Pearly Stencil Thanks

Look at the background - isn't that fun? I laid the Cathedral Windows, Large brass stencil down on some black cardstock and then spread some Pearlescent Embossing Paste over the stencil with the Palette Knife. Once all the holes were filled in with the paste, I used the Palette Knife to carefully drag off the excess paste and returned it to the jar.

I carefully peeled the black cardstock away from the brass stencil, laid the black cardstock down on my table, and immediately washed the stencil and the Palette Knife. I let the stenciled piece dry overnight.

The next day, I pulled out the Sweet Williams Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and cut out the flower petals several times. I glued together three layers of petals three times to make three complete flowers and set them aside. Then I cut out the leaves from the Flourish Leaf Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) from different colors of green cardstocks. I then cut some of the pieces apart and glued them behind the flowers in a fun mix 'n match fashion.

I arranged the flowers at the bottom of my stenciled piece and glued them down. Then I fluffed up the petals with my fingers, and then I affixed some Snowflake Pearls to the centers. The sentiment, from the Picking Wildflowers stamp set (Flourishes), was stamped on white cardstock and then I trimmed the edges with scissors. I affixed the sentiment to the stenciled piece with some Joy Foam Pads, and then I glued the entire black piece to a white card base.

I love the gorgeous pearl shine and the texture from the embossing paste. It adds an extra depth to this card that you just can't get from patterned paper or background stamps. :-) You can purchase stencils, paste, and the palette knife as well as stamps and dies from Classy Cards 'n Such. Just click on the links above to see each item. To save 10% off your order, use this code, Holly-10, when you check out at Classy Cards 'n Such.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Cheery Lynn Designs #113 - Thank You
Hiding in my Craft Room #130 - Anything but a Holiday card
Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes
Pile it On #48 - P is for ---- Paste, Pearls, Pearlescent Paste, Palette Knife
Dreamweaver Stencils - CAS, Lose some Weight

Peace Star Village

Merry Christmas!  I hope you have had a wonderful and relaxing day.

I'm sharing one last Christmas card with you today.  This card would be great for those times when you need to make 25 Christmas cards in a hurry. I started with a white card base and I added a layer of dark blue cardstock. I cut out the Winter Neighborhood Border (Cheery Lynn Designs) with white cardstock and then I stamped the sentiment from Christmas Sentiments (Impression Obsession) right onto the snowy mound under the houses.

I pulled out the Squeezed Lemonade distress ink, swiped some white cardstock pieces directly across the ink pad and let them dry. After cutting my yellow pieces down to fit, I adhered them behind the houses so they look like they all have their lights on.

I applied some Joy foam pads behind the winter border and adhered it to my dark blue cardstock. Then I cut out the smaller star from the Star of Wonder die set and adhered it above my winter wonderland border.  I love making clean and simple cards like these.  This card is perfect for mailing with just one first class stamp.

As always, you can use this code, Holly-10, when you shop at Classy Cards 'n Such.  There are tons of dies, stamps, papers, glitters, and other accessories for all your stamping and scrapbooking needs.  Merry Christmas!!!

Shabby Chic Season

Twas the night before Christmas....... and I'm sharing this shabby chic card with you.  :-)  I started with a layer of red paper from the gorgeous 12 Days of Christmas 6x6 pad and I cut it to the same size as a folded vanilla card base. I adhered it so that it covered the entire card base.

Next, I cut a layer of vanilla cardstock and I inked the edges with the gorgeous Tarnished Brass Distress Stain. You can see the Tarnished Brass color between the patterned red paper and the solid red paper. While I had the Tarnished Brass Distress Stain out, I colored a length of Chalk White Seam Binding with it. I simply dabbed the stain all over the ribbon, spritzed it with water, crumpled it up in my hands, and let it dry.

While the ribbon was drying, I cut the small strip of red patterned paper from the 12 Days of Christmas pad and adhered it to the paper with the Tarnished Brass on the edges. I then cut a piece of vanilla cardstock, ran it through the Holiday Magic embossing folder, sponged the raised areas with some Antique Linen distress ink, and adhered it below the red patterned paper.

I then pulled out the Christmas Inner Thoughts stamp set (JustRite), stamped the sentiment with black ink onto the solid red paper from the 12 Days of Christmas pad, and then cut it out with one of the ornament dies from the 2011 Heirloom Ornaments set. I applied some Joy foam pads to the back of the ornament and adhered it near the top of my embossed paper.

When the ribbon was completely dry, I wrapped it around the card layers and fashioned a bow. I affixed the bow to the top of the ornament and fluffed up the ribbon. Lastly, I glued down these card layers to my card base.

Using the Distress Stain on the seam binding is a wonderful way to make custom colored ribbons for your projects. Check out all the different colors of Distress Stain in the Classy Cards 'n Such store.  Be sure to use this code, Holly-10, when you check out at Classy Cards 'n Such so you can save 10% off your entire order.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Artistic Inspiration 72 - Anything Goes
Craft-Dee Bowz - Anything Goes with a Handmade Bow
Crafting from the Heart #3 - Anything Goes
Stamp and Create - Anything Goes

Merry Christmas Eve!!!!!!!!!

Blue Tree Christmas

Another day closer to Christmas!  :-)  I hope you've enjoyed the cards I've been sharing with y'all.  Even if you've already mailed out your cards, you can still make cards like these to get a jump start on next year's batch!

I pulled out the gorgeous Tradition 6x6 paper pad (Authentique) and played around with the papers until I found the three that looked best together. I adhered the solid red paper to a vanilla card base and then I cut the blue/red/cream paper so it would be long and skinny. I layered that with some vanilla cardstock and adhered it to the left side of my card. Next, I cut the red plaid paper and layered it with vanilla cardstock and adhered it to my card. The largest of the Fir Trees die (Impression Obsession) was cut with the blue paper (another paper in the Tradition paper pad) and I adhered it to the red plaid paper.

The sentiment, from the Christmas Sentiments set (Impression Obsession), was stamped with black ink onto some vanilla cardstock. I then used scissors to cut the notches out on both sides and then I adhered it to my card, sliding the top edge just under the bottom branches of the blue tree.

The last thing I did was pull out the Decorative Corners die (Joy Crafts) and cut it out with vanilla cardstock. When you cut with this die, you get two "shapes." One is the mostly solid corner piece and then there is a decorative little cutout from that corner piece. I used two of those sweet little decorative cutouts and glued them down in the corners of the red paper.

This card would be easy to make if you needed to make 20 or more cards for your Christmas stash. I love the fact that it is flat so it is easily mailed, and this card can be used for anyone, male or female. :-) Have fun shopping at Classy Cards 'n Such!  Use this code, Holly-10, when you check out so you can save 10% off your entire order.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

The Squirrel and the Fox #59 - Christmas or Hannukah

Pile it On #48 - P is for.... PLAID PAPER

Dream Valley #72 - Christmas

Christmas Card Challenges #4 - Make it Masculine

Happy Holidays Wreath

Are y'all ready for Christmas???  I can't believe it will be here in just three more days!  I've still got quite a few more Christmas cards to share with you, so you'll see a blitz of Christmas cards on my blog today and tomorrow.  :-)

This card was really fun to make. I started with a red card base and added a layer of white paper. I then cut the green patterned paper layer from the French Country 6x6 paper pad and adhered it to the white layer on the card. Yes, you can use non-Christmas papers for a Christmas card! :-) This green was the perfect color so why not?

I then cut the Mesh Border (Cheery Lynn Designs) from red cardstock and added it to my card. Then I got busy cutting out a bunch of greenery from the Wreath Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) as well as the Happy Holidays sentiment die (Cheery Lynn Designs) from red cardstock.

I first tested the Happy Holidays sentiment to see if it would fit on my card. It cuts out with some leaves on the side of the "H" and that made my sentiment just a tad bit too long. So I used some scissors to cut the leaves off and tried it again. The sentiment fit perfectly on my white paper, so I glued it down at the bottom.

Next, I separated the greenery from the Wreath Strip die. There are two different sizes, so after I sorted them, I glued down the larger Wreath Strip pieces down in a circle shape above my sentiment. I then went back in and glued the smaller Wreath Strip pieces onto the wreath, tucking them in underneath the pieces that were already glued down.

Once I got all my pieces glued down, I adhered the white piece to my card. Then I pulled out the gorgeous Cranberry pearls and stuck them onto my wreath. These are the perfect accent to the wreath! :-)

You can order any of the linked items at Classy Cards 'n Such.  Use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your entire order.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Cherry Lynn Designs #112 - Anything Goes

Card Crafters Circle #106 - Deck the Halls

Brown Sugar #73 - Anything Goes

Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards #54 - Happy Holidays

Bunnies at Christmastime

Hi friends!  I'm playing hooky from my DT obligations and I took some time this afternoon to stamp with a dear friend online.  Ahhhhhhhh, what fun!  It's been a while since I just "played!"

I recently bought this adorable bunny set called A Winter's Tale from Rogue Redhead Designs.  I really wanted to ink it up before Christmas, so today was the perfect opportunity to do so.  I colored the bunnies with Copic markers and I used a fun sketch (SC467) from Splitcoaststampers.  I'm entering this into Rogue's Rebel Challenge #30 - Winter Holiday.  This is such a fun set!  I loved playing with these bunnies!

Poinsettia Window

Hi friends!!  Are you ready for Christmas?  Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away??  I better get busy baking cookies and treats for my friends and family!  :-)

For my card today, I started by embossing some white cardstock with the Bricks and Bark embossing folder. Next, I cut out the Grand Gothic Window as well as the Grand Gothic Stained Glass Window from white cardstock. I glued the Stained Glass Window die cut to the inside of the Grand Gothic Window. Then I took the inside piece that was cut out from the Grand Gothic Window - the piece you would probably throw away - and I glued that to the back of the entire window. That way you won't see the embossed brickwork through the window when you glue it down on the card.

So I glued my 3-piece window to the brick background and then I worked on the pops of color. I cut out the Small Blooming Poinsettia from red cardstock and then I cut it out again from olive cardstock so I could have some green leaves in the very back of the poinsettia. First, I covered the tiny little stamen piece with some Champagne Stickles and set that aside to dry. Then I glued the layers of the red petals together and then glued those on top of the green petals. Then I set my poinsettia aside to dry completely while I cut out the greenery.

I pulled out the Wreath Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and cut out four of the sprigs from olive cardstock. I glued these down at the bottom of the white window, two on each side. Then I adhered my poinsettia in the center of the foliage. After making sure the Stickles was completely dry, I glued the glittery stamens to the center of the poinsettia. Lastly, I used my fingers to fluff up the poinsettia leaves for that little dimensional pizzazz. :-)

This Small Blooming Poinsettia is the perfect size for projects like this. It works great with all the fantastic window dies in the Classy Cards 'n Such store and it is equally wonderful by itself.  You can save 10% off your orders at Classy Cards 'n Such by using this code, Holly-10, when you check out.  Merry Christmas!!  Have fun shopping!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Allways Something Creative #65 - Merry Christmas

Victorine Originals #74 - Red and Green with embossing
Creative Card Crew #51 - Holly or Poinsettia
Papertake Weekly - Last Christmas Card of the Year
Cards Galore - Christmas

CAS Christmas Poinsettia

Hello, friends!  I have a CAS (clean and simple) Christmas card to share with you. I loved creating this card - it is so fun and easy to make!

I started by cutting out the poinsettia with the Small Blooming Poinsettia die from PoppyStamps using white cardstock. I actually cut the whole thing twice, and then I cut out three more leaves from the little bits and pieces of leftover white cardstock.

With my white pieces sorted out, I sponged the poinsettias with Festive Berries distress ink (from the Winter 2011 ink collection). The leaves were sponged with the Evergreen Bough distress ink (also from the Winter 2011 ink collection) and then the little stamen pieces were sponged with Squeezed Lemonade distress ink (from the Spring 2012 ink collection). I wanted some glitter on the tiny little yellow stamen pieces, so I pulled out my Champagne Stickles and dabbed it all over the two pieces and let it dry completely.

While the Stickles was drying, I cut my white cardstock to 5.5" x 8.5" and then folded it in half. I inked up the A Merry Little Christmas stamp with black ink and stamped it onto my white card. This stamp actually has a tiny little tree on the right side of the sentiment. When I was inking up this stamp, I used a piece of paper to cover the tree so it wouldn't get any ink on it. That way ONLY the sentiment was stamped on my card.

After making sure the Stickles were dry, I glued all the poinsettias together, glued the leaves to the back of the flower, and then glued the glittery stamens in the center of my poinsettia. I then adhered the festive poinsettia to the right of my sentiment.

I love how this simple white card really enhances the colorful poinsettia. Sometimes all you need is a gorgeous accent piece to make a card come alive. :-)  Remember, you can always use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your orders at Classy Cards 'n Such.  Happy shopping!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Get Inky #19 - Christmas
Love to Create #96 - Anything Goes
Eureka Stamps #70 - Anything Christmas
Make My Monday - CAS Christmas
CAS on Sunday #23 - Christmas

Sparkly Winter Wishes

Hi again!  I'm back with a sparkly winter wonderland card that I created for Cheery Lynn Designs' Sparkle and Shine challenge this week.  I had originally thought to keep this all monochromatic (in white), but I needed a few little pops of color to help define the different die cuts.

I started with a white square and sponged some blue ink around the edges.  I then sprayed the entire piece with adhesive and covered it with Ranger's Clear Rock Candy dry glitter.  Love that subtle sparkle and shine in the background!  It reminds me of a snowy/icy winter sky.

I then cut out the Birch Tree with Cute Critters (Cheery Lynn Designs) and lightly sponged the edges of the tree branches with brown ink.  I also sponged some ink on the owl and the squirrel and set them aside.  I glued the tree down onto my glittered background.

Next, I used the Simple Whitewash technique from the 8/09 issue of Technique Junkies on a piece of Kraft cardstock, and after it dried, I used it to cut out the Victorian Picket Fence (Cheery Lynn Designs).  I then glued down the fence to my glittered background.

Next, I pulled out the Christmas Lights Swag die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and cut out the "strings" from brown cardstock and the lightbulbs from white cardstock.  I covered the white lightbulbs with Star Dust Stickles (my fave!) and set them aside to dry.  Meanwhile, I glued down the "strings" on the whitewashed fence.  I also adhered the owl to a tree branch and the squirrel on the top of the fence.

Once the lightbulbs were dry, I adhered them below each of the "sockets."  There was just enough room at the bottom to affix the bunny  as well as a small sentiment.  I glued this glittery scene to brown cardstock and then glued that to a blue card base.

You can purchase these dies at Classy Cards 'n Such along with lots of other great papercrafting supplies.  To save even more money, please use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% when you order at Classy Cards 'n Such.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Cheery Lynn Designs #111 - Sparkle and Shine
Craftitute #55 - Anything Goes/Christmas Sparkle
Great Impressions - Glitter and/or Sequins
All That Stickles - Winter/Holiday project with Stickles
Moving along with the Times - Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Burnt Text and Poinsettias

Hi friends!  I was checking out the challenge over on the Cheery Lynn Designs blog and they are looking for cards with red and green on them.  I've had this idea in my head for a couple days, and I sat down to see how it would turn out.  I love this vintage-y, rustic, distressed look on my Christmas card.

I started by stamping this pretty background from Inkadinkadoo with brown ink.  I then used the Burnt Edges technique from the February 2007 issue of Technique Junkies to distress my background piece.  I adhered that to a brown layer and then distressed the edges with a distress tool.  I sponged the edges of a white card base and then glued my background onto the card base.

Next, I pulled out my Poinsettia Strip die (Cheery Lynn Designs) and die cut some flowers from red cardstock.  I adhered the layers together and then affixed buttons to the centers.  I cut out the Holly Lace Flourish die (Cheery Lynn Designs) twice with green cardstock and then glued these down on my card.  Then I played around with the placement of the poinsettias and glued them down over the Holly Lace Flourish.

You can order the Cheery Lynn Designs dies that I used here from Classy Cards 'n Such.  Feel free to use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% off your entire order while you are shopping there.  :-)

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Cheery Lynn Designs #110 - Red and Green

Creative Inspirations Paint - Inspired by Merry Christmas

Pile it On #48 - P is for..... - I used poinsettias

Creative Card Crew #51 - Holly or Poinsettia

Crafty Boots - Christmas

Warm Glittery Trees

Hi friends!  I've got another Christmas card to share with you today.  As you can probably tell by the cards I've made over the past year, I like making country-ish cards. Today, I'm sharing a warm country Christmas card with y'all.

I started with a sand card base (A2) and then I pulled out some dies. I used the Blueprints 6 die set by cutting my brown layer from the large rounded rectangle die and I cut the sand cardstock piece with the smaller rounded rectangle die. The brown layer was embossed with the Bricks and Bark embossing folder for a wonderful background texture.

I wrapped some linen thread around my bark embossed brown piece and adhered it to my card base. The sentiment from the Country Time Christmas set (Flourishes) was stamped at the top of the smaller rectangle die cut and then adhered to my card with Joy Foam pads.

I die cut the Fir Trees from green cardstock but they needed a little "oomph" to turn this into a warm country Christmas card. I pulled out the Mercury Glass Stickles and smeared it all over the trees with my finger and let them dry completely before adhering them to the card. Ooooooohhhhhhh! I am in love with this Mercury Glass Stickles! That is a wonderful old-timey shine on those trees!

You can order any of these linked items from Classy Cards 'n Such.  Be sure to use this code, Holly-10, when you check out so you can save some money.  You'll also find tons of dies and stamps and other supplies for all your cardmaking needs.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Amusing Challenges - Trees
Joanna Sheen - Make it Sparkle
All that Stickles - Any winter/holiday project with Stickles
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Christmas
Get Inky #19 - Christmas

Christmas Wonder

Howdy!  I'm sharing a clean and simple (CAS) Christmas card with you today. This card came together in less than 15 minutes, and that includes the gold embossing on the ornament. :-)

I started my card by pulling out a solid red paper from the new Traditions 6x6 paper pad (Authentique) and the Vintage (gold) embossing powder. I inked up the medium round ornament stamp from the Vintage Christmas Ornaments set (JustRite) with Versamark ink and stamped it onto the red paper. I covered the image with Vintage embossing powder and used my heat gun to melt the powder.

Next, I pulled out the 2013 Heirloom Ornament dies (Spellbinders) and found the size that matched my stamped ornament. I die cut the ornament and then I did a little trick. I wanted the little hanging loop at the top of ornament, but the die cuts just slightly larger than the stamped image. I didn't want a red border around my gold ornament, so I used my scissors to cut away that tiny border, but I left the hanging loop at the top.

I assembled my card by making an A2-sized card base from deep green cardstock. I cut a piece of the floral patterned paper from the Traditions paper pad (Authentique) as well as the solid off-white paper from the same pad. I stamped the gorgeous new sentiment from the Christmas Inner Thoughts set (JustRite) on the lower end of the off-white paper and then adhered my papers to my deep green card base.

I cut a tiny strip from the deep green cardstock, but I didn't adhere that yet. First, I threaded some gold cord through the loop in my gold ornament and taped it to the back of the ornament. I affixed the ornament to the green strip with some Joy foam pads, and then I wrapped the gold cord around the top of the green strip and taped it to the back. Then I glued the green strip down to my card base next to the sentiment. Lastly, I fashioned a bow from gold cord and affixed it to my ornament.

I love everything about this card. The country-ish colors, the gorgeous sentiment, the gold ornament, and the beautiful patterned paper all work together to make a vintage country Christmas card.  Please feel free to use this code, Holly-10, to save 10% when you shop at Classy Cards 'n Such. I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Word Art Wednesday #109 - Anything Goes
Paper Crafting Journey - It's Christmas Time
Creative Knockouts #14 - Christmas Splendor
Bearly Mine #115 - Christmas Sentiments
Created with Love #69 - Christmas
C is for Challenge #11 - Ornaments

Suede Snow Christmas

Hi friends!  I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving with your families.  We had a great time!  Now it's time to get serious about Christmas, and I've got a warm snowy card to share with you today.

I started with a brown card base and I cut a layer from vanilla cardstock. I sponged the edges of the vanilla paper first with some brown ink and then I adhered this to my card base. Next was a smaller layer of brown cardstock and I cut some Kraft cardstock slightly smaller. The Kraft cardstock was sponged with brown ink and then adhered to the brown cardstock layer.

Next, I cut my snowflakes. I used the Snowflake Edger die (Cheery Lynn Designs) for the tiny little snowflakes. Look at the edger die and see where the tiny little snowflakes are cut out from the border? I saved those little snowflakes and set the Edger die cut aside for another use. I also used the Snowflowers Set 1 and Snowflowers Set 2 (Cheery Lynn Designs) for the three larger snowflakes. The Quickie Glue Pen is perfect for adhering these tiny and intricate snowflakes.

With the snowflakes in place, I cut a small strip of vanilla cardstock and sponged the edges. Then I used the Merry Christmas die (Cheery Lynn Designs) to cut out my sentiment. I used the smaller set and the Quickie Glue Pen to carefully adhere this to my vanilla strip. Then this sentiment strip was adhered to my card with Joy Foam Pads.

I know you want to add these dies to your collection, so please feel free to use this code, Holly-10, when you shop at Classy Cards 'n Such.  I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Cheery Lynn Designs #109 - Tis the Season

4 Crafty Chicks #170 - Christmas

Crafting by Designs - Christmas/Winter

Stampin Royalty #204 - Winter
Jellypark Friends - Christmas
QKR Stampede #66 - It's Starting to Look a Lot Like Christmas