Silver & White

The inspiration photo this week at Festive Friday is fabulous!!!!

I just love the white & silver. I not only used that color combination, but also the pine cones on the table for my inspiration.

 The leaves  & sentiment were embossed with silver embossing powder by Ranger Inks. The card panel was placed on soft stone card stock.


An up close shot.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek..

Christmas Vellum Overlay

 I have another card for this week's MIM: Vellum Overlays hosted by PTI. The theme of my card is Christmas. It's been forever since I participated in a Christmas Challenge hosted by Festive Friday.
The challenge is based upon this photo.

I focused on the tree with the presents;

 I decided to add rhinestones colored with my Copic marker after I finished the card. Since the challenge at Merry Monday is to create a project with sparkle, shimmer and shine, I'll submit this card there too!

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Festive Friday Snowflake

I really should be working on all the spring projects I have in mind instead of creating Christmas cards. But I couldn't resist the inspiration photo for the current challenge at Festive Friday.

My take:

I used Glimmer Mist on my snowflake to jazz it up a bit. The embossed background is an old Cuttlebug folder I had in my stash. The sentiment is from Peaceful Pointsettia. I decided to add the snowman in the center other than a smaller snowflake. What do you think? Should I keep the snowman or replace it?
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

I'm the Gingerbread Man

  Thanks to the Christmas challenges out there, I have 20% of my Christmas cards made for 2014, and we are only about 1/6 of the way through the year. If I continue, I might not be making my cards at the last minute like I did last year.

My card was inspired by this sketch

                                                            from the current challenge at Seize the Sketch.

The large pink panel was embossed with the Canvas/Linen Impression plate from PTI.  You can see it a wee bit in this photo if you look real closely .

I am submitting this card to the current challenge at Festive Friday which is based upon this photo.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Candy Cane Inspiration!

  Just a quick post today for the current challenge at Festive Fridays which is to create a project based upon this picture.

 I was searching in my box of Christmas card pattern papers looking for a candy cane pattern I bought last season, but was wooed more by this piece of  scarlet stripes I came across.

Inspired by this card from Melissa Phillips, I added the holly spring at the last moment. Guess I can submit it to this weeks challenge at Merry Monday.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

A Fancy Christmas Ornament Card

  I'm still on a roll creating Christmas cards for 2014. The ornament was inspired by PTI's MIM : Window Screen Cards. The border of the card was stamped with a Versamark snowflake from Snowflake Medley. However, it didn't show up in the photo.

I only have two cover plates: the quatrefoil and twist.  I thought this one looked best. The leaves are from Beautiful Blooms II. I used Pure Poppy ink to die some seam binding for the double bow as I wanted something soft.

   The challenge this week at Merry Monday is to create a Christmas card with an ornament. It just so happens that my card works perfectly for the challenge this week at Festive Friday. Here is the inspiration image.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek. Hop on over to the challenges at Merry Monday and Festive Friday to get inspired to begin your Christmas cards for 2014.

Festive Friday 2014

This is my first post for Festive Friday this new year. They have a beautiful inspirational photo.

Here's my take.

The allegation background was inspire by the barn.  I chose this stained glass image based upon baby Jesus being born in a stable. The coloring was based upon this image

Done by Nicole.
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Candy Cane Christmas

  Back again with another  MIM challenge. These backgrounds are so quick, easy and mistake proof. Love it! I only used two colors. I think using 3 or more colors really knocks this technique out of the park.

    Finally came up with an idea for the Festive Friday Element theme Challenge: Candy Cane

   I didn't really have anything with a candy cane theme so I secured a printable image from the internet, formatted it, cut it and stamped it with the Super Stripes stamp set.

  On Saturday I went to a stamping convention. I met the sweetest lady who devised a bow making tool. It is so quick & easy. A perfect bow everytime.Usually when I come home from a convention, I unpack my goodies (if my husband isn't home as I don't want him to see how much I bought) and wait several days to possibly use them.  Well, I immediately unpacked the bow maker and made several bows within 5 minutes. If you are looking for a fairly inexpensive bow maker, check out her website

 I am also entering this card into her August challenge: Anything goes With a Bow. 

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

A Trio of Challenges

     This year I have been trying to make my Christmas cards throughout the year and have been participating in both Festive Friday and Merry Monday Christmas challenges.  However, I haven't been doing so well lately as I've been busy making birthday decorations for my granddaughter's birthday in August.  However, I found some time to make a quick Christmas card. I designed my card by using the color scheme from the current  Festive Friday Color Challenge.

  I think these non-traditional colors look so pretty together and will make a great card. I decided to use the sketch from this week's Retrosketches.

 Here's my card.

The pine leaves are embossed in silver along with the sentiment and inside decoration of the ornament. A ribbon and crystal finish off the ornament.   The picture does not do this card justice. It is so pretty IRL.

   I also decided to submit this to Merry Monday's Month long Christmas challenge

   Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek. 

Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

     It has been very humid here the past couple of days especially after a soggy Fourth of July weekend, but Christmas in July does conjure some cool thoughts. My card today is being submitted into two challenges:

Festive Friday and Merry Monday.

         

Here's my card:

I  mounted the snowman on some cardstock so one can lift the top to see the inside sentiment.

   I have about 1 1/2 dozen Christmas cards made so far,but. this is  a mere dent. I do enjoy making different cards instead of mass producing one type. However, the down side is it takes me hours just to come up with one idea. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Festiv Friday Element challenge: Tree

  Back again with another Christmas card for Festive Friday's element challenge.

  Here's my take:

The images and sentiments are from PTI's  Peaceful Poinsettia. I heat embossed the sentiment with gold and tied a gold cord under the panel.

 As I was embossing, I realized I could submit this card for Pti's June Blog Hop since the challenge this month is to add a touch of gold.  I am not too happy with the way the cord is sticking up.  Any suggestions besides snipping the tails a tad shorter??

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

MIM: Colored Vellum Flowers

  I had this design in mind for the challenge this week at Festive Friday

However, after viewing the MIM video: Colored Vellum Flowers, I decided to try this with the holly die from Holly Jolly.

 Two things I would do differently with this card:
    1. Edge the Vintage Cream card stock. ( I had intended to and remembered after I attached the panel to the base)
   2.  Prop the holly up with some dimensional tape.

Here's a close up shot of the colored vellum holly.

I used the Linen and canvas IP.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Peace

 I just love the element theme this week for the challenge at Festive Friday, a two week challenge to motivate one to create Christmas cards throughout the year.

 This is my 2nd submission. Not only was it a quick card to make, but also a flat, easy to mail card.

The heart was cut from Glitter card stock I got at Michaels. The sentiment is from Beautiful Blessings: Holiday.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Festive Friday: Peace on Earth

 This is my 3rd consecutive challenge for Festive Friday.   The challenge this week is to create a project with a bird in it. The dove is the perfect Christmas bird. The idea for my card came very quickly to me. I inked the background with Spring Rain, Blueberry Sky and Enchanteed Evening.

The dove was selectively inked from an old, red rubber stamp. When I was inking the background, I wanted to keep the body of the dove white. However, when I went to photograph the card, the image of the dove was blurred. So I filled it in.

 I have a couple more ideas for Christmas cards with doves. I'm sure I'll be back with another one later in the week. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Another Reto christmas card.

  This is my 2nd card for the current challenge over at  Festive Friday. The theme is retro.

  I used the balloon die on glossy card stock from Stylish Birthday and added some gold glossy paper on top to make the ornaments. 

 My goal is to make 2 Christmas cards per week. I've been at it for a month. Hope I can continue this trend. Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Retro Festive Friday

   The current challenge at  Festive Friday is to create a holiday project with a retro theme.

  I had just purchased the Vintage Ornaments Addition stamp set & dies on the for sale board at PTI. My timing couldn't have been better.  This is my card.

   I used the streamers and bow stamps from Stylish birthday. The sentiment was selectively inked. 

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Festive Friday: Color Challenge

 Making at least one Christmas card a week has been a high priority for me the whole month of March.  Hopefully the trend will continue in April.  Here's my entry for this week's Festive Friday Challenge.

     I love these non-traditional colors. Made my Christmas tree a little non-traditional. 

       The sentiment is from Wreath for All Seasons. Not visible in the photo is the texture from the Linen Impression plate I used on the Sweet Blush panel. In addition, I edged the outer edges of the Christmas tree ever so lightly in Aqua Mist.  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

Festive Friday

    I decided to take a little break from all the Easter cards I have been making. I've switched to Christmas.
 Last year, I was frantic making my 70 Christmas cards. I am usually one who has them mailed the day after Thanksgiving. That didn't happen. In fact I think my cards went out about 10 days before the holiday. Being so anxious, my mojo was also lacking. This year I am determined to have the majority of my cards done by October. ( I am going to be in Europe the entire month of October so I'll be losing a lot of crafting time)   Perusing Melissa Philips' blog I came across a challenge called Festive Friday.
   Every two weeks a new Christmas challenge is posted. The current one is to create a project incorporating a snowflake into the design.  Here is my card.  (Sorry for the poor lighting. Too much rain today)

   Here's a close up of the tree  using the Layered Postmarks die in the Fabulous Frame with a felt snowflake from Snowflake Medley.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.