I LOVE Lovely as a Tree!!

 

I do love this stamp set - I say that often, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE anything that glitters or sparkles, so I tend to cover this tree in glitter or stickles or seomthing.  I made this card for my sister to hold a gift card for my sister.  I know, what an impersonal gift, but like most people right now she and her husband who have just bought a house probably don't need another candle in their house, or even a handmade gift (she and I have VERY different taste anyway and it's hard for me to pick gifts for her) so I figured she could buy something she needs rather then get some silly gift from me that I think she would like.  I did make her an ornament (one of my "famous" domino ones and of course it's got some glitter on it!!) that I'll share with you tomorrow.  They're super fun to make, pretty easy too, and everyone always gets a kick that they're made on a domino.  Anyway - I just LOVE this stamp set.  It's perfect for so many different occasions, but one of my absolute favorites is to use it for Christmas cards (can you tell from all the other ones I've shown you? ;)  LOL)!!  If you click on either of the pictures, they should open up full-size and you can see the pretty glittery tree on the second one. 

I "made" the white brads by heating some silver brads and touching the "head" of them to the white embossing powder (ep).  Next, I would re-heat it and dip it again and do this at least one more time - until I had even coverage on the brad.  Of course, make sure to use some metal tweezers to hold the brad in the heat from the heat tool.  You can do this to make your own brads in any color that you have in embossing powder!! 

Inside the bottom of the card is folded up (the completed size of the card is a standard A-2 size (4-1/4" x 5-1/2") and a brad is on either edge so that it formed a pocket for the gift card.  I used a piece of 12" x 12" textured Real Red CS to make the card so that I could fold the bottom up and keep the card "standard" sized. 

PS - FeedBlitz users - you may want to click on the title of my blog and go to it to see the posts you've missed.  I subscribe via the various feed services to my blog to monitor them, and FeedBlitz has been acting up again.  It's missed several post updates.  Thanks!

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree
Paper:  Real Red textured and Whisper White CS, Summer Picnic DSP, Real Red Prints DSP (retired hostess reward item)
Ink:  Real Red classic ink
Accessories:  Chit Chat rub-ons, 2-way glue pen (SU!), Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Fire rhinestone brads (SU!), silver brads, White ep, heat tool, SU! tweezers from the SU! tool kit, stamping dimensionals

Merry Christmas!

 

This is a picture of our tree that we bought when my husband finally got home from his latest "trip" for his job as a pilot in the US Air Force.  We also waited until our middle daughter got home from visiting with my parents to do any decorating, so that we could all do it together as a family.

This little tree is very much a Charlie Brown tree.  We picked it from the two dozen or so that were left on Monday.  It was only FIVE dollars!!!  It makes us all happy, smells good, and I like to think that we helped this little tree fulfill it's only purpose - the one for which it was grown and cut down.  I didn't want it to be mulched without having spent its time in our house for Christmas. I know it is silly, but I always feel sad for the leftover trees.

I hope that each of you has a very wonderful end of your year and a merry Christmas!!  If you celebrate something else like Kwanzaaor Hanukkah - whatever you celebrate, I hope it's an enjoyable time for you!!!  Not sure when the next post will be - we're enjoying time with the DH at home and of course doing the things that most folks do on Christmas day (this was a pre-scheduled post).  Take care!!

ETA - FeedBlitz users - you may want to click on the title of my blog and go to it to see the posts you've missed.  I subscribe via the various feed services to my blog to monitor them, and FeedBlitz has been acting up again.  It's missed several post updates.  Thanks!

Simple Green and White Card

 

This card is another of the ones I mass-produced.  I'm not like some out there that really get extravagant with their handmade Christmas cards.  I'm not like that normally, much less when I have to make more than 80 cards!!! :)  Hope you like it!

Stamps:  Punches Three, Season of Joy
Paper:  Garden Green and Whisper White CS
Ink:  Garden Green classic ink, White StazOn
Accessories:  Scallop Square punch, stampin' dimensionals

Tile Coasters

I made these for my mom as part of her Christmas gift.  She had asked for them, and really wanted something simple and without color, and with a dragonfly because she loves them.  I had already given her someand she likes them, but these are probably more her style.  I tried to look through my archives to find the post with the ones I gave her, and I discovered that I never posted them!!!  I made some for my sister too, so I think the pics are on my old computer that hasn't been used since 2007.  So...maybe someday I'll be able to post a picture of the other coasters - they're pretty!!

When we met my parents to get my middle DD back from a visit with them, we opened some of our presents so we could all be there when the recipient got to see what they got - mostly for my parents to see the kids faces as they opened some of them.  We saved some for Christmas too, so no worries there!!

As for making the coasters, I washed them with just water to remove the dust from them.  Oh, they're 4x4 and from Home Depot and come in boxes of nine.  I go through all the boxes and pick 9 that I want that have the least surface flaws that interrupt your stamped image.  I then let them totally dry and follow that with stamping the image in StazOn.  For these I didn't add any color.  Before, I used my Stampin' Pastels and a blender pen to add some color.  Next, even with just StazOn, I use my heat tool totally "cook" the tiles.  I go over and over and over them.  I let them cool and then I spray a VERY thin layer of Krylon sealant on them.  I let that layer dry and then I again heat the tile with my heat tool just for added drying measures and then I add another very thin layer and let it dry followed by heating with my heat tool and repeat this thin layer spray, dry and heat process for about 6-7 layers.  Finally the very last layer I apply I make it a tiny bit heavier.  I don't think with JUST StazOn that you have to worry about bleeding of the color with the Krylon, or even that you really "need" the Krylon, but I do it anyway, just as if I had added color with my Stampin' Pastels.  I've also used SU! markers before and after coloring I lay a paper towel over the tile and press to remove any excess ink, and then you have to heat it with a heat tool for a while and THEN add your Krylon and then heat it again with the heat tool after it has dried before repeating the spray, dry, heat process.  Hope that info helps if you want to make them!

Have a great day!

Stamps: Organic Grace, Inspired by Nature
Ink: Timber Brown StazOn
Accessories: Heat Tool, Krylon Clear Matte Spray Sealant, adhesive felt circles to prevent the tiles from scratching surfaces

Shameless CASE

I will always "CASE and tell" as you might say.  My card was totally inspired by THIS one by Babsnelson over at SCS.  I just loved the simple layout (I am a HUGE fan of single-layer cards!!!) and I even omitted the ribbon.  I obviously changed the colors and the sentiment too.  What do you think?  Yes...it's another of my Christmas cards.... :)

Stamps:  Snow Swirled
Paper:  Whisper White
Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze classic inks

Red and White Christmas

This card came together rather quickly.  I really like cards with a lot of white space, so I tried to incorporate that here along with some texture and a tiny bit of bling.  This is the most complex "looking" card I've made so far for those I'm sending Christmas cards to this year, but it was NOT the most time consuming.  That would have to go to either the Top Note cards or either of the reverse-masked cards at this point.

The inspiration for this card yet again came from SCS.  I love that site!!!  I got my layout idea from kimcrafts and you can see her card HERE.

I will not be posting until next week due to having to get ready to make a drive (possibly in bad conditions - hopefully not!!) to get my middle DD back from a visit she made to my parents' house.  We drive tomorrow to get her and come back Sun.  I've got cards to finish, holiday preparations, wrapping, mailing, cleaning, etc. to do all before we leave TOMORROW.  Aaack!!!  So...until we blog again, take care!!

Stamps: Snow Swirled, Holidays & Wishes
Paper:  Whisper White and Real Red CS
Ink:  Real Red classic ink, White StazOn
Accessories:  Whisper White Taffeta ribbon, Snowflakes CB embossing folder, Big Shot, adhesive-backed rhinestone from Michael's, dimensionals

A Not-So-Quick CASE

 

So, I saw THIS card by Amy over on SCS and LOVED it - as I do all of her cards - and I thought "oohh...that would make a great card to CASE for a few of the TONS of cards I have to make in 5 days....."

Well....even after leaving off some of her details (sponging, buttons) I found it difficult to mass-produce.  Cutting the top notes into thirds and then getting the patterned paper to match up with the colors I WANT, in the order I WANT, didn't exactly happen.  So, after just 6 cards, I had to stop.  The OCD in me couldn't take that I couldn't get the strips in the exact order I wanted.  It is only possible to cut about 3 layers of DSP at once, so you have at most 3 Top Note die cuts that have the exact same cuts, BUT THEN to get the strips in the order you want it's just messed up.  If this doesn't make sense, just take 3 pieces of paper/CS, whatever, and cut it into a irregular shape (so that there is a definite left, right, up and down) and then try to piece three new shapes with the strips of paper in the exact same order from left to right.  Doesn't work....

So, enough of that.  I loved her card, mine are pretty, but I will not try to mass-produce a cut-up Top Note anymore.  They are super fun to make though and Amy has some others that I'm dying to CASE and play around with.  Have a great day!

Stamps:  To You & Yours
Paper: Holiday Treasures DSP, Chocolate Chip and Ruby Red CS
Ink:  Chocolate Chip classic ink
Accessories:  Little Felt Flurries in Baja Breeze, silver brad, dimensionals, Top Note Bigz Die, Big Shot