Winter Thanks

 The new challenge at Can You Handle the Pressure is anything goes with embossing and a twist of winter.

This theme is great for those holiday thank you cards.

I found a Pool Party scrap with white circles that made me think of snowballs. I embossed it with a Cuttlebug E/F that is swirly, like snow swirlying with the wind. The sentiment is Stampin' UP! stamped with Pool Party ink and fussy cut.  I added some clear iridescent gems inside the swirls to add some glow.

amended: I have had a bad cold and cough for a few days and have been in a. bit of fog and forgot to post this to Can You Handle the Pressure. I hope they will still accept it.

Gift Boxes

A note from Mellissa: After 15 years of Tuesday Morning Sketches and approximately 700 or so sketches, it's time to sunset the challenge blog. It's very hard for me to let go but times are changing, trends are changing and challenge blogs just aren't what they used to be.  It's been a great ride!  

For the final two weeks of the year for Tuesday Morning Sketches we go with an Anything Goes theme. I chose to do gift card boxes. My gifting is mostly for adults and teens so I go with gift cards and/or cash.

Works for both sides, I don't have to agonize over shopping and they can get exactly what they want.

They are called book treat boxes from Stampin' Up!, They come in white, pre-cut and scored. It took a 3 1/2' x 9" piece of DSP to cover the box. The punched circle with the die cut snowflake fits over the tab box closure. I punched a tag and added another die cut snowflake.

Here is the opened box

 

A gift card fits perfectly in the bottom. You have to either put a glue dot on the gift card or weigh it down with something like mini candy bars. This is to keep the card from sliding out the side opening.

This is what it looks like from the side.

Here are 2 other patterns I used.

I think it gives a little more thought to gift card gifts to present them in a fancy package.

I know it is a busy time of the year but I hope you find some time to escape to your craft space and do some creating. Or share something with us that you have not posted elsewhere.

Trees

Can you believe December 17 already? The rush is on. Are you getting panicy yet? thought I had enough Christmas cards but need a few more.

 I went to Tuesday Morning Sketches new sketch by Debbie. It is a quick and easy one and I will be using it several times

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For the strip on the left, I used 3 die cut trees from Kokorosa Studios.

The card base was pre-made with the silver border. I cut the trees in 2 shades of green. To give the trees a little shine, I used a silver paint pen to make dots on them. The sentiment is SU stamped in green and backed with a dark green. For a little more shine I added 5 punched silver stars.

I know it is a busy season but I hope you find some time to pop in the craft space and create a card to share with us.

Pretty Poinsettia

I usually make several poinsettia cards every year but this is the first for me this year. 

 

The center panel is embossed with a Sizzix E/F. The poinsettias and holly are die cut from SU. The greeting is also from SU. I added a sparkly red gem to the corner of the sentiment and popped it up on foam tape.  Colors are real red, mossy meadow, and white. plus a yellow scrap for flower centers. It actually turned out pretty easy for what looks like a complicated sketch from Sketch Saturday

Using this card for 3 challenges.

Can You Handle the Pressure--Twist of Poinsettia.

Cardz 4 Galz--Christmas

Sketch Saturday

Moose Tag

 Cardz 4 Guyz new challenge #362 is making a holiday/Christmas tag or card.

I never thought much about tags being specifically masculine. I don't think most men pay much attention to the tags on their gifts anyway. But I'll give it a try. This would actually look really nice on a rustic looking wrapping paper or for an outdoorsy theme gift.

I used 2 sizes of a label die. The check is a retired SU paper. The tree is die cut from Mossy Meadow. The moose is on Kraft paper with an SU punch  A punched gold star accents the tag. I used raffia and burlap string to tie off the tag. Not elaborate but I think of masculine as being more CAS.

Now that I have done it, I will think more about masculine tags next year.

hearts

 Trying a new technique challenge from Group of Seven Cardmakers That is using die cuts to make background textures like embossing. Using the same paper for the die cut as you background is basically how to do it. Check out their blog for a better explanation and video.

I chose white on white. The heart die is from Kokorosa Studios. This is adhered to a red card base.. The sentiment is SU, fussy cut and then backed with red. Gingham ribbon from the stash.

I love the elegance of tone on tone. I'm going in search of my dies to see how else I an use this technique.

The die is a NBUS so I will uplink to mynbus blog

Hanukkah

I have a commission to make some Hanukkah cards. I've never made them before so went searching on Pinterest and clip art. Then looked through my blue shades of paper. 

I used Melissa's new sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches 

and came up with this.

The plaid paper is Core'dinations by American Crafts. The navy background has a subtle tone on tone pattern. It is from Stampin" UP!.  The background rectangle is a metallic gold. This is the best photo of metallic paper  I have ever done. I think it photographed so well because it is cloudy here. Th Star of David is clip art, printed and fussy cut. The computer made sentiment is trimmed down and fish-tailed. I used a foam square in the center and glue dots on the ends to give it a wavy appearance.

Inside, I copied and printed a sentiment from my home Hallmark program. I trimmed it to off set and then added a strip of the navy, same as the background on front, and a thin gold strip.

I like how this turned out. I hope my customer will like it.

I know it is a busy time for everyone but hope you find some time to escape to the craft space and create a card to share with us.  Look at is as a little self-care mental therapy.

Here is another one I made with the same paper. Helpful hint: make flames with a daisy punch--just snip the petals apart.

Black and White Elegance

 Not my go to for Christmas cards, but black and white can be so elegant. This month's challenge at Let's Craft and Create is anything goes + black and white. I need a few more Christmas cards so decided to try one in black and white. 

I am excited to share this card. 

The card base has a silver border already on it. I cut a piece of black to fit inside that border. On the black I used an E/F of forest trees from Stampin" Up.You may have to zoom in to see the impressions.  The die cut white trees are from Kokorosa Studio. They come 3 in a set. I cut 3 sets and used of of the trees inside. I added punched silver stars in the sky. the sentiment is an old one from SU. Then all tied up with a white satin ribbon.

Inside, I added a black strip with one of the white die cut trees and a silver star. Then stamped an SU sentiment.

This is the first appearance of the white tree dies so I am also entering this on Darnell's  NBUS page.

Valentine Gnome

 First Tuesday of December. Time for new sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. 

Are you scrambling to get your Christmas cards done? This is a good sketch to do multiples. 

I am done as I will ever be for this year. So I am moving on to Valentine;s Day,

White card base. Red mat. Brutus Monro patterned paper backed with a white mat and tied with red/white twine. The cute gnome is Stampingbella, colored with Stampin' Blends.  The sentiment is an old one from SU.

I hope you find time this week to play with our sketch and share your creation with us.

Pretty Hearts

 Here we are  mid-November and another Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge.

I am done with Christmas cards and skipping New Year's Day and moving on to the next holiday which is Valentine's Day

I used a retired stamp set from Stampin' UP! called Country Bouquet. The heart is a 2 step stamp. I used Real Red and Garden Green inks. I couldn't find any paper for the corners that would go with the heart design so I made my own. I masked off the corner with a piece of paper and stamped flowers that are in the same stamp set. The sentiment is also from this set. 

I hope you have time to create with sketch and share with us.

Wintery Wishes

 I recently received a pack of Holiday cards from a charity group. I don't contribute to them but they keep sending me these cards. There are always some of the pack that I can upcycle. This is one.

The snowman was fussy cut from one of the cards as well as the sentiment. I used a Cuttlebug snow fall E/F on the blue paper and rubbed it with a white ink pad. Picking up the red of the scarf, I backed the blue with a red and then put it onto a white card base. I added some rhinestone to the snowflake centers.

I am entering this at Just Us Girls

Also at Can You Handle The Pressure using an E/F and a twist of winter fun.

Muted Wild flowers

 Trying the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and combining with Cardz 4 Galz challenge to use texture.

My card:

I used papers from SU's Thoughtful Journey. Mossy Meadow woven ribbon adds texture. The sentiment is also SU. I punched a butterfly from the same paper as the background and added black Nuvo drops for the body.

I think these muted flowers are perfect for a sympathy card.

49 and Market

 I am enjoying working with the vintage look papers from 49 and Market. Both of these have a Crumb Cake base.I added a strip of wood paper to the patterned paper.The square picture is one of the cut-outs included with the papers. I winked the flowers and the dragonfly then added black Nuvo Drops to the dragonfly and iridescent gems to the flowers. The sentiment is an old, unlabled one. 

This one is for Sketch Saturday

The second card with the same papers and similar design is from Try a Sketch on Tuesday

This one has a blue strip from the same paper pack and then a wood strip over it. It has the square in the center with an SU stamped sentiment and 3 square silver adhesives. The butterflies are from Simple Stories ephemera pack of butterflies. 

Here is the sketch

Under the Sea

 Here we are at Tuesday again with a new fun sketch by Melissa at Tuesday Morning Sketches.

I've switched from Holiday cards to doing some cards for Send A Smile 4 Kids. What little girl does not like mermaids?

Picking up a color from the patterned paper, I used SU's Bubble Bath pink for a card base. The white is embossed with waves that have a blue ink pad lightly rubbed over it to highlight the waves. The patterned design is from SU. I don't have a dome die cut so I started with a large circle and then cut off the sides and bottom. I think it works well. The mermaid is an old unlabeled stamp, colored and fussy cut. The sea shells are in the same set, stamped on tan paper and lightly colored with some pink. The sentiment is also unlabeled and stamped in blue and trimmed down.

If you have a lot of excess of cards and looking for a source for them check out Send a Smile 4 Kids which donates to children's hospitals. Check out their blog for rules and needs.

I hope you have fun with this sketch and will share a creation with us at 

Nature Elements

This week's challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz is to use 3 favorite colors. 

Blue and Green are my go to colors for guys. I usually add a neutral--in this case Crumb Cake and a nature element like raffia.

The card base is Crumb Cake, then a brown mat, and paper from 49 and Main.  In the neutral space I stamped 2 forest trees  (Mossy Meadow) .from a retired SU set. Then made grass at the base with a Mossy Meadow Stampin' Blend pen. The sentiment is also SU. adding raffia ribbon adds more to the nature feel.

Inside, I did a computer sentiment and stamped a single forest tree at the bottom.

Floral Birthday

This new sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches. is pretty simple but you can make it as elaborate as you want. It is a great sketch to do multiples

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I kept it even more simple by letting my patterned paper interpret the design.

The paper s from Mintay Papers 6x6 pad called Blissful Time. The sentiment is from SU and stamped on another piece from the same pad. I added 3 iridescent gems in that upper  right corner. And done in under 10 minutes,

I hope you can join us at Tuesday Morning Sketches. Get a good start on those Christmas Cards. Share your creation with us.