Die-namics Poinsettia

I just love making Christmas cards.  I like to get started early so that I can produce lots of cards in many different designs before I need to start sending them out in the mail.  I recently bought the Die-namics Poinsettia set of wafer thin dies.  I used the set to make a couple of Christmas cards - my first two this year.  The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week is for Christmas or Happy Holiday cards, so I'll be adding these to their challenge.

I've always had a passion for interactive or special fold cards.  I haven't made a Triple Fold card in a long time, so decided to use a small poinsettia cut with the die set on the front of this one:

I used Queen's Gold embossing powder to make the tiny tag on the front of the card, but stamped the inner greeting with Jet Black Archival Ink.  I used a combination of 12x12 and 6x6 papers from the "Winter Wonderland" collection from My Mind's Eye to create the patterned panels on the card.  I love using different papers from the same collection because they're guaranteed to look great together.  The sentiments used on both cards also come from the "Winter Wonderland" collection.  I used some small pieces of red mirrored foil to embellish the front and back panels of the card.

My second card was made with the same poinsettia die set.  I manipulated the flower pieces with my fingers to create a 3 dimensional effect, gluing each layer and then attaching it with dimensional tape.  I chose to place the large finished poinsettia on a Neenah Solar White background which I embossed using a new embossing folder that I bought at the Muskoka Craft House last week.  They have such an amazing selection of embossing folders in stock at their shop - I felt like a little kid let loose in a candy store!  It was certainly difficult to make a choice.  If you live near Barrie in Ontario, you really should drop into John and Betty-Jean's wonderful store.  I'm sure you'll find all kinds of treasures to suit your crafting needs.  You can also visit their online store by clicking on the link above.  The folder that I finally decided to buy is a gorgeous holly background called, "Champagne and Holly" made by Couture Creations from the Wrapped in Joy Collection.  The picture really doesn't do justice in showing how lovely this background looks in real life.

 

I can't wait to make more Christmas cards.

Until next time,

Happy Hallowe'en

I got a head start on Happy Hallowe'en cards this year.  Here are a couple of cards that I made using digital stamps from Mo Manning.  The first card features the digital image called "Old House".  I think it makes the perfect Haunted house for Hallowe'en.  I made 2 copies of the image on Neenah Solar White cardstock.  I find that if I heat set the ink it doesn't smear when I colour it with Copic markers.  I fussy cut one of the images, using the whole house.  I then cut out a second image, but only cut the lower parts of the house.  I very carefully cut out the edges of the front porch so that the background of the card could be seen through the posts.  I coloured both pieces using Copic markers.  I created the night background by stamping navy cardstock with the "Tiny Star Background" from Hero Arts and embossing it with silver embossing powder.  I mounted the background on a layer of orange, then black cardstock and finally onto a purple card base.  I attached the two house layers using dimensional tape to give a 3D effect.  I mounted 3 tiny black bats that I cut using the Memory Box die "A Bunch of Bats".   As a finishing touch, I coated the windows with Ranger's Glossy Accents to give the impression of glass.  I am entering this card in Mo's Digital Challenge.  This week's challenge is "H is for . . . "  and obviously, my H is for Haunted House.

Here is a close up view of the detail:

 Here is a second card that I made using another Mo Manning digital stamp entitled, "Teen Witch".  I also coloured it using Copic markers and mounted it using several layers of cardstock.  As a final finishing touch, I added dimension to the spiders by adding dots of Ranger's Black Enamel Accents.

Until next time,