Nutcracker Sophistication

Hello everyone,

My girlfriend asked me to craft a special nutcracker Christmas card for her mother.

The printed paper is Anna Griffin Georgette Christmas Collection layered on Stampin' Up shimmery white and a pale gold of unknown origin.  The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a shimmery vanilla of unknown origin and layered on more pale gold.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Clear Stamp Set stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed with Close To My Heart gold embossing powder. The card is highlighted with Gold Pearl Liquid Pearls.

My girlfriend's mother love nutcrackers and she's a pretty sophisticated lade so I was inspired to craft this neutral layered card.  The snowflakes are flocked and add beautiful texture.  I've been very pleased with the latest embossed sentiments that I've done so I decided to try again.  This is the perfect scale and colour for the sentiment.  A wonderful result!

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Platinum

Hello everyone,

Today's post is the last of the nutcracker Christmas cards I've been crafting for the past couple of weeks.

The image is a Tattered Lace Nutcracker die, cut from a glittered platinum of unknown origin and layered on a shimmery vanilla Bazzill and an opalescent gold also of unknown origin.  The ribbon is Multicrafts.  The pearls are Recollections.

I think I'm done with the nutcrackers.  I didn't realize exactly how many die cuts I'd made and when I look at all the photos, I may have gone a little overboard.  I'm very pleased with this last card.  I love all the neutral layers and the shimmer from the glitter is really wonderful.  I kept this last card sentiment-less because I really had enough of trying to get them right.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Green

Hello everyone,

Today's posts is a nutcracker card that worked exactly how I intended.

The image is a Tattered Lace Nutcracker die, cut from a shimmery green of unknown origin.  The image is layered on a burnished gold and more green.  The sentiment is Technique Tuesday Jingle All The Way stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.

Finally!  It took so much effort to finally craft the card I've been envisioning since Sunday.  Believe it or not this was the first and only attempt.  There were no smears, everything is straight (except the actual photo), no glue splotches, or any other mistake, flub or crisis.  Notwithstanding the colours, it's exactly what I intended and I just love the results!

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Silver II

Hello everyone,

Today's nutcracker card tried to accomplish what Sunday's card couldn't/didn't.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die, cut from Paper Accents Mirrored Silver.  The image is layered on a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper (sponged with Colorbox white) and a silver of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Technique Tuesday Jingle All The Way stamped in Stampin' Up Midnight Muse on Whisper White.  The embellishment is Recollections.

This is more what I had in mind for Sunday's card except that the sentiment panel covers up the original smeared sentiment.  The issue is that this glossy paper is actually photographic paper and it didn't hold up at all well with the alcohol ink.  To 'fix' the problem I decided to sponge some white ink to the panel to soften the flaked off areas.  The sentiment then smooshed because the Colobox ink takes time to dry.  I don't hate this card because it turned out just fine but I don't know if I'm going to put it in the sale or send it to one of an unsuspecting recipient.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Gold II

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another super simple nutcracker Christmas card.

The image is Tattered Lace nutcracker, cut from a gold of unknown origin.  The sentiment is a sticker of unknown origin.

I've had this sticker in my stash of Christmas embellishments for eons and I've been looking for just the right card on which to use it.  I've no idea where it came from.  This is a sophisticated but very simple card and I just absolutely love it!

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Gold

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card almost ended up in the garbage before I manage to salvage it.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die, cut from Paper Accents Mirrored Gold.  The image is layered on Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper and layered on more mirrored gold.  The bottom layer was trimmed with Martha Stewart's Layered Arches border punch.  The ribbon is American Crafts.  The card was highlighted with Cinnamon Stickles.

This card was lucky to be crafted.  I will never look upon it favourably and I'm glad it's going into the charity sale.  The whole issue started with a bad impression of a sentiment that I tried to fix with my stamp-a-ma-jig which was a terrible fail.  I tried a cover-up but it looked horrible.  I cut off the offending impression and improvised with more mirrored gold paper and a copper ribbon.  So the result isn't terrible but the angst it caused will never allow me to like this card.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Teal

Hello everyone,

Today's nutcracker Christmas card is clean and simple.

The image is a Tattered Lace Nutcracker die, cut from a mirrored teal of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Rubber Cafe G-751 Merry Christmas stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishment is an Eyelet Outlet Brad.

I think it was inspired to put a candy cane in the nutcracker's hand.  I love this card!  It's quite similar to the red nutcracker I posted last Saturday but with the brad and vertical sentiment I figured it was different enough.  As I write this post, I realize another extra bonus is that this card is really quite neutral.  I think I like it even more!

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Glittered Blue

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas nutcracker card is all about shine and glitter!

The image is a Tattered Lace nutcracker die cut from a glittered blue of unknown origin affixed to Stampin' Up Whisper White.  The image panel is layered on Paper Accents Mirrored Silver and Stampin' Up Tempting Turquoise.  The silver layer was textured with Sizzix Snowflakes embossing folder and highlighted with Turquoise Stickles.

This photo was so hard to take as the silver layer reflects everything, including the mat on which I craft.  I didn't add a sentiment because it would have just been way too much.  This is a crazy shiny and sparkly card.  I don't think I've ever done a card so bright!  I actually just love this card even though it's quite loud.

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

Gisèle

Another Nutcracker In Glittered Gold

Hello everyone,

A different type of glittered gold paper makes for an entirely different nutcracker Christmas card.

The image is a Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a glittered gold paper of unknown origin layered on Recollections Vanilla.  The image panel is affixed to a piece of Ranger Alcohol inked glossy paper and Paper Accents mirrored gold.  The sentiment is Fiskars Vintage Christmas stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla.

This is a another card that has sat on my desk for a week while I decided where to take it.  I could have used embellishments and made this a sentiment-less card but it would have been too much like yesterday's card.  I could have made this a French card.  In the end, I decided to go English because I love this vintage sentiment against the more 'modern' glittered, smooshed and mirrored papers.  This die cut is pretty large for these smaller card bases so it can be a challenge to find a place for a sentiment that isn't vertical.  I this case, I liked the oval shape of the sentiment and it overlaps the nutcracker's boot, just a titch.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Glittered Gold

Hello Everyone,

Today's nutcracker Christmas card is all about the glitter.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a glittered gold of unknown origin and layered on a Ranger Alcohol inked glossy paper.  The image panel is layered on more glittered gold and a Bazzill beige.  The embellishments are EK Success crystals.

This glittered paper is so amazing, I decided this would be the perfect card to go without a sentiment.  The sparkly nutcracker, in such sharp relief against the green panel, is such an 'strong' card that it really doesn't need anything else.  I debated using embellishments and this card sat on my desk for a while before I decided which way to go.  I'm really happy with the results.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Silver

Hello everyone,

Today's nutcracker card uses more of the wonderful shaving cream paper.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a mirrored silver of unknown origin.  The image is layered on more mirrored silver and Recollections White which was smooshed with blue Stampin' Up and Ranger re-inkers and shaving cream.  The sentiment is Bonnidee Layering Trees stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishment is also Recollections.

This is not the result I thought I'd get when I was putting the card together.  I don't hate this card but I'd hoped the nutcracker would pop more as would the embellishment and sentiment.  I purposefully kept the elements and layers simple but what ended up happening is that the background paper has overwhelmed everything else.  I think I would be more pleased with the results if I'd added either blue or white over the printed layer with a wide reveal.  Live and learn!  I'm not unhappy with this card, I just wish is was better.  Of course, this isn't the best photo, which doesn't help either.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Copper

Hello everyone,

Today's nutcracker card is absolutely amazing in it's beautiful simplicity.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a shimmery copper of unknown origin.  The image is layered on a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper, a shimmery, textured cream Bazzill and more shimmery copper.

I intend that all of these nutcracker cards will be donated to the charity card sale at the office this fall.  As such, there is a need for both English and French cards.  To accommodate either language, some of the cards will have no sentiments.  I chose to make this a sentiment-less card because the copper nutcracker against the alcohol inked background paper is pretty spectacular.  Once I had all the pieces together, it seemed superfluous to add anything else.  I'm also pleased that this card works perfectly as a neutral card.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Brown

Hello everyone,

Today's nutcracker post is another card of beauty.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a shimmery brown of unknown origin.  The image is layered on a textured cream Bazzill, a mirrored gold of unknown origin and more shimmery brown.  The sentiment is Bonnidee C'est Noel stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The embellishments are Mark Richards 3mm gold metal.

I really love this nutcracker card.  The natural colours of the die cut and layers makes this card very neutral and could be used for either a masculine and feminine giver or receiver.  I think this card is all the more interesting because the colours are not traditional for Christmas.  The hints of gold in the middle layer and the embellishments add just enough 'extra' to make this a very special card.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Red

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another nutcracker Christmas card.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a mirrored red of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Magenta stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishment is Jolee's Boutique Christmas Holly Repeats.

How much more different could this nutcracker card be from yesterday's?  So clean and simple yet with one heck of an impact!  Just three elements in a simple layout, it couldn't be an easier card to craft.  I borrowed this French sentiment from my girlfriend and with this size and scale couldn't be a better fit for this die cut.  I will, most certainly be crafting more of these cards.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker In Purple

Hello everyone,

Last weekend I got together with a girlfriend and crafted some great Christmas nutcracker cards.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from a shimmery purple of unknown origin affixed to Recollections White.  The background layers are more shimmery purple and a mirrored silver of unknown origin.  The patterned layer was made using a piece of Recollections White, blue and purple Stampin' Up and Ranger re-inkers and shaving cream.  The sentiment is Magenta stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and more mirrored silver.

I made this shaving cream paper last fall.  I did some in autumn colours and some in blues/purples, and while I used some of the autumn papers, I set aside these sheets to use at a later time.  This is a very, very messy technique so you don't just do one sheet at a time.  This is a pretty powerful piece of paper so it really needs to be used judiciously.  The same applies to this nutcracker die.  It isn't subtle but it does make for really spectacular Christmas cards.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker Suite VI

Hello everyone,

This is the last of the nutcracker card series I've been posting for the past few days.  I can guarantee that there will be more because I'm just so enamored with these cards.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from Paper Accents Mirror Silver glossy paper.  The die cut image is layered on a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper, more Paper Accents Mirror Silver glossy paper, and Stampin' Up Whisper White and Taken With Teal.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Merry Christmas Writing stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishments are EK Success Brights Dots.

I think this card is the very best of the series.  I particularly love the bright teal.  I was loving the upright nutcracker I figured adding the horizontal sentiment on the vertical, another love, would just put this card over the top.  It did!  The two shimmering teal dots against the super shiny silver are just beyond lovely.  I've enjoyed crafting this series more than I possibly could have imagined.  I can't wait to explore even more possibilities.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker Suite V

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another breathtaking silver nutcracker.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from Paper Accents Mirror Silver glossy paper.  The die cut image is layered on a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper, more Paper Accents Mirror Silver glossy paper, and Close To My Heart Indian Corn Blue.  The sentiment is Fiskars Vintage Christmas stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The embellishments are Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots.

This silver paper against the blues of the alcohol inked paper is utterly glorious!  I didn't have a big enough leftover piece of the alcohol inked paper for much more than layering under the die but it allowed me to add these two rows of sparkling silver enamel dots.  I love the rows of dots with this image.  It just works.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker Suite IV

Hello everyone,

I've posted three gold nutcrackers and I just couldn't stop there so I've three more silver nutcrackers to share.

The image is Tattered Lace Nutcracker die cut from Paper Accents Mirror Silver glossy paper.  The die is layered on a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper, more Mirror Silver and a shimmery purple of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Hero Arts Very Merry Christmas stamped in Stampin' Up Elegant Eggplant.  The embellishments are Mark Richards 3mm silver metals.

Every time I look at this card I'm sent to a very, very happy place.  My heart is singing.  My smile is a mile wide.  Obviously, I'm in love.  This has to be one of the most beautiful cards I've ever crafted.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker Suite III

Hello everyone,

I'm posting golden nutcracker number three today.

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, more burnished gold and a shimmery red of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Penny Black Merry Christmas stamped in Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy on more Vanilla of unknown origin, layered on more brushed gold of unknown origin and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.

This nutcracker is perfect for using some of the vertical sentiment stamps I've got in my stash.  I particularly like the font on this sentiment.  It's rather old fashioned and really suits not only the nutcracker but the alcohol inked background paper.  I love all the layers and finding a great piece of shimmery red that was just perfect with the alcohol inked paper.  How very wonderful when everything works out so perfectly.  I love absolutely everything about this card.

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

Gisèle

Nutcracker Suite II

Hello everyone,

Another beautiful nutcracker card today.

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 highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999, a vanilla of unknown and more burnished gold.  The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps Christmas Scene Baubles stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso.

I'm so happy with card.  All the alcohol inked paper I've used in this series is some that I made up over the summer.  After I started playing with the die, I thought they may look pretty awesome with the smooshed paper.  Oh my goodness, they work more beautifully together than I could have ever imagined!

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

Gisèle