Double D Challenge: Christmas Wrappings

Hello, friends!  Thanksgiving is over and our sights turn to Christmas.  In my home it's more low-key these days, but the spirit and the young-at-heart delight is still evident.  At Double D we're enjoying "Christmas Wrappings" of all kinds -- bows, ribbons, tags, packages.  Even designer paper can become Christmas wrappings for our challenge.  Just have fun with it!

Creative winners are by team vote, and there's a fabulous prize for a random winner:

I went with an oldie but goodie die for this one.  It's an out of business Die-namites die called Hanging Presents.  It couldn't be easier and I suppose that's why I've used it many times over the years.

Cut in gold and hung on Christmas plaid, it makes for a festive card with little effort.  I placed the pop out pieces below each present with a couple more stars down by the sentiment.  I could have made a bunch of these, but I'm terrible about producing multiples... it just doesn't happen.

Do pop over and visit the team at our Christmas Wrappings Double D Challenge.  You'll love the samples and I hope you'll enjoy this theme as much as I did!

Happy holidays!

Just Us Girls #803 -- Stencil Week

Hello and welcome!  This marks my fourth and final post as guest designer with Just Us Girls.  It's been fun and the team has been very gracious.  Before I forget, I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends as we all observe the day.  Things aren't always perfect, but there's generally something to be thankful for.

Today the prompt is "anything goes with a stencil".

I don't often remember to use my stencils, but I sure enjoy them when the time comes.  In this case I intended to go very light with the retired (?) SU River Rock ink, matching the River Rock cardstock.  If any of you have this color, you know it's a very soft, gentle green, almost a neutral -- not the near neon it appears in the photo.  My camera goes a little wonky with anything that has a yellow undertone.

In real life it made a nice background for my Penny Black Poinsettia Trio which was stamped in the same River Rock.  The lines were nicely visible long enough for me to color, and then they obligingly disappeared.  Copics did the job on Strathmore Vellum Surface Mixed Media paper, with some of the fine lines and details added courtesy of the skinny tip of a Tombow marker.  The poinsettia pot rests on a sweep of Penny Black's Graceful Holly, with gold accents to finish.

How about you and your stencils joining the JUGS team for a little play this week?  It's been fun for me!

Thank you all for your time.  Have a lovely day!

Stamps:  Penny Black Poinsettia Trio  Paper:  Strathmore Mixed Media Vellum Surface for stamp, Neenah 80 lb for stenciled background, Stampin' Up River Rock (green)  Ink:  SU River Rock  Coloring:  Copic markers, fine tip Tombow for skinny details  Other:  Penny Black Graceful Holly, Impression Obsession Holiday Bottom Word Edgers, Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Scalloped Rectangle Stacklets (for scalloped edge), stencil from collection found on Amazon, gold pearls, gold self-adhesive trim, Goldenrod Stickles

Gingerbread Couple for Peace on Earth Challenge

Hi again!  It's Thanksgiving week and I'm grocery shopping and cleaning house and setting out some Thanksgiving decor.  Our son will be here to visit through the weekend and I like it to be homey.  Speaking of homey, the Peace on Earth mood board is just about the cutest, most homey looking inspiration I've seen in ages!  Have a look:

I just had to play along!  My gingerbread couple are a long retired and out of business Die-namites die.   The cookies and mug are from a Cottage Cutz set, and the perfect sentiment is retired Power Poppy.

Of course, I had to add the Ric Rac Border.  I'm surprised those dies are not worn out yet, I've used them so often over the years.  The sparkly gold bow and stars have punched glitter centers for low dimension.  Oh, and how about that gingham and polka dot background?  I can't help but smile!

Not one bit of anything new was used on this card, just this and that from the toy box.  What fun!

Our friends at the Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge are celebrating their 100th challenge.  Congratulations Diane and Darlene and all the team designers who create such wonderful samples!  There are two prize packages kindly being shared, too.  The Two D's put an amazing lot of work into the bazillion challenges they run, and I would just like to say "thank you"!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Stamps:  Retired Power Poppy sentiment  Paper:  Neenah 80 & 110 lb white, other scraps, mixed designer papers from The Vast Hoard  Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa for sentiment, other Stampin' Up for die cuts  Coloring:  Ink blending with brushes, Copics for small parts  Dies:  All oldies -- Die-namites Gingerbread Couple, Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers and Stitched Scalloped Circles, Cottage Cutz Warm & Cozy Cocoa, Taylored Expressions Ric Rac Borders, Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set, Bow from a TH Sizzix set  Other:  1/8" hole punch for tiny circles

Joyful Moose

Hi there!  I'm still working on Christmas cards.  It's a time consuming process and delightful, though I won't be sorry when I'm done with them for this year.  I need to simplify, but I have all these new toys yet to use, sigh.  Today I'm playing along in Jo's Christmas Kickstart Challenge:

I wanted to make something fun for the "Just Add Antlers" prompt, and use something from my NBUS basket in the process.  In this case it's the Tim Holtz Forest Shadows set (trees and stars), which made a good background for my previously enjoyed TH Merry Moose.

It's mostly retired Stampin' Up sandable cardstock.  Love that stuff and have a tendency to hoard it, tsk, but it's so fun!  The trees are plain cardstock, SU Basic Gray in the front, black in the back.  I wanted to make the very dark Basic Gray more interesting so I swiped the Basic Gray ink pad directly over the trees, bottom to top.  The darker patches are the ink.  I was pleasantly surprised at the result.

Patches of snow were added with sparkly flocking.  There is Stickles sparkle on the stars and on the moose accessories.  The "joy" is plain cardstock and also TH Sizzix.  I'm gradually adding to my Tim Holtz collection when it's on sale.

Many thanks to Christmas Kickstart for heading me in this direction.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I mustn't forget Darnell's NBUS Challenge #80, either.  She's a cheerleader in our efforts to reduce our piles of never before used schtuff.  As mentioned, my NBUS today is the Forest Shadows die.

I appreciate all of you for stopping by to visit.  It's nice to take a moment now and then.  Be well and stay crafty!

Stamps:  Only inside sentiment  Paper:  Various retired Stampin' Up sandable cardstock, black, other various scraps  Ink:  SU Basic Gray, Copics to color moos accessories  Dies:  Tim Holtz Sizzix Merry Moose, Forest Shadows, Holiday Words Script  Other:  Diamond Stickles, Sparkly Fluff (flocking)

Just Us Girls #802 -- Mood Board Week

Hi friends!  Here I am again with my third guest appearance with Just Us Girls.  This week they have a fun mood board for our inspiration.  I love a mood board!  How about you?

Here's a bigger look at the inspiration:

When you look at my card you may wonder where the inspiration is.  Honestly, I was thinking of the mug and the stars.  Somewhere along the line I forgot this Santa is a mug (see the handle?) and I made his hat red and even added a pom pom which I thought Spellbinders must have forgotten.  It wasn't until the card was done and photographed and up on the blog that I realized where I went wrong.  I suppose we can pretend you remove his hat to sip the cocoa, sheesh.

He's still cute, though.  The die set is Spellbinders Cocoa Greetings, and it includes the makings for a penguin and a reindeer mug.  I'll have better luck with those and you'll be seeing them shortly.

The card base was pulled from my stash of made-ahead card bases.  This one was complete with the embossed panel and all I had to do was add the peppermint stripe paper to make it ready for my focal panel.  A closer look below... you can picture in your mind's eye the much greater degree of sparkle than the camera picked up.

That's all for today!  Come along to Just Us Girls and be inspired by the fabulous team cards, and then show us yours.  You all amaze me with your ideas!

Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Spellbinders Stay Snuggly clear stamp and die of the month (July this year)  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 & 110 lb, scraps colored CS, copper glitter CS, scrap designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Dies:  Spellbinders Cocoa Greetings small die of the month (July this year), Spellbinders Essential Stylish Ovals, Sizzix Primitive Stars  Other:  Spellbinders Christmas Wrap embossing folder, Diamond Stickles, dimensional foam dots

On the Lookout for Santa

Hello friends!  Just one sweet Anita Jeram card today, aptly named On the Lookout.  I have a very similar picture of my son when he was little, so this one tugs at my heart strings.

I watercolored with my trusty Tombows, matted with red, and then glued to an embossed grocer's kraft card base.  The gold glittery stars were cut from two different Tim Holtz Sizzix sets.  There is also glitter applied to the white stocking trim.

Short and sweet!  The days are full of life stuff and I'm off and running again.  Take care of you and have a beautiful day!

Stamps:  Colorado Craft Company On the Lookout  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico 140 lb hot press watercolor, red CS, grocer's kraft CS, shimmer white for sentiment circle, gold glitter for stars  Ink:  Ranger Archival Watering Can, Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment  Coloring:  Watercolor with Tombow markers  Other:  Stickles Stardust glitter, Memory Box Pinecone and Berries embossing folder, ancient Spellbinders small circle die, stars from two different TH Sizzix sets

Just Us Girls Word Week -- Winter

Hello again!  It's Word Week at Just Us Girls, with the prompt word being "winter".  If it doesn't feel wintry where you are yet, you know it's right around the corner.  Brrrr!

The character I used for this challenge has been in my die stash (with her reindeer and fox companions) for a good long while and it's been seven years since I've used the set.  It was about time, don't you think?

In order to make her all the more wintry I paired her with Penny Black's Crystal Frames die set which includes the frame and background pieces and the sentiment.  The pink snowflakes are an oldie Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set.  I inked the sentiment with a brush, and Copic colored whatever other small parts needed it.  All very simple and fun!

Do pop over to Just us Girls to see the awesome team samples, and then we'd love to have you play along with your own wintry creation.  It'll be fun!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Stamps:  Only inside sentiment  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 90 & 110 lb, Stampin' Up Pool Party sandable cardstock, scrap designer paper  Ink:  SU Rose Red  Coloring:  Copics and ink blending with brush  Dies:  Lisa Horton Creative Expressions Stitched Christmas Characters, Penny Black Crystal Frames, Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set

Another Batch of Christmas Cards

Hello dear crafty friends!  So here I am again, still trying to get through all my not-yet-used Christmas crafting goodies.  I tend to always have too much Cottage Cutz because they're so extremely marked down in the sales.  I'll keep whittling away at them, but some may have to wait till next year.

Today I focused on Cottage Cutz deer and bear, with a whole lot of other well-loved extras from my stash to help in the making.  The first card design is thanks to the (past) Freshly Made Sketch #707 which I loved for using designer paper.  Thank you, FMS!

Cottage Cutz Elegant Deer w/Wreath, Memory Box Peace Cheshire Script
Memory Box Stitched Circle Layers,  Poppystamps Stitched Landscapes
Die-namites Slender Trees

Reindeer Postage next.  I thought I would make an effort to finish off an old Echo Park paper pad.  I'm not quite there yet.

Cottage Cutz Reindeer Postage
Mix of retired dies and Power Poppy sentiment

The Folk Art Bear in the next card is not a Christmas die, but as a polar bear I think he works.  I put a poinsettia on his bottom and added a fitting sentiment.

Cottage Cutz Folk Art Bear, Penny Black Crystal Frames, Frantic Stamper Believe
Poppystamps Small Blooming Poinsettia
Poppystamps Believe in Magic sentiment

Finally, a Santa bear peeking over a snow bank in a stenciled birch tree forest.

Cottage Cutz Peeking Santa Bear, Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames
Poppystamps Stitched Landscapes, Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set
Lawn Cuts Fancy Wavy Banners & Winter Wavy Sayings
Lawn Clippings (Lawn Fawn) Birch Tree Stencil

Challenges:

Love Those Pretty Papers -- Optional Forest Critters.  My first card is specific for this challenge.
NBUS Challenge #80-- Each of the Cottage Cutz dies on these cards is never before used schtuff.

 

Thank you so much for visiting during this busy season.  Happy everything!

Penny Black Christmas

Hello and welcome, friends!  Five more Christmas cards are in the box now that I've finished a batch with a set from my Penny Black collection.  Wintertime Cheer goes back to 2016, but it's new to me this year.  I colored and cut out all the images -- Tombow markers & blender on watercolor paper -- and then assembled into cards.

To begin, I'm playing along with Jo and Elf Loll at the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where this month's theme is "Snow Alert".  My furry friend is determined to deliver his presents so he loaded up his trailer and is trundling through the white stuff with more flakes falling as he goes.

Taylored Expression Jingle all the Way, Memory Box Bauble Snowflake,
Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set, white acrylic paint,
Simple Stories Fresh Snow designer paper

There is Diamond Stickles for sparkle, glaze on the jingle bells, a background from my stash behind the sentiment panel.

The next card is the simplest and my favorite of the bunch.  You'd think I'd learn.  I'm trying.

Penny Black Joy Edger and Graceful Holly
stash sentiment

From dogs to cat and mouse... I used some ages old designer paper on the sentiment and scattered die cut poinsettias and snowflakes below.  Pine branches lightly texture the white space overhead.

Penny Black Jolly Edger, Memory Box Seraphine Laurel (poinsettias)
Impression Obsession Small Snowflake Set
Tim Holtz Sizzix Pine Branches embossing folder

Finally, two cards, one photo.  

Penny Black Joy & Warmth sentiments, Penny Black Wood Floor
Impression Obsession Birch Tree Rectangle and Small Snowflake Set
Memory Box Seraphine Laurel, Poppystamps Prim and Proper Bow
MFT Die-namics Stitched Rectangle Frames

That wraps it up!  How about some challenges?

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #103 - Snow Alert -- Sending my first card along for that.
Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #98 -- The team has amazing samples following an inspiring mood board.  I'm sending my humble tractor & dog to join the convoy.
NBUS Challenge #79 -- Never before used schtuff.  Today my PB Wintertime Cheer, Jolly Edger, Joy Edger, and Graceful Holly are all being used for the first time

 

 

All my remaining Christmas cards will be made with never before used supplies as I have managed to gather quite a collection this year through sales, gifts, and just plain love of the craft.  Not sorry.

Thank you for coming to say "hi"!  I appreciate you and wish you a happy day!

Polar Friends x 2

Hello everyone!  One last card for the week and, yes, I've used the Simon Says Stamp Ocean Horizons die again.  This time it's a moonlit sky for a Christmas card.  Ink blended and splattered with water, it made the ideal background for this sweet stamp from the Penny Black Christmas Cubs set.  I loved every stamp in the PB Christmas release, but with unprecedented reserve I chose just one for now.

I colored with Copics and hand cut the images.

Dreaming up a quicker process...  I cut the die from 80 lb Neenah card stock and the pieces stayed in the die as I'd hoped.  I next applied strips of 1 1/2" wide Scor-tape (or sookwang tape) to the back of the die, pressing it firmly onto all the cardstock pieces.  I was then able to pull the overlapping tape tabs to carefully lift the cut pieces out as a whole.  I brushed on the inks, removed the backing and applied the panel to my card front.  Very quick!

I added sparkle to the snow.  Maybe you can see it a little bit in the picture below.

While I was at it I naturally had to color the second image in the set.  This time I stamped and colored directly onto the paper.  Brushed inks onto the background and cut some snowflakes from Penny Black's Crystal Frames.  The sentiment is a much older Penny Black birthday sentiment, Wrap a Hug, which I thought it was pretty cute with the image.  💛  There's a Christmas sentiment inside.

Challenges today:

Peace on Earth #96 -- They have a fabulous inspiration board, but anything goes as long as it's Christmas.
Penny Black Saturday Challenge -- Anything goes Penny Black, optional spots and/or stripes
NBUS Challenge #78 -- Never before used schtuff.  My PB Christmas Cubs stamp set was NBUS.

  

Thank you so much for visiting.  Have a happy day!

Stamps:  Penny Black Christmas Cubs and Wrap a Hug  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 lb, Stampin' Up Bashful Blue, something shimmery navy on Card #2  Ink:  Memento London Fog for stamped images, Memento Tuxedo Black for sentiment on Card #1, various Stampin' Up blues for backgrounds  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Penny Black Crystal Frames for snowflakes on Card #2, Diamond Stickles glitter glue, 1 1/2" Scor-tape as explained in post