#RRCB53 Christmas Blessings To You

Hi Stampers!!

Woohoo!  I am super excited to be the Guest Designer for the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog #53 Color Challenge!  

One of the perks of playing along with the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog is that if you are chosen as the challenge favorite, you have the opportunity to guest design for one of their future challenges!

One of the rules of The Retro Rubber Challenge Blog is that you need to use stamps that are over a year old so I pulled out two retired Stampin’ Up!  stamp sets- Winter Memories for the sled image and Christmas Blessings for the sentiment (both are several years old).

I am also linking this card to the Simon Wednesday “Anything Goes” Challenge- wonderful inspiration from all!

To create this card:

Use the Big Shot™ with the retired Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder to emboss a piece of Whisper White cardstock, trim and mount onto a piece of Cherry Cobbler, then again onto Garden Green cardstock.

Add the white crochet lace and ½” Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, wrapping the ends around the panel.

Mount the entire panel onto the Whisper White card base.

Ink the retired sled image from Winter Memories using Stampin’ Archival™ Basic Black Ink, stamp onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock and water color with Stampin’ Write Markers- Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Tip Top Taupe, Soft Suede and Pool Party using an AquaPainter™.

Use the Heat Tool to dry the watercolor panel, add white highlights with an extra fine white paint pen ad die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die.

Mount the watercolor panel onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock, trim and mount onto Garden Green cardstock and add to the card front with dimensional foam.

Finish off the card with the ½” Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding bow, sentiment and pearls.

Stamp Sets: Winter Memories, Christmas Blessings

Ink: Basic Black Stampin’ Archival™, Stampin’ Write Markers- Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Tip Top Taupe, Soft Suede and Pool Party ; Extra Fine White Paint Pen

 Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

Accessories: Big Shot™, retired Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, MFT Stitched Rectangle STAX Dies, AquaPainter™, retired Hexagon Punch, White Crochet Lace, ½” Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- it is such an encouragement to me!  I hope you will take the time to visit the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog, and if you are able, come join in on the fun!

Another Christmas In July- A Non-Traditional Color Combo :-)

Hi Stampers! 

I am still working on trying to master the Clean and Simple style (as most of you know this is a style that is very difficult for me- I always want to distress or sponge something- lol!! :-) 

I thought the CAS Colours and Sketches #83 Challenge would be perfect for a different color combo for Christmas and this is one of my designs for the SplitcoaststampersCCC14 Christmas Card Challenge.    

I hope you will have time to check out the both challenge sites for so much inspiration!!

I decided to incorporate My Digital Studio (MDS) with traditional card making techniques and our new Stampin’ Blendabilities™ for this CAS card- I love how the Stampin’ Blendabilities™ work so well with printed MDS images :-)

To create this card:

Open a blank document in My Digital Studio (MDS), position the skate image from Winter Memories and the sentiment from More Merry Messages and print out onto Whisper White cardstock.  

Color the skate image using the Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blendabilities™ Light Marker (for the blades, heel and laces) and Stampin’ Write markers- Mossy Meadow for the holly, Perfect Plum for the berries and Elegant Eggplant for the ribbon.  Add a few highlights to the berries using the Chalk Marker.

Carefully cut out the image and attach using Stampin’  Dimensionals® to a Whisper White cardstock circle punched using the 2 ½” Circle (layered onto another split 2 ½” Circle from Elegant Eggplant cardstock split to reveal a small border).   

 **** Shhh- here is my secret!  Ideally you could just punch out the image and layer but I accidentally went outside of the lines on the blade image when I was coloring with the Smoky Slate Blendabilities™ marker, so to salvage the image, I decided to fussy-cut.... I would recommend staying within the lines- duh!!  :-) *****

Layer a strip of Elegant Eggplant to the edge of a piece of Mossy Meadow cardstock, adhere a piece of Perfect Plum Designer Series Paper with a scrap strip of Elegant Eggplant onto the Mossy Meadow layer and add the Whisper White piece onto the top. 

Trim the layered panel to 4” x 5 ¼”, mount onto a piece of Elegant Eggplant cardstock and adhere to the Whisper White card base.

Add the skate image circle to the card front along with the sentiment layer (banner points were created using the Hexagon Punch and layer onto a piece of Elegant Eggplant, also punching points using the Hexagon Punch).

Adhere the Perfect Plum button with Natural Linen Thread to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Winter Memories, More Merry Messages  (MDS versions)

Ink: Printer Ink- Black, Blendabilities™- Smoky Slate Collection (Light marker), Stampin’ Write Markers- Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Chalk Marker

Paper: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Mossy Meadow, Perfect Plum DSP (retired Hostess Level I pack)

Accessories: Punches- 2 ½” Circle, Hexagon, Natural Linen Thread, retired Subtles button

Thanks again for visiting- I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!!

DD82 CAS Cardinal Christmas- Card #3

Hi Again Stampers! 

Here is card #3 that I created using this week’s DD82 DynamicDuos Bright and Cheery Color Combination of Primrose Petals and Gumball Green (here is the post for card #1 and card #2).

I hope these cards have inspired you to create a project with the two colors and link it up at the Dynamic Duos site- we would love to see your creations!!

While I have the actual stamp set, I decided to use My Digital Studio (MDS) to create this quick, easy CAS card:

Open a blank 8.5x11 page in MDS and insert the image from Winter Memories (I re-sized the image a bit).  Also add the sentiment from Endless Wishes, remembering to leave enough room to be able to cut out the image using the Oval Collection Framelits™.

Print the images onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock and color the cardinals and the bow using the Primrose Petals Stampin’ Write marker, the wreath using the Gumball Green Stampin’ Write marker and add a few shadows to the wood paneling/sled using a Sahara Sand Stampin’ Write marker.  Use the Chalk Marker to add a few highlights to the wreath. 

Use the Big Shot™ with the Ovals Collection Framelits™ to cut out the sled image. 

Emboss a piece of Whisper White cardstock using the Woodgrain Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder and add to a piece of Primrose Petals cardstock and adhere to the Gumball Green card base.

Add the focal image using Stampin’ Dimensionals® and add the triple 3/8” Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon bow to the corner and the sentiment using Stampin’ Dimensionals® to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Winter Memories, Endless Wishes (MDS version-both current)

Ink: Printer Ink- Black, Stampin’ Write Marker- Primrose Petals, Gumball Green, Chalk Marker 

Paper: Whisper White, Primrose Petals, Gumball Green

Accessories:  Big Shot™, Woodgrain Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, Ovals Collection Framelits™, Hexagon Punch, Pearls, 3/8” Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon

Thanks again for stopping by- you are all such an encouragement to me!  Again, top by and visit us at The Dynamic Duos- we hope to see your DD82 “Bright and Cheery” creation thisweek!!  

Winter Memories for the PP158 Paper Players

Hi Stampers! 

I hope all of you are enjoying your week so far!  I needed to have a crafting break today so I decided to create a card for The Paper Players PP158 Color Challenge along with another design for my August commitment to the CCC13 Splitcoaststampers Christmas Card Challenge.  If you have not had a chance to visit The Paper Players site yet, please take a moment to do so- love their Design Team samples!  

I decided to use My Digital Studio (MDS) again to create another Christmas card and utilize traditional card making techniques for this “hybrid” card.   This version is a bit "clean” for my normal style- I have updated with two other versions - see below :-) 

Original version- see below for revised vintage style  and update with White Gel Pen :-)

To create this card:

Open MDS and insert the stamp brush set images from Winter Memories along with the sentiment from More Merry Messages.  Print the images onto an 8 ½ x 11 piece of Whisper  White cardstock using Black Printer Ink.

Color the images with Stampin’ Write markers as follows:

Crisp Cantaloupe for the sleigh and bow, Pear Pizzazz for the wreath, Strawberry Slush for the cardinals and highlighting the ribbon and bow, Sahara Sand for highlighting the wood behind the sleigh, add a few areas for the shadows and a layer over the sleigh and follow with another layer of Crisp Cantaloupe.

"Clean" with the White Gel Pen :-)

With the Big Shot™ with the Oval Collection Framelits™, cut an oval in a Strawberry Slush cardstock layer.  Emboss with the Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder and add the focal image behind the oval.

Layer this panel onto Whisper White cardstock and then again onto a Pear Pizzazz card base. 

Trim the sentiment, add the banner points with the 1” Square Punch and layer onto a piece of Pear Pizzazz cardstock and add to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals®. 

Use the Big Shot™ with the Northern Frost Decorative Strip (retired) to cut snowflakes from the Whisper White cardstock, add to the card front using Mini Glue Dots™ and finish off the card with Pearls.

Stamp Sets:  Winter Memories, More Merry Messages (all MDS)

Ink: Printer Ink- Black, Stampin’ Write Markers- Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Strawberry Slush

Accessories:  Big Shot™, Ovals Collection Framelits™, Northern Frost Decorative Strip (retired), Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder, 1” Square Punch, Pearls

***  UPDATED VERSION *** 

Vintage- in addtion to the White Gel Pen, Sponging and Distressing :-)

I decided to revise the other three cards to a more vintage style by inking the folder prior to embossing with Crumb Cake Classic Ink as well as adding Crumb Cake over the main image, snowflakes and sentiment, distressing the edges and add some White Gel Pen highlights.  

If you have a chance, let me know which you prefer- the "clean" version or the vintage?  

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- have a great week!

Christmas 2013- Cards for the New Year

Hi Again Stampers!!

I am ashamed to say that I did not create enough Christmas cards in 2012 to mail any at all (only hand delivery) so I am going to be more dedicated in 2013!! 

This card was created for the Splitcoaststampers Christmas Card CCC13 Challenge using the colors from this week’s CQC169 ColourQ Challenge.  I was able to create six cards (I decided that my goal of twenty cards per month will be easier to attain if I create smaller batches of different designs) so I will be sharing Christmas cards every week or so throughout the year to be able to make my goal :-)

  

To create this  “hybrid card”- part digital using traditional elements as well:

Print the skate image using the My Digital Studio (MDS) Winter Memories download (six to a page with black printer ink) along with the MDS sentiment from More Merry Messages (in red printer ink). 

Color the skate image using Stampin’ Write markers in Real Red, Pear Pizzazz and Bermuda Bay (both retired In-Colors).  Use a Watercolor Pencil in Gray to highlight the skate laces, heal and blades.

Use the Big Shot™ to emboss a piece of Basic Gray DSP (I used a retired Hostess Pack) and Pear Pizzazz cardstock with the Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder.  Lightly sand the Basic Gray DSP layer to expose the white core.

Emboss a piece of Whisper White cardstock using the Delicate Designs (Lace)Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder .  Layer the Pear Pizzazz onto the Lace Embossed border and a strip of Whisper White at the top.  Adhere to the embossed Basic Gray layer and mount onto the Whisper White card base. 

Cut the skate images out using the Big Shot™ with Oval Framelits™ and cut a second oval image out of Basic Gray (cut this oval in half and layer behind the skate image).  Adhere the layered oval onto a White Tea Lace Paper Doily and add to the card front.

Add the 5/8” Real Red Satin Ribbon bow along with the sentiment banner to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  None- MDS Winter Memories, MDS More Merry Messages

Ink: Printer Ink-Black, Red; Stampin’ Write Markers- Real Red, Pear Pizzazz, Bermuda Bay, Watercolor Pencil- Gray

Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Basic Gray DSP (retired Hostess Level I Pack)

Accessories:  Big Shot™, Lacy Brocade and Delicate Designs (Lace)Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folders,  Oval Framelits™, White Tea Lace Paper Doily, Sanding Block, 1” Square Punch (for banner points), 5/8” Real Red Satin Ribbon (retired)

Thanks again for stopping by- have a wonderful New Year!

A Vintage Merry Christmas

Hi Again Stampers!

I had a few minutes this evening in my craft room and decided to create another Christmas card using the HSSTC131 Hand Stamped Sentiments Vintage Theme Challenge- if you have not already had a chance to do so, stop by their site to see the wonderful creations from their Design Team as well as the other entries.

Originally I had signed up for the Splitcoaststampers CCC12 Christmas Card Challenge with the goal to create 25 cards a month and I am extremely behind schedule.  I believe what is hampering my progress is the idea of duplicating 25 cards:-).  There are no restrictions that they have to be all the same design,  so for the next month or so, I am going to try to create 5-6 Christmas cards a week (possibly all different designs) and see if this is a better way for me to meet my commitment....there, I said it out loud so you can hold me accountable :-)

To create this card:

Stamp the focal image using Basic Black Classic Ink onto Whisper White cardstock.  Color the image using SU! Watercolor Pencils with the Aqua Painter and once dry, distress the edges with the Distressing Tool along with your fingernail.  

Use a Sponge Dauber to lightly sponge Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso ink to “antique” the image and “spritz” with the Soft Suede marker and the Color Spritzing Tool.  Mount onto Early Espresso cardstock and distress the edges to mimic the focal panel.

With the Big Shot™ emboss a piece of DSP and a small piece of Early Espresso cardstock with the Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder (I used a retired piece from this past year’s Sale-A-Bration "SAB").  Lightly sand the DSP with the Sanding Block to expose the white core.

Ink the interior smooth side of the Fancy Fan Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folder and emboss a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.

Assemble the back panel with the embossed pieces.  Add the Very Vanilla border cut with the Finishing Touches  Edgelits™ die,  string pearls, ½” Very Vanilla Seam Binding triple bow and punched oval with sentiment/pearls to finish off the card.

Stamp Sets:  Winter Memories, Bells and Boughs

 Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Paper: Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Retired DSP (SAB 2012)

Accessories:  Big Shot™, Fancy Fan and Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions™ Embossing Folders, Finishing Touches Edgelits™, SU! Watercolor Pencils, Aqua Painter, Sponge Daubers, X-Large Oval Punch, Distressing Tool, Color Spritzer Tool, SU! Soft Suede Marker, ½” Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Pearls

Thanks again for visiting- I hope all of you have a wonderful week and God Bless!