2015 January »

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - January Pick a Previous challenge

Jan 312015

Hello! We have a fifth Saturday this month, which means that at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown it’s “Pick a Previous” week! This week, we’d like you to pick one of our previous sketch challenges from the archives and use that to inspire your Christmas or winter-themed card.

I went back a few years and chose the sketch from May 2012. It’s been a while since I’ve created a card with this many panels and mats and such, so that was a fun twist for me. I used a stamp from one of my newest stamp sets for the focal panel and chose my color scheme from the strip of tree print paper. The horizontal strip is green cardstock stamped in chocolate brown with a random “scratchy” print stamp that I felt coordinated well with the sketchy look of the tree image. The sentiment stamp I used is actually a long narrow stamp, with the words next to each other, but it was a bit too long to fit nicely in the space I had available. So I stamped each word separately, centering “Merry” over “Christmas”. I have to admit I’m pretty pleased with the completed card.

Which sketch will you pick? There are over 30 from which to choose, so have fun deciding! Then be sure to share your card with us at the 52{C}CT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, February 6. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mini Blueprints (Tim Holtz); Sanded (Stampin’ Up); sentiment stamp (Purple Onion Designs)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Naturals Ivory (SU); designer paper from Nordic Holiday 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)

CAS - Colours and Sketches #109

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Jan 292015

Hi there! It’s a fifth Thursday of the month, and that means we have a double challenge for you at CAS – Colours and Sketches! This week we’re asking our challenge participants to use the provided colors and sketch to create a clean and simple styled card.

At first the colors seemed to suggest a masculine card to me. Then I got to thinking about nature images and realized I had a retired Stampin’ Up stamp set that would lend itself nicely to the wavy line shapes. The end result was a card that is rather feminine! I have to admit I’m more pleased with it than I thought I would be. Funny how that happens, yes?

For more inspiration, visit the CC&S site and see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your own creation with us by linking it to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Just Vine, Three Little Words (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Mossy Meadow, Naturals White (SU)
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Mossy Meadow, Pear Pizzazz (SU)
Other: flowers (Prima); mini brads (Recollections)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - January technique challenge

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Jan 242015

Hello! It’s time for technique challenge week at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown! Our January hostess, Deborah, has lined up a fun technique to try: inlaid dies.

I decided to use the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge for my layout. After going through my patterned papers and choosing some scraps that would fit the card and the layout, I decided it looked better if I turned the sketch upside-down. The “Joy” die cut takes the place of the “any shape” element of the sketch. Positioning the die cut took a little planning to make sure it would be legible. The only part of die cutting and getting the sentiment fit into place that proved to be difficult was the tiny fill-in for the loop at the end of the “y”. The card looked rather plain once it was all assembled, so I decided to add a few enamel dots in one corner for a little something extra.

What will you do with your dies? Be sure to share your wintry or Christmasy card with us at the 52{C}CT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, January 30. We’d love to see what you create!

Supplies:
Stamps: none
Cardstock: Smoky Slate (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Nordic Holiday 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: none
Other: Wonderful Wreath die, enamel dots (SU)

CAS - Colours and Sketches #108

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Jan 222015

Well hi there! It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a new challenge at CAS – Colours and Sketches. This time we have a sketch for you. You’re welcome to rotate or flip the sketch, or stretch it out to a rectangle if you choose. So long as we can see the basic idea of the sketch, it’s fine.

I’ve stretched the sketch out to a rectangle and turned it 90° on its side. My Operation Write Home stash is lacking birthday cards suitable for giving to guys, so I chose designer papers in a color scheme that seems pretty masculine. The card pretty much speaks for itself… so here it is:

What will you do with this sketch? There are so many possibilities! I hope you’ll try out something and share what you create with us! Link your work to the CAS – Colours and Sketches blog by 1:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, January 28. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Birthday Greetings (Gina K. Designs)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Season of Style designer series papers (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Old Olive (SU)
Other: sponge; Labels One Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Cards in Envy - Going Gray

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Jan 192015

Well hello! It’s time for another fun challenge at Cards in Envy. For the next two weeks, we’re “Going Gray” with a winter-inspired color scheme. Cards made for this challenge should use gray as the dominant color, as well as be A2 sized with no lumpy, bumpy embellishments.

After a lot of thought, I decided I’d use one of my animal stamps and have a gray animal on my card for this challenge. I originally thought about using a rabbit – but then that made me think of gray hares, which was too much like gray hairs, which I’d rather not think about! LOL! I finally settled on this mouse image. The stamp set that it’s from also has several star images. I was browsing online looking for a good card sketch to use for the layout of my card, and felt that the most recent OWH sketch might work. To me, the square element resembled a window, and I could position the mouse so it would be sitting on the windowsill, looking out at the stars. I die cut a couple of stars to use in place of the round embellishments on the sketch, but opted to use just one to make the scene more realistic. I covered the star with Stickles to give it some sparkle, but then painted over it with white shimmer paint to make sure the glitter wouldn’t flake off. The paint covered the glitter more opaquely than I realized it would, but the texture of the glitter still shows. I chose a grayish blue for my sky color and flicked some shimmer paint onto it for distant stars. Fussy cutting around the mouse’s tail and whiskers was a little nerve wracking, but in the end, I think it was worth the effort. Because the mouse stamp has him facing to the right, I flipped the sketch mirror-image so the mouse could be looking at the shiny star. It’s been a while since I’ve made a “missing you” themed card for OWH so that was the driving force behind the sentiment I chose. The card turned out quite clean and simple in style, and I have to say that I’m pretty pleased with it. 🙂

OWH Sketch 246

Thanks for stopping by today! What kind of card will the color gray inspire you to create? Be sure to check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has made. Then share your own work with us by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, February 1. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity!

Supplies:
Stamps: Storybook, Handwritten Notes (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Buckaroo Blue (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Frost White shimmer paint (SU); Storybook dies (AE); Star Dust Stickles (Ranger)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - January theme challenge

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Jan 172015

Hello, and happy Saturday to you! I hope your weekend has gotten off to a good start.

This week is theme week at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. Deborah, our hostess, has chosen the cheery theme of bells. That made picking stamps to use an easy task for me, because I have only two stamp sets with bells, and I used one of them last week! So I’ve used my other set for today’s card. This is a “golden oldie” stamp set that I’ve owned for at least 10 years! 🙂 The layout for this card was inspired by the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. Unfortunately, the card didn’t come together quite the way I wanted it to. I knew I wanted to heat emboss the bells and the sentiment. Because the cardstock tends to get a bit warped when it’s heated, I planned to do my stamping and embossing, and then trim down the wonkiness. I had originally planned to trim enough to add a layer of gold cardstock between the main panel and the card base. Unfortunately, the two bells below the sentiment ended up too low for me to do that. So, to add a little more definition to the main panel, I’ve added some cardstock shims beneath it to give it more separation from the card base.

What kind of bells will you use on your card? If you need more ideas, check out what the rest of the 52{C}CT design team has made. Then share your Christmas or winter card with us at the site by Friday, January 23. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: A Greeting for all Reasons, Christmas Greetings (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla (SU)
Ink: gold (ColorBox)
Other: gold embossing powder (Ranger)

CAS - Colours and Sketches #107

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Jan 152015

Hello! It’s time for a new color challenge at CAS – Colours and Sketches. This week we have a nice classic color combo – cherry red, kraft brown, and black. White or ivory can also be used for the card base or background.

I’ve combined the color challenge with this week’s card layout from Freshly Made Sketches. I used a heart for the “any shape” element of the sketch, and repeated that shape for the “button” element. The sentiment banner is edged slightly with a dark red marker. The banner and the heart are attached to the card with dimensional adhesive to give both physical and visual separation from the card front. I haven’t yet decided whether I’ll give this card to my husband or donate it to Operation Write Home.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CC&S Design Team has done with these colors! Then share your own card with us by linking it to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Feathered Friends for Simon Says Stamp, Milk and Cookies (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Kraft, Cherry Cobbler, Naturals White (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); large heart die (Sizzix); small heart die (Lawn Fawn); dimensionals (SU)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - January color challenge

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Jan 102015

Hello! It’s time for our first color challenge of the year at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. It’s a lovely monochromatic scheme: shades of blue.

I’ve chosen some blues that include a couple of retired Stampin’ Up colors. It’s nice to use some of my older supplies! The layout for this card is from the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge. The card looked a little plain once I got it all put together. I wanted to dress it up a bit, but still keep the card within Operation Write Home guidelines, so I decided to add some tiny rhinestones to work as the ornament hangers. They don’t show too well in the photo, but they do add a bit of sparkle in real life.

How will you depict a “blue Christmas”? Be sure to link your card at the 52{C}CT site by 1:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, January 16. We’d love to see what you create! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Holiday Baubles (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: rhinestones (Recollections)

CAS - Colours and Sketches #106

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Jan 082015

Hello! The design team from CAS – Colours and Sketches is back from holiday break and ready to start off another year of fun clean and simple challenges! We’re starting back up again with a sketch. You’re welcome to manipulate the sketch, or change the oval to another shape, so long as we can still easily recognize the main elements of the sketch.

I’ve stretched the sketch out to a rectangle and turned it 90° on its side. I’ve also decided to use a heart in place of the oval. Although it’s too late now to send Valentine’s Day cards to Operation Write Home to be used this year, I kept the sentiment simple enough that this card could be sent during other times of the year. The heart is raised up from the front panel with dimensional adhesive.

Be sure to stop by the challenge blog and welcome our two newest DT members, Jane and Stef! Then create your own card using this sketch, and link it to the challenge site by 1:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, January 14. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Real Carnation (Hero Arts); Short & Sweet (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Pink Pirouette (SU)
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz, Purely Pomegranate (SU)
Other: Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, dimensionals (SU); heart die (Sizzix)

Cards in Envy - Make it a Banner Year!

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Jan 052015

Hello there! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. We’re kicking off 2015 with a challenge called “Make it a Banner Year!” We’d like to see you use at least one banner on the card you create for this challenge. Remember that for our challenges, all cards must be A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) and cannot have lumpy, bumpy embellishments more than 1/4″ thick.

OWH Stars & Stamps sketch #226 was perfect for this challenge! I’ve turned the sketch 90° on its side. It seems like at the beginning of each year, I think to myself, “OK, this year I’m finally going to use up some of my older supplies”… and then I get distracted by new materials and never quite seem to completely use up the older things. This year I’m starting off on that trend with some older designer paper, which I used for the background panel of my card. The turquoise banner is also from the same 6″ x 6” pad. I pulled two colors from the floral paper for my solid color cardstocks, and white for my sentiment panel. The sentiment panel covered up a fair amount of the turquoise in the floral paper, so I added some enamel dots to help bring out that color. The “Happy” and “to you” words in the sentiment are actually in an outline font; I’ve colored them in to make them a little bolder.

What type of banners will you use on your card? Visit the Cards in Envy site to check out what the rest of the design team has made. Then link your own card there by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, January 18. We’d love to have you join in the fun! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Cake & Candles (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Poppy Parade, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Gypsy 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Poppy Parade (SU)
Other: Pumpkin Pie marker, enamel dots (SU)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - January sketch challenge

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Jan 032015

Hello! It’s time to start a new year of challenges at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown! I know it may seem odd to be making Christmas cards now, since the Christmas season is just about over. But at 52{C}CT we present a different card making challenge each Saturday, with the idea that if you participate all year long, you’ll have a wonderful stash of lovely cards built up ready to send in December. Or, if you’re like me and you prefer to send the same card design to everyone on your mailing list, you can create a great assortment of cards to donate to an organization of your choice, such as Operation Write Home, a church ministry, or your local hospital’s cancer center.

Each month of 52{C}CT challenges starts off with a sketch challenge. Our January hostess, Deborah, has created one that’s rather clean and simple in design, but could be dressed up with embellishments if you choose. The star shown in the sketch can be made any shape. I’ve used a snowman from one of my newest stamp sets. I used dimensional adhesive to attach him to the card. When I was cutting the designer papers, I cut them to size as rectangles, and then cut them diagonally to make the triangles. This resulted in two triangles from each designer paper, so I ended up making two cards – one in portrait orientation as the sketch was drawn, and one turned on its side in landscape orientation.

Be sure to visit the 52{C}CT blog to welcome our newest design team members – Julie, Tanja, and April! Once you’ve been inspired by the design team’s work, make a Christmas or wintry card of your own using this sketch. Share it with us by linking it at the 52{C}CT site by midnight GMT/7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, January 9. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Be Jolly (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Real Red (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Nordic Holiday 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Be Jolly die (Avery Elle); markers (Copic); dimensionals (SU)

Operation Write Home Top 14 of 2014

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Jan 012015

Hello, and Happy New Year! I’ve decided to participate in Operation Write Home‘s annual look back at favorite cards from the previous year. I’ve gone through my blog posts from 2014 and picked out the following cards I made for OWH as ones I especially liked. If you’d like more details about any particular card, just click on the date below it to be taken to the original post for that card. Without further ado, here they are, in chronological order:

February 3