I’m Back
I had a fantastic Christmas with my two lovely daughters and their families. Although the weather was not perfect, we didn’t get any rain and the grandchildren managed to have a swim and use the pool toys that they got for Christmas. I feel sad for the many who have been flooded by all the rain we have been getting in Queensland and New South Wales and hope that things will soon be back to normal for them.
Today is my first day back crafting since Christmas Eve and I thought I would share my entry in the Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge for this week.
I am really starting to love square cards. I needed a birthday card for a neighbour who is celebrating her 25th birthday on New Year’s Eve and I am so happy with the way it has turned out.
I used Basic Black card 8 1/2″ x 4 1/4″, scored and folded to make a 4 1/4″ card. I added a layer of Crumb Cake card which has been embossed using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. Another layer of Basic Black and Crumb Cake (also embossed using the same folder). I added a strip of Basic Black card with both edges punched using the Pinking Hearts Border Punch. The leaves are cut from Crumb Cake card using the Little Leaves sizzlet and the Big Shot. I stamped “celebrate” from the Fabulous Phrases stampset using Basic Black ink on Crumb Cake card and punched it out using the Word Window Punch. To make my flower I punched 3 Real Red scallop circles using the 1 3/4″ Scallop Circle Extra Large Punch. I used my bone folder to distress the card so that I could separate the layers. Then I stacked them one on top of the other and pierced a hole through the centre. I scrunched up each individual scallop and then opened them, re-stacked them and placed a Gold Brad through the centre and scrunched each layer up around the brad. Then I opened the layers back out a little and added mini glue dots to the back to attach it to my card.
I’d love to know if you like this card as much as I do.
Bye for now, Kris.
Merry Christmas
I won’t be posting tomorrow. Too many things to do before the family arrives for lunch. I want to thank all of you who visit my blog and also thanks to those of you who have become followers. I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year. I hope that I can continue to share my love of stamping and inspire you to make your own beautiful creations.
I made this card for a Sketch Challenge on SUDSOL this week. I started with a Night of Navy card base and used my Night of Navy inkpad direct to paper to give some texture . I added a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock which has been embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I added a strip of Whisper White card with both edges punched using the Eyelet Edge Punch. I wrapped this with a piece of Night of Navy 5/8″ Satin Ribbon. I stamped thinking of you from the Sincere Salutations stampset onto Whisper White card using Night of Navy ink and punched it out using the Large Oval and layered it onto a Scalloped Oval punched from So Saffron card. I stamped the large flower from Vintage Vogue using So Saffron ink onto Whisper White card and cut them out. I stamped the small flower from the same set onto Whisper White card using So Saffron ink with the edges “rock and rolled” in Crumb Cake ink. I punched the leaves from Crumb Cake card using the Two Step Bird punch. I simply added the small flowers to the centre of the large flowers and added a Whisper White 5/16″ Jumbo Brad to the centre. The flowers are attached to the page using Mini Glue Dots and Dimensionals.
Unfortunately, I do need to send this card, so sad at this time of year.
Again Merry Christmas and bye for now, Kris.
Two More Sleeps
I can’t believe that Christmas is so close and I am so unorganised. I have spent today stamping the brown paper fill from my Stampin” Up! delivery boxes and wrapping my presents to go under the tree. I ironed my paper and then rolled it with the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel using Always Artichoke ink. Some curling ribbon and cute little tags and I think they look fantastic.
I also managed to get this gift card holder made. Gift cards are such an uninteresting present but by presenting it in this great little holder, Wow what a difference. I have seen quite a few of these on the net so thought I would give it a try. I cut a Top Note from Cherry Cobbler card, one from the Holly Jolly Designer Series Paper and one from Very Vanilla card. The Very Vanilla Top Note is cut in half. I attached all the layers using the Anywhere Glue Stick. Once they were all attached I ran the piece through the Big Shot using the Finial Press Embossing Folder. I stamped Dasher onto Very Vanilla card using Chocolate Chip ink and layered it onto a piece of Cherry Cobbler Card. I attached it to the Top Note using Mini Glue Dots. I stamped “very merry” from the Short and Sweet stampset onto Very Vanilla card using Cherry Cobbler ink and punched it out using the Word Window Punch. I added this to a Cherry Cobbler Modern Label and attached it to the Top Note using dimensionals.
For the inside I cut the same pieces but this time I only embossed the Very Vanilla piece. This is attached using Sticky Strip around the three edges to create a pocket for the Gift Card. I also added a small card with a few words for the recipient. I punched a hole through the top left hand corner of both Top Notes using the Crop-A-Dile and set an Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelet. I added some Old Olive 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon so that it could hang on the tree.
I am sure I will be making more Gift Card Holders in this style.
Well I’m off to finish off some hair decorations for my granddaughters.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Little Razzle Dazzle
Stamping 411 has another great
sketch challenge this week so I thought I might as well play along.
I used Concord Crush as my base card. I added a layer of Crumb Cake on which I used my Crumb Cake ink pad “direct to paper”. I love this technique as the result is always a surprise. The next layer is a piece of Lap of Luxury Designer Series Paper – I have only recently opened this but I love the colours. Then I ran a pice of Very Vanilla cardstock through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The ribbon is Pretty in Pink 1/4″ grosgrain which I wrapped around the card. Then I used my Bow Maker (please contact me if you want more information regarding this) to make a double bow which I attached using Mini Glue Dots. I inked up my image from the Razzle Dazzle stampset using my Pretty in Pink and Concord Crush Stampin’ Write Markers and stamped it onto a circle of Very Vanilla cut using my Circle Scissors. I added another circle cut from Concord Crush cardstock. The image piece is added to my card using dimensionals.
I’m off to get organised before Noah, Jae and Ava arrive for the day. Let me know what you think of this card.
Bye fow now, Kris.
Another Christmas Tree Card
This week at Just Add Ink there is a sketch challenge.
I used the colours from the Jolly Holly Designer Series Paper. So the base card is Cherry Cobbler, next I added a layer of Old Olive which I have stamped with the Sanded Background using Old Olive ink. I added a layer of Very Vanilla which I sponged all round with Cherry Cobbler ink. I stamped “merry christmas” from the Christmas Classics stampset at the top using Cherry Cobbler ink. I added a folded Christmas tree cut from the Holly Jolly Designer Series Paper. This time I added a trunk to my tree which is half a 1 1/4″ square punched from Chocolate Chip card. Probably not my favourite Christmas card but it will do.
Although this is not the template I used, there is a great template for a folded Christmas Tree on Connie Babbert’s blog.
Bye for now, Kris.
An Elegant Birthday Card
Well I think it is anyway. The challenge for cards for a celebration at Late Night Stampers started me thinking about birthdays as January is a very busy month for birthdays in my family.
The base card is Concord Crush – a colour I am loving more and more. I added a layer of Very Vanilla card which has been embossed using the Finial Press Embossing Folder. Next is a layer of Lap of Luxury Designer Series Paper which is layered onto Concord Crush Card. Next I stamped the greeting from On Your Birthday onto Very Vanilla card using Concord Crush ink and again added a layer of Concord Crush card. I stamped the flowers from Punch Potpourri (Level 1 Hostess Set) onto Very Vanilla card using Concord Crush ink twice. I punched them out with the Boho Blossoms Extra Large Punch. Then I punched the flowers out again using Concord Crush card. I added them around the greeting, using dimensionals on the central flower on each corner. Lastly I added some Basic Rhinestones to the centre of the flowers.
I love how this card turned out. Probably something to do with the colours. I’d love to know what you think.
Bye for now, Kris.
Friends Never Fade
Last week there was a great colour challenge on Just Add Ink. Unfortunately I didn’t get to it in time but I wanted to use the colours anyway so I combined them with the sketch challenge at Sudsol this week.
The colours were Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Ridinghood Red and Basic Gray. I stamped the single flower from Friends Never Fade onto Whisper White card using Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Yellow and Ridinghood Red ink. I added a layer of Ridinghood Red with one edge punched using the Scallop Trim border punch. I stamped the single flower onto the Basic Gray card using Basic Gray ink and sponged the edges with the same ink. Then I added my floral border. I stamped the central image using Daffodil Delight ink on Whisper White card. I added a Basic Gray and Tempting Turquoise layer before attaching to the card front using dimensionals. I love the sketch and am quite happy with the way this has turned out. Quite bright and cheery. I think I am going to have to use these colours again for some children’s cards.
Bye for now, Kris.
An Inspired Birthday
Well here’s another card not related to Christmas. Late Night Stampers challenge this week is to make a Celebration card.
I wanted to make this card using only one layer so I followed Butternut Sage’s tutorial on how to use only a portion of an embossing folder. I used my Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder to add a line of 3 dots down the left hand side of my Whisper White card. Then I added scored lines along both sides of the dots, across the top of the card and down the right hand side of the card. Then I inked up the flowers from Inspired by Nature using my Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write markers. I stamped it onto the right hand side of the card. I wasn’t happy with the way it looked so trimmed the bottom of the Whisper White card and added a piece of Chocolate Chip card with the edge punched using the Eyelet Edge Punch. Then to my horror I discovered I had smudged some ink onto my beautiful embossing. So I stamped happy birthday from the Perfect Punches stampset onto Whisper White card using Pretty in Pink ink and punched it out using the Oval Extra Large Punch. I added a Chocolate Chip tag using the Lots of Tags Sizzlit 4 pack dies and the Big Shot. All in all I am happy with the way this has turned out. Not quite my one layer card but not too bad either. I posted this so that you can see that you can always “save” a card, if there is a smudge or something doesn’t quite go right.
I’m off to have breakfast and then do some ironing – not my favourite job.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Gift Card Holder
I subscribed to Sandi Maciver’s Christmas newsletter and followed her tutorial to make this great gift card holder.
My youngest granddaughter Ava has proved a little difficult to buy for this Christmas. As the youngest child, she has more than enough toys to play with. So I bought her a book to put under the tree and then purchased a gift card for her Mum to buy her clothes as necessary. I needed something nice to house the gift card and Sandi’s Gift Card Holder was just the thing. I actually cased my own Owly Santa to make this.
I cut the real red cardstock to Sandi’s dimensions and added the pocket inside. To decorate the front I added a Whisper White card layer which has been embossed with the Petals a Plenty Embossing folder. Then another layer of Real Red card and a Whisper White layer embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder. I added my Owly Santa made as per this post. I added some of the beautiful 5/8″ organza ribbon to tie the holder closed.
Here is the inside of my card. I added a Rounded Tab and a Filigree brad to a piece of Real Red card and used my Slit Punch (retired) to make little tabs to hold my gift card.
This gift card holder is made so that it could house a slightly more bulky item as it has a 1/4″ wide pocket on the inside.
I’m thinking chocolate or jewellery or chocolate!!!
I’m sure you could think of any number of things to put in this great little card. Thanks for the free tutorial Sandi.
Well must run.
Bye for now, Kris.
Sad News
I got news this week that a previous work colleague had lost her daughter in a car accident. It’s hard to lose someone you love at any time of year but especially hard at Christmastime. I wanted her to know that I was thinking of her.
I started by following an old Mojo Monday sketch and the colours Naturals Ivory, Always Artichoke and Chocolate Chip.
My base card is Always Artichoke and I added a layer of Naturals Ivory. I embossed the Chocolate Chip card with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder before attaching to the bottom half of the card front. I cut a circle of Naturals Ivory using my Circle Scissors and stamped the leaf image from Just Believe using Always Artichoke ink. I added another circle cut from Always Artichoke card. I stamped “thinking of you” from the Three Little Words stampset and punched it out with my Modern Label Punch. I added a Chocolate Chip modern label cut with my Movers and Shapers die. The words are attached to the circles and then the whole piece is attached to the card front using dimensionals. I added a Chocolate Chip photo corner to the top left hand side. I punched out three Naturals Ivory flowers using one of the punches from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. I attached the punched out flowers to the back of the matching Bitty Button and then added them to the lower left hand side of the card.
Not my favourite kind of card to make but I am pleased with the finished card.
Bye for now, Kris.
