Snowbody

My Unity November Stampin' Store kit, Believe in Fairytales, arrived the other day with my i {heart} papers order and I had to try it out. I used Mercy's latest sketch challenge as the inspiration for this sweet card.

The snowman image is embossed in white on a white panel. I used a sponge inked with some Baja Breeze ink to rub ink on to the panel, revealing the embossed snowman. Easy, but a very cool look. I added the sweet sentiment beneath the image in rose ink.

I picked the colors to coordinate with the My Mind's Eye designer paper I used to cover the cardfront. Yes, it's from last year's holiday line, but I love the pattern and colors. A rectangle Nestabilities die cut is layered beneath the snowman. I ran it through my Big Shot with a snowflake embossing folder to add some interest, then gently rubbed it with a shimmery white ink pad to highlight the flakes a bit more. A bit of satin ribbon finishes off the card.

Hope all of my readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with their family and friends. Your visits warm my heart! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for all the details on the big Black Friday sale at IHP . . .

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Unity Stamp Co. November Stampin' Store Kit, My Mind's Eye Be Merry-Snowball Fun designer paper, QuicKutz Snowflakes embossing folder, May Arts light blue/white reversible satin ribbon, Nestabilities scalloped rectangle die

Other: Baja Breeze and Regal Rose Classic inks, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose, and Whisper White cardstock, white embossing powder, sponge (Stampin' Up!); Fresh Snow ink (Papertrey Ink); Moonlight White ink (Brilliance); foam tape

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop: Holiday Gift Bags and Tags

The theme for this month’s Papertrey Ink blog hop is quick gift packaging and tags. With the holiday season fast approaching, everyone needs a few of these on hand.

I made a few different kinds to share tonight. First, I used a plain brown paper bag—like the kind you might pack a lunch in—to make this decorated gift bag. I cut a few inches off of the top of the bag to make the scale work better for me. The bag is covered with a piece of Ripe Avocado cardstock. I stamped the top and bottom of the panel with one of the polka dot strips from Polka Dot Basics in matching Ripe Avocado ink.

I used images from the Holiday Tree set to create a simple winter scene for the center of the bag. The snowflakes were sprinkled with some sparkly embossing powder before the ink dried, then heat embossed for extra sparkle. I added the “celebrate the season” sentiment on a curved edge strip embellished with a matching button. After attaching the decorated panel to one side of the bag (and a same-size plain Ripe Avocado panel to the other side), I used a punch to make a simple handle.

Materials Used:
Holiday Tree and Polka Dot Basics stamp sets, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Spring Moss, and Fresh Snow inks, Ripe Avocado, Spring Rain, and Kraft cardstock, Ripe Avocado double stitched grosgrain ribbon, Spring Rain button, twine (Papertrey Ink); word window punch, Iridescent Ice embossing powder (Stampin’ Up!); brown paper bag

This second gift bag is even simpler to make. You could do a bunch of these at a time, mass production style, and be all ready for the holidays in no time at all.

I used the largest Marvy Uchida snowflake punch to punch out a snowflake shape from a piece of Enchanted Evening cardstock. I placed a piece of shimmery white cardstock behind the negative space and added a rhinestone at the center. This panel is attached to the center of a brown kraft gift bag. I added a strip of matching Enchanted Evening grosgrain ribbon to the top and bottom of the panel as a simple border.

I made a matching tag for the bag using the snowflake that I had punched out. It’s layered on a piece of shimmery white cardstock. The “celebrate the season” sentiment is stamped in matching Enchanted Evening ink. I added a piece of ribbon to the back of the tag, then attached a slightly larger coordinating circle panel behind it to keep the ribbon in place.

These tags were so easy to make that I made a few more to have on hand. I kept the layout the same but changed up the colors. A few of these packaged up nicely would make a great holiday gift!

Materials Used (gift bag and tags):
Holiday Tree stamp set, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, and Dark Chocolate inks, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, Kraft, and shimmery white paper, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy, and Aqua Mist grosgrain ribbon, Dark Chocolate Swiss dot satin ribbon, Sweet Blush double stitched grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); snowflake punch (Marvy Uchida); circle dies (Nestabilities); self-adhesive rhinestones (Darice); foam tape; kraft gift bag

You're So Sweet

I made this sweet card using this week's Mojo Monday sketch and some supplies from i {heart} papers. Speaking of IHP, you won't want to miss the big Black Friday sale at the store. I'll have more details about that very, very early Friday morning . . . I might even have to do some shopping in my pajamas!

I used the gingerbread image from the Our Craft Lounge Gingerbread Fun stamp set as my focal image. The bow was stamped first, then masked with Eclipse tape before stamping the gingerbread shape. I colored the image with Copic markers and added some sparkle to the bow with a Spica glitter pen. Some Zva Creative pearls made the perfect buttons for this yummy-looking treat. I carefully cut the image out and placed it on a cream panel using foam tape. I had just enough room at the bottom of the panel for the "you're so sweet!" sentiment.

I used the swirly patterned paper from the new My Mind's Eye Be Loved Collection Kit for the large panel on the cardfront. I paired the patterned paper with embossed scalloped panels in red and melon. An ivory faux suede ribbon is tied around the top of the scallops to finish the card.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Our Craft Lounge Gingerbread Fun stamp set, My Mind's Eye Be Loved Collection Kit, May Arts ivory faux suede ribbon, Zva Creative self adhesive pearls, Copic Lipstick Spica glitter pen, Eclipse tape

other: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic);Riding Hood Red Classic ink, Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel, and Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Melon Berry cardstock (Papertrey Ink); Embossed Curve border punch (EK Success); foam tape

Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, here it’s not so much cold as it is damp. It’s rained a lot over the past few weeks and everything’s soggy and squishy—yuck! I haven’t even pulled out my gloves yet, but Cosmo the crazy dog has found them anyway. He likes to chew on them (and unfortunately, lots of other things, too), so I'll probably need a new pair before too long--maybe even before it gets cold enough to need them . . .

I made this wintery card using the latest Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I love these cute mitten images from Papertrey Ink’s Snowfall set. The mittens are stamped in bold red ink and carefully cut out. A silver snowflake is stamped on each one and a tiny sparkly gem is set at each flake’s center. I used a piece of silver cord to connect the mittens, then layered them on a shimmery white circle.

The colors for the card came from the sparkly striped My Mind’s Eye paper I used at the top and bottom of the card. It matches nicely with SU!’s retired Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze papers. I stamped the sentiment in red on a narrow Baja Breeze strip and squeezed it in on the bottom of the card.

Materials Used:
Snowfall stamp set (Papertrey Ink); Real Red Classic ink, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, and Shimmery White cardstock, scallop edge punch, silver cord (Stampin’ Up!); silver ink (Encore); silver paper (Target); designer paper (My Mind’s Eye); circle and scalloped circle dies (Nestabilities); foam tape

Time for Hockey

Here’s a pair of clean and simple cards featuring combinations of images from the new Hockey stamp set from Clear & Simple Stamps.

This card uses the set’s block sentiment background as part of the focal image panel. I started out by stamping the hockey mask image in the center of the white panel, then masking it with a sticky note and stamping the block sentiment in red ink to surround the mask. When I was done, I decided I wanted the mask to stand out a bit more, so I ended up stamping it a second time on a scrap of white paper. I colored the mask just a bit, then cut it out and added it to the panel with dimensionals.

The rest of the card’s pretty simple. The stamped panel is layered on a red mat with distressed edges. I wrapped a piece of coordinating grosgrain ribbon around the square kraft card base, then layered the panel over the ribbon at on an angle using dimensionals. The “hockey” sentiment is stamped in the lower right corner of the card using red ink.
Materials Used:
Hockey stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Real Red Classic ink, Real Red and Kraft cardstock, Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon, silver brads, distressing tool, dimensionals

This card features the hockey stick and puck images. Here, I stamped the hockey stick image on a white panel and colored it with Copic markers. The set’s smaller puck image was stamped in black on a scrap of cardstock, cut out, and added to the stick’s blade with foam tape.

I covered a navy card base with a piece of red patterned paper, then zigzag stitched a layered navy and red panel over it using my sewing machine. The “play like a champion” sentiment is stamped on the panel in black ink and accented by a single silver brad. The image panel overlaps the strip at an angle. I added a navy ribbon tab as a simple embellishment.

Materials Used:
Hockey stamp set (Clear & Simple Stamps); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); designer paper (Scenic Route); silver brad (Making Memories); navy grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); foam tape; sewing machine

Single Jingle

***Scroll down to see my post from earlier today.***

Here's a simple, easy to reproduce holiday card that's only one piece of cardstock--and my favorite kraft at that! I used a layout suggested by the Clean and Simple Stamping blog for this one.

I stamped three different snowflake images from Papertrey Ink's Rustic Snowflakes set in their white pigment ink on a kraft base. I'm not a big rustic image kind of stamper, but something about these images really captures my eye. After the ink had set just a bit, I went back with a sponge inked with some brown ink and sponged along the edges of the cardstock to add some depth and interest to the single layer design. The centers of the flakes are embellished with some tiny super-sparkly rhinestones.

I fit the "jingle all the way" sentiment from Snowfall Additions in the center of the card to finish it off. If I'd had a tiny silver bell, I would have added it across the top of the card with a piece of ribbon . . .

Materials Used:

Rustic Snowflakes and Snowfall Additions stamp sets, Fresh Snow ink (Papertrey Ink); Close to Cocoa Classic ink, Kraft cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Tiny Twinkles (Taylored Expressions)

Crazy for This Elephant

I think the cute elephant image just might be my favorite one in the new Chicken Girl Design Birthday Wishes stamp set from i {heart} papers. I used it again, this time on this card for this week's sketch challenge from Crazy 4 Challenges.

The elephant is colored with Copic markers. It's hat is colored to match the cardfront, then coated with a Turquoise Spica pen for extra sparkle.

I used some bright striped paper from the new My Mind's Eye Love Me Do Collection Kit for the panel that runs the length of the card. I love the fun, bright colors and patterns in this collection! A strip of yellow velvet ric rac is along the edge of the patterned paper. I thought about using a border punch, but decided the texture of the ric rac would be fun for a change.

The blue in the paper coordinates nicely with SU!'s Bermuda Bay cardstock. I embossed a piece of the cardstock with a polka dot embossing folder to match the pattern on the elephant's hat, then layered it on a lemon card base. I stamped the sentiment in Bermuda Bay ink on an aqua panel, then layered it on a lemon panel with some paper piercing, adding just a few more dot elements to the card.

Materials Used:

from i {heart} papers: Chicken Girl Design Birthday Wishes stamp set, My Mind's Eye Love Me Do Collection Kit, May Arts yellow lime velvet ric rac, Copic Turquoise Spica glitter pen, QuicKutz Polka Dots (small) embossing folder

other: white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Tuxedo Black ink (Memento); markers (Copic); Bermuda Bay Classic ink, Bermuda Bay cardstock, mat stack and paper piercing tool (Stampin' Up!); Lemon Tart and Aqua Mist cardstock (Papertrey Ink); foam tape