Fancy Feathers

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a really sparkly 'birthday' card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Worldwin Silver Ore.  The sentiment is Flonz stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on a purple Bazzill.  The card is highlighted with Lime Green Stickles.

This is an awesome card! The pattern is wonderful with the rows of feathers being the perfect scale for a card.  There are tons of sparkly bits to catch your eye and send you to a happy place!  The purple/green colour combination is just wonderful.  I decided to layer with some burnished silver which was a great choice with the white of the feathers.  It's a great result.

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

Gisèle

Pretty Circles

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely pair of 'birthday' cards.

The card bases are The Paper Studio and Recollections Vanilla Linen Texture.  The printed paper is My Mind’s Eye “Deena’s Penny Lane” Graceful Circles layered on Close To My Heart Baby Pink and Stampin’ Up Certainly Celery.  The sentiments are Flonz Happy Birthday stamped in Stampin’ Up Early Espresso on Very Vanilla and layered on more Baby Pink and Certainly Celery.  The cards are highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The embellishments are Crafts Rhinestone Stickers.

This is some more very pretty paper.  I love all the paler pinks, blues and greens, which made coordinating solids really easy.  This set of Flonz sentiments is fantastic as there are a lot of options from which to choose and they're a great size for cards.  I love the bits of glitter from the rhinestone stickers!  More great results!

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

Gisèle

Winter Village Greetings

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a wonderful folk art Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Crumbcake.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections White and layered on more Early Espresso.  The glittered brad is of unknown origin.

There was just something about this printed paper that I found particularly appealing.  The folk art style is really wonderful and the colours are quite soothing.  I think I coordinated the font of the sentiment with the image style really well.  The glittered brad should be jarring but the colours matches the trees so perfectly that it doesn't seem at all over the top.  I think it's the perfect 2020 Christmas card!

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

Gisèle

Christmas Critters

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another really fun Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Darice Great White and a dark pink Recollections.  The sentiment is Flonz 808 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more Darice Great White and layered on more dark pink.  The card is highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen and Silver Stickles.

I couldn't resist the critters on this printed paper! I trimmed it carefully and used this particular layout so as not to cover either the dog or the bear.  The holly wreaths just added to my joy!  I also like the pink accents which lead me to choose the solid pink for layering.  It's an even better result than I'd imagined!

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

Gisèle

European Flare

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a beautiful European-inspired Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Recollections Black.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite on more Recollections White and layered on more Recollections Black.  The card is highlighted with Silver Stickles.

I love this card!  The shapes and design of the images has a European style and I just love the non-traditional colours.  I took advantage to use black and grey as coordinating colours and it couldn't have turned out better.  The Stickles adds a perfect amount of sparkle.  It's a fantastic result!

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

Gisèle

Polar Bear Fun

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a really fun Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is Photoplay Polar Games layered on Pacon green.  The sentiment is Flonz 804 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more Recollections White and layered on a blue of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with Xmas Red and Star Dust Stickles.

I will admit it was rather fun to craft such a jolly card after all the more formal Italian Christmas cards.  I sent this card to my cousin in Australia because I figured she'd love these bears!  It's so Canadian!  I love the angled sentiment and am so glad I've not shied away from this layout because it's just awesome!

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

Gisèle

Italian Christmas V

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last of the Christmas cards using the reproduction Italian paper.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Grafiche Tassotti Italian paper layered on a vanilla of unknown origin and Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more unknown vanilla and layered on a strip of Bravo Burgundy and Offray ribbon.  The snowflake embellishment were punched with two different paper punches from scrap pieces of vanilla and gold and were highlighted with Cranberry Stickles.

This is not my most favourite piece of the Italian reproduction paper.  I find it a bit of a challenge to find coordinate colours and red is just weird for snowflakes.  The dark dots are actually jewel images which is also strange.  All that said, this isn't a terrible card.  I think the layered snowflake embellishments work pretty well as does the burgundy and gold strip.  

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

Gisèle

Italian Christmas IV

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another great Christmas Greetings card.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Rossi 1931 layered on Simple Stories December Documented.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on a vanilla of unknown origin and layered on a strip of more Simple Stories December Documented.  The felt tree embellishments are from Artemio.

This is one of my favourites in this series.  I just love these rows of trees!  I'm not usually a fan of rows of images because they don't often work all that well on cards but these images are the perfect scale for a card.  I think these felt trees are absolutely perfect embellishments!  A fantastic result.

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

Gisèle

Italian Christmas III

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another Italian vintage style Christmas card.

The card bae is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Rossi 1931 layered on Pacon Red and Simple Stories December Documented.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on a vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more Pacon Red and Simple Stories December Documented.  The sentiment panel is highlighted with Holly Stickles.

I think this is another great card.  It was another mass produced using the replica Italian paper and the Flonz sentiment.  I will admit I didn't feel very imaginative but once I'd put all the elements together, I did try to change things up with embellishments.  This is definitely not my favourite way for crafting cards but when short on time, it works.

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

Gisèle

Italian Christmas II

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is another pair of Christmas cards using reproduction Italian paper.

The card bases are Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Grafiche Tassotti layered on Simple Stories December Documented.  The sentiment is Flonz 807 stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on a vanilla of unknown origin and layered on Pacon Red and more December Documented.  The embellishments are Mark Richards 3mm gold metals and Xmas Red Stickles.

I love both of these cards. Obviously they were part of a batch which I mass produced but as I was able to change things up a bit with each card I didn't get bored.  This great sentiment works great with the vintage style and convey the message perfectly in 2020.

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

Gisèle

Elegant Holly

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a simple Christmas holly card.

The card base is a vanilla of unknown origin.  The image is Impression Obsession Holly stamped in Close To My Heart Topiary on more vanilla of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 808 stamped in Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler.  The image/sentiment panel is layered on more Cherry Cobbler.  The embellishments are Crystal Stickers Red Glitter Dome stickers.

I truly love using holly images for Christmas cards and I've a ton of options from which to choose.  I don't use this particular one all that often because it is extremely intricate.  It would be best to use a green Versafine ink but I only have black.  I love the three red glittering 'berries' which, if I may say so myself, are very well placed.

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

Gisèle

Holiday Mittens

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a rather fun Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Crumb Cake.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 824 stamped in Altenew Sapphire on Recollections White.  The embellishments are of unknown origin and are highlighted with Cranberry Stickles.

This is another great piece of printed paper.  I love the mittens!  They are a little large in terms of scale but the randomness of the pattern helps make this a great paper for a card.  I love using these cookie cutter embellishments but because of the bulk, they can't go in a mailed card.  The layout is simple making this a very quick and easy card to craft.

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

Gisèle

Stockings Hung With Care

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a lovely Christmas stocking card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler.  The printed paper is Forever In Time layered on Stampin' Up Garden Green.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 808 stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections White.  The embellishments are Recollections Rhinestone stickers.

I love this stocking paper!  The traditional colours are perfect as are the hints on glitter that don't show in the image.  I think the font of the sentiment works great with the images and I love how the white strip just pops .  This is layout is one which I use often making this a very quick and easy card.

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

Gisèle

Smiling Santa

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great Santa Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla.  The background image is Stampendous Christmas Background stamped in Altenew Dark Night on Very Vanilla and layered on Cherry Cobbler.  The Santa image is Flonz stamped in Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla and layered on more Cherry Cobbler.

This care is a little less traditional even though the elements are quite vintage.  I'd purchased this Flonz Santa a few years ago and didn't quite know how I was going to use it.  I really love this particular application!  The background stamp is a very appealing collage of classic/vintage sentiments.  I love the grey/vanilla/red colour combination!  I debated adding embellishments but in the end, couldn't figure out how to apply them without it being over-the-top.  I'm just thrilled with the results and am looking forward to experimenting with the other Santa stamps I had purchased.

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

Gisèle

A Tiny Meadow

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very pretty birthday card.

The card base is Bazzill CS White.  The images are Stampin' Up Pocket Silhouettes stamped in Altenew Sweet Leaf, Pink Petal, Mango Smoothie and Lavender Fields.  The images are anchored by two strips of Stampin' Up Gold Foil tape.  The sentiment is Flonz Happy Birthday stamped in Altenew Pure Graphite.

I've done a similar card a long, long time ago.  This is a favourite stamp set with it's oh so delicate images.  I've seen it used for a wreath as well and it was awesome.  I use a variety of soft ink colours and love how they work together.  I debate adding a few gold jewels but with the two strips of gold tape, it would have been too much.  It's a great result!

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

Gisèle

Panda Bear Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a card I crafted for my sister's birthday earlier this month.

The card base is Darice white cardstock.  The image is Woodware Pandamonium stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on more Darice white and layered on Stampin' Up Berry Burst and Recollections Black.  The sentiment is Flonz Happy Birthday stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishments are Recollections Glitter Adhesive Dots.

My sister (and my daughter) have a thing for pandas so I've a fair number of panda bear stamps.  This one I found at Ecstasy Crafts a while ago.  I didn't really need another panda stamp but I really loved this row of cute bears.  It's a long and somewhat skinny stamp which is different and I think will allow a fair bit of creativity.

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

Gisèle

Such Pretty Poinsettias

Hello everyone,

Today's post is an awesome poinsettia Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade and Whisper White.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 808 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White and layered on more Lucky Limeade.  The card is highlighted with Lime Green Stickles.

I'm not always a big fan of the Christmas poinsettia but I just love this paper!  The colours are wonderful and offer tons of choices for coordinating.  I particularly love this pairing with Cherry Cobbler.  I wouldn't necessarily have thought of highlighting with lime green but along with Lucky Limeade it's a fantastic result!

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

Gisèle

Retro Ornaments

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very pretty ornament Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is Flonz Vintage Retro Christmas Gift layered on a light purple and a green Bazzill.  The sentiment is Darkroom Door Festive Ornaments stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The embellishment is Crafts and is highlighted with Lavender Stickles.

I think this is a very pretty card.  I love the classic images in the non-traditional colours.  It took me a bit to find coordinating colours for the layers simply because there were so many choices.  I settled on purple and green because it always works so well.  This sentiment is from a new set in which there are so many vertical options.  The brad, which I've had for eons, had a enamel insert which was easily removed and replace with Stickles - a much better option.

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

Gisèle

Holly and Snowflakes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is uses another lovely piece of Polish paper.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Decorer Merry Christmas layered on a red Bazzill.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 808 stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on more vanilla.  The embellishment is Martha Stewart.

Like Thursday's card, the scale of these images is a little on the large size but works quite well with a bigger card base.  I really love placing the sentiment on the diagonal but wish I could figure out how to center it better!  I debated adding any embellishments and tried a number of options until I found this felt holly.  I'm pretty sure it's from Martha Stewart but I'm not 100% as the packaging is long gone.

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

Gisèle

A Christmas Banner

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another very simple Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is Decorer Merry Christmas layered on Aspen Bazzill and a Recollections red.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 824 stamped in Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler on Recollections Vanilla.  The brads are Recollections.

I'm not usually that fussy on papers with rows of images as I find they don't always work well for cards.  In this case however I used a larger card base and the scale of the images are great.  I really love this Polish paper!  I added these tiny brads to each of the bows and as an anchor to the sentiment and really love the results.  In this instance, scale is everything!

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

Gisèle