Congratulations Paper Smooches

Paper Smooches is celebrating their 3rd anniversary.  If you aren't familiar with Kim Hughes and her fabulous store, you really should check it out here: www.papersmooches.net     All Paper Smooches' products are super high quality and super fun.  They're sure to put a smile on your face!

 

Come back to visit soon!

 Carol

Vintage Christmas

I admit it - I'm a paper hoarder.  I simply cannot resist buying beautiful patterned papers, whether they are 12x12, or 6x6 pads.  I find that there are some papers that are just too beautiful to use - which is absolutely ridiculous!  This is especially true for Christmas papers.  A few years ago, Basic Grey brought out a collection that featured gorgeous papers with subtle colours and a decidedly vintage feel.  I have been hanging onto to my collection of these papers for far too long and decided to make a triple fold card featuring several of the designs.  I used some Stampin' Up Crumb Cake 12x12 cardstock for the base, and Cherry Cobbler as the accent colour.  I was very glad that I decided to use the papers from this collection because I really like the way the card turned out.

The ornament is cut using two Memory Box wafer thin dies, "Classic Ornament" and "Snowflake Ornament".  The pine sprig is cut using an Impression Obsession die.  Here's a picture of the inside of the card:

 

Sorry, these pictures really don't show the beautiful olive greens in this paper.  The sentiment is from the "Miracle of the Holiday" by Hero Arts.  I'm submitting this card to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge, which is "Anything Goes" this week.

Until next time,

 

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,

In Sympathy

Unfortunately, we had a recent death in our family that prompted me to make a group of Autumn themed sympathy cards.  I was quite pleased with the finished cards and so have decided to share them through my blog.

The first card was embossed with a gorgeous embossing folder from Melissa Francis.  I added a dark brown border to accentuate the  texture created on the craft coloured Neenah desert storm cardstock.  The leaves were cut using the Impression Obsession "Leaves" die set.  I added a wooden button and a twine bow to draw the leaves together.  The sentiment is stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed with Tsukineko clear embossing powder.  This sentiment is from the Avery Elle "Oh Happy Day" set - one of my favourites.

 

The second card is also made with Neenah desert storm cardstock.  The leafy strip was created using heavy watercolour paper which was stamped and white embossed with stamps from an Inkadinkado Clings set called, "Fall Leaves".  I used sponge daubers and Distress Inks to add colour to the leaves and then misted the entire piece with a mixture of Perfect Pearls powder "Biscotti" and water.  This caused the colours to run and blend into together and added a beautiful shimmery finish.  I added layers of rust and green cardstock behind the watercolour paper to make the focal point pop, then added a twine bow and simple tag.  The sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

 

The third card is very dimensional, with raised punched maple leaves.  To create the beautiful variegated colour on the leaves, I applied warm colours of Distress inks with sponge daubers onto watercolour paper and misted them with Perfect Pearls "Biscotti" and water before punching them out using a small Fiskars leaf punch.  Before gluing the leaves onto the card, I formed them using my pergamano tools and pad.  The branch was created by piecing together several branches cut with a Memory Box die called "Twig and Berries".

 

I am entering the cards in the Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog. The theme this week is "Anything Goes".  If you haven't checked out this challenge blog, you should give it a look.

Until next time,