Olive branch

The dove in the nordic noel stamp set by a•muse studio does not have a branch in its beak, which is fine; most doves don't fly around with branches of any type unless they are building nests.  However, I think that when you are doing a card with a religious message, you really need the olive branch.

The linen texture to the dove is achieved by using a bold image stamp on textured cardstock.  I love how it looks when it is embossed.  I drew in the olive branch with a pencil.  I know, those diecut branches are not olive branches; I think they are marigolds, really, but if I didn't point it out, how many of you would have noticed?

Challenges:

• Crazy 4 Challenges - leaves
• Sugar Creek Hollow - things with wings
• Totally Gorjuss - dies
• Frosted Designs - embossing
• Dutch Dare - CAS

It's not easy being pine green

My friend Diane sent me some glamorous embossing powders a while back including this one that gives a deeply textured effect.  I love the effect, but after I stamped it, I found that it is a very difficult green to match.  This is as close as I could get with what is in my stash:

Funny how a touch of gold makes anything better.

Challenges:
Amusing Challenges - sketch
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - photo inspiration
For Fun - must use a rubber stamp
My Mum's Craft Shop - star
Lollypop Crafts - multiple punches (I used 4)

Santa

I sat down to make a card, and found that my slovenliness was working in my favor - I had the stamp set sitting out from the last card I made, a piece of plaid left that I made a couple of weeks ago, and my copic wallet was hanging on the back of my chair.  Also sitting out were my glue pens and glitter.  Anything is better with glitter!

Challenges:
Amusing Challenges - sketch
Challenge up your Life - Fantasy (unless you believe in Santa, in which case I apologize)
Polka Doodles - song: Santa Claus is coming to Town
ABC Christmas Challenge - Santa Claus
Stampavie - glitter

Gingerbread

I just bought this stamp set from a•muse studio called holiday tags, and yes, it has small images and small text, but small isn't the same as too small.  It's how you use them that counts.

I stamped the gingerbread boy three times, and the sentiment once, and it is just as big a focal image as I could want on a card.  I used the same pink pen and a ruler to give a border effect.  I thought kraft cardstock would go well with the brown of the gingerbread, and I used glaze gellies to give a glossy look to the icing.  The strips of DP are really just the two sides of the same paper - I love double-sided paper!

Challenges:
Amusing Challenges - pink, green, and brown
Penny Black - Christmas
Stamptacular Sunday - less is more
Just some lines - two different coloring media
My Mum's craft shop - buttons

Christmas gift tags

Sometimes I sit down to make a card, and after I stamp the image, I don't have a whole card to put under it.  That is what happened to me when I started making these Christmas gift tags.

it'a might be hard to make out in this photo, but I used glitter on the snowmen, flocking on the penguins (they are so soft!), and the sleighs are surrounded by paper piercing.  I used a variety of ribbons, punches, and paper scraps to finish off the tags.  It was fun to do!

Challenges:

• Amusing Challenges - anything but a card
• Hiding in my craft room - scraps
• Just some lines - two different coloring techniques (copics, colored flocking)
• One Stop Craft - no flowers
• Avadares - sparkle

Parasol

My girlfriend needed a parasol for a Red Hat event in Virginia beach; the ladies are going to parade down the boardwalk with them.  She was about to spend a serious amount of money for a fancy one from a bridal boutique, but I talked her out of it, telling her that most of the ladies would probably be carrying  Walmart umbrellas decorated with tulle.  She wasn't sure about tulle, as she had never worked with it before, so the last time I was at Walmart, I picked up an umbrella and some tulle and started ruffling and basting.  The results are below:

It is not particularly glamorous, but it gets the job done.  How often does one need a red and purple parasol, anyway?

oldies but goodies

I have a few things in my stash that I haven't used in a long time, although they used to be some of my favorite tools.  After I colored this stamp (my a•muse stamps and my copics are not old to me!), I didn't feel like rummaging through my designer papers looking for something that matched, so I pulled out my old plaid-maker and made my own plaid paper with the same markers I used to color.
                                    
 I then grabbed some pinking scissors to trim the mat layer for my image.  I made a big piece of plaid, but the image was so small, I decided to only use a little of it, and set it off with some border punches that have been dormant for a while.  There are a lot of fussy details on what is essentially a clean and simple card.

Challenges:

• Amusing Challenges - coloring with markers
• Dynamic Duos - colors
• Aud Sentiments - Holiday + sentiment
• Charisma Cardz - no embellishments
• Tandastamps - CAS