Retro Merry Christmas

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is the final Christmas card of the year!

The card base is Recollections Vanilla.  The printed paper is October Afternoon Silent Night layered on Stampin' Up Lost Lagoon.  The sentiment is Dee's Distinctively small Merry Christmas die, cut from Stampin' Up Ruby red and layered on a strip of Recollections Vanilla that was textured with Quickutz Ornaments Border embossing folder.  The card is highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.

The various elements of this card had been sitting on my desk for weeks until I finally had some time on Christmas afternoon to put them all together.  There is something about 'retro' that I find especially appealing.  It somehow seems especially fitting to think about better decades after the dumpster fire that has been 2020.  It's also a pretty nice capper to this year's cards if I do say so myself.

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

Gisèle

Sweet Santa I

Hello everyone,

The next number of posts are teacher Christmas cards that were commissioned by a girlfriend.

 

The card bases are Stampin' Up Mint Macaron.  The printed paper is Stampin' Up Home For Christmas designer series paper layered on a white of unknown origin.  The sentiments are October Afternoon Boughs & Berries and Creative Expressions Holly Jolly Sentiment stamped in Early Espresso on a white of unknown origin. The layer is Stampin' Up Real Red.  The embellishments are Stampin' Up Mint Macaron buttons and Target twine, and Michael's ribbon.

I really love making the Christmas cards for my friend's kids teachers.  I get to craft some really fun cards.  All her kids are boys so I try hard not to go too feminine but stick to kid-inspired.  This Santa paper is really sweet.  I like that it's quite traditional.  There are also lots of colours with which to coordinate.  I had a lot of fun choosing sentiments and embellishments and because these won't be mailed, I didn't have to worry about bulk.

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

Gisèle

A Banner Greeting

Hello everyone,

I'm still plugging away at posting the holly one sheet wonder series.  This particular cutting guides makes sixteen cards.  You better really love the paper when you end up with that many cards.

The printed paper is Stampin' Up Home For Christmas layered on Bazzill Cardinal red and Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow.  The sentiment is October Afternoon Boughs & Berries stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Very Vanilla.  The embellishment is Little Yellow Bicycle 25 Days of Christmas.  The printed paper is highlighted with Christmas Stickles.

I just couldn't help but add Stickles to one of these cards.  The berries in the printed paper are the perfect size for Stickles.  I chose to use it on this particular card because there was a fair bit of printed paper visible so the little hints of glitter are really wonderful.

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

Gisèle

Birthday Books

Hello everyone,

A couple of weeks ago I spent an afternoon stamping at a neighbor's and crafted a great bunch of cards.

The printed paper is October Afternoon Reading layered on Stampin' Up More Mustard and Night of Navy.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Joyful Birthday stamped in Midnight Muse on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Night of Navy and More Mustard.  The chevron banners were punched from Night of Navy and More Mustard.

This was another commissioned card.  A colleague's brother is a professor with a great love of books.  Using this paper for his birthday card was pretty straight forward.  I kept the card layout pretty simple because I didn't want to cover up any more of the book titles than necessary.  I didn't add any kind of embellishments outside the chevron banners again, so as much of the printed paper stayed visible.  I love the final result.

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

Gisèle

Merry Masculinity

Hello everyone,

Today card has to be one of the most masculine Christmas cards I've ever crafted.

The printed paper is October Afternoon Silent Night layered on Stampin' Up Sahara Sand and Mossy Meadow.  The images and sentiment are October Afternoon Boughs & Berries stamped on Whisper White in Always Artichoke and Soft Suede and layered on more Sahara Sand and Mossy Meadow.  The berries are highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.

Is this not the most fabulous masculine Christmas card?  I never thought I'd craft a Christmas card that exuded such masculinity.  Even with a bit of glitter, this is a great masculine card.  Obviously, I kept everything neutral and natural to coordinate with the background paper.  I debated using different shades of brown but once I held up this Sahara Sand, I knew it was the right choice.  I love Mossy Meadow and felt that it worked better than a brown for layering.  It also coordinates with the stamped images.

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

Gisèle

Merry Little Mice

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card is all about fun!

The printed paper is October Afternoon Silent Night layered on Stampin' Up Ruby Red.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Christmas Message stamped in Ruby Red on Whisper White and layered on more Ruby Red.  The horizontal element is Martha Stewart Infinite Loops punched in Ruby Red.  The embellishments are EK Success Shimmering Silver Dots.

When I first decided it was time to do a super fun card, I thought this paper would be just the ticket.  These mice are so darn cute.  I thought it would be so easy but I was wrong.  It's all because these mice are not the right scale.  They are the right size but there is too much space in between them which makes placing the sentiment and the infinite ribbon a real challenge.  To top it all, the colours were so hard to coordinate.  You'd think with all the shades of blue in my paper stash, I'd have one that would work with this paper.  Not so.  I really wanted to use something besides red but nothing I tried worked.  All that said, the red does look great and the card turned out pretty darn cute.

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

Gisèle

Sweet Santa

Hello everyone,

Today's charity Christmas card uses a couple of wonderful scraps and a great sticker.  Easy peasy!

The textured card base is DCWV.  The printed papers are October Afternoon Silent Night.  The image is Imaginisce Sticker Stacker.

I'm not sure a crafting a card could get any easier.  A couple of decent sized pieces of wonderful scrap paper and a great sticker.  I picked this sticker because it's style was more 'vintage' like the paper.  At first, the whiteness of the sticker had me doubting but once I held it up to the card, I decided I could live with it.

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

Gisèle

Just Mom

Hello everyone,

I had a number of Mother's Day commission cards to craft and I'll be posting them over the next few days.

The printed paper is October Afternoon Reading layered on Recollections Kraft and Close To My Heart Crystal Blue.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Loved Ones stamped in Close To My Heart Tulip ink on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Kraft.  The embellishments are brads of unknown origin.

This particularly special Mom is a real book lover so when I found this sheet of paper at a local craft store, I knew it was perfect.  I love the vintage feeling of the paper and the titles on the book spines are a riot.  I've had these brad for so long that I've no idea where I bought them.  They work perfectly in colour and design that they should have come with the paper.

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

Gisèle

Decking The Chalkboard

Hello everyone,

I love today's Christmas card!

The printed paper is October Afternoon Silent Night layered on Core'dinations Jim Holtz Kraft Core Shattered Collection.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Christmas Messages stamped in Cherry Cobbler on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Core'dinations.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.

This great paper makes for a very quick and easy card.  I love the red, black and vanilla colour combination.  The chalkboard effect is all the rage right now and though I don't often get on board the latest crazes, this is one I couldn't resist.  The elements are really very minimal with the red ribbon adding just that little extra interest.  This is a favourite layout, one I use frequently.

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

Gisèle