Plaid is Rad: Happy Holiday Poinsettia

 One last card for the Plaid is Rad Challenge, over at the Poppystamps blog.

Lezlye's beautiful card with the white glitter Christmas trees, uses a fabulous paper from Basic Grey released a few years ago.  It's one of my all time favorites, so I chose to feature that print, and dress it up.

I've been itching to use the Holiday Poinsettia die that I won! When Poppystamps has a release, they give you an opportunity to win one of their amazing dies with each blog post.

This poinsettia die has just the punch needed to make the focal point sing The perfect accompaniment  is the  Fancy Happy Holiday die, cut from black glitter paper. (I really need to do something about my poor photographic space. Shine just isn't an element of my photos, and what's Christmas without shine?!) The plaid from Authentic had the cute musical border which I die cut.

I included a pic of this card on it's side, because when folks pick it up, they always put it down that way. I prefer the sentiment in the vertical orientation. Which way do you like it?

Now to post these, and see what the rest of you have been up to. If you like what you see, please leave me a comment; it will make my day. Happy Thanksgiving and may your holidays be filled with creativity and cheer.

Plaid is Rad: Happy Holiday Trees

Here is a second entry for Poppystamps' November Challenge: Plaid is Rad.  I'm mad about plaid, so I whipped up three cards for this challenge. This is my second card.

Using my Stitched Evergreen Cutouts die (it's still on sale over at the store), I moved the die several times to vary where the trees fell in each row. After the trees were cut, I embossed the dots with a folder, and backed each tree with coordinating papers from a Christmas pad with small patterns. Poppystamp's' "stitched cutout" dies are a blast because there are so many different ways to lay them out, You also have all those cute little cut out trees to use on another card.

 The  Happy Holidays die is a Poppystamps beauty, and I cut it out of turquoise glitter paper and made it three layers deep for some dimension. (The close-up to the left is so you can tell there really is plaid  in the trees.)

If you enter a card, you could win the "Home for the Holidays Wreath" die. Happy crafting!

Plaid is Rad: Snowy Christmas

Hi all. If you are here, chances are you have come from Poppystamp's November Challenge"Plaid is Rad". (If you're a follower, bless your fuzzy heart. You're also may be wondering who I am, since two years have passed since my last post. Time to get back on the horse.)

Poppystamps has become one of my go-to sources for great dies and an inspiring design team. I just love plaids at Christmas time, so this month's challenge was for me.

Stitched Snowflake Cutouts is a recent acquisition (and it's still on sale for a steal). 

I cut the cream panel twice with this die, and inlaid the snowflakes with gold and green foil paper. The photo to the right is an attempt to show how beautiful the foiled papers are when die cut. It's a knock-out in person. To shake it up a bit, I let the plaid from the background show through in a few spots.

The plaid is a Debbie Mumm paper from JoAnn, and the lovely script "Christmas" is a die from Papertrey.

Thanks for visiting, and I'll be visiting you soon.

Poinsettia Tag for Festive Friday #24

Hi folks. I've been following my dear blog friend, Geri at Paper Wishes, for quiet a while now. She is a spectacularly talented artist and a down right beautiful soul. Her designs always blow me away, and I've been loving the places she visits in Blogdom.

Her designs for Festive Fridays Challenge Blog are some of my favorites, and I decided to give it a try myself, especially since this week's FFC24 inspiration photo is ripe with potential, and features one of my favorite color schemes.

 

My contribution is an eight inch tall tag. This composition is a bit more Rococo than my usual fare, but I kind of like it. Here are the ways I think this card gibes with the photo:

1. Many different colors of white with gold enhancement.

2. Organic twisted "lines" that run through the image.

3. Round white and gold balls.

4. Glitter here and there.

5. Both have a fair amount of depth. (The picture below was taken with side lighting to capture the feeling of depth that really doesn't show too well in the picture above.)

The poinsettia dies from Spellbinders, and the "merry" die from Papertrey are some of my favorites. (By the way, don't you just love the gold paper the word is cut from; it's wall paper from the 1940s backed with heavy stock.)  I really like the ribbon at the top and think it goes, BUT, I sure don't like the bow it makes. Do you have any suggestions for a better topper that won't cover up the tag?

Can't thank you enough for visiting. I'll be visiting your place soon!

Papertrey's MIM #94 - Detail Glitter Technique

Just had to play along with Papertrey this MIM. A little glitter goes a long way, and you can see just how far here. The new Spellbinder's Poinsettia Die is sooo beautiful and I love the Papertrey dies for the vases and some of the greenery.

That gorgeous "Merry Christmas to You" sentiment, is an altered version to fit. (That font is too perfect not to have used it.)

I need to post before the opportunity passes by. Please leave a comment and tell me if you like the white embossed background on the second card, better than the very plain one of the first. I couldn't make up my mind.

Thanks so much for visiting, and I hope to see you all again soon.

Supplies from Papertrey: Winterberry Die, Mega Gracious Vases Die, Believe Stamp Set, Think Big Favorites #20 Mini Stamp Set, Cream Cardstock,  Pure Poppy Cardstock, Mega Mehndi Medallion Stamp Set

Others: gold glitter, old gilded wallpaper from the 1940's, Spellbinder's Poinsettia Die, Quickie Glue Pen, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder, Brilliance Pearlescent Brown, Gold Holographic Embossing Powder, misc scraps of paper

Papertrey Ink October 2012 Blog Hop Challenge

Over at Papertrey, they are having their October Blog Hop with Christmas on their mind. 

They have all sorts of beautiful non-traditional color palettes to try out. I started with the color combo above,  but my ink pad of melon berry is really more a 'dirty pig' pink. (From what I've read, this color mismatch is one that in being addressed with the manufacturer.)

Here begins my adventure. I decided to replace the 'Melon Berry' with 'Autumn Rose'. Looked OK when I stamped a sample with the others using the  'Happy Harlequin' stamps, so I stamped in the background. NOT!!! Oh, my heavens. The 'Harvest Gold' looked like it had been through the washer too many times! What to do? I over stamped those diamonds with 'Ocean Tides' and the background seemed OK again, not

great, but passable. Now I had had a blue green and a blue pink with a yellow green and a yellow pink. I'm still not sure this color combo works, but it has grown on me - sort of like lichen. This for me, is part of Papertrey's magic - they make it all look so simple.

If I covered up my harlequin background, maybe I'd get away with my colors. I found a layout here at  Sept 2011 - Card Maps, that would help me, and the inspired poinsettia idea was Lizzie's. (If you haven't been to Becky Fleck's Page Maps, you are missing a major treat and resource!)

One last note - actually a question. I am using a laptop these days and I'm relatively new to it. I try to color correct my photos, but I can never tell if I get it right. Do you have any tips about how to standardize color adjustments with a screen that can be at any angle, and in any light, at the time I'm working? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for visiting today, and have a happy and creative Halloween.

Supplies are all Papertrey unless noted:
PAPER: vintage cream card stock, Paper Source's gold card stock
STAMPS & DIES: Happy Harlequin stamps and die,

INKS: spring moss, berry sorbet, harvest gold, autumn rose, ocean tides, VersaMark's 'Dazzle Watermark - Champagne'

Noel from Liz

Here's another card for Papertrey's Make It Monday - Glue Pad Essentials . Again, her sheek and simple style is on display. She thinks that her 'e' looks like Mickey Mouse ears but I don't think so. All items are Papertrey's except the glitter and 'Happy Holidays' stamp.

Ingredients:

cardstock:  PTI's vintage cream, ripe avocado, pure poppy

stamps:  PTI's Outlines Alphabet and Guidelines II; sentiment from an Inkadinkado Holiday Filigree

dies:  PTI's Banner Builder Collection and Holly Jolly Die Collection

ink:  ColorBox cranberry pigment from Yuletide set of six nested inkpads

glitter:  Martha Stewart's florentine gold

glue pad:  Hampton Art

Simple Christmas Card

This card was made for Papertrey's Make It Monday - Essential Glue Pad Tips. The total effect I like, but I'm a bit disappointed with the detail.

I bought the wonderful printed Christmas ribbon (framed image) a few years ago, knowing that I would use it on cards as a central motif. It fits perfectly behind the Mat Stack 1 Die from Papertrey. (I love the look of those old scenes printed on silk, or jacquard woven pieces, that would peek out from behind an open frame on yesteryear's upscale holiday cards. Those bits got saved even when the card was finally tossed.) I quickly used a die ink on scrap paper to see if the tiny holly stamp from Papertrey's Border and Corner Oval fit around the perimeter.

It was necessary to stamp and glitter only two hollies at a time so I could gauge the next two placements. I stamped top and bottom, then middle right and left, then four peaked corners, and then filled in what was left.

As I mentioned, I am disappointed with the detail I obtained with my 'Hampton Art's Glue Pad' and Martha Stewart Glitter (about the finest size you can buy). One lesson I did learn, is if you are stamping a very small image over and over again, then washing the stamp about every four uses helps the details remain intact. (This seems necessary because the glue medium really builds up quickly on the stamp surface with multiple passes.) The NOEL is Embossed using one of my favorite alphabet sets,' My Sentiments Exactly - Floral Upper'. To finish, I neatly trimmed the ribbon length, and attached with just a glue dot in each corner to the back of the frame. The ribbon back looks fine when you open the card, and I like the slight transparency on the front view, of not placing paper directly behind the image.

Thank you for visiting. I would love for you to leave a comment if you have an opinion, even if it's just to say, 'Too much detail.' or 'I don't understand your directions.'. I'm new to all this, and trying to improve my posts.

Bada Bling

This latest  Make It Monday #41 at Papertrey was a blast. I had never made 'nice' with my Hampton Arts Glue Pad, but I used it again for these projects. Fabulous Liz (see preceding blog entry) has the 'Essential Glue Pad', and the glue seems to stay wet longer on the pad and paper allowing for finer detailed images. (This is just my observation - no scientific double blind study performed.)

My snowgirl card is a lesson in excess. I tried for as many textures as I could get away with (or not). The already pearlized background paper is glue stamped with snowflakes sprinkled with 'Diamond Dust'. The snowgirl is Papertrey's delightful Snowman Die Collection. For the body I used 'Art Glitter Sticky Paper'. I ran it through my 'Big Shot' and peeled off the printed paper side covering the sticky surface. Before adding the glitter, I stuck the eyes ('Recollections - Mini Round Gems) and flower buttons (no-name bling from Sewfisticated - only 99 cents for 200 ct.!) in their places. This avoids that dancing-around-on-the-top-of-the-glitter-effect when trying to adhere things after the glittering has happened. Add glue to the back (plain paper side) and adhere to card. The 'Sticky Paper' is perfect for large glittered areas or for different colors of glitter used with a masking technique. It also comes in the handy A2 size so it's perfect for almost all your Papertrey dies. Snowgirl's hat is flocked on that same sticky paper. Her over-the-top scarf/boa is a line of single crochet using the new 'Martha Stewart Glitter Eyelash' yarn. At $4.99 for 39 yards it is uber pricy, but I used a 50% off coupon at Michaels, and wish I had bought all the colors. This yarn is stunning! The 'Let it snow...' stamp from 'Clearly Inspired' was stamped on a piece of glassine left over from postage stamps I bought. It took the glue ink and glitter beautifully.

Thanks for taking a peek.

O Christmas Tree

This is only my second post. I knew posting online took some effort, but I now have a whole new respect for all the lovely sites in Blogdom. Despite a two hour battle with my free nine year old digital camera, I think there are finally a couple of shots that will allow me to share this week's  Papertrey Make It Monday #40.

The reverse applique is a fun technique, and I absolutely adore Papertrey's dies. There are two pics of the same view because I could not capture the paper colors and the mylar thread in the same shot. (The golden glints look swell in person, but my camera skills are lacking.)  The colors in the picture below are closer to true life.

Only the 'PEACE' is reverse appliqued.  It was much easier to pierce around the word, and just back stitch, than I thought it would be. The openings in the p, e, a were added after the perimeter stitching, and in order to place those pieces, I reinserted the cut out word into the opening, and with a bit of glue, tacked the small parts in place. These are also stitched.

 NOTE: There was one trick that made the pre-punching of the sew holes easier. I placed two or three layers of scrap cardstock between the card front and the pad I was using. With the tiny pieces, even my very sharp needle wanted to rip the gold background paper. I discovered this trick also worked well on long straight edges where 'paper fatique' would be a problem.

The garland was not appliqued, but was just stitched to the green paper and placed behind the tree die opening. Again, the holes were pre-made.  By cutting the tree from copy paper, and temporarily adhering the negative piece it to the front of the green paper, I could use the paper piercer and make just the thread holes I needed. I removed the copy paper template and simply back-stitched. Voila.

One last bit of info. The glorious patterned paper is a scan of a Hoffman Christmas fabric from about four years ago. Hoffman is my favorite fabric house, but this print is to die for.  I have the fabric, but can't bring myself to cut it, so maybe this card will help break down that inhibition. (If Hoffman's prints were on paper, I'd own them all.)

Hope this all makes sense. Thanks for visiting.

SUPPLIES
Dies - Papertrey: In the Meadow Silhouettes Die Collection, Wonderful Words: Holiday
Die Collection
Papers - Bazill swiss dot (navy blue), Paper Company (gold)