Christmas Wreaths

Today I have 3 Christmas cards that share a common element, a multi-stamped wreath.  It was stamped in different colors, and then I varied my backgrounds for each one.

The wreath is a Stampin Up one called Wondrous Wreath. It's retired, but really any stamped or die-cut wreath of your choice would work with all of these designs.

supplies: Audrey Blue, white, and a coral/pink cardstock, Hero Arts Woodgrain cardstock, Stampin Up Wondrous Wreath and bow, Tim Holtz Holiday Words die, PTI Mix & Mat die (birch tree frame), adhesive foam to pop up wreath

I like the little bit of texture that the woodgrain cardstock has!

supplies: white, gumdrop and Lipstick Red cardstock, plank background from packaging, Wondrous Wreath and bow, Simon's retired Merry & Bright die, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die

That Hemstitch die has turned out to be one of my go-to elements this year; it adds such a nice touch.

As always, thanks for stopping by - hope your Christmas preparations are going well!

Simon Says.......Traditional Christmas

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

This week our theme is Traditional Christmas, and the team is highlighting Tim Holtz goodies!  

I paired some Funky dies with a Simon sentiment and a lovely cling background.

supplies: cream, Schoolhouse Red, Green Leaf, kraft, yellow, brown, various other green cardstock, Tim Holtz Funky Festive dies, Simon's Rejoice die, Impression Obsession Joy to the World cling stamp, antique linen distress ink

These pieces are on the small side for these old eyes, so it took me a little bit to piece some of the elements, but I love the results. Using Press 'n Seal really helped me to make my arrangement, too.

My next card is a bit more whimsical.

supplies: kraft, Peacock Teal, Schoolhouse Red, and gold foil cardstock, Tim Holtz Gingham Layering Stencil, festive berries distress ink, Mini Holiday Greens and  Holiday Words dies, twine, jingle bells

I used Tim's new Gingham stencil, and added a touch of peacock instead of the more usual green.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  

Tweet Holidays Cards

Happy new week, everyone!  I have 5 Christmas cards today, all using the same Tweet Holidays images.  At this time of year, when I need so many cards, I've taken to making multiple variations of a card.  So I stamped these birds, colored them either as robins or bluebirds, and then built a card around them.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, and Peacock Teal cardstock, MFT Tweet Holidays birds, PTI Mix & Mat frame die, Wplus9 Woodland Wreath and Hand Lettered Merry die, stamped sentiment from Simon Merry & Bright, Audrey Blue ink, Nuvo Creative pens to color images

This next one is a CASE of a card by Karolyn Loncon.  I love her idea of adding them to an ornament!

supplies: white and Audrey Blue cardstock, Tweet Holidays birds and holly, sentiment from (retired) Simon Yuletide Holiday, Audrey Blue ink, Stitched Circle die. red and white twine, Nuvo Creative pens

In my next examples, I colored my birds to be bluebirds.  The first one uses the littlest bird in the set, and I think this one is my favorite card.

supplies: white and Surf Blue cardstock, a bit of snowflake dp, Tweet Holidays bird and holly, Echo Park Snow Flurry embossing folder, PinkFresh Studio Adore Alpha dies, Wplus9 Hand Lettered Holiday sentiment, Nuvo Creative pens to color

supplies: white, Lipstick Red and Schoolhouse Red cardstock,  Tweet Holidays birds and holly leaves, the same Snow Flurry embossing folder, Hero Arts Merry Stamp & Die set stamped sentiment and die, Nuvo Creative pens

white and Cornflower Blue cardstock, Tweet Holidays birds, holly, and sentiment stamps, a holly embossing folder, Nuvo Creative pens 

There are matching dies for the Tweet Holidays set, if you'd like.

Thanks for sticking with me today - how goes your card making for the holidays?  I think I'm ready!

It's DieCember!

Simon's annual DieCember event is now live!

I received a die set called Art Supplies, and here's how I used them.

supplies: white, black, Surf blue, teal, Green Apple, and silver metallic cardstock, Avery Elle Brushed and Simon Crafty Friend stamps, Art Supplies dies, distress inks, Zig markers

I stamped my background in distress ink colors that appealed to me, then cut out the watercolor set, brush, and scissors.  I used my Zig markers to color the individual pans in the watercolor set.

Be sure to visit THIS PAGE to see all the wonderful products in this release - there are 34 new products, plus some enamel pins!  And for ideas on how to use them, I hope you'll visit our Gallery HERE.

My November Favorites

Time for my monthly favorites post - Christmas is taking over!

As always, thanks for your visit!

A Card for Thanksgiving

Just popping in with a Thanksgiving card for you.  I pray that you spend the day with someone you love.

supplies: brown and orange sherbet cardstock, Concord & 9th Thankful Leaves Turnabout stamp set, sentiment from Fun Stampers Journey Thankful Friends, Altenew mini ink cubes, Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangle die, Simon's Gold embossing powder

Don't eat too much!

Simon Says..........Anything Goes

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

It's Anything Goes this week, and the team is playing with Penny Black products!  

supplies: white, Schoolhouse Red, and Surf Blue cardstock, Penny Black Sharing a Song clear stamp, Pink & Main Holly Jolly sentiment, Nuvo pens, tumbled glass distress ink, Simon's Falling Snow stencil and Stitched Rectangle die, Nuvo Moonstone glimmer paste

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  

Galaxy Christmas Cards

Hi crafters!  I had so much fun making my card for last week's Simon Wednesday Challenge, that I went to town and inked some more of these galaxy backgrounds, then made them into Christmas cards.

supplies: white card base, watercolor paper, silver glitter paper, distress oxide inks (lucky clover, salty ocean, wilted violet, blueprint sketch, faded jeans), white acrylic paint for "stars", Penny Black Hope is Born woodblock stamp, star from Simon's (retired) Holy Couple and Barn dies, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder

And another variation:

supplies: white cardstock, watercolor paper, same distress oxide inks as above, flicks of diluted white acrylic paint, Impression Obsession Glory to God, (retired) Hero Arts Greatest Gift silhouette, VersaMark ink and white embossing powder, VersaFine Onyx Black ink

I used the smooth side of the watercolor paper for the first card, and the bumpy side for the second.  The inks blend equally well on both, using my fabulous new blending brushes!

HERE's another variation from last Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by - have a great week!

Snowflake Joy

Still in love with my new alphabet dies!  Here's a red and white snowflake card using them.

supplies: white and Lipstick Red cardstock, dps from (retired) Echo Park Celebrate Winter pad, PinkFresh Studio Adore Alphabet dies, Memory Box bow die from Precious Hearts, stamped sentiment from Wplus9 Hand Lettered Holiday, snowflake dies from Concord and 9th Take a Bough set, Hero Arts red metallic dots

I used my alphabet dies to cut out the word from the striped paper, then layered it over the snowflake paper, and lined the letters with white - the skinny outlines are part of this alphabet set!

As always, thanks for stopping by today!

All is Calm

I thought this lovely Pine Frame die would be a nice addition to my goodies, and it just arrived a few days ago.   Today I mixed it with some older supplies and made 2 cards.

supplies: white and Sea Glass cardstock, Wplus9 Pine Frame cover die, a stitched oval die, Stampendous (retired) Snowy Postcard cling stamp, evergreen bough and pine needles distress oxide inks, tumbled glass distress ink, Lipstick Red ink, blending brushes,sentiment from Mark's Finest Papers (retired) All is Calm, adhesive foam squares

For this card, I decided to use an old favorite Christmas scene in the center. I stamped it, then trimmed out an oval that fit nicely inside this cover die, sponged on some tumbled glass in the sky area and stamped my sentiment.   After sponging the pine frame with distress inks, I splattered some white diluted paint across the surface as "snow", then adhered the oval die to the center.   And I popped the frame above my card base for a little shadow interest.

Next, I used a larger sentiment and some dies in the center of my card.  The pine sprig dies are also a part of the frame set, a nice little extra.

supplies: white, Audrey Blue, Peacock Teal, and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, Wplus9 Pine Frame cover die and pine branches dies, Memory Box (retired) Perched Bird die, sentiment from Penny Black Season's Wishes clear stamps, Lipstick Red ink

It's nice that this frame die can be used vertically or horizontally, and all throughout the year, not just for the holidays.  

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Simon Says...........Starry, Starry Night

Happy Wednesday - welcome to our challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog!

Our theme this week is a fun one - Starry, Starry Night!  And the team will be showcasing Stampendous products.  

My first thought when I saw the theme was a galaxy background.  I've never attempted one before, but I'm really pleased with my results!

supplies: watercolor card, glitter card for star, dark green cardstock, distress oxide inks (wilted violet, lucky clover, blueprint sketch, salty ocean, and an overlay of faded jeans), Stampendous Light and Hope sentiment, star from Simon's (retired) Holy Couple & Barn dies, Tim Holtz Tree Line die, diluted gesso to splatter "stars"

I don't know why I waited so long to try this technique, but it was lots of fun to learn!  I used the same stamp set that our guest designer Sue used - be sure to visit her blog to see her beautiful designs using it.

Now it's your turn!  We have a $50.00 gift certificate 

to the amazing Simon Says Stamp store for 1 lucky random winner of this week's challenge!  

Woodland Christmas

Here's a Christmas card using all dies.  This woodland style is a favorite of mine!

supplies: Audrey Blue, Schoolhouse Red, kraft, and white cardstock, Lawn Fawn Snow Day dp, Simon's Birch Tree Window, Retro Deer, and Tiny Words Christmas, Impression Obsession bird dies

I had actually put together this inner panel last year, and all it needed was a sentiment and a card backing!  Talk about easy!  The scale of the Tiny Christmas Words stamps works perfectly for it!

Thanks for coming by - have a great day!

Cardinal Joy

Last week I made a card that had this same musical background.......it was inspired by something I saw in a local store.  Here's another version of it.........

supplies: parchment and Schoolhouse Red cardstock, Impression Obsession Joy to the World cling, Hero Arts Color Layering Cardinal, (cardinal stamped in Lipstick Red, fired brick, and aged mahogany), MFT Joy die with stamped sentiment from Hero Arts Joy Stamp & Cut

This beautiful cardinal layered stamp set is one of my favorites, and is perfect for this time of year and the winter months.  It was a joy to get it out and use it again!

Happy Sunday - enjoy your day, and thanks for visiting!

The Most Wonderful Time

Hello!  I really enjoy stamping my own backgrounds, so I'm playing today with my Holly Berry Turnabouts.  This time I added the fun sentiment that is included in the set. (and I've been humming that tune ever since!)

supplies: white, Lipstick Red, and Peacock Teal cardstock, Concord & 9th Holly Berry Turnabout stamps, turnabout jig,  Altenew mini ink cubes, Spellbinders oval and scalloped oval dies (yes - the original ones!), Lawn Fawn holly and berry dies from Winter Huggers Add-Ons, adhesive foam to pop sentiment above card base

I used a mix of teals, greens, and red for my background stamping, and carried the colors as best I could throughout the rest of the card.  

It's Friday - enjoy!