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

Christmas Card Time Again

I know it's making excuses, and that if I really wanted to, I suppose I could make it into the offudio more often to make cards, but the thing is, it's really REALLY hard to get in there with Ellie in the house.  She's just busy.  Really busy.  I mean a LOT.  I can't do it while she's awake because that is a disaster waiting to happen, and by the time nap time rolls around (hallelujah!) I have to clean up all the messes she has made while she was awake. 

Combine that with rolling into Christmas season and there are myriad things that must be done, such as, oh, I don't know, making all the Christmas candy and cookies for the family. Oh, and let's not forget, Christmas cards!  Ack!

How in the world did I get it all done when I was working? 

The thing is, I LOVE making cards.  I adore it, even.  It is a huge stress release for me to get in there and fiddle around with papers and stamps.  Methinks I just need to get in there and do it, and not stress about everything else so much.  I mean, the messes will still be there when I'm done, right? ;o)

Anyhow, enough rambling.  I typically make 20 cards each of four or five designs, thereby saving myself from the insanity of making 80-100 cards that are all the same.  I pulled out a couple of sets I've never used and decided to ink them up. 

See those lovely pieces of fleece up there?  I saw them next to each other in JoAnn and knew Miss Bean had to have a blanket made from them (Lil will be making it for her).   Inspired by the colors, I decided to make a retro-looking Christmas card.  Even better?  The Paper Players challenge this week is to create a Christmas card using non-traditional stamps and/or colors.  I do believe this fits the bill.

Isn't it fabulous?  I've been in love with Cherry Cobbler since it was released, and knew I wanted to use it on my cards this year.  It is such a deep, rich and luscious red I couldn't resist.  Then, there was Pool Party, my most favorite of the In Colors this year.  Paired with a funky stamp, my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig and a straight line, I was golden.  :o)  This is design one for the year.  I haven't done anything with the inside yet, but will.

My card making endeavors always include a number of mock-ups.  I play around until a design looks good to me.  Sometimes I wind up with more than one and others I have to scrap the entire idea. 

Well, yesterday I had another card come together using the same stamp sets and colors.  Score!  Card number two is a go.  :o)  I was worried I might become numb using the same colors over and over, but given my love of these two colors, I don't think that will be a problem at all. 

I still have at least two more designs to come up with, but hey, I'm half way there! 

These cards use:
Stamp Sets: "Snow Burst", "Four the Holidays"
Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Silver Glimmer
Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party
Accessories: snowflake punch (non-SU!), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

I suppose I had better be off to the offuido once more...
--Rach