Season's Greetings

I'm happy to be creating and planning for some card making fun at my house this weekend.  It's never too early to begin preparing for the Holidays so we'll be focusing on Christmas cards ... which I hope everyone will enjoy.  Although the colors in this project are not traditional, the patterned paper is so beautiful I had to stop hoarding and bring it out to share.  Our special this month is "Buy 3 Designer Series Papers get 1 FREE" (click here to see more).  So today I present ... Paisley Petals.  The colors are rich, regal, and so warm.  I paired this paper collection with the frame from Notably Ornate stamped in Bravo Burgundy Classic Ink.  The sentiment is from Welcome Christmas .. a wonderful set with vintage silhouettes and more.  A bit of lace is always a good thing ...   

Seam binding dyed in blue with a sweet burgundy flower below....

 

And simple white buttons lined up in a row ...

I love getting ready for Christmas.  Enjoy your day!

So Sweet in Pink and Blue ...

 

It has been a busy week, my friends.  Family visits, Holiday cheer, and a bit of Christmas shopping done.  How are you doing on your list?  I'm getting through mine very slowly this year.  It was a welcome relief to spend some time in my craft room ... and make a little something to share with you today.  Mona never fails to inspire the artist in all of us with a collection of beautiful images on her blog Cupcake's Creations.  All in a palette of pink, light blue, and tan ... they remind me of robins eggs, cotton candy, and days gone by when life was slower and pleasures simple.  Beautiful.

For my project I began with Baja Breeze cardstock layered with Crumb Cake cardstock.  Color and pattern came from Designer Series papers.  The pink polka dot print is from my scrap drawer and the blue stripe is part of the Elegant Soiree collection.  The papers in this package are gorgeous - you should take a look!  A "doily" was die cut from Very Vanilla cardstock and sponged with Crumb Cake Classic Ink.  Another dig through my scrap drawer produced a sweet checked background paper in vanilla and tan.  I stamped it with the wreath from our Welcome Christmas stamp set ... do you think I could ever tire of this set?  I should just leave it out on my table until after the Holidays ... they have been my "go to" stamps for weeks!  "Merry Christmas" was added with Basic Black Classic Ink and comes from the All Holidays set.

Embellished with lightly dyed seam binding, a soft pink felt flower, buttons from the Candy Cane Big Designer and Soft Subtles collections, and of course Basic Rhinestone Jewels ... this card is sweet and simple.

You'll find other Holiday greetings from all over the world at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  There are so many fabulous things to see ... be sure you spend some time there.

It was wonderful of you to stop by today.  I hope you enjoyed your visit!


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Pure and Simple

 

Hello everyone.  We have the bare bones of our Christmas tree up with the little ones waiting patiently for me to go get some new lights.  How do they burn out sitting in a box all year?  It's a mystery.  But before I go on my errands today, I wanted to share some inspiration with you.

There are so many talented artists in this field of stamping and creating, I am in awe of their work.  Surely I spend too much time wandering through different blogs and challenges amazed at what I see.  The City Crafter challenge this week is "Little Children" ... such sweetness to see there.  Play Date Cafe combines the colors of red, olive, and turquoise into a gorgeous combination.  The Waltzing Mouse sketch this week is simplicity at it's best and I tried to do the same ... keep it simple.  Here's a look at my inspiration -

Digging through my drawer of scraps, I found my three colors.  We often think of red and green together, especially this time of year, but adding just a little turquoise makes the colors sing!  The bow is made from my favorite ribbon (it ties like a dream) Old Olive Striped Ribbon.  I know it's a bit big but with so little embellishment on this simple layout, I thought the card could "carry the weight" ... so to speak.  I added another touch of red with a button from the  Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons collection tied on with Natural Hemp Twine.

I used the children sledding image from Welcome Christmas stamped in Basic Black Classic ink on Very Vanilla cardstock.  The silhouettes in this stamp set are just beautiful.  Various dies along with our Decorative Label Punch created the layered shapes.  Edges were antiqued with the Distressing Essentials kit.  And I just couldn't resist placing a few Basic Pearls above the silhouettes and then raising the focal point with Dimsensionals.

Time to go get some lights and garland for the house ... thanks for visiting with me today!

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A splash of burgundy



Something about the combination of black and white speaks elegance.  Add a splash of burgundy and you have something glorious.  The fabulous Design Team at The Play Date Cafe know all about it.  Their challenge for this week is just that ... a color combination inspired by this wonderful photo of columbine.

Add in a pattern, like damask as described by Moxie Fab World (the inspiration here is something you must see) and you have a vintage card for the Holidays.

The card base is Bravo Burgundy cardstock layered with Whisper White.  The photo is at an angle so that you could see the color clearly.  Only two classic ink pads were used - Bravo Burgundy (tag) and of course Basic Black.  I layered on various scraps of black and white Designer Series Papers - some edged with our Eyelet Border Punch or our Scallop Edge Border Punch.  The outside edges were brushed with Frost White Shimmer Paint to add a bit of soft reflection.  The stamp set is pure vintage (the theme for this weeks challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show).  This silhoutte is just one of the stamps that I adore in this set ... and there is so much more.  It's called Welcome Christmas. 

The bow is pure and simple.  A length of Black Satin tied around a scrap of Black and White Striped Grosgrain.  As you can tell  ... I save any little piece of this fabulous ribbon.  The sweet little tag is punch out with our Jewelry Tag Punch and is actually just a piece of the sentiment found in A Wish for Peace stamp set.  I encourage you to look at your greetings and sentiments ... there is lots of potential with this little punch.  Tied on with white string and embellished with stick pins, buttons, and Black Flourish Designer Jewels - my card is complete.

I hope you enjoyed today's visit...thank you for stopping by!


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