Twelve Days of Christmas Cards 2015: Day One

For those of you looking for this on the 12th, my apologies.  I was knee-deep in exam marking, report cards and hosting out-of-town family.   I should have looked at my calendar before I made my announcement :/

I spent yesterday with my dear friend, Julia, at Stampin' Up's first OnStage event!  It was SO much fun.  I met with old friends and new friends and got to stamp with BRAND NEW product from the 2016 Occasions Catalogue!

You are going to LOVE it!

But for now, because I'm not allowed to show you anything yet, I'll be showcasing some of the work I've been doing in preparation for Christmas with new stamps, retired stamps, kits and My Paper Pumpkin in my second annual "Twelve Days of Christmas Cards" blog posts.

Be sure to check back every day or two to see what's new and to be inspired.  

I've been planning towards my latest class, a Stamp-a-Stack of 16 cards, and have been working on some simple Christmas cards to include.

Here's one that I'm really liking:

Use a small snowflake to create a wreath

Isn't it pretty?  I stamped the wreath using Pool Party, Island Indigo, and Silver ink.  To create the "fourth" colour I simply stamped again in the Island Indigo before re-inking.

Super simple!

Here's a closer look at the wreath:

Use coordinating colours or stamp a few times before re-inking to create this look.

I realize that I've used mainly retired products to create this card; the "Endless Wishes" photopolymer stamp set, the "Good Greetings" hostess stamp set and a retired TIEF that I can't remember the name of.  

Don't have any of these products?

Have no fear!

You, too, can create this card.   Consider using these products to create a similar look;

Flurry of Wishes

Holly Jolly Greetings

Woodland TIEF

You can purchase any of these products from my website at  http://lauragardiner.stampinup.net  or by clicking on any of the images.

If you'd like to attend my Stamp-a-Stack of cards on December 1st, please contact me for more information.

Happy Stampin'!

Day Six: Wintery Wishes

The snow has started falling here...yay!!!  I admit that I LOVE the snow and I'm excited it's here early this year!  Bring on the wintery fun....snow forts, snowball fights, skating, and most importantly, an excuse to have hot chocolate!  Yay!

Today's card reminds me of the dusting of snow we've got right now.  I was inspired by a beautiful card I saw on Pinterest that used the same colour scheme and stamps.

I love the look that the Tea Lace doily brings to the whole card and the subtleness of the stamping.

To create the look, use White Craft ink to stamp onto the Crumb Cake paper and also to sponge some on to create the "frosted" look.  Bling the whole thing up with some Basic Rhinestone jewels.

Click here to see yesterday's Twelve Days of Christmas Cards post.

Happy Stampin'!

Day Five: Endless (wishes) Possibilities

I'm a musician by training.  More specifically, a music teacher.  Last weekend I was able to attend the Ontario Music Educator's Association conference for the first time in many years (I've been on parental leave).  It is a FABULOUS conference with HUNDREDS (close to 1000) music educators converging on a city for 2 days of learning, reconnecting and having fun!  It was so exciting to be back and reaffirmed in me my love of teaching and desire to return to the schools.

One thing (of many) that I took away from last weekend's conference that my job as a music educator is to unlock the "Master Builder" in all my students so they can see the millions of possibilities when creating and performing music.  

Awesome!

Daunting!!!!!

That concept, of course, is easily transferable across all art forms, including paper crafting and stamping!  

So exciting!

And SO daunting!

I cannot count the number of times I've sat down at my desk and been so overwhelmed by all the possibilities I am paralyzed....

....so for these cards I chose one colour scheme (Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss and Sahara Sand) and one stamp set (Endless Wishes).

The second is variation on the theme:

Again, they are simple cards that can be used as a template to create a bunch to send out to your friends and family.

Click here to see yesterday's Twelve Days of Christmas Cards post.

Happy Stampin'!

Day Three: Celebrate the Season

This is a card that we did last week at my Christmas Cards Make and Take.  Remember the theme?

Simple yet pretty!

For Christmas cards you want to be able to get out as many as possible is as little time as possible because, really?  Who has time?!

Use Washi Tape in different combinations to create different looks

Washi Tape and Gorgeous Grunge are a perfect combination for any card!  Add a little Christmas tree and some Frosted Sequins and you're all set!

The great thing about the All is Calm Washi Tape is that there are 5 (yes FIVE!) rolls to choose from!  The possibilities are endless.  So for all you who like to have a little variety in your cards, you can have the same template and supplies yet they can all be slightly different!

Yay!

Click here to see Day Two of Twelve Days of Christmas Cards.

Happy Stampin'!

Something "old", something "new"

I've been having a lot of fun using old and new product recently.  One of my favourite "new" products is one of the 2014-2015 In-Colours, Lost Lagoon.   The "Endless Wishes" stamp set is my "old" product for this card.  I got this set last year but it is in this year's Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalogue.  Yay!   It's so easy to use....and for those who read this blog often, you know that's important to me!  Here's what I came up with:

Easy Endless Wishes card

Isn't it so pretty?!  I love the look created by the "All is Calm" washi tape and paper doily.  The rhinestones add a little sparkle.  Super simple and super pretty!

Happy Stamping!

Endless Wishes Flurries

I had a great workshop last night with a friend and a few of her friends.  Two of the guests were brand new to stamping so I wanted to share a technique and stamp set that are versatile and easy to use.  If you follow me regularly you'll know that my favourite technique right now is the "magical masking tape" technique that creates a really cool feature on the page.  I am also really enjoying  my "Endless Wishes" photopolymer stamp set (item number 133455).  The photopolymer stamps are so easy and fun to use.  They stick REALLY well to my clear block, are totally clear and therefore make stamping an image super easy!  The stamped image is also very clear and consistent with Stampin' Up's high quality stamps.

Here's what we did:

The ladies had lots of fun playing around with the stamps and the sentiments.  The possibilities for sentiments in "Endless Wishes" really are "endless".  I love how one can mix and match the sentiments to say so many different things!

Here's all you need to make this card:

Paper:  Whisper White, Midnight Muse card stock.  Optional Silver Sparkle paper is fun!

Ink:  Soft Sky, Midnight Muse

Stamps:  Endless Wishes Photopolymer set (item #133455)

Other:  Boho Blossoms punch, 3/4" circle punch, Rhinestone Basic jewels, painters tape, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Happy Stamping!

Chalkboard Christmas for FMS112

For today's card I've combined two of the techniques that I'm loving currently; chalkboard and "magical" masking tape!  I used this week's Freshly Made Sketches sketch for my template.

Here's my take on it:

I'm really enjoying playing around with the "magical masking tape" technique.  It's so easy!  All you need is some painter's tape (the green stuff), some ink and some card stock and you're all set to go!  What I wanted to convey in this card is a snowy night.  Snowy winter nights are one of my favourite things!  I have fond memories of one Christmas eve when I was a kid when it was snowing quite heavily with huge, fluffy snowflakes.  When my family and I came out of our Christmas Eve service about 1 foot of snow had fallen and it was just so pretty!  It kept snowing all night and it was so magical to look out our front window and watch the snow fall!

Here's a close up of the sentiment:

This stamp is so cool!  I really like the layering of Christmas themed words and how "Christmas" jumps out at us.

Here are all of the supplies you'll need to make this card:

Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red and Basic Black card stock

Ink:  Whisper White

Stamps:  Endless Wishes Photopolymer set,  Seasonal Sayings

Other:  Chalk Talk framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1 1/4" circle punch.

Happy Stamping!

Festive Starburst

I am doing a workshop tonight for my former upline.  I always feel a little bit of pressure doing workshops for her and her friends because she was the one who taught me : )  She wanted me to teach a new technique and I've been seeing the "Starburst" technique lately and wanted to show that off.  One of the great things about being a Stampin' Up demonstrator is the bi-monthly "Stampin' Success" magazine that is exclusively for demonstrators.  This month's came just in time for my friend's workshop.  I saw a really cool version of the "Starburst" technique using masking and just HAD to use it for her workshop.  Here it is:

I'm SO pleased with the result and I hope it goes over well at tonight's workshop!  I really like Stampin' Up's "Festive Flurry" stamp set and am LOVING the new "Endless Wishes" Photopolymer Stamp set!  If you've never used photopolymer stamps I would recommend starting with this one!  There are so many sentiments on it and because you can see right through the stamps it makes it so simple to align everything perfectly!!!
 
Here is a list of everything you need to make this card:

Stamps                  

Festive Flurry Stamp Set (item 131778 item 131781 )

Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set (item 133455)

Paper

Whisper White Cardstock (item 100730 or precut 135804)

Island Indigo Cardstock (item 122923)

Ink

Pool Party Classic Stampin’ Pad (item 126982)

Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ Pad (item 131179)

Island Indigo Classic Stampin’ Pad (item 126986)

Accessories & Tools

Dazzling Details Silver Sparkle (item 127845)

Big Shot (item 113439)

Circles Collection Framelits Dies (item 130911)

Festive Flurry Framelits (item 132193)

Rhinestones Basic Jewels (item 119246)

Stampin’ Dimensionals (item 104430)

Copy paper

Pencil

Ruler

Happy Stamping!