Silvery Snowflakes

Oo! Oo!  Check it out!!!  Another new post!!  I tell you what, when Lissie's here, we just sit and make cards all day.  It's wonderful!  :o) 

Looking over the cards I've made the past week, I think it's safe to say I'm definitely on a silver kick this year.  And sponging.  And in love with Smoky Slate, and "Endless Wishes".  It's all so delightfully lovely and fun.  I always forget just how much fun I have paper crafting.
 

It's been such a cloudy, gloomy December thus far (except for last Monday which was insanely gorgeous and I had no chance to be out in...) and a sponged Smoky Slate background really seems to capture that grey. 

I'm okay with that grey when there are snowflakes involved.  When there are shimmery heat embossed snowflakes involved, even better.  :o) 

I set off the sentiment using Garden Green and Real Red (because, at heart, I think I must prefer a traditional Christmas card sometimes).  It's one layer, but it's far from simple.  :oP

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This card uses:

*Inks: Smoky Slate, VersaMark, Real Red, Garden Green
*Paper: PTI white card stock
*Stamp Set: Endless Wishes
*Accessories: Silver embossing powder, heat tool

Festive Wishes

 I'm trying to be better about posting and sharing here, sweet little neglected blog.  I make the cards, I just don't take the time to post, like I should. 

So, maybe this is the time I turn over a new leaf?  :o) 

Looking at all the cards I've made the past few days (when Lissie's here we make cards like dervishes) I realized that this year seems to be my year of silver and blue and white (oh, and pops of red and green) Christmas cards. 

I loved the little card I posted a couple of days ago so much I had to have another go at making it, this time pairing it with "Endless Wishes".

I sponged in some Smoky Slate ink and added snowflakes, stamping off and then stamping them.  I removed the frame, used ye olde embossing buddy on the left hand side and stamped the tree using silver Encore Ink.  I'm an absolute dunce when it comes to craft ink, always forgetting I've stamped and set the card aside to dry and I ultimately end up smearing the ink everywhere.  UGH!!

To save me from myself, I sprinkled the ink with an iridescent ice embossing powder and heat set it.  Then, I added the sentiment, (thank you, Stamp-A-Majig!) making sure to leave room for the little cardinal.  Real Red ink...that's another one I have trouble keeping off my fingers and hands and white space...:oP 

May I go off-topic just a moment and gush about just how much I'm LOOOOVING Smoky Slate this season?  It's the perfect grey for a snowy wintery sky.  :o)

And, here's the frame I used to mask my area.  I cut a piece of card stock to 4.25"x5.5".  I then cut a piece 2.5"x3.75" and centered it on my larger piece.  (I'm very comfortable just eyeballing some things, such as this) and traced around it.  I then cut out the center using my paper trimmer.  Perfect! 

More and more lately I've found my style and tending towards simpler, more CAS cards.  In fact, I find myself more often than not making one layer cards.  Those can sometimes be tricky to make, especially if you need something to anchor your image.  Hello, sponging!  As an added bonus to these holiday cards I'm making, the sponging makes it look like a snowy sky.  Delightful! :o)

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This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: Endless Wishes, Four the Holidays, Festival of Trees
*Inks: Smoky Slate, Encore Silver, Garden Green, Real Red
*Paper: PTI white
*Accessories: embossing powder, heat tool

Season's Greetings for PP224

Hello, little neglected card blog, how have you been?  Me? Oh, well, you know, not making cards and posting them as I should.  When I don't make cards the mojo fades, and when the mojo fades, making cards becomes more challenging.  This is especially problematic when facing the holiday season and the need for Christmas cards to send.  Eep!

What's a girl to do when the mojo's just not there?  Find a challenge, of course!  I found a fun one over at The Paper Players, a fun Tic-Tac-Toe challenge from Jaydee. 

See?

I had purchased "Festival of Trees" back and October and done nothing with it.  D'oh.  Well, looking at that top row, there was "tree".  Perfect!  I decided I really like diagonals and went with the center "embossing" and finished with "glitter" because I really can't get enough glitter.  Ever.  ;o)

I pulled out a retired stamp set, "Four the Holidays", and stamped the sentiment in Garden Green using my stamp-a-majig (I swear, there's no way for me to get sentiments straight otherwise).  Next I stamped the filigree and flower tree in VersaMark (after using my embossing buddy to clear the way--why have I never used this before? I've never had such crisp wet embossed images!) and heat embossed it using silver.  To finish off the stamped image and complete my visual triangle, I used Real Red to stamp in the little cardinal that came with the "Festival of Trees". 

I adhered that image block to a piece of glimmer paper cut an 1/8" smaller to create a matte and then used dimensionals to pop the image up on the base.

I have to say, after not stamping and paper crafting for a couple of months, it's been lovely to get back in the saddle. :o)

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This card uses:

*Stamp Sets: "Four the Holidays" (retired), "Festival of Trees"
*Ink: Garden Green, Real Red, VersaMark
*Paper: PTI white card stock, SU! silver glimmer paper
*Accessories: silver embossing powder, dimensionals