Christmas with Mallory

Ohmygosh, I haven't made a layout since August. I can't believe I have allowed so much time to pass before making another one. After Mallory left this week, I was feeling blue so I made a layout about our Christmas time together. This one was made for the Sketch Relay over at Club Scrap. I used papers from the Michael Strong Joyful kit along with some Thickers purchased at Big Lots in Atascadero. Thanks for looking.

Merry Christmas

Bombshell Tussie Mussie

My good friend Farley threw down a December challenge to create some Tussie Mussies for the holidays. I will leave it to you to figure out where they came up with that name. My Mussie was assembled from a DCWV paper pad cut on my Silhouette and my new Bombshell Stamp, which I actually converted to a Print and Cut on the Silhouette. She's actually a Retro Cowgirl but I made her take off her Stetson and wear a Santa cap. Colored her with a combination of watercolor pencils and Ranger Distress Markers. Oh, and there's a bit of Stickles also, just cuz it's Christmas. Beads and fibers from Club Scrap. Border punch from Martha.

And here's a little detail shot also. Thanks, Farley, for challenging me to step outside my little box. I hope to make at least one more for the challenge before the Holiday season is over. This one, however, is also being posted at Simon Says Stamp and Show for their Gift-spiration challenge hosted by May Flaum, PaperArtistsOnline and Bombshell Stamps for their December Pin Up Challenge. You just know I had to multi-task.

Holiday Card Class - Sentiment Backgrounds

One more card from Day Nine of the Holiday Card Class. Same information as the card I posted on December 11. Still not crazy about the technique. Washi tape border and edge punch from Martha Stewart.

Holiday Card Class - Day Nine

Back to my Holiday Card Class. On Day Nine, Jennifer McGuire showed us how to create cards using Sentiment stamps. I wasn't overly fond of this technique and had very few sentiment stamps at the time the class was being held. However, thanks to a recent buying spree, I suddenly found myself the lucky owner of quite a few new Christmas sentiments. Still not crazy about the technique, but determined to try each of the techniques taught to us. This one uses materials from my Simon Says Stamp class as well as my scrap stash. The sentiment stamps are mostly from Simon Says Stamp with a few others thrown in for good measure. I don't think I will try this technique again. I used my Martha Stewart Cardinal punch on this one. Love that little guy.

Inspired by Tim's 12 Tags

Twelve months have gone by since Tim Holtz announced he would not be doing the Twelve Tags of Christmas in 2012. Instead, he was making a sensible decision to offer up one tag per month. Less frenzy at the end of the year. Unfortunately, despite my best intentions, I have not made ONE of his tags for 2012 until NOW. I finally attacked the December tag. Primarily because I recently became the proud owner of a set (well, who am I kidding?) both sets of blueprint stamps designed by Mario Rossi III. Love them. So I had to use the snowman, just like Tim, even though I only have the little version. I am loving this little 4x6 card, designed for a pocket scrapbook page. I used Distress Stains on the background and colored my snowman with Distress Markers and a little bit of Stickles. Tissue tape along the bottom beneath some old Heidi Swapp chipboard letters. The snowflake is an embellie from the ClubScrap Joyful kit. Tinsel also from Tim Holtz. I am very happy with this piece. I am posting it over at Simon Says Stamp and Show for their Challenge: Inspired by Tim's 12 Tags. Thanks for looking. 

Celebrate

A masculine card was needed for the Camaro-loving hubby of my Squirrely friend Nancy. I don't own any Camaro stamps but my hubby assured me that a Chevrolet man would be happy to have a different Chevrolet (as opposed to the Ford stamp I had pulled out....YIKES!). Anyway, it's a fairly simple card without a lot of bells and whistles but I did use a Distress Stain technique on the panel and embossed the copper panel with my favorite automotive embossing folder. Hope it was a great day, Mark. Despite the fact that you had to drive 150 miles.

Distressed Tree

Surprise! This one is not from Simon Says Stamp. It's another one for the Card Sketch over at Club Scrap. All materials are from Club Scrap kits with the exception of the tinsel from May Flaum and the triangle tree which is Bristol Smooth cut on Silhouette and then colored with Distress Stains. Yum. The banner was cut with my new Memory Box Simon Says Stamp die. Thanks for looking.

Triangle Tree

Yes, it's another card from my December Simon Says Stamp card kit. Enough said? I cut the triangles from various scraps on my table. All edges are inked with Distress Ink. With the exception of the two plain green triangles which are Club Scrap POPs, all materials are from Simon Says Stamp. Card is based upon a sketch from December Page Maps. Thanks for looking. 

Cool Christmas

Another cute and simple card using a gatefold card base from Club Scrap and my December Simon Says Stamp Card Kit called Everything is Merry. The adorable little penguin stamp is from my newest purchase from Penny Black called A Cool Christmas. It has several penguin images. Now you know why I had to own it. Simple and complete in under 30 minutes. There's a greeting on the back of the penguin label which says Have a Cool Christmas. Penguin was colored with a combination of watercolor pencils and Ranger Distress Markers.

Sending Holiday Cheer

Following May Flaum over at Camp Scrap: Holiday 2012 Edition, I created this Clean and Simple Card in under 30 minutes. Last week, I bought the adorable Hot Air Balloon die by Memory Box while shopping at the new location of Paper Garden. I have been itching to try it and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. All papers and the stamp are from the December Simon Says Stamp Card Kit. I'm telling you, ya really gotta check it out. Thanks for looking. 

Washi Tree

Ms.Nancy over at Squirrely Art has challenged us this month to make a card using the latest craze of washi tape. Up until I started receiving the Simon Says Stamp kits, I did not have one inch of washi tape. Now I have it all over the place. However, these strips are actually all from my weekly shopping experience at Target. Not sure they are actually washi but they are tape. This is one of those cards that I didn't have conceptualized before starting and then lost interest in before completing. It is what it is. They always look so much better in my head. Why is that? Card base, label and stamp are from the December Simon Says Stamp Card Kit. White panel is Bristol Smooth cut on the Silhouette allowing a tree to peek through. Faux stitches were applied using a template I bought eighty odd years ago and never used. Hooray. Used my stash.

Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit

Finally had the opportunity this weekend to dive into my December kit from the Simon Says Stamp Card Kit. Even though they offered a special Christmas kit, I had my fingers crossed that the regular December kit would also include a Christmas-y theme. And they did deliver. Love these papers from Pink Paislee. Lovely Christmas designs. It's so hard to go wrong with these kits. For this card, I followed the November/December Card Sketch over at Paperartistsonline. Simple but effective. Thanks for looking.

Merry

Time for a new card sketch over at Club Scrap. This month I challenged the members to create a tree shape on their card without using a stamp, rubber or digi. For my sample, I cut wonky triangles out of various green paper scraps, inked and stamped them with Club Scrap stamps and placed all over a card base and panel from All That Jazz. Thanks for looking. 

All items are from Club Scrap.

Seasonal Card

This is my very favorite piece of paper from that August Simon Says Stamp kit. Lovely. I wanted to hoard it for the rest of my life but decided it would be better used on a Thanksgiving card to a special friend. 

Flower Girl Kit

These Simon Says Stamp Card Kits just keep on going and going. More cards from the August kit. See previous post for details.

Harvest

 

Yet another harvest card from my August Flower Girl Simon Says Stamp Card kit. Loved the colors in this kit and feel they work well for fall cards. The stamps are from a set from Inky Antics called Honey Pop. Thanks for looking.

May Each Season...

Another card from the Simon Says Stamp October kit called Forever and Always. These kits just keep on going and going and going. The stamps are from Farm House Paper Company. 

Day Five - Christmas Tree and Baubles

Still working on my Holiday Card Workshop even though the formal class is over. This card was one of my favorites during the class but it was just too labor-intensive to work on during class. So I attacked it once the frenzy of daily assignments was over. All supplies are from Club Scrap, various kits. The tree shape and ornaments were cut on my Silhouette. The tree and ornaments were colored with Distress Inks. There are Stickles on some of the balls. And a little bling, just because. Thanks for looking.

1937 Mercedes

Hubby asked me to prepare a card for his son's 49th birthday. Inasmuch as he drives a used Mercedes we thought this stamp from B Line Design would be a good choice. All other supplies from the October Simon Says Stamp card kit called Forever and Always. I have also used this for the November Sketch Challenge at PaperArtistsOnline. Thanks for looking.

A Harvest of Good Things

Yet another cute fall card from the November Simon Says Stamp kit along with some washi tape from my stash and that adorable fall rubber stamp set. I can't find the packaging right now to ID the company. Will edit my post when I find it. I did a teensy bit of coloring on the squirrel image using my new Tim Holtz Distress Markers but I wasn't brave enough to dive in and color the entire image. 

Nice Having You Around

Still posting cards from the November Simon Says Stamp card kit. These little kits are fantastic. Just enough supplies to make a few lovely cards. There is actually so much stuff I never seem to finish off a kit. I think if I kept adding card bases, I could make cards forever. The stamp is from a little Pebbles set I recently purchased at Green Tangerines in Rocklin on my fun day with Farley.

From One Nut To Another

Now that the Holiday Card Workshop has come to an end, I feel I have time and space to post a few non-Holiday cards. This is another from the November Simon Says Stamp Card kit. The stamps are from a set I bought at Scrapbook Island. The company name escapes me at the moment. Washi tape from stash.

Happy Anniversary

Today marks the 19th anniversary of the wedding of my brother and his wife. I made this little card for them from the November Simon Says Stamp card kit. Very simple yet lovely. All edges inked. A little bit of Stickles and you're done. You can see other cards made from this kit here.

Day Eight - Simple Die Cutting

On Day Eight, guest teacher Amber Kemp-Gerstel gave us a simple die cut card using an inking technique. I cut a few corners and used embossed cardstock behind my opening rather than an ink technique. It's a simple card but very nice. The Holiday Card Workshop ends tomorrow and I have mixed feelings. The pressure of creating every day is stressful but also, a little bit exciting. I look forward to repeating some of these techniques in a more leisurely fashion, using stamps for other holidays or themes. I have learned a lot of new techniques and look forward to taking more of these great classes from Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner.

Base, panel, and sentiment stamp: Club Scrap

Day Nine - Stamp Layering

On Day Nine Julie Ebersole showed us how to make a card using stamp layering. Not sure I got this technique knocked but here's a card showing my meagre attempt. Washi tape and star brads complete the look. 

Card base and sentiment stamp: Club Scrap

Sentiment stamp: Club Scrap

Alpha Stamps and brads from my stash

Washi tape

Day Eight - Cards Using Dies

I really loved the sample Jennifer McGuire gave us today. It used a metallic paper from Tim Holtz. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the product in my stash but I did have a silver metallic cardstock in my metallic stash. Fantastic! I don't own an ornament die but, really, isn't everything better with a bird on it???

Card base and panel: Club Scrap

Bird die: Spellbinders nestie

Branch with Leaves die: Sizzix

Embossing folder: Spellbinders Holiday Magic

Bling from my stash

Panel inked with Distress Ink

Day Six - Gradient Inking

Another card shown to us in the Holiday Card Workshop was one using gradient inking. I was successful in that portion of the card, but suffered an Epic Fail for part two of the card. No matter, it still creates a lovely card. I copied the sample as well as I could using items from my stash. 

Card base and patterned paper: DCWV

Card panel: Bristol Smooth

Embossing folder: Spellbinders Holiday Magic

Distress Inks by Ranger

Day Six - Stained Glass Watercolor

On Day Six, Shari Carroll presented a sample using a watercolor effect on a heat-embossed image. I was at a loss as to which stamp I had in my possession to use for this card. Suddenly as I drifted off to sleep the other night, I remember a stamp I bought (and loved) years ago. Dug it out of the depths of my stash and went to work. For this card, I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers to color the star. I made quite a few of these images using other coloring media. You will see them in the coming weeks, I am sure. Thanks for looking.

Card base, banner and panel: Club Scrap

Star stamp: Great Impressions

Embossing folder: Spellbinders Holiday Magic

Sentiment Stamp: Club Scrap

Holiday Card Workshop - Day Four

On Day Four we covered coloring in outline stamp images. I used a cardinal stamp I bought in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, after Club Scrap's annual Retreat in 2010. I honestly don't think I had used it before this because I found the coloring to be daunting. Now that I've done several, I am really liking it and it isn't all that difficult. Takes me back to my coloring book days. Anyway, this one was colored with Tim Holtz Distress Markers. Thanks for looking.

Cardstock from Club Scrap Memoirs kit

Pattern Paper from DCWV Merry Christmas stack

Cardinal image by Jean Arneson for Northwoods Rubber Stamps

Tim Holtz Distress Markers

Day Five - Stamp + Die Combos

Day Five covers cards that feature stamp and die combinations. I have none of these lovelies in my stash so I turned to the beloved Silhouette where I cut the trees and stars. You probably can't tell from my photo, but the tree where no star appears is actually cut all the way through to the interior of the card where the star awaits. I used unmounted rubber from Club Scrap for my stamping. Comics was used on the trees. Comfort Zone in the sky. Bling from my stash. The hills were hand cut and then embossed with Cuttlebug. All edges inked. I like this card a lot and it probably would have been a lot faster if I just cut those triangle trees by hand. As my classmates are saying, we learn what we like and don't like during this class. I do like this card. Thanks for looking.

Holiday Card Workshop - Day Two continues

 On Day Two of the Holiday Card Workshop class, Jennifer McGuire taught us a technique of continuous stamping on a background which includes three separate layers of images. You can see the repetition in the light blue, red and dark blue layers. All shapes cut on the Silhouette. Images are from the Club Scrap Joyful digi kit. I'm always drawn to window and engineered cards. This one made me happy once completed but it did tend to frustrate me. I have cut pieces for three more of these cards. Don't know if I will ever get them assembled.

Day Two - Floating Window Card

On Day Two, Jennifer McGuire encouraged us to make a complicated floating window card. For this hybrid card, I used the Joyful digi kit by Michael Strong from Club Scrap for the snowflake images. The sentiment is from the unmounted Happy Holidays 2010 rubber set from Club Scrap. All shapes were cut on my Silhouette. This is a complex card to assemble but I am very very happy with the results. Thanks for looking.

Day Three - Faux Fresco

Another card from Day Three of our Holiday Card Workshop. For this card, Julie Ebersole showed us how to create a faux fresco look with our embossing folders. I LOVE this look and will be sure to use it again and again. My card base and panel are Bristol Smooth. The center green strip is from a DCWV paper pad and the snowflakes were cut with my Silhouette and Spellbinders dies and covered with a mixture of Rock Candy and Ultrafine glitter.

Holiday Card Workshop - Day Three

On Day Three, Kristina taught us how to create a plaid design on plain card stock using the Martha Stewart Scoring Tool. I was so excited to see this design come to life on my table. The card base is from Club Scrap. The white panel is Bristol Smooth. The inks are Peacock Feathers and Picked Raspberry from Tim Holtz. Oh, and don't forget the Stickles. The sentiment is from Club Scrap's Happy Holidays 2010 unmounted rubber and the cute little stocking is a recent We R Memory Keepers treat from my friend Farley. Be sure to run over to check out her Holiday Cards, also. This class is great fun and challenging, too.

Holiday Card Workshop - Day Two

On Day Two of the Holiday Card Workshop, Lisa Spangler gave us a great tip (similar to a One Sheet Wonder idea) for making a "blizzard" of holiday cards with minimal effort. My blizzard only contained two cards but I like them very much. Card bases are from the Club Scrap Haberdashery kit. Snowflake images are digital images from the Club Scrap/Michael Strong Joyful kit. Sentiment stamped from the Happy Holidays 2010 unmounted rubber from Club Scrap also. The snowflakes were cut with Spellbinders dies and covered with Rock Candy glitter combined with a little iridescent glitter in my stash. The photo doesn't really display the glittery glory of it. I am really enjoying this class and learning something new every day. Also, sharing the fun with quite a few of the Squirrely Girls. It's great to compare our results each day. If you would like to see more, you can cruise on over to blogs of the other Squirrels. Thanks for visiting.

Holiday Card Workshop - Day One

On Monday, I started a new online class called Holiday Card Workshop with Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner and other guest teachers at Onlinecardclasses.com. For the first card, Jennifer taught us how to mass produce stamped cards using a Fiskars Stamp Press. Unfortunately, I haven't purchased one of those toys but I do have a sheet of acrylic from my ancient Inkadinkado Stamp Corner. So I had to improvise. I used stamps from my stash which I can't identify right now. The cards shown above use a masking technique which leaves the center strip clear for stamping a sentiment. I think it creates a striking image. There are also scored horizontal lines in the middle section which don't show in this photo but do provide another layer of texture. I went with non-traditional colors for my first Holiday card of the year. Thanks for looking.

Squirrely Challenge - Distress Stain Dip

Halloween is over and now it's time to create cards for the Winter holidays. My first offering is a multi-tasked card, as usual. Time also for the monthly Card Sketch over at Club Scrap. This is the sample I created to go along with the sketch. The front of the card was embossed with a Tim Holtz Texture Fade and then highlighted with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. I cut a hole using a two inch circle punch to allow the interior panel to be revealed, along with the turkey. ALSO, Nancy has posted a new Squirrely Challenge. This time she asks us to use the Distress Stain Dip technique. The interior panel is glossy cardstock colored using this Technique Junkies technique. The card base, both panels and turkey all use Club Scrap papers from various kits. The turkey was marinated with Distress Stickles in Vintage Photo. Thanks for looking.

Witchy Woman

While at Scramp Camp in San Jose, Farley brought out a fantastic stamp set by Close to My Heart. It was called Wicked and was only available in 2011. Several of us FLIPPED out over this set. It was so perfect for Halloween cards. Farley graciously allowed us to use her set. Since Camp, we have now all managed to obtain a set of our own through eBay, etc. Hooray! Mine finally arrived via Young Nancy. Thanks so much!

This is my last Halloween card for this year. The stamps mentioned are from CTMH. The paper is from my favorite Authentique pad called Enchanted. All edges inked. Thanks for looking. Have a spooky Halloween!

Put Your Best Foot Forward

Another card using my Close to My Heart Wicked set and Authentique paper pad. Oh, I love these Halloween supplies. All edges inked. Little paper buttons made with a Stampin' Up embosslit. Thanks for looking.

Hats Off to You

Still working with my Authentique pad and the Close to My Heart set of stamps called Wicked. Love it. All edges inked. Thanks for looking.

Boo

This is a cute card I made as a Make and Take It at Scrapbook Island in San Jose during Scramp Camp. The store provided all the materials so I can't really identify them for you. The technique we learned was a faux letterpress look using Cuttlebug embossing folders and ink. Lots of fun and a great result. Thanks for looking.

Whooooo Forgot Your Birthday?

A very simple card put together very quickly for an overlooked birthday. Not much to it but I think it's cute. So I'm posting it here for your enjoyment. Created from the Club Scrap digi kit called What a Hoot. Thanks for looking.

A Cuppa Love

Today is the birthday of my good friend Farley. Several weeks ago, she challenged the Squirrely Girls to make an engineered card based upon a sample posted by Tricia Morris at Club Scrap Creates. We had a lot of fun with this challenging card (after tearing our hair out over it). We all liked it so well, we made several. I made this one with a digi kit from Club Scrap called Brewed Awakenings. I have so many friends who love coffee, I felt I had to buy it. So this one honors Farley's birthday today. Hope you have a great one!!!

Cupcake Birthday

This is a birthday card for my good friend and fellow Squirrel Young Nancy. I made it using my latest favorite papers from a pad by Basic Grey called Soleil. Such a lovely color palette. I ran the yellow panel through my Cuttlebug with a birthday embossing folder, added some Stickles to the frosting and Bob's Your Uncle. All edges inked. The stamp was a Cocoa Daisy gift from Nancy to me. Love it. It's my favorite cupcake.

 

Happy Birthday, dear Friend!

You're Amazing

Still plugging away at my Simon Says Stamp kits. This card is from the September kit. I cut the shapes with Nestabilities. The bird is cut from a piece of Club Scrap blue. I gave her a bling-y eye. Everything else, including the rubber and washi tape, is from the kit. These kits are a great way to make cards. Check 'em out at Simon Says Stamp.