Christmas ala Tim Holtz

Here's a card for those of you who prefer a more traditional take on Christmas. I used a more familiar holiday color palette and combined it with some lovely images by Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous. I will be teaching this card and matching box envelope at China Phoenix 2 in December.

I started by die cutting my oval layers and the snowflakes. I randomly laid the snowflakes on the white panel and swiped the panel with a stipple brush and Antique Linen Distress Ink so I could capture a soft outline of the flakes on the background. Next, I swiped the entire panel with an Embossing Buddy, stamped the tall trees in Olympia Green Versafine Ink, and embossed the image with Turquoise Iridescent Super Sparkle embossing powder to give the trees some glitz. I covered the trees 2 more times with Versamarker and embossed them in clear powder each time to make the image appear smooth. I added the snowflakes across the top of the panel in Crimson Red Versafine Ink and embossed them in the Super Sparkle powder, as well.

You knew the tiny book would make another appearance somewhere, didn't you? LOL! I may have to cut a whole bunch of these to keep on hand :) I made this book by die cutting it on a parchment cover stock, adding distress inks to make it appear old, and stamping musical notes on top of it, because of course, it is a song book :) I added a ribbon and some gems to finish it off.

I used some gorgeous Penny Black patterned paper that I had acquired a long time ago. I just love this paper and it works great for this project. On the inside of the card I included a pocket with an insert for a handwritten message for the recipient and the sentiment on the other side reads "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year - Charles Dickens".

I hope you enjoyed today's card :D

Twisted Christmas: Part 2

Hello everyone! Here is the second card I will be teaching as part of my Twisted Christmas class at China Phoenix 2 in November. Again, I used some images by Stampotique that really inspire a bit of creepy whimsey. I added a few Christmas accessories and glitz and there you have it! A theme that falls somewhere between Halloween and Christmas :D

I started with the spider image (Mr. Stripes) and stamped him on white cardstock. I colored him with Copics, added glitter hightlights to his body, and a couple of generous dots of Diamond Glaze to his eyes, and I sat him aside to dry. I stamped the hat and packages from the Christmas Cube, colored them with Copics, and covered them with Diamond Glaze as well, and sat them aside to dry. I stamped my three little friends (3 in a Round) on different colored cardstocks and cut out different elements from each piece of paper. I created a subtle background on the round white die cut circle by stamping a Hero Arts background stamp in Soft Leaf, following by a light stippling of Peeled Paint Distress Ink, and a generous spritz of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Marshmallow.

I assembled my card and added the different layers of the 3 in a Round image using foam tape. I really wanted these little guys to look like they were looking out of a hole or a cave. Once my glittered and glazed images were dry, I cut them out and also added them to the card with foam tape. (I love foam tape!! I buy it at an office supply store in a disc the size of a steering wheel! Hahaha!) A big green bow and a few red gems finishes it off.

I couldn't find just the right word stamp to narrate the scene on the front of the card, so I had to make up my own by computer generating the following "Manuel didn't understand why his brothers had misgivings about the rustling on the roof when it most certainly must be Santa". LOL!!

If the past two cards are not your cup of tea, stay tuned tomorrow when I will feature a more traditional Christmas card using some Tim Holtz stamps.

Twisted Christmas: Part 1

It's the beginning of November and Christmas is already nipping at our heels. Have you thought about your Christmas cards yet? Well, I wasn't quite ready to put Halloween to bed, but by the same token, I wasn't quite ready to start working on Christmas either. I thought, why not do a couple of transition cards to combine the two holidays. I love the whimsy of Halloween and the glitz and glitter of Christmas, so I picked a few Stampotique images to carry out this theme. Here's the first of a two card class that I will be teaching at China Phoenix 2 in November.

The first time I spied this snowman (the stamp name is Global Warming) I knew I had to have him and he and I would grow to be great friends! LOL! The background I created by first stamping a Hero Arts snowflake background in Frost Dazzle Versamark ink on white cardstock and embossing in clear embossing powder. Next, I swiped Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress inks on a craft sheet, misted it with water, and laid my embossed white cardstock on top to pick up that wonderful blotchy color. It didn't matter if it came out a bit messy, as that was even better for my card theme. Then I stamped my snowman on a separate piece of white cardstock, colored him with Copic markers, added dimensional glue to his scarf, hat and buttons, added glitter glue to highlight his body, and set him aside to dry (about an hour). After he was completely dry, I trimmed him out added some foam tape and attached him to my card. I would have sworn I had a rubber stamp that said "The weather outside is frightful...", but alas, I didn't. I ended up computer generating it for the inside of the card, because I was totally sold on that little phrase and nothing else would do :)

He makes me laugh every time I look at him ;D Stayed tuned tomorrow for part 2 of Twisted Christmas.

Till Death...

My friend requested a card for her favorite sister-in-law (actually, I think she is her only sister-in-law, but she loves her, none-the-less :D ) who is celebrating a wedding anniversary on November 2nd, which is Dia de los Muertos. They are passionate about the holiday, so Debbie (my friend) wanted a card to reflect their love of this joyous occasion and celebrate the love they have for each other. This awesome stamp by Bombshell Stamps was the perfect image to capture both of these themes.

I colored the images with Copic markers and added a touch of glitter to the diamond at the top of the image. No embossing on this one, which is a bummer, because you know how I like to double, triple, even quadruple emboss images. Also, no extraneous flowers and gems, it just didn't seem to need it. Trust me, I got it out 3 or 4 times after I finished it to see if I could add some shiny or frilly embellishments and I couldn't. It is what it is :D

The inside reads "I would rather live and love where death is king than have eternal life where love is not. - Robert G. Ingersoll". What a perfect sentiment :)

Hello, Baby...!

My sister's coworker just announced that he and his wife's long awaited adoption of a little girl went through so they are now proud parents. I also have a friend who is pregnant and her bundle of joy (a little girl) is due to arrive in November. Shhhh, don't say anything, but I made 2 of these cards, so they both will be getting the same card. Hopefully, their paths won't cross and expose my creative laziness...LOL!

I wasn't much up for the traditional pastel colors associated with new baby cards. However, these happily patterned, brightly colored papers by Cosmo Cricket just beamed at me with joy across the aisles of the scrapbook store and I knew they were the way to go. The stamp set is by American Crafts and I picked it up for a song (actually it was $5.99) at a recent visit to Archiver's in Des Moines, IA. I love the simple lines of the images and there was no need to color anything...YIPPEE!!

The inside reads "Every child begins the world again... - Henry David Thoreau". Ahhhh...priceless :)

Elegant Skelly

We haven't decided if this elegant skelly is male or female. You decide ;D I made these Halloween cards for my sister-in-law and mailed them to her last Friday. Let's see if she receives them in time to send them out. There's nothing like waiting until the last minute to complete a project and I seem to be the Queen of Last Minute Things. I may have mentioned it before, but I put the "pro" in procrastination! Haha! Anyway, if you catch this post Diane, sorry about delay :)

I was included in an Etsy Treasury!

Wow!! Monday night I received the best news!! I seller on Etsy, the talented Queen of Nostalgia, contacted me to let me know that she had selected one of my cards as part of her treasury. A treasury is created by Etsy users to showcase items that have caught their eye. Sometimes they are grouped by theme or color or season, etc. This clever collection featured handmade cards and was titled "Wait a minute, Mr. Postman!" It is a terrific grouping of beautiful cards and I feel so honored to have been included. I thought I would share a link with you in case you want to check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=86294

Also, I have added a link to The Queen of Nostalgia's blog on the right! Give her a looksie :D

Teach Your Skeleton to Dance

Today is my friend's birthday and she is a Dia de los Muertos fanatic (just like me)! She loves the art and imagery associated with this fantastic celebration, so I thought I would create her birthday card staying with that theme. The main image is stamped on white cover stock in black Momento ink and colored with Copic markers. I have to once again sing the praises of these exceptional tools! They are excellent to color with and provide a nice smooth finish that is sometimes hard to achieve with regular markers. If you don't have any...I have two words for you...Get Some! You will become instantly addicted :)

I embossed certain areas of the image (multiple times) with clear embossing powder to achieve a glossy raised appearance. A little glitter glue around the edge of the image, some gorgeous Basic Grey paper from the Boxer line, and some embellishments complete the card.

The sentiment inside the card is my new favorite quote, it reads "If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance" - George Bernard Shaw. Doesn't that just say it all! I love it! LOL!

Goddess

A friend requested a special birthday card for her fiance. She described his many interests to me so that I could create a card especially for him. A couple of items that stood out was that he is a writer and he also admires the art of Alfonse Mucha. At the time, I was not familiar with Mucha, but quick assistance from Google gave me a wealth of images and information about this wonderful artist. It appears that Mucha is credited with being the father of the Art Nouveau movement in the late 1800's. He created numerous paintings, advertisements and book illustrations, and his images were very familiar to me, though I did not know the name of the man behind this beautiful artwork. His subjects seem to be mostly women clothed in diaphanous flowing robes and painted in soft feminine colors. The works also feature beautiful floral accents, and to me, the overall feeling is very ethereal or goddess-like.

In the very recesses of my mind, I recalled having a rubber stamp image that reminded me of Alfonse Mucha's style. Digging through my vast collection of rubber stamps, I found this image by Stamp Oasis called Spirit of Summer and knew this is what I would use as the focus of the card. I began by stamping the image on white cover stock in black Momento ink. I colored the image with Copic markers and was not able to achieve the soft colors that Mucha was known for, but did try to maintain a softness by not using too many color families. I used mainly shades of orange, blue,and green. I accented the flowers and parts of the border by covering them with Versamarker and embossing with clear powder several times. This gave certain areas of the image a shiny raised effect.

I also used a Nestability die cut to create the tiny open book. I used parchment colored paper, distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then stamped a handwritten script image on top. A tiny cream ribbon and some small soft green gems create the bookmark. The addition of some lovely patterned papers by Basic Grey and a few flowers and gems finish the card. I enjoyed making this card, but I mostly enjoyed researching the inspirational works of Alfonse Mucha, which really proves that the act of creating something with your hands can expand your knowledge on so many levels :)

Cool Fall Days and Crisp Fall Nights

Hello All! I hope everyone is doing well at their end of the keyboard. We are experiencing some beautiful Fall days here in Albuquerque, NM and the Balloon Fiesta is in full swing, adding glorious color to our cool morning skies. If you have never attended the Balloon Fiesta, I would highly recommend putting it on your future "to do" list. People come from all over the world to experience this grand event. I am also told it is one of the few ballooning events that allow people to walk onto the inflation area and experience an "up close" view of the hot air balloons as they fill with air and begin to take shape. It is truly incredible to stand amidst the balloons as they are laid out and then within minutes be surrounded by a surreal garden of bright colors and unique shapes as they bloom into life. Breathtaking!

The image above came from the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Website http://balloonfiesta.com//. Check it out!