Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Christmas Angel

This is the newest stamp set from Sparkle N Sprinkle called Christian Angels (set #448) and I couldn't wait to use this one of the three angels for one of my Christmas cards!  All three angels are absolutely precious, but I thought this one deserved a heavenly background.  Complete instructions for this card can be found here at the Sparkle N Sprinkle website. 

Monday, November 28, 2011

Snowflakes

Why does time between Thanksgiving and Christmas always seem so compacted?  I wish there were two months inbetween!  It's a roller coaster ride from here on out!  So some simple snowflakes seemed like just the thing.  This is an older set from Stampin Up called the Snowflake Spot, but it is so similar to the new Serene Snowflakes.  I embossed them with Sparkle N Sprinkle's Ice Rink and Sparkling Sky and then added some more Snowflakes with Sparkling Snow Glitter.  The cardstock is Baja Breeze and the snowflake punch is EK Success.  The sentiment is SU, but I don't know which one because I put all my sentiments in one container for easy access.  Just think, all this rain we've been having could have been snow!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Kris Kringle

I really should have called this the "not-so-simple simple card".  What started out as a quick card using another digi, this one by Squigglefly, ended up by my adding and adding this and that and Oh! that too!  The ornaments are cut with my Silhouette and as you can probably tell, I had to add the sentiment by hand with a gold gel pen.  And of course, there are lots of Sparkle N Sprinkle supplies too - Snow White Flocking on Kris's hat, Crystal Ice glitter on his beard, and Sequin Gold glitter on the ornaments.  The background paper is from The Paper Studio and the frame around Kris is a sticker frame from Flower Soft.  Have a great week!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Sparkle N Sprinkle "It's a Cultural Thing" Blog Hop


Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle It's A Cultural Thing blog hop!
If you hopped here by way of Karin then you are in the right place!  Otherwise, you might want to start from the beginning (right here) to become eligible for four great prizes.

I’m proud to say that this is my first Blog Hop, and that I’m one of nine new designers for Sparkle N Sprinkle.  So in addition to some of your favorite designers at SNS, you will see a lot of fresh, new ideas for using Sparkle N Sprinkle products!
All of the stamp sets used in this blog hop are on special this month – 15% off all Asian, Design Elements, Medallions, and Andrea Roberts stamps.  You have until midnight, November 11, to participate!

Since I have a few “Rockers” in my family, I chose the set Rock N Roll (#428) for my cards. The culture of rock music in America is as diverse as the population itself.  For my first card, I chose a Metallica album cover as my inspiration.

 
 The background paper is created by first embossing with Americana embossing powder (EP396) using a paint brush and Versamark refill.  On top of that, I embossed the notes and bass and treble clefs using Silver Detail embossingpowder (EP257).  To complete the “heavy metal” look, I used Silver Mirror cardstock to frame the guitar and the sentiment. Complete instructions can be found here.
                          

My second card is representative of Latin Rock music by Santana (music that I’m more familiar with but I’m sure that is not in my nephew’s or son’s repertoire).  
Latin Rock originated in California and quickly spread to all corners of the country. 

The reds and yellows on this card are created using four colors of Memento inks and sponged on white cardstock using daubers.  The textures are created using an embossing folder (Allegro), Nestabilities Deckled Rectangles and embossing powders (Copper MountainEP370, Pineapple EP122, and Firecracker Red EP291).  Complete instructions can be found here.

Thank you so much for visiting and letting me share “It’s a Cultural Thing” in Rock Music!  Don't forget to leave a comment in order to become eligible for a prize.  Now let’s hop over to Marie’s for more awesome ideas!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Happy Holidays

I wasn't going to post this one, since I needed to quickly get my last three German cards together for my standing order of eight German cards, but he turned out kind of cute, so here he is.  I have to admit, I cheated.  Yes, I used a pre-colored digi stamp!  This one is by Inger Harding and he is just too cute.  The snowflake is cut with my Silhouette and the card itself is a digi pattern by Martine McKnight called Winter Wonderland.  It printed out the perfect size so that all I had to do was fold it in half and the backside of the card is patterned too!  A little glitter, some ribbon, and a computer generated sentiment cut into a tag and tied on with silver wire and you have a super quick card.  Stay tuned...... I'm on a roll.

Letters to Santa


Being with my 2 year old and 5 year old grandsons on a daily basis, I'm constantly reminded of the magic of Christmas - Christmas as seen through the eyes of a child.  There's the mailing of a letter to Santa.  Then there is watching a deer cross the road in front of us as Carter asks if that is Santa's reindeer and just at that moment the big buck stops and stares at us as we drive on.  Yes, I said, he's checking on you and reporting back to Santa.  And then last week Carter followed the chimney sweep out the door asking if it's true that the chimney has to be cleaned so that Santa can come down easier.  This is so much better than concentrating on the shopping!
The digi image I used on this card is by Elizabeth Belle and was colored with pencils.  Sparkle N Sprinkle's Sparkling Snow Glitter on the snow and Snow White Flocking on her hat and coat don't show well in the photo, but add some nice texture.  Stampin Up's Hello Doily in the background is done with Winter White Embossing powder (also Sparkle N Sprinkle), which has a nice subtle glitter to it too.  The dark green scalloped circle (Nestabilities) and the dark green flourish (Silhouette) are embossed with Sparkle N Sprinkle's Opaline.  Then last but not least is the Poinsettia die by Spellbinders and stamp by Heartfelt Creations.  You would not believe how many Poinsettias I had spread out on my table and none of them filled the space quite right.  Then yesterday the dies and stamp set came in the mail and I KNEW that was going to be perfect! Thanks for looking - back to the drawing board for me!
I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Christmas Inspirations - Bow
Card Makin Mamas - Die Cut
Cheers & Challenges Eclectic Ensemble - 4 Embellishments
4 Crafty Chicks - Die Cuts
Paper Crafting Journey -Use a Digi

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!


Hello!  Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I have a lot to be thankful for, I thought I'd throw in this quick card made with an old Stampin Up set, Little Layers II.  I've been fretting over the composition of a Christmas card for over a week now so this was a nice break - a clean and simple card.  The background is stamped with Apricot Appeal and Pumpkin Pie on a peach colored cardstock and mounted on Early Espresso.   The pumpkin is colored with "mixed media" - Copics, Prismacolor markers, and colored pencils.  I didn't seem to have the right shades in any one category.  I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture, but the pumpkin is covered with Glossy Accents.  A nice chocolate ribbon from JoAnn's and a corner punch on the inside cardstock and it's done!  And the bonus was, I got an order for eight of them.  Who would have thought?