Star of Wonder Christmas

 Good morning! 

I just had to try the technique for creating nighttime lights shared by Jennifer McGuire at Online Card Classes Holiday Card Workshop 2021.  This was fun to do and has amazing results. 

It involves ink blending  which you know I love, and Perfect Pearls that I knew I had somewhere in my stash, lol! If you don't count the amount of time it took me to FIND it (sheesh!) the card came together quickly. 

The die cuts are from Stampin' Up! ( Night in Bethlehem) and the sentiment is by Verve. I think it would have shown up better embossed in white, but my white powder has been patchy lately, so I opted for better coverage with silver.  The stars die cuts are from white glitter paper and the spatters are white gouache paint.

That's it from me for today! I will be back tomorrow. Thanks so much for your visit and kind comments. I appreciate every one. 

I will be entering this at these challenges: 

Peace on Earth

and Time Out Challenges - WORD - precious

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Color Hues Shines in Silver and Gold

 Hello friends! In the past couple weeks I've been busy working ahead on cards for the blog challenges I'm in through the end of the year. So this morning I had the fun of creating with Christmas sets in my stash, new and old. Did lots of inking and didn't even make a card, but enjoyed the explorative crafting. Now I'm moving on to getting some chores done this afternoon. 

Our Color Hues Challenge of Silver and Gold shines this month! The Waffle Flower Poinsettia Die was a delight to use for a white on white Christmas card.   

 I cut white flowers and layered them, tucking in a few leaves from gold foil. Using glue dots allowed for extra dimension between the flower layers. I put foam under the whole flower. 

The shine is hard to see on the silver foil flourish and silver embossed sentiment. Pearls seemed just right for an elegant embellishment to tie the card together. This is one of my favorites, I love how it turned out.

I can't wait to see what you will make! Hope you will play along!

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Stamps: Touched by Peace - Penny Black

Inspired By 195 White Christmas

 Hello again, and welcome! We are loving seeing your amazing cards in the gallery! Ready for a White Christmas Challenge at Inspired By? Believe it or not, I took the longest time figuring out where to go with this theme as there are so many options and the photo is delightful. 

I ended up going with a snowy night sky, taking all my inspiration from a lovely card Kristina showed at the Holiday Workshop 2021 at Online Card Classes.  Culling a few snowflake stamps from various sets, I made a background and did some inking to add depth of color around the edges. Keeping this simple to make and easy to mail were important. 

The Stampin' Up! Snowflake Wishes stamps and dies came to live with me last year, but I am just getting around to using them! With a snowy embossed background, a white heat embossed sentiment, a few rhinestones were the only embellishments. 

Joining in the fun at NBUS - never been used schtuff. 

I know you will find great inspiration at the blog, have fun with this challenge! Thanks so much for your kind comments. 

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Inspired By 194 Welcome Friends

 Hello and welcome! I am happy to turn the calendar page and greet a new month which also kicks in my Christmas card making spree! As you will see, I was literally influenced by the photo at our Inspired By Challenge! 

Here's what caught my eye - kraft, buffalo plaid, a satin bow,

 woodgrain and layers of texture! Oh, and did I say berries? 

What speaks to you in our photos today? Hope you will craft along with us and link your project in our gallery!  For those looking for card details, I will include them below. 

I'm joining the fun with Ann's tic tac toe challenge at The Paper Players, choosing the diagonal row: ribbon, patterned paper, embellishments.

Thanks for your visit today!

 Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Details: I created the background on white card stock by stamping the Wood Grain Background (WPlus9) in pale gray ink. The frame (Anastasia Tag) and deer (Stag Trio Die) were also from WPlus9. 

I went for a rustic look and added a new to me embossing powder from WOW! called Perissa. It blends two metallic shades and gives a bumpy texture which I just love. You can see it on the kraft frame and a bit on the deer.The greenery was cut from Vicki Boutin Foundations card stock. This mixed media paper is heavy and I used Distress Oxide inks to blend the greens, then cut them with dies from The Greetery. Snow was created with Ranger Distress Spray and WOW Puff White embossing powder. I added Glossy accents to the berries. This card was completely inspired by things I learned from Dawn Woleslagle and her fabulous lives!

Color Hues #29 Orange and Brown

Good morning! It's a new day for a challenge from Color Hues and you won't believe the gorgeous inspiration our team has for you this month. We're using brown and orange, perfect hues whichever way this takes you - fall, leaves, critters, thanksgiving, florals - lots of options! 

Here is what I came up with. Remember, kraft can be used as a neutral. I began with bold pops of color using stitched frames (PTI). 

The leaf dies from Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons created the orange leaves and gold foil outline for the focal point. I wrapped the kraft panel with a bit of twine after stamping the sentiment and embossing it in white.  

 Can't wait to see your creations! Hope you will play along. 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Inspired By 193 Friends Fall Together

 Hi! Today I am celebrating my favorite fall event, when friends and family gather for the Thanksgiving holiday. Our theme this month at Inspired By is Friends Fall Together. For my card, I did some ink blending on the stamps before stamping them using my MISTI so that I could achieve multiple tones. 

The larger leaf images are from WPlus9 Autumn Leaves stamp set. The smaller leaves and sentiment are from Gina K. It's my first time using the Wreath Builder template and I really enjoyed it! My card measures 4.50" square. A bit of gold thread and gold embossing are the dress ups. 

I was more inspired this time by the theme although these are super fun prompts. Hope you will play along! 

Have a great day! 

Be yourself

          Have delight in your craft 

               Make something beautiful!  

Harvest Meadow Meets Succulents

 How are you doing today, friends? Well, I hope! We've been enjoying gorgeous sunshine the last few days and it's still warm and pleasant outside. I love this Indian summer weather!

I know you came for a card, and I have been playing in the craft room too. The lovely sketch at The Paper Players has been on my mind, so here's the card I made using it. 

I fell in love with the Harvest Meadow DSP from Stampin' Up! and was trying to come up with a way to use the gorgeous pattern in pale neutrals. Inspiration comes from the strangest places. I have a friend who decorates beautifully. Her whole guest bath is done with pale kraft, gray, and white and sketchy botanical artwork. The only color in there was a bold pop of deep green from a tall succulent. I was brave enough to try to pair these images and patterns versus keeping it safe with matchy colors. What do you think? 

Using sponges to ink the pot image, I combined colors to give an ombre look. The only embellishment is the clear gloss addition to the plant pot, and added dimension to the die cut sentiment, which brings a pop of white. I think I like it!

Our friend loves succulents too, so this will be a thank you for having us to dinner. Hope she likes it! 

Thank you Paper Players for a great sketch!

I appreciate you so much for joining me here for a little bit. Be back tomorrow!

Be yourself.

     Find delight in your craft.

          Make something beautiful! 

Supplies used: 

Stamps: The Greetery - Pot-Pourri, stamps and dies

Accessories - WPlus9 - Welcome Dies