A No Ink Vintage Christmas Card

Hope you are enjoying your Easter weekend! 
Two cardmaking challenges I pay attention to have challenges that I decided would combine perfectly — Jingle Belles is looking for old-fashioned/vintage-style Christmas cards, while Shopping Our Stash is asking for cards that don't use ink. If I'm looking to make either type of card, my thoughts quickly turn to my Graphic 45 papers. So here it is: 

More fussy cutting than I am generally comfortable with, although I have to admit, the two tags were pretty easy. :D None of the papers in this Dickens (yay!) collection seemed subtle enough to let the rest of the images shine, so I found another vintage-y paper for the background panel. So really, apart from the scissor-work, an easy card. 

Supplies: Craft Smith red card base, Graphic 45 A Christmas Carol & Basic Grey Aspen Frost patterned paper, small hole-punch, gold twine, foam tape

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Pinkless at Muse: ChristmasVisions

It's the Easter long weekend... and I've been making Christmas cards. Then again, there's still snow in my backyard and the temp today barely cracked the freezing point. So why not? Chriss is the current muse at Muse: ChristmasVisions, and as a still-newbie team member, I'm trying to play along each challenge. Here is Chriss's card: 

I focussed on Chriss's all-over background, gold embossing, and large central sentiment. Here's my version: 

I am willing to make one pink Christmas card a year, for Jingle Belles, so chose to _not_ be inspired by the background panel colour. Also, sometimes you just want to take a shortcut, and so I used patterned paper that happened to have gold-coloured deer jumping all over it. Our fearless leader Ardyth will not be impressed that the background music does not seem to include Joy to the World, but I can at least reassure her that the music in the embossed JOY sentiment is actually the correct carol. ;) The delicacy of the JOY die cut (layered and offset on white) meant it was getting a little lost on the patterned paper, so I added a strip of vellum to temper the background a bit. To match the sentiment, I added gold embossing to a white cardstock panel for a mat.

Having mentioned Jingle Belles, their current challenge is a vintage one, and I'm hoping this has an old-fashioned enough feel to qualify. I do have another idea in mind that will be unquestionably old-fashioned! ;) 
With a long weekend, and a couple of days left to play, why not be inspired and add a Christmas card to your stash! 

Supplies: white cardstock, vellum, Basic Grey patterned paper, Papertrey Ink Wonderful Words:Joy stamps and die, Versamark, pirate's gold embossing powder, Teresa Collins Noel patterned paper

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Happy Bird-day at Seize the Birthday!

Happy Thursday! And for many, the last day before a long weekend. Thursday also means it's time for a new Seize the Birthday challenge to begin! Our latest *topping* theme is BIRDS — always optional, but a great way to add a spring birthday card to your stash. 

I almost went the Bird Crazy route for a humorous card, but it didn't feel like a colouring day, so I went with a colour layering bird instead. Not that I find lining up the various layers any less challenging than colouring would have been. I even added an extra bit of shading by adding two colours of purple (the old "rock and roll" technique) to the base layer to darken his belly a bit. The die cut branch was made a few weeks ago, when I was experimenting with different tissue paper techniques. I randomly stamped my base layer with a couple of leafy stamps, then splattered a bit of ink around to soften the look a bit more. And you have to love when you can find a card base that matches so well when you haven't planned ahead. ;) Although I'm stretching the definition a little bit, I've looked at the design team's cards for the current Addicted to CAS challenge, Birds, and hope this card is acceptable there. I know I meet the requirements for the current Anything Goes Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp. 
There are many different bird cards flying around on the Seize the Birthday blog, by the regular team and our current surprise party guest Kim. I hope you'll dig into your stash of bird-themed supplies and come and join us! (And if birds aren't your thing, we love to see all birthday cards.) 

Supplies: white & Hero Arts celadon layering cardstock, tissue paper, Hero Arts Color Layering Bird stamps and die, Gina K Tropical Flowers & Clearly Besotted Message Me stamp, Altenew soft lilac, lavender fields, Persian blue & sapphire, Memento new sprout & bamboo leaves, & iced spruce & bundled sage distress inks, Ranger snowflake embossing tinsel, Hero Arts spring branch & MFT blueprints 24 stitched rectangle dies

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Need Coffee?

Happy Saturday! Did you start your morning with... caffeine? 

That's right, the new challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is N is for Need Coffee. Kind of funny, actually, since close to half of the sisters seem to prefer tea as their hot beverage of choice. (It fills in time till cocktail hour, after all...) 😉 Here is my caffeinated creation:

I was thrilled with how perfectly that heart stamp fit on the die cut coffee mug. I found some patterned paper that seemed already coffee-stained in the corners, then went a little overboard perhaps in adding two sizes of coffee cup rings. The sentiment stresses the importance of that jolt of java. 
The sisters, as well as this week's guest designer Sharon, have an assortment of coffee creations to inspire you. Don't get the caffeine jitters, come and join us!

Supplies: Neenah desert storm & Stampin' Up real red & early espresso cardstock, American Crafts Amy Tangerine Sketchbook patterned paper, Ink Road Stamps The Struggle Is Real & Modern Love & STAMPlorations Holiday Artsy stamps, Versamark, Versafine onyx black & gathered twigs distress inks, Ranger clear & Hero Arts white embossing powders, MFT Hot Cocoa Cups dies, foam tape

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St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

I make, at the most, one St. Patrick's Day card a year... that's if it works out that we have dinner with friends as we often do. So here is this year's goofy edition: 

You'll find the punchline at the end of the post...

I pinned this card last year after Emily entered it into a Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge, because I loved the sentiment! Instead of turning a crazy bird into a chicken, I used this bird from my oldest Paper Smooches set, mostly as it was a good size match to the shamrock. The hat comes from another PS set. I used Twinkling H2Os and plastic wrap to make my marbled green squares. I printed the beginning of the riddle on some patterned paper for a little extra interest. 
I'm entering this in Shopping Our Stash's current Put a Bird On It challenge. 
Watch out for that green beer today! 

*...and the answer is: The CLUCK of the Irish!

Supplies: white cardstock, Strathmore watercolour paper, Authentique Be(you)tiful patterned paper, Paper Smooches Birthday Buddies, A Magical Spring & Lawn Fawn My Lucky Charm stamps, Versafine onyx black ink, Copic markers, Zig watercolour markers, Twinkling H2Os, MFT square stitched & blueprints 24 dies, foam tape

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Shopping Birds

The current Shopping Our Stash challenge is Put a Bird on It. So I did. 

I have never used this bird stamp for anything but sympathy cards, and here I am using it again for another one. I have never actually paired it with the sentiment that comes with it, but since this is for family, it seemed just right. This is also likely the least CAS sympathy card I've made. I was pretty excited when I found not just one, but TWO patterned papers that actually coordinated with the distress inks I had sponged on the bird panel. I added a strip of woodgrain embossed cardstock to bring out the white-embossed bird. 

Supplies: Bazzill marshmallow cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Basic Grey Plumeria patterned paper, Unity/Webster's Pages Love Itty Bitty stamps, Versamark & tumbled glass, stormy sky, antique linen, iced spruce, bundled sage & chipped sapphire distress inks, Ranger clear & Hero Arts white embossing powders, Papertrey Ink woodgrain impression plate, Spellbinders oval die

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