A really red adventure

 I struggled a bit with the newest prompt at Jingle Belles - "primarily feature the color red."  I'm not sure why, but nothing inspired me until I watched someone sponge two colors onto a piece of foiled designer series paper.  I used one color, a different piece of paper, and a brayer instead of a sponge, but it was definitely the inspiration I needed:

stamp set - Brightest Glow; ink - Really Red, Versamark; Stampin' Emboss powder - Gold; designer series paper - Most Adored (Sale-A-Bration); card stock - Real Red; Stampin' Cut dies: Thoughtful Expressions

I can't decide whether I wish I'd worked harder to get the background color more even, or if I like the variegated look better - I stopped with a variegated look, so let's say that's my preferred look.  Either way, I really enjoyed the process with the newest Stampin' brayer!  I have both the softer rubber brayer and the sponge brayers we used to offer, but this one was much easier to work with.

Something old, something new adventure

 I was cleaning up a bit yesterday and found these die-cut letters I hadn't used last month.  They would have looked stunning on a white background if not for the hint of green peeking out from the underlayer.  The pine boughs die cut I've had for a few years provided some green for the background, but then I needed a "buffer" so the word didn't disappear.  I decided my newest dies would be exactly right for a vellum layer, pulling together something old and something new for the current Jingle Belles challenge:

stamp set - Brightest Glow; ink - Shaded Spruce; card stock - Basic White, Pecan Pie, Shaded Spruce, Vellum; specialty paper - Distressed Gold; Stampin' Cut dies - Alphabet a la Mode, Christmas Pinecones, Thoughtful Expressions

After painstakingly weeding out the pinecones and boughs, I remembered why I don't use that die set more often, but it's worth it for a special card

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.

adventures down a Christmas rabbit hole

 I know rabbits are for Easter, but the Twelve Days of Christmas have been a long-time source of questions for me, and I've spent a lot of time wandering around that particular rabbit hole.  It started in grade school (do they still call it that?), when we learned the song in music class (do they still have that?).  I wanted to know which twelve days they meant (starting or ending on Christmas?), why were there suddenly rings in the middle of all those birds (and other living beings), and what exactly were colly birds, anyway?   As you can imagine, more than one grade school teacher, music teacher, or parent told me I asked too many questions.  When I found other versions of the song with calling birds, I settled for that.  And, I finally learned from a novel set in medieval England that the twelve days start on Christmas (and end on January 5, the day before Epiphany).  

Then I tried to decide on a color for the calling birds on the card I was making for the Twelve Days of Christmas prompt at Jingle Belles.  Cardinals are a popular Christmas icon, but the birds in my stamp set don't look like cardinals.  So I thought I'd try an internet search.  It turns out the use of "colly" in the song predates "calling" by about 100 years, and in the time the song first became popular, colly was a form of "coal-y" and referred to blackbirds.  I wasn't willing to stamp black birds on my Christmas card, though, so I used the blue from the background designer series paper:

stamp set - Banner Year; ink - Cherry Cobbler, Misty Moonlight; card stock - Misty Moonlight, Sahara Sand, Soft Succulent; designer series paper - Tidings of Christmas; other - Stamparatus, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

I added hearts as a way of hedging my bets - these birds are calling out true love.  

While wandering around the rabbit hole this evening I saw a mention that "gold rings" may have referred to ring-necked pheasants.  I didn't chase it down, but that makes so much more sense to my logic-loving mind!

sweet Christmas gingerbread adventure

Do you love sweets as much as I do?  I didn't try to fool myself into resolving to give them up, but if you did, the Jingle Belles have reminded us that the paper versions have no calories AND make great Christmas cards:

stamp set - unknown (the banner was in my unused bits box); ink - Real Red; card stock - Basic White, Real Red; designer series paper - Gingerbread & Peppermint (retired)

Sometimes I buy designer series paper that I think I'll love, and I do, but I get tired of it if I over use it.  When this paper was available last year, I started out with a one-sheet wonder design to make fourteen cards, and then I just kept using the paper.  I never got tired of it, and I'm pretty sure I used it on more than 30 cards.  It's still a favorite, maybe because gingerbread was always one of my favorite Christmas treats!

a Christmas driving by adventure

 The Jingle Belles have asked, at the beginning of their 12th! season, "What did Santa bring you?"  My favorite gift this year was new ink pad & marker storage units but I couldn't imagine how to incorporate them in a card.  The rest of my new stampin' goodies came from the January-June mini and Sale-A-Bration catalogs that start tomorrow, and they will make great Valentine and spring/summer occasion cards, but Christmas?  Not so much...

Leena Girsa posted some great ideas for the Driving By set - FREE during Sale-A-Bration with any $50 purchase! - that I was CASEing.  I kept thinking all 3 vehicles are just adorable, but something seemed off about the little VW.  Finally I realized that the gifts on top of the car evoked Christmas more than birthday for me!

stamp set - Driving By; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends - Gray Granite combo, Cherry Cobbler combo; Stampin' Write markers - Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent; card stock - Basic White, Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent; designer series paper - Tidings of Christmas; Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with Word Wishes and Layering Circles dies

The other two cards I made (only slightly different than Leena's) really showcase the "not so much" Christmas vibe of this set:

stamp sets - Driving By, Birds & Branches; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Pumpkin Pie; Stampin' Blend combos - Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Granny Apple Green, Bermuda Bay; card stock - Basic White regular and thick, Pumpkin Pie; designer series paper - Pattern Party; Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with Tasteful Labels dies

stamp sets - Driving By, Special Moments; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark; Stampin' emboss powder - Basics White; Stampin' Blend combos - Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade; card stock - Basic White, Basic Black, Poppy Parade; designer series paper - Pattern Party; Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine with Layering Circles dies and Tasteful Textile 3D embossing folder; Banners Pick a Punch

The greetings in the Driving By set, in addition to "you've got style" are "awww, thanks" and "DRIVING BY just to say hi" - the convertible with its balloons make me think of a wedding or anniversary - is it just me?

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!

an adventure in going green

 I wanted to try a cleaner card with the same stamp and die set I used last wekk for the Jingle Belles prompt (it ends today!).  This time I combined it with the newest Mystery Monday layout from TXStampin Sharon Armstrong:

stamp set - Peaceful Boughs; ink - Shaded Spruce; card stock - Basic White, Shaded Spruce; designer series paper - In Good Taste; ink - Shaded Spruce Stampin' cut dies - Beautiful Boughs, Layering Ovals, Stitched Shapes; Stampin' emboss folder - Evergreen Forest

I changed the shape of the sentiment and didn't stamp the embellishment, but other than that I was faithful to the mystery clues, and I think it works.

While I was working, I remembered that Stampin' Up! released the retirement list today, so I checked it - the stamp set and all of the dies I used are retiring!  If you're interested in adding them to your collection, they are only available until supplies are exhausted, or May 3 - get them now!

holiday foliage adventure

 The lovely Jingle Belles are looking for The Holly & The Ivy , or any other holiday foliage, this week, and I just happen to have some:

stamp set - Peaceful Boughs; ink - Shaded Spruce; card stock - Basic White regular and thick, Gold Foil, Shaded Spruce; Stampin' Emboss - Evergreen Forest; Stampin' Cut - Beautiful Boughs, Layered Ovals

I believe I may have gone just a bit overboard on the foliage, but less didn't look better to me.  Hmmm, maybe just one bough?  I may have to have another try...

another sketchy adventure

 I created two cards from the Jingle Belles sketch this week!  My first attempt wasn't the traditional color scheme I wanted to use, as that wouldn't have worked well for the images I selected.  It also seemed to work better if the sketch was upside down:

stamp sets - Itty Bitty Christmas, Snowfront; ink - Garden Green, Seaside Spray, Soft Suede; card stock - Basic White thick & regular; Garden Green, Seaside Spray; Stampin' Emboss - Old World Paper

Since I started out thinking of a traditional color scheme, I tried again with different images from the same stamp sets.  This time I kept the sketch right side up:

stamp sets - Itty Bitty Christmas, Snowfront; ink - Poppy Parade, Soft Suede; card stock - Crumb Cake, Just Jade, Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla; Stampin' Emboss - Subtle

Last year I put off making Christmas cards until, I think September, but once I started I never stopped and had extras.  This year I've done a bit better, and with the extras, I already have a small stash of twelve!

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!

something old/something new adventure

 One card and post every thirty days is more, right?  OK, just more than I managed in 2020, but that's all I've got so far.  When the Jingle Belles prompt Something Old Something New posted, I knew immediately I would use my exciting new Gilded Leafing, but I could not decide on something old until I finally saw the inspiration and January colours at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown :

 stamp set - Peaceful Boughs; ink - Shaded Spruce, Versamark; Stampin' Write marker - Early Espresso; Stampin' emboss powder - white; card stock - Whisper White regular and thick; Early Espresso, Shaded Spruce; embellishment - Gilded Leafing

After I started I realized my selected image wasn't going to fit well in the layout I had in mind, so I took a break and went back to scrolling through blogs - et voila! - the correct layout is the new challenge at Sunday Stamps - how perfect is that? 

    

Well, my execution probably isn't perfect, but it will work for me - sheesh, I'm so out of practice!

snow time like the present adventure

I've been making cards in series recently, where I use the same supplies for a couple of days.  It's not quite batch or mass making, because the cards are each different.  Last week I was working with the Snowflake Wishes bundle, and I made this one by combining ideas I got from Created by Kath and Mitosu Crafts:

stamp set - Snowflake Wishes; ink - Versamark; Stampin' emboss powder - Silver; card stock - Whisper White, Seaside Spray, Silver Foil; embossing folder - Winter Snow; dies - Sow Many Snowflakes

It seemed perfect for the new-at-the-time Jingle Belles Dashing Through the Snow prompt. I intended to photograph and post it immediately, but the camera battery was discharged.  By the next day, when the battery was recharged, the computer was running molasses-at-Christmas slow, so I had to restart it.  By that time I was completely distracted - that happens to other people, not just me, right?  Fortunately, the Belles posted again yesterday, and I remembered!  

Ideas for other cards in the series came from Jackie at Klompen Stampers:

stamp set - Snowflake Wishes; ink - Highland Heather, Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight; card stock - Whisper White, Balmy Blue, Misty Moonlight, Purple Posy, Highland Heather; punch - Banners Pick a Punch; dies - Celebration Labels; embellishments - Metallic Pearls

ornamental gold adventure

This is another new stamp set I was pretty sure I "needed".  But I was kind of stumped after it arrived in my craft room.  I was watching another demonstrator use it this afternoon for a card she was doing in neutrals and I thought I'd CASE (copy and selectively edit or copy and share everything) her card for a starting point.  As I was getting set up, I decided it need to be gold instead of neutral, and then everything changed (except the stamp set).  Now it's just perfect for the current Jingle Belles challenge:

stamp set: Ornamental Envelopes; ink - Versamark, Crumb Cake (on the envelope); Stampin' emboss powder - gold; card stock - Gold Foil, Very Vanilla thick and regular

The reason I "needed" the set is because it's intended to decorate envelopes; there are address lines, corners, decorative lines that mimic the curve of the envelope flap, matching dies that scallop or cut a design through the envelope flap, and much more.  The reason I'm a little stumped is I'm used to "ornamenting" the envelopes using the stamp set that I used on the card.  I hope I get adjusted soon, but meanwhile, this is a good start.

Twofer NBUS Challenge adventure

 Recently, I've been working through my overly large and growing collection of Never-Before-Used-Stuff, and I had just decided that this stamp set was next, when the Twofer Card Challenge prompt #31 ~ Trees appeared in my feed reader (which I'm also working through).  Well, obviously this had to happen:

Can you tell which one I colored first? (lol)  I made the one on the left as a Thanksgiving card, but I haven't stamped the inside yet, so it could end up as a birthday card, since this set includes a Happy Birthday stamp.  Or I could just write a note inside, but I'm not much of a note writer anymore.  The cabin stamp has trees, but to be sure, I also used the same embossing folder on both cards - no one said the trees had to have leaves, right?

stamp set - Rustic Retreat; ink - Balmy Blue, Cinnamon Cider, Shaded Spruce, Stazon Saddle Brown; Stampin' Write markers - Cinnamon Cider, Shaded Spruce, Misty Moonlight, Bumblebee, Seaside Spray; Stampin' chalk marker; Stampin' Blends - light & dark Smoky Slate; card stock - Very Vanilla, Bumblebee, Cinnamon Cider, watercolor paper; Stampin' Emboss folder - Woodland; Stampin' Cut dies - Stitched Nested Labels

stamp set - Rustic Retreat; ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Old Olive; Stampin' Blends - light Crumb Cake, dark Old Olive, light & dark Smoky Slate, light & dark Soft Suede; card stock - Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Old Olive; Stampin' Emboss folder - Woodland; Stampin' Cut dies - Layering Ovals

I've mentioned before that I live in a log home in a clearing in the woods, so you KNOW I couldn't pass up this stamp set.  It made this challenge nearly non-challenging, as it includes several sentiments and more images, also.  Embarrassingly, I bought it in January and today is the first time I used it.  

I've been trying to decide what happened to me - I stopped reading blogs (over 2000 unread posts in the stamping and card making category alone!) and I made ZERO Christmas cards from February through July.  It's not as if I haven't had time - we've been home since March, and there were no Card Buffet events to prepare for.  Then I realized that's what happened.  With no events to prepare for, who was going to care if I wasn't making cards?  If I weren't making cards, why would I be looking for inspiration?  And, I think I had a subconscious reaction to everything being cancelled that made me feel as if Christmas would be cancelled.  So now it's September, and I need more than 100 cards in less than 3 months.  I guess I better quit typing and get back to stamping!

Wednesday work in progress adventure

 As I loaded my YouTube Watch Later list this morning, I noticed that two of the videos are titled #WorkInProgressWednesday.  I expected them to be related, but they're not.  I have a personal "rule" that if two unrelated people tell me to do something, that's my sign that I'm really supposed to do it.  Last week I spent some time with a friend (masked, and mostly six feet apart).  One of the things we discussed is having too much pretty paper, and as we made plans for another visit, she said, "We'll have some of that paper used up and can share our projects."  Lisa My Eclectic Life challenged us at the end of July to #UseThatPreciousStuff over the next few months.  That just happens to be what's on my work table this week:

 This is what's left of the first designer series paper "stack" (48 pieces of double-sided paper!) I bought, Sweet Pea (2010 Occasions mini catalog).  Some of it is "precious", including the last three sheets of Taken with Teal card stock it coordinates with.  Some of it (notice all the pink?) qualifies more for #NoPaperLeftBehind (started by Daniella Hayes)  because I don't like it and found it harder to use.  Both are being made into cards - here are some of the first ones, using the bigger pieces of paper:

And, two I already mailed away:

So I'm keeping up pretty well with #createveryday2020 and #keeponmaking this week.  There are three more cards in progress at the end of the work table, but just now it's cat-lap time.  Unlike people telling me to do something, it only takes one cat!

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 sheetload of cards adventure

I have received a lot of crafty goodies this year from YouTube creators who were giving things away.  My husband thinks I'm very lucky (I am, but the main reason I think so is because we're married!) and that the YouTube crafting community is filled with awesome, generous people (it is!).  Even though I cut my Christmas card list in half this year (due to laziness and lack of holiday spirit) I wanted to send cards to the people who sent me so many wonderful packages of happiness, so I needed one more batch of cards.  Call Me {Crafty} Al and her #SYUSDec2019 made that possible:

stamp set - Itty Bitty Christmas; ink - Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green; card stock - Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Whisper White thick and regular; designer series paper - Dashing Along (retired); punch - Scalloped Tag Topper; Big Shot and Banners framelits (retired); mini Stampin' Dimensionals

This time I fully followed the layout, using three pieces of double-sided paper.  I made it a bit easier by using a punch for the tags and a die for the larger banner shapes (although they're still off-center, because that's how I work).  Normally I would not make a batch of cards (I get bored) but these SheetLoads make it easy and using different sides of the designer series papers makes each card unique.

Just as I was finishing up, I noticed that the Christmas Kickstart Challenge posted their last challenge for 2019, Last Minute Madness, and that's exactly how I feel about making and mailing a dozen cards one week before Christmas! 

a sheetload of cards adventure

I've been following Call Me {Crafty} Al on YouTube this year, and I've really enjoyed her SheetLoad of Cards series.  As a subscriber to her channel, I'm able to download her sketch & supply lists (you can, too - it's free to subscribe and the downloads are free!).  I used the newest one to help me use more of the Christmas designer series paper I bought this year:

stamp set - Itty Bitty Christmas; ink - Poppy Parade, Old Olive; card stock - Poppy Parade, Old Olive, Whisper White; designer series paper - Night Before Christmas; punch - Everyday Label; Stampin' Cut dies - Cup of Cheer, Layering Circles

If I had followed Al's instructions fully, I would have had twelve cards, but I used 6"x6" paper instead of 12"x12" and rather than cutting full sheets, I used partial sheets left from other projects.  The round sentiment on the left was a leftover, created for another card, but unused and needing a home.  

I think this sketch would look great with an oval shape in place of the tag shape, and I may try some that way.  For my next project, though, I need to finish up some special one-of-a-kind cards