Pile of Presents Christmas

Good morning!  It's a freezing blustery day out there, brrrrrrr!  It's so weird to have actual winter weather in December, and I'm looking forward to a nice warm cup of hot cocoa.

My card today is a quick and easy one.  I used the Pile of Presents stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and brushed on three different colors of distress inks on a diagonal.  I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts) with the purple ink next to the purple gifts.  I thought about adding some pearls or gems, but I decided to leave it like this so it will be easy to mail.

This Pile of Presents stencil is super versatile.  You could use it for Christmas, birthdays, baby showers, wedding showers, and even graduations.  Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can save 10% off this Pile of Presents stencil as well as all the other stencils (excluding bundles).  The Pile of Presents stencil can be seen HERE.  If you're looking for more ideas for birthday cards, you can see all the great birthday stencils HERE.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

 

Joy of Wonder Poinsettias

Good morning!  The arctic blast is heading our way and it will be freezing cold in the next hour or two.  I thought I'd post this pretty Christmas card before anything happens to the power.  

I love the new Dotted Poinsettia stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  I placed this stencil onto some pinky peachy cardstock, and then I brushed some Saltwater Taffy Distress ink over that.  Isn't that a most unusual Christmas card color?  I love this fresh new color combo!  I paired this with a couple of strips of gold cardstock, a die cut snowflake, a sentiment from Pinkfresh embossed in gold, and some gold pearls dotted here and there.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can save 10% off this gorgeous Dotted Poinsettia stencil as well as the other stencils in your cart (excluding bundles).  The Dotted Poinsettia stencil is HERE, and you can check out all the great Christmas stencils HERE.  If you're starting on your Valentine cards, you can see all the great Valentine's Day stencils HERE.  Have a wonderful day and stay warm!

 

Glittery Snowy Holidays

Good morning!  I just looked at our temperature readout, and it is 36 degrees out there!  BRRRR!!!!  There's no snow out there, but there is plenty of snow on my card today.  

I used the fun new Dotted Flakes stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and I spread some clear glitter paste through the stencil onto some dark blue cardstock.  I love how the glitter shows up on this deep blue paper.  I adhered this stenciled panel to a white card base and then added the die cut sentiment (Hero Arts).  

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can save 10% off this Dotted Flakes stencil as well as all the other stencils in your cart (excluding the Master Creator Bundles).  The Dotted Flakes stencil can be seen HERE.  If you're looking for more Christmas stencils, you can find those HERE.  I hope you stay warm and have a wonderful day!

 

Peace Skates

Good morning!  Today I'm sharing this holiday card featuring the Marvelous Masks Diamond stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  This is a set of 4 different sizes of diamonds, and I've used the largest stencil (#5) on today's card.

I placed the Marvelous Masks Diamond 5 stencil onto a white card and then I very lightly brushed some pale blue ink all over the stencil.  I removed the stencil and then adhered the die cut flowers, foliage, and skates (Spellbinders) at the top of the diamond.  The sentiment (Memory Box) was cut from a dark green paper and adhered near the bottom of the stenciled diamond.

Please use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You will save 10% off your entire order (excluding bundles), so have fun shopping!  You can find the Marvelous Masks Diamonds HERE.  If you're in the mood to browse around, check out the great Christmas stencils HERE or the Birthday stencils HERE.  I bet you'll find a few new must-haves for your crafty stash!  Have a wonderful day!

 

Snowflakes on a Diagonal

Good morning!  Do you have snow outside your window right now?  I don't have any yet, but we do have some freezing cold weather coming our way later on this week.  I'm ready to hunker down and enjoy some hot cocoa and snuggle under a blanket.

I pulled out one of my favorite stamp sets from Technique Junkies called Snowflakes and played around with them.  On a white card base, I blended some pale blue ink in the upper left corner.  Then I randomly stamped the different snowflakes in different colors in a diagonal line.  I left just enough white space on the bottom half of the card so I could stamp the sentiment.  Both the snowflakes and the sentiment are from the Snowflakes set.

Today (Sunday, Dec. 18) is the last day of the big sale at Technique Junkies.  Some of the stamps have sold out, so grab the ones on your wish list before they are gone.  You can use my code, TJ10Holly, to save an additional 10% on the already discounted prices.  My code will also save you 10% off all of the regular priced stamps as well, such as the Snowflakes set that I used on the card above.  Have fun shopping and have a wonderful day!

 

Starry Holidays

Remember the gold Starry Joy to the World card I posted the other day (here)?  I used that same stencil for today's card, but I did some ink blending with it this time.  I placed the All The Stars stencil from A Colorful Life Designs down onto some white cardstock and then I brushed some dark blue and deep purple distress inks all over.  After I lifted the stencil off, the white stars really popped out against the deep ink colors.

I die cut the sentiment (Hero Arts) from some black cardstock and some white glitter paper.  I glued the black die cut behind the glitter paper and angled it a little bit to the right for that hint of a shadow.  After I glued on the sentiment, I adhered the panel to a white card base.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, to save when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You'll save 10% off your entire order (excluding bundles), so stock up on all the stencils that are on your wish list.  You will find the All The Stars stencil HERE.  The Christmas stencils are HERE and you can have fun browsing around in the Nature category HERE.  Have a great day!

 

Glittery Purple Holidays

How about a glittery purple holiday card?  This one was fun to create!

I started by placing the Driven Snow stencil from A Colorful Life Designs onto some white cardstock.  Then I spread some purple glitter paste over the stencil, removed the stencil and washed it off, and let the piece dry.  Meanwhile, I die cut the Happy Holidays (Hero Arts) from black, white, and purple metallic papers.  I carefully glued the die cuts together, slightly offsetting each layer for a shadow effect.  After my stenciled background was dry, I glued the sentiment to the top and adhered the whole thing to a white card base.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You will save 10% off your entire cart, excluding the bundles.  You can see the gorgeous Driven Snow stencil HERE and all the Christmas stencils HERE.  I hope you have a great day!

 

Starry Joy to the World

Good morning!  I'm back with another Christmas card today, and this time I've used the beautiful All The Stars stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  This one was an experiment and I love how it turned out.

I started by spreading some dark blue stencil paste over the All The Stars stencil onto some black cardstock.  Well..... as you can imagine, it was hard to see the dark blue stenciling against the black paper.  I didn't want to toss this in the trash, so I looked around the craft room to see what I could do to save this.  I spied my glitter pen - my trusty old Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pen that I've had for ages.  I hunkered down and traced the glitter pen through all the stenciled "tracks" between the paste, essentially covering up all the black cardstock.  This really brought the background and the stencil design to life!

Since I had gold going through the stenciled background, I decided to add some more gold accents.  I paired this with a church scene (SU) die cut from gold glitter paper and the gold-embossed sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studios.

You can use this code, HollyFan10, to save 10% when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  This will work on everything in your cart except for the Master Creator Bundles which are already 20% off.  You can see this All The Stars stencil HERE, and check out all the other Christmas stencils HERE.  I have some more Christmas cards to share with you, so be prepared for a little flurry of holiday postings over the next week.  Have a great day!

 

Glittery Teal Holly

Good morning!  Today's holiday card is full of glittery teal goodness.  I used the fabulous new Outline Holly stencil from A Colorful Life Designs with some glittery teal paste (Turquoise Jewelry Luxe from Picket Fence Studios).  I trimmed the panel and layered it with a teal cardstock before adhering to the right side of a white card.  Then I stamped the sentiment (SU Tin of Tags) with a teal ink.  This card is perfect for mailing with just a single first class stamp, and I love the sparkle and shine from the glittery stenciling.

You can save 10% off stencils from A Colorful Life Designs by entering this code, HollyFan10, when you check out.  The Outline Holly stencil that I used today is HERE.  Looking for more holiday stencils?  Check out all the great stencils HERE and have a wonderful day!

 

Trust Yourself with Copper Dragonflies

Good morning!  I've been looking through all the great stamps on sale at Technique Junkies, and I pulled out a couple of them to play with and created this card for you.  I love this Leaves and Dragonflies background stamp, so I embossed it with copper and then watercolored over it with some deep blue and some golden yellow paints.  While the paints were still wet, I sprayed some Worn Saddle Shimmering Bliss over the whole thing.  The Shimmering Bliss spray warmed up the colors in the background and there is a gorgeous subtle shimmery-ness all around the copper leaves and dragonflies.  The sentiment is from the great Things I Want to Do set.  

Both of these stamps are part of the Inventory Reduction sale and you can get them for 40% off.  If you use my code, TJ10Holly, you will get an additional 10% off the discounted price.  You don't want to miss out on this deal!  There are hundreds of stamps in this sale, so go check them out HERE.  Just remember to add the code, TJ10Holly, to get the extra 10% off.  

 

Falliday Fest - Holiday Flowers

Good morning!  Have you been playing in the Falliday Fest challenges over at Splitcoaststampers?  Falliday Fest is the best time of the year on SCS, with fun holiday-themed challenges spread out over two weeks.  I am one of the hostesses and my challenge is up on SCS today.  

I'm challenging everyone to show me their creations with holiday flowers.  I want to see some Christmas/holiday flowers on your project. They can be stamped, die cut, watercolored, drawn with markers, cut with scissors, or even made from tissue papers like we did way back when we were kids. It's all about having fun and enjoying the holiday spirit!

I pulled out some Spellbinders poinsettia dies and greenery dies and cut everything from red, yellow, white, olive, and green cardstock.  I flicked some gold paint over all of the poinsettia petals before I glued them together, and I painted the yellow centers with the same gold paint.  The sentiment from Elizabeth Craft Designs was cut from gold glitter paper.  I glued everything down onto a black card base which makes the flowers really stand out.

Play along with us over on SCS and show us your Falliday creations!  You can find my challenge HERE.  There's lots of inspiration and some fun tutorials for you to try.  Happy Friday!

 

Technique Junkies SALE!

Technique Junkies is having a big blow-out sale with 40% off all the items in the December Inventory Reduction Sale category.  You can ALSO use my code, TJ10Holly, to save an additional 10% off your discounted price, so there's some great savings on hundreds of stamps!  You can see all the stamps in this sale HERE.  Below are some cards that I created with some of the stamps that are part of this sale.  Once a stamp sells out, that's it, so shop as soon as you can.    

Born to Garden

Delicate Bouquet

Vamps and Vixens

Happy in my Holidays

Remember, you can use my code, TJ10Holly, to save an additional 10% off of all the stamps on sale.  You can also use the code to save on all the other stamps in the store.  Happy shopping!

 

Diamond Flowers Hello

Good morning, folks!  I just looked at the calendar and tomorrow is the last day of November??  How did that happen?  Time really seems to snowball once October arrives, doesn't it?

I'm sharing a fall flowers card with you today before December is here.  I used the awesome new Marvelous Masks Diamond stencil from A Colorful Life Designs to add a soft blue diamond in the center of my card.  Then I added a bunch of die cut flowers and leaves (Spellbinders) in various fall colors, making sure to leave enough room to stamp the sentiment (SU Nature's Prints).  I also added some gold pearls here and there for a little oomph.

You can use this code, HollyFan10, to save 10% when you shop for stencils at A Colorful Life Designs.  This Marvelous Masks Diamond set (you get 4 different sizes) is a must-have for your crafting and you can find it HERE.  Check out the rest of the Marvelous Masks shapes HERE, and you can see this month's releases HERE.  Have a great day!

 

More BOGO cards from A Colorful Life Designs

Happy Thanksgiving!!  I'm just popping in with a quick reminder to go shopping at A Colorful Life Designs while hundreds of stencils are on sale.  If you have stencils in your cart that are not in this sale, please use this code, HollyFan10, so you can save on those as well.  With so many great stencils on sale, I'm sure you'll find some that you need in your craft room.  You can see the BOGO stencils HERE.

I'll share some cards that have some of these BOGO stencils with a link to those stencils below.  I hope you're sitting down, because I have quite a bit to share with you today.  

Make Some Plaid stencil HERE:

Flower Berries stencil HERE:

Diamond Ladder stencil HERE: 

Multi Chevron stencil HERE:

Lava Blooms stencil HERE:

Loopy stencil HERE: (pan pastels on gel press)

Big Bloom stencil HERE: (pan pastels on gel press)

Sweet Flowers stencil HERE: (pan pastels on gel press)

Merry Dots stencil HERE:

Are you inspired after seeing all these cards?  Head on over to the sale at A Colorful Life Designs and have fun shopping!  Don't forget to use this code, HollyFan10, for those non-sale items in your cart. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

BOGO Sale at A Colorful Life Designs

There's a fantastic sale at A Colorful Life Designs this week, with hundreds of great stencils in this sale.  If you have other stencils in your cart that are not on sale, you can always use this code, HollyFan10, to help you save.  You can even use the code during this sale!  Check out the BOGO sale HERE.

One of the stencils in the sale is this gorgeous Folk Christmas.  I used a variety of glittery pastes to create this card below.

The Classic Harlequin in the card below is another stencil on sale.

This card that I shared with y'all a few days ago featuring the Owl stencil is another one that is on sale.

The Baking Spirits Bright stencil has endless applications from tags to gift decor to Christmas cards.

Stay tuned for the next few days as I share more cards that I've created with some of the stencils that are on sale.  Check out all the BOGO stencils HERE and don't forget to use this code, HollyFan10, to help you save on the non-sale items.  See you tomorrow!

 

Trio of Tea Time Cards

Good morning!  I'm taking a break from Christmas cards today so I can share these cards that I created with the gorgeous new Tea Collage stamp from Technique Junkies.  I've done these in three different ways to show the versatility of this great background stamp.

On the brown monochromatic card above, I stamped the Tea Collage with a cinnamon ink onto some cinnamon cardstock.  I then blended some cinnamon ink around the edges so it looks like the cup of tea is glowing in the middle.  Then I stamped this Tea Collage again onto some white cardstock and cut out the tea bag.  This sentiment from the Typewriter Set fits perfectly onto the tea bag, so I stamped it in a darker brown ink and then adhered this to the card.

For the ombre card below, I stamped the Tea Collage with black ink onto some white cardstock.  After the ink dried, I started blending some distress inks onto the panel to get that gorgeous yellow/orange/brown ombre background.  I chose these colors because I was thinking of lemons (yellow), honey (orange), and tea (brown).

For my third card, I went completely outside the box.  I had been watching The Golden Girls on tv and I was in that nostalgic vintage-y mood, so I colored this Tea Collage with some muted greens and oranges and browns.  The cinnamon sticks are bolder than the rest of the card because I wanted to bring your eye up to the sentiment, which is from the Butter My Butt set.

I hope you enjoyed these Tea Time cards.  This stamp is so well illustrated and this red rubber stamps beautifully.  If you'd like to save some money when you go shopping for this Tea Collage stamp, please feel free to use this code, TJ10Holly.  There's so many great stamps at Technique Junkies, and you can also shop for ink pads, Shimmering Bliss sprays, stencils, and more.  Have fun!

 

Gold Sparkle Owl - Beyond the Blue #74

Happy Friday!!  There is a new challenge up on the Beyond the Blue blog, and this time we're showing off all our Gold creations.  I used this awesome Owl stencil from A Colorful Life Designs along with some Pecan Pie Filling Paper Glitz from Picket Fence Studios.  I love the way this owl sparkles with that gold glitter all over him.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, to save when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can pick up this Owl stencil as well as many other great stencils.  Check out the awesome Christmas stencils in the November release HERE.  Have a great day!

 

Penguin Snowfall

It is chilly this morning, but it's not snowing like it is in my card above.  Do you have snow where you are?

I used the new Falling Flakes stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and spread some white Luxe Glaze (Picket Fence Studios) over the stencil onto some blue cardstock.  While the glaze was drying, I stamped the penguin and the sentiment (PTI) and colored the little guy with Copic markers.  After I cut out the penguin and sentiment with a circle die, I adhered it to the snowy background and trimmed off the left side of the circle.  Don't you just love those big fluffy snowflakes?  It's hard to see from the picture, but they are glittery and sparkly from the Luxe Glaze that I used.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can pick up this Falling Flakes stencil while you are filling up your cart with all the great stencils in the store.  Check out this month's great new stencils HERE and browse through the Christmas stencils HERE.  Have fun shopping!

 

Making Spirits Bright

Good morning!  Today I'm sharing a quick and easy Christmas card I created with the new Layered Holly Wreath stencils from A Colorful Life Designs.  This stencil set comes with two stencils - one is the leaves and the other is the berries.  This allows you to easily use different colors for the leaves and berries with no worries about them coloring over each other.

I cut some white cardstock to 4.25" x 11" and folded it in half to make it a top-folding A2 sized card (4.25"x5.5").  Then I placed the leafy stencil from the Layered Holly Wreath set down on the upper part of the card and blended some deep green ink over that.  I removed the leafy stencil and placed the berry stencil from the set so the berries would nestle into the edges of the leaves.  I brushed some bright red ink over the stencil and removed the stencil.  I stamped the sentiment with the same bright red ink and cut it out with a circle die, and then I cut out a slightly larger circle die from red cardstock.  After I glued the sentiment to the red circle, I adhered it to the center of the stenciled wreath.

I love the clean look of this card.  And it's flat so it will be easy to mail - bonus!  :-)  

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can save 10% off this Layered Holly Wreath set as well as all of the other stencils in the store.  Check out this month's awesome new stencils HERE and browse around in the Patterns Category HERE.  It's fun to look around the different categories - you never know what must-have stencils you'll find.  Have a wonderful day!
 

 

Warm Glittery Snowflake Season

It's a cold and chilly morning here at 39F degrees, and we had to pull out the oatmeal for a warm and hearty breakfast today.  We don't have snowflakes, but we did have some crazy hail yesterday as the cold front blew in.

I pulled out the Dotted Flakes stencil from A Colorful Life Designs and spread some glittery blue paste all over the stencil onto some white cardstock.  After it dried, I cut the panel in half on a diagonal and put each half onto a white card base.  I added a thin strip of silver glitter paper to both cards and then stamped some different sentiments on each card.  I love this 2-for-1 technique where I can make one stenciled panel and get two cards out of it.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You'll save 10% off your order, so check out all the great new November stencils HERE.  The Dotted Flakes stencil is HERE and you can find lots of Christmas stencils in the Holiday category HERE.  Have fun shopping!