Simple

After stamping for many years, I always feel inclined to make elaborate cards. Unfortunately, my time is short and I would rather do a little something, rather than nothing at all. I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same. Plus, sometimes clean and simple is kind of a fun a change of pace. The cards below fit the bill - and will most likely be sent to Operation Write Home:

The sentiment is made from letter stickers.

The bottom curly line is a portion of paper tape. Both cards were made from kits from SimonSaysStamp.

I was working through part of a SimonSaysStamp kit - just using items from the kit. For me, it's a good exercise in using imagination. It limits me to what is in front of me - any ideas on other images, embellishments are ignored. I thought this particular card came together nicely. Being a stamper, I tend to use stamped images as my focal. Not with this:

The bird image on the bottom is part of the patterned paper. The large heart was cut from a traced pattern. This card will go into a batch for Operation Write Home. Pull a patterned paper from your stash and give it a try.

Tuesday's Tag

My friend, Nancy, gave me this wonderful collection of patterned papers and embellishments from My Mind's Eye(Ruby). The papers colors of reds, pinks, white/cream and gray are very versatile. I decided on a French twist - I think this will make a fun addition to a card!

Thank You

I'm slowly, but surely, getting my holiday thank you cards done. After cutting and matting some patterned paper strips, I decided I needed a variation. Using some of the same strips and adding some stamps:

The background stamp is by Hero Arts and has quickly become a favorite!

I wasn't quite ready to put away my holiday patterned paper. So, with a bit of mixing and matching, fun winter card fronts. I cut 5 strips into 3/4 x 3 3/4 (or close to it) and mounted them to a black mat.

I added a snowflake stamp from Stampin' Up and a little "thank you". Some of my Christmas "thank you" cards are complete. And, it all came from my stash!

Journaling

It has been awhile since I did anything creative. The holidays, family, and mom's trust business have taken up my time. I did get a few minutes recently to work on journal pages for a swap. With all the travel over the past months, this is what came to mind:

 Now, this is a fairly simple page for me. I did a bit of layering of mists and inks on the background. I stamped a new Unity cloud background to add some interest. Of course, I needed to add a bit of a twist, so I added a heart from Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers...

The house stamp is from Hero Arts -it's one that I have frequently used!

Ready!

Tags are done and gifts are wrapped. I even have a few left to add to a stash for next year. Hope all your Holiday plans are proceeding smoothly!

We wish you....

I finally finished my Christmas cards. It was rough going as I just had no idea what I wanted to do. Since getting into the Holiday spirit has been difficult, I decided to go very simple this year. So, I used some pre-cut card kits (leftovers from Club Scrap kits) and stamps from Close to My Heart:

The nesting dies are by Stampin' Up! Not one of my more spectacular efforts, but at least they are done!

Gift Tags

I think I've made enough gift tags for Christmas. My goal to use my stash of patterned paper has worked well. I have also been using die cuts quite a bit. For the gift tags below, I folded patterned paper in half and positioned in in the Sizzix/Tim Holtz ornament die so that the fold was below the to cut line. Thus, it makes a mini ornament card. I ran a complimentary paper through the die again to cut out the top of the ornament.

I stamped and punched put the center circles. Super easy! I made the tag below similarly using the Sizzix/Tim Holtz dwellings die:

You can see the top is a bit flat due to the fold. Take a look at your dies - there may be some that would make a perfect fold over card.

Tuesday's Tag

For today's tag, I took out (of the package) a couple of new stamps. The background is by Hero Arts - love it!

It was stamped in Distress ink, but seemed a bit too dark for what I wanted to do. Enter Distress Stain in Picket Fence - it toned it down a bit. I stamped the bird (My Mind's Eye from the Merry and Bright collection) onto the tag in black. I then re-stamped it on a separate piece of card stock in Barn Door Distress ink. I cut out the bird and mounted it over the black image with mounting tape. The flowers were also re-stamped onto white card stock, cut out and mounted over the original image. I added some Straw Distress Stickles to the center.
From a scrap of Merry and Bright paper, I die cut the lace edge on the left. I used the same print to punch out different size snowflakes. I added a smear of glitter glue to the snowflakes. Here's a close up:

Last of all, I stamped the sentiment (My Mind's Eye Merry and Bright) and cut out the banner. It was also added to the card with mounting tape. Finally, I stained some cream ribbon with Stormy Sky Distress Stain. I did use the papers and tag from my stash, only the stamps were new!

Sweet Treats

I had invited my gym buddies over for a lunch, a thank you for all the support they have given over the past half year. I was thinking of making a cute holiday favor for them to take home. Opening my drawer of dies, I embarrassingly recalled that I had bought the Stampin' Up matchbox die and never used it! No time like the present...
I used a couple of patterned papers, instead of card stock. I wasn't sure how sturdy they would be so I did make a test box. Thankfully, they worked beautifully:

I made the lid from printer transparencies. It was thin enough that I didn't need to score it to wrap it around the little box. I used my ATG gun to adhere it together. Since you can still see a bit of the glue line, I placed the ribbon around the box at the seam and tied a bow. Below is the bottom view, you can see I still needed to adjust the ribbon:

They were a big hit, thankfully. And, I stayed with my resolution to use my stash - including old "new" dies!

Merry and Bright

"Tis the season for all things holiday. I recently purchased a few (trying to stick with my "use my stash" commitment) new Christmas papers. The above background chevron's are from My Mind's Eye. Love the colors. I'm having a Holiday lunch for my gym buddies and thought it would make a great background for the invitation.
I wanted to make it simple and easy since I needed a dozen or so. I "second generation" stamped the sentiment "May all your days be merry and bright", and over stamped the "You're Invited" in a deep eggplant color. I love the subtle contrast that the two colors bring. Originally, that was going to be the entire card...but I decided to punch and stamp the mini tag (Stampin' Up!). Then, I needed twine...to match....So, out came the markers and white twine to customize the color. It was a long process making the twine for 12 cards, but I am pleased with the final product!

Merry

I have been busy with Christmas projects (a nice distraction between legal maneuverings). My holiday patterned papers are being put to good use - particularly those which are single sided. A 6x6 piece easily yields 2 fold over gift tags. I have combined a couple of papers from the same set, and used a border punch to create the tree order.

Christmas Deer...

Keeping with the theme of using my stash - a tag with a background I stamped, oh so long ago! I used a scalloped oval punch to frame the little reindeer (SimonSaysStamp) and added a sentiment. Easy, peasy!

Tags

Since we went to Southern California for Thanksgiving, I decided to get some early Christmas shopping done. I figure it would save me some shipping! This cute little guy is from a SimonSaysStamp kit for the Holidays. I definitely think that the ongoing theme this year is "use your patterned paper"!

Cheer

I was playing with the Holiday Card Kit from SimonSaysStamp. Included with the papers, card stocks and other goodies, is an adorable little wafer die of a gift. Had to try it out! So, I ran it through my Big Shot using print, solid and white papers. Love the way packages turned out - so quick and simple!

I had a few moments recently, and thought it would be a good time to start on the shadow box I painted a few weeks ago. I used a page of Carta Bella's All Hallow's Eve, some ephemera and a glass bottle:

I used black alcohol ink to color the bottle. Drip a couple drops into your glass and rotate the bottle for coverage. The bird cage is a 3-D acetate sticker.

This is a close up of the top slot. I have a few more things to add here - possible some pen nibs, etc.

So-So

I was inspired to use my Inktense watercolor stick by a card made by my Squirelly (Art) friend, Nancy. I scribbled, painted with a water brush, die cut, and stamped. Not sure I like the results. I was not going to post, but I think it is good to show your art in different incarnations. Sometimes, things work out well and other times, not so well. We all have these experiences, even some of the captains in the industry. I remember watching a demonstration by Kevin Nakagawa (Stampscapes) - he ended up with a funky thumb print in the middle of the card. Others have tried a new color combination in a demo, and ended up being less than happy with the result. So...here is my "less than thrilling" card:

It could be better...and it could be worse! What has been your experiences?

Picture Yourself....

...in your studio with a song running through your head! Actually, this song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has been running through my head for a couple of weeks. When I received my journal in the swap that I am doing, it seemed like a logical page idea. I used some patterned papers as a base, laying down inks and sprays.

The trees were stamped in Distress ink. I actually used a scoop of ice cream as the tree leaves. Not sure if I like them, but I do not want to start over. The clouds are a stamp from Stampin' Up (marshmallows from a cocoa set) with Liquid Applique (remember that!?). I penned in accents using Crayola Spider Writers, Copic markers and Souffle pens.

Using My Stash

As much as love this paper collection, I am determined not to hoard. So, I made this cute little card using a scrap and a sticker. Add a stamped greeting - 10 minutes of less!