Wings All A Glitter

Hello everyone,

Today's birthday card post speaks to the butterfly lover in me.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Recollections Vanilla and Close To My Heart Baby Pink.  The butterfly is die cut with Spellbinders Wonderful Wings from Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz.  The butterfly was glittered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The sentiment is Gina K Pleasant Plurals stamped in Pear Pizzazz on Recollections Vanilla.

I just had to use this butterfly paper in this birthday card series.  As followers of I SPI will conclude, I love everything butterflies.  I find stripes can be a challenge on cards because no matter how you cut it (LOL), the stripes are never even.  The other odd thing about this paper is that the butterflies on every other row are upside down which I find this somewhat weird.  All that said, I love the pink and green colour combination and the butterflies are pretty darn cute.  This allayed my qualms about the upside down butterflies.

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

Gisèle

Ornaments A Shimmering V

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last of the shimmery green ornament cards that I crafted for a colleague before the holidays.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Cottage Cutz Filigree Ornament Trio from glossy paper smooshed with Ranger Clover, Wild Plum, Citrus, Watermelon, Cool Perl, Snow Cap and Pearl alcohol ink, and covered with DecoArt Crystal Glamour Dust.  The sentiment is Hero Arts CL722 heat embossed with Close To My Heart black embossing powder.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

I think this is my favourite of this series.  These embellishments are like tiny opalescent flowers that could have been made for this paper.  I chose them because of the flower in the center of the ornament.  This big bold black sentiment is really spectacular!  I enjoyed using this shimmery green paper more than I thought I would.  I suspect its because all of the ornament cards turned out really wonderful.

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

Gisèle

Ornaments A Shimmering IV

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another ornament Christmas card that a colleague commissioned before Christmas.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornaments are die cut with Elizabeth Craft Designs 761 Ornament Set 1 from glossy paper smooshed with Ranger Clover, Wild Plum, Citrus, Watermelon, Cool Perl, Snow Cap and Pearl alcohol ink, covered with DecoArt Crystal Glamour Dust and Paper Accents Mirror Silver Glossy card stock.  The embellishments are Crystal Stickers 5mm Silver Glitter Domes.

The original ornament card series was crafted without sentiments and I decided this series needed at least one sentimentless card.  I used these particular dies because they're so intricate and without a sentiment, they pop even more.  I have to say, the mirrored silver overlay of of these ornaments is utterly striking.  The glittered embellishments are also wonderfully working both with the silver overlay and the glittering underlay.  There is no such thing as too much glitter on a Christmas card.

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

Gisèle

Ornaments A Shimmering III

Hello everyone,

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas day!

I'm still blogging the Christmas card that I crafted before the holidays.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornaments are die cut with Poppy Stamps Brittany, Eddington and Tinsel Ornaments from glossy paper smooshed with Ranger Clover, Wild Plum, Citrus, Watermelon, Cool Perl, Snow Cap and Pearl alcohol ink, covered with DecoArt Crystal Glamour Dust and Paper Accents Mirror Silver Glossy card stock.  The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Holly Branch heat embossed with Close To My Heart black embossing powder.  The embellishments are of unknown origin.

This is somewhat of an unusual card for me as I decided to heat emboss the 'Merry Christmas' on this inside of the card.  I wish I'd thought to take a photo.  I didn't find a Christmas sentiment that fit well in this triangle layout so I chose to use a two-part sentiment.  This particular sent has a great first part that I thought worked particularly well with the snowflake and loopy mirrored silver overlay of the die cut.  I'm quite happy with the results and plan to give it a try with some other cards.

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

Gisèle

Ornaments A Shimmering II

Hello everyone,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Yet another glittered ornament Christmas card for you today.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The bell is a Cottage Cutz Filigree Ornament Trio die cut from glossy paper smooshed with Ranger Clover, Wild Plum, Citrus, Watermelon, Cool Perl, Snow Cap and Pearl alcohol ink and covered with DecoArt Crystal Glamour Dust.  The sentiment is Kaisercraft St. Nicholas heat embossed with Close To My Heart black embossing powder.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

I don't often use these particular dies because they are a total bear to release.  They're even more of a bear when using the glittered glossy paper.  The new Stampin' Up Precision Base Plate helps but there is just something about these dies that just doesn't work very well.  All that said, it was worth the aggravation because this card turned out beautifully.  I just love the bold black sentiment and with the heat embossed shine, it's really great!

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

Gisèle

Ornaments A Shimmering I

Hello everyone,

I'm certainly not finished with Christmas cards and have two commissioned sets for you over the next number of days.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornaments are die cut with Elizabeth Craft Designs 762 Ornament Set 2 from glossy paper smooshed with Ranger Clover, Wild Plum, Citrus, Watermelon, Cool Perl, Snow Cap and Pearl alcohol ink, covered with DecoArt Crystal Glamour Dust and Paper Accents Mirror Silver Glossy card stock.  The sentiment is Penny Black Christmas Cheer heat embossed with Close To My Heart black embossing powder.  The embellishments are of unknown origin.

One of my colleagues bought all the green base ornament cards I had crafted for the Fall Charity card sale and asked if I could make her a few more.  I was so pleased to use up some of this difficult green shimmery paper that I was only too happy to get crafting.  I didn't have this glossy mirrored silver paper when I crafted the first sets of cards and against the glittered ornaments, its just amazing!  For all that I've complained about these green card bases, these ornament cards have turned out so much better than I ever thought.

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

Gisèle

Texture and Glitter

Hello everyone,

This is the last post of the green card base ornament Christmas cards that I'll be donating to the Fall charity card sale at the office.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ornament is layered on a shimmery ivory that was textured with Sizzix Thin Ice embossing folder and layered on a shimmery pink of unknown origin.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone stickers.

I have to say I'm quite relieved to have used up so much of this shimmery green cardstock.  I really don't know what I was thinking when I bought such a big batch.  I could see one or two pieces but that's pretty much it.  I have had a lot fun crafting all these ornaments cards and challenging myself not to use sentiments.  I think they turned out really well and I hope they sell well.

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

Gisèle

Glittered Snowflake Trio

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another glittered ornament Christmas card from the series I've been crafting for the Fall charity card sale at work.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornaments are die cut with Memory Box Classic Ornament from Glossy white paper of unknown origin and Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ribbon is Offray Sheerly Yours.  The embellishments are Crafts.

I hadn't intended to craft another trio ornament card but some of the leftover glittered scraps were just big enough for this snowflake die.  I managed to squeeze three snowflakes from various pieces and I love that they're all different colours.  The glossy bottom layers were die cut pieces that I used a few days ago.  I'm glad I thought to cut some extras because this card is just wonderful!

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

Gisèle

Glitter Candy Bits

Hello everyone,

Another glittering ornament Christmas card post today.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up Silver 1/8".

I hope this card isn't too weird for everyone,  When I first saw this candy cane shape die, I was trying to figure out what they intended with it because it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the dies in the set.  Well when I was closing up the case, I realized this shape is actually the ornament hanger.  I didn't see it!  To be frank, I'm still not certain I do.  I've used it as a candy cane and this it is actually kind of cute.  I think I should have added some tiny embellishment to the candy crosses, and I actually still might before I put them on the sale table.

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

Gisèle

Sweeping Sweetness

Hello everyone,

It's been a busy and exhausting couple of days so I decided to take a bit of a blog break.  I'm back however with the final few charity Christmas ornament cards.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ornament base is a shimmery ivory of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Offray Sheerly Yours.  The embellishments are Recollections.

When I first started this series, I smooshed and glittered a full 8 1/2 X 11 sheet thinking I didn't have so many ornament dies and I'd be able to use the leftover for something else.  Well, I've finished using up all the bits and I've still got ornament dies I've not used.  That's rather scary.  I particularly love this layered ornament.  The sweeping lines are particularly lovely.  I added the snowflake/flower as an after thought and quite liked the results.  More ornament cards to follow!

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

Gisèle

Sparkle And Shine

Hello everyone,

I still have a few more green card bases and die cut ornaments to use up so I'm back to posting ornament Christmas cards.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Sizzix Delicate Ornaments Thinlets from glossy paper smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ornament base is a shimmery ivory of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up Silver 1/8".  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone strips.

I only recently got these Thinlets and you really need the new Precision Base Plate to get it to work.  One of the ornaments I still had to run through the Big Shot a second time.  I love how the intricate dies fit over the ornament base absolutely perfectly.  It really makes the intricacies of the top layer really stand out.  Of course I didn't intend to add bling but just couldn't resist.

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

Gisèle

Glittered And Glamorous

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another ornament Christmas card for the Fall charity sale at the office.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities 2010 Heirloom Ornament from glossy paper that was smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The embellishments are Recollections Rhinestone stickers.

This is another big and bold ornament that was going to be a challenge until I figured out the layers with yesterday's card.  All this space also allowed me to use some of the bigger, more sparkly embellishments in my stash.  The sparkle of the ornaments work so great with the glittered glossy paper.  It was really hard not to add sentiments to these two cards.  I love going big but it still seems like something is missing.  We'll have to see if these cards sell.

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

Gisèle

Glitter & Pearls

Hello everyone,

I'm having a wonderful time crafting these ornament Christmas cards.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities 2011 Heirloom Ornaments from glossy paper that was smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The embellishments are Annabelle Stamps pearls and pearl drops.

If you're not going to use a sentiment, you've got to go big and bold.  This ornament is both of those.  This size ornament required some embellishments if only to fill up some of the space. When I first pulled out this die I was determining the appropriate size when it occurred to me that using the nesting layers was the perfect way to use up the space.  It also gave me some ideas for tomorrow's ornament card.

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

Gisèle 

Ornament Trio

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another wonderful glittering Christmas card.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornaments are die cut with Marianne Design Creatables from glossy paper that was smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The embellishments are Annabelle Stamps pearls.

A trio is just right - design wise anyway.  I'm slowly making my way through all my ornament dies.  I love this ornament but have not used it often because it is really difficult to get it out of the die.  I recently picked up a Sizzix Precision Base Plate from Stampin Up and it really worked!  It's a little disturbing to place the die face down but the results were impressive.  This glitter glossy paper is a little on the sticky side, making it even more difficult to get out of the more intricate dies but not with this new plate!  Not one of my dies ended up in the garbage.

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

Gisèle

Pretty Pair

Hello everyone,

Another glittering ornament Christmas card today.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Memory Box Classic Ornament and Luca Ornament from glossy paper that was smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ribbon is Hobby Lobby Decorative Trim.

I seriously debating using just a pair of ornaments on this card because that goes against the design principle of 'threes' but, I can still the 'Z-pattern' layout (another design principle) and in a stretch, the two ornaments against the green background, is a 'three'.  Like the earlier cards, the beauty of these cards are the simple layouts using awesome die cut from glossy paper and well glittered, smooshed paper.  Beautiful!

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

Gisèle

Christmas Ornament Simplicity

Hello everyone,

Over the next few days, I'll be posting a series of fairly clean and simple ornament Christmas cards for the Fall charity card sale.  I'm fairly determined to keep them sentiment-less.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Elizabeth Craft Designs 762 Ornament Set 2 from glossy paper that was smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.

I think the beauty behind this card is the sheer simplicity of this delicate die cut ornament against the green background.  The glitter makes this ornament really sparkle and pop.  The glossy paper used for the bottom layer adds just a little more shine.  I debated adding embellishments to the swirls and snowflakes but decided to keep it just as is - simple.  Given I'm really not that fond of the shimmery green paper, you see an awful lot of it but the eye is drawn to the ornament which is really lovely.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Ornament

Hello everyone,

The charity card sale is coming up and we need a few more Christmas cards.

The card base is a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The ornament is die cut with Memory Box Drop Ornament and La Rue Ornament from glossy paper that was smooshed with Red Pepper, Meadow, Clover and Snow Cap Ranger Alcohol ink, then covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The ribbon is Hobby Lobby Decorative Trim.

I have a ton of this green shimmery paper that I find terribly difficult to work with so I decided to use it for card bases.  The charity card sale generally requires both French and English cards, but by going without sentiments, language is a non-issue.  Once I decided to go sentiment-less, I figured I needed to go with a beautiful bold image and this ornament really works.  The sparkle is really amazing and over the alcohol ink is one of my favourite techniques.

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

Gisèle

Sincerely Spring

Hello everyone,

The next couple of posts are more cards that use the glittered, alcohol inked paper that I have been experimenting with over the past few weeks.

The printed paper is Momenta Amylee Weeks layered on Stampin' Up Pear Pizzazz.  The image is Stampin' Up Blooming With Kindness stamped in Daffodil Delight, Marina Mist and Pear Pizzazz on Recollections White, layered on more Pear Pizzazz and White, and highlighted with Wink of Stella GL Clear 999.  The butterfly is die cut with Joy Crafts Floral Flourishes 6003/0006 from a piece of glossy paper that was inked with a variety of Ranger alcohol inks and covered with DecoArt Glamour Dust.  The sentiment is Rubbernecker Happy Birthday stamped in StazOn Timber Brown.

Like the die cut butterfly card from a couple of days ago, I didn't use a great background to highlight the butterfly.  It is much too camouflaged to really get the full impact of the butterfly.  I suppose, and I still might, deconstruct and try again with either just green or just yellow flowers.  It still a beautiful card but it could be better.  Live and learn!

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

Gisèle

Butterfly Blues

Hello everyone,

It seemed appropriate to play with some of my butterfly dies while I was alcohol inking and glittering.  The results just got better and better.

The printed paper is BasicGrey Out Of Print layered on Recollections Vanilla and Stampin' Up Baja Breeze.  The butterfly is Marianne Design COL1319 die cut  from alcohol inked glossy paper glittered with DecoArt Glamour Dust and stamped with StazOn Midnight Blue ink.  The sentiment is Avery Elle Oh Happy Day stamped in StazOn Midnight Blue on Vanilla, and layered on Baja Breeze and more Vanilla.  The embellishments are Doodlebug Baby Boy mini pearls.

These blues work together so much better than yesterday's.  I had planned to craft two different cards with these butterflies but when I started working on the layout, I liked the two together.  Like yesterday's card, I wasn't originally planning to add any embellishments but these pearls work beautifully with the card colours.  I suppose gems would have worked just as well.

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

Gisèle

Glittering Butterfly

Hello everyone,

I decided to try playing around with some alcohol ink techniques and while some worked, others didn't, so I just added some glitter.

The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Baja Breeze and Orchid Opulence.  The butterfly is Marianne Design COL1318 die cut  from alcohol inked glossy paper glittered with DecoArt Glamour Dust and stamped with StazOn Midnight Blue ink.  The sentiment is Avery Elle Oh Happy Day stamped in StazOn Midnight Blue on Whisper White and layered on more Orchid Opulence.  The embellishments are Crafts Gem Chic.

The ink is a little darker than I would like but I didn't think anything but StazOn would work over top of the glitter.  I didn't intend to use any other embellishments but that space needed to be fill up a little otherwise it looked like I forgot something.  This is not the best card in this alcohol inked butterfly series but it's not a bad card either.

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

Gisèle