Post Card Christmas

Howdy.  Hope this post finds you well.  It's hard to believe that we are already into double digits of November.  Where has the time gone?  And before you know it, I fret that I will be scrambling for that last minute Christmas gift.  You?

Well, before I get too carried away, I wanted to share a card I made.  The wonderfully talented ladies over @ Nacho Average Challenge have this fun sketch for you to play with.

It looks pretty plain and simple, right?  Well, it actually lends itself to a lot of potential of creating an absolutely gorgeous card!  The simplicity of the sketch is actually a creative license.

I used the large 'empty' space to my advantage.  One of my favorite stamps is this 'postcard' stamp.  I don't really know why, but it calls to me.  And it was very easy to use it with this sketch.  {smile}.

I stamped the postcard in crumb cake classic ink, onto very vanilla card stock, and then cut close to the lines with my scissors.  I used my distressing tool, to rough up the edges.  

I stamped the winter tree in always artichoke classic ink.  Then I stamped the snowflakes randomly over the tree.  I stamped the little pinecone branch in crumb cake classic ink, on two opposite corners of the address side.  To 'decorate' the tree, I added three rhinestones and three pearls.

For my sentiment, I used the new holiday clear stamp set.  I stamped the 'christmas'  in always artichoke classic ink, and the other words in crumb cake classic ink.  Instead of adding a postage stamp, I added some seam binding.  The center of the bow, looked a bit bare, for me, so I tied some linen thread to the bow and created another bow.

I matted my post card onto always artichoke card stock.  Then added a sparkle-y border with champagne glitter paper.  Finally, matting this whole piece onto soft suede card stock.  The card base in crumb cake card stock.

Well, thank you for stopping by to see what I have created.  It's always nice to have company.  I hope you get a chance to create something with this sketch, and play along with us!  We'd love to see what you create for the NAC!

Kraft Christmas

Happy Friday! and thank you for stopping by.  The lovely Tammy @ Sketch Frenzy Friday, has a great sketch for you to work with this week.  I know that you will be inspired by the great creations from this design team.

here is the sketch

here is my creation

I have been busy making holiday crafts for some upcoming arts and craft fairs, that I will be selling my hand -made paper crafts at, this holiday season.  So, my mind is in that mode.  I have to admit, that I don't have many current holiday stamp sets by Stampin' Up!.  Not that they aren't gorgeous, or very usable.  I just have too many retired stamp sets. 

So, with a restricted budget, this allows me to really use what I do have.  It also gives you some inspiration and ideas on using stamp sets that you may already have {smile}.

The card base is crumb cake.  The green, is pear pizzazz.  I just love this shade of green.  I used a scrap piece of modern medley dsp (black text paper) to have some contrast to my card.  I stamped the tree in basic black classic ink onto white shimmer paper.  I wanted to add a bit of sparkle.  I stamped the sentiment in the same ink, on the lower right corner of the card.

I created the blossom with clay and the blossom and button mold by Stampin' Up!.  I struggled with this.  I really wanted to add a button, or a star.  But, I didn't like anything I had.  And I had an extra clay blossom, and it looks great there.  If you really think about it, it's an odd object to place there.  It doesn't really fit the theme or the concept of the card.  But, somehow it works for me.  Maybe, its the white.
I felt the banner piece was missing something, so I tied a simple knot with some natural trim ribbon.  I selected this type of ribbon, because I felt that it fits the theme of the card (kraft).

Head on into your craft room, and play along with us @ SFF.  And share with us, your paper craft!

Sparkle Christmas #140

Happy Friday!  I hope that you have gotten started on your grocery shopping for Thanksgiving.  It's right around the corner, and closer to Thursday it becomes, the larger the crowd at the grocery store.  I did my shopping last night.  And oh my, people's patience is running thin.  So, I needed some alone time.   A chance to sit in my craft room, and create something pretty.  Even though, that was not some folks attitude at the store.

Deb C. over @ Sketch Frenzy Friday has a wonderfully creative sketch for you to try.  Here it is:

Before I show you what I did with this sketch, lets look at its potential!  To start, lets look at the polka dot piece.  You could make this a shape, or you could stamp a background on a section of the card stock.  You could even stamp on a piece of clear card stock to add some visual interest to your card.

For the banner piece, you could make this out of card stock, or add a piece of ribbon.  For the oval piece, this could be your sentiment piece or a decorative piece.   There are a lot of different possibilities for this sketch.

For some color inspiration, I went to the Shabby Tea Room.  They have some of the most creative vintage style paper crafts.  This weeks inspiration photo is sparkle-y, vintage, soft, and simply gorgeous.  Here is their inspiration photo:

The ladies over @ the Shabby Tea Room asks that you use colors found in this photo and sparkle/glitter.  So, here is what I created:

The card base is crumb cake card stock.  The main panel is very vanilla card stock that was run through the vintage wallpaper embossing folder.  I used a scrap piece of dsp and the top note die to create the decorative panel.  I stamped the tree from Lovely As A Tree stamp set in soft suede classic ink, onto a scrap piece of very vanilla card stock.  I used a square punch to create the banner end.  I matted this piece onto a scrap piece of pink pirouette card stock.  I wrapped a piece of crumb cake seam binding around the decorative dsp and tied a multi-loop bow and added a faceted button with linen thread.  I used the silver glitter paper to cut a snowflake with a die.  I added a pink button, and tied a bow with linen thread.  I added various sizes of rhinestones and pearls to the tree.  For my sentiment, I stamped Merry Christmas in soft suede classic ink onto a scrap piece of pink pirouette card stock and the modern label punch.  I adhered the sentiment piece with foam tape to elevate this piece off the card front.

Thank you for looking.  I hope you have been inspired and are able to play along!

Christmas Card Class

Happy Monday!  I am hosting a Christmas Card Class this month.  I have 2 different dates: Saturday, Oct 8th (10a-2p) OR Sunday, Oct 16th (1p-5p).  You will have all the supplies and materials to make these 5 cards (4 of each), including envelopes.  The cost of the class is $35.  If you attend both classes or purchase 2 kits, you will receive a 20% discount off your second class/kit.  I also have a 'special' during the class days.  That way, if you want or need to make more of the cards, you can get a discount on your additional supplies.
Just think, by the middle of October, you could potentially have all your Christmas cards done!  How fantastic would that be?  That will leave you with just over 2 months left, before Christmas, to get all your shopping/baking done!

This is just a small glimspe as to what the cards look like.  So, join me, and see for yourself how fabulous these Christmas/Holiday cards are!  All cardstock is cut and die cut, if needed.  All you need to do is stamp and assemble.  How quick and easy!
If you would like to purchase a kit, long distance, please contact me privately.  Add $7 for shipping and handling.

Card Change

So yes, I changed the card. Betty had a wonderful idea of adding 3 of something to the upper corner, brads, jewels, something. If I had only read her comment before I started tearing the card apart. So, here is what the card finally looked like for card club. I used wonderfully worn background stamp in more mustard on the more mustard panel. I ran just a strip through the embossing folder. And added an early espresso decorative strip and moved the greeting. The technique is smach smooch. I stamped the leaf in jet black staz-on. So, I selected the early espresso because of its rich, deep color. When you place the early espresso matt with the jet black leafs, the colors look similar, so you can't really notice the contrast with the black and deep brown. Pretty good disguise, huh? All products used are Stampin' Up!

Stampede Card Club, Cards

Here are the cards that we are doing in club today. The top card is a CASE from someone else's card. I wanted to show the colored vellum technique. I just love how this card came out. I love the vintage feel to it, the little trinckets/details. The second card is a twist on polished stone, its called 'smash smooch'. The second card looks like it is missing something to me, but I can't figure it out. So, this card may change between now and when the ladies come over. It just looks too plain. Sorry.

Thank you for looking, and check back tomorrow, as we are having a sketch challenge today, so you'll want to see what everyone has created! Enjoy the last part of your weekend!

Hoot's Got Stamps - October Meeting

Don't forget to post a comment at either (or both) 'Halloween Candy' posts for your chance to win some Halloween themed blog candy! Contest closes at midnight on Oct. 16th, winners announced Oct. 17th, and prizes are mailed on Oct. 18th.

My downline: Hoot's Got Stamps? meets the second Wednesday of each month. We get together to touch base, talk about new promotions, give each other support, and helpful hints and stategies on how to improve our business. We also always stamp! Because that is what we love to do! We meet at a coffee shop that is centrally located for our meetings, so no one person has to travel too far. Well, that also possess a challenge for me to come up with a card that doesn't require any electricity or tons of table space. I think I have done a relatively good job at that. So, without further ado, this is the card we are making at my downline meeting. I wanted something quick and easy, but also nice.

Card Recipe:

stamps: Seasonal Sentiments, Lovely as a Tree, and Wonderfully Worn.

Card stock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, and Very Vanilla.

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, and neutral markers.

Misc: water color pencils, blender pen, color spritzer, Pumpkin Pie satin ribbon.

I will also be giving each person in my downline a small gift. It is posted as 'Hoot's Got Stamps?'. Each person has a monogram. The card stock tote holds a covered note pad (SU!, of course) and a covered post-it notes (SU!, of course). If you are interested in joining my team, please contact me, or visit my website: http://www.inkwithsharon.stampinup.net You will use password 'friend10'. I have some very wonderful team benefits! Please contact me for more information!

Nacho Average Stampers- shoebox swap

Wow! Let me first apologize for being absent. I do not know where the week went. And I had every intention of posting this on Thursday evening.

The Nacho Average Stampers group that I belong to, meets the fourth Friday of each month. And we do shoe box swaps, card challenges, or stamp camps. This month, it was a shoe box swap. The guidelines were simple: create a full card, either Halloween/Fall themed, and everything to create your card fits in a shoebox. So, here is my card. I wanted to create something that didn't require a million $ in product. Use a stamp set, that I am sure almost everyone has. Make it easy enough that a beginner can do, but interesting enough that a seasoned stamper won't be bored. I think that I did that!

If you don't have the greeting stamp set, use what you have and adjust the oval accordingly. The oval was made with the ovals die that can be found in the back of the big catalog. Also, I used the new 'sanded' background stamp. If you do not have a catalog and would like one, just place a $25 minimum order with me (on line, email, or phone) and I will send you a free catalog. On-line, 24 hour shopping @ inkwithsharon.stampinup.net

Recipe:

cardstock: pear pizzazz, very vanilla, and always artichoke

ink: pear pizzazz, always artichoke, soft suede, (for the leaf) peach parfait, cajun craze, and wild wasabi.

misc: early espresso satin ribbon, and vintage trinckets (tiny safety pin).

Thank you for looking, and stay tuned! My Sunday Advanced Card Club meets tomorrow, and I will post their cards this weekend! (Most likely early Sunday morning!) And, you will be glad you came back. Enjoy your weekend, and remember, take time out of your busy schedule to create something wonderful! (paper crafting is always wonderful, but cooking, sewing, gardening, and other hobbies count!)

Stamping 411 Challenge #137

Here is my entry for the Stamping 411 Challenge. The design team (operators) for this site are Stampin' Up! demonstrators and so their entries are created with mostly Stampin' Up! products. And, I kinda like that. It encourages me use the stuff you have, and when you see something someone else has done, you probably already have the supplies on hand to CASE it! Pretty cool, huh? But check out all the entries. You never know what will inspire you! And you may see a product used in a way you wouldn't have thought of, or be encouraged to try a new technique!

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday. But, even I have been overloaded with every shade of red and pink. I wanted to make a card so far from the cutie little hearts and the 'I love you' themes, that I came up with this card. I hope you like it. Don't get me wrong, my husband's card will have hearts and 'I Love You' on it. :)

I'm not sure the name for this technique. You color your stamp with the water color crayons, mist the stamp with water and then stamp your image. I used the Earth Elements water color crayons. I only used two stamp sets: Lovely as a Tree and Teeny Tiny Wishes. I used a scrap piece of Autumn Meadows DSP. The solid card stock: Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. I used the small oval punch and the 3/4" circle punch. I had a scrap of MasterPiece ribbon originals. I sponged some close to cocoa classic ink around my punched pieces. I also used the distressing tool (from the Cutter Kit) to rough the edges of my paper. To give the small circle some lift off the card, I used a dimensional.

Thanks for looking. If you have a few minutes, I always encourage people to try a challenge. As one of my girlfriends always says, 'You can't win if you don't enter!' And wouldn't it be cool to win? That would be some bragging rights. :)

My 100th Post!

Clean and Simple. Here are three of the cards you will make if you attend my note card class. You will make one of each of these cards, along with a Valentine's Day inspired card, and a holder for these note cards (envelopes included). The class is Saturday, Feb. 6th at the East Mountains Library in Tijeras, New Mexico. Please contact me for details.

As always, Thank you for looking, and please leave a comment-they sure do make my day!