Celebrate The Season

Hello everyone,

Today's card uses Techno Stampers Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. It was one of those very appealing sketches that I just had to do.



The background paper is Fancy Pants Christmas Magic. The remaining paper is Stampin' Up Whisper White and Baja Breeze. The Baja Breeze layer is textured with Cuttlebug's Winter Wonderland dry embossing folder. The snowflakes are cut with the Sizzix Northern Frost decorative strip from glossy paper that was smooched with Ranger alcohol ink and glittered with DecoArt Glamour Dust. The sentiment is Impression Obsession Christmas Sentiments. The images are Stampin' Up Serene Snowflakes highlighted with diamond Stickles.
This is the type of card I just love! The colours, the sparkle, the texture - what more could a girl want in a card. The only thing that could make is better would be holly or paisley but snowflakes are still a great option.
I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.
Gisèle
PS - I'm off for a week of sun and sand in the Dominican Republic. See you when I return.

Season's Greetings

Hello everyone,

Today's card is crafted using the sketch from this week's Flourishes Timeless Tuesday challenge. All the layers in this sketch really appealed to me so I just ran with it.

The background paper is DCWV 'Tis The Season textured with Sizzix Flourish pad. All the printed paper is K & Company Yuletide. The sentiment is Annabelle Holly Branch stamped on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla in Nick Bantock Chartreuse Leaf. The ribbon is Michael's Special Value. The snowflake is Sizzix Northern Frost decorative strip.

I love the colours and layers of this card which along with the textures makes it very elegant. I was really inspired by the paisley paper which, next to holly, is one of my favourite shapes.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Merry Sketch

Hello everyone,

Today's card is inspired by this week's Paper Sundaes sketch challenge. It took me a while to get all the papers together but I finally drew on the holly image which I think makes this card work.

The card base is Recollections pearlized gold. The background paper is Bazzill Basics Glazed Christmas. The horizontal strip is K & Company SW Glad Tidings. The image, Stampin' Up Happiest of Holidays, is stamped in StazOn, on a piece of Very Vanilla and layered on a piece of Cherry Cobbler that was textured with Cuttlebug's Holly with Berries embossing folder. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Warm Words. The card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

I actually really love how busy this card turned out. Each time I look at it, there is something different to see. Of course, there is also four different types of holly and maybe that's what it all works. Regardless, it's a great card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Kingly Inspiration

Hello everyone,

Today's One Layer Wednesday challenge from Jennifer Styles is a Walter Erhard photo inspiration from Vigo Stationary and I found a wonderful photo on which to base my card. I was also inspired by Friday's Daring Cardmakers challenge which was 'We Three ...'. My mojo is majestic.

The card base is from Recollections. The image is Stampin' Up Holy Triptych heat embossed with Close To My Heart silver pearl and coloured with Faber-Castell markers and Martha Stewart glitter markers. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Bitty Sparkles.

I have coveted this stamp set from the moment I saw and when I had the chance to buy a second-hand set I jumped at it. I will admit though that it was my daughter who did the colouring. I gave it three shots and it looked horrible so she volunteered. What a fabulous job she did. I think this is a great card. It is simple and the sentiment matches the image so perfectly. I will need to practise colouring but it will get there. Of course if I chicken out on the colouring I will to find some really inventive ways to highlight the great stamps in this set.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Clean & Simple Holly

Hello everyone,

Today's card uses Friday's Clean and Simple Stamping sketch and was absolutely inspired by the paper.

The inspiring background paper is Close To My Heart Mistletoe. The images are Annabelle stamps Holly Branch stamped with Stampin' Up Soft Suede, heat embossed with Close To My Heart silver pearl and coloured with Sakura Gold Shadow pens. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Short & Sweet. The ribbon is Michaels Special Value. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Mocha Opaques.

As I SPI followers know, holly is one of my favourite images and this card is just filled with holly. Of course, Clean & Simple Stamping offers great sketches every Friday. How can a cardmaker go wrong?

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Winter Scene

Hello everyone,

I was looking over my list of 'interesting' challenges and there is no way I'm going to do even a quarter of them. There are just too many really fabulous challenges out there. For today's card I decided to use last Wednesday's Creative Inspirations challenge which was to create a 'winter wood land'. I had in my mind that this would be a great opportunity to craft a male Christmas card. It worked!

The card base is Recollections. The horizontal strip is a scrap of Stampin' Up Always Artichoke dry embossed with Cuttlebug's Leafy Branch folder. The patterned paper is K & Company SW Glad Tidings layered on a piece of copper Recollections Foil paper. The image is Gina K. Tree Silhouettes which was glittered with Martha Stewart glitter. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions.

I think this is a great male Christmas card. I can't wait to use it! It is very natural but with just that little bit of sparkle. I also love the copper paper. It looks great against the dark green.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Thinking of You

Hello everyone,

I just have to say, way too much housework not enough card making! Hence, no cards and no posts for the last couple of days. A colleague has just been diagnosed with cancer so I've made a card to let her know that we're all supporting her. I used Saturday's Stamping 411 sketch to get started.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Night of Navy that was textured with Sizzix Pattern 1. The ribbon is Offray Sheerly Yours and Sheer Creations Celebrate It. The layered square is a piece of Whisper White and Cottage Wall. The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Sentimental Bluebells. The entire card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

My colleague's favourite colour combination is navy and burgundy. She also likes a little bit of sparkle. This card fits the bill. I was not quite certain about the sentiment but the truth is, we are thinking of her. This is a very simple and elegant card and I really hope it lifts her spirits.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

More Glitter and Gold

Hello everyone,

It's is most certainly the time of year for holiday cards and the blogging world is just overflowing with challenges for these types of cards. For the second time in less than a week, today's card actually meets ten different challenges. I started with Saturday's Card Patterns sketch. Monday's Little Paper Shop challenge was to use a die cut. Tuesday challenges include ABC Christmas Challenge 'X' is for Xmas and Flourishes Timeless Tuesday was Christmas. Wednesday's Caardvarks challenge was to craft a Christmas card with die cuts. Today's challenges include Simon Says Stamp which asked for sparkle; Treehouse Thursday Challenge asked for glitter; Delightful Sketches asked for a winter card; Paper Play is looking for snow and the Stampin' B's asked for snowflakes.

The card base is Recollections pearlized gold. The snowflake paper is Anna Griffin Georgette Christmas layered on a piece of Stampin' Up Shimmery White. The ribbon is from Offray. The corner pieces are Sizzix Architectural Accents #3. The snowflakes are Spellbinders Build A Snowflake 1 & 2. Both of these elements are cut from the Anna Griffin paper glittered with Glitter Ritz Cool micro fine glitter. The embellishments are Close To My Heart pearl Opaques. The sentiment is Gina K Vintage Borders stamped in Soft Suede on another piece of Shimmery White.

I love this card. It actually has a very similar feel to last Friday's Glitter and Gold card because I used the same Anna Griffin paper and die cuts. I love the coolness of these snowflakes and the glittering elements. The paper is also flocked which adds more wonderful texture to the card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Clean & Simple Joy

Hello everyone,

Today's card is inspired by Friday's Clean and Simple Stamping sketch which was just too lovely not to try. This card also fits this week's Tuesday Taggers challenge to use either 'peace', 'hope' or 'joy' on a card.

The background layer is Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine. The printed papers are K & Company SW Glad Tidings. The ornaments are cut with an ornament punch from a shimmery gold paper of unknown origin. The embellishments are Recollections Adhesive Rhinestones. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Small Script.

I could do this sketch over and over, a million different ways. The K & Company paper, that I found at Michaels this past weekend is fabulous. The pre-cut aspect is wonderful. I'm not certain about the embellishments as they could have been just a little bit better arranged.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Mercy

Hello everyone,

Today, Mercy's Tuesday Sketch posted it's 100th challenge and Mercy Kerin is offering some wonderful prizes for this week's challenge participants. How could I not take part?

The card base is Recollections. The background layer is DCWV 'Tis The Season stack which is textured with the Cuttlebug Holly With Berries folder. The patterned paper is K & Company Yultide and SW Glad Tidings card making pads. The image, Kaiser Doodled Christmas is stamped on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla. The ornament shapes are cut with Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornament die. The snowflake is Sizzix Northern Frost Decorative Strip cut from a piece of Very Vanilla to which Glitter Ritz warm transparent micro fine glitter was applied. The embellishments is of unknown origin.

I'm not sure how I feel about this card. It is not the best nor the worst card I've ever crafted. Light mint green is not a favourite colour and in hindsight I probably should have used a different green and I would be much happier with this card. I do love the Kaiser image which incorporates the words Believe, Peace and Joy.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Birthday Ryan

Hello everyone,

Today's card is for my brother-in-law. He lives out of town so this card has to go in the mail which means no bulk. I decided to use Saturday's Waltzingmouse sketch as a jumping off point.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Old Olive as is the corner piece. The patterned paper is BasicGrey Oliver. The red strip is Quickutz Garden Stripz. The sentiment, Hero Arts Small Greetings, is stamped in Old Olive ink on a scrap of Whisper White.

This will be a great card for my brother-in-law. Clean and simple, no frou frou or glitz. Perfect! This was an awesome sketch to work with and lent itself very well to the kind of card I needed. Of course, I always turn to BasicGrey and Oliver perfect for a male card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Birthday Papa

Hello everyone,

As this post title suggests, today's card is for my Father's birthday which we are celebrating next weekend. He is turning 70. I used last Wednesday's Truly Scrumptious challenge, a birthday card, and sketch to get started.

The background paper is DCWV Retro Prints. The horizontal layers are Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, textured with Cuttlebug's Birds & Swirls, and Ruby Red, bordered with Martha Stewart's Optic Drop punch. The cardinals are cut from Ruby Red with Spellbinders Cardinal Family die and highlighted with Black Soot Stickles. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Riveting stamped on a scrap of Whisper White. The ribbon is Offray Sidesaddle.

My dad will love this card! It is perfect for him. He has always had a great affinity for animals and nature and the last couple of decades has been especially interested in birds. I bought the cardinal dies because I thought I'd be able to craft all kinds of neat things for him. I don't think I'll be disappointed.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Don't Look Mom

Hello everyone,

November, like September, is a month full of birthdays for me. Both my parents and my brother-in-law are getting cards. I'm starting with my Mom's because my daughter and I spent a great day with her today so she is on my mind. I started out with last Sunday's awesome Card Positioning Systems sketch and this Wednesday's Sisterhood of Crafters put forward a Birthday card challenge.

The background paper is Bazzill Bling. The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus. The sentiment, Hero Arts Thoughtful Messages, is stamped on a scrap of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla. The images are Basic Grey Filigree. The border is cut with Martha Stewart Quilted Edge punch. The three flowers are cut with Spellbinders Kaleidoscope Pendant. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Mocha Opaques.

I love this card and I know my Mom will as well. Her favourite colour is red so virtually each card I make her will incorporate some red. My Mom is also a fantastic quilter so this particular Martha Stewart punch was particularly appropriate. This sentiment, done with the embellishments, is one of my favourites and I've used it a number of times.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Glitter & Gold

Hello everyone,

Today's card is all about glitter and snowflakes. It is a card, like earlier this week, that meets a ton of challenges. I started with today's Friday Sketchers sketch challenge. Tuesday offered a glitter challenge from Flourishes Timeless Tuesday and snow or snowflakes from A Spoonfull of Sugar. On Wednesday the ABC Challenge was a holiday card, Caardvarks asked for a holiday card with die cuts and For Fun Challenges wanted dry embossing. This week's Cute Card Thursday is an anything goes challenge, the Terrifically Thrilling Thursday challenge was anything goes with Christmas and Thursday's Just Add Ink challenge was a Christmas Card. Finally, today's Christmas Stamping All Year Long is looking for stripes. Ten challenges, one card, amazing!


The background layer, the horizontal stripe and the sentiment layer are a shimmery gold paper of unknown origin. The patterned layer is Anna Griffin Georgette Christmas which is textured with Sizzix Snowflakes. The horizontal gold stripe and the Stampin' Up shimmery white layer are textured with Cuttlebug's Winter Wonderland folder. The vertical stripes are Stampin' Up Soft Suede covered with Glitter Ritz warm transparent micro fine glitter. The focal image is a scrap of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla covered with more micro fine glitter over which a Peel Off's Xmas Ball sticker was applied. The snowflakes are Spellbinder Build a Snowflake 1 and 2. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions.

I love this card. The shimmery gold paper has to be one of my favourite papers ever. Of course, you can never use too much glitter.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Lest We Forget

In honor of our fallen soldiers on this Remembrance Day.

Coloured Snowflakes

Hello everyone,

Just a reminder, clean and simple cards are not easy. Today's card, based on this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge, took five tries before it actually worked and it isn't perfect. The challenge was to use five colours on a one layer card. Not necessarily an easy task but certainly doable. I tried an idea that I'd had floating around for the last couple of weeks and it worked! I love it when that happens.

The card base is from Recollections. The images, Stampin' Up Serene Snowflakes, Snow Swirled and Snow Burst, are stamped in Crushed Curry, Early Espresso, Rich Razzleberry, Taken With Teal and Tangerine Tango, and heat embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl. The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Holly Branch. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Bitty Sparkles.

I think this card is even better than my idea. I've been wanting to play with the Silver Pearl embossing powder and the different colours of ink and this was the perfect opportunity. The Silver Pearl is just amazing and the snowflakes turned out wonderfully. I have to say, the photo doesn't do it justice as my camera (which is held together with an elastic) just doesn't like white space. Thank goodness for cropping.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Good Luck

Hello everyone,

Given all the challenges I used in yesterday's card, I decided today to only use one sketch challenge for this card. A great colleague is moving on to a new job and he just can't leave without getting a card. I used Monday's 2 Sketches 4 You to get me started.

The patterned and teal layers are Basic Grey Oliver. The teal layer is textured with the Cuttlebug Pop Culture border folder. The silver layers are from Canford. The black layers are of unknown origin from the scrap bin. The sentiment is Waltzingmouse Say It With Style. The focal point outline is also Waltzingmouse Very Vintage Labels No. 4 and is cut with a Spellbinders Nestability die.

I really like this card though it is 'darker' than I intended. I was hoping for masculine not morbid. Still, it will work for this colleague. He is a great guy and I will miss him so maybe I'm feeling rather blue at the loss. I have to say this is the first time that I've used the Canford silver paper and I actually like the result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Celebrating the Season

Hello everyone,

Sometimes a short break is a really good thing. Between the garden, laundry, visiting and homework, card making just didn't happen this weekend. I think I've made up for it with today's card. This card was requested by my boss (gulp - no pressure) for a visiting male colleague. I worked this card into so many challenges from the past seven days it is amazing! I never use this many challenges on one card! I started with Saturday's Unscripted Sketches. Saturday's One Stop Craft Challenge and today's Crafty Cardmakers both asked for embossing. This week's Paper Sundaes challenge was 'Let It Snow' and Wednesday's ABC Christmas Challenge was W for Winter Wonderland. Finally, the ABC Challenge for the past two weeks has been G is for glitter.

The background paper is Webster's Paper Winter Wonderland Collection "Twinkle" which was dry embossed with the Sizzix Snowflakes plate. The layers are Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy, River Rock and Very Vanilla. The Bravo Burgundy layer was dry embossed with the holly Cuttlebug folder. The image is Gina K's Tree Silhouettes which is highlighted with Glitter Ritz Warm Micro Fine Glitter. The sentiment is Impression Obsession (IO) Christmas Sentiments. The snowflakes are cut from a scrap of Very Vanilla covered with more glitter and cut with Spellbinders Shapeabilities Create A Flake 1 and 2.

I love this card! To me, it is a perfect card for my boss to give to a visiting colleague. It is very wintry but not overly feminine even with the glitter. I think the Bravo Burgundy and River Rock are a great colour combination and with that bit of glitter, awesome! What astounds me even more is the number of challenges I applied to this card. I usually keep it to just a couple because I otherwise find the card becomes more about the challenges than the card. That just didn't happen with this card. Maybe I'm just getting better at it.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

O Holy Night

Hello everyone,

Sometimes, when a card just isn't working, the best thing to do is put it aside. Today's card is such a card. I just couldn't get it to work last night. I had all kinds of bits and pieces but it just wasn't coming together. That certainly changed today thanks in part to Just Add Ink which provided the sketch, today's Winter Wonderland was looking for a Christmas Carol card, and yesterday's Cute Card Thursday asked for a project with vellum.

The background paper is BoBunny Snowy Serenade Concerto. The image, stamped on vellum, is Stampin' Up Holy Triptych which is heat embossed with Close To My Heart gold embossing powder. The image is layered on a piece of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions also stamped on Very Vanilla, heat embossed in gold and layered on a piece of gold paper of unknown origin. The ribbon is Wrights Matte Gold. The embellishments are also of unknown origin.

I'm so glad I didn't force this card last night. It turned out so beautifully and is absolutely what I pictured in my mind. I've coveted this stamp set from the moment my Stampin' Up demonstrator first showed it to me. I'm glad I finally picked it up. I love the effect of heat embossing on vellum as it adds a certain depth to the card that you just don't get when stamping directly on paper.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Noel

Hello everyone,

As easy as yesterday's card was crafted, today's took forever. Thank goodness there are so many really wonderful challenges in blogland because I really needed them for today's card. I started with this month's In Style Stamps Blog sketch. challenge. Today's C.R.A.F.T. Challenge was to incorporate dry embossing while Charisma Cardz asked for a Christmas card.

The background paper is Close To My Heart New Englad Ivy which is embossed with a Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland folder. The patterned layer is Close To My Heart Mistletoe. The image is Inkadinkado Holiday Silhouettes, stamped on a piece of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla in Wild Wasabi and heat embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl. The sentiment was cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Label Four. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Pearl Opaques.

For as difficult as this card was to craft, it certainly turned out beautifully. I love how Inkadinkado has incorporated holiday images within the overall image. They always turn out wonderfully and heat embossing makes it really special. This card is actually very simple which allows the image to really shine.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Kindness

Hello everyone,

When I read today's One Layer Wednesday challenge there was no way I wasn't going to participate. Susan Raihala has learned that a group of women who make cards for prisoners in the North Dakota State Penitentiary to send to their loved ones has been inspired by the one layer cards crafted for the weekly challenges. Recently a warden has placed strict limits on what can be used on the cards - no layers, no metal, no gemstones, no pearls, limited glitter. So today's challenge is to make a one layer Christmas card following the rules put forward by the North Dakota State Penitentiary.

The vanilla card base is from Recollections. The image is Stamps Happen, Inc. Swirl of Holly. It is stamped in Color Box gold, heat embossed with Close To My Heart gold embossing powder and coloured with Sakura Gelly Roll Gold Shadow pens. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions.

I love this card. Yes, it is yet another holly image but, I've got the stamps so I may as well use them. I also can't help using the Gold Shadow pens over and over as the effect is just amazing. The simplicity of this card is perfect. It is wonderfully clean and simple and certainly elegant.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmastide

Hello everyone,

Today's card started with Monday's Lunchtime Sketch Challenge and was inspired by the paper which I just love working with.

All the paper is Little Yellow Bicycle 25 Days of Christmas and Stampin' Up Whisper White. The background layer was textured with the Sizzix Flourish plate. The image is Denami Design Christmas Holly Vine which was stamped with Color Box gold, clear heat embossed and coloured with Sakura Gelly Roll Gold Shadow pens. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions.

I love that this sketch really allowed me to play up the beautiful Little Yellow Bicycle paper. It is thick, rich and smooth and just wonderful on my cards. I know I should probably back off of the holly images but to be honest, I've so many that I'd really like to just use them over and over and over. I like how the Gold Shadow ink has come out much differently with the gold outline as opposed to the black. This is an interesting discovery that I will have fun exploring.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Pink & Peaceful

Hello everyone,

When I first came across Friday's Stamp Something pink challenge, I started thinking about how I could incorporate pink into a Christmas card. I think I managed it. I used Sunday's Stars and Stamps sketch to get started. This card also fits Sunday's Paper Players anything goes challenge.

The card base is from Recollections and is stamped with Stampin' Up Serene Snowflakes. The layers are Canford Silver and Stampin' Up Pink Pirouette. The pink layer was textured with Cuttlebug's Winter Wonderland dry embossing folder. The image is Heartfelt Creations Elegant Snowflake Medallions, heat embossed with Close To My Heart silver pearl and cut with Spellbinders Holly Ornamentn Die Cut. The sentiment is Gina K Vintage Borders. The entire card is highlighted with Diamond Stickles.

I really love this card. It is so soft and elegant and peaceful. I don't usually see pink as a Christmas colour but I think it really works with this card. I love the hints of silver as it lends that little bit of sheen that adds to the elegance.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle