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!

Fancy Favor Gift Card Holder

I just love discovering new things to make with some of my favorite toys! I have already made a bunch of little bags with the Fancy Favor die & have decked them out for many different occasions. Then, I found out that the same die makes a great little gift card holder with just a few modifications. Thanks so much to Cindy for passing this one on to me! The outside is very cute with just a little Deck the Halls designer paper & my very favorite stamp from the Tags Til Christmas set. Then you pull out the super cute little card that fits so nicely inside. Finally, you can open up this little number to find your gift waiting inside! Oops, looks like a little free advertising for my favorite cheese shop, huh? Trust me, they are well worth checking out too!

Gift Card Easel

Sorry there weren't any more posts from Illinois! The lighting thing was just making me crazy. I would have tried out using sunlight, but the sun hid behind a whole bunch of rain for most of my visit. So, I'm back in Colorado and back to making posts! This morning I decided to change the Circle or Square Mojo Monday challenge into an easel card that will make a great gift card holder. There is just the right amount of room to use temporary adhesive to stick a gift card right inside! Perhaps I'm just in an easel card frame of mind after finishing the engagement balloon invites with the bridesmaids yesterday. What great fun that was! An assembly line with a full table of people goes so fast & we had a great time putting them together. It felt like such an accomplishment to see them all completed. I'm running late for the rest of my day (as usual), so I guess I better get a move on!

The Dog Ate My Homework

Wouldn't you know it? I have a big event tomorrow night for which all of the cards were designed & samples ready. However, my dog decided that the Bells & Boughs card I had selected wasn't quite right. Or perhaps she thought it was good enough to eat because that's exactly what she did! Of all things for her to start chewing on, she had to pick cardstock as her new favorite. That means I have to be VERY careful!

Don't tell her, but I'm actually kind of glad I got the chance to redesign this one. For tomorrow's event I'll have about 25 stampers &, since I'm not sure how much experience they'll come with, I wanted to keep the cards simple but with flare. Also, I wanted to feature Bells & Boughs along with the Deck the Halls paper since they are available right now in a bundle for 20%. So I needed to come up with something to fix Maddie's snack attack. I really like the effect created by stamping the holly in Cherry Cobbler on Crumb Cake this time rather than Always Artichoke. It just really pops! And the little bit of Designer Paper means that my remaining page of that pattern will be more than enough for all the stampers. I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone. Now I just need to cut some paper so I can be all ready!

Bells & Boughs Holly

I had a request for a simple card using Bells & Boughs & the Deck the Halls Designer paper. It's a great combo & right now it's on sale too! If you buy them together you save 20% on both thanks to the Handmade Holidays promotion through Stampin' Up. Oh, and I was supposed to work in the Christmas Collage stamp too, but I found that it just didn't quite fit in this design.

I do love the holly stamp and so it was fun to create a card that totally centers on it. Between the paper, the stamped background, and the embossed accent the holly definitely has strong representation. :)

Sorry for the late post today. It's hard to get one up when I need to be at work super early. Excuses, excuses, I know! Perhaps I'll do better tomorrow. For now, it's off to cut paper!

Holly Circles

Here's another card made from the bits and pieces created during my experiments the other night. The whole process helped me to come up with the idea of having a "Featured Product" for each month. Have you ever gotten a stamp set because you made one card with it and then couldn't come up with other fun things to do with it? Or, do you have sets at home that have never been mounted? The Featured Product idea tries to deal with both issues. Each month I'll pick a different stamp set/punch/tool to feature. There will be a class that folks can host which will include the price of the product in the class fee, so everyone uses their new toys right away to make three projects. This class may replace my "theme classes" in Longmont. Also, if you can't attend one of the classes, you will still get the kits if you order the monthly Featured Project. It will be a fun way for me to highlight some of my favorites that I think are overlooked. If our founder, Shelli, can mark out here favorites--- so can I!

Textured Pear Christmas

When I first saw Pear Pizazz as a new In Color, I must admit that I didn't think "Christmas". However, paired up with Riding Hood Red it really is quite festive. I tinkered around with Bells & Boughs a ton last night as a sort of exercise in therapeutic stamping. It was a day of bad news & tragic stories so I definitely needed a little time to tinker.

This card started out as a way to use the Bells from Bells and Boughs because they fit so nicely in the Ornament Punch. But, as you can see, that image didn't even make the final cut. I've already put together one card from the experimental leftovers & I'll save that ornament with embossed bells for yet another. I can never tell where I'll end up when I start to play like that. I'm just loving inking up the Texturz Plates for a new look. It's simple, but has such an impact! Hope you like it too!

Bells and Boughs Beauty

It's very hard to capture the sparkle this card has thanks to the Smooch Spritz I applied to the black base. I suppose you'll have to trust me on that one, or take a look in person at class.
I really like how it all came together for a bit of a vintage feel. It's the first time I really wish I had one of the distressing tools for the edges of my paper. Instead, I used an emery board I had on hand & it did pretty well.
For the poinsettia image I first stamped & embossed in black. Then I colored in using rubbing alcohol and reinker on a cotton swab. I think the little outside of the lines bits actually add something to the image.
I'll admit that I really missed Handsome Hunter as I tried to assemble this card. In its place, I sponged Always Artichoke with the same color ink and the depth that gives works well. I feel like I'm getting into the Christmas swing of things, but it may be time for me to lay off a bit so that I don't miss out on fall!