Christmas Card #10 - And now for something completely different!

perhaps it should be my "Monty Python" Christmas Card.....

I wanted to try using some stamps from Purple Onion Designs - specifically the music background and my 2nd favorite alphas, Garamouche (2nd only to Lizziebelle, naturellement). I stamped the background with some Distress Ink in Tea Dye. Then I stamped the alphas (and a circle stamp) in versamark and clear embossed it. Then I used a sponge to rubon the StampinUp! Old Olive ink.

This was my fun little experiment and I kinda like it. I do have plans to give it another go - just slightly different. I'm hoping to have a chance to play with that tonight and I'll post my results.

Christmas Card #9

i tried posting this a minute ago and it disappeared.... spooky

anyway what i posted was my happiness at how this making individual christmas cards has been going. I'm using stuff up, using stuff i have, it's not boring (as making 100 of the same cards can be).

I used some Making Memories Foam Stamps (they no longer sell) - stamped the tree in Versamark on some polka dotted Making Memories cardstock (also no longer available... mores the pity), clear embossed the tree and cut it out. I glued on some thin silver cording from StampinUp! and added the star brad. I also had a scrap of this Making Memories metal border - perfect instead of a piece of ribbon. Hopefully I'll get to another card before I have to go to work. Have a lovely day all!

Christmas Card #8

here's another version with that cute stocking stamp - this one's starring Frankie, my black cat. I scored the background cardstock with a Scor-pal and used a piece of stash Christmas paper from a few years ago - it's still great paper (this Make Do thing is working out fine). I colored the image with primacolors and mineral spirits again.

Oh and I used a white gel pen to accentuate the white dots and trim.

Happy Thanksgiving kids!

Christmas Card #7

The weather is looking a bit more Thanksgiving around the burg - coldish and rainy. But those Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly papers are still making me feel happy! I only used a small piece of it in this card but I think it makes a nice contribution. The stamp is from Lockhart Stamp Co. and I'd bought it back in September when I was buying myself a few birthday gifts :-) It's a cute stamp isn't it? and gives me plenty of coloring opportunities. I colored it with prismacolor pencils and mineral spirits. That's the swiss dot embossing folder from Cuttlebug you see in the background. I made the embossed pattern on the pale aqua background using my Scor-pal (it may be hard to see in the photo). I'd picked out a satin deep burgundy ribbon but then I unearthed a roll of this wider ribbon from the depths of my ribbon box. I liked the wider ribbon better so I went with it. The color in the photo is a little off but it really looks lovely in person. Okay kids - that's all for today. Hopefully I'll have another CC posted this week.

Christmas Card #6 Pink Winter Wishes

i'm not a fan of pink. I don't dislike it either but it's never been my favorite color. But every once in a while i find something pink i love - like this Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly paper - i love the whole pad of paper. It's so cute and happy. So it deserves to be on a cute and happy card. I saw a cute card by Debbie Olsen using some of the same paper so I thought I'd give it a try.

I used two different Cuttlebug embossing folders (Snowflakes and D'vine Swirl), a retired StampinUp! set called Frosty (for the snowman), a Nestability tag (ribbon tag trio) and a cute little sentiment from Purple Onion Designs Merriness set. I paper pieced the scarf and hat.

Now back to more card making!!!!

Have a fun day :-)

Christmas Card 4 & 5 and a wee kitty thank you

Have you been following Kristina Werner's Holiday Card series? Every week day for the past 3 weeks she has posted videos of Christmas cards she is making- very fun! I'm a big fan of her cards. I was looking at this one from Day 11 Although I'm not a fan of the paper she used I liked the design and thought it might work nicely for a card using some holiday patterned paper I had in my stash. As I mentioned I'm trying to Make Do... use what I have. I'm sure I'd originally planned to use all this paper for scrapbook pages but by the time that happens I'm also completely sure I'll see more lovely paper that will work just as well... right? There is always something new and pretty coming out!Okay so you've seen that card with the Christmas tree paper she made... here's my version with some Basic Grey Fruitcake Vintage ornaments paper. The purplish/pinkish ornament seems very un-Tracy huh? well if you look close you'll see that same color in the paper. You should know that that ornament shape was cut in every color of the rainbow (ok... every color that was in the paper) but no color seemed to work until I tried the purple/pink cardstock. Any traditional color like red or green just left the ornament lost (i think the blue would've worked but i had no color that really matched... which is of course very Tracy :-) it had to match or at least be in the neighborhood). Now onward to card#5 - this one uses some Basic Grey Wassail 6x6 paper (in my stash) as well as some K&Co Christmas Cheer Phrases & Tags Chipbox Chipboard (say that 3x fast). I've had these in my stash since last year - I'm sure I got them with a coupon and equally sure I thought I'd use them last year for cards but that didn't happen LOL The gold ribbon on both cards was adhered with Tombow Mono Multi glue - that works very nicely for really thin ribbon.

And now onto the wee kitty thank you. Last weekend we went up to New Jersey for my nephew's engagement party. Exhausting weekend but a lovely party. Everyone went except, of course, the kitties. (they're not travelers... at all) We had our little neighbor watch them - she's such a sweet 10 year old girl - she feeds, litters them but I also know she plays a good bit with them so I don't feel too guilty leaving them - they don't lack for attention with her around. So here's the little thank you card I made for her - starring Frankie and Spencer. (no I didn't pick out their names. They came with them!)
So that's all for me now. I've gotta figure out my Thanksgiving shopping list.

Christmas Card #3

i'm going to say right upfront, before i forget - inspiration for the card comes from this card by Debbie Olson (whose blog i just love to look at - she does some amazing and wonderful things with cardstock, paper, stamps and pens... whew!) Now you'll note that her card is from a year ago - but when i see something i like i make a mental note (maybe that's what's slowing my brain down?... all those mental post its! lol). The stamp is from a set from Cornish Heritage farms called Winter Vintage Signage. I finally bought it back in September - its got a bunch of cute stamps in the set and I'm determined to use them all. But the one that I decided to try here is the Hot Chocolate & Marshmallow one. I wasn't keen on the price or the pitcher in the stamp so I decided i'd do a little editing - ala Debbie Olson. I inked/stamped the Hot Chocolate portion then went back and did the same with the & Marshmallows part - leaving enough room for the replacement mug - a Quickutz die shape. I cut the oval with a nestabilities die then used my Tim Holtz antique linen and a little Tea Dye to get the look I wanted. The paper is Chatterbox and the eyelets are Making Memories. I'm pleased to say aside from the stamps everything else I had already - use it up and MAKE DO :-) I think it has a Christmas-y look - whaddyathink? That's all for today kids.

Christmas Card #2

I really am happy I bought the coordinating punch for that StampinUp! Delightful Decorations. Isn't that ornament such a pretty shape? Makes me think of all the old fashioned ornaments kwim?

Ok so I was fooling around with ideas and grabbed a piece of cardstock I'd stamped in Versamark with a SU! Canvas stamp - just for the color of the cardstock mind you. I wanted a green background. I pulled out my SU! Peaceful Wishes set and used the stamp - its a piece of evergreen - and stamped with more Versamark but this time I threw on some clear embossing powder. That canvas background had been stamped in Versamark perhaps a week prior - who knew it would still have a little sticking power! I had to play with scraping the EP off a few times and reapply - finally I decided to go for it- and I used the heat gun. Some of the canvas embossed but you know I kinda like it - little more texture and not too distracting. Serendipity! I was feeling a little stupid when I tried to emboss on top of THAT with the sentiment in silver EP- this did not work - don't try it kids :-) But I'm still in that MAKE DO mode so I cut off that portion (at the bottom) and stamped the sentiment on the red background as you see here.

Next - the ornament. I'd already punched out the ornament from a scrap of red cardstock (that had been embossed with the Cuttlebug ep folder - Swiss Dots). I didn't like the top part of the ornament in red - I wanted it to look like the real deal. I found some of that Making Memories sheet metal in my "collection" and used the punch again - voila - metal topper. And I found some wire and made my own hanger. (if you click on the pic you'll see what I'm talking about - little metal section at the top of the ornament with a wire hanger).

I may make a few of these cards. I swear the only hard part was tying that wee bow and getting it on there

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

so I bought some new Christmas stamps a while back - well, perhaps September. and i thought i had better get a move on with the Christmas cards right? I mean it's November. I had grand ideas last year - bought a cute stamp set, worked on those cards for at least a month - but it was such an involved card I never finished making all of them. I did mail out a few to family members but that's it.

Practically against my religion you know what i mean? - to not send out cards.

So i'm going to try my best.

In year's past I've always made one design and mass produced. This year I believe I'll be making whatever suits my fancy. I couldn't decide on one stamp or set. I kept seeing things I liked. Quelle surprise.

so here's a first attempt. i think i'd prefer a skinnier ribbon but i don't have one i can lay my hands on at the moment so i'm going with it! (this will probably be my new years resolution - making do - i think it'll be a good one!)

oh - its a cuttlebug embossing folder, an ornament shaped StampinUp! punch, and the stamp (that's embossed with white ep) is from a StampinUp! set called Delightful Decorations

have a good day kids!

thank yous and the women

Got a lovely new stampinup wheel and had to use it right away on a thank you card. I made several subsequent thank yous i'll post soon but this here was my first attempt. I am in love with this wheel. lovely typography. graphic appeal. i know i'll be using it to death. And being as it's the season of thanks - heck maybe i'll even make napkin rings for the thanksgiving table.
on a side note - dh and i have been watching a number of movies of late on hbo (we don't subscribe normally but there was some deal .... it came with some configuration of our FIOS.. but i digress). One day i saw "The Women" was on - i'd wanted see if this version did justice to the original movie - one of my old movie favorites. Have you seen the original? With Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer and the amazing Rosalind Russell? If not - you really must. There is no one like Rosalind Russell (another RR favorite - Auntie Mame... a must see). Anyway - the new version - well I enjoyed it. But sometimes, with all the updates - well it loses something in the translation. But it was certainly entertaining. Another movie we decided to try - "The Changeling" with Angelina Jolie - if you haven't seen that one - please do. Really wonderful. Gotta run!