Sparkle Tree

I saw the top portion of the card on Roxy's blog, where she's giving away some blog candy. You can enter through Wednesday evening... I couldn't see the bottom portion of the card, but thought these words were perfect.

This was super quick and easy, and the glitter gives it just that extra bit of Christmas sparkle. The stamp was colored with Old Olive and Chocolate Chip markers, and the edges of the Kraft cardstock were smudged with white Stazon. I heated the inked Stazon edges so that it would dry more quickly, but that's as tricky as it got.

Card copy for Christmas mojo ...

This is a card that I hoped would jump start my Christmas card stamping, and I think it may have worked! I now wish that I could put aside going to sleep.

I copied this card with just a couple of tweaks from Silke Ledlow's card with the same paper and stamps. I wanted to tie in the use of the black ink a little more, so I used the black and white gingham, and put VERY slim black mats behind a couple of the layers for some additional pop. I wouldn't be surprised if some glitter or Crystal Effects show up on here before I'm really done with it... :)

x-acto-ly!

With the Pick A Petal set, I was having trouble with stamping the centers of the images because there's a large solid area in the middle of the stamps. This happens periodically after I've mounted a stamp.

You may have thought of this solution, but in case you haven't, here it is.

The above is a picture of the stamp, the cure, and the problem with that stamp as it's been inked and stamped.

It's a pretty quick fix. Just take your "hobby blade" and slice out the middle. Use your paper piercer to get under the edge, and pry it up and peel it off.

Ta-da! Now you're less likely to ink up the middle and get those irritating stamped centers.

Weathered Christmas Cardinal

Another new set from the Stampin' Up mini catalog, A Cardinal Christmas! This one is so pretty in the catalog. I wanted to play around and try to make a card that looks older with some distressing techniques.

Lots of sponging around the edges of the main piece and on the Merry Christmas banner/tag. I cut out the leaves and put Crystal Effects over top of them,then once that dried I put some white gel pen. The bird's eye also has Crystal Effects with the white gel pen.

Love mail

I made this card using the new set from the Stampin' Up! mini catalog, Love Owl-ways. I think this set is super cute, and I loved playing with it.

I stamped it out on shimmery white cardstock and did a little watercoloring of the scene. I've found that the shimmery cardstock is really pretty good for recieving watercoloring, and you still get the benefit of the shimmer, too!


Eyes, beak, hearts and mailbox flag were all covered over with Crystal Effects.

Stamp-a-stack - Card selections

Here are the first two cards available for selection for this year's Christmas Stamp-a-Stack! Click on any picture for a larger view.

Card #1 - Three Wise Men


Card #2 - Swirly Silver Tree (stars and words are embossed in silver)


The following are some additional photos of the cards from different angles so you can see what is raised on dimensionals (foam dots) or how shiny the silver embossing is when you tilt the card. Both of the main images from these cards are raised up on dimensionals for, well, more dimension without adding a lot of bulk or weight.

Another option for the Swirly Tree card that can be made available is to change out the saying for something like "Seasons Greetings" or "Merry Christmas" depending on your preference. Also, please note that the Three Wisemen card uses patterned paper behind the main image. Because the paper comes in packs including paper variations, you may end up with different patterns behind your wisemen panel. You can see two of the patterns in the pictures below.

Halloween party hostess gift

I've been more behind than I've been ahead since about September ... This isn't normal for me, so it's been a little disheartening. But I'm trying (and trying) to get back into the swing of things. I've been to Estes Park, CO, Ft. Myers, FL, Chicago, IL, Taos, NM, and we had to make a trip to Miles City, MT to attend the funeral for Ky's grandmother. In between all that, I've mostly been doing laundry and going to work with hardly any stamping.

If you've continued to look at my blog, even with nothing new, I appreciate it!

So, while Halloween is over, I think this is still valid as a FALL hostess gift, so here ya go. We got invited to a party that our friends were kind enough to host. As our hostess gift, we took them some Godiva pumpkin truffles as an alternative to wine. Because I knew it might be set aside until after the party was over, I wanted to include a card with our thanks.


Here's a closeup of the watercolored card and its glitter.

This is a little 3x3 card (True Thyme) left over from a season (or so) ago, and uses the set Happy Blessings from the current Stampin' Up mini catalog which is full of adorable sets for Fall and Christmas.