Not Just for Xmas/ Mojo Monday #215

I find myself feeling a bit frustrated when I look at the number of holiday stamp sets & toys I have. They're all wonderful, but I hate that I can only use them for a few months out of the year. To make it all better, I like to find different ways of using them in non-holiday projects. There are TONS of ways to use our Ornament Punch for example. Well, this card uses two typically holiday products in a very non holiday way. First off is the Holly Berry Bouquet designer paper. One of the reasons I was attracted to it in the Holiday Mini Catalog was because several of the "B Sides" of the paper are floral--- a far cry from most Christmas paper. I don't know about you, but I often don't use up all my Holiday Mini paper before Christmas is over. Then, I'm sort of stuck with it. Sometimes I can add a little red & white to my Valentines projects, bit it's often a stretch. Not so with Holly Berry Bouquet! The second product featured in this card is actually the Northern Flurries Embossing Folder. Can you see where I used it? Look closely. The wonderful little flowers near the sentiment were a happy accident I discovered when trying to make small snowflakes for my last card. If you punch out the center of the small snowflakes on Northern Flurries using the Scallop Circle Punch Pack punch, you get these charming little guys. Whew, now my snowflake folder isn't just for the winter months! Maybe we can make this card next month as a sort of New Year's card. The sentiment works & it's great to be reminded of how versatile our holiday toys really are!

Not Your Typical Christmas Card/ Color Throwdown #167

I can always count on the folks at the Color Throwdown to provide inspiration. This week's colors (Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Pretty in Pink, & Riding hood Red) make for a fun Christmas card! I've been wanting to ink up the cute little snowman from the Button Buddies set and this color combo seemed playful enough for him. Of course, it doesn't show well, but I added an extra bit of sparkle by spraying my Pool Party background with Shimmer Mist before adding the Rhinestones. This card would be a quick and easy one to mass produce for a long Xmas card list. The Tag Punch for the sentiment & Northern Flurries Folder for the background keep everything fast & simple. Add a few Rhinestones for bling & round some corners to create a finished appearance. Time is always scarce this time of year, so I'll take all the short cuts I can get!

Gift Bag Time!

This project is an example of my "creative opportunity" or "happy accident" style of crafting. First I put together these lovely little pannels using my Easy Events stamp set. I layered them with Always Artichoke & even wrapped a little bit of Real Red ribbon around them to finish things off. Heck, I went so far as to attach a Mini Jingle bell. And THEN I decided to try to fit them all on a card front. Ooops! That wasn't happening. They were way too big. :) So, I decided it was high time to create a holiday gift bag. Ah, a perfect fit afterall. I just didn't know what project I was working on at the time! See, I'm called the "Accidental Stamper" for a reason!

Stocking Mojo/ Mojo Monday #214

I've been looking forward to making this card for days! I knew the last project for my upcoming "Wintry Mix" class needed to use both the Stocking Punch and Holly Berry Bouquet paper, but I wasn't certain what it would look like. Then, I checked in with Mojo Monday this morning and saw a perfect sketch! There's a whole lot of texture going on here. I stamped both the Wild Wasabi background & the So Saffron circle first & then ran them through the Big Shot using different folders. Next, I decided that the designer paper needed a little something too. So I ran it through as well. After all the texture was added, I knew it was time to take out my sponges and get to work. I love the effect the sponging has on paper. I'm especially fond of what it did to the already distressed Designer Series Paper. Great fun. Finally, I added the little flower & rhinestone (colored in with a Sharpie). At first I thought a little bow was needed, but that really wasn't working with this card. Thanks again, Mojo Monday, for getting my wheels turning first thing on a Monday morning!

Color Throwdown #166: Love Birds

Never fear, there are more Christmas projects to come. However, I wanted to take a little break today to do the Color Throwdown challenge. As part of my return to the wonderful world of stamping, I want to get back into my challenge routine! As soon as I saw the colors for this week were Crumb Cake, Old Olive, and Baja Breeze I thought of the little love birds from Easy Events. There aren't any weddings going on in my world for a bit, so I thought they would make a lovely old time Valentine instead. There's nothing too fancy here although I did use stamps from several sets. It was fun just to play around to see what would work together. I also thought it was a great time to bring out my Victorian Crochet Trim to accent my little birds. We'll enjoy these feathered friends today while the sun still shines & return to wintry thoughts with the snow that's predicted for tomorrow!

M is for Merry

I know Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet, but in the stamping world you can't wait until after Thanksgiving to start your Christmas cards. If you do, they'll never get done on time! Trust me on this one--- I've tried. :) So, I hold myself to a different standard than the rest of the world. Granted, they've already begun to play holiday music in some stores. Sigh.

This little card is super fun and simple. I tried to spice things up with a different textures for the lights and background, but simple really worked best. You should see how much the Silver Glimmer Paper sparkles! My little lights come from the Stocking Accents die. I'm using the same shape on another project (to be posted soon) as tiny ornaments, but thought they made perfect little lights too. I can't wait to see what folks do with this card at my Wintry Mix classes this month!