Christmas Countdown #4 - Sweet Season

2 days in a row! Pretty good huh?

Well, I should be making 8 pies right now but, I just couldn't resist. My sister in law, Jenny, ordered this set to make some cute cookie swap invites and I asked if I could play around with it before taking it over to her this afternoon. Yay! Thanks Jenny!

Because I was a little short on time, I copied a couple of these ideas. Here's is where I found inspirations for this one. Isn't it cute? http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1529167?&cat=17528 It's just too bad I didn't have the french version. I really liked that part about it.

I used:

* Sweet Season stamp set

* Kraft, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip and Real Red card stock

* Chocolate Chip and Close to Cocoa ink

* Real Red marker, Chocolate 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Red grosgrain and the wide oval punch

Tip: to make the snowflakes, I stamped off the page once so the Close to Cocoa ink would be a bit lighter.


And here is a close up of one of the tags I made:

Here's where I found this:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1547154?&cat=17528

but I sort of wish I'd had time to make her entire cute project. Oh well right?

I used:

* Sweet Season stamp set

* Real Red, Whisper White and Garden Green card stock

* Real Red and Garden Green ink

* 1 1/4", 1 3/8, and scallop circle punches, and 1/4" real red grosgrain ribbon, and the slot punch.

Tip: I attached the snowflake with two Stampin' Dimensionals (foam dots) around the hole I punched with the slot punch so that the ribbon can still slide freely through the hole.

Yes, I know I need to change my cutting blade. It's bugging me too.

And here are two invites I made. I planned to make them the same, but then I just kept trying different things. Both are pull out cards that would just get printed with cookie swap details.

You need to look at both and then answer the following:

* Do you like the words crooked or straight?

* Do you like the folded over snowflake or the punched out one to work as a pull?

* Do you like Real Red or Soft Suede as the back card stock for the pull out piece?

* Do you like the longer or shorter front flap?

* Which ribbon do you like better?

Either way, I hope Jenny likes them.

To make an easy pull out card like this:

* cut a piece of card stock in half lengthwise at 4 1/4"

* score in half at 5 1/2"

* trim 2" or so from one of the sides

* decorate

* Pull out is 3 1/2" x 5 1/4"

Now, I'm off to make pie...for real this time!

PPA 17- Season of Simple Grace

Okay, I've really cut this close today! This is another Pals Paper Arts Challenge http://www.palspaperarts.com/ and this week it was a sketch. I've never done this format before and so I had a really hard time coming up with something, then last night at 1:30 a.m. I got it!

The colors I used are Always Artichoke, Kraft and Night of Navy because I wanted it to feel a little desert-y, and also to look like an actual night sky. I also used Champagne Shimmer paint to accent the star. Because the Champagne color is so translucent, I daubed it on top of my white craft ink. I also daubed Champagne shimmer paint on the Baby Jesus on the inside of the card to make him glow a bit.

The only other accessory I used is some fantastic linen thread. It makes every project better!

Thanks for checking it out!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, yes, I will be featuring this set more in a few days...

I hope!

Christmas Countdown #5 - "Joyful" and "Little Leaf" Sizzlits Dies AND PPA16

Here's my card submission for the PPA 16 - Christmas Cheer Challenge. http://www.palspaperarts.com/
For this card I used the Little Leaves Sizzlits die to make a stencil with acetate and then I used a sponge dauber in Always Artichoke ink to make the leaf images in varying shades of green. The only other thing I used on this card is another Sizzlits Die (Joyful) some real red grosgrain ribbon and coordinating card stock. This card is almost completely flat so I know the post man will like this one!

Here's a close up:

While playing with my dies I made a few other cards as well. While this may seem like an ordinary post, I used NO STAMPS at all on any of these creations. Weird isn't it?

I made this quick easy 5 minute card a while ago and it's sort of been growing on me ever since.

I used:

* Real Red and Old Olive card stock, Merry Moments d.s.p.

* Joyful and Little Leaves sizzlits dies.



This one is pretty simple too actually but it uses the die in a little bit of a different way. Instead of popping the leaves out and using them to embellish the card, I used the card stock that was left once the leaves were gone. I had to try this a few times to get the leaves in the right place and going in the right direction.

I used:

*Real Red, Old Olive and Whisper White card stock and Old Olive d.s.p.

* Joyful and Little Leaves Sizzlits dies

* Silver brads and the ticket corner punch

This is my first criss cross card of the season. I love these, they always come out elegant and pretty no matter what paper you use. To see a quick tutorial on this card and to get the dimensions check this out: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/criss_cross_card/

I used:

* Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive and Very Vanilla card stock and Merry Moments d.s.p.

* Joyful and Little Leaves Sizzlits dies

* Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and the corner rounder punch

Here's what the pull out looks like:

The last card I made is a bookmark holder. To make this, just cut a sheet of card stock in half lengthwise at 4 1/4", fold in half then trim 2" off of one side. Add a little glue and some brads and you have a nice little pocket card. The Bookmark inside is 2 1/2" x 5 1/4" but you could use any size.

I used:

* Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White card stock and Old Olive d.s.p.

* Joyful and Little Leaves Sizzlits
*Large oval, oval scallop and corner rounder punches

* Brad and Jumbo eyelets

* Real Red 5/8" grosgrain and Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain

And here's what the bookmark looks like: I try to make sure my bookmarks are pretty flat as they'll be inside of an actual book someday so that's why there's no ribbon or brads down below. I don't know if anyone else likes pretty bookmarks, but I know I do!

If you've been admiring the pretty glass votives in this post, they are called glassybaby and they are all hand blown in Seattle. Aside from stamps, they are my favorite things to obsess over. Check it out! http://www.glassybaby.com/

Class Update

I KNOW you all want one of those boxes and a chance to win a stamp set... right?

Well, my card class is only days away and I still have some openings! The class will include one of those adorable boxes (with typed instructions inside) as well as four of each of the three cards you see (12 total) AND a chance to win a stamp set.

Saturday Nov. 14th at 2 pm

and

Thursday Nov. 19th at 6 pm

Did I mention the cost is only $17? And I have pre-stamped kits available for only $22!

Don't miss out!

Christmas Card Class!!!

My 3rd annual Christmas Card Class is here! Yay!!!

The class will be held at my home on two separate dates. The cost of the class is $17.00 and includes 12 cards, (4 each of the 3 designs pictured above) envelopes, door prizes, snacks and a day out!

The dates of the class are:
* Saturday November 14th, 2:00 pm, and
* Thursday November 19th at 6:00 pm

Some of the supplies you see above are limited so please sign up quickly to reserve your spot. If there are any supplies left over, I will be selling pre-stamped kits for $22.00 (plus shipping).

As always, friends are welcome!

To sign up, or request a kit, leave a comment or email me at
natdecker@hotmail.com

Hope to see you soon!

PPA 14 - In the Pink

I've stepped way from my Christmas Stamp Set Countdown today to enter my very first challenge.
http://www.palspaperarts.com/
I've been meaning to submit something to the Pals Paper Arts for a while now but this week was so fun and for such a great cause that I couldn't resist any longer. So here they are, my pink, breast cancer cards. Yes, they're still Christmas, and yes, they're pretty similar to some cards I made a few posts ago. What can I say?

You may not be able to tell from the picture but these two cards are covered in glittery embossing...and pink-ness. If I were a princess these would totally be my Christmas cards!
Both cards use the same supplies and techniques, just arranged a little differently on each one. To see a great tutorial on how this technique works , click here:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/embossing_resist/

I used:

* Snow Swirled stamp set (and Teeny Tiny Wishes for the little tag)

* Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Pretty in Pink card stock

* Regal Rose, Versamark, White Craft and Chocolate Chip ink

* Iridescent Ice stampin' emboss, stamping sponges, Top Note Bigz die