Gnome for the Holidays Box Card

Thanksgiving came late this year and now we're already in the home stretch for Christmas.  Whew.  I still have some Christmas cards to make.  One nice thing about being on design teams - by this time I have a lot of Christmas cards but no two are alike.  That's okay.  Last year everyone's cards were different and this year may be the same.

Tonight's card is for this week's color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  When picking the December colors LeAnn beat me to it and picked the EXACT colors I was going to pick.  I feel like I got a bonus.  Now there are two challenges where I love the colors!

This year I'm trying to actually use the stamps I purchase. It's a little like bailing out the Titanic with a teacup, but I am trying.  This gnome set has been sitting on the shelf.  So I pulled it out and colored 'em up!

I used Stampin' Blends and color matched the Gorgeous Grape with Copic markers.  No fussy cutting on these.  I used my Scan 'n Cut.  I call it the Kitchen Aid mixer of my craft room because like my mixer it takes longer to set up than actually use, but boy I would not want to live without it.  I'm looking forward to the day when I have an actual craft ROOM - not area - and can leave it set up.  Watch out world!

I recently purchased these Outside the Box dies from My Favorite Things and thought that the gnomes would make the perfect addition.  And how cute are they in this scene? 

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Products used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Gnome for the Holidays
• Dies: My Favorite Things Outside the Box Level Up and Outside the Box Snowdrifts, The Stamps of Life extras4snowglobe
• Paper/Cardstock: Balmy Blue, Whisper White, Snowflake Splendor, Dazzling Diamonds
• Ink: Balmy Blue, Memento Black
  
• Markers: Stampin Blends - Highland Heather light & dark, Balmy Blue light & dark;  Copic markers V000, B0000, V01, V12, V15, V17, E00, E11, N0, N1, N2, N3
  

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Who's Watching Who Safari Card

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving even if you couldn't be with friends and family this year.  We had a virtual get together instead of the usual 20+ people we normally have at our house.  I'm already planning on a big party for next year!

And now to my card for today.

This adorable gang is out looking for you on their people photo safari!  The die is part of the new release of Safari themed dies from Cottage Cutz and they are so sweet!

I thought they would be great for a stand-up card.  I know many of my friends display this kind of card long after their birthday or they get well (they are perfect for bedside get well cards); these critters are too cute to put away!

I kept this card in neutral colors and greens.   I thought about embossing the background with a woven embossing folder but ultimately decided upon this woven look paper.  To anchor it I used a green linen thread.  And I couldn't leave the sky behind them blank so I stenciled some clouds.

The critters are colored with blending brushes and Distress Oxide inks.  The edges are shaded with sponge daubers.  I used two colors - Antique Linen over Wild Honey - to get the more golden tone for the lion.  I love how the oxides can blend like that with a lighter tone over a darker one.  The leaves are in Stampin' Up! inks and I colored the camera and binoculars with Copic markers.  All are listed below.

This whole release is ADORABLE and it's on sale right now for Black Friday.  Check out the CottageBlog for samples of this release made by me and other members of the design team!

Products used:

• Dies: Cottage Cutz Safari Adventure Gang and Safari Phrases
• Stand Up Card die: The Stamps of Life 
  
• Paper/Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Park Lane DSP (retired)
• Ink: Distress Oxides Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Ground Espresso, Wild Honey
• Ink: Stampin' Up! Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow
• Accessories: Mossy Meadow woven linen thread
  

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Happy Hour CAS Card

Happy Tuesday - it's hump day this week!  And time for another challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches.  This week we have a sketch challenge.

Here is the sketch:

This card is one that looks so simple and is, but isn't.  Often, the simpler the card the more time it takes to create.  That's because everything needs to be just right.  There was a lot of measuring and light pencil lines to get everything here to line up.

When I first started making cards, if something went wrong I was told "it's an embellishment opportunity."  And for many cards that is correct and works beautifully.  However with a CAS card there are no embellishment opportunities.  If you have to add a layer or a banner or a flower, chances are it's no longer CAS!

I've had this stamp set since 2012 or 2013.  I loved it but could never get it to look how I wanted. First, it was wood mount and second, it was not two-step stamping.  The liquid was not a separate stamp from the glass and I always wanted the glass outlined in a different color.  I tried using  a Stamp-a-ma-jig with the wood stamps to line things up but that didn't work well.  I had this ready to be listed on eBay.  And then....

I got a stamping platform and I learned how to remount wood stamps as cling mount!

For this card I used my Stamparatus and stamped each glass twice.  First I colored just the liquid using Stampin Write markers (do not use alcohol markers) and then I stamped again after coloring the outline with a black marker.  And it worked this time!  I'm so happy I kept this set.  I love how this came out.  I even got a little bit of the Tequila Sunrise feel with a few marker colors in the hurricane glass.

I'll be using this set more often now that it's simpler to use.

Products used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up! Happy Hour
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Black Onxy (sentiment)
• Markers: Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist, Crumb Cake

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Lots of Love at Christmas

My card this evening features the colors for this week's color challenge at Splitcoaststampers.  Karen gave us classic Christmas colors - Poppy Parade, Shaded Spruce and Pool Party - with "cute" for dessert.

Well, I'm all about the cute - I love making  cute cards.  This adorable Snowman and Reindeer die is from Cottage Cutz.  If you have never used a Cottage Cutz die, they are very simple to use.  Rather than cutting all the pieces individually, the die is one piece and cuts out all pieces with one pass through your die cutter.

Sometimes I will use up scrap and cut out of multiple colors but for this card I cut all the pieces from white cardstock and used Stampin Blends and ink to color the pieces.  It went very quickly.

I used a sponge dauber on the edges of the snow banks and snowman and blending brushes for the solid colors.  I love how you can get shading on your die cut pieces when doing this!

I hope you've enjoyed my card tonight!

Products used:

• Dies: Cottage Cutz, Snowman and Reindeer, Cottage Cutz Stitched Circles, MFT Stitched Curves
• Stamps: Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Christmas
  
• Inks: Stampin' Up! Poppy Parade, Shaded Spruce, Pool Party, Memento Black, Distress Oxide Vintage Photo and Walnut
  
• Markers: Stampin Blends - Poppy Parade (berries & heart), Shaded Spruce (holly), Mango Melody (nose) Copic Markers - Black
  

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Warm Hugs

It's another Team O challenge at TicTacToe Challenge blog and I have the pleasure of being the board designer this week!  A funny thing about being the board designer - that makes it harder to create a card.  When someone else tell me the parameters I have to use I'm okay, but boy is it indecision time when I make the parameters!  So this week I actually made TWO cards!

Here is my board:

My top card uses the middle row across and the bottom card uses the right hand column.

I had fun making these but I knew I was in trouble when it seemed I had everything in my craft room on my desk while creating. That's when I know it will take forever and I'll have trouble making decisions.

However, my silver lining was that I created two cards that I really like!  I used the top one as my design team card because my coloring on the bottom one could be a bit smoother.  I may go back and try to even it out.

To be fair though, very often what appears smooth (or at least smooth-ish) to the naked eye does not look quite as smooth in a photo. Kind of like when you see yourself in a photo or on Zoom and think - do I REALLY have that many wrinkles!?!

I tried to give the feel of a sweater to both cards - one through the use of the stencil and the other with the embossing folder and the stitched edge.  I used my Scan 'n Cut on this image which allowed me to stamp the steam above the cup then cut it and the bear out as one.

I hope you enjoyed the cards today.  I love this set from My Favorite Things.  I can't wait to color some of the other critters! 

Products used:

• Stamps: My Favorite Things Sweater Weather in the Woods
  
• Dies: Stampin' Up! Coffee Cups, SU Stitched Rectangles, MFT Homespun Stitched Lines
  
• Accessories: SU Greenery and Subtle Embossing Folders, SU Stencil, enamel dots, linen thread, wood wreath, Scan 'n Cut
  
• Inks: Distress Oxide Vinatge Photo, Rusty Hinge, Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke
  
• Markers: Stampin Blends - So Saffron, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Copic markers - YR30, YR000, YG21, E99, Y0000, E41, E43, E44, E47, R01

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