a sketchy snowflake wrapping adventure

 If you're new here, you may not know yet how much I love the Jingle Belles blog, where Stephanie and Lauren have inspired us for 14 years! "to prevent holiday mayhem" by making Christmas cards January through November.  For January they've prompted us to use wrapping paper.  Sometimes I find it easier to narrow down my creative choices if I have more direction, and over the years, I've found several other favorite sites that help me out with that.  The snowflake theme for my card today is from Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round and the sketch is #617 from Freshly Made Sketches:

stamp set - Ringed with Nature; ink - Versamark; Stampin' emboss powder - metallic silver; card stock - Shimmer White (retired), Brushed Gold (retired), Basic White; designer series paper - not really, it's tissue gift wrap I received from a friend a few years ago

All that white space tends to make me a little nervous, but it's got a sweet subtle shimmer in real life.

holly-die (holiday) adventure

I'm sorry about the title, but I just couldn't resist.  The past two weeks Jingle Belles have been taking back December with cards that use dies, Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round are using the letters G and H for inspiration and Christmas is the theme at Addicted to Stamps and More! 

stamp sets - A Wish for Everything, Banner Year; ink - Shaded Spruce, Soft Seafoam; card stock - Shaded Spruce, Soft Seafoam; stampin' cut dies - Word Wishes

 I found some holly in a new-last-year stamp set and I've been trying to remember to use the word dies more often - I think they worked well to bring these three challenges together.  I'm really pleased that I kept track of the little dot for my i long enough to get it glued on!

oh so ombre adventures

 I have new designer series paper (it was FREE! from Sale-A-Bration) and I've been a little obsessed with trying to use it hoping I won't have most of a package left over after it's no longer available.  Here I've used it as a subtle, and subtly textured, background for the Text Me Christmas prompt from the Jingle Belles:

card stock - Whisper White; designer series paper - Oh So Ombre (Sale-A-Bration): stampin' cut & emboss - Word Wishes dies and Tasteful Textiles 3D embossing folder; other - Adhesive Sheets, Stampin' Dimensionals

I had a small gathering of stampers last month for card making and we used Adhesive Sheets for some delicate die cut elements.  I was pretty pleased with myself to remember to use them, and even more tickled when I cut these sentiment pieces were from the leftovers without losing the dot for the i!

another new challenge adventure

Sometime in the second half of 2020 I decided to intentionally spend time every day creating. I was pretty successful, although I didn't document my efforts every day.  In 2021 I actually stated a goal for myself of spending a minimum of 15 minutes every day doing something creative, and I've stuck with it so far!  I may be overconfident now, but I've decided to participate in #The100DayProject as well, with the intention of creating a greeting card every day for 100 days.  The official start of the challenge was yesterday, so I started with an easy self-assignment, a Christmas card inspired by the pillow and the sign on the mantel in the photo inspiration the Jingle Belles posted:

stamp sets - Snowflake Wishes, Itty Bitty Christmas; ink - Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flamingo, Pumpkin Pie; Stampin' Write Markers - Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flaming, Pumpkin Pie; card stock - Bermuda Bay, Whisper White regular and thick; Stampin' Cut & Emboss - So Many Snowflakes

The color palette is way outside my "comfort zone" for Christmas cards, but I like it!

more new things adventure

I received the new stamp set Enjoy The Moment free when I attended the Stampin' Up! OnStage virtual event.  I like the images and I really like the sentiments, but I would probably not have purchased it because I had difficulty imagining it in use.  I couldn't let that stop me, though, could I?  I started by copying samples I saw and liked but I was feeling limited by the color palettes, all neutrals with a little green/teal/yellow.  Even so, I thought it would look good in the Atlantic Hearts Sketch.  While looking for a color challenge to work with, I decided to go out on a limb and try the one from Color Throwdown:

stamp set - Enjoy the Moment; ink - Rich Razzleberry, Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Write marker - Rich Razzleberry; card stock - Basic Black, Very Vanilla (regular and thick), Rich Razzleberry; embossing folder - Painted Texture D; other - Blending Brushes 

I'm really pleased with the results.  The new Blending Brushes are so much easier to work with than sponges for this kind of ink application!

a sketch under my umbrella adventure

I've been working on cards for an upcoming Card Buffet and I specifically wanted to use this stamp set for a welcome baby or baby shower card.  It took me some time to find a layout I liked; challenge #353 at CAS Colours & Sketches seemed to fit the bill perfectly:

stamp set - Under My Umbrella; ink - Night of Navy; card stock - Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Night of Navy, Mango Melody; designer series paper - See a Silhouette; punch - Umbrella Builder; embossing & die cut machine with Subtle embossing folder

Oh, look, I got the layers reversed.  <sigh>  It's still a perfect layout though, isn't it?

a pair of tags adventure

I don't know where these beautiful gift tags came from.  It seems like they were in a happy mail Random Act of Kindness I received, but I'm not sure.  I left them on the wrapping table in hopes that they would appear on gifts Tom wrapped for me, and they did!  I'm not ready to recycle them, though, so they're perfect for the wrapping supplies prompt at Jingle Belles:

 stamp set - Itty Bitty Christmas; ink - Real Red; card stock - Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi (retired); die cut & embossing machine with Sizzix embossing folder name unknown

Because the second tag already included a sentiment, I kept it simple so it will qualify for the CAS Christmas Card "tag" challenge:

card stock - Very Vanilla thick and regular; die cut & embossing machine with Filigree Frame embossing folder (retired)

another big thank you for the sketch adventure

I have too much designer series paper.  (I know, you've heard that before.)  This year, I convinced myself that I need to use my newer papers while they're available to purchase.  If I hold onto them and use them sparingly, I'm just being selfish, right?  I need to share the love.

I mentioned yesterday that I need several thank you cards - I found another great sketch at CAS(E) this sketch to help me use this year's paper:

stamp sets: A Big Thank You, So Many Stars; ink - Mossy Meadow; card stock - Crushed Curry, Old Olive; designer series paper - Night Before Christmas; Stampin' Cut dies - Stitched Stars

I'm not really sure I kept this clean and simple enough, as I felt that I just *had* to add the three star cut outs...

Just to show that I'm really trying to use the current paper, here are all of the thank you cards I've just finished.  All of them use paper from the Night Before Christmas pack, concentrating on the designs that are less holiday-oriented:

stamp sets - A Big Thank You, Well Said; ink - Night of Navy, Pretty Peacock, Crushed Curry, Mossy Meadow; card stock - Pretty Peacock, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla regular and thick; Whisper White; designer series paper - Night Before Christmas; punches - Decorative Ribbon border, Detailed Trio; Stampin' Cut dies - Ornate Frames, Well Written, Thank You, Stitched Nested Labels, Stitched Stars, Stitched Shapes, Seasonal Layers; Stampin' Emboss folders - Stylish Scroll, Tufted 3D, Tin Tile 3D

Christmas sketch adventure

Hello, and thanks for stopping by!  Have you missed me, did you notice I'd been away?  I haven't really been away, but right here in my basement crafting space, busily crafting away.  Most of my recent projects have been posted on Facebook instead of here in blogland, though.  Unfortunately, I have NOT been making many greeting cards, and specifically very FEW Christmas cards, and most unfortunately of all, I missed my most favorite Jingle Belles challenge to re-use, re-cycle, up-cycle for Earth Day!  I made myself very sad, so I'm here today with two cards I made using Stephanie's sketch:

 stamp sets - Festive Fireplace (retired), Good Greetings (hostess, retired); ink - Real Red, Versamark; Stampin' Emboss powder - silver; card stock - Real Red, Whisper White regular and thick; punch - Scalloped Tag Topper; Big Shot with Tufted 3D embossing folder and Festive Fireside Framelits (retired); 1/8' solid ribbon - Real Red, 3/8' silver glimmer ribbon (retired, and I think it was a Sale-a-Bration item); 

stamp sets - Christmas Pines (retiring this month!), Stampin' Around Wheel - Music Notes (retired); ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Crumb Cake (on envelope); Stampin' Emboss powder - copper; card stock - Copper Foil, Tranquil Tide (retiring this month!), Very Vanilla thick; Big Shot with Pretty Pines Thinlits dies (retiring this month!)

I took some liberties with the sketch for the second card, but it was definitely inspired by Steph's sketch: 

bunch of blossoms adventures

Although I really like flowers, they're not my usual style in card-making, and I don't feel I "have to" buy all the stamps (unlike bees and snowflakes).  For some reason I decided to buy this set, and the coordinating punch, when it was new in the catalog, but they have been out on the counter ever since then, waiting to be put to use before they can be put away.  I ordered some new stamps this week and felt that I couldn't procrastinate with this set any longer, so the color challenge from Hand Stamped Sentiments was exactly the push I needed:

stamp set - Bunch of Blossoms; ink - Petal Pink, Fresh Fig, Mossy Meadow; card stock - Whisper White, Fresh Fig, Petal Pink; designer series paper - Tranquil Textures

In spite of my usual aversion to pink, I thought that worked well enough that I might try another one, a little more out of my comfort zone.  Here is my attempt at clean and simple, using the current color prompt from CAS Colours & Sketches:

stamp sets - Burlap, Bunch of Blossoms; ink - Real Red, Balmy Blue, Versamark; card stock - Crumb Cake, Real Red, Balmy Blue; punch - Blossom Builder; Big Shot with Stitched Shapes framelits

Is the stamped background too busy to be clean and simple?  I'm never really sure.  As I see these cards together, it occurs to me that possibly the reason I bought the set is because it has a lot of versatility, in spite of just being flowers.  I've seen samples using the flower petals as butterfly wings and as parts of a goldfish, as well!

bee thankful for adventures

This week the prompt at Stamp, Ink, Paper is for black and white with one color - the perfect reason to put this stamp to work (especially since, as a beekeeper, I *had* to buy it as soon as I saw it in the catalog!):

stamp set- Bee Thankful; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends - Daffodil Delight light and dark; card stock - Whisper White, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight; Big Shot with Hexagon dynamic embossing folder

It's been quite some time since I played along at Stamp, Ink, Paper but it wasn't intentional.  My feed reader stopped picking up their posts and I didn't notice for a while (probably because I have more than 65 challenge blogs in my list!).  I have to remember to actually type the address into the browser window, and that took me another while to get used to.  Now that I've got my act together I'm hoping to be back more regularly!

adventure with something new

At Try It On Tuesday this morning, the prompt is for something new or something old; at Cupcake Inspirations, the theme is all about something new.  I used the new sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I also used a new stamp set which has been waiting on deck (on my counter top) since last month, and I used an old kit that I pre-cut for a Card Buffet offering from last year.

stamp sets - Nature Sings, Itty Bitty Greetings; ink - Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow; card stock - Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

pink holidays adventures

At Jingle Belles the first theme of each October is dedicated to making pink holiday cards as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month; for each card that gets linked up, Stephanie and Lauren each donate two dollars to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  I made a pink snowflake card yesterday, and today I've inked up another new stamp set:

stamp set: Stylish Christmas; ink - Flirty Flamingo; Coastal Cabana; Lemon Lime Twist; card stock - Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana

At Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, Pink Halloween also raises awareness for breast cancer, but I was struggling with inspiration for that until I saw the Fusion pastelloween challenge:

I was inspired by both the sketch and the photo to create this:

stamp sets (all are retired) - Delightful Dozen, Holiday Home, Perfectly You, Sweet Home; ink - Basic Black, Blushing Bride, Highland Heather, So Saffron, Soft Seafoam; Stampin' Write marker - Blushing Bride; card stock - Balmy Blue, Blushing Bride, Highland Heather, Petal Pink, So Saffron, Soft Seafoam, Whisper White; Big Shot with Home Sweet Home and Holiday Home framelits (both retired)

beautiful blizzard adventures

I am a weather wimp - I very much dislike cold weather, and I believe I have lived in the wrong state for many years.  I appreciate the beauty of snow, though (I just wish it could be warmer), and I loved the new Beautiful Blizzard bundle on sight, when I opened my Holiday Catalog.

I cut the thinlit once with my Big Shot and made four cards by using the negative and dividing the individual snowflakes!

 stamp set - Beautiful Blizzard; ink - Versamark, Blueberry Bushel; Stampin' embosss powder - White; card stock - Shimmery White, Blueberry Bushel; punch - Everyday Label; Big Shot with Blizzard thinlit

 stamp set - Beautiful Blizzard; ink - Balmy Blue; card stock - Shimmery White, Balmy Blue; Big Shot with Blizzard thinlit

stamp set - Beautiful Blizzard; ink - Balmy Blue, Highland Heather; card stock - Shimmery White, Balmy Blue, Highland Heather, Whisper White; Big Shot with Blizzard thinlit

These cards qualify three challenges:

• SUO Challenges - Holiday Catalog
• Addicted to Stamps and More - Holiday
• Cards in Envy - Favorite Holiday

And, yes, I did say four cards - this last one was actually the first one I made after cutting the snowflakes:

 stamp set - Beautiful Blizzard; ink - Blushing Bride; card stock - Shimmery White, Blushing Bride; Big Shot with Blizzard thinlit

I dislike pink almost as much as I dislike cold weather, but it's Breast Cancer Awareness month, and therefore Pink Christmas at Jingle Belles.  Since Lauren and Stef are donating $2 each for every card linked up, I must play along, and you should, too!

alphabet adventures

The prompts for September at ABC Christmas Challenges are S for Snow and T for Teal.  They're intended to be separate prompts but I conflated them in my memory and decided to pull out the retired designer series paper again, because this particular design combined snow and teal.  When I punched the cardstock for the trim, I started with a full 11" piece, so it seemed wasteful to create only one card:

stamp set - Endless Wishes (retired, on envelope); ink - Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon (both retired, on envelope) card stock - Lost Lagoon (In Color, retired), Silver Foil; designer series paper - All is Calm; punch - Lace Ribbon (retired - I think that's what it was called); Big Shot with Christmas Greetings thinlits (retired)

While I had the paper out, I put this little scrap to work by CASE*ing this Pinterest card:

stamp set - Endless Wishes (retired); ink - Smoky Slate, Soft Sky (retired), Lost Lagoon (In Color, retired); card stock - Lost Lagoon, Whisper White; designer series paper - All is Calm; seam binding ribbon - Soft Sky (retired)

Looking at it in the photo, I think it needs some rhinestones.  I'll take care of that before I put it away, but first, here's another snow theme card, coincidentally also in teal, for Jingle Belles:

stamp sets - Spirited Snowmen, Timeless Tidings (on envelope); ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Bermuda Bay (on envelope); Stampin' Blends - Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay; Pumpkin Pie; Smoky Slate; card stock - Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Pool Party; Clear Wink of Stella; Big Shot with Simple Stripes embossing folder

This one was the shoebox swap my upline brought to our team meeting - pretty darn cute, right?  And all the supplies are current and available!

a miscellaney of adventures

I recently completed cards 181-185 of #365cards2018 for #365somethings2018 which are also thing 65 for #DWPB100ThingsChallenge:

I posted the Christmas cards previously. I needed a Halloween card for next month's Card Buffet, and it redirected my attention (squirrel!).  I spent an evening  playing with the Halloween theme, just cutting and pasting in a little junk journal I received from a YouTube creator I follow:

This morning, I'm in default mode, creating cards again.  This one is going in the mail with a junk journal page I created for a swap.  I used the new Try Stampin' On Tuesday sketch and added some texture for the Tuesday Throwdown:

stamp set - Sassy Salutations (retired), ink - Wisteria Wonder (retired); card stock - Wisteria Wonder (retired), Very Vanilla; designer series paper - Afternoon Picnic (retired); Big Shot with Chevron textured embossing folder (retired) and Apothecary Labels framelits (retired)

I didn't realize until I was typing that pretty much all the supplies are retired, they just happened to coordinate with the tea-party theme we were given.  I hope the recipient likes her page :-)

♫ It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas ♪♫ adventures

So, I once again took the summer off, traveling out west with no time for card making.  It put me seriously behind in my #365somethings2018 challenge, and I've had several mini-buying-spree failures in my #DWPB100thingschallenge.  But, as a friend pointed out, I've done better since I've tried than I would have done had I not tried!  Here is a photo of #365cards2018, numbers 171 through 175, which also qualified as Thing number 60.

I haven't given up yet - cards 176 through 183 are on the crafting table right now, and you won't be surprised that several of them qualify for card challenges :-).  You may not even be surprised that many of them are Christmas cards, since I'm also behind on the number of those I'd hoped to have completed by now. 

This first one uses a technique I recently learned from a fellow Stampin' Up!® demonstrator, using Epsom salts.  The results reminded me of a peaceful winter night sky, which will fit in at Jingle Belles:

stamp set - Itty Bitty Greetings; ink - Night of Navy; card stock - Night of Navy, Vellum, Silver Foil, Whisper White, Shimmer White; Big Shot with Stitched Shapes framelits and Seasonal Layers thinlits

I CASE*'d the Muse ChristmasVisions 108 using some retired supplies to capture the feel of the original:

stamp sets - Christmas Pines, Peaceful Pines (retired) ; ink - Whisper White Craft, Island Indigo (retired); card stock - Whisper White regular and thick, Coastal Cabana; designer series paper - Winter Frost (retired); Big Shot with Perfect Pines framelits (retired)

While I had the retired designer series paper out, I pulled out some of my all-time favorite for this CASE*.  Just before I glued it together I decided it needed just a touch of ribbon, so now it works for Winter Wonderland:

stamp set - Bells & Boughs (retired); ink - Versamark, Real Red, Crumb Cake (on envelope); card stock - Real Red, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla thick; designer series paper - Home for Christmas (retired); ribbon - 1/4" metallic woven (retired)

And then, my order arrived with new designer series paper, and the Freshly Made Sketch 354  provided a great way to showcase it without using it all up right away:

stamp set - Hearts Come Home; ink - Versamark; embossing powder - Gold; card stock - Real Red, Whisper White thick; designer series paper - Dashing Along

I'll leave you with cards 176 through 180 of #365cards2018 for #365somethings2018 and number 64 in my #DWPB100ThingsChallenge - the next four are done, so I should be back soon when I have a fifth card for the group shot:

*CASE = Copy And Share Everything

learning new things adventures

Learning new things has always been one of my all-time, top favorite adventures.  Lately I've been learning to emboss using cutting dies and our new embossing mats.  I also try to learn new color combinations now and then, and the challenge at As You See It is definitely one I would not try on my own:

stamp set - Love You to Pieces; ink - Crushed Curry, Flirty Flamingo; card stock - Basic Black, Flirty Flamingo; Whisper White; Big Shot with Puzzle Pieces thinlits and Embossing mats