Mistletoe

I have a layered mistletoe stamp but I stink at lining up the berries...at least if I am using lighter colors.  I didn't want to use red simple because mistletoe has white berries so I used some diamond embellishments from the Dollar Tree.  I don't label my stamps properly so I don't know what set The sentiment is from but the ink is Stampin' Up's Cherry Cobbler than I heat embossed with a clear hologram for a little sparkle.  I also added a little cherry cobbler ribbon.

Swag

I am a Floridian, born and raised, but I spent 8 years in Colorado.  This is inspired by one of those super heavy snows that makes everything magical....if you aren't walking around in it. 

I took two photos: The first one shows some of the sparkle elements but no depth, and the second, the opposite.  The background paper is from a Recollections paper pack.  I made the pine boughs from a Silhouette file and the branches from the Martha Stewart branch punch.  The colors weren't contrasting enough so I grabbed random green markers from my Spectrum Noirs to try and alter the greens.  I still didn't the contrast I wanted, but it is better.  The sentiment is also from a Silhouette file and the snowflake from another Martha Stewart punch.  I have a three size bow die I got from Ali express a few years ago and used the middle size for the bow here.  As far as the snow, I have a stipple bruch I've had for over 20 years.  I have seen plenty of people do the snow technique but all with tiny brushes so I figured this would be....interesting to say the least.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I tried it out on a scratch paper and found when I tapped the brush handle against my hand, I got very fine drops but when I brushed the paint right off the block, I got the larger drops.  I liked both effects, so I used both techniques on this card. For the very final touch, I thought it needed just a hint of sparkle so I used a jar of tiny silver stars and scattered a few within the branches, one to dot the i and one in the center of the snowflake.  Not impressive in a photo, but in person there's just a hint of sparkle.

Farm Fresh Christmas Trees

This is easily the quickest, laziest card I have ever made.  My Christmas aesthetic this year is vintage rustic country (if that could be a thing): lots of plaid, red trucks, fresh cut trees, vintage country. These papers are from the pack, "Christmas Cabin" from Recollections. All three pieces.  I did nothing but cut them to size and round the corners.  I also added some red ribbon from Stampin' Up.  That is it.  Took about 5 minutes, but I really like it.

Paper Pumpkin November 2018

I knew when I saw the box it came in that I was going to love this month's Paper Pumpkin kit.  There is enough to make 10 cards, 5 of each design.  I just made two as pictured and I will use the remaining supplies to make different cards with other supplies I have on hand.  Everything used to make the cards is provided in the box.

Christmas Truck

I have been in love with the rustic, vintage Christmas theme for years.  I decorate with buffalo plaid, vintage signs, pine garland, and any red vehicle with a tree sticking out as if it was just picked out with care and loaded up for decorating back home.  I can practically smell it! Anyway, I am pre-planning my annual Pinterest party in December and deciding what card to do.  It can't be too complicated, but it needs to be something I can have a group of a dozen duplicate so I need to be able to do all the prep work before they arrive.  I chose this card.  The is a cut file from Lori Whitlock in the Silhouette Studio.  I did add the side, wooden features. Normally, I don't purchase cut files, but this one was exactly what I am looking for.  Rather than purchase another one, I think I can play with the file and alter it to haul pumpkins, boxes, turkeys, etc. for other themes.  The papers are from a value pack I picked up last year at Michael's.  I distressed the edges to make it a wee bit more vintage as well as too make the doors more visible.  I also used dimensional stickers to pop the fenders out.  This is a prototype I did last night just to see how difficult it will be to show others how to make it and also check for how time consuming it will be.  It's moderate for both, but I think doable. Next time, I may try to get a double sided paper, or duplicate the sides to eliminate the white.

Maybe Christmas Doesn't Come From a Store

I thought this was a cute stamp combo.  The girl and gifts are from the 'Jingle all the way" stamp set from MFT and the sentiment from Inky Antics Christmas Sentiments set.  Colored in with my Spectrum Noir markers and stitched off with a gel pen.

Reindeer Sketch

So, I wanted to do a card with my sketch pens from Silhouette and chose this sketch from the Silhouette store that I had gotten for free. (Side note if you don't have a Silhouette, they have a free pattern every Tuesday in their online store).  I loaded a piece of kraft cardstock in my Silhouette and used the sketch feature.  Took less than 30 seconds and I love how crisp it turned out.  I then masked off the sides with masking tape and distressed the inside.  I then stamped the greeting from my Inkadinkado 'Christmas Characters' stamp set.  Then I embossed it in white.  I am a moron.  I hadn't let the distress ink dry first.  It looked ok, but not really so I stamped on a piece of scrap, black, cardstock, embossed it and cut it out with some decorative scissors.  I put it on with a dimensional sticker.  I found some embellishments at the Dollar Tree a few weeks ago and used one for his nose as well as some baker's twine, also from the Dollar Tree.  Overall, very pleased with this one.

No Peeking!

I'm still not sure whether or not I like the overall card.  I did several versions but this one is my favorite.  I did have one that was shaped as a snowglobe, but it just didn't work with this stamp.  Anyway, the stamp is a front and back stamp from Art Impressions.  The paper is from Summertime Designs Believe paper pack and the acetate is actually some overhead projector slides I got from the thrift store and cut in my Silhouette. I used a plain sheet of cardstock for the front embossed with my Cuttlebug and the 'Swiss Dots' folder. I still have some of this beautiful glitter paper from Recollections i used for the snow portion of the globe.

Crappy Christmas

 

I feel this on e requires a preface, lol.  We (my brother and I) don't come from money.  Money went to bills and what was left over was for Christmas.  My mom, in order to prepare us, would tell us every.single.year. without fail, "It's going to be a crappy Christmas."  She still does it and we're in our mid-40s.  Anyway, this is the card I'm sending to my brother this year. 

For the stamp, I did something different.  The stamp is from the Crappy Day stamp set from Unity Stamps  but it is too small for this year's card.  I stamped it on a white sheet of paper and then scanned it and imported it to Silhouette.  I don't have the picscan mat and by scanning it, I was able to enlarge it to the size I wanted.  I believe the main font is Santa's Sleigh from dafonts.  I don't have any stickles, but I have a large (4 oz) bottle of Tulip glitter diamond fabric paint.  It works great and just requires a little more drying time.

Black Watch Wreath

 

I had this one in my head for awhile.  I honestly wasn't sure how it would turn out .  I used a random, black watch tartan wallpaper pattern I found online and imported it to my Silhouette.  I then cropped it to a frame I already had on my Silhouette (I'm guessing a free pattern I got on a Tuesday in the last few years).  From that, I made the greeting and duplicated the branch punch and placed them over the plaid and printed.  I printed up the silhouettes of the branch punch on the paper so I could center the wreath and know where to place the punches.  From there, I used plain white card stock and some white glitter card stock from Recollections for some bling.  I finished it off with a small silver bow.  I was going for elegant, but I think it's a bit more masculine than elegant.  Whichever.  It may not be exactly what I had in mind, but I really like the results. 

What's This?

 

I wanted this card to be really simple.  I didn't sketch it out and I may, or may not go back and highlight the white cardstock.  I just loved this little girl from the MFT Stamps: Jingle All TheWay stamp set. I had some more of the candy cane paper from a previous card and some scrap pink ribbon.  I just colored her in using my Spectrum Noir markers.

Simple Snowflake

 

Here's another shameless rip-off card.  I saw this one on Pinterest from I'm in Haven when I was looking for different ways to use the Funky Snowflake Die from Simon Says Stamp.  I loved the idea of using the negative space with stripes.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but the dimensional stamps really add....well, dimension to the card.  I did not have a single striped paper that I like, but I played with this digital paper until I had the stripes the size I wanted.  The paper is from Summer Driggs 'Believe' paper pack (of course it is, I use it so much I may qualify as a stalker at this point). The sentiment was just printed on the paper before I cut it out using a font I have installed.

Victorian Carolers

 

I SHAMELESSLY ripped this card off of a Splitcoaststamper named GeneologyJody .  i absolutely fell in love with her card so much that I just had to not only get the die, but plan this as one of the projects for this year's Pinterest Party.  The die is Tim Holtz Victorian Carolers Die.  I just used plain black card stock but both sides of the paper are black so i can put the carolers either way.  I looked at the sentiment on her card and copied it (sort of ) on my Silhouette.  I like how it turned out and proud I actually did that part from scratch using her card as a guide.  The Holly cut outs are graphics of vintage holly, run through my Silhouette and the Deck the Halls you may remember from a project last year, Children's Choir.  The paper is from  .

Summer Driggs Designs 'Believe'(One of my favorite paper packs of all times and 100% better because it's free!).Overall, I am very pleased with how it turned out. thank you Geneology Jody for putting your design out there.  I truly hope that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Merry Kissmoose

 

This is another one that was just an excuse to use a cute stamp.  This is from the Paper Smooches 'Chubby Chum Pals' stamp set.  The paper I just have around (lost the cover and can't remember the brand but it was from a HUGE pack of paper covering all the holidays).  I cut him out by hand and it shows.  I really should have just done this on the Silhouette and cut it out that way.  After all, that's the reason I got the silhouette in the first place, because I cannot cut a straight (or curved) line without looking like I suffer from tremors.

Un-Zip Christmas

 

I really liked the card I saw on Joyful Creations.  I thought it looked a bit like someone unzipping Christmas.  I used some digital paper called 'Christmas Lights' [I'll source it when I can find where I got it from last year] and the bow cut file from Birds Cards.  I loaded the paper into my Silhouette and basically just pulled the motifs out of the paper and used one as a stamp on the top sheet. 

Fleas Navidad

I used the Paper Smooches "Santa Paws" clear stamp set for the puppy, bone, hat and sentiment.  You can't really see here, but the hat is on a separate piece of card stock and placed on with a dimensional sticker.  I had the candy cane paper, green cardstock and silver ribbon on hand. I just colored the pup and hat in with my Spectrum Noir markers

Have your Elf a very merry Christmas!

Technically, this little guy isn't an elf.  He is a Swedish pixie, one of the Nøël desTømtes.  There are a bunch of illustrations to be used as coloring pages here and here.  I, of course, have used him as a stamp.  There are many more so I will probably be doing several cards with him as the star.  I used the 'Believe' papers from Summertime Designs again as well as one of her elements for the tag.  I just added the script and printed/cut it on my Silhouette.  You cannot see it in this picture (or any others I took) but I used some snowflake stickers I had laying about as well as stickles on the main snowflake he cut out.  Looks really pretty at night under a small lamp, no so much in the Florida sunshine.

Spectrum Noir markers used:
Skin (FS2, FS3, PP1), Hat & Shoes (DG3, DG2,DR7, DR5), Scissors (BGR1, BGR3) Shadow [in beard as well](BGR1)

Children's Choir

I won't even say this was an idea I was inspired by.  I loved the original so much I basically tried to duplicate it.  The original, inspiration card is at Kreative Korner by Kelly.  The background sheet music is at Noel Noel Noel and the stamp is 'Choir' at Mo's Digital Pencil.  I have the pale hues pack of markers, but I am not yet skilled at coloring skin correctly or in such a tight space so I wasn't able to get the depth and shading I like but otherwise, I am really pleased.  As always, I distressed my edges to give it a more vintage feel.

PS- I KNOW my camera sucks for this.  I'll be getting a new camera in the New Year.

Spectrum Noir colors:
Skin (FS2, FS3, EB1, EB2, EB7, TN2, PP1), Hair (EB7, GB5, OR1, EB1, EB2, True Black), Gowns (CT1, CT2, DG2, DG3, DR5, DR7), Song books (BGR1, BGR3), Star (CT2, CT3, gold glitter glue from Dollartree)

FALALALALALALA

I have searched and searched ad I cannot tell you where the stamp is from.  As soon as I can, I will reference it for you.  I fell in love with this little guy the second I found him but had no way to color him in before.  The HOHOHO paper is from Scrapdot. This is another one of those sites FULL of awesome papers and embellishments for free.  The one caveat is it takes FOREVER to download a file due to the hosting site.  Well, worth the wait, but it can take 15 mins on a fast connection. Also, it doesn't appear to have been updated in a few years but plenty of archives to wade through.  I went out of the lines a few times simply because with my cardstock, the red likes to bleed.

Spectrum Noir markers used:
Skin (FS2, FS3, PP1), Hair & Shoes (EB7, EB2, EB1), Shirt/Sweater (CT4, CT3, CT2, CT1), Pants (BGR3, BGR1), Holly (DG3, DG2), Candle and Holly Berries (DR7, DR5), Lights [string] (JG6), [lights] (CT2, DR1, GG1, BGR3, OR1), Eyes (BGR3), Shadow (BGR1)

Making Spirits Bright

OK, so here is fair warning for anyone who actually reads my blog (Hi, Mom!), I just received the first of my Spectrum Noir markers.  This means that I, with my zero experience in alcohol markers, will be posting poorly colored, stamped cards for the foreseeable future.  Somehow, watching a plethora of Copic/Spectrum Noir tutorials has not yet made me an expert.  I am, however, LOVING THEM!  I have read scores of complaints that when using digital stamps, there is excessive bleeding of the printer ink.  I have a Canon MX410 and haven't had any problems, even using the blender pen directly over the ink.  I am just using standard, 110 weight cardstock and that bleeds like the devil though I'm trying to be careful (especially with the reds).  Anyway, back on topic for this mornings first card (Oh yes, there will be dozens in the next few days with no cohesive theme *evil cackle*:

This one wasn't inspired by anything but the stamp itself.  The stamp is from Stampin' Up Making Spirits Bright stamp set.  The candy cane paper is a from a free digital paper pack, 'Believe' from Summertime Designs.  If I haven't already mentioned it, her designs are GORGEOUS and the absolute BEST quality.  Seriously, go grab every single pack she offers.  I imagine you'll see tons of her papers here.  The branches are, of course, the Martha Stewart medium branch punch.  For the greencardstock, I didn't want to use a bunch of printer ink for 5.5" of cardstock that would be mostly covered, so I coordinated by using one of my markers to border it.  I then distressed my edges.  I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.

Spectrum Noir markers used:  Reds (DR7, DR5), Greens (CG1, CG2), [for the drink] Pale Hues (FS2), [the ribbon] Citrus (CT1, CT2) ad to shadow Blue Greys (BGR1, BGR3)