Some Simple Christmas Cards

Today I thought I'd pick some Christmas supplies from earlier this year and make some very simple Christmas cards that could be done quickly and repeatedly, just changing up colors and backgrounds.  These cards center on the Copperplate Betterpress plates, which have the most elegant font, perfect for the holidays!  I have 2 of them, so I foiled each of them in both Matte Gold and Red as my starting point.

supplies: cream and matte gold metallic cardstock, Spellbinders 3D Poinsettia Bells and Border embossing folder, Merry Christmas Copperplate betterpress plate, Matte Gold glimmer foil, (retired) Floral Oval Doily die

Next I foiled in red, switched embossing folders, and brought in an old border die to get a red and green look.

supplies: cream and dark teal green cardstock, Spellbinders Floral Expressions 3D embossing folder, Merry Christmas Copperplate, Red Glimmer Foil, Winter Borders die

Now for the Joy to the World plate.  I paired it with the beautiful Winter Rose Background plate, both foiled and pressed.

supplies: cream cardstock, Winter Rose Background betterpress plate, Joy to the World Copperplate, Matte Gold foil, an old Spellbinders labels die

supplies: Bisque BetterPress cotton card, cream and red glitter cardstock,  Winter Rose Background press plate, VersaFine Satin Red ink, Joy to the World Copperplate, Red glimmer foil, Fresh Picked Labels dies

I hope I've given you some ideas for simple elegant designs for Christmas cards.  Look through your supplies and you'll be surprised how many things you can mix and match to make each one just a bit different.

Thanks for stopping by! 

All Wrapped Up

 The idea for today's card came from a Christmas catalog I recently received, showing a striped sweater, with the top stripe all sequins with a bow.  It made an easy design!

supplies: white, green, and red glitter cardstock, Spellbinders Christmas Wreath Add-Ons bow, and sentiment from Christmas Sentiments press plate/dies, red glimmer foil, adhesive foam squares

The green stripes are 1/4" wide, and the red glitter one is 1/2".  

As always, I thank you for visiting my blog today!

Spellbinders December Club Kits: Crazy Love

 The December Club Kits are now available for new subscribers!  This month's theme is Crazy Love.

I could not wait to play with the Small Dies this month.  They're named Blooming Hello.  What a gorgeous design!  I placed it on a background embossed with one of the new stencils from this month.

supplies: white, pinks, greens, yellows and blue cardstock, Two Way Heart stencil, Blooming Hello dies, tiny pink gems, adhesive foam 

Since this is a release centering around Valentine's Day, I used pinks primarily on this card, with some blue for forget-me-nots.  The effect is pretty subtle, but I used a random heart stencil to emboss my background.  And I used tiny adhesive foam pieces to lift the "H" above the card.

Here are 2 more cards using the Stencils called Two-Way Heart.  There are 2 designs, the one which you saw above, using only 1 stencil, and a second which uses the remaining 4 stencils.  First is the lone stencil that I used above.  This time I inked it with a group of pink inks, then added one of the sentiments from the Clear Stamps for this month.

supplies: white and orchid pink cardstock, Two Way Heart single stencil, 4 shades of Rose Petal inks, sentiment from Forever Yours, Essential Heart and Scalloped Heart dies, adhesive foam squares

And here is a card using the remaining 4 stencils.  As above, I used another sentiment from the Clear Stamps, called Forever Yours.

supplies: white, Lipstick Red, and Audrey Blue cardstock, Two-Way Hearts stencils, Forever Yours sentiment, red, aqua, and black inks 

The Glimmer Kit is called Friendship is Everything, and the glimmer foil this month is Matte Gold.

supplies: white and cream cardstock, Friendship is Everything floral plate and sentiment, cream and green markers to color, matte gold glimmer foil

I made it easy on myself and made the flowers cream.  I think that color combination with the gold foiling makes an elegant design.

My next 2 cards feature the embossing folders for December.  The 3D folder is called Tiny Hearts Scallop, and I mixed it with a few dies from the Large Dies: Monster Love Pop.

supplies: white, red, and pinks cardstock, Tiny Hearts Scallop 3D embossing folder, red ink, Monster Love Pop dies

The 2D folder is called Heart Swag.  I added a big die from last year and another of the sentiments from this month's clear stamp set.

supplies: Cotton Candy and Lipstick Red cardstock, vellum, Heart Swag embossing folder, red ink, stamped sentiment from Forever Yours, Big Love dies (includes heart)

On both cards, after embossing, I gently rubbed a red ink across the surface.

And finally, the Stitching Dies are called Stitched Notch Corner Card Front.  I love the notched corner die that serves as a frame for the whole thing, with it's tiny hearts all around the edges, and also the pretty florals.  I used pink and mint for my card.

supplies: white, Cotton Candy, and Mint cardstock, Stitched Notched Corner dies, 3 strands of pink embroidery floss, tiny adhesive foam squares

You can look HERE for information on Spellbinders Clubs.  Each is available for new subscribers only from the 6th until the 27th of each month.  If you click on my links under each card, you can see the specifics of each product.  You can subscribe to each of our 10 kits separately, (and you can "unjoin" a subscription at any time without any penalty), or you can get them all, plus a free bonus item each month, and save 60% by choosing the Deluxe Caboodle!

Angel Christmas Cards

 I wanted to play again with the Build an Angel die set from Paper Trey Ink, using the smaller of the 2 angels in that set to add to a card.  I have 2 cards today.

supplies: Peacock, Audrey Blue, White Shimmer, and silver glitter cardstock, Build an Angel dies, sentiment and banner from (retired) The Crafts Meow Little Angels stamps, silver embossing powder,(retired) Wplus9 Pine Frame cover die, adhesive foam squares

I'm sorry to use so many retired things on this one, but the fit was just too perfect!  I lifted the pine cover die above the card front for some fun dimension and shadows.  You'll see on my next card that that PTI gave us a sentiment set to go with these angels, but I remembered also these banners and a selection of sentiments that came with a The Crafts Meow stamped angel set, and I liked the idea of a curved banner.  They were embossed in silver.

My next card was made for someone who loves pink.

supplies: white, pink, shimmer white, and dusty pink glitter cardstock. Build an Angel dies, Angelic Sentiments, embossed in silver, a banner die, Spellbinders Adorning the Tree 3D embossing folder, white pigment ink, adhesive foam squares

They don't show up in my photos as well as I'd like, but I wanted to let you know that I found some glitter card that cuts much easier than anything else I have - it's made by Simon Says Stamp, and comes in a gorgeous array of 6" sheets!  

As of this writing the angel dies are sold out, but you can also look at Paper Trey Ink and Scrapbook.com for them.  I know they'll be used often, and not just for Christmas!

Woodblock Wednesday

  I almost missed this month's Woodblock Wednesday, but when I was looking in my Christmas bin today, I found so many options for this month.   I chose this Impression Obsession Snowflake Tree.

supplies: white cardstock, aqua gingham from Honey Bee Giddy for Gingham pad, a retired snowflake embossing folder, white pigment ink, Impression Obsession Snowflake Tree, glue pen and prisma glitter, Spellbinders Perfect Touch rectangle die, Sending Joy Sentiments PressPlate, red glimmer foil, Sticko glitter hearts

This little stamp needs minimal coloring, and I added some of my favorite things: gingham and hearts.  It doesn't show in the photos, but I also used a glue pen and some prisma glitter to add snow to the branches and around the hanging ornament, which was originally a little snowflake.  Then for a pop of color, I found these ancient Sticko glitter heart stickers in my gem drawer, and thought they were just right!

With only 1 day remaining to get my card finished and entered, this felt like an old Hero Arts Flickr Scramble, for those of you who remember those!  But I'm pleased with how this turned out, and more so to see this sweet stamp used once again.

You can see all the other entries at Amy's blog HERE.

Postage Collage and Design Papers

 Since last I played with my Postage Collage goodies, I've added another die to the group, the Postage Collage Blocks die.  I wanted this one so that I could use it with design papers, to cut out blocks the size of the openings in the regular Postage Collage die.  Here are 3 cards I made as soon as it arrived, and scroll down to see a bonus 4th card made a few days later.

supplies: Postage Collage die, Postage Collage Blocks die, Postage Collage stamps, all from Waffle flower, various design papers

Here are the individual photos; you will notice that I didn't glue down 2 sentiments that you see above; I've decided to wait until I need these cards, and then add something appropriate.

First up, I cut out the right side of a rainbow wreath from a Paper Rose Rainbow Twirl 6" pad.  One of the blocks was almost completely without detail (the middle of the wreath), so I added a butterfly.

supplies: white and aqua cardstock, Paper Rose Rainbow Twirl 6" pad,  Postage Collage die, Postage Collage Blocks die, Postage Collage stamps, and a postmark stamp from (retired)  Hero Arts Sending Love Mail, butterfly die from my supplies

My second card started with a fall scene from a Spellbinders Woodland Tales pad.  

supplies: white, gold, and a design paper from Spellbinders Woodland Tales 6" pad, Postage Collage die, Postage Collage Blocks die, Postage Collage stamps, a woodblock postmark stamp dated 1997 from All Night Media

And finally, I chose a large floral print for my third card.

supplies: pink and cream cardstock, design paper from Carta Bella Botanical Garden 6" pad, Postage Collage die, Postage Collage Blocks die, Postage Collage stamps, xoxo from Hero Arts Sending Love Mail stamps

In all of these cards, I used the Blocks die to cut out rectangles that then are glued inside the Collage die panel.  Then I did some overstamping before adding to my card front.

Here's 1 more example.  I think this floral panel was something digital that I had printed out years ago, then never used.  Here it is on the Postage Collage die.

Then I cut it apart and made this card.

supplies: green and white cardstock, a digital floral print, Postage Collage die, Postage Collage Blocks die, Postage Collage stamps, (retired) woodblock Hero Arts December Mark, sentiment from (retired) Hero Arts Sunshine Daisies, white embossing powder

I have a huge group of 6" paper pads and I hope that this will help me to use them up more quickly!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

A Thanksgiving Bouquet

 I haven't used this Honey Bee Stamps Fall Bouquets die set in awhile, so I pulled it out again for a Thanksgiving card.  This will serve as my greeting to any of you who may stop by over the holiday - Happy Thanksgiving!  

supplies: colored cardstock, woodgrain background from Honey Bee Grain and Grunge pad, Fall Bouquets dies, sentiment from (retired) 2014 SSS Autumn Blessings, cream embossing powder, adhesive foam squares

I hope you have a lovely day; it's probably the last holiday here that hasn't become too terribly commercialized, and we can enjoy it as it's meant to be.  

Happy Turkey Day!

 Here's a fun card that uses a Spellbinders die set from 2018 that is still available!

supplies: cream, and various colored cardstock, Paper Rose Autumn Plaid, nested rectangle dies, Spellbinders Happy Turkey Day dies, (retired) The Craft's Meow Golden Days sentiment, adhesive foam squares

It's getting closer!  What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Thanksgiving Fall Foliage Cards

I've got all my assignments done for this month, so I'll be finishing it off with some Thanksgiving cards.  Today I'm playing with an old favorite Taylored Expressions stamp and stencil set called Fall Foliage Background.  Instead of stamping, this time I utilized the matching Foil It background panels, which foil the skeleton leaves. 

You start with one of the panels, foil it in your laminator, then use the 3-piece stencil set to color in the details. I enjoy this process so much that I made 3 cards. The twinkle from these across the room is a sweet little surprise.

Here are my individual photos of each card.  I used copper/orange foil on this first one.

supplies: white and Orange Peel cardstock, Taylored Expressions Fall Foliage Foil It panel, Copper Deco Foil, Fall Foliage Background Stencils, ripe persimmon, peeled paint, and vintage photo distress inks, Nested Rectangle and Circle dies, sentiment from Gina K Designs Autumn Wreath Builder

I used gold foil on the other 2 cards.

supplies: purple cardstock, vellum, Fall Foliage Foil It panel, Gold Deco Foil, Fall Foliage Background stencils, persimmon, wilted violet distress inks, Chamomile ink, Spellbinders Hemstitch rectangle die, sentiment from Sunny Studio Autumn Greetings, clear embossed, (retired) Impression Obsession leaves, twine, tiny heart sprinkle

On this card I lifted the background above the card front.

supplies: Sunshine and Burnt Orange cardstock, Fall Foliage Foil It panel, Gold Deco Foil, Fall Foliage Background stencils, mustard seed, carved pumpkin, and crackling campfire distress inks, (retired) Neat and Tangled Maple Leaf Thanks die, sentiment from (retired) Simon Says Stamp Autumn Blessings, gold heart sprinkle, adhesive foam 

  

Thanks for visiting today.  Do you send out cards for Thanksgiving?  

More Ornaments

 Here are some more ornaments that will be going onto our tree and to our Grands this year, all made with Spellbinders Klondike the Moose.

These dies were originally meant to be hinged so that the moose can dance (swing his legs), but I decided to make them stationary, so they could be double sided.  This way, you can vary the length of their legs, too.  As I did on the angels earlier, I made these two-sided so that if they swing, it doesn't matter.  Before I attached the mirror image to each, I taped in a strong thread hanger.

Which is your favorite?  Mine is the bright green one, made for our Grandson Owen, who loves the Austin Football club.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Felt Forest Fox

 Nichol Spohr has designed a delightful suite of felt stitching products with Spellbinders, which she calls her Felt Stitch and Create Collection!  I was thrilled to get the adorable Felt Forest Fox!  I made 1 sample, and then styled her 2 different ways with paper accessories.

supplies: Felt Forest Fox dies, brown, cream, black, and peach felt, 3 strands of embroidery floss to match, 2 layers of Warm & Natural quilt batting

I used wool felt that I have here at home.  Nichol gives wonderful directions on how to assemble this sweet fox HERE, and they were very helpful.   I especially liked how she showed us how to bring the eyes to life with a bit of sparkle and those adorable little lashes.  With eyes like these, of course this is a little girl!  I had a paper bow in my stash, so I just popped it on as I was taking my pictures.

Here's another with flowers instead of the bow.  Just some ideas on how to personalize these.......

supplies: Felt Forest Fox dies, brown, cream, black, and peach wool felt, 3 strands of embroidery floss to match, 2 layers of Warm & Natural quilt batting

I really enjoyed this process.  So much so that I started another with some cheaper felt that I have, but abandoned that quickly, as it shredded pretty easily.  Spellbinders has a nice grouping of ten 8 X 12" Merino wool felt sheets in various colorways to work with Nichole's other stitching kits.

If you're wondering, the fox measures a bit over 4" wide by 5+" tall.  So it could be done 1-layered and added to a card, if you so wish.  I may try that next, since I'm out of felt!

Be sure to look at the rest of Nichol's collection; there's a star-shaped snowman, an owl, a reindeer, some gingerbread people, plus more!

I also wanted to let you know about the current Spellbinders Early Black Friday sale, which will last until November 28 - it's huge and there are lots of savings to be had!

Angel Ornaments

I fell in love with the beautiful Build an Angel die set from Paper Trey Ink the moment I saw them.  I know they will make lovely cards, but I wanted them especially to make some paper ornaments for Christmas.  It's something I try to do every year.  

Because these are ornaments, I made them double-sided, so that if I add a thread to hang them with and they swing, it won't matter.  For today's pictures, however, I just perched them among my branches.  Here's what I've made so far.

supplies: ivory cardstock and matte gold metallic cardstock, also to line the filigree hem on her dress

supplies: pink damask design paper and rose gold metallic cardstock

supplies: woodgrain and matte silver metallic cardstock, swiped lightly with silver ink  I made this one for my son.

supplies: music design paper and gold metallic cardstock

supplies: soft pink tone-on-tone design paper and silver metallic cardstock

supplies: pink floral design paper and gold glitter cardstock

And finally, I tried a small-scale floral print and non-metallic wings.

supplies: cream cardstock and a floral design paper

Some observations: you can line the angel's skirt bottom, but on a tree, I think I like it better unlined - the lovely details show better.  

I found it very hard to cut the detailed wings using glitter paper - no matter how many times I swiped through my machine, I couldn't dislodge the tiny pieces.  I finally did find an ancient pad of paper that was adhesive glitter and you pulled off the backing to stick it to white cardstock.  That cut just fine, but today's glitter papers are just too thick.  The wing cuts out, but the details in it are difficult to dislodge.

This set has 2 sizes of angels - I used the largest ones here; they measure about 3 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" long.  I think I'll use the smaller ones on A2 cards.  Each angel has a choice of 3 different wing styles and a halo to cut out separately from the angel.  I haven't used the plainest wing yet.  I also experimented with the wings pointing up or down; I like both ways, and it's nice to have that option!

These would make lovely place-setting cards, too, on your Christmas table, or how about 3 or 4 of them on an indoor wreath?  Or string several of them together for a garland.  And of course, what sweet tags they'd make!

Postage Collage and Harvest Wreath

 Here's another play with my new Postage Collage bundle.  This time I started with a Turnabout wreath, and then cut the individual stamps apart.  

supplies: white and Doll Pink cardstock, Spellbinders Postage Edge Rectangle dies, Oak Forest 3D embossing folder, Concord & 9th Harvest Wreath turnabout stamps, picked raspberry, vintage photo, carved pumpkin, and dusty concord distress inks, Postage Collage Coloring stencil, Postage Collage die, Postage Collage stamps, Newton's Nook Autumn Newton sentiments

My card measures a bit over 4 3/4" X 6".  I wanted to make my card itself into a big postage shape!  

Here's a picture of the panel before I cut it apart.  I used my Turnabout Jig to position my panel, and one of the Postage stencils before stamping the design.  I wanted to use some untraditional fall colors this time.  You get a completely different look when you cut the individual stamps apart, don't you think?

The object of this whole exercise was to see what I could do with the basic bundle of Postage Collage goodies, and now I think even more that it is a very versatile set.  I look forward to incorporating them into future projects in all seasons.  That's not to say that I will not add to the collection with more of Waffle Flower's stencils and stamps to fill in these tiny little canvases!

Thanks for stopping by - hope your day is a lovely one!

Postage Collage and a Stencil

 Here's another entry into my experiments with the Waffle Flower Postage Collage products.  This time I started with an already stencilled and embossed panel from one of Altenew's Craft Your Life kits.

supplies: white and a mint mat from Scrapook.com Sunshine A2 paper pad, Waffle Flower Postage Collage dies and Postage Collage stamps, Altenew Watercolor Flowers Craft Your Life stencils and embossing folder, Pink Fresh Studio Perfect Sentiments stamps and die, adhesive strips

Unlike my 2 other cards, I did not use the coloring stencil.  I just cut the collage die direct from my panel that was previously stencilled and embossed.  Then I just added some postage stamps and lifted up a sentiment stamped in aqua.  

I'm having a ball!  I can see why these products are so popular!  Thank you once again for stopping by.