Holiday Wonder

Hello everyone,

Today's post is just awesome! A friend had asked me for seven Christmas cards and as I've gone through my stash, I thought I'd see what happened with a ten card one-sheet wonder. I found a great tutorial, with measurements, at Kimberly Morris's Procrastistamper blog.

The card bases are Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White. The patterned paper is all Little Yellow Bicycle 25 Days of Christmas. The ribbon is all Michael's Special Value. The sentiments include: Stampin' Up Warmest Regards, Expressions In Ink 4-in-1 Holidays, Impression Obsession Christmas Expressions, Cornish Heritage Farms Christmas Expressions, Hero Arts Wishing You Flourish, Stampin' Up Warm Words, Impression Obsession Christmas Sentiments and Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions. The embellishments include: Bo Bunny Press Our Family Christmas stickers, brads and pearls of unknown origin, Martha Stewart embellishments, Crafts Gem Chic, Keepsake Memories, Annabelle Pearls, and Making Memories Glitter Deco Brads.

I'm so very pleased with these cards. I wish the photo was better but I don't know how to take a photo that will do the cards justice. All together, the ten cards took about three hours to make from start to finish. I tried to keep it simple in terms of sticking with three types of paper. I also used just one type of ribbon. I used variety when it came to embellishments which really makes each card very different. I'm so happy with these cards I know I will use the template again to make more cards.

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

Gisèle

Happy Holidays

Hello everyone,

It's been a busy, busy time and though I'm not completely done, I'm getting there. Needless to say, I've done no blog surfing. No matter, today's card is completely my own creation. It is for a very good friend who appreciates handmade cards in a big way.

The card base is from Recollections. The base layer is Stampin' Up brushed gold dry embossed with a Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland folder. The image is Inkadinkado Winter Trails stamped in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White, clear heat embossed and layered on textured Rich Razzleberry paper. The embellishments are Annabelle pearls.

I love this card. The Rich Razzleberry and gold combination is really spectacular. I also like how it is offset so the dry embossing is really evident. My friend just loves Rich Razzleberry so I know she'll love this card.

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

Gisèle

Merrily Blue

Hello everyone,

I knew I wanted to make a blue card today. I used today's Stars and Stamps sketch challenge as my jumping-off point.

The background paper is Stampin' Up Ski Slope designer series paper. The remaining paper is Stampin' Up Baja Breeze and Whisper White. The Baja Breeze layer is textured with Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland highlighted with Star Dust Stickles. The ribbon is from Offray. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Short & Sweet.

This card is exactly what I pictured. The sketch was just wonderful and really lent itself to the paper I wanted to use. The Stickles add just the right amount of glitter and go wonderfully with the ribbon. It's great when it turns out as I imagined.

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

Gisèle

More Sympathy

Hello everyone,

Another quick sympathy card today. This is a commissioned card for my colleague's whose husband passed away. She is an avid gardener and I rather ran with that theme. I have to say, it has been rather soothing to make these cards for friends to give her. I used Sunday's Stars and Stamps sketch challenge as my starting point.

The card base is from Recollections. The vertical strip is Stampin' Up Rose Red textured with Sizzix Pattern 1. The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus. The image is Stampin' Up Asia Artistry coloured with watercolour crayons and spritzed with water before being applied to watercolour paper. It is layered on a piece of Chocolate Chip. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Warmest Regards also stamped on a piece of watercolour paper.

I love this sympathy card. It really speaks of my colleague and her love of gardening and her classic style. I hope it brings even the smallest measure of comfort. I love the Asian Artistry set. All of the stamps lend very, very well to the watercolour technique which is one of my favourites.

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

Gisèle

Merry Christmas

Hello everyone,

I've been attempting to use up some of my flubbed card bases so today's card, inspired by Sunday's Card Positioning Systems sketch challenge, was crafted to accommodate an earlier attempt.

The card base is from Recollections. The background images are Stampin' Up Snow Burst, Snow Swirled, Serene Snowflakes and The Snowflake Spot. The middle layer is Stampin' Up textured Rich Razzleberry paper upon which is Inkadinkado Winter Trails heat embossed with Stampendous Winter Wonderland embossing powder. The sentiment is from The Stamp Barn for Heather's Stamping Haven. It is stamped on a scrap of Whisper White and cut with Spellbinders Nestablilites Labels Four. The ribbon is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain. The entire card is highlighted with Star Dust Stickles.

I love this card! From the moment I first glimpsed Rich Razzleberry, I fell in love with the colour. Combined with white, this makes for a very striking card. I fell in love with this sentiment at first sight as well. It is so bold and beautiful, I just couldn't wait to see what I could craft with it.

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

Gisèle

Holly Christmas

Hello everyone,

I had a chance to visit some of my favourite card blogs today and once I saw last Friday's Clean and Simple Stamping sketch challenge, I knew I had the perfect stamp to use on a card.

The background paper is Close To My Heart Mistletoe. The image is Heartfelt Creations Elegant Holly Swirls stamped on a scrap of Stampin' Up Very Vanilla and coloured with Faber-Castell markers. It was heat embossed with Stampin' Up clear embossing powder before it was coloured. It is layered with a piece of Bazzill Bling Textured paper. The ribbon is Martha Stewart gold metallic weave and Ribbon Bowtique. The embellishment is of unknown origin. The sentiment is Cornish Heritage Farms Vintage Christmas Expressions.

The is a great card. I am determined to improve my colouring skills and this is a great image with which to practise. I love the background paper and wish I had more sheets so I wouldn't have to be so stingy with it.

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

Gisèle

With Sympathy

Hello everyone,

We had the most wonderful of holidays in the Dominican Republic. It was one of those vacations you wish would never end then reality strikes. I actually have two cards for you today. Unfortunately life goes on while one is on holidays and when I returned to the office today, I found out that the husband of an old colleague passed away last week. He had suffered numerous bouts with cancer and just couldn't fight one more battle. Needless to say, my sympathy card stash was obliterated so these are two commissioned cards. I didn't use any particular challenges for these cards. I haven't had a chance to go through the dozens of emails in my box let alone surf the blogs.

The card base is from Recollections. The purple strip is DCWV Textured Neutrals. The ribbon is Michael's Special Value. The image is Gina K Lovely Labels stamped in Nick Bantock Damson Plum which is cut with a Spellbinders die cut. It is layered on a piece of Close To My Heart New England Ivy also cut with a Spellbinder die cut. The sentiment is Verve Forever In Our Hearts.

The card base is Recollections. The image is Enchanted Hollow from the Stamp Barn for Heather's Stamping Haven. It is coloured with Stampin' Up Watercolour crayons and misted with water before being applied to watercolour paper. It is layered on a piece of Stampin' Up Close To Cocoa and Not Quite Navy. The sentiment is from the Stamp Barn. The embellishments are Close To My Heart Opaques and Licorice Opaque.

I've very pleased with both these cards especially as they're the first I've done in over a week. I think my former colleague will really appreciate them.

I'm starting to get rather antsy about my Christmas cards so that's all I expect to be posting over the next couple of weeks.

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

Gisèle