Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Hi Crafty Friends,

Fortunately Santa Claus is still a few months away (almost 5 I think), so don't panic. But as it is July and many cardmakers celebrate Christmas in July. I figured it was a good time to get started on making some of my cards for this year.

Last year I decorated my Christmas crackers using this Sizzix/Tim Holtz Santa, each Santa had the name of the person the cracker was for on it. After everyone had pulled their crackers I was able to rescue 4 of the Santas before they ended up in the garbage. So I pulled those out to you on my cards today.

As I needed to remove the names from the images, there were a couple of repairs I had to make to the belt and gloves. But that didn't take all that long.

I decided to make a shaped card using the stand from Spellbinders Pink Lemonade die set.

I added two sentiments to the stand using an older Honey Bee Stamps St. Nick stamp set which I embossed in white. 

I added three die cut snowflakes to each of the cards to finish off the front.

For the inside of my card I added another of the sentiments from the stamp set I used on the front.

I added a die cut Christmas tree, which is from Karen Burniston's Evergreen Pivot Panels die set.

Happy Bear Day To You

 

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I have a "beary" fun Slimline card to share with you today.

 I recently got my hands on Tim Holtz/Sizzix Theodore Colorize Thinlits die set, I love all the different layers of browns on this cute bear.

As the bear is rather large, I opted for a 4 inch x 9 inch side folding Slimline card. The base of my card is blue which I added more colour to using Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Prize Ribbon Distress Oxide inks. I die cut three of the MFT Stamps Tucked in Turf Vertical Die-namics flipping the middle one to the other side to build up the grass at the bottom of the card.

I used Tim Holtz Pine Trees Bigz die, which is a fairly old die I have had in my stash for years. I adhered the two outer trees direct to the card. For the centre one I die cut two more trees, stacking the three together before adhering to the card.

I die cut the bear using various shades of brown cardstocks, along with black, white, grey and pink.

I also used Lawn Fawn's Mushroom Border die to add mushrooms around the grass area. The bear is holding a flower which is also a Lawn Fawn die.

For the sentiment I used a stamp from Trinity Stamps' Bearly Special Slimline stamp set.

For the inside of my card, I added some more of the grass, tree and mushrooms that I used on the front of my card.

I also added two more sentiments using the "Beary Special Slimline" stamp set from Trinity Stamps.

Other Supplies:

Pine Trees Bigz Die - Tim Holtz/Sizzix (discontinued)

Poinsettia Slimline

Hi Crafty Friends,

Last week I shared a Christmas card using Pinkfresh Studio's Ornate Florals die. As I have become addicted with making Slimline cards recently, of course I had to see if I could make this die work in that format too. Here is the card I created.

This time around I die cut the Ornate Florals die from white and gold cardstock. I cut the gold panel down to just under 3 3/4 inches wide and adhered it to a cream pearlescent card that was 3 3/4 inches x 5 1/2 inches.

I trimmed the gold border off the leftover piece of the gold panel and adhered to to the right hand side of the panel created above.

I then colored all the flowers & leaves on the white panel and paper pieced these pieces to the gold frame.

I used Sunny Studio Stamps Slimline Basic Borders to the top and bottom of the Ornate Florals panel and then added this to a dark blue Slimline card.

I added another of the sentiments from The Ton's Easy Expressions Holiday stamp & coordinating die set to the bottom of the card.

For the inside of the card I added a white panel which also had the same border I used on the front of the card.

I added a Christmas sentiment from Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous Handwritten Greetings 2 stamp set.

Supplies:

For your shopping convenience, all products are linked below. Compensated affiliate links are used where possible with no extra cost to you. This helps me to continue to share all the projects I include on my blog. For the benefit of my Australia readers, I have started to include some links to Australian stores when available. Please note I only use and share products I love.

Handwritten Greetings 2 Stamp Set - Stampers Anonymous / Tim Holtz

Enjoy Your Birthday

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing a birthday card I created using the Inlaid Die Cutting Technique.

For this card I used one of the floral dies from the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Mixed Media #5 die set. I die cut the image into white cardstock and then die cut it twice more also from white cardstock that I had colored first using Distress Oxide Inks.

Before Inlaying the flower pieces back into the panel, I splattered gold paint over the panel.

I used Honey Bee Stamps Enjoy Your Birthday Clear Stamp set with Coordinating dies for the sentiment in the top right hand corner of the card.

For the inside of the card I used one of the scrap pieces of cardstock that had been die cut using the floral die and used that to stencil the image on the lower left hand side of the card.

I added the sentiment to the upper portion of the card which is from Honey Bee Stamps.

Supplies:

For your shopping convenience, all products are linked below. Compensated affiliate links are used where possible with no extra cost to you. This helps me to continue to share all the projects I include on my blog. Please note I only use and share products I love.

Inlaid Die Cut Floral Double Slider Surprise

Hi Crafty Friends,

It’s challenge time with the “Crazies” over on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog. We are all back for another fun year of challenges with all my "Crazy" friends including a couple of new ones.  Being a brand new month it is time to introduce our new challenge hostess for the month which is Karen Aicken.

For our challenge this  week Karen asks us What is our favorite card type to make? Pop-up, Shaker, Birthday, One Layer and to make one.

Anyone who knows me that my favorite card is another that is interactive ... Pop-ups, cards that move whatever. As I wanted to use another of the die from the stamp set I shared on my blog yesterday, I opted for a Double Slider Surprise Card.

I die cut the floral image directly into the white panel and then die cut it again from pink, green and yellow cardstock and inlaid the die cut pieces into the panel.

Here is a quick video to see my card in action.



For the sentiments on  my card I used Simon Says Stamp! Sketched Flowers Clear Stamp set. 



For the inside of my card I added a stripe of the patterned paper that I used on the front of my card and added another sentiment which is stamped using one of the labels from MFT Stamps BluePrint 33 die set.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the “Crazies” cards over on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog and also their individual blogs for more details.

Amy Ottmers

Joanne Grzelak

Karen Aicken

Karen Ostergard

Kathleen Adams
Maryann Einam
Rebecca Ednie

Tracey Farr

Supplies:

For your shopping convenience, all products are linked below. Compensated affiliate links are used where possible with no extra cost to you. This helps me to continue to share all the projects I include on my blog. Please note I only use and share products I love.

Wooded Christmas Gift Card Holder

Hi Crafty Friends,

It's challenge time with my friends over on the CCEE Stampers challenge blog. Joanne Grzelak our challenge hostess for the month finished off her month with one last challenge.

Our challenge this week is ...... 

True One Layer Only - Joanne says Many of you do fabulously wonderful fancy fold cards, which is not her thing. So today she is challenging use to make a true one layer card ... no layers, no pop-ups, no embellishments. All your work must be on the base layer. Embossing is fine of course.

Anyone who knows me knows I dislike one layer cards ... at least making them myself. So as you can probably tell I cheated! It was either that or throw the card out after making it which I didn't want to do.

The front of the card is a true one layer card! No cheating there! And seeing everyone else normally only creates a card front for any of our challenges ... I am not feeling too guilty!!!

Last year during Simon Says Stamp's Stamptember celebrations, I was able to snag the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz stamp set. I loved the stamps in the set, especially the wood slice included in the stamp set. I have been meaning to use this on a background all year and finally decided to use it for this week's challenge.

I stamped the wood ring all over the front of my card using Walnut Stain Distress Oxide ink and then I used Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide ink to add color all over the card front.

I stamps the sentiment, the deer and trees onto the card using VersaFine Black ink and embossed using clear embossing powder. I then added splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint all over the card. 

To finish off the front of the card, I created a thick line of black at the top of the card using VersaFine Black ink and again heat embossed.

Ok so this is where I cheated .... I love making pop-up cards and any card I make for my challenges have something interactive in there somewhere. Last week when I was checking out social media, I came across this fun Pop Up Gift Card Holder Tutorial on the Hero Arts blog. This Pop Up Gift Card Holder is made from one sheet of cardstock ... so technically I didn't cheat! 

You can see the tutorial on how to create this here. 

As you can see I have again stamped the wood slice etc, as I had on the front of the card. 

Here is an overhead view of my card, so you can see the whole inside of the card. I added a sentiment to both sides of the card.

Don't forget to check out the CCEE Stampers blog (goes live 12 AM EST) to see the rest of the creations the CCEE Stampers created this week. You can also see more details of their creations on their individual blogs:

Anne Harmon

Joanne Grzelak

Liz Williams

Lois Bak

Lynn McAuley

Maryann Einam

Vicky Gould
Kelly McKown-Santi

Supplies:

For your shopping convenience, all products are linked below. Compensated affiliate links are used where possible with no extra cost to you. This helps me to continue to share all the projects I include on my blog. Please note I only use and share products I love.

Stamptember 2017 Stamp set - Stamper's Anonymous/Tim Holtz

Ommmmm!

Hi Crafty Friends,

This is about as close as I will ever get to yoga, I tried it once with my sister in law and it definitely isn't for me! But when I saw these cute little frogs I had to bring them home.

On the left hand corner of the card I used one of the dies from the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Mixed Media Thinlits and I crated a background piece using brusho's.  The white panel has been die cut using the new ModaScrap Dashing Rectangles die from Elizabeth Craft Designs.

Here is another look at my card taken at a different angle.

For the inside of the card, I stamped another one of the frog and added a birthday sentiment. There are a number of sentiments included in the Yoga Frog stamp set, but I wasn't sure if I had a use for the card if I used them, so I ended up using it for a birthday card.

Stamps: Frog Yoga - Stampendous

Paper: White; Black

Dies: Dashing Rectangles - Elizabeth Craft Designs; Mixed Media - Sizzix; Happy Birthday - Simon Says Stamp

Other: Black Ink; Leaf Green Brusho Color Crystals; Foam Tape; Copics

So Many Snowmen

Hi Crafty Friends,

Today I am sharing another Christmas card with you all.

A few months back I shared a couple of cards with you all using Mama Elephant's The Cat's Meow stamp set. When I saw that they also had a snowman stamp set along the same lines I just had to get it! Of course here in Australia, snowmen and Christmas really don't go together as it is hot down here and all you would end up with is a puddle!!!! But I couldn't resist using it for a Christmas card today.

I went with a tall card this time around as I wanted to use the snowmen image and also the Merry Christmas sentiment which is pretty large!

For the background I used MFT Stamps Snowfall Background stamp which I embossed using white embossing powder and then sponged on Faded Jeans & Salty Ocean Distress Oxide inks. 

To finish off the card I added the smallest snowflake from Elizabeth Craft Designs Snowflakes die set, die cutting the snowflake from white cardstock that has Clear Double Sided Adhesive on the front. I then covered the adhesive with Cool Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter. 

Here is a close up of the snowflake, I love how 3D this snowflake can be.

For the inside of the card I stamped a sentiment from Couture Creations and then added a few snowflakes from an Avery Elle stamp set.

Stamps: So Many Snowmen - Mama Elephant; Snowfall Background - MFT Stamps; To Be Jolly - Couture Creations; Snowflakes - Avery Elle

Paper: White; Red; Black

Dies: Retro Merry Christmas - Sizzix/Tim Holtz;  Ornate Snowflakes - Elizabeth Craft Designs

Other: Black Ink; Faded Jeans Distress Oxide; Salty Ocean Distress Oxide; Cool Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter; Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape 6mm & 64mm; Navy Blue Nuvo Crystal Drops; Autumn Red Nuvo Crystal Drops; Foam Tape; Copics

Birthday Dude

Hi everyone,

Today I am sharing my third and final (for now) card using the new Stampers Anonymous Hipster stamp set. I have again used the Distress Oxides to create my background also adding some stencil effects to the background.

For the card base I used Elizabeth Craft Designs Fishtail Borders to create a fishtail shaped card. 

Along the left hand sided of the card I added the word "birthday" plus the tail and head of an arrow from the Joset Designs Arrows die set.

For the inside of my card I added another of the arrows to the left hand side of the card and added a birthday sentiment.

Stamps: Hipster; Handwritten Sentiments - Stampers Anonymous; Fantastic Collection - Couture Creations

Paper: White; Black

Dies: Fishtail Borders; Stitched Ovals; Dotted Scallop Ovals - Elizabeth Craft Designs; Wonderful Words Birthday - Papertrey Ink

Other: Black Ink; Fired Brick Distress Oxide; Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide; Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide; Walnut Stain Distress Oxide; Concentric Circle Stencil - MFT Stamps;  Foam Tape; Copics

Happy Birthday

Hi everyone,

Today I am sharing another card I created recently using the new Stampers Anonymous Hipster stamp set. This time round I have used the cat from the stamp set.

I have again used Distress Oxides to create the background of my card adding various colors of inks to my cardstock. To finish off the background I used a brick stencil.

For the sentiment I used a Grunge Birthday sentiment I have had in my stash for a while which I die cut using the ModaScrap Stitched Fishtail Banners. I also added a couple of stencilled  paw prints to the panel.

For the inside of my card I added a sentiment and some stencilled paw prints using the A Way with Stencils Hearts/Paw Print Stencil.

Stamps: Hipster - Stampers Anonymous; Birthday Grunge - Stamp It; Hip Hip - Kaisercraft

Paper: White; Black; Kraft

Dies: Stitched Rectangles; Fitted Rectangles; ModaScrap Stitched Fishtail Banners - Elizabeth Craft Designs

Other: Black Ink; Fired Brick Distress Oxide; Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide; Wilted Violet Distress Oxide; Walnut Stain Distress Oxide; Small Brick Wall Stencil - MFT Stamps;  A Way with Stencils Hearts/Paws - Elizabeth Craft Designs; Foam Tape; Copics

Epic

Hi everyone,

Today I am sharing a card I created with my recent purchase of the Stampers Anonymous Hipster stamp set. I was a little on the fence as to whether I needed this set or not ... but as you can see I climbed that fence and got it hehe! I will be sharing cards I made using this stamp set over the next few days.

I thought most of the stamps in this stamp set would be great for male cards which I never have enough of, so I have created some male birthday cards using them.

For the background of my card I used Distress Oxide inks by smooching the inks on my craft mat. I then used a few different stencils to the background.

I used the Stitched Fishtails and Fitted Fishtails die sets to layer the image from the set and the sentiment.

Finally I added some Multi Medium Matte adhesive to add some brown prills over the background.

For the inside of my card, I created another background panel for the left hand side of the card so it was similar to that on the front of the card. On the right hand panel I added a birthday sentiment.

Stamps: Hipster - Stampers Anonymous; Gift Card Greetings - MFT Stamps

Paper: White; Black; Kraft

Dies: Stitched Squares; Fitted Squares; Stitched Fishtails; Fitted Fishtails - Elizabeth Craft Designs

Stencils: Stripes Layering Stencil; Bubble Layering Stencil - Stampers Anonymous; Numbers - Unknown

Other: Black Ink; Peel Paint Distress Oxide; Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide; Faded Jeans Distress Oxide; Vintage Photo Distress Oxide; Secret Garden Prills - Elizabeth Craft Designs; Multi Medium Matte; Foam Tape; Copics