Noel Again

This was my final completed Christmas card. I have multiple elements that could make up 2 or 3 more cards - will have to see if I get around to it before next Christmas.  ;)

I used the cut outs from this card for the sentiment on the layered tag. I sewed a few borders on and paired the kraft with gingham for a folksy feel. The tag base was inked a bit with Vintage Cream and threaded through some ribbon and adhered to the card. Some twine and a snowflake brad were added for embellishment.

It also appears that I inked around the edges of the patterned paper on the card base. :)

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Kraft
• Patterned Paper: unknown
• Ink: Vintage Cream, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo (or Walnut Stain?) Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Dies: Tag Sale #7, Alpha-whimsy (Paper Smooches)
• Accessories: button twine, ribbon from 2014 Christmas Make It Market Kit, snowflake brad (Recollections?)
• Other Tools: sewing machine

Happy Holidays

This card was a fixer-upper from several years ago. I removed the main embellishment and added a new one. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out!

I'm a sucker for vintage!

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Vintage Cream
• Patterned Paper: some Tim Holtz, some other
• Stamps: Holiday Lights
• Ink: Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Weathered Wood, and Old Paper Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Ranger)
• Dies: Tattered Banners (Tim Holtz), Half & Half, In the Meadow
• Accessories: Kraft button twine
• Other Tools: Mister Huey's Opaque White spray (Studio Calico)

Very Merry

I'm particularly pleased with how this card turned out.

The wooden snowflake embellishment was given to me by Stefanie. I sprayed it with a bit of her white Heidi Swapp Color Shine spray (not very evident - I had difficulty with application for some reason). I added a Tinier Tag (PTI Stamp-a-fair 2015 kit) with a sentiment from the Tiny Tags stamp set. The tiny holly image is from the PTI Make It Market Kit All Through the House. I threaded the tag with red and white baker's twine and added a teeny bell.

I affixed the snowflake embellishment on a kraft die cut Snowflake Medallion (from MFT) that I spritzed with Mister Huey's Opaque White spray.

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Stamper's Select White
• Patterned Paper: Dark Chocolate Bitty Dots
• Stamps: All Through the House, Tiny Tags
• Ink: Dark Chocolate, Pinefeather, Pure Poppy
• Dies: Tinier Tags, Snowflake Medallion (MFT)
• Accessories: wooden snowflake (unknown), red & white baker's twine, mini bell (dollar store?)
• Other Tools: Mister Huey's Opaque White spray (Studio Calico), white Color Shine (Heidi Swapp)

Warm Winter Wishes

This card has a similar theme to this one. A scrap of patterned paper used to create a CAS "masterpiece."

I sewed around the paper scrap to add some homey detail and used dimensional adhesive when applying it to the card base.

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Stamper's Select White
• Patterned Paper: unknown
• Stamps: In the Meadow, Stocking Prints
• Ink: Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy
• Accessories: rhinestone (Imaginisce)
• Other Tools: iRock (Imaginisce)

Birch Trees

I love CAS cards so Christmas card #3 is one of my favorites:

I got the strip of patterned paper from Stefanie's scraps. I just love birch trees!

The bird stamps are from the In the Meadow stamp set from PTI, and the sentiment is from Stocking Prints (also PTI).

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Stamper's Select White
• Patterned Paper: unknown
• Stamps: In the Meadow, Stocking Prints
• Ink: Dark Chocolate, Pure Poppy
• Accessories: rhinestone (Imaginisce)
• Other Tools: iRock (Imaginisce)

Christmas Comeback

After many years apart (papercrafting-wise), my friend (and former blog contributor), Stefanie, and I got together yesterday evening to make Christmas cards! As usual, Stefanie produced an astonishing number of cards in comparison to my paltry few (15 to 4, to be exact). Out of fairness to myself, I did also attach tags to some gifts, and there was a fair bit of orienting to craft tools and their location. ;)  We started crafting at about 9 p.m. and finished just before 3 a.m.!!

My first card of the evening is probably my favorite:



I tried achieving the background by inking a sheet of acetate with Tim Holtz Peeled Paint Distress Ink, spritzing some water, and then inking my stamp on the acetate, but the result was a bit sparse. I just inked my stamp directly and stamped right over top--problem solved.

I'll be posting the remaining cards over the next few days.

It was such a joy to be crafting with someone again. :)  The best part is that Stefanie really enjoyed getting back into card-making! She's coming back over today for more. :D

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Simply Chartreuse, Luxe Gold
• Stamps: Fillable Frames #9, Watercolor Backdrops (MFT)
• Ink: Dark Chocolate, Tim Holtz Peeled Paint Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Dies: Winter Trees (Simon Says Stamp)
• Other Tools: Mister Huey's Opaque White (Studio Calico)

Happy Wonderful Christmas

My mother posted another of the cards I created at our all-day crop this past June.

I have to say that this is probably my favorite one. I loved the three-step wreath, as well as the fonts on the sentiment.

The interior:

Thanks for peeking!

Masculine CAS: Thank You

An acquaintance cleared up a wasp problem of ours--thank you so much!

I looked around online for sunset color inspiration:

This cover plate die was NOT easy to work with. I had to run it through my Cuttlebug several times with increasing shims in place and still had to use a blade to assist with negative scrap removal...

Thanks for peeking!

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Smokey Shadow
• Stamps: A Big Thank You (free, limited edition)
• Ink: Tim Holtz Ripe Persimmon, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks (Ranger), Versamark (Tsukineko)
• Dies: Into the Woods cover plate
• Other Tools: clear embossing powder (Filigree)

Christmas Cards Starting in July

I recently had the opportunity to visit my mom in Victoria, BC. We attended an all day crop at which I finally got around to making some cards!

Me and Mom

 Using my mom's Stampin' Up supplies (see here for a list), I started with the following Christmas card:

I really like the sentiment I used on the interior (you'll see it a few more times!):

It was fun to craft again!!
Thanks for peeking!

All supplies used for this card can be found here.

Wedding Invites

I promised myself after this experience that I would never make wedding invitations again. I can't seem to help being sucked in somehow, this time due to the small quantity required and the client's non-pickiness.

Regardless of the 30-count required, I designed the most labor-intensive invitation possible! I'm seriously in love with it, though.

The sleeve is removed to reveal the full bride and groom silhouettes.

The interior was composed of 3 layers, sewn together and patterned paper adhered to camouflage it.

I'm always happy when this type of mass production is over. :)

{Supplies--all Papertrey Ink unless noted}

• Cardstock: Rustic Cream, Vintage Cream, Classic Kraft
• Patterned Paper: New Leaf damask
• Stamps: none!
• Ink: none!
• Dies: Bride & Groom Silhouettes, Labels 18 (Spellbinders), Stitched Circles (Lil' Inkers)
• Other Tools: sewing machine/thread