Glittered Ornaments

Hello everyone,

From the moment I saw the inspiration photo for yesterday's Colour Create Challenge, I knew I was going to make a card. It was just too beautiful to resist and so much fun to create.

The card base is from Strathmore. The horizontal background strips are Close To My Heart Ocean and Purple Pansy both of which were textured with Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirl. The background ornament is Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornament cut in Stampin' Up Whisper White, glittered with Glitter Ritz Cool Microfine Glitter and textured with Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirl. The remaining ornaments and dots are Ocean and Purple Pansy glittered in the same fashion as the background ornament and layered with Peel Off's Xmas Bulbs. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Short & Sweet.

I love everything about this card. The ornaments, the colours, the glitter, the layers. I find all of these elements extremely appealing and they came together so very beautifully. This just might be another keeper for me.

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

Gisèle

Birds and Trees

Hello everyone,

From the moment I read today's One Layer Wednesday challenge - to use two elements either birds, bees, flowers or trees - I had an idea percolating. This card doesn't even come close to the idea that I had in my mind.

The card base is from Strathmore. The images are Stampin' Up Lovely As A Tree and Verve Forever In Our Hearts. The sentiment is also Verve Forever In Our Hearts. Everything is stamped in Nick Bantock Charcoal Grey. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Licorice Opaques.

I just love this card. It is, to me, what a clean and simple card ought to be. I ended up going monochromatic because I was using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to properly place the image. I wanted to see what it would look like so I just grabbed the nearest ink pad. I was going to use markers and ink spots and make is a lovely scene. Once I saw that beautiful grey, I just couldn't stop myself from stamping it on the card. I think this card is so stunning, I'm going to keep it for myself.

I know this type of card isn't for everyone but I do hope you still enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Metallic Christmas

Hello everyone,

There are literally hundreds of card and paper challenges online and some of them stay in my mind long after the challenge has closed. I just can't make cards for all the challenges that appeal to me during the week. Today's card was inspired by one such challenge. Last Wednesday Susan Raihala's One Layer Wednesday challenge was Heavy Metal - to use something metallic on a one layer card.

The card base is from Strathmore. The image is from Inkadinkado, stamped with Stampin' Up Elegant Eggplant and heat embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions. The embellishments are Jolee's Jewels.

I love, love, love this card. It is simple and elegant and beautiful. This image appealed to me from the first moment I saw it and I can't wait to explore all its possibilities. It is certainly suited for some bling embellishments. I just have to mention my favourite embossing powder, CTMH Silver Pearl. It creates a different look depending upon the base ink colour. This embossing powder is amazing! Of course, no clean and simple card is easy - this one took me three tries.

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

Gisèle

Season's Greetings

Hello everyone,

Another Christmas card tonight. This one is just slightly non-traditional. I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch as well as the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge to use layers and Paper Sundaes challenge to use old stash items.

The card base is from Strathmore. The background paper and horizontal strip is part of an old stash of Stampin' Up Ski Slope designer paper. The image is also Stampin' Up, Scandinavian Season, stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and layered on a scrap of Chocolate Chip. The sentiment is Impression Obsession Christmas Sentiments also stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and layered on a scrap of Old Olive. The image and designer paper is highlighted with Star Dust Stickles.

I really like this card. I've loved the Ski Slope paper since I first laid eyes on it and use it sparingly so it will last. I also fell in love with this stamp set at first glance but don't use it as often as I should. Maybe I'll make up for it this year.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Stripes

Hello everyone,

There have been so many great sketches over the past few days it's been hard to stay focused. I just had to give Mercy's Tuesday Sketch a try this week. I also decided to pair it with Sunday's Pile It On challenge which was to use four or more embossing folders.

The card base is from Strathmore. The background paper is Sandylion Poinsettia Swirl. The vertical stripes are Close To My Heart Vineyard Berry textured with four of Cuttlebug's Winter Wonderland embossing folders and Cuttlebug's Holly embossing folder. The sentiment is Annabelle Holly Branch stamped on a scrap of Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on a scrap of Handsome Hunter. The ribbon is Wrights Matte Gold. The embellishments are from Multicrafts.

This card is as good as I'd pictured in my mind. I loved the sketch when I first saw and I loved it even more when I had the card made. I thought the different Cuttlebug would be just strange but I think doing it in all the same paper made it work.

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

Gisèle

Christmas Mittens

Hello everyone,

I just couldn't resist this week's Papertake Weekly challenge. It is it's third anniversary and this week's challenge was to pick our favourite challenge from the past three years. It was a ton of fun to go through the blog and see what's been posted and it was impossible to choose just one. I finally decided on the sketch from February 23rd, 2010. The challenges for April 14th, 2008 and November 3rd, 2008 was glitter, gems or sparkle. The challenge for May 11th, 2010 was shiny , sparkly and special. The challenge for July 28th, 2008 was Christmas. The challenge for April 28th, 2008 was embossing. Ultimately, you just had to use all of your favourite things because the variety of the challenges put forward by Papertake weekly will cover absolutely everything a card maker could love!

The card base is from Strathmore. The background paper is Close To My Heart New England Ivy textured with Sizzix Holly and Berries embossing plate. The patterned paper is also Close To My Heart Mistletoe paper packet layered on a piece of Quickutz Quickstripz Manhatten. The red stripe is Quickstripz Tropical. The image is a Close To My Heart Glitter Rub-on adhered to a scrap of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and layered on a piece of Anna Griffin's Christmas Scrapbook paper pack. The sentiment is Impression Obsession Christmas Sentiments.

This was a really fun card to craft. Going through Papertake Weekly's blog to look at all the challenges was fabulous. What a great group of wonderfully talented card makers. If you have a chance to check it out, take some time to explore the blog, it is so inspiring.

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

Gisèle

Teen Birthday

Hello everyone,

It feels so good to be back. Today's card was commissioned by a close friend whose teenage son has a teenage girl's (not girlfriend) birthday party to attend. I promised her that I could deliver the perfect card for him to give to her. I used Sunday's Card Positioning Systems sketch as a jumping-off point. Monday's Ooh La La Creations challenge was to use a sentiment as a focal point. No problem.

The card base is from Strathmore. The paper is all Stampin' Up - Elegant Soiree, Baja Breeze, textured Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Whisper White. The sentiment is Penny Black Happy, Happy.

I just love this card. I think it is perfect for a couple of teenaged friends. Not too frou frou for a boy to give but elegant enough for a girl to enjoy. I fell in love with the Elegant Soiree paper when I first saw it in the new Stampin' Up idea book and it was the first item on my last order. I suspect I'll need to order a second package.

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

Gisèle

Clean & Simple Birthday Owls

Hello everyone,

Well, after a pretty long absence, I'm finally back. Vacation is over. Renovations and painting are finished. Back to work and school was survived. My laptop, which died, is up and running once again. I'm feeling like my creative mojo is back!

September and October are full of birthdays for me. I used last week's One Layer Wednesday recipe challenge, to use three images and one sentiment, to craft this card. It only took me two tries but I think this is a really cute card.



The card base is from Strathmore. The images are Close To My Heart You're A Hoot stamped in Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip and Old Olive. The sentiment is Close To My Heart Celebration stamped in Stampin' Old Olive.

I love these little owls. One of my best friends loves all things owl so I bought this set because I thought I'd get a lot of use from it. This was a really fun card to put together although it took tremendous will power to leave the glitter and embellishments on the shelf.

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

Gisèle

Birthday's Galore

Hello everyone,

I'm back! Posting will likely still be irregular for the next couple of weeks, at least until we finish the painting the final bedroom.

September is a month full of birthdays. This card was commissioned by a colleague for another colleague. This card meets three challenges - Saturday's Card Patterns Sketch, today's Happily Ever Crafter challenge was to use gold and today's Fab 'n Funky offered up a whatever challenge.

The card base is from Strathmore. The background paper is Stampin' Up textured Rich Razzleberry. The horizontal layer is Stampin' Up Night of Navy, textured with Close To My Heart gold embossing powder and the Stampin' Up Cornelli Lace Jumbo Wheel. The vertical stripe is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry designer series paper. The ribbon is Michael's Sheer Creations. The personalization is Making Memories Diva Shimmer Alpha Stickers affixed to a scrap of Stampin' Up Whisper White and layered on a scrap of gold paper. The embellishments are Crystal Sticker Cabochons.

I really like this card. My colleague had specific colour, personalization requests and glitter. This certainly fits the bill. I know our colleague will love this card.

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

Gisèle