Merry Reindeer

It's officially autumn now (insert sad face here) so I might as well make Christmas cards. The current Muse: ChristmasVisions card is by Cornelia: 

Isn't it cute? I was inspired by the trees, the dry embossing, the fun Christmas critter and the clean design with lots of white space. Here's what I ended up with: 

I switched the evergreens to birch trees; when I saw Cornelia's card, I decided to break out this birch tree die that I've had for eons but haven't used until now. My sweatered reindeer seemed to match the whimsy of the trees. I used a stencil to dry emboss snowflakes into the sky — normally I'd have coloured the sky blue, but I wanted to emulate Cornelia's white space. I managed to use three different embossing powders on this card! Clear, white, and sparkle for the sentiment.  

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up smokey grey cardstock, Bienfang bristol paper, Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper, Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer & Holiday Conversation stamps, Versafine onyx black, Stampin' Up real red & Versamark inks, Zing clear, Hero Arts sparkle & Wow white embossing powder, Paper Smooches birch tree & MFT wonky stitch rectangle dies, Memory Box winter tiny snowflakes stencil, Zig clean colour brush markers, Winsor & Newton iridescent medium, Imagine Crafts Sparkle shimmer spritz, pop-dot tape

Homes for the Holidays

Back with another Christmas card! The current Jingle Belles challenge prompt is "O Little Town of Bethlehem", or... put one or more buildings on your Christmas card. I really did put an entire town on my card:

This card was definitely easier to make than to photograph. I knew right away I had found a great reason to use this Village embossing folder. Before I'd looked at it, I was thinking I would somehow highlight two of the houses, but when I saw there were houses with hearts on them, I decided to just highlight two heart with tiny die cuts. This is the only stamp I have with this sentiment; I was worried that the script plus small size would mean white embossing on black wouldn't work, but with ultra-fine powder, it's quite readable. 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up real red & basic black cardstock, Gourmet Rubber Stamps Holiday Lane stamp, Versamark ink, Wow super-fine white embossing powder, Cuttlebug Village embossing folder, heart die cuts from stash, Creative Memories corner-rounding punch, fun foam

Christmas Tree Musing

I must be feeling seasonal... today I made a Halloween card and a Christmas card. For the Christmas card, I was inspired by this week's Muse ChristmasVisions card by Chriss Blagrave: 

It's a long road from Chriss' inspiration to my final card, but trust me, it's where my idea originated. ;) I looked to the multicolour tree, the use of black and texture, and the star. I was originally going to use a rainbow of bottle-brush trees, but then wandered off in an entirely different direction that resulted in this: 

One tree turned into three, each in a different metallic embossing powder colour. My trees weren't really big enough to take up the entire card, so I cut the black panel and layered the patterned paper under. If only there had been copper stars to go with the silver and gold! Finally, a black on (mostly) white sentiment. I debated adding stars to the treetops, as Chriss did with hers, but it seemed to detract too much from the artsiness of the sketchy tree design. 
As for the Halloween card... it will show up here eventually, I'm sure. ;) 

Supplies: white & black cardstock, Teresa Collins Tinsel and Company patterned paper, Artful Stamper Tree & Hero Arts Family & Friends stamps, Versamark & Versafine onyx black inks, clear, silver, pale gold pearl & copper pearl embossing powders, fun foam

Other People's Stuff

Last weekend was crafty get-together time at my house! Ardyth, Emily and Tracey made the trek so we could eat, chat and even craft a bit. ;) Then this week I saw the current Muse card inspiration by Tracey, and knew I had the perfect image from the day that I could use! 
This is Tracey's card: 

And here is the flower I stamped, embossed and coloured last Saturday: 

Photo and thumb courtesy of Ardyth. 

The card inspiration is Tracey's, the stamp and die are Ardyth's, and the gorgeous watercolour powder is Emily's! At least the ink and embossing powder are mine. :D The watercolour paper, too. The photo doesn't do it justice, but the Cosmo Cricket powder has the most amazing shimmer! As it was already die cut, I couldn't make a one-layer panel the way Tracey did, but I did use my own green and purple powders to make a similar style background. I also used a die to cut my panel before layering on a cream card base. Inspired by Tracey's black sentiment, I found a label-style sentiment deep in my stash. Here's how it all came together... 

Perhaps you'll be inspired, too! 

Supplies: Stampin' Up very vanilla cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, unknown sentiment strip, Essentials by Ellen Mondo Peony stamp & die, Versamark ink, pale gold pearl embossing powder, Cosmo Cricket/Julie Comstock candy pixie paint, Magenta Nuance purple & cerulean watercolour powders, My Favorite Things Inside & Out Diagonal Stitched die, pop-dot tape

Ahoy, Scallywags!

Do you know that Monday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day? Edna does, and has set up the latest Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge to celebrate the occasion! 

Of course, thanks to Sister Lee, Edna has all the best pirate accessories. I was not so lucky, and had to get creative...

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look at this particular Crazy Cat in the same way ever again. He does seem ideal for typical cat treasure-burying in the sand. ;) The eye-patch was easy to add (though I do have to say, Tim Holtz missed out not having one in the accessories set) using first a Sharpie and then a Versamarker and matte embossing powder. I don't even have a good pirate ship in my stamp collection, so had to paint my own with Zig markers before filling in the rest of the seascape with distress inks. The sentiment, too, had to be self-created. It's really a very DIY card! Pirates are always resourceful. 
The Sisters had a lot of fun with this theme! (And I'm not the only one who went the pirate cat route, strangely enough...) Our current guest designer Marina had fun with it too. Hope you can join us, and don't forget to set your Facebook language to Pirate on Monday! 

Supplies: white cardstock, Strathmore watercolour & mixed media paper, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Crazy Cats stamp & die, MFT black licorice & stormy sky, mermaid lagoon, antique linen & vintage photo distress inks, Versamarker, Wow clear matte dull embossing powder, Zig clean colour markers, black sharpie, pop-dot tape

Glasses of Wine

Middle of the month, so it's a good time for a reminder of the September Naughty or Nice Challenge: Food and Drink! 

Silly me, I skipped the food part and went right to the drinks again. 

Also silly me, I stamped all those glass colours instead of just using coloured cardstock. :D It was the first time I'd used the wine glass stamps with their matching dies, so hadn't realized they didn't leave a white border as many dies do. That's my excuse, at least. The wine bottle and sentiment are stamped right on the main panel, and the sentiment clear-embossed.
You have ten days left to join the fun! 
Supplies:  white cardstock, Echo Park For the Boys patterned paper, Papertrey Ink Cheers stamps & dies, Brilliance pearlescent thyme & galaxy gold, Stampin Up real red, Memento morocco, dandelion, pear tart, paris dusk, grape jelly & Versafine onyx black inks, Zing clear embossing powder, fun foam

Mixing It Up with Ellen Hutson

I finally had a chance to play along with the barely-still-current Mix It Up challenge at Ellen Hutson. This month they are mixing their own Essentials by Ellen products with those of Concord & 9th. There were a lot of different directions I thought of taking this challenge (why I'm entering with half a day left...) but shockingly, I ended up with... a SHAKER card! 

I don't particularly like making shaker cards! But once I'd settled on the JOY die cut with background letters, and this cheeky elf (doesn't he look like he's up to something?) it was difficult to imagine it not as a shaker card. Using fun foam with a middle section cut out for the shaker element seemed less work than using pop-dot tape. We'll see how well it holds. (Advantage to making cards early.) The shaker is a mix of red and iridescent stars, with a few extra red ones decorating the front panel. I love how the patterned paper echoes the main joy sentiment and also adds a secondary one. 
With all the sequins involved, I'm going to link this up to Just Us Girls trend week, which just so happens to be sequins! 

Supplies: white cardstock, Studio Calico Magical patterned paper, acetate, Essentials by Ellen Elf'd & Concord & 9th Joy stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black & Stampin' Up real red inks, Spectrum Noir markers, Little Things from Lucy's Cards clear iridescent & stash red star sequins, frosted lace Stickles, fun foam

Christmas Muse Wreath

It's well into September, so my Christmas stamps are calling to me more and more. At the Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge this week, Kimberley Wiener is the Muse with this beautiful card: 

I focused on the wreath with its hanging ribbon and bow, as well as the general layout of the card. It's early enough in the season (read: it's really nowhere near the season) that I'm still okay with the traditional colours, so I went with a green wreath instead of the trendy teal. Here's mine: 

I chose to stamp my wreath directly on my main panel, rather than die cutting it. It's actually a layered stamp set, but I decided I preferred it stamped all in the one shade of green. You get some variation of colour just from the layers of ink building up. I paired it with a cute dimensional bow die cut and a sentiment from the same set. I finally cracked open my pack of Hero Arts "dots" to decorate the wreath. I'm also adding this to the current Wednesday Simon Says Stamp challenge to "Stamp It". 
Now it's time for me to get outside and enjoy this beautiful September afternoon! 

Supplies: white & Stampin' Up real red cardstock, Hero Arts Color Layering Wreath stamps, Simon Says Stamp grass green & Stampin' Up real red inks, Paper Smooches baby bow die, Hero Arts Shades of Blush dots

Rerun Challenge

Good Sunday evening! I'm stopping by with a card for a new-to-me challenge, Winnie & Walter's Rerun challenge. 

The challenge is looking for cards using the Winnie & Walter set In Bloom: Renee's Leaves. Here's what I came up with: 

I started by stamping and clear embossing the sunflower from Anna's Flora onto watercolour cardstock. I also stamped and cut a mask for the flower from a sticky note so I could stamp and emboss the two leaves. After watercolouring, I stamped the sentiment and embossed with sparkle embossing powder just to add a little something. I die cut the panel and popped it up just a little, using some fun foam, on the patterned paper base. Sequins seemed a little too blingy, but a few enamel dots felt just right. 
With lots of stamping, I'm going to add this to the current Simon Says Stamp challenge, Stamp It. 
If you haven't checked out this challenge, there's some great inspiration, including a video by my friend Emily! Enjoy the last few hours of your weekend. ;) 

Supplies: white cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, My Minds Eye Lost & Found: Rosy patterned paper, Winnie & Walter In Bloom: Anna's Flora, In Bloom: Renee's Leaves & The Party stamps, Versafine onyx black ink, Zing clear & Hero Arts Sparkle embossing powders, Winnie & Walter Katharine die, Zig clean colour watercolour markers, My Minds Eye Vintage Christmas enamel dots, fun foam

Muse Times Two

Happy weekend! If you're reading this in Canada or the US, it's not even over yet, thanks to the Labour Day long weekend! It just so happened I had a little time yesterday and today to play with stamps and ink, and made a couple of cards. My friend Ardyth runs two different card challenges, and I made one for each. 
First up, Muse Card Club, where Sarah Platt is the current Muse with this card: 

When being inspired by someone else's card, I almost always use the card design as one of my inspirations. This time, I decided to set myself an extra challenge by purposely not using the same layout. Instead, I primarily focused on the faceted heart with Brushos colouring it, and the layered sentiment. Here's my version: 

Faceted heart, check. Layered sentiment, not quite so much, but I couldn't quite get the layered thing to work for me with the supplies I had. Because I wasn't using Sarah's card design, I added a little interest by embossing the main white panel before adding everything to a white card base. After cutting the watercolour heart, I used a small heart punch from the same piece to make two faux enamel dots. (Remember when we would have said they were faux brads? lol) 
Onto Ardyth's other challenge, Muse: ChristmasVisions. Here the Muse is Kim Makortoff. Here's her card: 

this time I planned to go for a much more straightforward CASE (copy and share everything), but the stamp I initially thought would be perfect didn't work the way I wanted it to. Instead, I used a stamp from a set I bought last year but hadn't yet used. My version:

The evergreen garland was just the right size for the top and bottom of the panel. I was even brilliant enough (for me lol) to turn the panel in my MISTI instead of repositioning the stamp so the top and bottom images would be the same distance from the edges. A little brown pencil crayon for the pine cones was all the colouring needed. The big sentiment is embossed in red glitter embossing powder for some festive shine. A few red star sequins take the place of the berries in Kim's card. 
Since my evergreen bough is seeing ink for the first time, I'll add this to Darnell's current NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) challenge. 
That's all from me for now! 

Supplies: (Happy Anniversary) white & blue cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, vellum, Simon Says Stamp Essential Greetings stamp, chipped sapphire distress ink, Zing clear embossing powder, Winnie & Walter Flawless Heart & unknown Happy dies, Darice diagonal stripe embossing folder, Magenta Nuance purple watercolour powder, Glossy Accents, pop-dot tape; (Merry Christmas) white cardstock, red Craft Smith card base, Stampin' Up Festive Fireplace & Hero Arts Lowercase Christmas stamps, Versamark, Stampin' Up garden green & real red inks, Zing red glitter embossing powder, MFT blueprints 24 stitched panel die, Prismacolor pencil, red star sequins

Caffeine Snark

It's time for a new Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge! 

C IS FOR CAFFEINE! Coffee and tea cards are hugely popular with stampers these days, and while it's true I may actually drink more tea than coffee, nothing says caffeine like good old coffee. So despite my lack of coffee-related images, I went the java route: 

The phrase that launched a thousand memes... and this is one coffee-related stamp I do own. What I don't have is a coffee-ring stamp. So I grabbed a small glass and my ground espresso distress ink. I smooshed the ink onto a craft sheet and misted with water before stamping with the glass. DIY coffee rings. I took the leftover ink and added some splatter. 
I'm going to add my card to the current {PIN}spirational Photo Challenge: it's definitely coffee-related, and my rings are reminiscent of the photo as well:

My sisters in snark are riding the caffeine buzz too, and have lots more inspiration for you to admire! Our latest Queen of Snark and guest designer, Michelle, is so wired she made two cards! Grab a cup and join in the fun! 

Supplies: Stampin' Up whisper white, real red, chocolate chip & kraft cardstock, Viva Las VegaStamps Drink Coffee & Basic Grey Tweet stamps, Versafine onyx black, Versamark & ground espresso distress inks, Zing clear & Wow white embossing powder, MFT Hot Cocoa Cups & Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies, pop-dot tape

Eat, Drink and Make a Card

The start of September means it's time for a new Naughty or Nice Challenge! 

Food and Drink! So many possibilities. Cakes, cupcakes, ice cream... and yet I went for beer. 

My idea started with this sentiment from Riley & Company. (This card will be for my step-son, who puts in long hours at work.) Not being a beer drinker myself, I have hardly any images that work with the sentiment. Off to The Graphics Fairy I went, and found this retro guy, who seemed to me was relaxing at the end of a long day at the office. The illustration put me in mind of a New Yorker cartoon, so I decided to keep my card clean and simple, with just a little pencil colouring so it wasn't totally boring. The pierced frame was coloured with distress ink before I adhered it... getting it on straight was definitely the most challenging part of this card. 
The Troublemakers have lots of fun projects on the blog to inspire you! You have until September 25th to grab a snack and a beverage and join us. 

Supplies: white cardstock, Riley & Co sentiment stamp, Graphics Fairy image, Versafine onyx black & stormy sky distress inks, Zing clear embossing powder, MFT blueprints 25 pierced rectangle die, watercolour pencils