Nordic Noel: Bright and Cheerful

This die set along with the coordinating enamel stickers has been in my not-yet-used stash for a couple years.  I don't know why it sat so long because I love anything Nordic! My first card leans into the enamel shapes.

There are four flower colors in the enamel shapes (plus white) so I found coordinating dsp and blocked the front of the card. I didn't want to add any other colors so I simply cut the "noel" in white and mounted on vellum. 

There are two more things I want to do with this die set before I can move it out of my not-yet-used stash. (I think I need a new name for that stash now that I've decided to leave things there until I've done all that I want to do with them - maybe my not-yet-done-with stash?!)  I think the die could stand alone, so I want to use it without filling in the details. Then the die set also comes with little dies that cut multiples of the leaves, flowers and dots so I want to do it on the paper and in the colors that I want (vs. the pre-defined enamel shapes.)  I like that there are options with a die set!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Concoard & 9th Nordic Noel

Paper: Dsp by Stampin' Up in Poppy Parade, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry and Flirty Flamingo

Other: Concord & 9th Nordic Noel enamel shapes

Reindeer Fun

Earlier this week, I used my Reindeer Fun dies by Stampin' Up on this card but it was an all red/green card and I indicated that this Christmas lover actually doesn't like the classic Christmas red and green together! So I had to give my little reindeer another try with lighter and fresher colors and this is what I came up with.

I got this entire die set just for his eyes!  I love how they created him so the eyes just happen with the layers. I surrounded him with other dies from the set in bright and cheerful colors. Then I found a simple sentiment from an older retired set and put it all on fresh white.

I took this entire week off work and I'm not entirely certain where the week went because there's a just few more days. Sadly, I don't have many cards to show for it. I did get one knitting project off the needles and another started. I have finished a book...or two...or three! There's been a few Hallmark movies and some football. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal yesterday and the day before we had an amazing charcuterie tray for dinner and all of that took time. There's been some shopping along the way...SO many craft sales! Today, we'll haul out Christmas decorations if my guys aren't still in a food stupor. It's been a very relaxing week!  Funny story - I have a jury summons for Monday so we'll see if I have even more time off of work! 

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Brightest Glow

Dies: Stampin' Up Reindeer Fun, Spotlight on Nature, Tasteful Labels (retired)

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Pool Party, Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody, Flirty Flamingo, Poppy Parade, Early Espresso, Basic Beige, Crumb Cake

Other: Stampin' Up Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder (retired)

Freshly Made Sketches: Shimmer Lights

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

I just got the Shimmer Lights Cover Plate by Mama Elephant and I feel like I want to use it on every single festive Christmas card!!  Then I remembered that I had these Spruced Up Outline dies which is a retired set from Stampin' Up so I figured for this first use of the Shimmer Lights, I'd keep the trees open and show off even more of it.

I'm writing this early this Wednesday morning before the challenge posts. I have taken the entire week off of work just because.  We aren't going anywhere or doing anything and it's wonderful. I love making cards and reading books and knitting and today will be making desserts for Thanksgiving. BUT my husband and son are also home so the one "flaw" is that any Hallmark Christmas movies have to happen before they are up. It's not that they wouldn't let me watch later in the day, but if I did, I'd spend the entire movie feeling like I had to apologize to them. Let's face it - some/many/most of those movies are truly bad! In fact, this is the first year that I've watched in quite a few years after one of them made me angry. (Man and woman start toy company. Man doesn't feel like dealing with the overwhelming workload of the business side of the company - so woman does. Man then accuses her of losing her love of toys so he leaves.  Then to compound my anger, when they meet up years later - he teaches her to love toys again and all is well.  But the opposite isn't true. He doesn't learn to adult, accept all of those responsibilities that aren't fun, and take some of the load off of her.  Wow - I'm still angry.)  Having said that all of that - since I have an entire lazy week - I've been looking forward to my morning coffee with a Hallmark movie. (But I turn them off early if I get any vibes like the one I just described!)

And now I've taken too much time writing this - I'm off to watch my movie - and I hope you play along with this week's sketch!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Stampin' Up Brightest Glow

Dies: Stampin' Up Spruced Up Outline dies, Mama Elephant Shimmer Lights Cover Plate

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Granny Apple Green, Flirty Flamingo and Coastal Cabana, My Favorite Things Pineapple, shimmer white behind the cover plate is from Michaels

The Paper Players Reindeer Fun

 The Paper Players have a sketch this week that worked perfectly for an idea that I've had in my head for two loving reindeer.

The is about the most red and green you will ever see on one of my cards!  I am not sure how someone who adores Christmas is just not a fan of green and red together, but I'm not. Or at least for now.  (I've noticed that my color tastes have changed over the years, from rich and regal to light and fresh. Who knows that I'll like next year!?) But this is going out to my son and girlfriend and since I sent them a pink Halloween card, I went more classic for this one!

The reindeer was an unexpected purchase from Stampin' Up. My demonstrator threw a party and we made Christmas ornaments using this guy peeking out of the wreath. I didn't need anything else in the die set but in the end the eyes on this guy plus the easy way the dies layered to create those eyes and the cute nose won out. (I have a love/hate relationship with Stampin' Up and their die sets because I often only want the stand-alone dies and not the rest that coordinate with stamps!)  The paper is long retired as is the sentiment. The sentiment is exactly what I wanted to say on their card so I had to play around for awhile to make it work since it wasn't quite big enough to stand alone. I added yet more red and put it on a banner which gave it the weight that I needed. 

Thanks to The Paper Players for the inspiration for my card!

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Christmas Messages

Dies: Stampin' Up Reindeer Fun and Scalloped Contours dies

Cardstock: Male Deer: Early Espresso, Basic Beige, Pecan Pie; Female Deer Early Espresso, Naturals White, Crumb Cake; Garden Green and Real Red, patterned paper both retired Stampin' Up: Peaceful Prints 12x12 and the original Garden Green dsp

Happy Birthday Creative Worship Stamps!

Creative Worship Stamps (formerly Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps) is celebrating their 17th birthday!!  They are having a big Instagram hop starting @creativeworshipstamps with big prizes at the end of the hop so check it all out over there!  Also big sales that you can't miss! I'm in the hop but I wanted to show off their products here too.

I had the honor of serving on their design team in their early days so I was asked to be part of the big birthday celebration.  Absolutely!  It didn't take me long to figure out what I wanted to make.  I have two stamp sets from those early days (but both are still available) that are the most used stamps in my entire collection and it's not even close.  They are sentiment sets named Be Encouraged and Be Encouraged 2. Here's one example.

This card is the perfect example of why I love these sets.  The sentiments are so meaningful and truly perfect for those quick cards we so often need to support and encourage the people around us. I love the mixed font on them because they are eye-catching in and of themselves so lend themselves perfectly to clean and simple cards. 

For this card, I paired it with a newer set Happiness Blooms. I simply white embossed the flowers and applied glittery dots for their centers.  It really doesn't get much easier than this.

What about masculine cards? The sentiments work for those too. This card uses the Foliage Die set.

They can even go seasonal! This card uses the Sparkle Snowflake Die set.

The point is they work at any time and any season.  Of course, everything I've shown you is clean and simple, but these stamps work perfectly on any style of card.  Check out the samples on their site; here for Be Encouraged and here for Be Encouraged 2; they are all truly works of art!

If you're on Instagram be sure to head over there for the full hop (linked above) and a chance to win big prizes. Then don't miss the sale starting today!

CREATIVE WORSHIP STAMPS SUPPLY LIST

Floral card: Be Encouraged 2 and Happiness Blooms stamps

Masculine card: Be Encouraged stamps, Foliage Die set

Snowflake card: Be Encouraged 2 stamps, Sparkle Snowflake die set

Freshly Made Sketches: Joyful

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

I've had this Joyful Frame forever and it's still in my not-yet-used stash so when I saw the square in the sketch, I knew I'd pull it out.  Then I saw that I also had this Berry Stem die in the stash.  Both are from Simon Says so it made sense to use them together. I started laying out some floral background paper with berries to coordinate it all, but I quickly realized that I wanted a more clean and modern look simply because of the classic font of the die. So I went two simple embossing folders in the background then I put all of the focus on the sentiment and the berry sprig. The Berry Stems die set did have berries that I could have cut out, but since the rest of the card was so simple I decided to use glittery enamel dots to make it pop.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Simon Says Stamp Joyful Frame and Berry Stems

Cardstock: Taylored Expressions Granny Apple Green, Peapod and Cherry Pop

Embossing Folders: Concord & 9th Berries & Boughs, Taylored Expressions Diagonal Stripe

Other: Stampin' Up Toile Tidings Glitter Enamel Dots

Autumn Greetings

I have one more new-to-me stencil to try and I want to live in fall for just a bit longer (even though we got 30" of snow last week!)

If you've followed my blog the last few weeks with my attempts at stenciling, you will be surprised when I say I thoroughly enjoyed working on this card! I was in such a good "mental" place that when I got the stenciling done, I actually was comfortable stamping the postage stamps onto it.  That's a big deal because I find stenciling so stressful worrying about making a mistake after multiple layers. I always froze and could not handle the risk of adding a stamp to it.  It might smear or it might only partially stamps.  I know I could get out the stamp positioner, but I took the risk without it!

I decided my enjoyment might be because all the spaces are small. When I do big spaces, I typically get some sort of darker spot in the shape of a brush.  I understand that's part of the unique beauty of brushing on color but I prefer having control!  (It's the same reason that I don't love watercoloring.)  The small spaces on these postage collage stencils are easy to use and might be the turning point for me on using stencils.

BTW - this is Waffle Flower's older fall stencil; they have a newer one for this year named Harvest. I do love fall colors and I'm thinking it might need to come into my stash so I can mix and match the little scenes from the two sets.

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Waffle Flower Postage Collage for Fall Stamp Set

Dies: Waffle Flower Postage Collage die, The Greetery Let's Have a Word Autumn

Other: Stampin' Up Subtles embossing folder

Freshly Made Sketches: Peace Love & Joy

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

 

I've had these trees for a very long time. So long, in fact, that the company has closed. But I've never done what I actually got them for - and that is cutting them in a variety of prints. So I created a little forest using some paper that I've had forever.  Then I had a lot of open space left so I found a big sentiment that the look that I wanted with the added benefit of a fun shape that complemented the trees!!  I was thrilled...until I looked at the sketch again and realized that it specified that the sentiment be at the bottom right of the card. But I have so many add-on type sentiments, I just flipped through my stash until I found "to you and yours". Problem solved!

So I don't know about where you are, but since my last post, winter settled in. My little town had 30" of snow and that wasn't even the worst in Colorado. It skipped the moutains but there were areas on the flat plains east and south that had over 50".  Sadly, we totally missed my favorite season - fall.  We had record setting heat (like 90+ in October) until the moment we had 30" of snow.  But I was definitely in winter mood when I created this card because after I got the trees laid out, I found glitter paper for the sentiment and then added some sparkly stars.

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

SUPPLY LIST

Stamps: Photoplay Peace & Joy for the "to you and yours"

Dies: Neat & Tangled Scandinavian Print Christmas, Paper Rose Peace Love & Joy Layered die

Paper: Simple Stories Winter Wonderland, Stampin' Up Soft Shimmer 12x12 dsp, vellum

Other: The Stamp Market White Glitter Stars

Freshly Made Sketches: Birthday Bow

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!

As I was figuring out who I needed birthday cards for this month, I noticed that there's a guy at work on the list. I hardly know him - I don't know hobbies or interest or colors - so I needed something really basic.  This sketch was incredibly helpful because I also just got this Gift Bows dies from Concord and 9th/Kristina Werner so I immediately saw the sketch as a present!

I went with blues and greens - they seemed cheerful yet still masculine. I added patterned paper for a couple of the panels just for interest. The only thing left was finding a sentiment that fit. Very few do because "birthday" is a long word but happily Honey Bee Stamps had Big Birthday and it was perfect!

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

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Concord and 9th (Kristina Werner) Gift Bows Dies, Honey Bee Stamps Big Birthday

Paper: Taylored Expressions Granny Smith and Peapod, Stampin' Up Pretty Peacock from 2019-21 dsp, polka dot is a scrap

Tis the Season for Nordic Bells

 I just got the Nordic Bell from Poppystamps and then this week's sketch from The Paper Players came out and it was all meant to be!

I am such a fan of all of the Nordic products coming out from Poppystamps.  Check out the fabulous Nordic leaves here or the butterfly here or the flowers and pots here.)  The Nordic Bell set along with the Little Bow and String set might be some of my favorites. (Although the Nordic penguin I have that hasn't come out to play yet will give them all a run for their money!)

For the sketch, I also needed a bold sentiment and I saw that I hadn't used the the Bold Text, Christmas set by Sizzix/Tim Holtz. There are so many choices in that set but the sentiments that were three lines crowded the bell and the sentiments with one line left too much open space - so that narrowed my choices down.  The paper is from Photoplay It's a Wonderful Christmas picked mainly because of the colors. I like that it has a hint of almost curry color in it to tie it all together.

This was a very quick card but a great sketch (thanks to The Paper Players) and a fabulous die make it all so easy!

SUPPLY LIST

Dies: Poppystamps Nordic Bell, Little Bow and String; Sizzix/Tim Holtz Bold Text Christmas

Paper: Photoplay It's a Wonderful Christmas, Stampin' Up Lost Lagoon, Crushed Curry, and Poppy Parade