Christmas Calories

I made this CAS card today for The Paper Players PP619 Sketch and AAA Card #229 Small and Few + Baked Goods Challenges. Now I really want to get out my sugar cookie recipe and make frosted, sprinkled, cookie cutter sugar cookies!!!

Products I used:

Pink and Main: Sweet Christmas stamps and dies

Silver card stock (handmade cookie sheet)

Copic markers

Prismacolor pencils

Versafine Onyx Black Ink

I'm actually making a family cookie recipe tonight, but the holiday season also calls for Russian Teacakes/Mexican Wedding Cookies, Spritz and other special recipes. Do you know the easy way to make cake pops? First wash your hands! Taking a frosted cake  you get from the store, pull it apart with your hands into small pieces...frosting/icing included.  Again with your hands, form balls and stick a lollipop stick in it. Dip in melted candy melts. Stand up in styrofoam (or stand on its top with the stick pointing upward) to dry. Add sprinkles right away if desired. If you look up Cake Pops on YouTube you will find all sorts of ways to make them!

Like the card says, Christmas calories don't count!

Happy Holidays!

-Carol

Happy Everything

For our last post at Just Us Girls in 2022 we have Photo Challenge #660. Isn't the photo that Vicki chose a great scene? I love all the blue, silver and gold! I had a few ideas in my head and must have seen a couple of things that resulted in this ornament card with my new Reverse Confetti frame that I snagged just before they sadly closed shop.

Products I used:

Stampin' Up!: Ornament stamp, star border punch

Reverse Confetti: Frame die

GinaK: Fine Detail White embossing powder

Rhinestones

Versafine Onyx Black and Watermark ink pads

Archival Ink in cobalt

Blending brushes

All this took was heat embossing the ornament stamp (on a navy card stock panel) with Versamark watermark ink and white embossing powder. I copied a Yana Smakula technique of ink blending dark blue and black inks around the edge of my embossed panel to make the ornament pop in the center where I left the navy panel as it was originally. I added punched gold stars and clear rhinestones to sparkle the panel up a bit. I cut down the navy panel to hide it behind the wavy frame that I die cut from white textured card stock. I adhered the panel and frame to a white A2 card base and was done!

We hope you will join us this week with this holiday inspired photo challenge! I look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery!

-Carol

Jingle Shells

I have been wanting to try to make sandmen with my snowmen stamps since seeing a new stamp set this year but wanting to try to use what I already have. This almost-one-layer card is in no way perfect, but I will try again soon with a different approach. It loosely represents my little family and reminds me of our first year back here in the tropical zone. (We have moved here three times!) I am playing along at Happy Little Stampers November Christmas Challenge with optional Santa.

I used all wooden stamps that are AGES old, plus chalks and ink blending to color. I drew in the little hills of sand and pieces of sand being thrown around. I hope you are having a good Black Friday...I am not leaving the house except to take a walk if it cools off before dark!!!

-Carol

Holiday Gift Tag Scene

This week at Tic Tac Toe Challenge #189, I made our board because I am the hostess! I am hoping to inspire cardmakers to get some holiday tags done...so here is mine and the design team will have lots of good ideas...as they always do. (You can make a card and not a tag if you avoid the center square on the board!) I chose the top left diagonal row: December Holiday, Tag, Sparkle/Shiny. I staged so many pictures and on this rainy day, this first one below came out the best. A mug tag, get it?

Products I used: 

CASual Fridays: Mug die

Pretty Pink Posh: Winter Scene die set

Concord and 9th: Mini ink pads

Sizzix (Tim Holtz): Tiny Snowglobes dies (deer)

Waffle Flower: Dome dies (cup handle)

Rhinestones

Wink of Stella pen

Twine

Ink blending brushes

I die cut the mug, but extended it to be taller by cutting part way down, then moving the die down to cut the bottom of the mug lower on my cardstock. I cut off the handle because it was now too high on the mug. I cut two sizes of domes at the same time to make the new handle. I ink blended blue ink on the handle and mug top. Then I adhered the handle on the back side of the mug. I cut another mug body and adhered it to the back of the one I just add in to, in order to cover where I had adhered the handle. For the cocoa, I ink blended that piece with brown inks and adhered it in its space at the top of the mug.

I die cut the winter scene, then took it apart. I ink blended green ink on the trees and scribbled Wink of Stella all over the snow. I removed the sky and used it as a stencil to add white dots in the sky on the mug.  Next I adhered the pieced-back-together scene. I die cut the deer and adhered it to the scene. I stamped the sentiment in the sky. Last, I put rhinestones in the sky for sparkle.

Please join the challenge this week and get some fun holiday tags/cards done!! 

-Carol

Santa's Naughty or Nice List

I hope your holiday season is progressing to your liking! Time passes so quickly, doesn't it? It's almost the end of 2022! This week at Just Us Girls Challenge #659 it is Color Week and we are using traditional colors Red, Green and Gold. I recently got together with a couple of my local stamping friends and we brought card kits for each other to create. This card was designed by my friend @scrapperatheart, Nancy. I just love it! I had fun putting him together!

Products I used:

Spellbinders: Dancin' St. Nick etched dies, Tinsel Time Sentiments etched dies

Pink and Main: Buffalo Plaid embossing folder

Gold cord

Gold glitter card stock

Stampin' Up!: Tag punch

Chalks for Santa's cheeks

Foam tape

Details: 

You don't have to, but I popped up Santa on foam tape so that I could make his swinging/dancing legs. 

You could make the tag detachable to keep, or to use as a tag, obviously. The tag could also be a tree ornament! So many uses and ideas. 

I fell in love with the Buffalo Plaid embossing folder the minute I saw it because it is so versatile. You could brayer some color onto the folder before running it through your die cutting machine to color part of the design...I will try that soon!

Hope to see your red, green and gold creations in our gallery this week!

-Carol

Wonky Wordle Card

Are you a Wordle fan? I am! I play in English and Spanish! For our Just Us Girls Challenge #658: Add an Envelope, I have had this idea in my head for a while and spent days trying to come up with a Wordle for a cardmaking theme. It took forever to build it because every word had to stay on topic. It was also difficult not to introduce a letter too early that was in the final word! Beige was the ONLY word I could come up with on the theme to start the whole board, too. I don't love the first word being beige, but I had exhausted all cardmaking words that could work. Below you will also find a picture of my Life is Good brand t-shirt that gave me the idea to do a themed Wordle. The matching envelope is stamped all wonky to depict all the words and letters running around our heads as we try to think of words to solve the daily Wordle puzzle.

Products I used:

Stampin' Up!: Just Perfect Alphabet stamp set

Random stamps from years ago for the dangling tags

The Twinery: Twine

I finally came up with the puzzle words and got busy cutting out the squares for them in the correct colors per Wordle game rules. I stamped the letters next, and some are wonky, but I wasn't going to stress over that after all the time it took to come up with the words. I measured half way across the card from top to bottom, lightly drew a line, and then horizontally across to find the center. I started adhering the letters from the center out, eyeballing all the way. I wanted some sort of stamping related images, so I tied twine around the side of the card and attached round tags that I stamped. I took a 6" x 6" envelope and stamped the same letters that I used on the card all over the flap to make it a matched set.

Hope you have fun with this challenge...pretty easy theme this week, right?

-Carol

Joy(ful) Reindeer

Hello and happy fall 2022! How can it be November already?!! I'm back with a new card for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge #187 holiday themed board created by Stef. I chose the right column moving down: Wood, Red, Animal or Elf. I fell in love with this American Crafts patterned paper from Joann Fabrics and couldn't wait for a reason to get it onto a card! Also, this is one of two reindeer dies I own that I just love to use! In this case, it is Rudolph with his nose so bright!

Products I used:

Simon Says Stamp: Picture Book Deer die set

Lawn Fawn: Oliver's Stitched ABCs

My Favorite Things: Inside Out Stitched Circle dies

Sugar Pea Designs: Card Front Element Builder dies

Stampin' Up!: Star border punch

Silver and tan twine

White and red glitter card stock

Shades of brown card stock

American Crafts: Wood and leaf patterned paper

My card is pretty straight forward regarding how it is made. I was inspired by @hippofee on Instagram. Here is  a link to her card and a photo below. 

I hope my little reindeer brought a smile to your day. We look forward to you creating something for our gallery this week!

-Carol

Peace

For our November challenge at Christmas Craft Creations we are using washi tape as the main feature/element of our cards. I have had the washi tape shown here for quite a few years and was happy to use each design that I own in black and gold for this challenge!

Products I used:

Stampin' Up!: ornament punch

Washi tape: various brands

Gold glitter paper

Black card stock

Permanent fine marker

Ruler

Foam tape

The Peace die is cut out of white card stock and colored black with a marker (I don't know the brand of the die - it belongs to a friend.)

Gold (slightly sparkly) envelope

I placed washi tape strips on a piece of white card stock close together. Then I punched out the ornament shapes from the washi-covered card stock. I played with placement on the card, then marked with pencil where each ornament should sit. I drew a black line, with my marker and a ruler from the top of the card to each ornament's spot. Next, I popped up the ornaments with foam tape. The left side of the card is a strip of gold glitter paper and black card stock. Pretty easy card!

Hope you will join us this month with washi tape as the main element of the card!

-Carol

 

Give Thanks

This week at Just Us Girls it is Word Week #657: Fence! I happened to buy a fence die this year and was happy to know I could execute this challenge with it. It also gave me an excuse to use my bicycle dies again too! It ended up being a Thanksgiving card.

Products I used:

My Favorite Things: Fence

Honey Bee Stamps: Bicycle dies

Spellbinders:  Apples and leaves

Stampin' Up!: Sentiment

Concord and 9th: Ink

I started by ink blending the grass and stenciling the sky. Next, I ink blended the colors I wanted for the "turning" leaves and the apples all over a strip of white card stock. Then I die cut duplicates of each kind of leaf and the apples. I die cut the bicycle and basket in fall colors. I assembled the bicycle, then the fun but tricky contents of the basket. After the bike was adhered to the card, I stamped the sentiment where I had room left. The last thing I did was pop up the basket with foam tape and add some falling leaves at the bottom of the card.

Hope your fall is going well and that you have time to join us this week!

Carol

You Bake the World a Better Place

I have loved the cookie stamp and die cards out there for at least a year or two and decided to go through what I have already in my stash. I wanted to see if I could "make some cookies" of my own. Here is what I came up with and shared over at the Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog #47 Anything Christmas Goes.

I was inspired by Chez Parmentier's card...wish I had her sentiment stamps for the front and inside.

Products I used:

Stampin' Up!: Scentsational Season dies, Stacked Star dies, Cherry Cobbler Classic ink pad, Greetings of the Season (inside sentiment stamp set)

Concord and 9th: Plaid Background Stamp Set

Gina K: Fine detail white embossing powder

Papertrey Ink: To Die For Sentiments: Christmas die

SugarPea Designs: Card Front Element Builder scalloped rectangle die

Pink and Main: Large Sentiment Strip dies

Poppy Stamps: Life is Sweet clear stamp set

Glitter card stock: red, white

Tan card stock 

Random rhinestones from my stash

I basically cut my "cookies" with the tree, star and candy cane dies out of glitter card stock. Then I grabbed some tan card stock and drew around the outside of the die, which was bigger than the die cut itself for each shape. I hand cut them out, then ink blended the edges to look like browned, cooked cookies. I adhered the glitter die cuts onto the tan ones to make each cookie.

I heat embossed the buffalo plaid onto another piece of the same tan colored card stock. I cut that panel with the scalloped rectangle die. I die cut the "you" out of black card stock. A stamped the sentiment on a die cut banner, random rhinestones and popped up cookies on foam tape finished my card. I love the sentiments in this Poppy Stamps set...they are all punny. My inside sentiment is a play on words..."season" for the spice in the cookies?!!!

Now I want to continue looking through my stash for more "cookie" worthy dies to make more cards like this one! See you back here soon with more holiday goodies!

-Carol