Joyful Poinsettia Christmas

 The calendar tells me there's only a week until Thanksgiving, and Christmas is just around the corner! At Color Hues we are inviting you to bring out red and metallic gold to make your cards over the next two weeks. Christmas or not, these colors are elegant and full of possibilities! 

I am making every effort to dig into supplies from my stash and bring them out for inking! The Joyful Poinsettia stamp (W Plus9) makes a beautiful background. I stamped it in Versamark ink onto Real Red card stock, and heat embossed it with glittery gold embossing powder. 

The sentiment is in gold foil and I adorned it with  three red gems. 

Sparkle and elegance are my favorites for Christmas cards and this one has both. It's much more glittery IRL! 

Can't wait to see what you will make with these colors. Please join us!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

 Supplies: Sentiment is from Gina K Foil-Mates Joyful Holiday

I'm adding this to Peace On Earth Challenge

Combining Stencils

 I am popping in with a card for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge, even though it's near the deadline, I just had to play along. You may have noticed my obsession with stencils lately. It continues! I learned so many ideas from the Stenciled 2 Online Card Class, that I pulled all my stencils out, and ordered a few more as well. 

I just couldn't wait to use this new stencil from Gina K designs, called Bold Bouquet. 

Beginning with pale blue card stock, I blended Oxide inks in layers using Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers, and just a bit of Shabby Shutters. 

For the next step, I inked the Stitched Quilt Stencil  (Frantic Stamper) over the entire card front. This simple layer brought cohesiveness to the design. Wanting to add texture, I used the Dot Fade stencil (Tim Holtz) and randomly daubed white craft ink in a few areas. 

I had a blast making this card and I was really pleased with how it turned out. I am eyeing all my stencils differently now that I realize how many ways they can be used. 

The Tic Tac Toe challenge had great options! I went with the top row suggesting Flowers, Word Die and Matching Envelope. 

It was easy to add a stenciled flower diagonally across the envelope with some design on the back and upper left front.  

ETA:  I didn't make it in time to enter at Tic Tac Toe. Next time!

I will also add this to NBUS, SSS Wednesday Challenge, and a new to me challenge at 

 I hope this encourages you today. Get those stencils out to play! I am grateful for your kind visit, thanks so much! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Stellar Snowflake

 Hello again, I'm popping in to share my second card for this first week of the new year. I was hoping to get into creating more often but it's not happening quite that way. Am I the only one? I am caught up in 'new' outlooks and daily habit changes. I'd almost rather clean out my pantry than stamp. I know, that does sound crazy! Hopefully my mojo will kick in again soon. 

Although the sun is warm and the weather is breezy today, I pulled out the Stellar Snowflake stencil from GinaK that is new to my stash. Using Transfer Gel from Thermo-web and a laminator,  I foiled the design onto white card stock. Backing the panel with a black mat, I added bright blue card stock over the card base. 

The darling sentiments are from Honey Bee stamps. I love that they include the outline for the larger words, which I cut from vellum. 

There have been some recent changes happening that affect this stamping hobby of mine. I had to back up and completely move all my files onto a new computer as the old one was dying. In doing so my Photoshop Editor has become obsolete. Also, a new light box and lamp are challenging me to take better photos more consistently.  All these things are on quite a learning curve. If you have editing software that you love, I'd be happy if you'd share it with me!

I am off to clean and organize the pantry which involves getting on the floor but not having to think too much, HA! Hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

Please know that your comments mean so much to me. They keep me going!

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

 

I will be joining the following challenges: 

SIMON SAYS Something New

And with the lovely Jingle Belles: What did Santa bring you? My answer - a brand new snowflake stencil!

TGIF  Technique Challenge 

Grateful for Color Hues!

 I can't believe we are greeting another month and you know what that means. A new challenge at The Color Hues! 

We are combining Carol's choice of orange and purple for Challenge #50 and I know you will have fun with that combo. 

I went with a leaf stencil from Gina K that has been around for awhile but it is new to me and I couldn't wait to try it out. Using two shades of each color I brushed them over the stencil. Beware! I was reminded that blue and purple make brown but I decided to go with it anyway! I trimmed the panel to allow lots of white space. 

The sentiment circle is also Gina K and the leaves are from The Greetery. 

These colors are wonderful for fall! I hope that you enjoy using them and will be inspired to play along. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

We are Family

 Hello there! It's been a snowy weekend and I've been happy staying inside and catching up on a few things. January is a big month for family birthdays and today that was my focus. A card needs to be in the mail tomorrow, so I got busy! 

My husband and I grew up in Maryland and his family spent lots of time on the water. When I saw the Gina K stamps depicting Magnificent Mallards I knew it would really help with those guy cards. The sentiments are specifically geared towards family adding to it's usefulness. 

My card is a CAS(E) of Mindy's fabulous card HERE. I was inspired by Jen's sketch at Freshly Made as well. Also entering at NBUS #34 as it's my first time using this set. 

That's it for me today! I hope your week is off to a wonderful start. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Perfect Poinsettia

Getting a quick post in today, hello!

I've been waiting for a perfectly elegant poinsettia stamp, and I'm using the Gina K Perfect Poinsettia layering stamp set to make today's card. Layering the images couldn't be easier and the result is rich and realistic looking. 

Playing around with color choices, I settled on SU inks in Strawberry Slush, Rose Red and Cherry Cobbler for the flower. 

I found it amazing how the bloom looked like Real Red when completed, although I didn't use that color to stamp it.  I decided that Real Red card stock and ink for the sentiment color matched the best when it was all complete. For the leaves I used  Wild Wasabi and Cucumber Crush, stamped off once for the middle layer and full strength for the last stamping. 

I added Nuvo drops in gold to the flower center, silver sequins and silver Glimmer paper for elegance. 

I'm playing with the Card Concept Rich Holiday challenge and was inspired by the poinsettias and shining crystal of the glassware for my Classic and Elegant style card. So great to be adding several styles to my holiday cards stash.  

The sun is shining again today and the weather is turning chilly. Instead of boating this weekend, my husband and I will be dancing! Great way to keep warm, don't you think?

He will look quite handsome in his tux!
Your visit today is so appreciated. See you next week! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

              Make something beautiful!

ETA: Giving a shout out of special thanks to the talented team at The Card Concept. They work hard to bring us a beautiful challenge. Happy surprise for me - I was picked for an Honorable Mention for the last challenge! You can see the winners HERE.