Friday, September 30, 2016

Swirly Wreath PCC213



Another challenge card for you today. I'm just loving the sketch challenges, and the latest from the Paper Craft Crew is another winner! Let me tell you, if you ever feel like your creative mojo has left you, just look for a sketch challenge; ANY sketch challenge. There are tons of them out there, and having a "road map" for your card makes it so simple to create!


When I saw the Paper Craft Crew challenge #213, I immediately saw a wreath and knew the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits would be perfect. It started out with just the gold wreath, but that seemed too plain, so the Garden Green was added on top. I like the way it complements the Mint Macaron DSP and the Garden Green mat behind. This is the Paper Craft Crew card sketch:


Here's the "How To"
 Banner: Whisper White 1/2" x 4"
 Wreath: Gold Foil and Garden Green 3" x 3"
 Bow & berries: Real Red 1" x 4"
 DSP: Fancy Frost 2" x 3-1/4"
          Presents & Pinecones 2-1/2" x 3-1/4"
 Mat: Garden Green 3-3/8" x 4-5/8"
 Card base: Whisper White Thick 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" scored and folded at 4-1/4"
  1. Adhere both DSP pieces to mat and then to card base.
  2. Die cut swirly wreath from gold foil and Garden Green cardstock and adhere to card base, with gold on bottom and green rotated slightly.
  3. Stamp greeting in Garden Green ink on white strip, cut banner ends and adhere to card with Stampin' Dimensionals.
  4. Stamp bow and berries using Cherry Cobbler ink on Real Red strip. Punch out with Holly Berry Builder Punch. Attach bow with dimensionals and berries with liquid glue. Note: The stamp set and punch are available as a bundle - you can save 10%!
Product List


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Thankful for Autumn SUO158 & SIP67


This card qualifies for TWO challenges today! I haven't played along with any SUO Challenges since I was a design team member there, so it feels good to be playing again! The SUO #158 Challenge this week is to create a Thanksgiving or thankful-themed card, and the Stamp Ink Paper Challenge #67 is a sketch challenge, so I was able to combine them both into this card. Here is the sketch:


The nights are getting cooler and the leaves are just beginning to change into their fall colors around here.....well, the ones that haven't turned brown and dropped already. Not only are we seeing a bit more color, but the slant of the autumn sun lends a beautiful golden light to everything. It's hard to describe, but so pretty to see, especially in the late afternoon. I added a bit of So Saffron sponging behind the tree to try to mimic it, but it really doesn't show much in the photo.

Here's the "How To"
 Image: Very Vanilla 2-7/8" x 4"
 Mat: Pear Pizzazz 3" x 4-1/8"
 Embossed strip: Very Vanilla 1-1/2" x 5-1/4"
 Fence: Soft Suede 1-1/4" x 4-1/4"
 Card base: Very Vanilla 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" scored and folded at 4-1/4"
  1. Emboss Very Vanilla strip with Woodgrain embossing folder and adhere to card base on left side.
  2. Stamp greeting in Early Espresso at bottom of image panel. Stamp grass in Pear Pizzazz above greeting. Stamp tree in Early Espresso. Use small leaf cluster to stamp leaves in Peekaboo Peach and Watermelon Wonder randomly on tree and grass below.
  3. Adhere to Pear Pizzazz mat, and then to card base.
  4. Die cut fence from Soft Suede strip and cut fence posts loose from remainder of cardstock. Adhere to card base with liquid glue.
Product List

Monday, September 26, 2016

Happy Heart, Happy Christmas FMS255


This was the other idea that I had Friday when I first played along with Freshly Made Sketches' challenge #255. I thought a card would look good, too, if you rotated the sketch 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Since I didn't have a vertical Christmas greeting, and didn't feel like making one with the Labeler Alphabet, I decided to make a large greeting the focus, instead of having an image. This was the sketch, only turned sideways.


Bits and pieces of three stamp sets were "borrowed" to make this card. The little heart at the top is from Bloomin' Love; the bow at the bottom from Santa's Sleigh. The greeting itself is from Suite Seasons.
Product List

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Pretty Kitty Meets Santa's Sleigh


The idea for this cute little Christmas card has been rattling around in my head for a couple weeks, and I finally had a chance to make it today. It's not really what I originally had in mind, but through the design process things tend to get changed; sometimes a lot. Some days the finished product looks exactly as envisioned, other times it doesn't look anything AT ALL like the original idea. That's the great thing about creating! You never know where it will lead you.

I originally wanted to put a Santa hat on the kitty, but the ones in Jolly Friends are way too big. So that lead to the wreath, and then I thought it would be cute to have the kitty sitting on some Christmas gifts. Because I just know that my kitty, Pumpkin, would be climbing all over them if they were in his domain!


Here's a picture of the little punk sweet rescue kitty, in case you haven't seen enough of him on Facebook, lol. Actually, he really is a sweetheart and we are lucky that he found us down by the river where someone dumped him when he was a baby. He has the most gorgeous eyes!


So, I do have kitties on the brain most days, and since I'm not very good at coloring ginger/tiger cats, the kitty on this card had to be grey. These were the Copic markers I used to color the image:


Product List