Joy to the World

Christmas is just around the corner.  It's time to amp up my cardmaking game!  First up is this card colored with Zig Clean Color real brush markers.  Of all the coloring mediums I have tried, I think I like these best.  My only wish is that I had more colors! 

To bring a little more highlight to certain areas, I used a white gel pen.  After coloring them in I did a wash of wink of stella to add some sparkle, then used yellow stickles to help make them stamen pop. If you click on the picture to see the close up, you'll notice the embossed die cut of the Merry Label Die.  I just love that double line embossed detail. 

Stamps: Hello Gorgeous (Altenew) Snowy Sayings (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps) Candy Cane Lane (Catherine Pooler Designs)

Ink: Midnight, (Catherine Pooler Designs) Real Red, Tranquil Tide (SU)Versamark

Paper: Bristol Vellum (Strathmore) Lost Lagoon (SU) Fairy Dust, Silver Bells 6x6 (Kaiser Craft)

Accessories: 024, 029 (Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers) Clear Embossing Powder (WOW) Merry Label Die (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps) Yellow Stickles

Hello Gorgeous, Altenew Stamp & Die Bundle

Hello Gorgeous, Altenew Clear Stamp Set

Hello Gorgeous, Altenew Dies

My Sweet Petunia Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7)

Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Midnight

Midnight, Catherine Pooler Mini Ink Pad

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pk

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 024, Wine Red

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 029, Geranium Red

Zig Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Tip Marker, Clear

Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Rockin Red

Foundations, Catherine Pooler Mini Ink Pads

VersaMark Ink Pad

WOW Embossing Powder, Regular - Clear Sparkle

Silver Brush Black Velvet Watercolor Brushes, Short Round 8

Uni-ball Impact Gel Pen, White

Strathmore Bristol Pad 9x12

Scotch Foam Mounting Tape

Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue, 0.88 oz.

Ranger Multi Medium, Matte Mini, 1/2 oz.

Quilled Creations Precision Tip Glue Applicator Bottle 0.5 oz.

Ranger Stickles, Yellow

My Sweet Petunia MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (8-1/8 X 10-1/2)

Snow Is Coming

Did you know that StampNation has a bi-monthly (or is it bi-weekly) Christmas challenge to help inspire us to get our cards made before December 25th?  There have been some great ones already, but this is the first time I have joined in.  My plan is to go back and do the others after the kids are back in school.  (8 more days, but who's counting?)

The challenge this week is SNOW, so I pulled out my snowflake collection of stamps and dies and went to work creating my own snowy background with an emboss resist technique.

I hope you will join in on this challenge.  To see what the design team and fellow members have created for inspiration CLICKY.

Stamps: Bring On the Snowflakes, Snowy Sayings (CASual Fridays Stamps)
Ink: Fiesta Blue, It's A Boy (Catherine Pooler Designs) Versamark

Paper: Silver Shimmer, Whisper White (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Funky Flakes Fri-Dies (CASual Fridays Stamps) White Embossing Powder (Stampin' UP)

Christmas Card Crunch

I admit it.  I'm behind on sending out my Christmas cards.  If you are on my card list, you may be getting yours a little late.  Sorry about that.   Now that my 2015 cards are made, it's time to start working on 2016.  I like working on Christmas cards during the Christmas season.  A few years ago I learned to work ahead by creating "in season" for the next season.

One of the things I love about this card is that I used some of my snowflake stamps in a very unique way.  I turned them over and inked up the back of the stamp.  They are in the shape of a circle, so I was able to really stretch my stamps.   I also used Bokeh Dots to fill in with more sizes of circles and then embossed my snowflakes on top of some of the dots.  

The Snowy Sayings stamp set was a part of the Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection.  If you were lucky enough to snag one of those boxes before they sold out, you can link up your creations HERE for a chance to win the NEW collection being released in January 2016!  Hurry though.  You only have a few more hours to link up!  Voting begins on Sunday at 6pm EST

Stamps: Bokeh Dots (Essentials by Ellen Hutson) Snowy Sayings (CASual Fridays Stamps for SOA) Sparkle & Shine (Whimsy Stamps)
Ink: Berrylicious, Blue Raspberry (My Favorite Things) Peacock Feathers (Distress) Pool Party, Marina mist, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up!) Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Whisper White (SU)
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder (SU)

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Bokeh Dots by Julie Ebersole

Charlie Brown Tree Video Tutorial

Sorry this post is up so late today.  I've been trying all day to get my simple video loaded on youtube.  Not sure if it was the windy storm that caused my internet to have issues or if it was youtube.  Thankfully a restart and an update did the trick.  It's finally up.  Better late than never, right?

I got several questions about this card I posted last week and I thought it might be easier to do a video than try to type out a tutorial.

Clicky to see original post

I'm still fighting the cold my husband brought him from work last weekend.  I feel better, but I sound a bit snarfly.  Sorry you will hear a few sniffles in the video.  I tried to edit most of them out.

https://youtu.be/66Lr_DALnuE

For this video I used the tree from Bright Baubles that was in the Stamp of Approval collection, but you could try this with any tree or branch stamp.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bright Baubles (Neat & Tangled for SOA) Snowy Sayings (CASual Fridays for SOA)

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up) Soft Blossom, Soft Purple, Raspberry Jam, Tide Pool (Hero Arts) 42 (Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker)
Paper: Marshmallow (Bazzill) Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Blueprints 20 Dies (My Favorite Things) Yellow Stickles

Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Soft Purple

Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Soft Blossom

Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Mid-Tone Raspberry Jam

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 042, Turquoise Green

Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Marshmallow, 25 pk

Ranger Stickles, Yellow

Ranger Inkssentials Mister, 2 oz.

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Blueprints 20

Frame It ~ Merry Monday #175

Do you like to send out handmade Christmas cards?  If so, how are you doing on your goals for the upcoming season?  I'm not sure how I am doing, but I know I need tons more. ;)  That is why I am trying to play along with the Merry Monday challenge each week until Christmas. This challenge is a great jump start to my Christmas creativity.

MM#175

This weeks challenge is great for creating a focal point.  Simply put a frame on it!

Supplies:
Stamps: Holiday Flourish (The Ton for Stamp of Approval) Snowy Sayings (CASual Fridays for SOA)
Ink: Golden Glitz Delicata) Black (Staz On) Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Whisper White (SU) Patterned Paper (Misc. Stack from my stash)
Accessories: Blueprints 20, Stitched Square Frames (My Favorite Things)

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Blueprints 20

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Stitched Square Frames

Ranger Stickles, Christmas Red

Ranger Ice Stickles, Christmas Red

Delicata Ink Pad, Golden Glitz

Stazon Solvent Ink Pad, Jet Black

Giveaway Winners Announced

Did you catch the announcement of the 2 winners for the Holiday Magic Collection box?  It was posted on Catherine's blog on Satuday.  If you missed it, no worries, I did too.  Clicky to see if you were one of the names drawn!

Last week the challenge at StampNation was to create a Christmas card.  Pretty easy, since I have Christmas cards  on my creative mind lately.  I decided to CASE a card of Catherine's from a year or 2 ago and make a snowy branch using the tree from one of the stamp sets in the Holiday Magic Collection.

One of the details I love about this card is the Little Bits layered with glittery paper.  It adds dimension to the card without adding bulk.  Perfect for Christmas cards that need to be mailed.  Would you like a sneak peek of the card going up for the challenge tomorrow?  It's a twist on the challenge theme using the Flourishes & dots from one of the stamp sets in the SOA Holiday Magic Collection along with one of the dies.  This time I pulled out supplies from my stamp room to add the finishing details like faux stitching and confetti dots.

My hope is that I will have time this week to film a quick video showing you a SUPER EASY way to custom color your glitter cardstock.   It's what I did to get the pink sentiment you see in the peek.

Yesterday I spent some time in my craft room making a couple more Christmas cards.  When I first saw the Bright Baubles stamp set I thought the big tree would make a great Charley Brown Tree.  It's photopolymer, so it is easy to bend it on the stamp block before stamping.   I used Zig Clean Color markers and a spritzer bottle to create my snowbank.  The finishing touch was adding glossy accents and stickles to make my card shine.  

Supplies:
Stamps: Bright Baubles (Neat & Tangled for SOA) Snowy Sayings (CASual Fridays for SOA)

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Soft Suede, Soft Sky (Stampin' Up) Soft Blossom, Soft Purple, Raspberry Jam, Tide Pool (Hero Arts) 42 (Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker)
Paper: Marshmallow (Bazzill) Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Blueprints 20 Dies (My Favorite Things) Yellow Stickles

Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Soft Purple

Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Soft Blossom

Hero Arts Shadow Ink, Mid-Tone Raspberry Jam

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 042, Turquoise Green

Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Marshmallow, 25 pk

Ranger Stickles, Yellow

Ranger Inkssentials Mister, 2 oz.

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Blueprints 20