52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Peace

The challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is to cluster elements and to use at least three embellishments.  Since my very favorite thing to do is little groups of elements, how could I not play along?!

I'm not 100% certain how an embellishment is defined.  For me, I figure it's not die cuts since I'm using them as the main image.  So I used an embossing folder, glitter (using heat 'n stick on the gray frame), wooden accents, tinsel ribbon, a star sequin and Studio Katia Ice Sparkle Crystals - that's six!!

This is a fun little die set, although I think it might be retired.  It's the first snowglobe by Tim Holtz.  (I only see the second snowglobe on the website. I got the first on Amazon.)  Living in Colorado, I had to have the little mountains and trees.  I recently stumbled on Julia's blog which inspired me to use just pieces of these big Sizzix die sets - see this card but there are so many others!  So my card isn't a "snowglobe", it's just a rustic mountain scene.

Something fun about this die set is that the mountains and trees are scored down the middle so you can add dimension. I popped the mountain with thicker pieces of dimensional tape down the middle and the tree with thinner pieces (although there are so many other things on top of the tree, it's hard to tell it's popped.

Thanks to the group at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for inspiring me to put all of these pieces together in my cluster of embellishments!
SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Winnie & Walter Happy Christmas
Dies: Essential by Ellen Essential Circles, Sizzix Tim Holtz Snowglobe (the first one)
Other: Stampin' Up Embossing Folder and Tinsel Trim, Studio Calico wooden trees, Studio Katia Ice Sparkle Crystals, Pretty Pink Posh star

Freshly Made Sketches: You Got This

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Jacquie and here’s what I did with it!

I turned the ovals and circles into mountains and a moose!

That smug look on his face led me to the sentiment.  This is a good one to have in my stash because surely at some point, one of my sons will have a "you got this" moment.  Plus moose are meaningful to us. The mountain church camp that we spent time at as a family and they went with youth groups often had moose sightings.  I just looked it up and there are only an estimated 2,000 moose in Colorado so it was a big deal.

The dies are from Poppystamps.  The moose and trees are from their "whittle" collection that I've used a number of times lately.  I think the whittles have been around but I only recently discovered them.  I think they are just perfect for my sons in their early 20s because the animals are cute but not cutesy. There are also a number of stamp sets to go with the animals including a variety of sentiments from sweet to snarky - but go figure, the only set I don't have is the one with the "moose" sentiment!

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Avery Elle Simply Sentiments

Dies: Poppystamps Mountain Background, Whittle Moose, Whittle Trees; Avery Elle Simple Sentiments dies

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Gray Granite, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider
Other: Pretty Pink Posh Espresso Jewels

Inspired By...Happy Birthday to You

The Inspired by... challenge totally inspired me to pull out Concord & 9th's Tall Type letters and the Tall Type Tagalongs.  I immediately envisioned the rows of tall letters looking just like the cool treats!

Of course, what better for a long row of "cool treats" (or a birthday sentiment) than a slimline card!  I used Mama Elephant's Slim Card Basics.  I also created a small panel of stripes (I only needed about 1/2" on each side) using Mama Elephant's Quick Stripes - then I used just the end of the stitched die in Slim Card Basics to trim off a bit.  I cut down the white panel and added the bit of stripes on both sides.

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Concord & 9th Tall Type Alphabet, Tiny Type Tagalongs and Season of Cheer ("to"); Simon Says Stamp You, Mama Elephant Slim Card Basics and Quick Stripes
Other: Miscellaneous Pretty Pink Posh Jewels

Stampin' Up 2020 Copic Color Matches

I have finished my picks for Copic Markers that match Stampin' Up's 2020 In Colors! The full chart is just to the right on my side bar.  Just click and download! If you want to color in each little square then print it on your favorite white card base paper. 

Stampin' Up 2020 In Colors

Bumblebee: YR23

Cinnamon Cider: E99

Just Jade:  YG45 is OK, but if you color with YG45 then add a light coat of B32 it is better. G16 is brighter but also just OK.

Magenta Madness: RV06 is lighter. RV09 is darker.

Misty Moonlight: B97 

 

Be sure to read my notes at the bottom of the chart.  A few things I want to emphasize:

• I am not associated with Stampin' Up.  I started these charts before they had Stampin' Blends and since I have a large Copic collection, I just kept doing it.

• Matches are a personal preference and depend on your paper. These work for me. I prefer my "match" to be a little lighter because then if I really saturate an area, it matches.

Have fun coloring!!!

The Color Throwdown: Smile

I just received an order from a clearance sale at Spellbinders.  As is usual with me, I ended up with just a few sale items and a number of full price items.  I don't why I do that but if I'm ordering from a place I don't usually order form, I'm going to order everything I might want.  The little poppy bud on this card was on sale - the sentiment which is part of a larger set was not.  I wanted to make a card right away because I wanted to model my little stem on a sample they had before I forgot it.  I like the way the small and large buds are mixed and there are actually  more branches that the buds are covering up.
I did the small picture at the top because I wanted you to see that there was blue in the background. My inspiration is from Color Throwdown which includes blue and I was afraid you'd miss it on my actual photo! It's much more obvious in real life but after taking pictures in natural light yesterday and artificial light this morning, I just can't make it pop.  BTW - the gems are actually soft yellow ... same problem!

Thank you to The Color Throwdown for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST
Dies: Spellbinders So Many Sentiments and Poppy Bud, Avery Elle Double Pierced Rectangle Dies
Other: Pretty Pink Posh Buttercream gems

Freshly Made Sketches: Just Bee-cause

It's time for a new sketch at Freshly Made Sketches! Today we have a sketch by Judy and here’s what I did with it!

Even though many of the COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions have lifted - or at least partially - I still have so many people that need a positive moment in their days. Other than wearing a mask at the store and working from home half of each week - things feel normal for me.  Also in this country, other news has taken over the 24-7 coverage of the pandemic. We've moved on.  But quite a few of my friends and family are still self-isolating because they or their loved ones have underlying conditions.  And we can't forget all the elderly care facilities with very lonely patients.  So I'm still focusing on cheerful cards of encouragement and these little bees were just right!!

All products are from Honey Bee Stamps (appropriate, right?!)  The sentiment set has 65 stamps that all fit with "bee".  They cover so many occasions.  I picked "just bee-cause" because it fit the sketch and also so I could give it a quirky look with the angled "just". I do love the paper pads from Honey Bee Stamps. I'm pretty sure I have all of them.  This particular pad is "bee"-focused but the majority of the paper in it isn't cutesy like this one - just wonderful blue, yellow and black patterns.

I hope you are having a fabulous week (and that you don't need cards of encouragement!).  If you have some cardmaking time, join us - and play along at  Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST
Stamps: Honey Bee Stamps Bee-you-tiful Sentiments
Dies: Honey Bee Stamps Bee-you-tiful Dies and Hexagon Bunch
Paper: Honey Bee Stamps The Bee's Knees
Other: Homey Bee Stamps Prism Gem Stickers (colored with Copics)

Poppystamps: Celebrate Your Day

One of my workmates had planned a wedding and a Disney honeymoon in April.  You can guess how that worked out. So last week they got married. I'm not sure if it was online or via paper; I just know she runs home from work every day hoping the paperwork is in the mailbox so she can call herself "married".  Then they will do their honeymoon at some future date.

What I love about making my own cards is that I went with traditional elements for her wedding card using hearts and little birds, but the colors are Disney!!


I'm really happy with the way this turned out.  In general, I don't believe Clean and Simple cards are at all simple to make.  They may look simple - but with so few elements on your card, it takes work to get an eye-catching look (and to avoid fingerprints and glue spots in all of the white space!)  However, with the right die, it's easy.  These little hanging hearts are the right die! For me, the extra element of the string and bow make all the difference for an interesting card.  (I didn't initially envision the little birds but I needed something to tone down the black heart.)
I was inspired to even think in this direction by the Clean and Simple challenge at Poppystamps. Thank you for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST Stamps: Poppystamps Birthday Blowout
Dies: Poppystamps Hanging Heart and Chirping Birds, Memory Box Honeyblossom Sprig (just a bit trimmed off for the branch)
Other: Trinity Stamps Cinnamon Red-Hots Jelly Drop Hearts