More Poinsettias

I have another quick and easy poinsettia card.  I used Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" set again, from GKD.   The flowers were gold embossed, using super fine gold embossing powder, on watercolor paper.  They were colored with pretty in pink reinkers and a gold marker used for the centers.  Oval Nestabilities was used to cut out the center of the always artichoke CS and a piece of brushed gold card stock is placed below it.  Happy Holidays, from GKD "Holiday Greetings"  was gold embossed.  SU foliage images were gold embossed on the green frame then poinsettias were attached using dimensional tape.  MS leaves were added around the flowers.

Gold Partridge

Before I moved across the state, I taught card workshops.  Since I can't be there, I mail down packets of cards to my friends.  They look forward to continuing with their workshops.    I am sending off their packet today, which includes everything to make 5 cards plus a challenge they complete then they email me a picture of their completed challenge.  Today I am posting  one of the cards they will be completing.

Products used are from Gina K Designs.  The two stamp sets used are "Holiday Cheer" and "Holiday Greetings".  The card stocks are:  chocolate kiss, ivory, and good as gold.  The partridge was gold embossed on ivory card stock.  A punch was used for the corners and gold cord wound around edges and taped on back.  The image was attached to gold  CS with dimensionals. 

The background was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  Three leaves were punch using the gold CS then embossed with the gold embossing powder so it would match the leaves in the embossed design.  I love the super fine gold embossing powder from GDK.

It's Snowing

The title says it all.  Yes, it has been snowing all day.  I thought it only appropriate to make a snowflake card.  I used the beautiful snowflake from the StampTV Showtime Stamp Kit "Holiday Cheer" available from Gina K Designs.  It was embossed with silver on night of navy CS and cut out with Nestabilities.  The greeting is from the other set in that kit "Holiday Greetings".  The scallops are cut out of shiny silver CS.  All images are on dimensionals. 

The white background was embossed with the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder.  The night of navy piece, on the bottom,  was embossed with the Dotted Swiss embossing folder.  A MS punch was used for the trim.  Two narrow strips of silver CS were cut to layer across the lattice.  Clear rhinestones were added to complete the design.

Snow Covered Trees

I have been gone most of the day.  I had the idea for making the above card but it did not turn out as nice as I wanted, but I don't have time make a new one so I am posting this one just so you can see the idea. 

I stamped trees from Gina K's "Tree Silhouettes" with always artichoke ink on "moonlit fog" CS also from GKD.  I then used a Martha Stewart punch for branches and glued layers over the stamped trees.  I used two different colors CS.  I used one of the snowflakes from Gina's  "Holiday Cheer" stamp set for the large snowflakes. The part I am not very happy with is the snow.  I used some Sparkle Snow by Delta.  I am sure it is very pretty when applied better than what I did.  I silver embossed the greeting from GKD "Holiday Greetings" and cut it out with a Nestability die and attached with a dimensional dot.

I will definitely play with making more trees using this stamp and punch,  and hopefully it will turn out prettier.  Have you used this punch to create trees? 

A Fun Blog Award

I have received this fun award from two very sweet friends.  I received it yesterday from Patti and this morning from Mary Anne.  Both these friends have very beautiful blogs.  It is always so fun to receive awards from your friends.  Thank you Patti and Mary Anne. 

Now I am suppose to tell you five things you may not know about me then pass the award on to five other friends.

You may not know:

1.  I was a SU demonstrator for almost 10 years but recently gave it up because of new rules that we can't link to other companies or products on our blog.  I love SU products and it was a sad decision but feel there are so many other products I love to use too and pass on to others.

2.  I have some very exciting news to announce next week, but can't tell you what it is right now.

3.  I will be celebrating my 50th wedding anniversary on Jan 1.  My family is  planning a celebration New Year's Eve . . . fireworks, sleigh rides, dinner, etc.  (Crazy day to get married because we have to celebrate Christmas, my birthday on the 28th, then our anniversary!!!).

4. For Christmas I love to decorate with snowmen and moose!   What a combination, huh!

5.  I saw my first "real" moose last year.  They walked right behind our house then took up residence in town!!!  We were so excited to have their company all winter.

Wow! that was hard to think of five things to tell you!

There are lots of creative friends I thought of to send this to:   Here are five I don't believe have received this award yet:

1.  Scrubbybubbles Sue

2. Tillymint Sue

3.  Joan

4.  Pam

5.  Sharri

I will have a card to post later today so check back.

Autumn Splendor

Last week I posted a card using a free digital image from the  "There's Magic in the Air" blog.   Every Monday Nina May posts an image she had drawn and one of her design team members posts a challenge.  I had so much fun working with the beautiful image last week that I decided to work on the new challenge this week.  The name of this image is "Autumn Splendor"  The challenge is to use the Autumn Splendor image , then she wants you to be inspired by the photograph below in anyway that inspires you to complete your card.  Aren't these gorgeous maple leaves!

As soon as I saw the challenge, I immediately knew what designer paper I needed to use.  The  paper is from "Me and My Big Ideas" paper pack.  I have had it on my desk for weeks trying to figure out how to use it.  I think it is beautiful because it has the autumn leaves and has a lot of bright shiny gold in the design.  Don't you think this paper was just perfect for this challenge?

I downloaded the image then printed it making sure it was just the right size so some of the designer paper would show up well.  It was colored using Copic markers then cut out with a square Nestability.  A layer of pumpkin spice and shiny gold card stocks were put under the design. A piece of gold ribbon, which has some shiny gold thread in it, was layered across the card then a bow added with a glue dot.  Some gold embellishments were added in the corners to complete the design.

(We have had days of rain and today it is very sunny out.  I took this picture with the sun shinning on the card to show up the gold glittery paper but it did create some shadows.)

Two more "A Very Merry Christmas" cards

I have two more cards I made for Theresa using her "A Very Merry Christmas" stamp set I thought I would post today.  Both cards were very quick and easy to make.

This is another card made using the tutorial I made below "A Cuttlebug/Nestability embossed frame".  This time I used the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder.  These bells were stamped with Black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  I used a glitter pen to go over the embossed snowflakes then added some punched snowflakes that have dazzeling diamonds glitter added.  I used a glue pen to cover each flake with glue then dipped them into the glitter.  They were placed randomly around the bells.  Super fine glitter was added to the ribbon and bells.  All the glitz does not show up in the photo.  The embossed piece is attached to a piece of green CS.

The holly was gold embossed in the upper left corner.  Originally I was going to make a one layer card with the Labels Five Nestability embossed in the middle.  I didn't  like it so decided to cut out another label and mount it, with dimensionals,  over the original one.  The verse was also gold embossed and a gold leaf pen used to go around the outside edge to make it stand out.  A piece of gold cord was added to the bottom.  Red rhinestones and a gold bow added to compelte the card.  It is mounted on  a piece of brushed gold CS. 

Tone on Tone Technique

Wow I just noticed I have over 20,000 visitors to my blog.  I am so happy all of you come to see what I have been designing and want to thank you for visiting.  Hope I give you inspiration to do lots of stamping!

On StampTV this week, Gina has a tutorial on how to do Tone On Tone  stamping plus she has a tutorial on how to use the Bow Easy to make perfect bows.  Her technique challenge this week is to complete a tone on tone project.

I have done this technique before and think it is very pretty.  I decided to try something different other than just stamping.  I used the Fleur De Lis Nestability to emboss on my gold card stock.  I then gold embossed the pretty snowflake from Gina's "Holiday Cheer" stamp set.  I  used the stamp positioner to stamp the greeting. It was a really tight spot so using the stamp positioner guaranteed I got it right where I wanted it.   The card was kind of plain so used the VersaMarker Pen to color in some of the embossed design and used Super Fine Gold embossing powder to give the card more shine.  I like how it turned out but it still looked kind of plain so decided to add the gold trim around the design.  Some snowflakes were punched and added to the corners then a bow added to complete the card.

Elegant Holly

Made another quick and easy card so thought I would do a second post today.  Be sure to scroll down to see the snowman card I made earlier today. 

This card is made using Theresa Momber's "A Very Merry Christmas" stamp set, available from Gina K Designs.  I want to thank Theresa for inviting me to be one of her Guest Designers this month.  It has been a real honor.  

This card went together very quickly.  The holly was stamped using black Memento ink onto watercolor paper and colored with Peerless Watercolors.  Aren't these watercolors beautiful.  The frame and corners were cut with the  Nestabilities Fleur de lis die.  I really like this design.  The green CS is from GKD and was embossed with the Cuttlebug snowflake folder.  The holly is up on dimensional dots.  A few white pearls were added to complete the card.

 

Happy Holidays

I am getting a real good start on completing all my Christmas cards.  Here is one I made using stamps from "Tweet Winter Wishes" by Our Craft Lounge.  I created a scene using the snowman, the fence with the birds, and the smallest snowflake from this set.  The pine tree is from Rubber Stampede.

The images are clear rubber stamps so they are very easy to create a scene with.  I first stamped the snowman then the fence.  The images were colored with Copic markers.  I used Sahara Sand to stamp the snowflakes.  I usually use black ink but like the lighter look using this ink.  I used one of the long rectangle Nestabilities to cut out the image.  The SU greeting was stamped on white CS and a ticket punch used on each corner.  Both pieces were then attached to some aqua colored shiny cardstock that matches the aqua in the background paper.  The tree was stamped in black ink and colored with Copic markers then cut out.  It was mounted using dimensionals.  Polar White Flower Soft was added to the scene then some aqua rhinestone completed the card.

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?

Warmest Wishes

We have had rain all day today and taking a good picture of my card was a bit difficult.  Tonight I am posting a quick and easy card.  The stamps are from SU.  The background was embossed with the snowflake Cuttlebug embossing folder and attached to  Forest Foliage CS.  The image was stamped with black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  The sky was chalked.  Nestabilities were used to cut out the design and the greeting.  Polar White Flower Soft, purchased from Joan's Gardens  was added to create the snowy scene and a few rhinestones added to complete the card.

Fall Harvest

Have any of you checked out the website "There's Magic In The Air"?  Each week Nina has a digital image that you can download for free and there is a challenge you can enter. 

This week you can go to this site and download the above image.    I have never used a digital image before to make a card.  It is pretty neat because you can resize the image to any size you want.

The challenge for this week is to use this image and use pop dots.  You all probably know I love to make things dimensional so this is an easy challenge for me.    First I ran off two copies of the digital image. I wanted to cut out the pumpkins and one of the geese from one image to give it some dimension. The image was colored using Copic markers.  I did not have a problem with the ink smearing.  The image was cut out with oval Nestabilities and a burgundy and green scalloped frame also cut out.  Each layer is on pop dots including two of the pumpkins and one of the geese.

The background is a peice of rust CS that has been embossed with the Argyle Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The bottom  designer paper was a small piece in my scrap box.  A strip of gingham ribbon was placed across the seam and a rhinestone placed on each side.  The design was then placed down using pop dots.     I wanted to dress the card up so used some punched leaves to give it a real Fall feeling.  A MS punch was used for the fern type leaves.  A bow was added to complete the card.

If you would like to download this free digital image and join the challenge, be sure to check out the "There's Magic In The Air" blog.

Polar Bear Christmas

I have had a very fun day.  My daughter and I spent it shopping and having lunch at a new restaurant.  We did have a little scare.  We came out of a store in  a shopping center and put our shopping bags in the back of the car.  Just as we got in, a man approached the car and was pointing to something under the car.  We immediately locked the doors but he wanted to talk to us.  She slightly rolled down the window and he wanted us to get out to show us something.  We definitly didn't do it.  He was telling us our car was losing a lot of fluid. We just told him thank you and she rolled up the window, started the car and backed out.  There was a wet spot there but there was no warning lights on so figured the car was ok.  That spot could have been there before.  All we could think about was what if he pulled her out and took off in our car.  You just never know.  Other than this, we had a wonderful time together.

Since I was gone all day I didn't have time to stamp today.  I was going through an old box of Christmas cards and found this one which my granddaughter and I made last year.   I thought it would be fun to post.  The background was made with one of the Cuttlebug Christmas embossing folders then some clear glitter added.  The MS punched fence was added using some dimensional tape and some multi-colored glitter added for extra sparkle.  A retired SU polar bear was colored with markers and added with more dimensional tape.  Some ribbon and rhinestones added to complete the card. 

 

Wishing you Peace, Love & Joy

Here is another post for Theresa as her Guest Designer this month.  As you probably know, this is the beautiful tree from "A Very Merry Christmas". 

The tree was stamped with Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.  The background was colored with yellow shimmery chalks.  The image was cut out with Nestabilities then a gold liquid pen was used to add the gold border.  The background is a piece of SU retired designer paper layered onto a piece of Forest Foliage CS.  The verse is from the same stamp set and cut out with Nestabilities.  A piece of white and gold ribbon, from Gina K Designs,  was layered across the middle.  I decided to add a little Polar White Flower Soft which gives the tree additional dimension.  I purchase my Flower Soft from Joan's Gardens.   Gold embellishments were added to complete the card.

Red Poinsettias

Wow you all have amazed me with all the wonderful comments on my gold and ivory poinsettia card posted yesterday.  I want to thank all of you for such glowing remarks.  It is always a good feeling to make things others love.  I posted that card on SCS and have more comments and hits than with any thing else I have posted.  Thanks again for all your kindness.  Hope I can continue to make cards you enjoy seeing.

I have one more idea using the poinsettia from "A Year of Flowers" then I will start posting something different.

The poinsettias were embossed with super fine black embossing powder that I purchased from Gina K Designs.  They were watercolored using Peerless Watercolors and some Stickles added in the center.  The leaves were black embossed on Forest Foliage CS.  The beautiful verse is from Theresa Mombers "A Very Merry Christmas" stamp set available from Gina K Designs.  It was stamped on white CS.  I created the frame with one of the new Martha Stewart punches (actually there are two punches in this package; one for the corner and one for the border).  You can order these from Joan Fricker at Joan's Gardens.   It was layered onto a piece of Forest Foliage CS.   A red ribbon/bow, and some black embellishements were added to complete the card.

White Poinsettias

I think I should have been a florist because working with flowers always makes me so happy.  I am so happy Melanie included this beautiful poinsettia in her "A Year of Flowers" set.  If you have been following my blog, you know Melanie's A Year of Flowers is one of my all time favorites so I am so happy I can start using it again for the Holidays.

These poinsettias were embossed with Super Fine Gold embossing powder, on watercolor paper,  and cut out.  I did this just because I like the texture and color for the flowers.  I have to say a few words about the embossing powder.  I recently ordered some new super fine gold embossing powder from Gina K Designs and it is absolutely the most beautiful gold embossing powder I have ever used.  It is a very shiny gold and is super fine to give really good definition to your stamped images.  I highly recommend it.

The ivory background was embossed with the Cuttlebug Holly folder.  I used the new "Good As Gold" cardstock from Gina K Designs, which is a perfect match with the embossing powder. There are two pieces of this  on the card.  The bottom portion was cut off and scored on the ScorePal every 1/2" then both pieces of gold were attached to the main card.  The embossed piece was attached to the top and a gold braided cord added across the seam.  Two gold Cuttlebug corners were cut out and added to the top.  The poinsettias were arranged with dimensional tape.  A Martha Stewart punch was used for the gold sprigs and small gold beads added to the center of each flower.  I just put a small glue dot in the middle of the flower and then added the beads.  Three gold buttons were added at the bottom to complete the card. 

 Hope you are having a great weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Rejoice

This is my second post today.  You can scroll down to see my first post. 

This week on StampTV, Kay is hosting the Color Challenge.  She has chosen cranberry tart, fresh asparagus, light blue and white.  I have to admit that this color combination was a hard one for me.  This is what I love about the challenges.  They can make you really think and do something different.

I chose to use Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" and "Say It With Flowers" available from Gina K Designs.  I have been anxious to use this beautiful poinsettia so wanted to figure out a way to use it with this color challenge. 

I started out with the Fresh Asparagus CS, available from GKD.  I used a corner punch so I could tuck in the Cranberry background.  I decided to give the cranberry CS some texture so ran it through the Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder first.  I had a hard time deciding which color of light blue to use.  I decided on Baja Breeze.  It was cut out with rectangle Nesties and backed with a white scalloped frame that was pierced.  

I just love how these flowers turned out.  I white embossed them on watercolor paper.  They were spritzed with water then colored with cranberry reinkers and an aqua brush.  I love how the color just flows on the paper when you use this technique.  I just used a little ink because I wanted a good contrast with the background.  The leaves were watercolored with Kiwi Kiss and Always Artichoke  inks to come close to the Fresh Asparagus CS.  The flowers and leaves were cut out and attached using dimensional tape.  The verse is from "Say It With Flowers" and was cut out with a Nestability and sponged with cranberry ink prior to removing it from the die.  To get in a little more white, I added some pearls to complete it. 

Now that I have the card finished, I really like the color combo. 

Happy Holidays

This is a very quick and easy card to make.  I used "A Very Merry Christmas" available from Gina K Designs.  I just love using this set illustrated by Theresa Momber.   There are so many different ways you can use each image.  This time I just did a simple embossing but it is also beautiful when you color it.  Hope you have visited StampTV to see all the beautiful cards and projects made with this set.

I started off by using detail black embossing powder to emboss the design on Kraft card stock.  I really like the look of black and tan; it seems to give it a classy look.  Black ribbed ribbon was added on each side of the design then a piece of gold cord layered on top of it.  Three gold brads were added on each side.  This piece is mounted on black card stock. 

Old Fashioned Christmas

There is a  Sketch Challenge on the JustRite blog and I thought I would submit a card.  The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate. There a lots of JustRite stamps I would love to have.  You can  go to 2Sketches4You for all the details.

My card is made with the JustRite "Old Fashioned Christmas" set.  I purchased this set from Joan's Gardens.  The entire verse was on one stamp but I inked up only the bottom portion with the sleigh and bottom of the verse using a Memento Dew Drop ink pad.  It has a point on one end which made it easy to do.  I then stamped only  the top portion of the verse on another piece of CS.   I needed that part of the verse up there to comply with the sketch.

The design was colored with Copic markers.  I went over the packages with a Copic glitter pen then added silver glitter to the ribbons.  It was cut out with Nestabilities and sponged prior to taking it out of the die.  The bottom panel was embossed with the dotted Swiss Cuttlebug embossing folder and outlined with a silver  leaf pen.  The next two layers are a shiny silver card stock layered on white.  The next layer up was embossed with the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder and layered on blue then edged with the silver  leaf pen.  Two pieces of silver and white ribbon was layered under the main design.  Clear rhinestones were added to complete the card.

Warm Winter Wishes

Hope you joined the blog hop last night.  There were so many great cards/projects posted.  If you missed the hop, you can see these items in the StampTV card gallery.

Tonight's card was made with the fireplace from "A Very Merry Christmas".  The image was stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers.  It is framed with Night of Navy and Real Red CS.  The blue background was embossed with the Distressed Strips Cuttlebug embossing folder.  Holly leaves from "A Very Merry Christmas" were colored and cut out then arranged under the flower.  A gold filigree ribbon was placed under the flower and gold embellishments and bow were added to complete the card.

A Very Merry Christmas Blog Hop plus Cuttlebug/Nestability Embossed Frame Tutorial

Tonight I am particating in a StampTV Blog Hop for "A Very Merry Christmas" available from Gina K Designs.  It has been so much fun being one of Theresa Momber's Guest Designers for this beautiful set.  I have TWO posts for you this evening.  The card above, then a  tutorial below on how I created a one layer card with a Cuttlebug embossed border  which includes a Nestability embossed frame in the center.  I previously posted several cards on my blog using this technique and have received  a lot of requests for a tutorial.  Tonight I am going to show you how I did it.

First, for the above card I used the Snow Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder for the background.  It was attached to a red background.  The holly stamp from "A Very Merry Christmas" was stamped three times on glossy CS then colored with Copic markers.  The bells were stamped with detail gold embossing powder on shiny gold CS and cut out.  Don't they look like real gold bells!    The white background was cut out with petite oval Nestabilities and embossed with the Swiss dots embossing folder.  A larger scalloped Nesties was used for the green part of the frame.  A paper piercing tool was used to punch holes in each scallop.  The holly was placed under the green scalloped frame and the bells attached with the Glue Glider adhesive.  Three gold brads were added to complete the card. 

ONE LAYER CUTTLEBUG/NESTABILITY EMBOSSED TUTORIAL

  This is my next card but before I show you the tutorial, I wanted to say that for even more ideas with Theresa Momber's A Very Merry Christmas stamp set, visit her blog link below as well as the GinaK Idea Center here: A Very Merry Christmas. Theresa's tip sheet has been added to the Idea Center as a PDF so you can print out her tips and suggestions for a handy reference tool.  Her Copic coloring links  are also included.

Here are all the Designer's Blog Links to check out tonight:

Theresa Momber

Carolyn King

Cathy Tidwell

Donna Baker

Emily Giovanni

Erika Martin

Jessica Fick

Lee Murphy

Nina Bracket

Melanie Muenchinger

September's Center Stage Spotlight Team:

Giovana Smith

Janice Melton

Kay Simmons

Linda Payne

Lori McAree

and finally, Theresa's Guest Designers for A Very Merry Christmas:

Selma Stevenson (you are here)

Sharri Seffens

Geri Utterback

Brenda Turner
*****************************************

TUTORIAL For Cuttlebug/Nestability embossed card.

A while back I read where someone used a wooden frame to create a Cuttlebug embossed card without it embossing the center of the card.  I do not remember where I read this to give credit to the person.  The info I read only used the cuttlebug for the embossing and I wanted to take it a step further and emboss the center using a Nestability to give it a nice crisp frame.  I have taken pictures to show you how I did this.    Here are the  embossing supplies I started with.

These thin wooden frames can be purchased at a craft store.  They are just a little larger than a Cuttlebug embossing folder and about the same thickness as a Cuttlebug B plate.

To start with, I took a ruler to draw lines along the side of the opening in the frame so it would be easier to center my embossing folder.  I didn't have this line drawn when I made my first card, so it doesn't show up in any of ther other photos.  I feel drawing these lines is an important step in order to easily center the embossing folder over the opening.

I have a Tim Holtz ruler that is very easy to line up straight to draw my lines.  I purchased my ruler from Gina K Designs.  It is a clear ruler with a lot of black lines.

I am doing my embossing on a Big Shot, but this also works using the Cuttlebug.  You first layer the A plate, the wooden frame, then the embossing folder with the card stock inside it.  You DO NOT use the bottom B plate when doing this.

Next you put the B plate on TOP of the embossing folder and roll through the machine to emboss.  I have a thin cardboard shim that I had to use.  If you don't get a good embossed design, the first time, you will also need to add a shim.  My shim is card board off the back of a tablet.

This is what it looks like when you take it out.  I wanted to take it a step further and emboss it with an oval Nestability for a good defined frame.

I am showing the layers upside down.  I actually turn this stack over to emboss it.  The bottom layer (as shown) is the B plate, the cardboard shim, the tan embossing pad, the embossed card stock, and then the oval Nestability.  I don't use a low tack tape to hold the Nestie but you can if you want.

You then place the other B plate on top being careful to not move the Nestability.  I then flip this over and run it through the machine with the Nestability on the bottom of the stack. 

This is how it looks now.  Don't you like the embossed frame?

Now for the card I made above, I started sponging on some So Saffron ink with a sponge dauber.  You have to replace the Nestability so you will get a white border.  I just held it in place with my hand as I sponged.  I am working on a non-stick Teflon Craft Sheet, which can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Here you can see that nice white frame.  It gives it the appearance of layers.

I put the Nestability back on and continued to add Really Rust and Chocolate Chip inks.  I didn't mention that I used these larger sponge daubers that I purchased from Gina K Designs.

After completing these steps, I stamped the holly from "A Very Merry Christmas".  It was colored with Copic markers and some glitter added to the bow.  A prima flower, with a rhinestone center,  was added as well as some cuttlebug cut corners.

If you try this technique I would love for you to link it back to me in the comment section of my blog so I can see your design.  This was a lot of fun to do.  I have some more samples in earlier posts you can look at for additional ideas.

Thanks for stopping by.