Baroque Christmas
Posted: October 11, 2008 Filed under: Baroque Motifs, Home for Christmas, Snow Swirled 6 Comments
As I played with the Snow Swirled set this weekend I noticed how well it co-ordinated with the flourish from Baroque motifs. So I created a little snow storm! This card actually took me quite a while because I couldn’t settle on the colour combination. Perfect Plum and Pale Plum work together but neither Bravo Burgandy nor Eggplant Envy work as a darker colour with them. I ended up using just a little Bravo Burgandy and a bit of Black in the darkest areas of sponging.
Perhaps next time I do one like this I should take pictures as I go. First I stamped the tree and the snowflakes in versamark on separate pieces of Whisper White cardstock and embossed with clear e.p. I cut a piece of paper into the shape of a gently rolling hill and laid it across the bottom to mask my snowy ground before sponging all the sky. I sponged first in Pale Plum and then worked in Perfect plum to create the middle colour and the darkest colour at the top. I used a Plum coloured Marvy Brush marker to draw along the swirls of the flourish and the tree and then wiped the excess off the embossing. I sponged the tree in Pale Plum and stamped three tree tops in Pale Plum also.
Although it is hard to see in the photo the ribbon is tied in a bow and the two tails are twirled and then held under the matte with sticky strip. The matte is made from Bravo Burgandy but I coloured the edge with the same Marvy marker to make it a darker burgandy. I popped the tree up on Stampin’ dimensionals. The finished size of the card is 4 1/8″ by 7 1/8″ a non-standard size for which I have no envelope, but as I don’t want to crush the ribbon twirls anyway, I think I will keep this one for friends close by.
Supplies:
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Home for Christmas, Baroque Motifs
Inks: Versamark, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Bravo Burgandy, Basic Black
Cardstock: Pale Plum, Whisper White, Bravo Burgandy
Also: Wine organza ribbon, clear e.p. Stampin’ dimensionals, Marvy brush marker no.64
Snow laden tree
Posted: October 8, 2008 Filed under: Season of Friendship, Stamped Landscapes 10 Comments
I have several Christmas card events to plan for in the coming months so I have been playing with snowflakes stamps again. This tree and the snowflake is from the Season of Friendship set in the Stampin’ Up Holiday Mini. I think the projects featuring different seasons caught my eye more than anything else, but I have been having fun making winter scenes.
I have spent a bit of time lately browsing through the wonderful artwork of Michelle Zindorf and was inspired to try a scene complete with shadows and heavily sponged skies. To make this card I stamped the tree in versamark and embossed with black embossing powder. I then stamped the snowflakes in versamark and drew snow on the branches with the versmarker before embossing again, this time with white e.p. To make the tree’s shadow I inked the trunk with Brilliant Blue and stamped it at an angle, using a little scrap of paper near the base to mask any area I didn’t want stamped.
The sponging for the sky had to be built up layer by layer creating the impression that the moon was shining from the left. In order to have the snowy ground I ripped a piece of paper to use as a mask while I sponged. I used Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue and Brilliant Blue. Finally I stamped a few more snowflakes in Ballet Blue and matted it to fit on a 5½”x5½” square card. It was fun to make so I’ll be revisiting this style and method for sure.
Supplies:
Stamps: Season of Friendship
Inks: Brilliant Blue, Ballet Blue, Versamark, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Ballet Blue: , Whisper White
Also: Black and white embossing powders, versamarker sponges
Sing ‘n’ Stamp with Becky
Posted: October 6, 2008 Filed under: Wondrous Gift 2 Comments
For the last few weeks the Stamp Simply Challenges have been focusing on Sharon’s Challenge design team. The current challenge feature’s Becky beautiful work. I spent quite a while browsing through Becky’s archives, collecting ideas. Becky is a singer and stamper, hence the title. Part of the challenge was to include something music related; I tried to include the lyric from this set, but it didn’t work out.
To make this card I stamped the tree and stars in versamark and embossed with gold embossing powder. I then drew lines for the tinsel using Sparkles diamond glue from Personal Stamp Exchange and sprinkled some fairly fine coloured glitter on the glue. As the glitter included bright pink flecks I matted with Rose Red as well as brushed gold. I would never have thought to make a black Christmas card but I quite like the black and gold combination.
Supplies:
Stamps: Wondrous Gift
Inks: Versamark
Cardstock: Basic Black, Brushed Gold, Rose Red
Also: Gold organza ribbon, Sparkle diamond glue, glitter
Snowy doorstep
Posted: October 4, 2008 Filed under: Home for Christmas Leave a comment
This set really appealed to me when I saw it because of the sleds and skis by the door. There are skis and sleds by our door and a wreath hanging for as long as the snow stays. My door is not as rustic as this one but otherwise it’s a good match. And of course those of you who know me know that I have roamed far from my home, Australia, where Christmas is hot and sunny, to live here where we hope every year that Christmas will be white, like this doorstep.
I stamped the picture with Basic Black and then used watercolour pencils for the colouring. It is hard to colour well on such a detailed picture. Then I picked out the colour of the skis for my mattes, one is Not quite Navy and the other is a co-ordinating piece of designer paper from way back when.
Supplies:
Stamps: Home for Christmas
Inks: Basic Black, Not quite Navy
Cardstock: Basic Black, Not quite Navy, Naturals White, a piece of Slab designer paper
Also: black grosgrain ribbon, ticket corner punch
I also tried a monochrome design with this stamp, which I will probably try to improve, I’m not totally happy with it, perhaps a different colour might be better. 
Supplies:
Stamps: Home for Christmas
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Versamark
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Bella Rose designer paper
Also: White embossing powder
Season of Friendship
Posted: October 2, 2008 Filed under: Season of Friendship, Uncategorized 1 Comment
The inspiration for this card was a card made by Sharyn Tormanen on page 64 of the August/September edition of Papercrafts magazine. Once again a simple but striking card caught my eye. The red flourishes were stamped with the gorgeous flourish from Baroque Motifs and the white flourishes are rub-ons from the retired Cherished Memories set.
When my older daughter saw this one it appealed to her because of its simple unclutterd style. Her motto in many things is “less is more” which is often a good guide when it comes to decoration.
Supplies:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Season of Friendship
Inks: Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pirouette Pink, Bella Rose designer paper
Also: Cherished Memories rub-ons
Simple Snowflake
Posted: October 2, 2008 Filed under: WInter Post 1 Comment
The latest Stamp Simply challenge was 2b Krafty with Janine. I spent some time browsing through Janine’s impressive blog and was inspired by this simple but stylish card. I liked the clean lines and the central image.
Once I decided my card would be a Christmas card a little sparkle seemed like a good idea. I started by stamping the snowflake in Elegant Eggplant and then embossing with irridescent ice. It sparkled a little but not enough so I stamped the versamark pad on the whole rectangle and embossed with irridescent ice again! Unfortunately the camera didn’t pick up the sparkliness very well. The “Season’s Greetings” is stamped in white and then embossed with irridescent ice also. The background is done with three colours of ink stamped and restamped to create different shades.
The finished size of the card is 5½” x 4¼” but I started with a piece of cardstock 4¼” x 12″ and scored it at 5¼” and then 10¾” to make the flap on the right side. Attached to the flap is a 1¼” circle with a slot punched in it to thread ribbon through.
Supplies:
Stamps: ,Many Merry Messages, Winter Post
Inks: Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Craft White, Versamark
Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Also: Eggplant grosgrain ribbon
Autumn Daisies
Posted: September 29, 2008 Filed under: Pocket Silhouettes, Uncategorized, Upsy Daisy 1 Comment
I haven’t participated in Beate’s weekend sketch challenge for months so when I saw the sketch this weekend featuring three panels I decided it was time. I have been working on Christmas cards today but wanted to stamp these daisies once more at least before it’s all Christmas cards and gifts.
I cut my three pieces and tried to stamp the left, then centre then right side of the stamp so they would roughly line up. I could have used the stamp-a-ma-jig to be absolutely accurate but I didn’t!
Supplies:
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Upsy Daisy
Inks: Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Cardstock: Whisper White, Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Also: Circle Punches
Grass trio
Posted: September 27, 2008 Filed under: Designer Paper, Pocket Silhouettes, Upsy Daisy Leave a comment
I needed a ‘make and take’ last week and decided to use Pocket Silhouettes and the square punches. You can see from my colours that I’m not quite ready to let go of summer yet but I have to accept that autumn has arrived. I am noticing the colours emerging every where I go now. The leaves will be falling in our yard for the next month or two; we have big trees! Last year we just managed to get all the leaves up before the first snow fall which didn’t disappear until spring. But that’s enough about snow.
I stamped the sentiment first so I would know I had enough room and then layered a Not quite Navy strip, a Confetti White strip and a strip of Bella Rose designer paper. I stamped the three images and then punched out the part of the design I wanted and matted it. Finally a strip of ribbon with a smaller piece knotted on to it.
Supplies:
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Upsy Daisy
Inks: Certainly Celery, Not quite Navy, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Confetti White, Certainly Celery, Not quite Navy,, Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose designer paper
Also: Celery grosgrain ribbon
Grassy silhouettes
Posted: September 23, 2008 Filed under: Designer Paper, Pocket Silhouettes 1 Comment
More of the designer paper from the Bella Rose set and more silhouettes also! This is what the side of the road often looks like as you drive out of town during summer. There is plenty of Queen Anne’s Lace, plus pretty wildflowers and grasses whose names I don’t know. My first attempt used all four silhouette stamps from the Pocket Silhouette set but the grassy roadside lost some definition so one type of grass was eradicated! If only it was that easy to get rid of unwanted plants in my garden.
Supplies:
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes
Inks: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Confetti White, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose designer paper
Eastern inspiration
Posted: September 17, 2008 Filed under: Eastern Influences 2 Comments
That’s right, another card inspired by my visit to China this summer. It is hard to believe that I was actually in China two months ago, but I have hundreds of photos, some lovely silk items and some wonderful memories to prove it. Several of those memories centre around the beautiful paintings and embroideries I saw as well as the intricate designs on all the historic palaces and temples we visited.
Many of the embroideries, fabrics and paintings feature blossoms, similiar to this stamp from the new Eastern Influences set. When I was making this card by son aged 7, was sitting on the floor beside my craft table going through my paper recycling box and picking pieces out to put through my paper crimper. He put them through multiple times at different angles creating all sorts of effects. His creativity inspired the painted blind effect on my card, crimping the image gave it just the texture I needed to complete the card.
I started by stamping the branches and birds in Basic Black and then using watercolour pencils to colour them. I sponged in Bashful Blue and stamped the rose blossom in the same ink on the corner several times. To create the shadowed “Beautiful” character and word I used the stamp-a-ma-gig with Blue then Black.
Supplies:
Stamps: Eastern Influences
Inks: Bashful Blue, Basic Black
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Also: Watercolour pencils, crimper
Heather Telford 
