Wondrous Joy

Hi there.  Tonight a brief post with a card made for Fab Friday, where the current challenge is this great sketch:

Back in Christmas card mode, the Wondrous Wreath stamp set came to mind.  I decided to make a card that was a bit rustic with Kraft and Corrugated card stock, but with some sparkly, shiny things.

The Kraft card base was first covered with a piece of the retired Under the Table designer series paper, then followed by a horizontal piece of Corrugated paper sprayed with shimmer spray.  The sentiment, wreath and bow were cut with the matching Wondrous Wreath framelits  Before attaching the wreath with dimensionals, Gold Cording was added underneath.

Thanks for the visit, as always it's so appreciated.  Be sure to use the link above and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef

Product details:

Stamps:  Wondrous Wreath

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Kraft, Corrugated card stock, Under the Table dsp, Gold Glimmer, Red Foil

Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler

Other:  Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, Wondrous Wreath framelits, Gold Cording, Very Vanilla Shimmer Smooch

Kinda Eleanor

Hello and welcome back! Today I'm sharing a very clean and simple (CAS) card made for the challenges at Freshly Made Sketches and ColourQ.  I've included links below so you can visit the respective blogs and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration.

Freshly Made Sketches

ColourQ

I like the colors in the ColourQ challenge but wasn't quite sure how I was going to pull them together.  Using a good sketch with lots of white space helped.

The flower was stamped in Archival Basic Black on watercolor paper, then colored with an Aqua Painter and reinker. I gave most of my retired In Colors to my granddaughter so I substituted Cherry Cobbler for Raspberry Ripple.  The leaves, from Kinda Eclectic stamp set, were stamped in Always Artichoke and after fussy cutting them, along with the flower, they were layered over the Island Indigo circle.

For final touches, I used the Curvy Trio Corner punch in one corner and added both Frosted and Metallic Collection sequins.

Thanks for looking today.  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!

Hugs,

Stef

Corner Color Crush

Hello again!  Tonight I want to share a card I made for the beautiful inspiration challenge this week at Just Add Ink. Because I love the colors sooo much, I had to put my Christmas card making aside in order to join this challenge.

Just Add Ink

Arent' those purples, pinks, greens and yellows incredibly beautiful?  I was temped to use leaves to mimic the left panel, but then I thought about coloring glossy white paper with a sponge dauber and decided to go in a completely opposite direction.

Yes, I went back to Spring to use these colors.  Maybe it was the unending hard rain this Fall day that made me long for sunnier and warmer Spring days!  The Corner Garden stamp was inked with Versamark, stamped on a piece of glossy white card stock, then heat embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss powder.  To begin, I started with Cucumber Crush on the leafy parts, and the center of the daisy on the left, then added Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Calypso Coral, just swirling the daubers over the flowers and overlapping in places, trying not to muddy the colors.  I used a paper towel to remove the excess ink after sponging each different color.

When the coloring was complete, I trimmed the sides with my paper cutter, fussy cut the interior, then adhered it to a 4.25" x 5.5" piece of Whisper White card stock.  The sentiment, from the Circle of Spring stamp set, was stamped in Melon Mambo and after cutting the corner with the Curvy Corner Trio punch, was popped up on dimensionals atop a 4.5" x 5.75" Melon Mambo card base.  The Rhinestone Basic Jewel was added after coloring with a Rich Razzleberry Blendability marker. I used a slightly larger card size because I thought having an edge of Melon Mambo would make the main image really pop.

Thanks for looking today.  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  Also, don't forget to use the link above to see all the wonderful inspiration at JAI.

I hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful, regardless of the weather!

Hugs,

Stef

Spirits Bright

Hello again and happy Thursday (only one more day until the weekend!).  The Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge provided a great sketch this week, which I used to create another Christmas card.  Be sure to use the link below to visit and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration!

http://www.sweetsundaysketch.blogspot.com/

I started with a Soft Sky base, stamping snowflakes from the Among the Branches stamp set in the same color at the corners.  The next layer is a rectangle of Real Red card stock.  It was topped with a rectangle of Whisper White embossed with the Woodland embossing folder.  That folder had been brayered with Soft Sky ink prior to embossing to create the background color.  The same snowflake stamp was used to stamp between the trees in Versamark ink, then heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss powder.

The sentiment from the same set was stamped in Real Red and punched with a 2" punch, then mounted on a larger circle cut with a Circles Collection framelit in Silver Glimmer paper.  I couldn't decide what to use for the small horizontal piece, since I already had a sentiment, then I pulled out some long retired (I mean really long!) White Organdy ribbon.  It worked better than expected because it is so sheer, it doesn't take away from the stamped and embossed pieces, plus it almost has a bit of sparkle to it.  Because of the size of the circle, I had to move the rectangle from the middle as shown in the sketch, over to the right side of the card.

The finishing touch was adding Rhinestone Basic Jewels to the sentiment and in the middle of the embossed snowflakes. 

Thanks for your visit and I hope you have a great Friday!

Hugs,

Stef

Christmas Cards in Blue

Welcome back!  I was busy in my craft room this afternoon and was able to make a couple more Christmas cards.  The Friday Mashup has a challenge this week with a great sketch.  The mash up is to use leaves but since I am focused on Christmas cards and I mostly only have weekends to make them, I decided not to do the mash up.  Do be sure to use the link below to visit FM and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration!

Friday Mashup

My first card is more on the CAS side, using the lovely snowflake from Holly Jolly Greetings.  It was stamped in Versamark then heat embossed on Bermuda Bay card stock with Whisper White Stampin' Emboss Powder to which I've added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  A Circle Collections framelit was used to cut it out.  The panel that it was adhered to was first run through the Big Shot with the Softly Falling textured impression embossing folder then sprayed with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz for some nice sparkle.  It's a bit hard to see in the photos of this card, but I used the same panel and spray on the next card, where it's a bit more evident in the pics.

Finishing touches included Silver Metallic Thread under the snowflake, an Iced Rhinestone and the sentiment cut from Silver Glimmer paper with a Christmas Greetings Thinlit.

For my next card I kind of stretched the sketch to accommodate a horizontal piece with the main image.  I actually started with a large panel that I was planning on having as the main rectangle, but the embossing didn't turn out as clean as I'd hoped so I had to trim it down and pop it up over the Bermuda Bay rectangle.

The trees, sentiment and snowflakes from the Wonderland stamp set were all stamped in Versamark on Whisper White card stock then heat embossed with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder.  Next, I sponged a bit of So Saffron behind the trees, adding Soft Sky, Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo and Night of Navy in the sky.  I like how the sponging turned out.  This is such a lovely stamp set, and I have been inspired by the wide variety of wonderful cards I've seen made with it.  After popping up the top panel over the Bermuda Bay piece, a Snowflake Element decorated with Silver Cording Trim and an Iced Rhinestone was attached to the bottom corner (strategic placement to hide another badly embossed snowflake ;-)

So glad you decided to come by today.  As always your visit and comments are so appreciated!  I hope you have a great week ahead.

Hugs,

Stef

Merry Best

It's Tall & Skinny week at Mojo Monday and I used this week's sketch to make a Christmas card.  Be sure to use the link below to visit and enjoy all the great inspiration!

When I made two different Christmas cards on Friday (http://stefperry.blogspot.com/2015/10/season-of-cheer.html) I had a left over snowman, which ended up being perfect for this sketch.

Mojo Monday

My real red card base was cut to 3.5" x 5.5" and then layered with a piece of Under the Table designer series paper, with the Whisper White pattern on the up side.  Next was the panel of Soft Sky that was embossed with the Softly Falling TIEF layered under a piece of Real Red Grosgrain ribbon, then the main image layered on Soft Sky and Real Red circles.

Everything came together so quickly and easily, but then I realized I hadn't planned for a sentiment.  Not to worry!  The wonderful Christmas Greetings Thinlits to the rescue, with the word "Merry" cut from Red Glimmer paper.  The final touch was to add snowflakes from Frosted Sequins topped with Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Thanks for taking a look today!  Enjoy the remainder of your weekend!

Hugs,

Stef

Season of Cheer

Hello once again!  More Christmas cards to share with you, this time using the sketch from last Sunday's challenge at The Paper Players.  I missed the deadline to submit to the challenge (so bummed when real life gets in the way of my crafting time!), but you can still use the link below to visit and enjoy all the lovely inspiration.

I made two versions using two different stamp sets.  Both started out with Kraft bases and Under the Table designer series paper but diverge from there.  For the first card, the cute snowman from Best of Snow was stamped on Whisper White with Archival Basic Black, then colored using a Blender Pen and several reinkers.  It was cut out with a 1 3/4" Circle punch, which fits beautifully inside the Soft Sky circle cut with a Starburst framelit.  A Circle Collections framelit cut out the final circle in Real Red.  Rather than a heart, I used a Snowflake Element topped with a Gold Basic Metal button tied with Gold Cording.

When this designer paper came out last year, I never used this particular pattern.  While I love the snowflakes, the brown was not my favorite for a Christmas card.  However, I was determined to find a way to use it and thought adding the colors Real Red, Soft Sky, Garden Green and gold would help brighten it up.  This is the first time I tried scrambling the gold thread behind an image - after the card was finished, I thought it could have used a bit more.  The sentiment is from Endless Wishes, with the word "cheer" heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder.

For the second card, I decided to use a nature focus with the Happy Scenes stamp set and more muted colors of Mossy Meadow and Soft Sky.  The embellishments are the same but in silver.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set, and this time layered on top of the circle.  The final touch was to add Dazzling Details for some additional sparkle.

That's it for today!  As always, your visit and comments mean so much!  Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Stef

Peace & Joy

Hi there!  I haven't been very productive in terms of finishing up projects or having time to post, until today when I was able to take a vacation day.  So thanks for visiting and taking a look.  I have a two Christmas cards to share that were made using this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challange

The circle in the sketch was perfect for the large snowflake in the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set.  To start, the snowflake was stamped in Versamark then heat embossed with silver embossing powder.  I settled on using some retired Christmas designer paper with colors including Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo and Silver.  So pretty!

Both cards have the same Pool Party base, stamped with the snowflake from the Wonderland stamp set, and the lovely striped designer paper mounted on a slightly larger piece of Bermuda Bay card stock.  This one has the snowflake embossed on Bermuda Bay and uses the same color ink for the sentiment.  I also added snow flakes from last year's Frosted Sequins embellishments and added additional sparkle by topping them with rhinestones.

The next card has the snowflake embossed on Island Indigo, with the sentiment also in the same color.  Because the font is larger and the space limited, the sentiment was layered differently over the silver background.  Both snowflakes have Frosted Finishes Embellishments (also from last year) but on this card the embellies were sequins rather than snowflakes.

Fun to start building up my Christmas card stash, which isn't very large yet!  Seems impossible that Thanksgiving is just 4 weeks away and Christmas 8 - time to speed up production!

Thanks for visiting today.  Be sure to use the link above to enjoy some wonderful inspiration!

Hugs,

Stef

Cards for the guys

Hello again!  I have a couple of birthday cards to share that I made this weekend for a couple of my co-workers.  The majority of my team members are men, so I often am scrambling to get cards ready for them, mostly because I'd rather make cards with flowers and bling {grin} or, like this time of year, making holiday cards.

The first card was made with fall colors, using the sweet Woodland embossing folder.  The embossed piece was made with Crumb Cake card stock a couple weeks ago.  I like the contrast with the trees brushed with Whisper White Craft ink. To finish it off today, leaves from Among the Branches were stamped in Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry between the trees.

I have in my "stash" some retired More Mustard card stock, saved just for this time of year, of which a piece was used for the card base. The Woodgrain background stamp was inked up with the same color and stamped on the base.  I like how subtle it looks behind the main panel.

The sentiment is from the long retired Afterthoughts stamp set.  It was stamped on Very Vanilla and punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch, then adhered to a circle of Cajun Craze that had been cut with a Starburst framelit.  The finishing touch was a bit of Tangelo Twist Thick Twine I picked up for free during Sale-A-Bration this year.

Now for something completely different!  The colors (Bermuda Bay, Basic Gray and Cherry Cobbler) were derived from the retired Birthday Basics designer series paper used to create this birthday card.  I love the numbers going in different directions and in different colors, especially meaningful since the recipient is starting a new decade with this birthday. The great fonts in the Big News stamp set really set a fun tone.  The flag was stamped, snipped out, taped to a toothpick and adhered to the back of the sentiment panel.

Thanks for looking today - as always your visit and comments are so appreciated.  I hope you have a great week and I'll be back in a couple of days with another Christmas card to share.

Hugs,

Stef

Frosty Scene

Hello again!  I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!  Today I am sharing a card made for the current challenge at Mojo Monday.

Mojo Monday

I love tags on cards and decided to create a small winter scene for a Christmas card, using both new and retired stamp sets.

The tag was first cut from Whisper White card stock, then one end was punched with Ornate Tag Topper punch.  The sky was created by sponging Soft Sky and Pool Party, then stamped with the snow flake dots from Happy Scenes.  The tree scene was created by coloring the stamp with Pear Pizzazz and Crumb Cake markers and stamping on bottom of the tag.

Using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, both the sentiment and Santa and the reindeer were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. The snowflake, button and cording were added next and the tag adhered to the base before the final step of adding Dazzling Details.  So easy but the sparkle really amps up the festive look of the card.

Be sure to use the link above to visit the Mojo Monday blog for some fabulous inspiration!  Thanks for visiting today!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Happy Scenes, Holiday Home
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Winter Frost designer series paper
Ink:  Soft Sky, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Snowflake Element, Silver Cord, Silver Basic Metal Button, Ornate Tag Topper punch, Dazzling Details, Softly Falling TIEF

Happily Ever After

Hello and welcome back!  I hope you're having a good weekend thus far.  I worked on a wedding card this afternoon, one of two cards for my team at work to give to a co-worker who had a destination wedding this last week.  I was inspired by the fabulous sketch challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts.

Pals Paper Arts

Trying for a clean yet sophisticated look, I chose to use black, white and Pacific Point.  My friend and Upline lent me a couple of stamp sets to use as I realized I only had one small stamp suitable for a wedding (thanks Susan!)

I mixed the stamp sets for this card, using the floral flourish from For the New Two in the upper left corner and the sentiment from Big News in the lower part.  Both were stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Pewter Stampin' Emboss powder.  After that was done, the Silver Foil and Black Glimmer paper were added horizontally, the corners of the Pacific Point panel punched with the Curvy Corner Trio Punch and the whole thing adhered to a larger panel of Silver Foil card stock.

Thanks for looking today!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated!  Do take the time to use the link above and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration!  I'll be back tomorrow to share the 2nd wedding card.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Big News, For the New Two
Paper:  Basic Black, Pacific Point, Black Glimmer paper, Silver Foil
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Scallop Border and Curvy Corner Trio punches, Pewter Stampin' Emboss powder, Frosted and Metallic sequins, Pearl Basic Jewels

Rustic Christmas Bling

Hi there and welcome back!  Fab Friday has a wonderful sketch for their current challenge and it worked great to add to my stash of Christmas cards.

I have oodles of Under the Tree designer series paper left over from last year's holiday catalogue, so one of my goals this year is to use up as much as possible.  This sketch is a perfect start.

This is really a very simple card, beginning with layers of Garden Green and Corrugated card stock, then topped with the dsp.  A Christmas Greeting thinlit cut out part of the sentiment in Gold Foil.  A Snowflake Element attached to the end of the flag with the other half of the sentiment was topped with a bit of Gold Baker's Twine and a bow of Gold Cording Trim. Very quick and easy!

Thanks for taking a look!  As always, your visit and comments are sooo appreciated!  Be sure to sure to use the link above to visit Fab Friday and enjoy all the wonderful inspiration.  I hope you have a great week ahead!

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Holly Jolly Christmas
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Garden Green, Corrugated, Gold Foil, Under the Tree designer series paper
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler
Other:  Christmas Greetings Thinlit, Snowflake Element, Gold Cording Trim, Gold Baker's Twine

Woodland Wreath

Hello again!  Tonight I'm posting a card made for this week's challenge at Just Add Ink, where they have a lovely sketch to play with.

Just Add Ink

I thought this would be perfect for making a Thanksgiving card with the Wondrous Wreath as the main focal point.

I started with a panel of Very Vanilla embossed with the new Woodland TIEF (LOVE this folder!).  I used a brayer to apply Delightful Dijon ink on the raised panel before running it through the Big Shot.  It was then adhered to a base of Cajun Craze.

The wreath was initially stamped in So Saffron, then stamped with the layering stamp with the leaves inked in Tangelo Twist.  Finally I used a Cajun Craze marker to had color a few of the leaves to add more dimension.  It was really fun and rather therapeutic!  Once that was complete and the wreath cut, it was layered atop a pennant of retired textured Pumpkin Pie card stock.

This card will be mailed to family out of town, so I kept it pretty basic.  But it could certainly be stepped up with some sequins or jewels.

Thanks so much for your visit!  I'd love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment.  I've included a link above and encourage you to use it to enjoy all the wonderful inspiration at JAI.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Wondrous Wreath, Best of Autumn
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Textured Pumpkin Pie
Ink:  Delightful Dijon, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Tangelo Twist, So Saffron
Other Woodland TIEF, Brayer, Wonderful Wreath framelit

Toxic Haunts

I have another Halloween card to share, this time using this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

Freshly Made Sketches

Starting with some pieces of Wicked Fun dsp, they were cut to size and adhered to a piece of Basic Black card stock.  My plan went fine with the witch image from Toxic Treats, and I thought I would also use the cute cauldron and sentiment from the same set, but it was just a bit too large for the upper right corner.  What to do, what to do?

I found another retired Halloween set, House of Haunts and decided to heat emboss the sentiment to a banner of vellum, which was then anchored to the card with the fun pumpkin from the same set.  Before doing so, a piece of the really cool Spider Web doily was added to the upper right rectangle.

Thanks for looking!  As always, your visit and comments are so appreciated.  I've included a link above to FMS and encourage you to be sure to check out all the wonderful inspiration there.

Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Toxic Treats, House of Haunts
Paper:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Vellum, Wicked Fun dsp
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  Spider Web doily, Labels Collection framelit, Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Tangelo Twist Thick Twine, Paper Snips, Sponge Daubers, Blender Pen

Happy Birthday Greetings

Hi there and welcome back!  Karen Giron has another fabulous sketch this week at the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

The Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge

Before we get to much further into fall and the holiday cards take the forefront, I wanted to make another card with a flower and the sweet Pretty Petals designer paper.  I also used a piece of retired dsp from when Calypso Coral was an In Color.

I love stamping the sentiment straight on the paper, and only a Stampamajig helps me keep it straight.  Once done and both pieces of dsp adhered to the panel, it was topped with a piece of embossed Calypso Coral card stock with a wee piece of Very Vanilla peeking out that was punched with the Eyelet Border punch.  Very Vanilla Thick Twine was then wrapped and tied around it all.

The flower and leaves are from the Flower Patch stamp set and were cut out with the matching framelits.  Love all the different flowers in this set, although I tend to use this one and the "mum" (?) the most.

Thanks for dropping by and taking a look!  As always your visit and comments mean so much!  For some fabulous inspiration, be sure to use the link above to visit the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge!

Hugs,

Stef



Product details:
Stamps:  Cottage Greetings, Flower Patch
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Pretty Petals and 2011-2013 In Color Paper Stack designer series papers
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Archival Basic Black
Other:  Eyelet Border and 2" Circle Punches, Very Vanilla Thick Twine, Flower Fair Framelits, Honeycomb TIEF, Iced Rhinestone Embellishment, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Stampamajig

BYOS (Bring Your Own Sunshine)

Hello again!  Tonight I have a fun card to share.  I used this week's challenge at Mojo Monday and am also entering it in a color challenge at Global Design Project (#GDP005).

Mojo Monday

Global Design Project

I love the sentiments from the stamp set Ray of Sunshine.  They are really inspiring to me and this one in particular reminds me of the choices we have every day about our attitudes towards everything in life.

The cute cloud and rain drops are from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set, and I thought they worked just perfectly with the sentiment and my take on the sketch.  While the Ray of Sunshine stamp set has stamps for a sun, it takes a wee bit of practice to align properly, even with a Stampamajig, and I have not yet had time to perfect my skill at it, so I pulled out a retired stencil to make the sun image.

Such an easy-peasy, clean and layered card, finished off very simply with multi strands of thick Baker's Twine.

Thanks so much for visiting, and of course I would love to hear from you if you have a moment to leave a comment!  I've included links above to both challenges and encourage you to use them to check out all the delightful inspiration.


Hugs,

Stef


Product details:
Stamps:  Ray of Sunshine, Sprinkles of Life, Work of Art
Paper:  Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky
Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Soft Sky, Archival Basic Black
Other:  Sun stencil from Hooray It's Your Day project kit, Soft Sky and Whisper White Thick Twine, Tree Builder punch, Stampamajig, Sponge Dauber