Stepping in it up

Tonight I want to share 2 more cards that I did while playing around with my friend's "Delightful Decorations" stamp set and coordinating Ornament punch.  I wanted to show how one can take a really simple, yet pretty card and "step-it-up".

Here is the "plain" one:

And here is the "stepped up " one:

Can you spot the differences?  There are 3.  No, just kidding, I'll tell you!   For both cards, I based the colour scheme on Stampin' Up's "Be of Good Cheer" DSP; Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green.   For the first card I used the Scallop Edge Border punch on the Cherry Cobbler strip while on the 2nd I used the Scallop Trim Border punch.  I also embossed the Very Vanilla base with my Perfect Polka Dots TIEF (although it's quite difficult to see here).  Finally I added a little more colour and a bit of bling on the ornament by adding a 3/4" green punch out and a Basic Rhinestone jewel. 

Which one do you like better?

Happy Stamping!

Delightful Decorations

While preparing for a workshop I was doing last week I started playing around with my friend's "Delightful Decorations" stamp set and Ornament Punch along with my package of "Be of Good Cheer" DSP.  Here is one of the cards I came up with:

I had a lot of fun going "back to basics" with this one.  The workshop I was running was the very first Stampin' Up! workshop for all of the attendees so I thought back to the first Stampin' Up workshop I went to 9 years ago.  I dug out one the card that I made there to show you....yes, I hoard cards....

One of my very first Christmas cards....created 9 years ago

At the first party I attended I was amazed at how easily I could create a hand-crafted card.  All I needed was a little bit of paper, some ink and a few stamps.  That evening I went away with all I needed to create my cards for that year and I haven't looked back!  While I tried the craft store route when I first moved to this area, I got very frustrated and was very happy to get hooked up with a Stampin' Up demonstrator.  She has since become a good friend too!

When I look at this "old" card I realize how far Stampin' Up has come in the past few years.  The punches they have certainly make it easy to create an even better looking handmade card!

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamp sets: Delightful Decorations, Tidings of Joy (single stamp)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, and Be of Good Cheer DSP

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green

Other:  Ornament Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Dimensionals

Happy Stamping!

Masked Ornament

Wow!  Am I ever backlogged on my card sharing on my blog here.  I've been left wondering this week where November has gone and how I'm going to get through December in one piece.  I'm sure many of you are feeling the same way.

It is beginning to feel like winter here and I'm excited about that!  I am one of those (rare) people in my part of my province that actually LOVES it when it snows.  The more the better in my mind....as long as I don't have to drive in it!  Maybe that comes from growing up in a place that traditionally gets a ton of snow.

Saturday morning was so fantastic because we had about 3 inches fall overnight....almost as much as we had all last winter!  My 3 1/2 year old was SO excited he was out the door in his bare feet and jammies ready to make snow angels at 8 am!!!!

Anyway, I'll stop at that or I'll start to rant about those who don't like snow living in a country/province where it snows.....yikes!  There I go....

Right.   Here's a card:

This is a follow-up to my last post and was inspired by my friends at my last Technique's class.  I like the simplicity of it.  It's super-simple for anyone to make this card.  All you need is Stampin' Up's Ornament Punch, Whisper White card stock, some ink, sponge daubers and a Christmas stamp.  I also used Dazzling Diamonds and my Simply Scored tool to add a little more "flavour" .

Here's what I used:

Ink: Old Olive, Raspberry Ripple, Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green

Stamps:  Greetings of the Season

Other:  Ornament Punch, Dazzling Diamonds (with Heat and Stick powder and a heat gun), Simply Scored scoring tool.

Happy Stamping!

Masking with friends

I had my monthly techniques class last evening and we were working on "masking" again.   It was just me and three good friends for this class and because I trust them with my stuff I gave them carte blanche for the first card....literally.....just white card stock and instructions to create something using reverse masking.  I was really impressed with what they came up with and I'm going to share their creations with you tonight.

EC made this first one.  She claims to not have a "crafty" bone in her body but I think she's fibbing. 

Isn't it so pretty?!  She used a combination of Real Red, Raspberry Ripple, Garden Green and Old Olive inks to create the multicoloured ornaments and then "glitzed" them up using Dazzling Diamonds.....which, by the way, are now all over my house : )  Then she added a Real Red matte and a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I love it!


The next card was done by my friend, JS, who makes very pretty cards.  For some reason I couldn't get my picture to rotate today, so apologies for all of the cricks in your necks for having to look at it sideways.

She sent me a photo of the completed project this morning. 

This card uses a combination of reds...Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Raspberry Ripple and Rich Razzleberry.  I like how she did the gradation in colour.  She used a Cherry Cobbler matte with a woodgrain texture and then added some of the Champagne Shimmer paper, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine and gold brads to finish it up.

Finally, DF made this gorgeous card for her grandmother's 92nd birthday this weekend.

Perfect Plum is her favourite Stampin' Up colour and so, of course, being given free reign she used it on this card.  She first used reverse masking to create the butterflies on the card stock and then sponged the butterfly punch outs to create 3 different shades before adhering them.  Finally she pierced the perimeter of the Whisper White (although it's had to see here). 

I LOVE all three cards for different reasons and am now setting about to copy them : )  Stayed tuned for more masking and other creations.....I am very backlogged in my blog posts.

And....if you haven't already, don't forget to check out my new blog, "Magpie Sisters", to see what Meg and I have been up to.

Happy Stamping!

Ornamental Doilies

For today's card I used the template that the good ladies at Try Stampin' on Tuesday put out for the challenge this week.  Be sure to check out their blog to see all of the entries.

I thought I was going to use this for a workshop I'm doing tomorrow night for my former upline.  But I changed my mind.  That doesn't mean that I can't share it with you though : )

It's a LOT more fussy and frilly than I normally would do, but I was playing around with my Delicate Doilies Sizzlits die and the Candlelight Christmas Speciality DSP.  I really like the flocked paper (the horizontal stripe), it adds some neat texture to the card.  I decided to stick with just Real Red and Very Vanilla for this card but my Real Red ink pad is so old that it looks pink now when I stamp!  That's the main reason I'm not doing this card for the workshop tomorrow. 

I'm really hoping to take advantage of Stampin' Up's Ink-credible offer and get myself a whole new colour family of ink pads!!!!  It's such a great deal and the "Brights" family is top of my list, although my "Subtles" are showing their age too!  I'm finding that after using the new firm foam ink pads I don't always like going back to the old ones.

Anyhow, in other news, my sister-in-law and I have launched our new blog, Magpie Sisters.  As the name might suggest, it is a place for us to share our favourite things, new finds and other randomness in our lives.  I hope you check it out and become a follower : )

Happy Stamping!

Watercolor Winter Shimmer

Tonight's card is one I did a few weeks ago for a workshop (yes, I'm a little behind in my postings).  The technique I used on this card involves Shimmer Paint and 2-step stamping.

Watercolor Winter and Shimmer Paint

Simply Scored detail

Use Frost White Shimmer Paint to add some shimmer to your card

 I really liked the result.  Here's what you do:

1.  Stamp your first image using Classic Ink.  In this example, I used the poinsettia from "Watercolor Winter" stamped in Cherry Cobbler.

2.  Using a sponge dauber, dab Frost White Shimmer Paint onto the second stamp and stamp over top of the first image.

It's that simple!!!  It's such a pretty effect too.  Very subtle.

I realise that not everyone has the resources or the space to have Big Shot machine so instead of using a TIEF to add texture to the Very Vanilla background I used the Simply Scored tool.  Again, so simple and subtle.

Here are all the details of the supplies I used on this card:

Stamp Sets:  Watercolor Winter, Greetings of the Season

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla card stock

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeade

Other:  Simply Scored tool, Frost White Shimmer Paint

In other news, stayed tuned for a new blog that my sister-in-law and I are working on....Magpie Sisters!

Happy Stamping!

Mickey Mouse Birthday

One of our neighbour's turned 1 this week!  His birthday party is today and the theme is Mickey Mouse.  I couldn't resist pulling out my circles and creating a little Mickey silhouette for his card!

Isn't it cute?!  I love the "Mickey" colours too....Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White.   I really like the little party hat especially.  I used my Pennant punch and Red Glimmer paper to do it and topped it with the little "star" from the "Pennant Parade" stamp set.  Here's a look at the inside:

We're off to his party right now so I'll have to be quick with the details:

Ink: Real Red, Basic Black

Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Red glimmer paper

Stamp Sets: Friendly Phrases, Pennant Parade, Occasions Alphabet

Other:  Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Circles Bigz Die, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF, Pennant Punch, Real Red 1/8" Grosgrain ribbon

Happy Stamping!