September Christmas cards: Nature's Christmas

Whew! I'm just squeezing in a few Christmas cards for September. I struggled finding a layout I really liked for this month's cards, so I made five cards with the same vintage look and feel but slightly different designs.

I used the Nature's Christmas stamp set (Stampin' Up!) for these cards. It's an older set, but new to me -- I recently got a secondhand set from a friend of a friend, so I wanted to try it out. I used the wreath and bird house images and "Merry Christmas" for the focal panels and colored them using Prisma Color pencils. I cut out the images with stitched dies and matted the panels with Cherry Cobbler card stock.

I used Crumb Cake card bases to keep with the vintage look, and I embossed each one with a different embossing folder. I don't use my embossing folders very often, but I love the texture. I used narrow green ribbon, gold rickrack, and gold sequins to embellish the cards.

Inside the cards I added a panel of vanilla card stock stamped with a sentiment in dark brown. I also stamped a poinsettia image in the lower left and upper right corners using Crumb Cake, and I think it adds a nice finishing touch.

September just flew by, and I know October will be the same. I'm not planning to make any Christmas cards in October, but who knows. I do want to make some autumn and Halloween cards, so hopefully I'll have some of those to share in the coming weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Floral pairs

In my last couple of posts, I shared some two-at-a-time cards -- cards that I made at the same time with the same stamp set and layout/design, and sometimes a few slight changes, such as colors or sentiments. (Often when I make cards this way I'm giving away one card and keeping one for my stash.) Today I'm sharing more pairs of cards made with the same stamp set. However, these floral cards show two different ways to use the images in each set.

For the first pair of cards I used the Forget-Me-Nots stamp set (Gina K Designs). To create the first card (left) I stamped the image on white card stock and colored it using Prisma Color pencils and Gamsol. I stamped a sentiment and cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die. I matted the panel with black card stock and then placed it on a light blue card base. For embellishment I added a simple hemp twine bow and a few blue sequins.

For the second card (right) I stamped the large image randomly across a piece of white cad stock to create a background. I also splattered the background with blue metallic watercolor. Again, I matted the panel with black card stock and adhered it to a light blue card base. This time I used a die-cut sentiment (cut twice and stacked together for a little dimension) with a vellum circle behind it to help it stand out a little more against the background. I finished the card with light blue sequins.

For the second pair of cards I used the From the Vault Flowers stamp set (Hero Arts). This set includes several floral images and sentiments in different styles. For the first card (on the left) I used a silhouette-style floral branch. I stamped the image multiple times on a rust-colored card base using coordinating ink and then sponged the edges with the same ink. To make the focal image, I stamped From the Vault Aged Shadow (Hero Arts) in pale yellow on white card stock and then stamped the floral image in the middle of the shadow. I added a sentiment (from a different stamp set) and tore off the card stock around the stamped images. I adhered the layer to the card base and added a few enamel dots and a twine bow.

To make the second card (right) I stamped the line-art daffodil image in the lower left corner of a piece of Crumb Cake card stock and “thank you” next to it. I colored the image with Prisma Color pencils — I’ve discovered I really like using colored pencils on kraft card stock — and then splattered the panel with Sparkle Silk. I matted the panel with dark brown card stock and the adhered it to a Crub Cake card base. I finished the card with a few sparkling clear sequins.

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Two-at-a-time all-occasion cards

I'm back today with a few more two-at-a-time cards. As I mentioned in my last post, during August, I was working on card collections for friends. When I got out a stamp set to make a card for one friend, I tried to also make a card for the other friend (or one for my stash). Today's cards are ones you could use for almost any occasion by just changing the sentiment.

I love the Cup of Tea stamp set and coordinating dies (Stampin' Up!), and these cards make me happy. I started with Crumb Cake card bases and added a die-cut white scalloped frame to each. I decided where I wanted to position the die-cut teacups, but before I glued them down, I stamped the greenery image on the card bases with Crumb Cake ink. I added tea-bag tags to the cups with crochet thread then glued the cups to the bases. I stamped a sentiment in the upper right corner of each card, added a die-cut lemon slice, and finished with a few white hearts.

I apologize that the lightning in this photo isn't great; I always have a hard time with cards that are mostly white. At any rate, I used the Organic Elements stamp set (Essentials by Ellen) for these two cards. They have exactly the same layout -- the only changes I made for each card were the colors of the solid shapes and the sentiment. I used the Spa Collection - Zen Garden set of inks (Catherine Pooler) for the colors. There are eight colors in the collection, so I used four for each card. (The one on the bottom right of the second card is a dark green.) I used a black pen to draw a border around each panel and attached the panels to white card bases using foam tape. I finished both cards with clear enamel dots.

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Two-at-a-time birthday cards

Whew! The start of the school year and going back to work has really thrown me off my game. I haven't gotten back into a good routine yet; I need to figure out how to fit in crafting/relaxing/fun time with work, sleep, and all the boring regular stuff like cleaning and laundry. So I don't think I'll be posting as much as I did in August, but I'll try to get back on track with sharing something at least once a week. Today I've got a few festive birthday cards for you.

During August I was working on a collection of birthday cards to gift to a friend. So when I made a card for her, I tried to make another one for my own stash. For these two-at-a-time cards I used the Pretty Party Decor stamp set (Trinity Stamps) with the Paradise Found collection of inks (Catherine Pooler). I wanted to use a gender-neutral color pallet, and I think these colors fit the bill. 

Each lantern image has two stamps: the full shape of the lantern and then the details. I stamped the full image onto scratch paper first and then onto my card layer to make it lighter; the detail image is stamped in the same color but "full strength." I used a ruler and fine-tip pen to add the strings for the lanterns, and I also added a little sparkle by coloring the lighter parts of the lanterns with a Stardust Gelly Roll pen. It doesn't show up well, but you can see a hint of it in this photo:

I layered the panels on black card bases and finished them off with yellow enamel dots.

For these cards I used the Make a Wish stamp and die combo (Taylored Expressions). I had this layout in my head (not that it's a unique layout or anything), and while the cards turned out fine, I don't totally love them. For the first card (on the left), I adhered the die-cut candle and flame images directly to the card base. I used a small blender brush to add a touch of yellow ink behind each flame to create a glow. For the second card, I attached all the candles and flames to the card base with foam tape. I like that better, but it still wasn't exactly what I was looking for. I think maybe I should have stamped the candles and flames on colored card stock so there wasn't so much white. Or I could have lightly blended over the die-cut image with the same color ink. Oh, well. Two things to try next time. At any rate, I stamped "Happy Birthday!" along the bottom of the cards and finished them with clear sequins or blue rhinestones.

Thanks for stopping by!