Treasure of time

As our year passes and a new one approaches, it always makes me want to do "time" cards. Here is my favorite. It was not a quick or easy card! The 3 panel stamp was stamped with dye black ink on matte white paper. Each panel was masked and the different time stamps were stamped. Then each panel was colored by direct to paper with the colors you see. Next, red line sheets cut to size, were placed over each panel. This sticks to the image and also has a sticky top surface on which I poured clear glass beads. This all was layered onto colored paper. The message stamp is all one stamp, but I seperated the phrase by inking the words with a marker. The main word(treasure) is hard to see because the green paper is metallic and it caught a reflection from the camera. Once everything was on the card, I placed brads in the corners and ran a thin metallic thread around the card. The clock pieces were placed on with Diamond Glaze since the beads were such a rough surface. The metallic green is thin paper so the word "treasure" was placed on more red line tape and more beads were poured around it. Personally, it was worth the work for how it turned out. It was a creative labor in the making. I didn't plan it out, but went with what I thought looked good while making the card. Hope your new year is full of fun and creative adventures that bring you much satisfaction.

Embossed Winter House

This PSX house has lots of detail. It's easy to look at all that detail and get overwhelmed by it thinking about how to color it in, but as you can see here, white embossing powder over a dark paper works well. Then just add a touch of color. Red glitter glue was added to the wreaths. A strip of red paper was also added to the inside of the card to add a little more color. The star is a brad that was added as well.

Snowflake Resist Card

We managed to miss "the big dump" this year. Last year this time we were tunneling out of a mountain of snow. The most we got this year was a dusting and some lovely floaty flakes. This card fits well with that thought. Snowflakes were stamped with a Versamark pad onto white glossy paper and then the paper was brayerd with a "Blue Breeze" Kalidicolor pad. The same stamp was used on the blue paper, but it was inked with a white pigment pad before stamping. The sentiment is from Serendipity stamps and was inked with a blue dye pad and stamped onto the brayerd paper.

Card by Alice

Did you get any stamped cards for the holidays? They are always an extra treat for me. Here is one of my favorites. My friend, Alice, stamped these two stamps from Stampn'Up!on to this card. The one is embossed in white. The other was stamped in green on the green paper, and also used as the main image and colored in. She also spritzed green ink over the main image. She is one talented lady, and thought you'd enjoy seeing her creation as well. If you leave any comments, I'll be sure to pass them along to her.

Memory Box Thank you

Have you started on any thank you cards yet? I took some left over Memory Box Christmas paper and a Memory Box stamp and used them to make a bunch of thank you cards. The image was embossed with white embossing powder. The thank you stamp is by Impression Obsession and is stamped with dye base black ink. The Fiskers scallop punch made nice strips to enhance the card. All in all, I was able to finish up rather quickly and had a nice pile of cards. A great way to use up your holiday paper!

Count your blessings

It's the day after Christmas and I'm sitting here counting my blessings, so thought this card was the right one to post. The stamp is by Hero Arts and is stamped in Versfine Sepia. The leave is a real leaf from a package of leaves, and the whole card is sprayed with a gold mist from a mini mister. Hope you are having a day full of greatfulness. Personally, I'm planning on sitting here most of the day in happy contemplation of all the good Christmas brought for me. Enjoy.

Words for Jesus

This is all one stamp. It was inked with an Olympia Green Versafine pad and stamped on white paper. Metallic chalk was applied with Q-tips around the words once the green ink was dry. Before mounting the paper onto the burgandy paper, a red Krylon metallic pen was run around the edge of the white card and then the brads were attached. Double stick foam tape attached it to the card. This gives the paper some depth to the paper so there won't be any lumps left by the brads.

Have a friend coming in tonight to visit and then we're heading to PA to see the folks. Will be taking a few days off to enjoy the holiday. Hope you and your loved ones will have a good celebration. Merry Christmas!

Paper Inspirations Christmas Card

Paper Inspirations provided all the stamps for this card. The church stamp was inked with a blue Versafine pad and then layered onto a piece of navy blue paper. The white paper actually had a slight variation in the paper which made it a softer white than just a pure white. On the white paper a snowflake background stamp was inked in blue and stamped off the paper before stamping on the white. It makes for a very soft look.

Printworks Christmas Tree

On to a more simple card today! This tree was stamped with green dye ink onto white matte cardstock. Then the words in the same, and gold and sliver added with a metallic pen. Yeah, simple is good. Words were also by Printworks.

Rubberstamp Tapestry Joy Card

This is my card for this year. I broke all my well learned rules for producing a mass card for Christmas. Got so enthralled with making this card "just right" that by the time I thought "yes, that's it", this card had way too many parts for as many cards as I needed. The black background stamp is a Hero Arts stamp, the rest is a set by Rubberstamp Tapestry. Joy is one stamp, and then the leaves, and flora are two other stamps, and the berries, another stamp. I did each part separately and then put everything together, but really, I lost my mind when deciding to do this for every one. The card had to be cut, white piece for the background, the two black pieces, the red piece,the word piece, a ribbon which was applied with a strip of red tape to hold it which also was cut to size. I managed to complete about 45 cards, and then gave up and bought store cards for my husband's list of folks. On some of the cards that weren't mailed, I put red gems on the berries, for those mailed, red glitter glue was used, and that's what you see on this card. Back to simple for next year, and I'm starting in January-really! If you want to make me feel better, please leave me a comment telling me how you like it. If you want to motivate me to stick to the plan, leave a me "what were you thinking!" comment.

Reindeer Games

Here's a quick fun card. The deer are all one image stamped with black dye ink. They were colored in with dry chalk. Then mounted onto the colored papers and attached with red brads. The inside message said "Be Merry". Hope today has some fun for you in it.

Vellum Let it Snow

Forecasters are predicting our first real snow today so it seemed a good day to post this card. The vellum is printed and that is why the words seem light. This vellum is by Magenta. Snowflakes were first stamped onto the brown card with a pigment white pad re inking each time a snowflake was stamped. Then a white piece of torn paper was laid across the front of the card. That way when the vellum was laid over it, you can see the words. Brads were used to attach the vellum. Hope you are ready for the snow!

Good Tidings Card

This is one of the most enjoyable cards I've sent for the season. The deer and birds are from a clear set by Memory box. Being a clear set, I preset some of the images so as to make for less parts when it came to stamping. The deer was one stamp, the antlers another. I added the bird to the block so it could be stamped with the antlers. Then on another block, I preset the three birds on the ground. Thanks to the clear acrylic blocks that were used, I could see where to place the images each time. Then I stamped with just two colors. Versafine Sepia and Colorbox Lipstick red. The word stamp was by another company, but fit well with the card. The images were stamped on a mat coated cream paper and mounted onto a Memory Box red card (white on the inside). Wish all my cards were this quick to make!

Baby Jesus

This stamp is by Stampendous. It's a relatively simple card. I thought the image lended itself to a casual watercolor look. Using a watercolor pallett from Hero Arts, a little water was added to the dry colors I needed and with a blender pen I added first the yellow star, then the blue. When it comes to actual water colors, another options are a paint brush or a resevoir pen. I tend to have more controll with a blender pen so that's why I chose it. I used regular card stock because I painted on dry, so the paper didn't warp much. Then it was just a matter of layering up the image on blue card stock.

Dry Embossed Christmas Card

For a clean simple look it doesn't get better than doing an all white look with dry embossing. Two stencils were used both by Lasting Impressions. I placed the middle deer first, which made it easier to place the other deer. The snow was made with a dotted stencil. I just moved it around where I thought the snow would be. Added a touch of color with self adhesive gems. The white paper was then mounted onto navy paper. On the inside was another white paper with the word "joy" dry embossed as well.

Holly and Crown of Thorns card

Both of these wreath stamps are by Eureka and are meant to be used to create this dual image. Vellum seemed the best choice so that both images would show up. The holly was embossed in black embossing powder first, then colored in with water based markers on the back. The "Season's greetings" is stamped with dye ink. The under wreath of thorns was stamped in dye based brown and colored in with colored pencils.
The holly is reprsenting the birth of Christ, the thorns represent his death. There is an inside message to go with these stamps as well. These are some of the most unique stamps I've ever used.

3 Wise Men

Here's an oldie but goodie. Sorry, can't remember who made this stamp, but it was inked in black and then colored in with dry chalk. I then took and exacto knife and cut out the front of the men so when the card was folded, they would pop out. What they cover is another stamp that says "Come let us adore Him". Once the chalk was on, I went back and touched the images with a two way pen which leaves a tacky surface. On that I poured loose glitter over for a sparkle effect.

Amuse Angel

White cards for the holiday is a bit of stretch for me. It's just not the color I naturally gravitate towards. But, I think this card works pretty well. And, happily, it is a simple card to do. The printed paper is by Amuse as well. The angel was punched out with a Marvy punch that you can see are made to stack well. The next size up in a scallop was used for the red. A little satin ribbon was wrapped around and taped and there you are! Copics Cool gray was used to outline the angel and a red and brown and flesh tone were used to comlete the coloring. The words are also by Amuse and stamped with a red Versafine ink.

Bahumbug Moment

Why is it we seem to throw all this merry making into one of the coldest months of the year? Guess I'm relating to how Gertrude here is feeling. Got a chance to go to our landlord's yearly party last night. Free food and spirits to boot. But, tired and cold won out and somehow canned soup and popcorn in my pajamas seemed much more enticing. So home I went. Gertude would have approved.

To color in this Eat Cake Graphics stamp, I used dye based inks and blended them with a blender pen. The words are by Rubber Moon. Here's to putting our merry on-so long as we can do it in comfort.

Winterscapes card

Finally put up my classes for January on this blog. Of course, I have forgotten how to link it to the actual class description on Angela's Happy Stamper web site, so I'll have to bribe Laura into coming over and showing me how to do that (again). But, at least the dates are up, and you can go on over Angela's and take a peek if you are interested. And this is one of the cards we do in Winterscapes. It's not hard to do, and I think it really looks wintery. Hey, how do you like the new background to the blog? I did finally figure out how to change that-yea for me! I'm a slow learner, but I eventually get it!

Cat and Dog hangers

Need a little gift to give to a pet lover? These animal hangers are great. All you have to do is stamp them out on a paper of your choice, and cut them out. The lines are nice and thick, so cutting is very easy. The stamps are by Purrs and Pants, a family company out of Pittsburgh. They are made so you can put a small Hershy chocolate piece inside. I put a little piece of double stick tape inside to hold the candy in place. The tape is just enough to hold it, yet easy to take out. What you may not see as well in the picture, is that the dog has googly eyes and the cat has two green gems for eyes. Adds just a little bit of dimension to the piece.

Impression Obsession Coffee Tree

When I saw this tree by Impression Obsession, I knew I had to have it. This is such a busy time of year, and with the cold, all I want is a perpetual cup of coffee. There is a lot of detail to this stamp, so I opted to go with dry chalks to color it in. Dry chalks apply easily with a blender pen or just a q-tip, and are meant to have a soft look so going out of the lines is good. After the chalk was all on, I went back and put a touch of gold glitter glue on the dots that the stamp creats. (Think they are rather hard to see.) Extra chalk was added to the corners of the white paper. Then the image was mounted onto card stock. The words underneath the tree are by Memory Box.

Joy Christmas Card

How do you take a small stamp and use it solely on a card? Here is one card that was done that way. Layers always help, and on this card the printed paper helps as well. The stamp (PSX) was embossed on gold so it shows up better on the printed paper. The gold is metallic paper, and the bow is gold ribbon attached with tacky glue.

Season's Greetings Card

Before heading out the door to go to the Open House at Angela's Happy Stamper, thought I'd post this card. These stamps are from a couple of clear Hero Art sets. (oh, except the big design stamp from Memeory Box) Folks will tell me they don't know how to use small stamps. Hopefully this card gives you some good ideas! As any designer will tell you, grouping is great. All items were stamped with dye ink (and the edges of the circles and rectangle as well) and a little bit of irridesent dazzle glue was added last. Double foam tape was used to help pop parts and add a bit of depth.

Outdoor Scene Christmas Card

I was addressing Christmas cards last night and counted up how many more I need to make-25! Yikes! Am going to plan B and doing a quicker card than the first one I've been doing. May have to peruse my stash and see what Christmas cards I have and put them into service. This is one of those cards. I did this one a few years ago, but I've always liked it. The image is by Just for Fun and is stamped with a Pearlesent Brown Brillance pad. Same for the words. The words are by Impression Obsession. The images are mounted on gold metallic paper, and then on to brown card stock. A gold ribbon finishes it off.

Christmas Bird in a Pail

Are you coming to Angela's Happy Stamper this Sat.? We are having our Open House and have lots of fun and food planned. This little guy was a craft we did last year at our open house. I still have it-it's now hanging on my tree. The bird and branches were punched out. I put the bird in a bent piece of card stock, and threw in some white Flowersoft since it looks like snow. On the lid a piece of white punched paper was enhanced with a stamp by Justrite. Angela sells these pails and several sizes. I used the smallest to make more of these ornaments and also just for filling with pepperments to give as small gifts. Doesn't look good for baking cookies this year, so this makes for a great handmade gift that is painless and quick!

Masked Angels

A few days ago I showed the first Christmas card I did. This card was around that same time. Don't remember who made this stamp, but I used just this one image to do the whole front of the card. Obviously masked a whole lot! To mask, I stamped the image onto a postett note pad and cut it out (slightly under cutting the image). Can you see which angel I did first? The one you see complete, is the first one. It was then covered with the mask, and each image was reinked before masking. I just moved the mask around to cover whatever angels near by that would be effected. A little gold was added with a metallic pen, and a glue pen was used to create a sticky surface for the glitter to bond to. The whole card is actually white. I cut out the front along the edge of the angels and added a navy insert piece and glued it down. The angels cover the inside message.

Don't know how your December is starting, but it's raining buckets here. Guess we'll just have to make our own merry today.