your holiday card stash.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your card in the gallery!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Gina K Sparkle and Shine

Paper:  SSS Peacock and Matte Silver, Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Versamark, SSS Ocean and Galaxy

Other:  SSS Fine Detail Embossing Powder, Trinity Stamps Oh My Stars Confetti Mix

Dies:  MFT Stitched Rectangle and Essential Stitched Sentiment dies

Noel for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome!  Today the card I'm sharing is for the reminder post for this month's Christmas Craft Creations, where the theme is metallics.

Christmas Craft Creations

 

For my card, I combined some new and older products.

I started with the beautiful Leaves and Berries Background stamp from Simon Says Stamp, which they released either last year or the year before.  It was gold heat embossed on a panel of C&9 Evergreen cardstock, then die cut with an Altenew Ornate Nesting rectangle die and layered on a larger white die cut panel.

Next came the sentiment and die cut foliage.  The sentiment is from the new SSS Elegantly Modern Christmas stamp, die and foiling bundle.  It was gold heat embossed then die cut with the coordinating die.  The leafy branches were die cut from SSS Matte Gold and C&9 Parsley using MFT's Fab Foliage dies, which are no longer available, but any small foliage dies would work.  The ornate panels were adhered directly to the SSS Schoolhouse Red card base, the the branches and sentiment added to the embossed panel.  To finish things off I added three red gems from my stash.

I love adding metallics to Christmas cards and if you do too, it would be marvelous to see your card in the CCC gallery!  Please us the link above to take a peek at what both the Launch and Reminder teams have created for inspiration and hopefully you'll be inspired to play along!

Take care!

Stef

Friends Like You for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome!  I'm back with my reminder card for Christmas Craft Creations.  This month our theme is CAS and my goodness, both the launch and reminder design teams have some beautiful samples to inspire you!

CCC August - CAS

For my card, I used a sweet little Bundle Girl from Stamping Bella.

It's easy to keep my cards clean and simple using the Bundle Girl stamps, as they are just so adorable on their own.  This cutie and her friend the blue bird were colored with Copic markers.  I also used a white gel pen to add highlights on the berries and polka dots on her scarf.

Next, I searched through my Christmas sentiment stamps and was so pleased that this one from Poppystamps couldn't be more perfect.  I centered it and stamped in black pigment ink, then the panel was die cut with the stitched modern rectangle die for a nice bit of additional interest.  I cut two more panels with the same die, layered them up and adhered it to the cardbase to finish things off.

Now that it's getting to be time to get serious about making holiday cards, we'd love to have you join us and add to your stash at the same time!  The challenge is open until September 12th, so there's still plenty of time to play along.

Take care!  

Stef

Stamps:  Stamping Bella Bundle Girl with a Winter Branch, Poppystamps Christmas Sparkle

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Other:  MFT Stitched Modern Rectangle STAX die, Sakura White Gelly Roll pen

Copics:  R89, 59, 29, 27, 21, 20, W3, 1, 0, G28, 09, 05, 02, E11, 21, 00, B26, 24, 21, 91, Y38, BG000, 0000

Winter Wonderland for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome back!  This month's theme at Christmas Craft Creations is Anything Goes - how easy is that?  I'm here with my reminder post and card, and I'm hoping you'll have time to join us and add to your holiday card stash as well - the challenge stays open until Tuesday, August 8th.

Christmas Craft Creations

Last fall I bought a couple of the Anita Jeram illustrated Christmas stamp sets from Colorado Craft Company but never had an opportunity to use them, so I pulled one out and did so for this challenge!

I absolutely adore these sweet little bunnies and their squirrel friend, obviously on their way to a holiday party as they have presents in hand.  The scene was stamped on an A2 panel of white and also on some masking paper.  While I do have the dies for this set, I decided to mask instead because I really love the look of continuity with a snowy scene.  Once the mask was in place I used a light and medium blue for ink blending the background and once that was complete, the critters and the rest of the scene were colored with Copic markers.

After the panel was cut down with a rounded rectangle die, into my splatter box it went, where I gently added snow with white paint and a small round paintbrush.  I did lay a small piece of Post-it tape over the faces of the critters, because if I forget to, inevitably a big splat would hit one lol!  While the splatter dried, the sentiments were stamped with blue pigment ink and die cut with label dies.  The dried panel was glued directly to the white card base, then the sentiments were popped up with thin foam squares to finish things off.

What is your favorite type of holiday card to make?  We'd love to have you share it with us at CCC!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  CCC/Anita Jeram White Christmas

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Simon Says Stamp Morning and Twilight, Versafine Clair Blue Belle, Memento Tuxedo Black

Dies:  Hero Arts Rounded Rectangle Infinity die, MFT Fishtail Foundations die, Gina K Master Layouts 9 

Other:  Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White Paint

Copics:  E77, 74, 71, 33, 31, 30, 0000, G46, 43, 40, BG96, 93, 90, 57, 53, 11, 0000, B21, W3, 1, 0, R85, 83, 81, 20

Christmas Sparkle for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello friends!  For the month of June, the challenge at Christmas Craft Creations is to use heat embossing as the focus of your project.  My card today is for the reminder post - the challenge is open until 11:00 am MDT on Tuesday July 11th.

Christmas Craft Creations

I'm also playing along with the lovelies at Inkspirational, where the current challenge is to emboss your background.

Inkspirational #292

I don't know about you, but I have what I wouldn't call a "bad" habit (although my wallet may disagree lol!) but a tendency to get carried away after seeing all the new beautiful Christmas crafting supplies that are released every year and buying more than I use in a season.  The stamp I used today is one of them.

The snowflakes are part of the beautiful Snowed In Background stamp from Taylored Expressions and because it is red rubber, I easily got beautiful results despite the intricate detail of the snowflakes.  It was stamped with Versamark onto aqua paper then silver heat embossed.  I then inked around the perimeter of the panel with a darker aqua color and once that dried trimmed the panel down to 3.75" x 5".

Next the sentiment, which is from Poppystamps Christmas Sparkle stamp set, was stamped on the aqua paper, silver heat embossed then die cut with a circle die and mounted on a slightly larger circle die cut from matte silver cardstock.  The sentiment was added to the panel with thin foam squares.  The panel was then adhered to a 4" x 5.25" panel of the same silver paper then added to a white card base.  I loved how it looked but thought it could use a bit more sparkle, so I added Ocean Waves crystals to the center of all the snowflakes except the tiniest of them.  I wish I could show you how it sparkles IRL, it looks so pretty, but unfortunately my camera just can't capture that.

Thanks so much for visiting and I do hope I've inspired you a bit, and for even more inspiration to start or add to your Christmas card stash, be sure to head over to the challenge blog where the other design team members have some beautiful cards to share!

Take care!

Stef

Stamps:  Taylored Expressions Snowed In Background, Poppystamps Christmas Sparkle

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, Simon Says Stamp Matte Silver, Concord and 9th Aqua Sky

Ink:  Versamark, Concord & 9th Oceanside

Dies:  Hero Arts Nested Infinity Circle dies, 

Other: SSS Ultra Fine Silver embossing powder, Studio Katia Ocean Waves Crystals

Festive Noel for Christmas Craft Creations

Hello and welcome!  It's time for my reminder card for Christmas Craft Creations, where this month the challenge is no stamping - none, nada, zip!  So many things you can do instead of stamping - stenciling, ephemera, or as I've done here, use all dies for my card.

Christmas Craft Creations

I bought this Spellbinders die set on sale over a year ago and now it appears to be discontinued, but there are others that spell out different holiday words.  I have another one that spells out Joy and it is still available on their website.

I just love how this turned out! All the sparkle from the glitter paper die cuts is sooo pretty!  I started out by using the Simon Says Stamp Snowflake Visions embossing folder with a panel of SSS Sea Glass paper, which was adhered directly to the white cardbase.  The noel base was die cut from SSS Silver Matte, then everything else was die cut from Simon's White Glitter and Assortment Glitter paper packs.  

After adhering the silver base to the card front, the letters were mounted on foam strips so the small pieces could be tucked underneath if needed.  The die cutting was the most consuming part timewise; once that was done, adding all the tiny bits went quickly and I had such a great time putting it together, I plan on making a few more. 

So now it's your turn to add to your 2023 holiday card stash!  I hope you'll join us, the challenge is open until 9 am EDT on June 13th.  In the meantime, be sure to pop over to the CCC blog, the inspiration by our talented DT and guest designer, Heather, is fantastic!

Take care!

Stef

Paper:  Neenah Solar White, SSS Sea Glass, Matte Silver, White and Assorted Color paper packs

Dies:  Spellbinders Festive Noel Shapeabilities dies

Embossing folder:  SSS Snowflake Visions

Cheers My Deers for Christmas Craft Creations

 Hello and welcome!  It's time for our reminder post at Christmas Craft Creations and this month were celebrating the holidays with a bit of humor!

Christmas Craft Creations

It's also our 3rd birthday and there are prizes to be won by those who play along, so head over and check it out!

For my card, I went with a clever and fun stamp set from Art Impressions called Cheers My Deers.

These two gals are so funny in their antler hats, and from their faces, obviously they are humored by them as well!  Started by Copic coloring the images then using the matching die to cut them out.  The sentiment was stamped in black pigment ink then die cut with an Essential Oval die from Ellen Hutson.  The dies not only cut the shape, they also cut a frame, so I cut it a second time and added a frame that I'd colored with one of my RV markers.

Having decided to make this a mini-slimline card, I cut a panel of Tim Holtz Distress White Heavystock and ink blended Altenew's Dew Drop and Aqualicious inks on the panel.  Next the Winter Tree dies from MFT were used to cut three trees and were adhered to the panel.  The snowbank was die cut using a Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Border die, then added to the panel with thin foam tape, trimming off all the excess before adhering directly to the white card base.  The gal's images were die cut twice more from white cardstock, then layered together before adhering to the card front.  I then added "snow" by splattering Picket Fence Distress paint and when that dried, the sentiment was adhered with a bit of foam tape.

Since I was already making one card, I decided to make a second, using different colors for the apparel and creating a regular A2 card.  You'll have to let me know which you like better.

It would be wonderful if you would join us this month, adding to your Christmas card stash and possibly winning a prize as well!  Be sure to use the link above to check out the fabulous cards from both the launch and reminder teams and hopefully decide to play along!  The challenge is open until 11am MDT.

Cheers!

Stef