Merry Monday #283 {Life is a beautiful ride...Happy Holidays}

WARNING: This doggy card WILL hurt your eyes! It will hurt your eyes looking for the doggy! LOL! I'm sorry, friends, I just couldn't resist! That is a joke from one of my favorite John Wayne movies "True Grit", except they're joking about chicken! 

Leanne has asked us to add a puppy into our Christmas cards this week. I realized that I didn't own a single Christmas set that had a dog. I was excited that it meant I could do a little shopping! I perused Simon Says Stamp and came up with so many amazing results! Once I had the stamp set and die cuts in my cart, the supplies needed to make my doggy card would be well over 50 dollars! A voice of reason came washing over me and I went back to the drawing board. I wracked my brain trying to think of ANY dog stamps or images that I had and then a light bulb went off...I remembered the sweet little doggy from the Pedal Pusher stamp set and knew that would just HAVE to do!

I was pleased because it looks like he was made to come peeking out of the holly berries cascading from the bicycle basket. I was also happy to use this set for this week's challenge because I have never actually used it for a Christmas card! I love it so much because it is such a versatile set with so many little additions and sentiments.

 My color palette ended up being a little more "Grinchy" than I was anticipating, but it looks fresh and springy, which is what I am hoping for in real life! LOL! To begin, I used the coordinating Pedal Pusher die cuts to die cut the dog, the bicycle, and the cascading holly. I used my MISTI to align the bicycle parts and the basket. I stamped the body of the bike in Pure Poppy Ink and the wheel portion in Smokey Shadow Ink. The holly is stamped using Simply Chartreuse Ink. 

I die cut the Mix and Mat: Postal Die using Stamper's Select White cardstock and then sponged on some "Peeled Paint" Distress Oxide ink. I spritzed it with some Shimmer Spray for some sparkle and to get a bit of oxidation in the ink. The "Happy Holidays" sentiment is heat embossed using silver powder onto a strip of Pure Poppy cardstock. I adhered it to the postal portion along with the bike using foam squares.

I intended to have this card be a horizontal card rather than vertical, but realized I wouldn't be able to add the "Life is a beautiful ride" sentiment. I added that to a 4 by 5 1/4 inch piece of white cardstock at the bottom. I decided to balance things off with a few sprigs of greenery from the Spruce and Sprigs stamp set and the coordinating dies.

I decided to add in some additional pops of red with some Nuvo drops. I think I may have gone a little overboard, but what is doen is done! LOL! They're just too fun to keep squeezing and adding and squeezing and adding! LOL! I hope you get a chance to join us this week! Thanks for fluttering by!

Keeping Christmas {Deck the Halls and Fa la la la la} gift card holders and key wristlets

Well, it's the 25th and that means it is time for a new "Keeping Christmas" blog hop! Can I just say how fun it is doing this with friends?!? I am so happy to have such a fabulous group of ladies on this hop...and without further adieu...here is the lineup!

Kelly Lunceford

Lesley Croghan (out this month)

Anita Madden

Broni Holcombe

Claire Broadwater

Julee Tilman

Kim Heggins

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Rachel Bergfeld

Vicki Finger

For my project this month, I decided to work on something that always becomes a last minute scramble every.single.year.no.matter.what! LOL! My daughter usually comes home from school, like the day before winter break, in a panic exclaiming that she needs X amount of gifts for friends! By this point, I am DONE....D.O.N.E. So...I decided to get those out of the way TODAY! YAY ME! She will be a Sophmore by Christmas {did I really just type that?..eek} and she will have lots of friends getting their driver's licenses or already driving. She has a summer birthday, so I don't have to face that reality for another year and more! Anywho...I made some fabric key wristlets and gift card holders that attach to the key ring portion. I am planning on buying the gift cards now as well, because I have more money now than I will in December! Ha Ha!

I found a fabulous pack of fat quarters at Wal-mart of all places, with this fabulous metallic detailing. It came with an assortment of 5 different fabrics, so I decided to make 10 in total, 2 of each design. If you are interested in hearing more details about the actual key wristlets, you can check it out on Thimbles and Thread.I thought the fabrics seemed teen-eque and something that her friends would like...neutral, but with a pop of metallic glitz!

For the gift card holder, I scored 3 different pieces of cardstock at 4 1/2 inches lengthwise.  I cut them at 3 inch intervals width wise to get 3 gift cards from one piece of cardstock. Once they were folded in half, I ended up by chopping them down to 3 1/2 inches so that you can see the gift card poking out of the half circle at the top. I would hate for a friend to not realize that it isn't just a tag and throw the gift card away! I used a circle punch to punch out the portion at the top. I used Hibiscus Burst, Spring Moss and Ripe Avocado cardstock for an unconventional, but fun, Christmas combination.

I used the Deck the Halls Die cuts to cut all of the pieces that I would need for the wreaths. Once that was done, I stamped them using the Deck the Halls stamp set. I also embossed the sentiment in silver powder to add in the silver in the fabric. There are two different styles of bows, so I decided to make two different variations of the gift card holders. The ones with the longer bows say "Deck the Halls". The ones that say "Fa la la la la" have the short bows and I added an embossed detail using the Window Works Die. I didn't actually die cut it, but used the tan embossing mat to just add an embossed impression. I used it as it was intended on THIS card, if you're interested in seeing it die cut. I used the square one for today's project.

I adhered the wreaths to the gift card holders using foam squares for dimension. 

I used some Carnation Pink Nuvo Drops here and there for some added interest! I hope you enjoyed today's post! Thanks for fluttering by! 

P.S. I added the instructions for the boxes that I shared on last month's Keeping Chrismtas post that you can see HERE. 

You're in my thoughts today!

I have a list of projects I SHOULD be working on, but when you feel like a friend could use some cheering up, plans change!  I probably (most likely) already have a card in my stash that would work nicely to send  her, but where's the fun in that?!? 

I will apologize up front for not using links for the products I used....my 4 year old spilled water on the computer keyboard and it's totally wonky! So..I've been forced to use my phone. I will add the link for the Window Works Die since I've had a few questions about it. 

The sentiment is embossed in Altenew Rose Gold powder. I also added it to the details on the leaves. I also used the Beautiful Day stamps and dies from Altenew. It's been a while since I've used it and I recently got the dies so it was excited to use it. Thanks for fluttering by!

Mix it Up #41 {You are wonderful}

I'm here today sharing my design for the current Mix it Up Challenge going on this month! As usual, I couldn't help myself by playing with BOTH sides of the challenge! I think I mentioned last time that if I pick only one side, it isn't as much as a challenge for me!

While our thoughts are turning to flowers, sunshine, and fresh air, this photo, though snowy, provides a lot of springtime inspiration! I think we've all been inspired by these gorgeous pastel Northern Lights! I knew that Distress Oxide inks would provide just the look I was hoping for! We've been having grey, wet, rain and snow, so my photos look a little muddy, but Oxide inks can do that and give me fits! LOL! They're so fun to play with,though, so it's all worth it!

I chose to heat emboss the Mandala image onto a sheet of smooth Bristol paper using white powder. I then chose an assortment of Distress Oxide inks and got to work blending in all of the colors that I wanted represented as per the inspiration photo. After it was all blended, I used a generic square to die cut the square portion out. I adhered it to a piece of white cardstock and then replaced all of the squares using foam squares.

The "you" sentiment is from the Sweet Sentiments: You stamp set. I heat embossed it in silver onto a strip of very thin vellum. I didn't want to block any of the Mandala image from shining through.The "are wonderful" portion, which is also from the You set, is also heat emobssed but onto a strip of white cardstock which I adhered under the vellum piece.

Before I added the vellum piece, I spritzed it with some water for some oxidation to happen as well as a generous spritzing of Shimmer Spray.

The entire thing is adhered to an A2 card base using foam squares. I hope you'll get a chance to play along! Remember, there is a chance to win a $50 gift code to the SugarPea Designs store! Thanks for fluttering by!

Reverse Confetti Spring Fling Blog Hop

 ETA: In addition to the two prizes being offered below, I will be giving another MISTI away to a commenter here!!!!
Happy Spring, friends and thanks for joining me for the Reverse Confetti Spring Fling Blog Hop as we team up with My Sweet Petunia....maker of the amazing MISTI tool! I will show you later on in my post how I used it for today's design! You can check out the Reverse Confetti Blog for more information as well! Make sure to hop along to all of the other designers blogs to see what they have come up with!  Also, before I begin... we will choose two lucky commenters from the hop to win one of two prizes: a $60 shopping spree at www.mysweetpetunia.com and a $60 shopping spree at www.Reverseconfetti.com- you must leave your comments no later than Sunday, March 25th, at 11:59 PM Central time and winners will be announced on Tuesday March 27th, on the Reverse Confetti and My Sweet Petunia blogs. Isn't that amazing???? 

               Amy Tsuruta

Ilina Crouse

Lisa Henke

Jeanne Streiff

Susan Liles

My Sweet Petunia

Tricia Barber

Kia Gibson-Clapper

Deanne Kuntz

Ceal Pritchett

Melissa Phillips

Giovana Smith

Audrey Tokach

Chris Dayton

Kathy Schweinfurth

Stephanie Severin

Laurie Schmidlin

Janine Tinklenberg

Amy Rohl

Dina Kowal

Heather Hoffman

Jana Millen

Reverse Confetti

Jennifer Timko

Kelly Lunceford

Joan Bardee

Olga Moss

Judy Rozema

Jeanne Jachna

Susan Wymer

 Lydia Fiedler

The Fun Times 6 by 6 paper pad was the starting point for my card and paper badket and the Dashed Line Tag Confetti Cut was the starting point for my layout. I had been wanting to try arranging the tags like this during the release week, but didn't get the opportunity! To begin, I die cut the tags twice, once out of Premier Polar White cardstock and once out of each of the 4 patterns that I chose for this design. I glued them together for stability. I knew this card would have a lot of layers and I needed the tags to have the added weight that the cardstock gave them.

I used the Stitched Rays Cover Plate Confetti Cut to create a backdrop for the tags. I blended some Lilac Distress Ink Oxide around the edges for some contrast and dimension. Once that was done, I was able to arrange the tags using foam squares.

I used my MISTI to arrange all 4 of the Tall Blooms images onto the paper. Once they were arranged properly, I was able to stamp them all at once, which is such a time saver, and of course with precision.

The awesome thing about the MISTI is that I was able to get them double stamped for a crisp, saturated image with complete precision. I can't say enough about the genius of the MISTI. 

I also used it for perfect placement of the "a happy hello" sentiment onto my strip. It is often hard to stamp a cursive or loopy sentiment straight just by eyeballing it, so the MISTI helped me to only have to stamp it once. I used Versamark ink and then heat embossed it using Rose Gold embossing powder. I wanted to bring in some warmth, but still have the same tones as my card.

I used the coordinating Tall Blooms Confetti Cuts once they were all stamped and colored using Copic Markers. I adhered them onto the tags and then used my sharp trimmer to chop off the extra pieces. I added some gold Nuvo drops around the sentiment and a few drops of Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the leaves of the loopy green stem and the centers of the lavender flower.

I used the same techniques and supplies to create a coordinating paper basket. It's the perfect size to tuck in a treat or gift card.

I had so much fun on these projects!! Thanks for fluttering by!

Tuesday Ideas {never give up} bag and tag

Hello! I'm over on the Precious Remembrance Shop blog today sharing this tag/bag duo. I made it to coordinate with THIS card I made two weeks ago. I wanted some quick packaging to add a little "pick me up" of the chocolate variety. I stamped the Flat Kraft Bag using the DIY stamp set and the Daily Thoughts stamp set.

I always like making a coordinating tag to jazz things up. It also gave me another opportunity to pull in some of the elements from the card.

If you'd like to read more about how I made this project you can read about it over on the Precious Remembrance Shop Blog. Thanks for fluttering by!

Merry Monday #282 {Silent Night, Holy Night}

The weeks are just flying by way too fast! How is it already Monday again? I need time to SSSSSSSLLLLLLOOOOOWWWW down! Well, regardless, it IS Monday, so that means I have a new card for the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge!

This week Linda has asked us to make a card using this photo as inspiration! I'm realizing that I definitely need to get a candle image. I have needed/wanted one for a few challenges now and have just had to go in a different direction! Anyway, this photo is chock full of inspiration, regardless of the candle. I decided to use a lot of red, greenery and a few other touches that I will explain in my post.

To begin, I dry embossed a piece of Pure Poppy cardstock using a quatrefoil embossing folder by The Paper Studio that I picked up at Hobby Lobby. If you look closely at the ribbon in the photo, it also has this pattern so I thought that was a good starting point. Whenever I do dry embossing, I feel the need to simplify my card to let the embossing shine.

I also really liked all of the gold in the photo, so I decided to heat emboss one of the sentiments from the Happiest of Holidays stamp set in Antique Gold embossing powder. I matted the sentiment piece onto a piece of Kraft cardstock. I liked how that set off the gold in the sentiment, so I also mounted the dry embossed red piece onto an A2 Kraft base for continuity.

I loved the sprigs of greenery framing the candle so I made some of my own using the Pinecone Greetings stamp set. It has a great mix of greens and pinecones that work perfectly for this challenge. I stamped them and then die cut them using the coordinating Pinecone Greetings Sugar Cuts. I arranged them above the sentiment. It felt a little naked to me, and even though I was covering up the dry embossing, I decided to add a strip of pattern paper for some added texture and warmth. The finishing touch is a few Bright Gold Nuvo Drops around the greenery. Thanks for fluttering by!

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