Snowflake Glamour

As I was laying in bed the other night, I couldn't seem to turn my mind to sleep mode.  I'd been stamping before bed and that is a problem.  Instead of sleeping, the gray matter is still clicking along with color ideas, stamps, and all sorts of creative thoughts and isn't ready to settle down yet!!.  One of the ideas that was percolating around in there was using the new snowflake die with Silver Glimmer paper and making a totally glitzy Christmas card.  I usually go for more of an understated look, but that sure doesn't fit this card at all!  Here's what I came up with for my over-the-top-glitz card...

Stamps:  Greetings of the Season
Ink:  Bravo Burgundy
Paper:  Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Accessories:   Big Shot and Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Framed Tulips TIEF, Piercing Tool and Mat, and Antique Brads

Can you feel the glitz and glamour?  Pictures never do Glimmer Paper justice, but I'm sure you get the idea.  I wanted something a little substantial for the center of the snowflake, so went with the Antique Brads. This one has a pewter tone to it, so it goes nicely with the silver.  But it's dark enough to stand out and not get lost in the glitter.

I wanted to keep things really simple, so the only other adornment is the Framed Tulips embossing around the edge of the cardfront.  I did this on a separate layer so it would be a little sturdier holding up the snowflakes. 

Hope this puts you in the mood for the upcoming holidays.  It sure got me thinking about it!  Have a fun week.  With babysitting, Hostess Club, and meeting at church this week, it's gonna be just a little crazy.  Hope I can squeeze in a little time for stamping too!  Sharon

Pennant Christmas

Today I'm switching from Halloween to Christmas.  I can't seem to stay focused on one at a time and keep switching back and forth.  Sometimes my brain starts feeling like a yo-yo or something.  Anyway, today is a soft-looking Christmas card that isn't too very hard to make.  It was inspired by a card on the display boards at convention, so I have no idea who made the original.  But I enjoyed looking at it, so I hope you will too.  As usual, I've taken the liberty of only staying with the same stamp set and colors.  The rest has been changed around to suit my tastes.  Hope you enjoy this one...

Stamps:  Pennant Parade and Greetings of the Season
Ink:  Pool Party, Crumb Cake, and Soft Suede pads and Pool Party marker
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Pool Party, and Whisper White
Accessories:  Big Shot with Petals Aplenty TIEF, Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Sponge Dauber, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

I wanted lots of texture on this card, so I not only embossed a layer of Crumb Cake, but also crumpled the Whisper White cardstock for the snow.  After attaching the 'snow', I went back with a 2-Way Glue Pen and added swirls of glitter to make it sparkle.

The design needed something small in the top left corner, but nothing seemed to work.  Until I thought of using a marker to color the taffeta ribbon to match.  Making a tiny bow and attaching with a Glue Dot was the final touch.

Hope you like this idea.  This isn't quite a traditional color combo for Christmas cards, but I like how it turned out.  Thanks for stopping in today.  Enjoy your Sunday and take time to rest and reflect.  It helps me get ready for the coming week.  Enjoy!  Sharon

Spooky Canning Jar

I finally got around to sitting down to work with the stamped pieces that wouldn't come together several days ago.  Hey, they finally worked together with some Cajun Craze and Midnight Muse.  What an interesting color combo - a little dark, but it fits in with that 'dark & dreary' line from Poe!  Who would have guessed?  Anyway, here's what I ended up with today...

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, Googlie Ghouls, Wicked Cool, and Wacky Wishes
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Midnight Muse, Basic Gray, and Crumb Cake
Paper:  Midnight Muse, Cajun Craze, and Whisper White
Accessories:   AquaPainter, Big Shot with Spider Web TIEF, Cajun Craze Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon(ret), Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals

As soon as I saw the canning jar, I just knew I wanted to make an empty one with cobwebs in it for fall.  Yes, I know, it's a little weird, isn't it?  I was pulling just about every Halloween stamp I own off the shelves to figure out what would work together.  I wasn't going to stamp a spider inside the jar 'cuz it was too big, but changed my mind at the last minute.

One thing that I always try to do is stick with one style of font on a card.  Welllll.... as you can see, that idea didn't work here at all.  Three different fonts on one card!  How crazy!!

Before putting all the pieces together, I gave them a soft sponging with Crumb Cake so it wasn't so stark white.  I was surprised to see how nicely it also worked sponging the edges of the Cajun Craze spider web layer.  I really didn't think it'd show up much at all, but I was wrong.  Just enough darkening on the edges.

So that's it for today.  I'm so excited that I also finished a card for classes next month already!  I can't show you yet, but it's darn cute!  Stay tuned, I'll be sharing it in about two weeks.  I don't want to ruin the surprise for the class ladies, now do I?!  Have a great week end.  And keep stamping,  Sharon

Blue Delft Tile Style

Last month at convention, I saw a fabulous card that my friend Michelle Breton had made.  It was simple, but gave me a very old-world feel.  I totally forgot to get a picture and was trying to remember what it looked like.  I remembered she has a blog so checked it out and luckily found her card here.  You know how everyone's stamping looks different, even when you're copying someone else's idea.  So, of course my version looks a little different from her original card.  Check her's out and then here's mine...

Stamps:  Everything Eleanor, and Petite Pairs
Ink:  Midnight Muse
Paper:  Midnight Muse and Whisper White
Accessories:   Simply Scored Tool and Diagonal Plate, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, White Organza Ribbon, Sponge Daubers, and Dimensionals

Because of the total blue and white look, along with the diagonal scored lines, this reminds me ofblue delft tiles surrounding an old fireplace.  I just love the crisp look of this!  And it's so easy to do.  Just do your stamping, get out that diagonal plate and the Simply Scored Tool and go to town with it!

I thought of sponging the outside edges of the main white layer, but I refrained and kept it looking as crisp and clean as possible.  I chose a different ribbon than Michelle used, because I wanted it to be white.  Could have used the new Stitched Satin Ribbon in the Midnight Muse color too, but liked this better. 

Hope you love this card as much as I do.  Thanks for sharing your lovely card Michelle!  I really appreciate it!!  Think I might make up a few more for my stash and just change out the sentiment.  Ok, that's it for today, lots of stuff to do.  See you soon...    Sharon

Canned Pears

Here it is Sunday already!  Wow, the week went by so quickly for me.  But I found time today to check out the Saturday Sketch at the Stamping 411 blog here.  I had an idea when I saw the sketch, but try as I might, it just wouldn't come together.  Even my hubby thoughtfully suggested since it wasn't working, I should pack it in and try something else.  So that's what I did!  I still have lots of components sitting on my table though.  Who knows when they might actually become a card or something else?  Anyway, here's what I ended up making with their sketch.  If you check, you'll see I still didn't end up using the sketch as they showed it, but it's close.  Sort of...  Oh well, maybe next time.

Stamps:   Perfectly Preserved and Pursuit of Happiness
Ink:  Summer Starfruit, Cajun Craze, and Midnight Muse
Paper:   Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Soft Suede, and Very Vanilla with Orchard Harvest DSP
Accessories:  Big Shot with Cannery Framelits, Dimensionals

I'm still not sure about the colors working together, but I used the DSP herringbone print as my color guide so they should work.  Maybe the prints are too much together, is that it?  Or maybe I just haven't been spending enough time creating lately and my confidence is shot.  Maybe I should go back and stamp some more.  Yeah, think that's what I'll do...  See you later - Sharon

Shabby Chic Romance

Today you're getting a twofer - two versions of basically the same card.  The first card I'm sharing with you was from class this week.  Usually I cut a few extra pieces of whatever is needed 'just in case'.  And as usual, some of those extras were used.  So the second card I'm sharing is a little different because the fabric strip is missing so I adjusted.  Here, let me show you what I mean...

Stamps:   Bordering On Romance and Friendly Phrases
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black, Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, and So Saffron
Paper:  Certainly Celery, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, and Watercolor Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot with Adorning Accents Edgelits, Twitterpated Flawless Fabric, Piercing Tool and Mat, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, AquaPainter, Curly Label Punch, Baker's Twine, Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals

I haven't used fabric on my cards too often, but I really love the soft look and feel it adds to them.  It was an interesting accent for this card.  The edgelit die and the piercing pack that coordinates with it are wonderful.  I just love the look of piercing, and now I can use it to accent so many edges.  Doesn't it really add to the shabby chic look here?

One of the fun parts of classes is seeing how others' cards are the same but still different.  On this card, some ladies made the watercolored flowers a very pale pink and some were deep and very intense.  How fabulous that you can get such different looks with just one ink pad color!

Now here's the pared down version.  There's no fabric layer, but I still didn't want it too plain, so I added a bit of embossing with the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF.  Still has most of the same components, but a much cleaner, simpler look.  Either way, I'm really happy with this card.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Thanks for stopping by.  It's the weekend, so take some time to create!  Hugs, Sharon

Blending Old and New

I needed to plan some quick cards for the ladies to make last week, so I was pawing through my stash of DSP and found some that I thought would look great with the candy canes I wanted to use.  Of course, the DSP is retired and I didn't have tons of time to check which catalog it came out of.  Soooo, I have no idea what the name of it is, but it worked perfectly for what I had in mind.  So here goes...

Stamps:  Scentsational Season, All Holidays(ret)
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Riding Hood Red, and Whisper White with DSP?
Accessories:   Big Shot with Holiday Collection Framelits and Labels Collection Framelits, Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals

As you can see, the cards are super-simple, but I think they're still cute.  The two different prints of the DSP happen to be opposite sides of the same piece.  So we sort of voted which way the ladies prefered the card, and that's what we made.  Oh, by the way, the vote went to #1 overwhelmingly.  So there you have it.  Any easy way to blend some of your retired DSP and stamps along with the new stamp and framelit combos.  So quick!  So easy!

Have a great Sunday.  Hope your week is blessed.
Sharon

Poinsettia and Pines Christmas CASE

At convention I received a lovely card for a swap from Carolyn Susi.  As soon as I saw her card, I knew I had to get my hands on it!  Since then, I've adjusted her design into a simpler card the ladies at church made for our soldiers last Tuesday night.  Then I played around with it a little more and have come up with a card for class this coming week.  Like I said, I loved Carolyn's design and have enjoyed working with it!!  Can you tell?  Here's what the ladies will be making in class this week...

Stamps:  Watercolor Winter, Perfect Punches, and More Merry Messages
Ink:  Raspberry Ripple and Old Olive
Paper:  Raspberry Ripple, Old Olive, and Whisper White
Accessories:  Raspberry Ripple 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Big Shot with Circles #2 Die, and Dimensionals

First off, I love the color combo of the new Raspberry Ripple paired with Old Olive.  It's a great combo for Christmas or any other time too.

Secondly, I'm so happy with this new 2-Step Watercolor Winter stamp set.  There's something about pine branches and poinsettias that just speak to me at Christmas.  Plus the new set includes a lovely holly and berry spray and pinecone that's going to be so much fun to stamp.  I'm envisioning lots of ways to put these together!

Lastly, the new More Merry Messages stamp set really has great sentiments in lovely fonts to fit all your Christmas card needs.  Yep, for me these two sets are must have for making all those Christmas cards I'll be needing.  Maybe you might need these two in your stamping stash too!  Just click on the order now button and you can get these added to your collection today.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Enjoy your weekend, and take some time to stamp!  Sharon