Thursday, November 30, 2017

Colorful, Geometric Christmas


I am loving this cute Authentique paper!  Thought these triangular Christmas trees, colorful circles, dots and lines would be fun for a geometric layout of squares and rectangles.  


This bias tape bow matches perfectly with the not-quite traditional Christmas colors of the designer paper.  


The view from the inside shows the glimmer of the pearly card stock, which was left over from some 12th Night/Mardi Gras cards I made a few years back!

Here are the supplies I used, all from Stamp Simply:
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Friday, November 24, 2017

Girlfriends are...


...born to shop!  It's Black Friday, so today's project is all about the shopping!  This trio of blinged-out grandmas is out for a good time together while searching for some great bargains!  


This shopping bag is a recycled bag from the bookstore where my son works.  I covered the logo with some cute designer papers in holiday colors, paper-piecing the focal image with scraps from the same paper pad.  The edges of the green panel are bordered with sticky jewel bling strips.  My favorite, most-oft-used washi tape set, Eyelet Outlet's 5-roll skinny washi tape set, plays along nicely with some music washi and planner washi for a fun calendar theme that harmonizes with the designer paper.  The big layered paper flower mimics the flowers in their hats,  which were given single jewel accents cut from the sticky back bling strips.  Yep, these are gaudy grandmas!  The more bling, the better!  ;)


The tag accenting the top of the bag features more skinny washi tape, a sticky-back bling heart and a tiny calendar of December.  

Whether you choose to shop out in the frenzy or from the comfort of your easy chair, I hope you find what you're looking for at a price you love!  Enjoy your first weekend of the holiday season!  

Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving!



Happy Thanksgiving!  I am grateful every single day, but today, even more so!  My life is so richly blessed and I give thanks to God for His love, protection and provision!

I know a lot of people like to decorate for Christmas even before Thanksgiving, but for the most part, I like taking my holidays one at a time!  I'll be doing some Christmas decorating tomorrow on Black Friday because, unlike many of you, that's a day I definitely don't want to go shopping!  I say all of this a bit tongue-in-cheek because I actually keep a Christmas pencil tree up all year round, and of course, I have been stamping Christmas cards and projects for a while already.

My Stamp Simply project for today is a panel to replace the Fall one I made for this seasonal frame.  I really enjoy having a few of these interchangeable holiday decor items.  They make it so easy to add a little pop of holiday cheer...they ease the transition from one holiday to the next without leaving the spot they formerly occupied all naked and lonely!


 I was so happy to see that the majority of the wish for peace printed on the 6 x 6 sheet that I chose for the background fit perfectly within the required dimensions of the panel.  Music is always a big part of December for our family, and so there had to be a little bit of some sheet music peeking from within.  My husband is from Upper Michigan, so even though it very rarely snows in Florida, there's a snow-laden tree with glittering ornaments.  You can't see it in the photo but the snow sparkles a la clear Wink of Stella, and if you look closely you will see some gesso "snow" sprinkled over the entire project.  This is a layout that would very easily translate to a card-front.

 I deliberately chose this sentiment because in the middle of this hectic holiday season, I need to visible, daily reminder to keep my focus centered on Christ, the true reason for the season.  


Since the back of the frame is visible from its spot on the end table, I covered it with pretty designer paper and hung a tag from the ring that suspends the panel from the frame.  I kept it simple with a pretty, shiny gold foil cross with a tiny red enamel dot tucked in the center, but I may go back and add  a few more details when I have more time.  It has been a busy week of Thanksgiving preparations and I had some baking to do! 

Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Friday, November 17, 2017

From the North Pole!


Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and that means that Santa will soon be making his holiday debut!  Letters are gonna be flying to the North Pole, and Santa might just answer a few himself!  Eyelet Outlet has so many cute brads and washi tapes to dress those letters in style!

For this project Santa Mail washi tape, Santa washi tape, and skinny washi tape are a fast and easy way to establish the themed background for an envelope and mailbox from our mail brads set.  Sticky back pearl hearts accent the scalloped edge of a strip of designer paper.  


Inside another pearl heart sits beside the sentiment.  

It is exciting to make a wishlist to send to Santa and a real thrill to get a card SWAK from Santa in return!  A fast, fun project with lasting memories!  A quick search for Christmas and/or Santa will turn up all kinds of ideas!  Time to get busy!  

Enjoy your weekend!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Merry and Bright!


Kraft with black is one of my favorite color combinations.  For today's Stamp Simply project, I used some lovely Kaisercraft Christmas Editions paper to create an unconventional holiday card of simple, understated elegance.


One of the designs in the paper pack is a newspaper print that includes this long narrow column of the poem, The Night Before Christmas.  Another sheet features a pretty sketch of some Christmas gifts, greenery, and poinsettias.  They worked great together as a three-section background panel for a Stamp Simply Christmas tree and sentiment.


Warm gray Copic markers, gold Wink of Stella glitter pen, and tea-dye ink unify the design which has just a hint of shimmer.  The bow is made from seam binding flattened and wrinkled with the heat gun.  To me that bow gives the card a bit of a vintage Victorian feel...maybe it is because I have been looking at Victorian fashion plates and dress patterns (bustles, ruffles, and swags of folded fabric) lately!  


Here's a look at the greeting that's stamped inside.  

Supplies:
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Friday, November 10, 2017

More Pun With the Herd from Eyelet Outlet!


These cow brads (well, all the animals from down on the farm!) just crack me up!  There are all kinds of funny, punny sayings to go along with them so you can really stretch their mileage in your card-making.  If you are like I am, you have goofy friends who appreciate this "roll-your-eyes" kind of humor!


Christmas around our house means extra "moo-sical" opportunities, so here's a little milk chocolate appreciation for the extra effort!  There are green rhinestone notes, some gold glitter washi tape sparkle, and of course, another cow brad.  

Happy Friday!  Happy Veteran's Day, and a great big thank you to those of you who have served in our armed forces.  You are admired, respected, and appreciated!  
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Old-Fashioned Roses Gate-Fold


Today's Stamp Simply project is a gate-fold card inspired by the old-fashioned roses in my friend's garden, and by the "split" design of this MME designer paper.  It's such a pretty print and lends itself well to just about any sentiment.  My friends and I meet weekly for our "Friends for the Journey" Bible study, and with a long list of some serious prayer concerns regarding friends and loved ones from in-utero to 79 years of age, a passage on placing our trust in the Lord was the one that really spoke to me.


The roses and leaves are die-cut and then "painted" with distress oxide inks.  I love how the colors of the oxides separate...if you look closely at the leaves you can see some yellowish greens and even blues (all from the separation of the Peeled Paint distress oxide) which harmonize beautifully with the colors of the background paper.   


The entire belly band (including the sentiment panel and floral spray) slides off so that the card can be opened.  Inside, there's a sentiment in a beautiful script, along with a single old-fashioned rose stamped in glittering gold Delicata ink.  There's just a hint of distress oxide ink color splashed onto the paper.  Simple and elegant.

Supplies:
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels:

Friday, November 3, 2017

Old-fashioned Christmas Cards


Hello Eyelet Outlet fans!  I'm here today with a pair of cards that were completed with no stamping.  I love to stamp and color but sometimes, especially at Christmas, it's nice to have a faster alternative.  Eyelet Outlet brads and washi to the rescue! 


First up is Santa's List.  I love this old-fashioned looking Santa washi tape.  


A pine tree brad and a prancing reindeer add color and visual interest in keeping with the theme.


A cute sled brad and some music note washi are the perfect companions for this snowman.  I love the pop of orange and red together in the midst of the muted, more traditional Christmas colors.  This is a sentiment you've just gotta sing!
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Thursday, November 2, 2017

There is Always Something...



November is "gratitude month" and many of us are daily documenting the people and things for which we're thankful. Sometimes this practice takes a little extra effort, but it's true, there is always something to be thankful for!  Making an attitude of gratitude a daily ritual really changes one's outlook on Life and hopefully it is something that reaches well beyond the month of November.


I keep reaching again for this BoBunny designer paper...these colors just really speak to me, and I suppose since Florida doesn't get much of a blaze of Fall color I have to get my dose of it via arts and crafts!  The splashy watercolor-like patterns and the repeating circles of the papers inspired the repetition of those textures and shapes in the rest of the card.  I used distress oxide reinkers to watercolor a background, then stamped the sentiment within nesting circles, allowing the metallic background paper to peek through from underneath.  The copper paper, elegant ribbon, sugared minis, sparkly rhinestones, and lustrous pearl pin all add rich color and shimmery texture to the otherwise simple card.  

Here are the supplies I used, all from Stamp Simply:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)