A Holy Night

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very serene Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla.  The image is Inkadinkado stamped in Altenew Desert Night on Very Vanilla and layered on Midnight Muse.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions also stamped in Altenew Desert Night.  The embellishments are Close To My Heart Bitty Sparkles.

I' love this image and it's one I use often when crafting Christmas cards.  It's a great size for a card and allows for great embellishments.  I've also found it excellent for heat embossing.  In this case, I added a sentiment but it truly doesn't need one.  It's a great result as usual.

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

Gisèle

Perfect Poinsettias

 Hello everyone,

Today's card is a pretty poinsettia Christmas card.

The card base is a mirrored blue of unknown origin.  The printed paper is also of unknown layered on a white of unknown origin and a shimmery dark pink Bazzill.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more dark pink and mirrored blue.  The embellishment is a Recollections dimensional sticker.

I love the juxtaposition of the softness of the printed paper against the shine of the mirrored card base.  It shouldn't work but for some reason I find it quite pleasing.  I love the traditional sentiment which works well with the traditional poinsettia images.  I don't think I chose the best embellishment but it's not the worst either.  It's still a great result.

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

Gisèle

More Merry Snowmen

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely snowman Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Real Red.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite on Recollections White and layered on more Real Red.  The snowmen embellishments are Recollections.

This card is another fairly neutral card.  I will admit that this isn't my favourite paper is this series, the images are spaced a little too far apart and they're in rows.  I used it anyway because I really loved the background colour and the little pops of red.  The embellishments are pretty thick so this card won't be mailed.

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

Gisèle

New Year Greetings

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a rare New Year's card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a glittered white and a shimmery light blue both of unknown origin.  The snowflakes were cut with a variety of mirrored paper with a Cricut and are highlighted with Silver Stickles.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Altenew Desert Night on Recollections White.

For some bizarre reason, my Grandmother-in-law didn't received her Christmas card this year.  Either it got lost or I forget to send her one (highly unlikely!).  I know she really appreciates every card I send her so she was devastated not to get a Christmas card.  I decided to make it up by crafting her this special New Year's card.  The more shiny and more glitter the better!  I know she'll be pleased.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card post is an extremely traditional card.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is is of unknown origin.  The vertical border element is a gold of unknown origin cut with Martha Stewart's Gothic Arches border punch and highlighted with Golden Rod Stickles.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla.  The ribbons are American Crafts and Offray.

I found this stamped sentiment in the stash of leftovers and it seemed only logical to use it for this series of Christmas card.  I thought the points on the border punch mimicked the points on the poinsettias.  I couldn't choose a ribbon so experimented with layering two different one and love the results.  A little splash of gold is perfect for a traditional card.

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

Gisèle

Delightfully Downtown

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a retro-styled Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Bashful Blue.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a vanilla also of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishment is a Maildor sticker.

This was a super quick and easy card.  This scrap of printed paper was the perfect scale for a card and I love the vintage style.  I had fun going through the ridiculous stash of Christmas sentiments to find one that was long but skinny to fit the space at the bottom of the card.  I debated embellishments for a while but eventually settled on this small simple holly sticker.

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

Gisèle

Natural Greetings

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card is much more on the traditional side.

The images are Stampin' Up Watercolor Winter stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Altenew Evergreen, and Close To My Heart Tulip on Recollections Vanilla.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Early Espresso.  The poinsettia is highlighted with Gold Pearl Liquid Pearls.  The focal panel is layered on a mirrored red and a shimmery brown of unknown origin.

As much as I may have buyers regret of the two-step Christmas stamped I tried a few days ago, this stamp I've loved ever since the first time I used it.  I used every image in this set and while at first i thought I may have gone a little far, I actually really like the results.  Notwithstanding the gold center of the poinsettia, I couldn't figure out where else to add embellishments so I used a thin reveal on the layers.  It works as a great contrast for the naturalness of the images.

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

Gisèle

Wordy Holiday Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card is a classic but for the amazing background paper.

The printed paper is BasicGrey layered on a gold of unknown origin and Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The image is Inkadinkado stamped in Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy on Recollections Vanilla.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions stamped in Bravo Burgundy of Recollections Vanilla and layered on more gold.  The embellishments are ZVA Creative.

I don't think you could really consider BasicGrey papers classic so it was rather fun to use this paper in a very traditional manner.  The burgundy and gold as well as the background image and classic font of the sentiment shouldn't work together but this is an awesome result.  I wish I had more of this great BasicGrey paper because I could come up with a bunch of different applications.

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

Gisèle

All Snowflakes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another Christmas card crafted with some great Italian paper.

The printed paper is Grafiche Tassotti layered on Bazzill Bitter Chocolate.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla.  The embellishments were punch from more Bitter Chocolate and highlighted with White Opal Liquid Pearls.

I really like this paper with it's beautiful snowflakes and vintage feel.  I'm not sure what I was thinking however with dark brown snowflakes.  I know the brown makes them visible against the paper and the sentiment but snowflakes shouldn't be brown.  In hindsight, I should have made a brown vertical strip, wider than the sentiment, affixed the sentiment then punched vanilla snowflakes.  This isn't a bad card, it's just a little weird.

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

Gisèle

Quilted Wishes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another Christmas card crafted during my recent blitz.

The printed paper is Echo Park "Christmas Cheer" Cozy Quilt layered on Stampin' Up Basic Black.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Altenew Jet Black on Whisper White and layered on more Basic Black.  The card is highlighted with Candy Cane Stickles.

This Christmas card is yet another quick and easy card.  The paper is so wonderful, I kept the layout really straight forward so as to not cover up any more of the paper than necessary.  I choose to use black again because I've been so pleased with the other cards in which I've used black.  The black also works particularly well with the black hexagons that are visible.

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

Gisèle

Ornaments In A Row

Hello everyone,

Today's post uses another strip of Christmas paper that I just couldn't resist.

The printed paper is Echo Park "I Love Christmas" Border Strips layered on a red and green Bazzill.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farm Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Altenew Jet Black on Stampin' Up Whisper White.  The cording is of unknown origin.

This was another really easy card to craft because of this great paper.  I often find that using striped paper from a 12 X 12 sheet can be challenging because the scale of the images are not always right for cards, especially these smaller ones.  The options can be pretty limited.  This isn't the case with this card.  These ornaments are just perfect!  The row or ornaments inspired me to use the cording as if they were hanging.  I so love this card!

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

Gisèle

Christmas Swap

Hello everyone,

I'm going to a crop in a few weeks and will be participating in a Christmas card swap.  Today's post is the card I'll be sharing.

The printed paper is BoBunny "A Gift of Love" Noel Holly layered on Bazzill Bitter Chocolate and another Bazzill Green.  The image is Sweet & Sassy Christmas Silhouettes stamped in Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow on Recollections Vanilla and cut with a coordinating die.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions also stamped in Mossy Meadow and punched from Recollections Vanilla.  The embellishment is Eyelet Outlet Square Red Jewels.

I've never agonized over a Christmas card like I did this card.  I couldn't make a decision on either the layout or the elements.  The only thing I stuck with was the Kraft card base.  All that said, I'm pretty happy with the final result.  I think everything eventually came together pretty well.  It certainly was a tough haul.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Wishes

Hello everyone,

After a bit of a break to do some gardening work, I'm back with some great Christmas cards.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Home For Christmas layered on Mossy Meadow and Bazzill Cardinal red.  The Mossy Meadow layer was textured with Embossalicious Die'sire Holiday Holly embossing folder.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Very Vanilla and layered on more Cardinal.  The sticker is Jolee's Boutique Christmas Stockings Repeat.

The next few posts are one sheet wonder cards that I started crafting at a recent day long crop.  I didn't get as much done (only five cards and some painting) as I'd hoped, but I don't think you ever do at these types of events.  Regardless, I'm very happy with these cards.  This holly paper is utterly gorgeous and really got my creativity flowing.  It's holly so that just puts me in a happy place.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker Suite I

Hello everyone,

I've always been very vocal about how much I love crafting Christmas cards.  This next series are some of the best cards I think I've every made and some of my favourites of all time.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a burnished gold of unknown origin.  The die is layered on a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper and more burnished gold.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Stampin' Up Midnight Muse on Whisper White.  The nutcracker is highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999.

I picked up this amazing nutcracker die when I stopped in to visit a great paper crafting heaven - Ecstasy Crafts on my way to Toronto a few months back.  I won't say it was an impulse buy, but I really don't need any more carding supplies.  I won't say I forgot about it but it wasn't top of mind.  I came across it the other night and decided to play.  After I cut the first nutcracker, I was lost!  So very happily lost!

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

Gisèle

Poinsettia Greetings

Hello everyone,

I've crafted a few Christmas cards for the Fall charity card sale at the office.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a red of unknown origin and Stampin' Up Old Olive.  The image is Penny Black Joyous stamped in Old Olive and Ruby Red on Very Vanilla and layered on more red of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions on Very Vanilla and layered on more Old Olive.  The embellishments are EK Success Swarovski Elements.

This wonderful poinsettia paper was in the box of donated papercrafting supplies and is truly spectacular.  There was a large enough piece that I'll be able to craft a wonderful set of Christmas cards.  I had a few challenges with this stamp.  It's acrylic so doesn't take marker well at all.  I used a Stampin' Up ink spot to apply the ink.  I wasn't originally intended to use a tag punch for the sentiment but the shape works particularly well with the layout of this sentiment.  I hope I'll remember it next time when I come across a sentiment like this one.

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

Gisèle

Heavenly Holly

Hello everyone,

Today's post is of the Holly 'paint stroke' cards.

The image is Art Impressions Holly (UMV2113) coloured with Tombow 228 and 856 on Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and layered on Ridinghood Red.  The sentiments are Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions and Bonnidee Christmas Wording 3 stamped in Early Espresso.  The embellishments are Want 2 Scrap LeCreme Baby Bling pearls.

I think this is my favourite brush stroke stamp.  It isn't as straight forward to ink but it is so awesome when it is stamped!  Overall I kept the card really simple so as not to distract from the fabulous image.

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

Gisèle

Pretty Poinsettias

Hello everyone,

I was on a roll so pulled out some more 'brushstroke' Christmas images.

The image is Art Impressions Poinsettia (UMU2118) stamped in Stampin' Up Ridinghood Red on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Ridinghood Red.  The sentiments are Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions and Bonnidee Xmas Wording 3 stamped in Early Espresso.  The ribbon is Crafts.  The embellishments are Crystal Stickers 3mm gold glitter pearls.

I love this particular image!  It is so very easy to use.  Not only does it ink up incredibly well for a large stamp but placement options are limitless.  In these particular cases, because the cards are large, I opted to stamp the images with just a little bit going over the edge.  I love adding the sparkling embellishments in the flower center and having a similar glittering ribbon, was a bonus.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Marvelous English Multiples

Hello everyone,

The next couple of posts are for cards that make up the last two sets of Christmas cards sets for the Fall charity card sale.

The image is Rubbernecker stamped in Stampin' Up Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry, Lost Lagoon and Mossy Meadow on Whisper White and layered on more Blackberry Bliss, Crushed Curry, Lost Lagoon and Mossy Meadow.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions.  The images are highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.

I've done a few of these types of sets over the past few weeks.  Given some of my past issues with Christmas tree stamps, I found this particular image easy to work with as it has the long straight edge.  I love using the different ink colours with the coordinating solid paper.  These are generally really quick and easy cards.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Holly Greetings

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas in July card using the second half of the image I originally stamped for yesterday's card.

The printed papers are Kaisercraft Christmas Carol layered Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The image is Stampin' Up Watercolor Winter stamped on Recollections Vanilla with Early Espresso and Tombow 177 and 856, and layered on more Kaisercraft Christmas Carol and Early Espresso.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions stamped in Early Espresso.  The embellishments are EK Success Swarovski Elements.

I wanted this card to look entirely different from yesterday's card and I think I succeeded.  Both have a real vintage feel but this one is much darker.  I added a bit of sparkle because of the darker background as I thought it needed just a bit of shine.

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

Gisèle

Glittered Holly Ornament

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card is scraps and leftover and is utterly beautiful!

The printed paper is S.E.I. Holiday Traditions Trimming The Tree.  The background layer is Bazzill gold foil textured with Couture Creations Baubles & Baubles embossing folder.  The image is Elizabeth Craft Designs glittered with Martha Stewart glitter.  The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions stamped in Stampin' Up Real Red on Whisper White.

This is another of those things I've purchased that I just never had time to play with.  I love it!  I also have a tree and a gift embossing folder that I've yet to explore.  If they turn out anywhere near as good as this card, I'll be one very happy lady.

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

Gisèle