Fusion Christmas

First things first...happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!  It's a day to be thankful for what we have and for me it's also a day to be thankful that I'm eating out and I don't have to cook or clean!

But on to the real reason for this post:  Today we've got a new challenge with a Christmas theme at Fusion and this time around I sorta kinda combined the sketch with the inspiration photo.

I am mildly obsessed with plaid this Christmas season so I chose to do a rather simple plaid background on my card.  Then I added a layer with some embossed falling snow and some pointy trees that were arranged in a loose interpretation of the circles on the sketch.  See - I kinda sorta used the sketch!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Fusion teammates have made some fantastic cards this week so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Peaceful Forest (Ink to Paper); December Typed Words (Papertrey Ink)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Cherry Cobbler, Wrapped in Plaid DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Snowfall/Speckles embossing folder (Tim Holtz)

Freshly Made Sketches 413

Hello everyone!  We've got a new sketch for you at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our challenge this week is brought to you by Cécile and I absolutely love how it is fluid and abstract.

For the squiggly line I went with a stencil (also with a squiggly shape) that I went over with embossing paste (if you click on the picture you can see the detail better).  Then came the hard part - deciding what to do with the other elements of the sketch.  I thought about snowflakes first but didn't have any that were small enough for the size of the card.  So I started searching through my stash of sequins and found these gold stars.  Then came the bold "peace" sentiment that I die cut with some gold glimmer paper.  For a little dimension I popped up an ending to the sentiment so that the card reads "peace on earth."

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some cards that are sure to inspire you to play along with us!  Please join us in our gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Just Sentiments Be Merry (Ink to Paper)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Versamark
Accessories:  Wonderful Words Holiday die (Papertrey Ink); Graphic Equalizer stencil (Sheena); Gold Star Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); white embossing paste (Dreamweaver)

Starry Starry Night

About a week ago I decided to make a bunch of cards for my Christmas card stash.  Well, as it turns out those cards that I made fit a couple of new challenges this week.

As far as design goes, when I made these cards I just had an idea to sponge a night sky and to use this nativity silhouette die.  I tucked them away in my stash to await mailing.  Well, fast forward a week and I took a look at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is "starry starry night" and at CASology where the cue word is "faith" and I realized that my cards fit the bill for both challenges perfectly!  I don't think that's ever happened to me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Paper:  Bristol Smooth; Basic Black (Stampin' Up!); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Peacock Feathers, Faded Jeans, Black Soot (Distress Oxide)
Accessories:  NativityScape (Sugar Pea Designs)

CAS(E) This Sketch 349

I'm full on Christmas nowadays!  And this week the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch gave me a reason to use this fun Santa bursting through the front of my card!

I broke out my beloved stash of Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze for this card so that I could play along with the challenge at Color Throwdown.  I even managed to dig up some old designer series paper in the same color.  My Santa is a nod to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch have some fantastic cards this week so be sure to check them out.  They will inspire you for sure!

Supplies
Stamps:  Be Jolly (Your Next Stamp); Kelly's Fa La La La La (Hero Arts)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Real Red, Ski Slope DSP (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Black Licorice (My Favorite Things); Basic Gray (Stampin' Up!); Copics

Freshly Made Sketches 411

Hi all!  Wednesday means a new challenge from your friends at Freshly Made Sketches!  Our hostess this week is Jen Brum and I loved her sketch so much I managed to make two cards!

It's been a while since I've made a shaker card and that big rectangular layer on the sketch gave me the idea to make one.  I squared up the card so that the proportion of my snowflake square was just right a-la the sketch and I filled my shaker pocket with sequins in the colors of the season.

This is the second card that I made for this sketch.  I first made one a few days ago and it's a perfectly fine card - just not terribly exciting.  So back to the drawing board I went which lead me to this snowflake cutout which led me to this shaker design.  Here's card #1.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please check out the inspiration from the Freshly Made Sketches design team and be inspired to join us!

Supplies

(Shaker card)

Stamps:  Seasons Greetings (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!); acetate (Oriental Trading)

Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Snowflakes Snippet die (Spellbinders); Classic Christmas sequins (Neat & Tangled)

(Holiday Blessings card)

Stamps:  Spruce & Sprigs (Papertrey Ink); Peace Love Joy (Right at Home)

Paper:   Classic Ivory (Flourishes); Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)

Ink:  Ripe Avocado (Papertrey Ink); Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede (Stampin' Up!)

Accessories:  Subtle Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!)

CAS(E) This Sketch 348 Meets Fusion

This week we've got a super simple sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and an inspiration photo at Fusion that has got some beautiful flowers in the corners.  So I combined the two ideas and came up with this.

This is the first time I've inked up this particular floral stamp.  I think it's supposed to be a sunflower but look how just a change in color turns it into another flower entirely!  And I'm still intrigued with the "torn" challenge at Less is More so my vellum layer is a bit more interesting with it's torn edges.  And at CASology it's all about appreciation so I inked up this thank you sentiment from Stampin' Up!  It's an oldie but goodie - the copyright date on it is 2004!  That proves to me that everything old is new again!

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow teammates at CAS(E) This Sketch and Fusion have made beautiful cards with these challenges so check them out!

Supplies
Stamps:  Painted Harvest, Wonderful Words (Stampin' Up!)
Paper:  Whisper White, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!); Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  black embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 411

I'm feeling like it's that time of year when I switch over to the Christmas channel!  Despite my best intentions I always seem to come up short when it comes to my Christmas card stash so it seems every card I make nowadays has a holiday theme.  Today is no different.  The occasion is our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, our hostess is Kim, and my theme is plaid!

I absolutely love this plaid paper from Stampin' Up!  Plaid, as it turns out, is not that easy to find.  Especially ones that are of a holiday nature.  So when I saw this particular set I knew that I needed to scoop it up or forever regret that I didn't. I tore the edges of design so that I could play along with the Less is More challenge.  Then I added my favorite poinsettia layered in white and vellum cardstock as well as a simple sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!  My Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic card for this challenge so be sure to check them out. I hope you will join us in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); gold glimmer (Recollections); Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Gold (Encore)
Accessories:  Layered Poinsettia die (Penny Black); gold embossing powder

Tis the Season

Yesterday was Veterans Day here in the US where we pay homage to all those who currently serve or previously served in the armed forces.  My father was a Korean War veteran so that day is always a little bittersweet for me.  He was very proud of his service as a Marine and spent his post-war life as a very active member of his local Veterans of Foreign Wars post.  Because of my father and his legacy I am very conscious of my debt of gratitude to our veterans. 

So, because of the holiday I had some extra time to make a card for a couple of challenges that caught my eye.  The colors at Christmas Card Throwdown and the layout at Sketch Saturday were perfect for me to use this new snowflake die that I got recently.  (Special thanks to my friend Jen who inspired me to get this die).

I'm not sure it shows up in the photo but the snowflake die is cut with some sparkly paper.  Not for nothing, but it is super sparkly and looks fantastic in real life!  The sequins are a dark purple and I love that I was able to incorporate the colors of the challenge in such a subtle way. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Tiny Word Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Dazzling Diamonds (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine)
Accessories:  Snowflake Cluster die (Hero Arts); Love and Sparkles sequins (Neat and Tangled)

Tag You're It 100

Hello all!  Today I am a little combination of happy and sad.  I'm happy because it's time for a new challenge at Tag You're it.  And I'm sad because it is also our last challenge at Tag You're It.

And...I'm happy again because I'm also joining Tracey at In My Creative Opinion with her 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  It's Day 5 and the sponsor is Reverse Confetti so I am pleased as punch to add my tag with my favorite Triangle Trees.

I have an obsession with triangle Christmas trees dating back several years so when Reverse Confetti came out with this set last year I scooped it up right away.  I love that the triangle trees come in different designs - from stripes to dots to squiggly lines plus the set has some great linear sentiments.  All those design elements were perfect for my tag today.  I even re-purposed some RC valentine paper into doing double-duty as Christmas paper!

Thanks for stopping by!  And special thanks to Tracey for inviting me along with her Tag You're It challenge and her annual 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  😁

Supplies
Stamps: Triangle Trees (Reverse Confetti)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)
Ink:  Forest Glades (Altenew); Onyx Black (Versamark)
Accessories: Falling Snow stencil (Simon Says Stamp); white embossing paste (Dreamweavers); seam binding ribbon; twine

CAS(E) This Sketch 347

We're going retro this week at CAS(E) This Sketch all the way back to number 138 which debuted in August 2015.  I didn't play along with the sketch back then so this was like brand new to me!

I'm still working on adding to my Christmas card stash so I used a poinsettia stamp set that I've had for quite a while but never actually used until last week.  I embossed the flower and leaves in white and colored them in with pencils.  A small sentiment popped up on foam tape completed the look.  All in all I made this card faster than I thought I would and the colors aren't half bad!  I came across this card from Pia Larsen recently, which inspired me to use this color combo.  Her coloring of these images is amazing!  And at Happy Little Stampers there is a Tis the Season challenge so I'll be adding this over there as well.

Before I added the popped up sentiment to this card I snapped a picture of it because it fit with the one layer and winter flora challenge at Less Is More.  I really tried to incorporate a sentiment in keeping with the sketch and a one-layer theme but couldn't make it happen so the next best thing was to do two different versions of the same card.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you can join us at CAS(E) This Sketch!  Our design team cards will inspire you for sure!

Stamps:  Winter Flowers (Simon Says Stamp); Joy Stamp (The Stamp Market)
Paper:  Desert Storm (Neenah)
Ink:  White (WPlus9); Versamark; Faber Castell pencils
Accessories:  white embossing powder

Freshly Made Sketches 410

It's been a week since I've posted here!  Last week was one of those where long nights at work were just not conducive to getting crafty.  It's good that this week I am able to slow down and enjoy some time with my ink and paper!  And I'm just in time for our newest challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.  This week Linda is our hostess and her sketch pointed me in the direction of some new Christmas stamps that I got recently.

In addition to the sketch I used the colors at Color Dare to create this Christmas Card.  And at The Paper Players they want me to go into the woods.  Luckily on my trip there I found all these trees!  I wanted the vertical layer at the bottom of the sketch to be kind of subtle so it is made of vellum with a gold embossed sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!  My fellow Freshly Made Sketches teammates have made some fantastic cards with this sketch which I am sure will inspire you to play along with us.  I hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies
Stamps:  Peace on Earth (Ink to Paper)
Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Vellum (Stampin' Up!); gold glimmer (Recollections)
Ink:  Jungle (Avery Elle); Sage Shadow (Stampin' Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  gold embossing powder