August Christmas cards: Simple peace

I hadn't planned to make any Christmas cards this month, but I decided I'd do one more batch to have some extras, just in case. I wanted a relatively simple design with a nature theme, so I used a long-retired stamp set, Heaven & Nature (Stampin' Up!).

I made a total of eight cards with this layout. I stamped the image and sentiment on cream card stock using dark brown ink and cut them out with Wonky Stitched Circle dies. I didn't want to do a lot of coloring, but I thought the image needed a touch of color, so I used red and green markers to color just the holly leaves.

For the background I used tan woodgrain card stock that I splattered with gold paint. I layered the background panel on a dark brown card base and attached the die-cut circles with foam tape. I finished the cards with a twine bow and several sequins.

To be honest, I'm not crazy about this card design. It's not bad, just not quite what I had in mind. But they're done, and now I have 98 holiday cards (I didn't make them all this year; some are left over from last Christmas). I may have to make two more just so I have 100. Hmm. . .

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Hexagonal flair

I'm trying to make sure I do at least one blog post a week during August, and here I am scrambling to finish this week's post at (almost literally) the last minute. So this will be a short one!

I used two stamp sets to make these two cards: Hexagonal Patterns Flair (Close to My Heart) and Biggest Wish (Stampin' Up!). I also used the Zen Garden ink collection from Catherine Pooler.

For the first card I chose four blue/green shades of ink and four small hexagon images. I stamped each image once in each color across a panel of white card stock. I stamped a bold "thanks" in dark green ink in the lower left corner and adhered the panel to a dark green card base. I finished the card with a few matte white enamel dots. Most of the thank-you cards I make seem to be feminine and flowery, so I love that this one has a more masculine feel.

For the second card, I changed up the color pallet and used pink, yellow, green, and blue, so it feels a little more feminine. I chose three large hexagon images, and again I stamped each image once in each color. I rounded two opposite corners of the white panel and stamped "happy birthday" in black ink in the lower right corner. I attached the panel to a black card base and finished it off with three matte black enamel dots.

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Butterfly Brilliance

Whew! It's been a busy couple of weeks for me. I took a temporary job for the month of August, and it's more hours and a later shift than I'm used to, so between that and the heat this summer I've been wiped out and pretty unproductive in the evenings. That means a lot of things end up on my weekend to-do list and I haven't had as much time for crafting and blogging. So if it's a little slow around here for the next few weeks, know that I'm still around, and hopefully I'll get back on track in September when school starts and I'm back to my regular job.

Today I'm sharing a few cards made with the Butterfly Brilliance stamp set and coordinating dies (retired, Stampin' Up!). I've had this set for quite awhile, and while I've used the detailed butterfly dies a few times, I had never used the stamped image(s) and the die that cuts them out. I needed to fix that!

The Butterfly Brilliance stamp set is actually one background-sized stamp with six butterflies. For my first card I stamped the image on a light-colored card base with slightly darker ink and added a narrow die-cut frame in black. I stamped an outline-style sentiment on white card stock with black ink, colored in the letters with a coordinating marker, added a black frame, and adhered it to the card front.

For embellishment I decided to add more butterflies -- three small gold ones and two larger ones. The large butterflies are layered to make them sturdier; for each butterfly I cut one black layer and two layers in the same card stock as the card base. I glued them together with the black on top and then gently folded up the wings. When I attached them to the card, I placed glue only on the bod and antennae of the butterflies. Note: This card base is slightly smaller than an A2 card, so the butterfly on the right can hang off the edge a bit and the card will still fit in a standard envelope.

For the next two cards I decided to ink up the butterflies in two different colors and cut them out with the coordinating die. (The images are far enough apart on the stamp that I was able to ink them separately with mini ink pads.) I wanted to keep these cards monochromatic, so I chose card stock that was the same colors as the stamped butterflies and then stamped the card bases with a wood plank background stamp. I die cut two stitched label shapes from white card stock and stamped each with a sentiment. I adhered a label to each card base and used foam tape to add the die-cut butterflies. I finished each card with a few simple pearls.

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Ranunculus

I'm back to share the third and final set of cards I made during craft day a couple of weeks ago. Today's featured stamp set is Ranunculus (Avery Elle).

I have plenty of flower stamp sets, but I had never bought a ranunculus set, so I was happy to find this one on clearance. It's so fun to watch the layers come together as you stamp them -- and they definitely don't need to be stamped perfectly. The flowers in this set are four-step images (the leaves are three-step), so they were perfect for my Color Fuse inks (Rubbernecker). Each set includes four  mini ink pads in progressive color value. I used the pink, red, yellow-red (orange), yellow, and yellow-green sets of Color Fuse inks.

For my first card I wanted to focus on trying out the layering stamps, so I went with a simple layout. I stamped three flowers and a few leaves on the upper left part of a piece of white card stock. I stamped a sentiment in black near the lower right corner and cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die. I layered the panel on pink card stock then a black card base and added some clear sequins. Simple, but pretty.

For the second card I went all out. I started by stamping the flowers and leaves on scraps of white card stock and then cutting them out with the coordinating dies. I wanted a layered background for the card, so I stamped the Dictionary background stamp on a white card base using Crumb Cake ink and then stamped the Distressed Dots background stamp over it with the same color (both retired from Stampin' Up!). That wasn't enough (ha ha!) so I added some shimmery splatter over the stamping.

I grouped the die-cut flowers and leaves and adhered them across the card front, using foam tape for one flower in each group to add some dimension. I stamped a small sentiment on a strip of white card stock with Crumb Cake ink and trimmed the left end into a V. To help it stand out against the background, I sponged ink on the edges of the strip and then attached it to the right side of the card with foam tape. The finishing touch was several green-tinted clear sequins. (I kind of wanted to add more, but I didn't think I should go overboard (ha ha!).

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