Jingle Belles - Old and New

Stef and Lauren want us to use something old and something new on our cards for Jingle Belles.  Anything to keep my Christmas stash growing. 

The holly stamp is an old one from Ellen Hutson (oob) that I watercolored with Distress Inks in Pine Needles, Barn Door and Scorched Timber. I gave the panel a little splatter using Altenew Spray with a paint brush and added a layered WF frame from SB Treasure Black Metallic. Sorry you can't see the shine in the photo. My 'new' is the sentiment die from TH Holiday Collection, cut in SB Ruby Matte Metallic. 

Thanks for dropping by and spending a little of your day with me.  If you are in the throes of the storm, please stay safe and warm. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #659

Earlier in the year I got a Spellbinder set with lots of small Christmas images and thought it would work well for  Freshly Made Sketches.

What do you think?  Some cardstock, DSP, ink and a sentiment from Penny Black is all it took.  

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Peace on Earth #63

Hey there!  I'm so glad you dropped by.

I saw several friends posting to Peace On Earth and when I looked at their mood board I got inspired.

I got this stamp from Impression Obsession as the result of a friend's destash.  It's stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Distress Inks.  EZPZ  The sentiment is from PTI.

Keep crafting!

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Can You Handle the Pressure? - Holly

Can You Handle the Pressure? has a challenge with a twist of holly and I decided to make a card using the Graceful Holly folder from SSS.  

I tucked the holly and berries from Honey Bee's Winter Foliage around the sentiment from PFS.  What could be simpler to add another Christmas card for next year's stash?

Thanks for dropping by.  I hope your holiday preparations are going well.

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown 33.23

I finally had a chance to make a card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.  I did a good job keeping up with their challenges at the beginning of the year but not having a lot of Christmas things with me kind of slowed me down.  

A new set from Spellbinders gave me this holly that I did in chartreuse and pink with a sentiment from Concord and 9th white heat embossed on aqua.  The background is an Altenew embossing folder called Crystal Wall.  

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Inkspirational #293

Christmas in July!  What a great way to add cards to your stash.  Inkspirational is helping us along with their challenge this week. 

My card features the Mondo Holly from EbyE, stamped on Bristol and colored with Zigs.  It was die cut, layered and added to a panel that had been cut with a coverplate from PFS.  The sentiment is from C9. 

So glad you dropped by.  Please be sure and leave a comment.

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown Week 12

I really admire people who can do mixed media.  I love to see it but I don't do well creating it. Unfortunately I had to jump right in and do it if I wanted to continue my 52 weeks of cards for the Christmas Card Throwdown.  That's the technique they want for this week. 

It all started with a holly stencil, Distress Ink and TH Crackle Paint.  I should have used a darker green because we all know DI's react with water, or in this case paste, so it lightened up a bit.  Next the entire panel was covered with Gathered Twigs.  The Handlettered Holiday Background from SSS and a Crackle Paint stamp from SU were added.  Another stencil was used for the pinecones and branches in the upper corners.  The holly die cut is from Penny Black and colored with Altenew artist markers.  It almost looks too pristine to go on this rather rustic card that has the edges shredded with an ancient TH tool and inked with Ground Expresso. The PTI sentiment banner was inked the same way.

I'm so glad you dropped by.  How are your Christmas cards coming along?

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52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Week 9

Another week.  Another Christmas card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.  This one's a sketch challenge (see below). 

The image is a Botanical Block from PTI, gold heat embossed and colored with Distress Inks.  1/8" sticky tape was angled across the corners and covered with Deco Foil. 

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Christmas Kickstart #48

 Things are looking green over at Christmas Kickstart.

I hope my card is green enough.

I was originally going to stamp pine branches but in looking for the right ones I ran across a stamp set from The Ton that I got in a Catherine Pooler box a long time ago that I don't know if I've ever used. I stamped with Altenew inks but then added some artist marker details.  The sentiment from the same set is embossed in platinum and the panel cut with HA rounded rectangles is on PTI Pinefeather cardstock.  It felt good to make a Christmas card to add to my stash.  I should do it more often so I have enough by December.

Thanks for dropping by.  

Inspired By #154

With challenges still happening, I'm getting a good head start on next year's Christmas cards.  This one is for Inspired By.

I was inspired by the holly and two different greens.  I cut two Penny Black dies from black watercolor paper and painted them with Altenew metallic paints.  The PB sentiment was white heat embossed and the black cardstock splattered with white and green before attaching the holly. 

Thanks for dropping by.  

CAS(E) This Sketch #397

I finally decided what I could do for CAS(E) This Sketch but now that I've seen my card on the 'big' screen, I can see some flaws.  It's a cute Christmas card anyway so I'm posting it.

I had a Colorburst panel in my WTDWT box and used it to cut holly and berries from Poppystamps.  I stamped the sentiment from HLS and embossed the panel with Subtle from SU. 

I haven't checked my Christmas box yet to see how many more cards I'll need by December 1.  I'm almost afraid to look since I haven't been making them all along.  I have been paring down my list so hopefully I won't need to add many more.

Thanks for dropping by.

PS: This is a retro sketch from August 2016 and here's what I made then.

Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - June 2020

I'm sad to say that this will be the last Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge for the year.  Our intrepid leader Kylie has decided to take a break from her wonderful blogs.  As always this month's theme is anything goes but with an optional twist.

You know me.  I went with the twist although I did resist using the phrase on my card and went instead with what you deck the halls with.

EbyE's Mondo Holly.  I stamped and heat embossed it on watercolor paper and colored with Altenew watercolors, adding some splatters and a sentiment from PTI.

What does the phrase conjure up for you?  We'd love to see your Christmas cards one last time.

CAS Christmas May 2020

I had several ways to go with my card for CAS Christmas - Winter Berries.  After much deliberation I settled on a PTI Botanical Block so I could use my metallic watercolors from Altenew.

The image was gold heat embossed on black watercolor paper, painted and trimmed. The sentiment from HLS was also gold embossed.  Since two images fit on the watercolor paper, I painted a second card the same.  It's always good to have more Christmas cards ready.

Thanks for dropping by.  Stay safe.

Less is More #407 and Inkspirational #199

There is so much sharing of techniques and cards on blogs and Instagram and YouTube and I'm not very good at remember where I saw it or who did it.  I try to save to Pinterest so I can refer back and give credit but today's card is one I can't remember.  I saw someone color Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste and put it over a stencil and wanted to try it.  It made a good entry for both Less is More and Inkspirational who both want one layered cards.

I wanted a nice dark green so I colored the glimmer paste with CP Spruce and used a TH stencil.  Once done I had the dilemma of where to put a sentiment.  I used the small words from Altenew's Christmas Stockings and stamped them first in gold (yuk) and then in green.  This photo doesn't even begin to show the sparkle and shine of the gold flecks in the paste.

Thanks for dropping by.  I love it when you do.

CASology #324

The dark waxy leaves and bright red berries make holly such a beautiful holiday decoration.  CASology has holly as their challenge this week.

I used this one from EbyE, white heat embossing it on watercolor paper and coloring it with Distress Inks. 

Thanks for stopping by during this busy time.

Addicted to Stamps and More #322

This is the Make Your Mark challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More where you use paint, pencil, ink and even crayons if you want on your card. For my card I used Inktense pencils.

I love this Mondo Holly from EbyE.  All it needed  was a simple sentiment from Penny Black.

This will be my last post for Addicted to Stamps and More.  I have decided to step down from the Design Team but I want to thank Kylie for having me for the past three years.

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful entries into our gallery and for the kindly comments you've left on my blog.  I hope to see you in this gallery too so get busy making your mark.