Happy New Year's Eve!

Good morning! Just a quick head's up, I'm over at the Butterfly Reflections Ink blog today with the full version of this pretty, icy card, as well as a sweet and sassy dino card. I hope you will stop by and check them out! 

I will be back tomorrow with some of my favorite cards for 2016... I hope you all have a wonderful, safe NYE celebration. Does anybody else want to say "Bye, Felicia" to 2016?? I know I'm ready to kick it to the curb! 

Cheers to happy and successful 2017! 

A fun announcement!

 

Hello, and merry Christmas Eve-Eve! I am thrilled to announce that I'm joining the A Blog Named Hero team for 2017! 

 

I have my introductory project up on the A Blog Named Hero blog, and there's a giveaway, so if you hop over there and check out my project, be sure to leave a comment so you are entered to win! Leave comments on all of the new team members' posts to maximize your chances. You could win a $20 shopping spree to Hero Arts! 

 

Hope your shopping, wrapping, baking, eating, celebrating, crafting, and whatever other holiday fun you enjoy is going swimmingly! Merry Christmas! 

Joy to the World: C9 style

Something about the designs from Concord and 9th bring out my inner clean-and-simple gal. White space and C9 designs seem to go hand in hand in my mind's eye... This tag and card set are no exception. Simple design, lots of white space, just a hint of sparkle. Sounds good to me! 

For some reason, I struggle with tags. This was one of my rejected projects for the 25 Days of Christmas Tags blog hop... I liked it, but I wanted to come up with something a little different, so I saved this for a different day. I started by using the Bags and Tags die set to create a little square tag with a rounded edge. Then, I used the JOY die to die cut at an angle, then added the " 'tis the season" from the coordinating stamp set in bright red ink beneath the negative die cut space. I adhered a piece of acetate behind the die cut, then placed foam tape all around the die cut word. I filled it up with a holiday shaker mix from Lucy Abrams, then backed it with a piece of red card stock. I added some gray twine and a bow at the top and decided to stop messing with it for fear that I would mess it up!   

The coordinating card has a similar process and color scheme. I simply started with a panel of white card stock and die cut the JOY from the center. (I used my T-ruler to line the die up and ensure that it was straight.) I finished off the sentiment using the Perfectly Penned stamp set... I love the juxtaposition of the simple font of the JOY paired with the flourish-y, fancy calligraphy. I added some snowflakes stamped in Silver Delicata ink to add a little interest to the front panel. I backed the die cut panel with acetate again, then filled it with the same Vintage Christmas shaker mix. The final touch was to add a panel of red card stock just slightly smaller to the A2 panel to frame the die cut panel. 

Well, what do you think? Clean and simple, a bit of a change from my normal fussy watercolored projects. :) I have a few more holiday projects to share with you this week before Christmas, so I will be back later! Hope you all have a wonderful, productive week! (Especially if you're still trying to get Christmas cards out... I'm working on finishing up making a few gifts. Yikes!) Have a great week!

Ellen Hutson December Pin-Sights Challenge

Good evening/morning!! I am seriously thrilled to be joining the fabulous ladies over at the Ellen Hutson blog for this month's Ellen Hutson Blog Pin Sights Challenge!!! If you're not familiar with this particular challenge, here are some of the details: every month, the EH blog highlights a different graphic chosen from images on Pinterest to use as an inspirational jumping point for challenge participants to use! A random challenge participant will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson store.  To be eligible, you MUST use Essentials by Ellen products and the photo badge (above) as inspiration. There will be an inlinkz on the challenge post where you can submit your own project to be entered in the drawing for the prize!

I loved the graphic so much (and you all know how much I love EH stamps) that I created two different projects!

 The first uses an older Ellen Hutson holiday set: Mistletoe and Holly, as well as the new Leaping Deer die from the last release. I started by stamping the poinsettias and foliage from Mistletoe and Holly onto the edges of a panel of watercolor paper using Silver Pearl embossing powder. After embossing everything, I colored the images with my trusty Zig Clean Color Markers, spreading the color and adding shading with my wet paintbrush. 

The sentiment, also from Mistletoe and Holly, was added using Versamark and red glitter embossing powder. After my watercolor panel had dried, I adhered it to a red A2 card base, then die cut the Leaping Deer from red foil card stock. (The linked foil card stock isn't the exact same card stock that I used, but it will certainly do the trick!)  I simply popped it up on the watercolor panel to add some dimension. I thought that the card needed a little more sparkle... since apparently pearl embossed flowers and sparkle embossed sentiment aren't sufficiently shimmery and sparkly... so I added a few Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. Classic, but still trendy with the watercolor and foil reindeer! 

My next card is a new favorite. I am the first to admit that I'm not a "homespun" kinda gal... just not my style. I like clean lines, bright white, and symmetry. But I loved all of the watercoloring potential for the Homespun Holiday set that was included in the Winter 2016 release. Those stockings were particularly intriguing to me. To start, I die cut three of the stockings from watercolor paper using the coordinating dies, then heat embossed them with White Pearl embossing powder and did some coloring with my Zigs and wet paintbrush. I decided that a white card base was just too plain, so I used some light gray ink that I stamped off once on scratch paper to stamp some of the cute little berry sprigs from the Homespun Holiday set to add some interest to the background. I adhered a strip of gray cardstock across the top of the card as a way to sort of ground the stockings, then adhered the stockings with regular adhesive. 

I thought a pretty, shiny frame would accent the pearl embossing nicely, so I die cut the Mama Elephant Park Avenue Frame from some more red foil and popped it up around the edge of the card base with some dimensional adhesive. Finally, I die cut three of the "Believe" die from the latest release, one from that red foil, the other two from some scrap watercolor paper I had on my desk for extra height and sturdiness. I glued them all together, then adhered them over top of the stockings in the center of the card. And that was it! One of my favorite cards out of all of what feels like the bajillion cards I made for this holiday season... I like it so much that I kept it for myself instead of mailing it out when I mailed out my holiday cards yesterday. ;) 

Now, for some more fun! Now that you've seen the inspiration photo and the project inspiration, it's your turn! 

• To participate, simply use any Essentials by Ellen product and create a project based on the above inspirational photo. 
• One participant will be randomly selected to receive a $50 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson store!
• To enter, please add your projects to the Inlinkz link up on the bottom of the EH Pin-Sights post.

I can't wait to see what you come up with! Such a fantastic inspiration photo, and the EH products are fabulous to work with. Have fun, and good luck with the challenge! 

Where Creativity Meets C9: December Edition!

Good morning! Today is December 9, which means Concord and 9th release day, AND the new challenge for the Where Creativity Meets C9 blog is up!!! Our theme this month is.... 

Use your Concord and 9th products to create a "Winter" themed project, then link it up to the inLinkz on the December challenge page. The design team has some wonderful, frosty inspiration for you. 

Brainstorming for this project took far longer than I'd like to admit.... Once I hit on an idea, though, I went running with it. Obviously, "winter" can conjure up all sorts of images... snow, Christmas, food, etc, etc, etc... But as I was brainstorming, I came upon this gorgeous cake stamp and knew I needed to create a winter wedding cake. Or two. Because you can never have too much cake. 

For this cake, I attempted an all white, naked (as in, no frosting on the outside) cake. I've never been satisfied with my white flowers before... they always end up looking sort of dirty. This was definitely an experiment, but I'm happy with how it turned out! I stamped the absolutely stunning cake from Happy Day onto some watercolor paper into which I had impressed some scallops, then heat embossed with silver detail embossing powder. I colored my flowers with Zig markers, using some very, very pale shades of gray, adding color only to the areas that would have the darkest shadow, then pulling the pigment out with a wet paintbrush until the color practically fades into nothing. I also think that the trick for white flowers is to ensure that they're surrounded by color, so as to accentuate the lack of color on the flowers. I chose to color the leaves and cake some pretty deep greens and a nice beige-y tan. After all of the coloring was finished, I added my greeting. I wanted a wedding sentiment, so I used the "lovely" die from Wonderful Words dies and Beautiful Words sentiment set (stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with White Satin Pearl EP... what a lovely, softened effect!). Such a pretty wedding card, I think, and perfect for a winter white wedding! 

Now, something with some icy, wintry color to it. People can loathe winter because of the absence of color, but there are plenty of beautiful colors to be found if you're looking for them. The sunsets are particularly beautiful in winter, I think, with all of the icy blues and purples... perhaps they are more noticeable because of the absence of color elsewhere. Anyway, those icy blues and cool purples are what inspired this next "winter wedding" project. I started by heat embossing that beautiful cake from Happy Day, again using silver detail embossing powder, then coloring with my Zig markers in shades of purple, blue, and icy mint green. (Wintergreen? Is that too on the nose? Ha!) After I had finished coloring my chocolate cake, I die cut it with the coordinating dies, then added a sentiment created by stamping the "congratulations" and "Mr. & Mrs." from the Happy Day stamp set and the "beautiful" die from the Beautiful You die set, cut using silver foil . 

Next, I turned my attention to the card base. I cut a panel of A2 watercolor cardstock, then heat embossed the gorgeous flower bouquet from the cake in the corners using the same silver embossing powder. Hint, hint, Greg and Angie... More bouquets like this, prettiest of pleases! So crazy people like me don't have to cut up this beautiful cake. (I seriously have contemplated buying another one of these stamp sets just to cut off the flowers... Don't judge me.) I watercolored the pretty blooms, then added the blue halo to really give it an icy, wintry feel. I added some of the "sparkles" using a pale blue ink and silver Delicata ink. Then, I just glued on my foil die cut, popped up the cake, and called it quits! 

Two totally different looks, but both appropriate for a winter wedding, don't you think?? 

Now, it's your turn! Use your Concord and 9th stamps and dies to create a "winter" themed card, then enter it into our InLinkz on the main challenge page. Concord and 9th has generously donated a $25 gift certificate for one lucky random winner! Also, the favorite entry will be asked to join the Design Team as a guest designer for an upcoming challenge! How cool is that? Just be sure to have your entries in by December 29, 2016. :) Go forth and craft, my friends! Have a fabulous weekend! 

Little Red Truck

So, my hubby has this awesome truck. I'm not a car gal, necessarily, but I can certainly appreciate a beautiful vehicle when I see one. Well, he has a '51 Chevy 5-window truck that has been beautifully refinished, and that thing is his pride and joy. (Other than me and the kids haha!) When HoneyBee Stamps came out with their Little Pickup set a few weeks ago, I absolutely had to have it. 

 

 

For this card, I've stamped the fabulously detailed truck with Versafine ink, then heat embossed with clear EP onto watercolor paper. I then used my Zig markers to color the truck. Easy peasy. I inked up the tree with a light green Zig marker, then filled in the rough spots with a wet paintbrush, adding in some shading with a darker green Zig marker and blending it with my wet paintbrush again. I die cut both pieces using Little Pickup's coordinating dies, then set them aside. I had a stitched oval cut from some glitter paper on my desk, so I used that as a grounding agent for my festive little truck. I added a die cut "merry" and stamped sentiment  from Wplus9's Hand Lettered Holiday to my sparkly oval. The card base was stamped with Concord and 9th's Stripe Builder set using Pure Poppy ink, then the stitches using Delicata Silver ink. 

 

Well, that's all for me today! I hope you have had a lovely weekend... we had a craft fair for my jewelry shop, and it didn't go the best. Need a better venue, I think. Try, try again! :) Going to get the Christmas tree up this week... it is utterly shocking to me that we don't have it up yet, but we will rectify that this week! 

 

Have a fantastic week, my friends! 

A cozy Christmas...

Good morning! I hope everyone had an absolutely wonderful weekend. I'm FINALLY feeling a little better, so I took the opportunity to sit down at my desk and make a card to make a last minute submission to the current challenge over at A Blog Named Hero! The theme is Holiday... and you know how I love holiday cards! I hadn't had a chance to ink up the new Coffee Cup Tags from Hero Arts yet, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity! 

Chalkboard cards are one of my most favorite "technique" cards... The finished product is just so cool, in my opinion. To start, I stamped and white heat embossed the pretty floral coffee cup, whipped cream, sentiment and some pretty foliage onto some dark gray card stock. After all of the heat embossing was finished, I used my white Prismacolor pencil to add some shading to the whipped cream, as well as a few accents to the sentiment and some lines to create a frame around the edge of the card. 

My take on the "chalkboard look" is to add several different layers and intensities of white, such as white colored pencil, white gel pen, white pigment ink, etc. In addition to the white pencil I added, I also used my white gel pen to add some decorative dots on the corners of the frame. I also used some white pigment ink around the edges of the A2 panel to give it that nice, worn chalkboard look. As a final touch, and to add a little color, I used some Ruby Stickles on the berries.

That's all for me today, so I hope you enjoyed this quick little project! Have a fabulous day, friends!  

You're so kind.

Good morning! I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a fruitful Black Friday shopping extravaganza. I have a card and a deal to share with you today, so I hope you have a little fun money left!! 

So, I'm a little skeptical of jumping on bandwagons in general. I like to think that I am my own person, that I do what I like because *I* like it, and not because someone has told me it was cool. BUT.... I have totally and completely jumped on the colored pencil on kraft paper bandwagon. And I'm loooooving it. (My only problem is a  lack of colored pencils, ha!) Let's get started on some details for this project! 

This card is an homage to the most recent Concord and 9th release. Their frame card dies are SO incredibly innovative, and I am totally smitten. I need more hours in the day to make all of the projects that I have in mind with them. I had some down time while I have been sick over this past week, so I was able to sit down and just play... such fun!

I started by stamping the totally stunning floral bouquet from the Hello Lovely stamp set a few times on a panel of kraft paper using black ink. (It's nice that you don't have to really worry about which black ink you're using with colored pencils... just grab whatever is closest and go!) I colored it with a variety of Prismacolor colored pencils... I have the 36 pack, so my shading was a little limited. Hopefully Santa will bring me a larger package for Christmas. ;) Tip: I have found the blender pencil to be invaluable. I'm honestly so used to my Zig markers that I found the colored pencils a little daunting at first, but the blender pencil made such a huge difference that I can't stop using them haha! I added a few white dots to the ends of the stamens on the flower centers to add a little dimension and interest. 

For the greeting, I decided to stick with simple white. Since the colored panel doesn't have any white (other than those few gel pen dots), I thought a white die cut would really pop off the page. I die cut the Happy Frame using the Kind add-on dies out of white card stock and placed it approximately where I wanted it on the colored panel, then used the "you're always so" stamp from the coordinating Kindhearted stamp set to heat emboss directly on the colored panel using white embossing powder. (That was a leap of faith, for sure. I was a little-a lot- afraid of messing up the panel!!)  I used dimensional adhesive to make the die cut pop even further off the page, literally. It's hard to see in the photo, but the last step was to take a Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen and color a few layers on the "kind" die cut just to add some shimmer. 

Now, for the sale!! Concord and 9th is generously giving their customers not only a 20% discount off of the entire store, but orders over $100 will receive a free Thanks card die!! If you've had your eye on any of the incredible dies and gorgeous stamps they've been releasing lately, this is the perfect opportunity to snap them up and get a generous freebie in the process! 

The sale runs from this morning, 11/26, through 11/28 at 11:59 pm MT. 

Now, go forth and shop! :)

Have an absolutely fantastic weekend, friends!

The Ton and So Suzy Stamps, Day 3!

Back again for my last post for the collaboration between The Ton and So Suzy Stamps. If you'd like to start at the beginning of the hop, click here to go back to The Ton's blog.  I have one last card to share with you using The Ton Stamps and So Suzy Stamps, so let's get started on the details!

To start, I stamped The Ton's Scenes: Department Store using Versamark ink onto watercolor paper, then clear heat embossed it. Next, I used my Zig Clean Color markers to color the entirety of the background, and I gotta say, what fun that was! So many great color combinations you could have with this stamp. I stamped and die cut the super chic gal from City Girls: Retail Therapy, then colored her with my Zig Clean Color Markers and wet paintbrush and popped her up with some dimensional adhesive.  

The gorgeous sentiment Flair and Laughter from So Suzy Stamps was stamped onto a strip of black card stock and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I notched the end of it, then popped it up onto the A2 card front with some dimensional adhesive. 

Now, for the giveaways... Up for grabs: a $25 GC So Suzy Stamps, a $25 GC to The Ton, and a fabulous Bunkie Bag that can hold your MISTI and other stamping supplies while you’re on the go! Leave a comment on the blogs by November 24, 11:59PM EST. Winners will be announced on November 25th for Black Friday Shopping!

Well, that concludes my submissions for the So Suzy Stamps and The Ton collaboration blog hop! I hope you've enjoyed all of the eye candy and gotten some inspiration to combine your stamp manufacturers! Have a fabulous day and a wonderful holiday, friends! 

The Ton and So Suzy Stamps, Day 2!

 Good morning! Back again today with day 2 of The Ton's collaboration with So Suzy Stamps. Yesterday's somewhat smart alecky card is tempered with the sweet sentiment included on this frosty snowflake card. I'm a bit under the weather, so I will keep this one short and sweet! 

To start, I heat embossed several of the detail layer snowflakes from The Ton's Crystal Flurries using silver detail embossing powder in the corner of a panel of white card stock, then heat embossing the lovely holiday sentiment from Snowflakes and Friendship by So Suzy Stamps. Next, I used Soft Amethyst and Grape Crush inks together with my blending foams to blend a halo over the snowy corner of my card front, concentrating my lightest color towards the sentiment, with the darker color towards the edge. 

After I had completed my ink blending, I filled in some gaps with snowflakes stamped with silver Delicata ink to create a bit of dimension amongst the snowflakes, almost a bokeh effect. I cut a piece of silver glitter card stock to be 1/4" wider than my inked panel. I butted the inky panel up to the corner of the glitter panel, then adhered them both to a plum colored card base with dimensional adhesive. The final finishing touches were some Glass Slippers sequins scattered here and there on the card front.

And there you have it! To start at the beginning of the blog hop for the collaboration, start back at The Ton's blog. To be entered to win the awesome prize package, be sure to comment at all of the blog hop stops for maximum entries. Now, for the giveaways... Up for grabs: a $25 GC So Suzy Stamps, a $25 GC to The Ton, and a fabulous Bunkie Bag that can hold your MISTI and other stamping supplies while you’re on the go! Leave a comment on the blogs by November 24, 11:59PM EST. Winners will be announced on November 25th for Black Friday Shopping!This is a fun collaboration between The Ton and So Suzy Stamps to showcase the styles of both stamp companies and the versatility of the designs of each. Each designer has created fun projects so be sure to hop along to see all the gorgeous inspiration. The hop continues until Wednesday and some of us designers will be creating and posting for each day of the hop. Be sure to follow us and check back the next couple of days to check out our collaboration projects!

The Ton and So Suzy Stamps, Day 2!

 Good morning! Back again today with day 2 of The Ton's collaboration with So Suzy Stamps. Yesterday's somewhat smart alecky card is tempered with the sweet sentiment included on this frosty snowflake card. I'm a bit under the weather, so I will keep this one short and sweet! 

To start, I heat embossed several of the detail layer snowflakes from The Ton's Crystal Flurries using silver detail embossing powder in the corner of a panel of white card stock, then heat embossing the lovely holiday sentiment from Snowflakes and Friendship by So Suzy Stamps. Next, I used Soft Amethyst and Grape Crush inks together with my blending foams to blend a halo over the snowy corner of my card front, concentrating my lightest color towards the sentiment, with the darker color towards the edge. 

After I had completed my ink blending, I filled in some gaps with snowflakes stamped with silver Delicata ink to create a bit of dimension amongst the snowflakes, almost a bokeh effect. I cut a piece of silver glitter card stock to be 1/4" wider than my inked panel. I butted the inky panel up to the corner of the glitter panel, then adhered them both to a plum colored card base with dimensional adhesive. The final finishing touches were some Glass Slippers sequins scattered here and there on the card front.

And there you have it! To start at the beginning of the blog hop for the collaboration, start back at The Ton's blog. To be entered to win the awesome prize package, be sure to comment at all of the blog hop stops for maximum entries. Now, for the giveaways... Up for grabs: a $25 GC So Suzy Stamps, a $25 GC to The Ton, and a fabulous Bunkie Bag that can hold your MISTI and other stamping supplies while you’re on the go! Leave a comment on the blogs by November 24, 11:59PM EST. Winners will be announced on November 25th for Black Friday Shopping!This is a fun collaboration between The Ton and So Suzy Stamps to showcase the styles of both stamp companies and the versatility of the designs of each. Each designer has created fun projects so be sure to hop along to see all the gorgeous inspiration. The hop continues until Wednesday and some of us designers will be creating and posting for each day of the hop. Be sure to follow us and check back the next couple of days to check out our collaboration projects!

The Ton and So Suzy Stamps Collaboration, Day 1!

Good morning! Today marks the first day of The Ton's collaboration with a fantastic stamp manufacturer, So Suzy Stamps! 

This is a fun collaboration between The Ton and So Suzy Stamps to showcase the styles of both stamp companies and the versatility of the designs of each. Each designer has created fun projects so be sure to hop along to see all the gorgeous inspiration. The hop continues until Wednesday and some of us designers will be creating and posting for each day of the hop. Be sure to follow us and check back the next couple of days to check out our collaboration projects! You should have arrived from Suzy's blog and your next stop is Ceal's blog. 

For my project today, I used one of Suzy's absolutely fabulous sentiment stamps: Pour Yourself A Drink. We all have days where we just need a little pick-me-up, and this card would surely accomplish that for me!

I started by stamping the fun So Suzy sentiment using Versamark on plain white card stock. I heat embossed it in clear, then trimmed down the sides to create a 3 3/4"x 5" panel. Next came the watercoloring; I stamped the gorgeous chica from The Ton's Born Classy and some of the lovely roses from Fresh Cut Garden Roses Outlines onto some watercolor paper using Versamark ink, which I then heat embossed with clear EP. 

I watercolored Ms. Sassy Pants with a combination of dark blue and bright turquoise Zig markers to create this gorgeous teal-y blue-y gown. (yes, I use technical terminology.) I heat embossed the feather mermaid tail included in the Born Classy set using some dark silver glitter embossing powder on vellum. Of course she had to have a drink to help her pull herself together, so I stamped and colored a glass of champagne for her. I die cut everything with the coordinating dies, then turned to the roses. 

The roses... You know I can't resist adding flowers, especially on a super feminine card like this one. Kinda helps balance the sassiness, don't you think? I water colored the Fresh Cut Garden Roses Outlines with bright fuchsia and purple Zig markers, then watercolored the leaves with some dark teal to coordinate with the dress. I die cut the blooms with their coordinating dies, then began assembling my project. I popped up the sentiment panel with dimensional adhesive, then added my florals and my sassy chica. 

Now, for the extra fun part.... giveaway goodies! The Ton and So Suzy Stamps are giving away a $25 GC So Suzy Stamps, $25 GC to The Ton, and a fabulous Bunkie Bag that can hold your MISTI and other stamping supplies while you’re on the go! Leave a comment on the blogs by November 24, 11:59PM EST. Winners will be announced on November 25th for Black Friday Shopping. The more comments you leave, the more likely you are to win! Good luck and happy hopping! 

25 Days of Christmas Tags- Concord and 9th

Good morning, friends! Today, I'm excited be part of the 25 Days of Christmas Tags celebration, started by the ever-creative Tracey McNeeley! 

 The Where Creativity Meets C9 team is playing along on behalf of Concord and 9th, so we are focusing on using the fantastically versatile Bags and Tags dies. 

For my project, I chose to make a wine bottle tag. Wine + Christmas=perfect, easy gift, for a hostess or just for a friend! 

Making this tag is ridiculously simple. Start with a 7.5x2.5" rectangle of sturdy card stock. Score at 2.5 inches to create a square, then use the circle die included in the Bags and Tags die set to create the hole for your wine bottle neck. Easy peasy! (I also rounded the corners of the top of my tag with a corner rounder.) 

Next, I cut two pieces of white card stock:  2.5x3" and 2.5x2.5". These were then die cut using the Christmas Cottage dies and set to the side while I focused on the greeting. I heat embossed the greeting from O Christmas Tree using some silver detail embossing powder... isn't this sentiment just perfect? Such beautiful balance of the calligraphy and handwritten fonts, such wonderful placement... It's the little things in life, folks! :)

I popped up the Christmas Cottage die cuts with some dimensional adhesive, then decided it needed a bit of "sparkle" to really complete the snowy, wintry look I was going for, so I added some Sprinkled Sugar Stickles to the roof of the house, the snow drifts, and the trees, as well as adding some falling snow around the sentiment. (The Sprinkled Sugar Stickles are neat and a bit different from the normal, super sparkly Stickles... They have a very subtle shimmer and add just the perfect amount of dimension. Only problem is waiting for them to dry!! Haha!) The final touch was a white twine bow around the top to create a visual cascade down the front of the tag from the top right to bottom left. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this tag and are enjoying the massive amount of inspiration that this awesome 25-day long event is providing! I know I am! I will freely admit that I struggle with tags, because the canvas is so much smaller than my normal canvas... BUT I truly enjoyed this challenge, and I'm so grateful to have gotten to be a part of the 25 Days of Christmas Tags! Have a fantastic weekend, friends! 

Where Creativity Meets C9: November Challenge!

Good morning! My apologies for the lateness of this post... My kiddos birthday was a couple of days ago, and I've completely lost track of time! Aaahhhh!! 

Anyway, the challenge for this month's Where Creativity Meets C9 challenge is... SPARKLE AND SHINE. Nothing wrong with the world that a little sparkle can't fix. 

For my project, I used some newer holiday goodies from Concord and 9th... Christmas Cottage and Happy Card Frame dies. I know, I used the same set last month, but I just couldn't help myself! I am in love with these fabulous die cuts!! 

I started by die cutting all of the trees and house from Christmas Cottage using simple white card stock at varied heights. I then die cut a scalloped frame, as I knew I wanted to make a shaker, then trimmed the edges of the die cuts to fit horizontally across the frame. I added Star Dust Stickles to the die cuts where I thought snow would have landed and allowed them to dry over night. 

I used a double layer of foam tape on the frame to ensure that I had plenty of room for both the dimensional die cuts and the shaker bits that I intended to add. 

I die cut the "happy" from the Happy Card Frame dies from some super shiny blue foil card stock that I found at Hobby Lobby. (Hobby Lobby has some fabulous foil card stocks, and if you can find them during a 50% off sale, they're quite economical!) I placed my "happy" die cut on my frame, then stamped the "holidays" from the coordinating stamp set directly on my card base. I filled the shaker with several different shades and types of white sequins, as I wanted to have a bright white, sparkly card with a pop of color for the sentiment.  

And there you have it! It's quite thick, so I will have to hand deliver this one, but it's totally worth it for all of that awesome dimension! Absolutely in love with these die cuts!

Now, you have until November 29 to create your own sparkly and shiny project using Concord and 9th products and link it up to the Sparkle and Shine challenge post over at Where Creativity Meets C9! One winner will be chosen randomly for a generous $25 gift certificate from our wonderful Concord and 9th sponsors, and the best entry will be given an opportunity to guest design with the WCMC9 design team on a future challenge!!! Good luck and happy sparkling!!! :) 

Merry Christmas To You!

Well, hello! Merry Christmas! I can say that because it's November, right? Right?! I hope your November is off to a wonderful start. I've never been much for Halloween... Too much hype, not much payoff... plus, I don't truck in blood, gore, and getting scared just for the sake of getting scared. There are far too many things in real life to be scared of... But my little ones were pretty cute in their costumes. Totally worth it. But now we're moving on to my absolute favorite crafting season... Christmas!!!

Anyway, here's a set of cards that I made using the new PTI Vintage Ornaments II set! I'm so pleased that PTI is starting to release more images that are fit for coloring... I love my solid image stamps, but I find my fingers itching for my watercolors when I want to get crafty. 

With this card set, I decided to take a non-traditional color scheme, but I feel like this color scheme still screams "vintage" to go along with those beautiful ornaments. I heat embossed all of the ornament outlines included in the stamp set using silver detail embossing powder, then used my Zig markers to watercolor them. I fussy cut them, then die cut and stamped several pine boughs from PTI's Spruce and Sprigs set using Tropical Teal and Pinefeather inks. I also stamped a few of the sprigs on the card bases themselves, to create a fuller look.

The next step was to cut frames from the PTI Pretty Frame die using a few different shades of coordinating foil card stock. Shimmer and sparkle is the order of the day with Christmas cards! 

The greeting is from the Christmas Cheer stamp set and dies. I die cut the greeting from silver glitter card stock, then arranged it the way I wanted it on my card front so that I could place my sentiment stamps and stamp them using my MISTI. 

I decided midway through my assembly line that I liked the frame lying flat as opposed to popped up, so one is popped up with dimensional adhesive, while the other two are adhered directly to the card base. I popped up the ornaments and some of the Spruce and Sprigs pieces. 

I hope you liked these little holiday projects! I purchased my first colored pencils the other day... Sam's had a sale on a 36 pack of Prismacolor pencils, and I jumped on it... so I've been practicing with them with these gorgeous ornament stamps. I'm so excited that The Daily Marker 30 Day challenge starts today, so be sure to follow me on Instagram, (@eamidgett)  because I'm going to be trying to play along every day this month! Have an awesome day, friends! 

Sending Comfort and Joy

Good morning, friends! I'm back with you today to share a pair of projects that are very "deer" to me. (ahaha... my puns are so sad. Don't judge, please.) While at JunkieFest this past summer, one of our challenges was to start a card, while someone else "finished" it. My project there inspired the project that I'm showing you today. Let's get to the details! 

I created another pair of cards... I can't help myself anymore...  I started with some Arches cold press watercolor paper and die cut a pair of pierced circles using the Avery Elle Sweet Scallops die... That die set is incredible, btw, and SO versatile. I then heat embossed the deer head from Lil Inker's Oh Deer using gold glitter embossing powder on the pierced ovals, then watercolored it using a combination of Zig markers and Distress Inks. 

While the deer were drying, I used the Hero Arts Garland background stamp to stamp on both cherry red and wine colored card stock using the same gold glitter embossing powder. To add a little bit of interest to the project, I used a strip of a very very old Cosmo Cricket 6x6 paper pad that I've been hoarding for years. I have been trying to do a little bit of a purge/organize and came to the horrific realization that I have an embarrassing amount of holiday patterned paper... So I resolved to use some of it. These two 2" strips should really put a dent in my stash, right? Bahaha.... 

I added a strip of gold glitter paper behind the patterned paper, then popped up the stripes and the deer head using dimensional adhesive. I love the simplicity of this card. Definitely doesn't re-invent the wheel, but there's something about a simple card design that helps to cleanse the creative palate, I think. Plus, it's sparkly. :) 

That's all for me today! I hope you enjoyed my projects! Slowly building up my stash before the real craziness starts!! More details on that when it becomes official! Have a fabulous Thursday, friends!