Gift Bag

Cards are done and mailed. Gifts are wrapped. Except for 2 that I did not have a box to fit. So I decided to decorate a gift bag.

I was inspired by the color challenge at The Kraft Journal They have so many gorgeous colors in the photo

I had some scraps of blue and purple "jewel" tone papers that are colors in the wreath. The gold metallic is also from the scrapbox.. I used SU's Star Framelits to die cut all the stars. I cut a star in black to put behind the larger one for a shadow effect. The tag sentiment is from SU.

I have also used a sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches for my design.

That was really easy and probably a lot faster than actually wrapping.

White Christmas

I love the elegance of white-on-white cards. So I had to try my hand at  The Kraft Journal challenge this week.

I dry embossed snowflakes on the Kraft cardstock and then rubbed a white ink pad lightly to highlight the snowflakes. Then used the same Cuttlebug impression folder on the long white strip.  I first stamped the SU sentiment in red and then used the polka dot folder on the rectangle piece. I like that the words fit between the rows of dots so it shows up better. The tree is from SU Festival of Trees, stamped with VersaMark and embossed with white embossing powder. There are tiny flowers on the tree so each one got a pearl center.
I used this sketch from Mojo Monday

Creative Mess

I have really been challenged with this week's sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches

I knew I wanted to do stars for the circles and a tree where the banner is but could not decide on the right DP. Once I finally decided on the DP here is what my workspace looked like

So fess up--I bet you all have had a desk top looking like this at some time! LOL!!  Well, as  the saying goes, "A messy desk is the sign of a creative mind,"
So here is a clearer picture of the actual creation.

Now I have some cleaning to do. The other half of that saying has to be "too much mess stifles creativity."

Merry & Bright

I love this inspiration picture from Curtain Call and knew I'd have to make a card.

I used the SU stars framelit dies to make the stars. The sentiment also from SU is heat embossed with silver but that sure didn't photograph well. Embossing the white background stars gave some texture. The blue and green glitter tape is from Michael's. It has a clear peel off strip on the back and I think it took longer to get that peeled away than to make the whole card!.
I also used  the tic-tac-toe grid from The Paper Players for the design. I did the diagonal row: star, embossing, white. Also sneaked in extras on the bottom row: die cut & glitter.

Inky Hands

I really got inky hands for Just Us Girls wild card challenge. I love the cards I see with sponged on ink and wanted to see if I could do it without making it look just messy. So here goes:

I used a green, sky blue, royal blue, and violet, streaking it across the card. Then a clean sponge to blur the lines and blend a little, The stamps are DaNami. The star is a sparkly sticker although that doesn't show well here.. I think I will go back and add a gemstone to the center for more sparkle.
I am pleased with how this looks and it was very easy, The card doesn't look too messy but my hands sure were. Had to stop and clean up before stamping the images.

Productive Day

Since I didn't have time to stamp yesterday, I am making up for it today. This is my second post. This one using the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.
I found this tan/white polka dot paper in my scrap box. It just whispered to me, "gingerbread cookies"

I used Kraft cardstock for the base. The sentiment and images are from Lawn Fawn. The cookies are stamped on a scrap of Kraft and cutout. I think it gives a better look stamping them on Kraft than on white and then coloring them brown. I used a white gel pen to color in the frosting.I used a Q-tip and white ink to give them a little "dusting" of sugar. Sweet package all tied up with candy cane ribbon.
Here is the sketch

Tuesday Morning

I know! I know! Today is Wednesday but my card is for Tuesday Morning Sketches I didn't have time to do one yesterday so here is Tuesday on Wednesday.
I did this one first

Then noticed on the sketch the sentiment was at the bottom. Since I had the papers already on my desk, I did another one in the same color scheme.

The DP, Peace sentiment and star dies are from SU. The Merry Christmas sentiment is The Angel Company.
Here is the sketch

Starting Over

When my kids were young, their cousin would shout out "Starting Over" if she didn't like how a game was going (i.e. she wasn't winning). I feel like that. Woot!, I had 2 really successful craft shows but yikes!, I sold all of my Christmas cards. So it is starting over for my own use. And I am low on Christmas paper so the challenge of "leftovers" from The Kraft Journal is just the thing for me.

The papers are actually 2 years leftovers from some DCWV Christmas packs. The stars are a die from Sizzix for SU. I traced over the snowflakes in the stars with a green gel star pen to give a little sparkle. And for some texture to the background ran the cardstock through Big Shot with a star embossing folder.
I have enough scraps to whip out about 4 more of these and then just 30+ more to go.
Because following a sketch is faster than deciding something on my own, I used this sketch from The Paper Players

Pretty Poinsettia

Continuing  with the gift card envelope decorating. Today, using this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

The envelope is die cut with SU die and Big Shot. Love that it not only cuts but scores on fold lines also. This is a great way to use up those small scraps in your file. A few years ago, I bought a long garland of poinsettia blossoms at Michael's. That was a great bargain. I have used them on cards, gift bags, home decor, and still have a few left. So this is a very expensive looking but not so costly way to give gift cards.

Gift Card Envelope

I just received a Sizzix template for gift card envelopes from Stampin' Up. It cuts and scores the folds. It is just easier to give gift cards to my kids. And the grands are getting old enough they like to shop for themselves.
 I tried the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches to see if it would work on the smaller size. I love how it turned out. So this is a good way to dress up those gift cards.

The DP, stamps and tree punch are from SU. The size of that sentiment in the Festival of Trees set works well with small banners. I used Gorgeous Grunge from SU to stamp the white "snowflakes" in the background. I put a matching white button on the back flap, thinking I will close this with a glue dot after the card is inserted. I am experimenting with ways to keep the envelope closed without gluing in place. Any suggestions?

Here is the sketch

Here are a couple more of the gift card envelopes. The one on the right has a belly band ribbon that can be slipped off and back on after inserting the card.

Krafty Christmas

I made this clean and layered Kraft based card for the Krafty Christmas challenge at The Card Concept

The DPs are from my scrap file. Other supplies: Sizzix stars impression folder. From SU: stars framelit dies, little stars punch, tree punch, and gold/white twine. The Merry Christmas DP was thin so I adhered it to a piece of white cardstock and popped it up with dimensionals. I've been noticing the trend of loopy cord behind images and thought I would try that for a fun twist on this sketch I used from Freshly Made Sketches

Computer Tricks

I usually copy and paste the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches to a Word document so I can print it out to lay on my desk for easier reference. So here is the sketch as seen on Tuesday Morning Sketches

But that is not what my Word document showed. It actually turned the sketch upside down. I have not had that happen before and certainly am not techie enough to explain how that happened. Here is the card I made because this is the way it printed.

I know it is okay to flip a sketch but I was a bit surprised when I went to post my blog and found my card totally different. So I decided to make another one and amend my post. Here is the second try

I like the second one better because of that sweet angel snowman. And did you notice the tree topper is a mini-angel snowman?

Let It Snow

Let it snow--somewhere else. This is for all the crafty bloggers in the USA that are expecting snowflakes in the next day or two. I don't mind a little bit of snow, but prefer it is confined to around Christmas.

And for CAS(E) This Sketch

The DP is from last year's Martha Stewart mat stack. Sentiment and embellishments are Stampin'Up.

Bright Stars for Christmas

I received a package from Stampin' Up today with the star impression folder. And you know you have to play with new tools as soon as you get them!! The card base as well as the burgandy strip have the star impressions. Then, I used Stampin' Up star framelit dies to cut out 2 stars in glitter gold paper for the centerpiece of this card and a small handheld punch for 3 more stars inside.

  

The front and inside greetings are both SU. The papers are from my scrap box.

I used this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

And I am still playing with the new gingerbread set from Lawn Fawn. While working with a sketch, why not make 2 cards using the same design? The house is Studio G but the rest of the stamps are Lawn Fawn,

The Grinch Christmas

The Grinch has a wonderful Christmas message in one of my favorite quotes. So I decided to incorporate that into a couple of cards. I am linking them up at Word Art Wednesday and Simon Says Stamp Blog since both have anything goes challenges.

I did the quote on the computer and printed out 2 copies. After I had made the first card, I found another Grinch card by Heather at Houses Built of Cards who explained that the Grinch's heart grew 3 sizes that day. I just had to make another card inspired by hers with the 3 hearts. I found out on Heather's blog that a stamp with this quote is available at Craft Spot.

Gingerbread House

I'll have to admit, I have not been big on making gingerbread houses even when my kids were little. My one attempt was a dismal failure so decided to put my creative talents elsewhere. So now, I can make gingerbread houses on cards.

The house stamp is Studio G, colored with pencils. The gumdrop border, sentiment, and gingerbread cookie are from a new set by Lawn Fawn. It comes with a coordinating die set which I will be going back to order. I stamped the gingerbread cookie on Kraft paper and fussy cut it out. Fussy cutting very many gingerbread cookies would get really tedious. I used a white gel pen to make the icing borders on the cookie, then sponged on some white ink to give it the dusted with sugar look. I used a red colored pencil to draw on the heart. The companion girl cookie is on the inside.

That sentiment is done on the computer.
This is from a sketch by Tuesday Morning Sketches

Kitty Sparkles

Cats and Christmas are a big adventure requiring constant vigil. My cat loved to play with all the ornaments and would even climb the tree. So I can just see a cat entangling themselves with lights as on this card. But they are so cute, you just have to love them!

The image is from from Newton's Nook. They have an "inky paws challenge" of adding a little sparkle. I added a strip of gold glitter paper and a punched star from the same paper. The lights are colored with star gel pens so do have some shine which doesn't show well in the photo. The sentiment is from the same Newton's Nook set. The DP is from SU.

I followed this sketch from The Paper Players

 

Sparkle Tree

Yesterday, I used the retired SU silver glimmer paper for stars. See it here. Today I decided to try it as a tree. Once you decide to use that hoarded paper, there's no stopping!!

The DP is from last years Martha Stewart mat stack and I found some aqua cardstock that it paired really well with. The sentiment is from SU's More Merry Messages. I stamped it with VersaMark and embossed with silver. The ribbons and tree punch are also from SU.
I was inspired with this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

Sparkle Stars

I have been hoarding some Stampin' Up glimmer silver paper for a couple of years. Don't we all do that? Finally decided it is about time to cut into that. And it makes gorgeous stars. I like that the glitter is already on the paper. Don't have to get out the glue and glitter and do your own. I think you can also find this in several colors at Michaels.

My photography does not do this justice. The background paper is a beautiful pale blue with silver swirls and words. It is from a Martha Stewart mat pad from last year. Just turned out that "be merry" is in the lower right corner like in the sketch. How lucky! The star was so easy to do with the die cut from SU's stars framelit dies and Big Shot. If you squint and look closely, there are 3 tiny punched stars along the top.
I used this sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches

"Lotte" Wishes

For the guy you know who always has a cup of coffee in his hands. And for the color challenge at The Kraft Journal

Although the picture shows thoughts of Halloween, I made a Christmas card.

I stamped the cups on a scrap of white cardstock and colored them yellow; then cut them out. Then stamped again on red and cut out just the cup wraps, gave them texture with an argyle impression folder, and glued in place.The letters are stickers. I did the sentiment on the computer.
Although not required, I even hit all the colors on the challenge. There is a bit of gray around the rim of the cup lid to give them depth.
Now that I look at it, it might have been better to do just the word "latte" at the top so it would say "latte merry good wishes.

Recycling

We are big supporters of recycling at my house. I have even brought home the empty fast food cardboard boxes to put in recycling. So the recycling challenge at A Blog Named Hero was an easy one. I save Christmas Cards that people send us and reuse parts to make new cards. I have 3 to share made from cards a fundraiser group sends out.

The image is cut from the front of a card, mounted on solid blue. The background paper is from the envelope. I added snowflake sequins (from SU). The next card image is from the inside of the same snowman card. I stamped a little snowman, colored it, and cut it out to glue to the image. Added some scrap trim, ribbons, and a snowflake charm (also from SU)

This last one is the front of an unused envelope. I stamped and colored the snowman nativity from The Angel Company into the oval. Added the sentiment and a glitter star.