Freshly Made Christmas

Hello Stamping Friends!  Happy Sunday!
Today I am posting not just one, but 12 cards!  Well...it's just  one design!  Every year, I sign up for the Splitcoaststampers "Christmas Card Challenge" with the intention of making 12 cards from February to November.  I usually do some in the spring, then slough off and fall behind, so that in October & November I am scrambling!  Well, this year, I had not even started before this weekend!  Technically, I have some card stock cut for cards I meant to create last year and never finished...so I hope to wrap those up this week.  The designs were too detailed for my last minute pace in 2011.  Good grief...talk about procrastination! 

At the start of this month, the Paper Players posted a "Christmas in July" theme challenge...so at least I started thinking about my Christmas cards!  This week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge caught my eye as being perfect for some  new stamps that arrived on my doorstep this week.  It's a fabulous Clean & Simple sketch!

So here is my card...nearly everything is from Stampin' Up!  The only exception are the gold self-adhesive gems.  I have had them for years, but I don't remember the brand; I got them at a big box store.  I started with a confetti white card base.  My circles are the same size (cut with my circles die in the Big Shot), making it a slight variation on the sketch.  I used my new Midnight Muse card stock and new Lacy Brocade embossing folder (in the Holiday Catalog.)  The images are from "First Christmas" and the sentiment is from "Greetings of the Season," both in the Holiday catalog August 1st.  I got them early with my pre-order!!  I heat embossed everything with ink, to add shine and dimension.  I sponged baja breeze around the main image, anmd popped it up with dimensionals.  The gold gems were the final touch.  Took a while to make 12 of these with all of the embossing...but I am pleased with the result.

Friday Mashup...Celebrate!

Hello Stamping Friends!  Tonight I am posting a submission for a fun Friday Mashup challenge.  Amy is the hostess, and she lives in the UK.  This challenge is perfect, coming from her!  I am BARELY posting this on time!  Please forgive the icky picture!

1. Make a project with "The Olympic Colour Combination of Marina Mist, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi & Red."
2. Or Make a Project using "Multiple Circles."
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project with the "Olympic Color Combo and Multiple Circles."

I needed a birthday card for a nephew, so I began with the colors as my inspiration.  I used the Extreme Dirt Bike image (heat embossed), along with Extreme Elements for the main panel.  I decided to tear 2 of the corners for texture.  The sentiment is from On Your Birthday.  In the spirit of the Friday Mashup, I just had to add some circles and rings!  I made them with my Circles Sizzix die and the Big Shot.  The final details include using the corner rounder punch, dimensionals, and striped ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!  Inky {{{HUGS}}}

VSN...Late Posting!!

Last month, I participated in a few Virtual Stamp Night challenges.  The theme was "Journey."  I posted my cards on SCS, but not on this blog.  So, here they are!  (Almost all of the products are from Stampin' Up!)




The 1st card was inspired by a song called "Don't Stop Believin'" from the band Journey.  It has a baja breeze base, and the new Floral District dsp with rich razzleberry and calypso coral layers.  The sentiment is from "Blessings from Heaven," and the image is the new "Praying Hands" single stamp. Coral ruffled ribbon and a glimmer brad finish it off.

The 2nd card features a non-SU image...LOVE this Snoopy in a convertible!  The card base is poppy parade, with some retired poppy parade dsp.  Snoopy was stamped in Stazon jet black, and colored with markers, and I lightly sponged baja breeze for the sky.  I then layered it with basic black and crushed curry card stock.  The retired polka dot ribbon goes well with the dsp, and I decided to add this simple sentiment from "You're a Gem" on another big "dot."

The last card is for a friend who ran a marathon in Paris!  She was raising money for a charity that uses purple and teal in their materials (t-shirts, website).  So I used a concord crush base, with a layer of retired bermuda bay dsp.  The image is from "Artistic Etchings",  and I sponged the sky with a setting sun.  It's layered on bermuda bay, apricot appeal, and wisteria wonder.  I used another sentiment from "You're a Gem" layered with an oval and scallop oval punch.  A few rhinestones finish it off.

In the future, maybe I'll post cards more quickly!  Thanks for stopping by!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}