New Year's Card for Pals Paper Arts

Pals Paper Arts Challenge #185 has been out for a while, and as I was looking around for inspiration today, I found their sketch, and decided to make a New Year's card with it:


                                               
  It's a mixture of new and old products, but definitely on the glitzy side:

• I don't know if I'm breaking a cardinal rule of the Arts, but I'm mixing my metallics!  This card features gold and silver embossing powder, gold foil sheets, silver glimmer paper and gold sequins. I like the way it looks so, if it looks good, break all the rules!!!
• I decided New Year's was a good celebration to use up some of my Modern Medley designs that I tend to overlook.  Here I mixed a mosaic design with some variable width stripes.  I'm such a rebel today!

• Everyone watches the clock for midnight New Year's Eve, so I used the Clockworks stamp set for that great pocket watch.  I had to use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to center the clock face, but I had SUCH a hard time with it.  Part of the problem is that my Clockworks set is clear mount and that can pose a problem with two-step stamping, especially if you have to clean the stamp in between stamping the acetate of the Stamp-a-ma-jig and inking up in Versamark so you can add embossing powder.  The cleaning of the stamp moves it slightly on the clear mount block.  If I had it to do over, I would definitely get this set in wood mount, and that goes for any two-step stamping set.
• The sentiment is half of one of the Christmas Messages set stamps.  I carefully inked it up in Versamark ink as well and embossed it with gold embossing powder.  Don't forget to use your embossing buddy for these kinds of projects, so you don't get embossing powder where you don't want it.
• I used an old neglected friend, the Curly Label punch, for the sentiment and it was just the right look! Yay for old friends:  "Should Auld Acquaintance be forgot...."

What are your plans on New Year's Eve?  We are going with two other couples to see the Hobbit Part 2 and I am so excited about that.  Have I mentioned that I am a huge Tolkien fan?  And that the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is my favourite movie series ever?

 

Click on any of these products for a direct link to my Stampin' Up! On-Line Store!

• Clockworks Clear-Mount Stamp Set
• Clockworks
• Christmas Messages Wood-Mount Stamp Set
• Christmas Messages Clear-Mount Stamp Set
• Modern Medley Designer Series Paper
• Gold Foil Sheets
• Silver Glimmer Paper
• Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Versamark Pad
• Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder
• Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder
• Embossing Buddy
• Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
• Heat Tool
• Curly Label Punch
• Gold Sequin Trim*

*Available starting Jan. 3, 2014 from the Occasions Catalogue.

As You See It Challenge 014 - Grunge Greetings

I still haven't used all my Christmas stamps!  It's not for lack of trying!  But I'm determined to by the end of this season!  For my As You See It Challenge card this week, I was able to tick another stamp off my list! Here is the challenge sketch, by Amanda!

It is so cute and it made me think grunge right away!  Must be the splotches in the back ground because Amanda's sketches often have the same affect on me!   I wanted to do a Christmas card for the reason stated above, but I haven't wished anyone a Happy New Year yet, so I combined the two, just like one of the Christmas Messages stamps.

• I decided on a palette of Basic Black, Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White, with silver accents.  That's a whole lot of colours for me to use, but I really like the way it turned out.
• The sentiment is from Christmas Messages, one I hadn't used yet, but can now cross off the list!
• The background of the main panel is brought to you by the stamp set, Gorgeous Grunge and by the Encore Metallic Silver Ink pad.
• If you notice the edge of the Whisper White panel, you will see that I finally took my rotary trimmer out of the box and used the small scallop blade to create that wavy effect. It was way easy to change the track and the blade.  I see another video coming up!

• I had to cut the tag shape out by hand, but there are some punches coming in the new Occasions Catalogue that will do that job for you!
• I used a stamp from Mosaic Madness to create the little ornaments stamped in Sahara Sand and Silver Encore Ink, stamped off once first.  The sentiment is stamped in StazOn Jet Black to show up.
• I love the little touch of the three panel behind the tag, and in using the Silver Glimmer paper for the top one, I was able to try out a technique I saw on someone's blog. (I can't remember whose! -Head hung down in shame!)  You know how hard it is to adhere the Glimmer Paper with Snail either to the front or the back of it.  This person suggested separating off the back ply of paper and then you can at least use Snail on the back.  It makes it more flimsy, but it sure works!
• The silver 1/8" ribbon is the perfect accent.

Hope you enjoyed this little card, and each product listed below is linked to my Stampin' Up On-Line Store where you can order it with ease!

• Christmas Messages Wood-Mount Stamp Set
• Christmas Messages Clear-Mount Stamp Set
• Gorgeous Grunge Wood-mount Stamp Set
• Gorgeous Grunge Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Mosaic Madness Wood-mount Stamp Set
• Mosaic Madness Clear-mount Stamp Set
• Silver Glimmer Paper
• Basic Black 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Sahara Sand 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
• Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Silver Metallic Encore Pad
• Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad
• Jet Black StazOn Pad
• Silver 1/8" Ribbon
• Stampin' Trimmer Rotary Addition
• Small Scallop Stampin’ Trimmer Rotary Cutting Blade

MOJO Monday Elegance

It's been awhile since I've done a MOJO Monday sketch, so when I needed one more Christmas card design for my Christmas Stampers' Dozen, I turned to this challenge for my layout.  It's a fairly simple sketch, but lends itself nicely to some elegance!

I decided to turn it on its side, since I already had two vertical designs for my class.  Here's how it turned out:

•  Do you see a baby Dasher?  Yes, it is a scaled down version of one of everyone's favourite reindeer!  (Not counting Rudolph!)  It is part of the Best Of Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set  from the series Best of 25 Years!  If you want it, just click on the link that will take you right to my On-line Stampin' Up Store to purchase it.  If you buy any 6 of the Best of 25 Years series, you can get a free stamp set from Stampin' Up! worth up to $17.95 CD.
• I used all my favourite paper with this one:  
• Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Brushed Gold 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Season Of Style Designer Series Paper - the beautiful cherry cobbler plaid design.

• The sentiment is from  Christmas Messages Wood-Mount Stamp Set and it's one that has been getting a lot of use this fall.  It's stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink.  
• I wanted a rich looking ribbon for the bow, and turned to Summer Starfruit 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon
  with all its shiny goldness!  Summer Starfruit is the  ink colour I used to stamp Dasher as well.
• Over all, it is a simple card, which is important for a class where you're making 12 cards, but it doesn't skimp on richness.

Thanks for dropping by today!  Leave me a comment about how your Christmas cards are coming along, or do you send cards at Christmas?

Here are the products I used:

• Best Of Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set
• Christmas Messages Wood-Mount Stamp Set
• Christmas Messages Wood-Mount Stamp Set
• Season Of Style Designer Series Paper
• Brushed Gold 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock
• Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad
• Summer Starfruit Classic Stampin' Pad
• Summer Starfruit 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon

Just follow the links to my On-line Stampin' Up Store to purchase any of these products 24/7!  So convenient!

Illuminate the Holidays

Just a very quick blog post today, as I am preparing to leave tomorrow for my Rising Star trip.  I wanted to update you on some family happenings.  First, I finally completed a crib quilt and crib skirt for my youngest grandson, Wyatt.  Poor little guy has been in his crib for a while now without any special bedding for it, so I was so relieved to have it finished and sent away to him.  Here's how it looks:

Second bit of news is that I'm going to be a Grandma again, twice over and both within 3 days of each other in May 2014!  I know my girls like to do things together, but this is a bit much!  I mean, where do I go? Who do I help?  I guess we'll have to play it by ear. Here are their creative birth announcements:

How cute are those?

I wanted to share with you my last swap card for the Rising Star trip.  It is a version of this card, so you can watch the video tutorial for advice on how to make it.  It is an illuminated easel card that features a vellum window through which you can see a flickering battery-powered votive candle! (Don't use a real one! lol)

• This card features the new Endless Wishes Photopolymer stamp set which I absolutely LOVE!!  It was so easy to use and get perfect placement of all the images.  
• I used gobs of silver embossing powder on this one!
• I like the combination of Midnight Muse and Coastal Cabana.

• There's a little closer look at the "stop" that keeps the easel in place.  I used a verse from the stamp set, Christmas Messages, found in the Holiday Mini catalogue.

• Here you can see that it folds flat for mailing.  But how you're going to fit that battery-powered votive in the envelope, I don't know!

Well, I've got lots more to do before I go so I'll post again from Salt Lake City!  Thanks for dropping by.

Deck the Doors

I want to show you my favourite project from my craft retreat this weekend.  It is not my design.  I found it on Pinterest, designed by Lynn Pratt, but it was so much fun to make and I love how it turned out.  Here's my version:

• I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock for the door, but some of the panels you can see are sponged with Cherry Cobbler ink, making them darker.  The back panel is sponged around the edges, but the second panel is sponged all over.
• Cut the cardstock at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", score it at 2 1/8" and 6 3/8", and fold the sides in on the score lines to make a gate fold card.
• The curve of the top of the door, I achieved with my second largest Oval framelit and I used that to help me make the curves on the top panels of the door the same as the top of the door.
• The wreaths are made from Old Olive cardstock on top and Always Artichoke cardstock underneath. I punched two 1" Circles on each colour, then centered a 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch over the circle and punched it out to make the wreath shape.

• The door handle panels are cut using the Word Window Punch on some Gold Foil sheets then repunching it shorter.  The handles are cut from Champagne Glimmer paper using the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack circle shape.
• I added Rhinestone Basic Jewels coloured with a red Sharpie to make berries or ornaments on the wreath and tied some 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Real Red in a small bow, attached with a glue dot to the bottom of the wreath.

• Inside is some Very Vanilla cardstock stamped in Cherry Cobbler with the Deck the Halls image from the Christmas messages stamp set and the little fir bough from Special Season inked up using Always Artichoke and Early Espresso Stampin' Write markers.

I'll give you the approximate dimensions of the door panels.

Bottom of the door - 4 panels:                        Top of the door:   Panel        Base      Short side    Tall side

     Largest: 1 5/8" x 1 1/8"                                                Largest panel:      1 5/8"   1 3/8"           2 1/4" 

     Middle:  1 1/4" x 3/4"                                                  Middle panel:       1 1/4 "  1 1/8"           1 3/4"            Smallest: 1" x 1/2"                                                       Smallest panel:      1"         7/8"              1 1/4"      

Have fun with this.  You can also make a rectangular shaped door and make the top panels equal to the tall side measurements.

WEEKLY DEALS!

Great news! During this festive week, there are no tricks here, only treats! Make sure you head over to the store to get your deals before they run out.

	Secret Garden Framelits Dies Item #129372  Regular Price: $30.95 Discounted Price: $23.21
	Stampin' Pierce Mat Item # 126199 Regular Price: $5.50 Discounted Price: $4.12
	7/8" Scallop Circle Punch Item # 129404 Regular Price: $15.95 Discounted Price: $11.96
	Ovals Collection Framelits Dies Item #129381 Regular Price: $32.95 Discounted Price: $24.71
	Paper Snips Item # 103579 Regular Price: $14.95 Discounted Price: $11.21
	Baker's Twine Island Indigo Item # 125575 Regular Price: $3.95 Discounted Price: $2.96
	Blossom Petals XL Punch Item # 121808 Regular Price: $9.19 Discounted Price: $6.89
	Keep This Memory Photobook Template Item # 129879 Regular Price: $21.95 Discounted Price: $10.97

Thanks for dropping by my blog today.  Have a lovely Tuesday!         

Stamps:  Christmas Messages (w131790; c131793); Special Season (w131766; c131769)

Paper:  Champagne Glimmer Paper (127885); Gold Foil Sheets (132622); Cherry Cobbler (119685), Old Olive (100702), Always Artichoke (105119) and Very Vanilla (101650) cardstock     

Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pad in Cherry Cobbler (119681); Stampin' Write Markers in Always Artichoke (131262 - as part of the Regals collection) and Early Espresso (119680); red Sharpie marker

Accessories:  Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Real Red (119251)
Tools:  Stampin' Trimmer (126889); Ovals Collection Framelits (129381); Word Window Punch (119857); Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309); 1" Circle Punch (119868); 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch (119854)

1" Circle Punch

Champagne Glimmer Paper

Christmas Messages Stamp Set

Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack

Ovals Collection Framelits

Stampin' Trimmer

1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch

Special Season Stamp Set

Word Window Punch