Christmas Kickstart: Snowman Magic

My first set out of the new Stampin' Up catalog was Snowman Magic so how could I not play along with the current challenge at Christmas Kickstart: Show Us Your Snowfolk!!

I love this guy especially in combination with that cute bunny.  It's right out of Frosty the Snowman so with his top hat - he is definitely magical!!  And I LOVE the snowflake frame that comes with the die set. I see so many more uses for that.  

I'm not sure I'm loving the way I added the holly.  I stamped it in black because I liked the simple color scheme of just the purplish/blue and red - so didn't want any green.  I added drops of Liquid Pearls to the berries.  I was just going to stick it around the bunny but there was an empty spot below the sentiment so I decided I wanted something in the snowman's hand to fill it in.  I played with a number of options (including his top hat!) and didn't love any of them.  I finally just stuck some holly in his hand and called it good.  I don't hate it - I'm just sure there's something better than my mind wasn't seeing. 

I actually had a lot of false starts on this one but it's left me with two other snowmen, two more bunnies, extra ski caps and a number of trees.  I'm thinking there's more snowfolk in my future!

Thanks to Christmas Kickstart for the inspiration.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Snowman Magic

Dies: Stampin' Up Snowman dies

Paper: Stampin' Up Starry Sky and Sahara Sand cardstock, 2022-2024 In Color dsp (2022)

Ink: Stampin' Up Sweet Sorbet

Other: Liquid Pearls Carnation Red

Poppystamps: Jaw-some Sharks

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog today with a jaw-some Whittle Shark card!

My son is home for a few weeks before he goes back for his senior year in college. But while he's home, it's also Shark Week on Discovery Channel.  I don't think there's a day that I get home from work that he and/or my husband isn't glued to a shark show. So as I was planning a card for him as he heads back, it was an obvious choice! I pulled out the Poppystamps Whittle Shark and the Whittle Sealife Sentiments for this quick and easy "jaw-some" card!

Be sure to check out the Poppystamps blog for more pictures and details.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Poppystamps Whittle Sealife Sentiments

Dies: Poppystamps Whittle Shark

Paper: Memory Box Stormy Blue and Earth Neutral 6x6 cardstock pads, Woodsy Plaid 6x6 pad

Other: Memory Box Waves 3D Embossing Folder, Self-adhesive Fairy Drops

Freshly Made Sketches: Peeking Daisy Hello

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

 

I had an easy time starting this sketch but it quickly went downhill. I recently came across this Simon Says Peeking Daisy die lost in my not-yet-used stash and it was in my mind when I first saw the sketch. After that I struggled. I wish I would have taken a picture of my craft desk during the process.  I had so many circles cut to go behind the daisies.  I tried three colors, I tried three patterns, I tried different embossing folders. I tried one striped dsp - then of course any combination of those. I tried rainbow stripes through all of them (too much). I tried single colors with different colored flower centers (too little).  I wish I were better at visualizing - I wouldn't have so much waste for a single card!

Finally I came up with a combination that I liked. I did like my attempts at stripes so I accented the flower center and added plain but embossed colors on both sides of it to keep the stripes the focal point.  Then don't even get me started on struggles with the sentiment (black strips, stamped on the bottom, stamped on the top??)  I finally gave up and did a "hello".  The main problem with the entire struggle is that the one person that I routinely send "hello" cards to DOES NOT LIKE PINK. I can't even use the darn card.  The only thing stopping me from saying it was a waste of hours of my time - is that I really do love this hobby!!

I hope to see you playing along with us this week at Freshly Made Sketches - and may your crafting session give you a usable card!!!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Peeking Daisy and Script Hello

52 Christmas Card Throwdown: Florals

This week's challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is Christmas Florals. I'm already behind on Christmas cards. This is the first week I've truly felt inspired to think about Christmas cards.  Maybe it's the mental escape from the on-going record-breaking heat. But I also need to thank 52 Christmas Card Throwdown because I definitely perked up when I saw Christmas Florals.  

This is a bit of an experiment for me.  I'm not a particularly creative person (the "coloring outside the lines" type of creativity) and I tend to stick close to classic color combos so for me, the use of that bluish-purple is a bit of a leap. I thought it would add a wintery look (plus it was already out on my desk from my the last card I posted!) As I look at the results I alternate between thinking "this is fun" and "should have stuck with red and green" so it really didn't pull me too far "outside the lines"!

I do adore these flowers.  They are Holiday Sprigs by Essentials by Ellen. Funny story though - I was just scrolling through my blog to see how I'd used them last year and I found this card - and it turns out I added blue and also commented that that was unique for me!!  I'm even less creative than I thought if I was proud of two cards just because of a splash of different colors!

I often try to stick within a single company's products when I do a card simply because it helps me narrow down my stash, but in this case, I just didn't have any that worked. I have a bold sentiment set, a snarky set and a long set by Essentials by Ellen but nothing that just fit in the corner. So I had a beautiful sentiment set by Stamp Simply - Wonder of Christmas.  There's a fun mix of fonts on each of the beautiful sentiments.

Thanks again to 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for the inspiration!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Essential by Ellen Holiday Sprigs (and dies), Stamp Simply Wonder of Christmas sentiments

Paper: Stampin' Up In Color 2022-24 In Color Glimmer Paper (the Orchid Oasis), Starry Sky cardstock (just the strip that looks almost black in the photo)

Ink: Stampin' Up Sweet Sorbet, Orchid Oasis, Starry Sky, Granny Apple Green, Shaded Spruce

Other: Kat Scrappiness Midnight Blue pearls

Freshly Made Sketches: Giving Gifts

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

 

This die set is one my favorite from last year.  It's already retired (I hate how fast Stampin' Up sets come and go). I used it on quite a few cards last year: Ho Ho Ho, Joy, Giving Thanks, and Peace. That may only be four cards, but for me - with my embarrassingly large Christmas stash - that's a lot of cards out of one set.  And now I'm doing one more!!  But how could I not with a sketch including three long rectangles??!

In contrast to the old die set, this card uses the brand new Stampin' Up In Colors.  As soon as I saw them, I knew they'd be my five main colors for Christmas and winter. The green and red and even the turquoise was obvious but I even thought the Starry Sky and Orchid Oasis would be perfect for winter. I must have been the only one that thought that because when Stampin' Up came out with their Christmas catalog, they didn't use these two colors anywhere. So I'm setting out to prove they are great for Christmas! The bottom layer is Orchid, the glitter paper is orchid and the sentiment is Starry Sky. The pearls are not from Stampin' Up but I got them specifically to match these colors.

I hope to see you playing along with us at Freshly Made Sketches.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Brightest Glow

Dies: Stampin' Up Giving Gifts 

Paper: Stampin' Up Orchid Oasis, Starry Sky (the sentiment banner) and 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer Paper (the Orchid Oasis piece)

Other: Kat Scrappiness Majestic Blue pearls

Poppystamps: Pinpoint Floral Cake

 I'm on the Poppystamps blog with this clean and simple birthday cake card.

The cake, flowers and candle all come from the Floral Cake Pop Up Easel.  It's a HUGE set that actually has two cake layers that can be made into a stand up easel. Then there are dozens of flowers and leaves to decorate it with. It's fun to work with the entire set and the results are amazing (scroll through the Poppystamps blog linked above for some inspiration) but if I'm going to buy a big set like that, it needs to have other uses besides the easel.  So I tried it with just the top layer of the cake and some of the simple flowers - and I like the clean and simple results!  (Side note: the frosting I used is a second set - the Layer Cake Drip Icing. The big set comes with scalloped "icing" but I wanted the drippiness.)

There are many more pictures and descriptions on the Poppystamps blog - be sure to check it out!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Happy Birthday Poe Script, Floral Cake Pop Up Easel, Layer Cake Drip Icing, Pinpoint Half Ring Plate

Paper: Memory Box Vintage Pastel Mirror Pad, Twinkling Jewel Glitter pad (just for the flame), Black Glossy Paper Pack

Freshly Made Sketches: Cool Christmas

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

 

I got my order from the new Stampin' Up catalog on the day I was planning to make a card for this sketch. SO lucky since the snowman fit beautifully!  I'm sure you'll see lots more with this snowman because what I really enjoy about the set are the stamped and the die cut trees for the background - so I definitely need to put him in a full forest. But he was also just right for this clean and simple card. 

I'm also a big fan of stripes so I added two in cardstock and one patterned. Then I fit this two line sentiment across the two solid colors. I couldn't do a Christmas card without sparkle so I used the bitty snowflake from the snowman dies and the ombre glitter paper to cut a snowflake from the lighter through darker colors.

While I do love the snowman, I think my favorite part of this whole set is the bunny.  How cute is his expression!!?

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Snowman Magic

Dies: Stampin' Up Snowman dies

Paper: Stampin' Up 2022-2024 In Color dsp, 2022-2024 In Color Glimmer Paper (the snowflakes), Tahitian Tide, Sweet Sorbet, Mango Melody

Ink: Stampin' Up Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide, Parakeet Party

Other: Stampin' Up Softly Falling Embossing Folder

Reverse Confetti: Celebrate

 I needed a birthday card for workmate today who's had a rough few months/years. I wanted to use a bold sentiment and bright colors. Plus she's a gardener so it needed flowers. I recently used the flowers from Reverse Confetti's Sending Smiles but in subtle colors on this card, then I put the stamp set back in my new-to-me stash because I wanted to be sure to also go bold and bright.  Here it is!

I used Reverse Confetti's large Celebrate Tag (without the tag behind it) and just did it in black and white so the flower colors popped. I started on a standard-sized card but I liked the proportions of the "celebrate" with the bold flowers above and below on a mini slimline. 

Now I need to quit writing and go hunting for an inside sentiment. This will be a tough one - I really can't happily say "have a wonderful year" because she already knows it won't be wonderful.  (Maybe the year after, but not this one.) I have a terrible handwriting - so really need a stamp.  Hmmm...maybe I'll just say "happy birthday" and let the bright flowers speak for themselves!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Reverse Confetti Sending Smiles

Dies: Reverse Confetti Sending Smiles, Celebrate Tag

Ink: Stampin' Up Flirty Flamingo, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Parakeet Party

Freshly Made Sketches: Hoping

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

 

I don't think I have ever purchased pre-printed ephemera.  No real reason - I just have too much of everything and didn't want to bring any new types of products into the mix (because then, of course, I'd have to build an entire collection of those products!) But I saw this card by the incredible Nora Noll and immediately shopped for the stripes and the ephemera.  LOVE the colors, love the style - so much potential for easy, yet detailed cards.

I did add a little sparkle with stickles on the little berries and the small flower center. 

I strayed from the sketch in a couple of small ways. I had originally planned a sentiment toward the bottom as in Cécile's creative sketch. I love the modern look but this sentiment was just right for someone I need to send a card to and it fit better in the middle.  I also didn't want to hide the flowers so I left them on top instead of tucked behind.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Pinkfresh Choose Hope

Dies: Pinkfresh Ornate Banner and Leafy Branch

Paper: Pinkfresh Life Right Now collection (backside of Favorite Hits), Stampin' Up Watermelon Wonder (old!)

Ink: Stampin' Up Watermelon Wonder and Shaded Spruce

Other: Pinkfresh Life Right Now Floral Ephemera, misc enamel dots from Your Next Stamp, Stickles