Around the World on Wednesday--Let's Shake Things Up!

Our theme this month is NOT a shaker card, well it could be, but it is really to shake up your creativity by creating something new with a technique or such that you have not tried in the past. This was the perfect time for me to experiment with the Alcohol Stampin’ Blends technique that is super popular!

I want to thank my friend Alanna Wharf as she shared how to create this technique during a recent Summer Stamp Camp that I was co-hosting and it inspired me to try it out! I wanted to use this Blends technique on a holiday card—tis’ the season! Okay, well it is still summer but you can never be too ahead for the holidays!

The base of my card is on Shimmery White and you must use Vellum to create this alcohol Blends technique. You also need a Stampin’ Blend in a color (s) of your choice, in my case I used Light Cherry Cobbler, and some Isopropyl Alcohol (or Rubbing Alcohol). I used an old Aqua Painter (I knew I kept those for some reason, haha!) to apply drops of the Isopropyl Alcohol. The internet is full of a ton of videos (not my specialty) on how you can execute this technique. It is surprisingly easy!

I created my little area and then cut the star shape from the Seasonal Swirls Dies in Cherry Cobbler card stock. I added some yellow stars from the Jolly Felt and Christmas Cheer Dies. I was so happy that felt returned to the Holiday Catalogue this year again!

“Jingle” is from the Holly Jolly Wishes stamp set—this is a fantastic stamp set full of holiday greetings!

Here is a close up of how fun this technique looks like. I will definitely be experimenting with this technique again!

I wanted to create another fun little area at the top of my card and one of my favorite little dies as the moment is the ‘ticket’ die from the Bloom Dies in the Annual Catalogue. I used it to cut some of the Sweet Stockings DSP and then trimmed the ticket down in size. I found “Happy Christmas” in the Words of Cheer stamp set.

Another little felt star and some Matte Decorative Dots completed this fun little area!

I don’t typically add anything to the insides of my cards, but I thought it would be fun in this case to add the complete ‘Jingle’ phrase and another star die cut.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Around the World Design Team creates based on this theme! I love how you can ‘Hop’ all over the world to see everyone’s unique styles! I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! Tricia Butts is up next and resides in the United States. Click on the button below to hop to her page!

Around the World On Wednesday--CASE the Designer

Hello friends! Welcome to another fantastic blog hop! I love this hop because the talent of this group is so outstanding and this month our theme is to CASE (Copy and Share Everything) one of the Designers in the hop. I am happy that I am casing Tricia Butts from Colorado! It was actually really hard to pick a card to CASE as she had so many great designs to choose from!

I decided to pick a project of Tricia’s to case that had stamping, coloring and used the Stamp Cut & Emboss machine. Tricia created a really beautiful card that featured Polished Pink and the Hand Penned Bundle, two brand new products that I just love. It came me the idea to create a card that featured a new Christmas Floral stamp set and embossing folder.

I decided to keep as many elements of Tricia’s card in my design as well. So I started with a Basic White card base and a Poppy Parade layer that I ran through a new folder called Timeworn Type to mimic her Polished Pink embossed layer.

I love how Tricia used a scallop edge on her card design as an accent. It is one of my favorite things to do too! The one I chose is from the Peony Dies and Tricia used the Hand Penned Dies.

The central image on my card is from the Words of Cheer stamp set which is coming out in the new July-January (JJ) catalogue. This catalogue features Fall, Halloween and Christmas and you are going to LOVE IT! If you live in Canada and would like one, leave me a comment and I will make sure to get you one!

I colored this large poinsettia image with my Stampin’ Blends. The poinsettia is colored with Cherry Cobbler and the berries are with Poppy Parade. The greenery is colored with Old Olive. I added Wink of Stella over top of the poinsettia flowers too!

I loved how Tricia stamped her sentiment in White Craft Ink and embossed it so I decided to do the same with my sentiment “Wishing you a Joyful Christmas”. I wanted to bring a little gold into my card to accentuate the gold from the Wink of Stella so I added some gold metallic twine behind my sentiment.

A little strip of Gold Foil paper along the top was a little finishing touch to bring in a bit more gold.

I think this is SUCH a #goodcarddesign that can be repeated using any embossing folder and stamp set! I think you should give it a try yourself! Just make sure to give Tricia the design credit :)

To continue on the hop you are actually going to go and visit Tricia’s blog yourself! Just click on the link below! Thank you so much for coming by today! I hope you have to visit everyone on the hop for some fantastic inspiration!

A Card a Day in December--Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! May your heart be full and full of gratitude for all that you have. I hope you all have a lovely holiday.

Now that my kids are getting a bit older I am taking some joy in creating a fancier Christmas table. This year I was inspired to make some personalized boxes for each person’s place setting. I am hoping to use these for a few years to come and will include a special gift inside each year.

I used the mini pizza boxes and created a wrap using the Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series paper. It is snug enough to stay on but easy enough to slip off and on.

I used the Wreath Builder dies in Mossy Meadow and Old Olive for the wreath and then added a banner in Real Red card stock. I cut everyone’s names with the Playful Alphabet dies and Foam Adhesive sheets. I added some sparkle with my Wink of Stella pen on top.

I wanted the mini pizza boxes to double as a gift card holder. We have entered that season of parenting when our kids have moved beyond toys and are happy to get clothes and gift cards. So each person will get a final gift card when we enjoy our family meal.

It easily attached the gift card with a glue dot and can reuse the lid again and again to add a gift card.

I am hoping this will become a new family tradition. I told my hubby to buy me a gift card and then had Summer sneak it inside so it will even be a bit of a surprise for me too!

I love personalized gifts and I think my kids will be excited to see their names on something!

I hope you are inspired! These could make cute place settings for any holiday occasion!

A Card a Day in December--Christmas Eve

Can you believe it is finally here? I really love Christmas and even though this year does look different we are able to still continue some holiday traditions. Of course, sending cards is a big part of the holidays for me, and I took extra care to send out holiday cards to as many people as I could this year and also collected and donated over 360 cards to Meals on Wheels in Edmonton. My card stash is thoroughly depleted which makes my heart so happy!

My 24th card this month to share with you is one I actually made way back in the summer during the pre-order period. One of my favorite things about being a demonstrator is early access to products!

This card features the Flower for Every Season 6x6 DSP stack from the Annual Catalogue. Like the name suggests it has a bunch of different flower prints including this beautiful poinsettia one.

The base of the card is Poppy Parade and I accented the DSP with a Whisper White border.

The poinsettia is stamped and cut with Poppy Parade ink and cardstock using the Poinsettia Petals Bundle. The flower is really brought to life with the Wink of Stella that is flicked over top and the Beaded Pearl in the center.

Happy Holidays is stamped on Blushing Bride card stock in Poppy Parade ink and is from the Poinsettia Petals stamp set. The leaves are on Mint Macaron card stock with Just Jade detailing. I love this gorgeous color combo.

This card is beautiful in person and as much as I wanted to keep it, I did give it away after enjoying it on display in my craft room for a few months. I know who receives it will truly appreciate it too.

Even though tomorrow is the BIG DAY I do have a special project to share with you so I hope you are able to check in. Merry Christmas my friends, near and far!

A Card a Day in December--Day #23

Can you believe we are only 2 days away from Christmas? I do feel like this month went by quickly! And if you are a mom you know that Christmas is like planning a big wedding once a year :)

For my card project today I am sharing a pretty traditional card in the sense of the color scheme. In fact red, white and a bit of green are the holiday colors I use to decorate my house for the holidays.

This card is on a Real Red card stock base and on the first layer I stamped the little mini Christmas trees from the Warm Hugs stamp set and then flicked my Real Red marker over the background. This fills the top of the card base.

The bottom section is embossed with the Wrapped in Texture folder.

I added a strip of Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series paper over top and cut a cute scallop border with the Festive Felt and the Peony Dies.

I stamped the sentiment in Old Olive ink on Pear Pizzaz card stock and layered it with a die from the Warm Wraps dies. The fun touch is the Glittered Star Ornament. I cut off the string and tucked the top part in between the layers so it looks more like an embellishment than a hanging ornament. It was easy to keep attached with the use of a few Glue Dots.

This card is pretty simple which I like because the design of the card can easily be recreated with birthday stamps or Valentine’s Day.

So if you need to make a couple of last minute holiday cards this one will not take you much but has alot of charm to it! I hope you have been inspired this whole month!