Peace and Animals for Christmas

I have two Christmas cards to share today - both with animals on them!   If you're following the party going on over at Papertrey -  today's challenge is to use a large word as your focal point.  I used the PEACE from one of the PTI Wonderful Words Holiday Die Collection as well as the deer dies from the  In The Meadow set.  The PEACE is embossed with dots and popped up on foam tape.  I used a stitched mat rectangle die from Lil'Inker Designs on the panel.

I'm also entering this card in the Merry Monday challenge -  to use an animal on your Christmas card.

 My second card was made for  the Merry Monday challenge as well. The stamps on this card are from Twas the Night Before Christmas by Waltzingmouse.  See the little mouse that's not stirring??!  The window is popped up on foam dots.

I hope you can stop by tomorrow (Tues) I'll be showing 3 wonderful new templates from Creations by AR!

Peace
Paper:  white, dark chocolate, smokey shadow, spring rain - PTI
Accessories:  peace die from Wonderful Words - Holiday set - PTI, reindeer die - from In the Meadow die set - PTI, stitched mat rectangle die - Lil'Inker Designs, foam dots,  dots embossing folder - Darice

A Vist from St. Nick 
Stamps:  Twas the Night Before Christmas - Waltzingmouse
Paper:  White, true black - PTI
Ink:  Archival Jet Black
Accessories:  Copics - B00, BG49, B05, foam dots, washi tape - Omiyage.ca,

17 Minutes or Less

Papertrey Ink is having a fabulous celebration of it's 7th Birthday with this month's release that includes daily challenges.  Today's challenge is called The Timer challenge and these were the rules:

• You have 7 minutes to grab 7 supplies to use on your card.  This needs to include your ink, paper and stamps too, so maybe you should be sure to grab the basics first and go from there!  (You do not need to count adhesive as one of your limited supplies.)
• Then create a quick card in 17 minutes or less using the supplies you selected!

 

I started my card at 11:17 pm and finished it at 11:30 pm - so it took me 13 minutes.  I used 1) paper,        2) Lovely Layers Die set, 3) black ink and 4) a sentiment from Polka Dot Parade #8. (If I need to count each die separately - the total would be 7!)

My colors were inspired by the Card Concept challenge - Use Monochromatic Pink - I think my card falls in the Clean and Simple category.

My design was inspired by this week's Cas(e) this Sketch

Are you watching the Sochi Olympics?  I'm going to have to arrange my stamping around the events I want to see.  I don't have a TV in my craft room but there is one where I have my computer.  So I can't stamp and watch - but I can blog and watch!

Stamps:  Polka Dot Parade #8

Paper:  White, Sweet Blush, Hibiscus Burst, Berry Sorbet - PTI

Ink:  Archival Jet Black

Accessories:  Lovely Layers Die set - PTI, foam dots.

Silver and Gold Pine

Whoa - I really love how this card turned out!  I silver embossed the pine boughs on the back panel, gold embossed the die cut pine cone bough, and gold embossed the sentiment on a strip of vellum.  I attached the vellum to the card with two little red brads - funny thing -  I've had these brads for probably 9 years - purchased when I first started stamping and was buying everything in sight because I didn't know what I needed -  and I almost threw them all out last week since I hadn't been using them!  But I wanted them today!

My inspirations for this card were:

Freshly Made Sketches

Festive Friday

 I was inspired by the silver and gold ornaments, the pine cones and the red ornaments.  Here are some closeups of the embossings.

I'm also entering this is Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes.

Stamps:  Festive Foliage, sentiment from Nordic Winter - Waltzingmouse

Paper:  white, pure poppy, vellum - PTI

Ink:  Versamark

Accessories:  red brads, gold and silver embossing folder, heat gun, foam dots,  die- Pine Cones - Waltzingmouse.

Merry AND Bright

We ended up having about 12" of heavy wet snow here in Massachusetts yesterday -  even after shoveling and snow blowing the stuff for an hour after work - it still put me in the holiday spirit to make this card!

There's a stocking on it for the Merry Monday Challenge

My Sentiment was chosen for the CAS-ology cue card    AND  

My sketch is this week's Seize the Sketch

 I'll be back tomorrow with yet another Christmas card!

Stamps:  sentiment from Seasons of Love, stocking from Sewing Box Christmas - Waltzingmouse
Paper:  white, pure poppy - PTI, DP Sn@p Simple Stories
Ink:  Archival Jet Black
Accessories:  Maraschino Twine - The Twinery, enamel spots - My Minds Eye, stitched mat rectangles - Lil'Inker Designs, foam dots.

The Perfect Sketch

I don't know what it was about this sketch -  but it quite tickled my creative fancy and I made 5 cards using different colors and washi tapes and sentiments!  

My friends Elizabeth, Jeannine and I are running a card stamping workshop at our church on Sunday.  Everyone gets to make 3 cards for $10.00.    We each design one of the cards.  Since it's a February workshop - we planned to make Valentines - so I created this one - using patterned paper and two washi tapes.  Stamps and arrow die are from Love Struck from Paper Smooches.

But some of the people signed up said they won't need 3 Valentines - so we will each offer birthday alternatives. This happy birthday sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms (retired).  I stamped it on a sentiment strip die from MFT.

See how different a design looks by just changing the colors?  More masculine above - more feminine below!

Then - a woman at church asked me if I could make her 2 thank you cards that would say Happy Valentine's Day inside.    I designed this one for the man she wants to send one to.  She wanted it masculine and not lovey dovey.  I used 3 washi tapes, a Stitched Mat Rectangle from Lil' Inker Designs and sentiment from Fancy Phrases by Waltzingmouse.

and I designed this one for the woman she wants to send one to - stamp from Paper Smooches Love Struck.

And now I'm sure you are wondering where I found this great sketch that inspired me so much!  I found it at Stamplorations Challenge #5

 

I'm also entering the Heart Felt Gratitude card in the Addicted to CAS Code word Love challenge

I'm entering the Love Struck card in the Paper Smooches Anything Goes challenge

We're in for another snow storm here in Massachusetts today -  6"-10" possible - I'll be shoveling and snow blowing when I get home from work for sure!

Love Struck

We had our Valentine Sale at church this past Sunday -  a great success - we sold $140.00 worth of cards, treat boxes and Valentine chocolate lollipops!   Elizabeth, Jeannine and I were quite pleased.  I'm taking a few of the left overs to work to try and sell to co-workers this week (!)

But I'm still making Valentines -  because I just got some new goodies in the mail.  Today I'm using my new Paper Smooches stamp and die set -  Love Struck.

 I die cut the circles with my new Stitched Mats Circles from Lil' Inker Designs.  I die cut the red circle with the Snowfall die from Memory Box to look like places the arrows hit and missed!  I only thought of it when I was looking for a red scrap big enough to cut the circle and I found this piece that I had cut the Snowfall on but hadn't used -  and I thought "A ha"! that would look like a target full of holes from the arrows! - so there you go - that's how creativity strikes!

I made it a round card for the CAS on Sunday challenge

I used red and teal for the Dynamic Duos challenge

I loosely used the Just Us Girls Sketch

the Addicted to CAS challenge Codeword:  Love
and the Paper Smooches Anything Goes Challenge

Stamps:  Love Struck - Paper Smooches
Paper:  white, pure poppy - PTI, Pacific Point - SU
Ink:  Ranger Distress Festive Berries, Archival Jet Black
Accessories:  foam dots, Snowfall die - Memory Box, Stitched Mats Circles - Lil'Inker Designs, 1 1/4" circle punch - Ek Success, Arrow dies Love Struck Icons - Paper Smooches, Corner Rounder - Zutter

A Golden Reindeer

I have another card to share today that I made for two challenges.  I embossed the background with the Sizzix Rays embossing folder - I thought it looked like a snowstorm behind my tree branch and ornament!  I die cut and stamped the pine bough and hung my pretty die cut and gold embossed reindeer ornament off of the bough with a piece of glitter eyelash yarn.  Both the bough and reindeer are up on foam dots.

Here's a close up of the sweet reindeer -isn't the floral pattern of the stamping pretty?!  I gold embossed it on gold card stock.

This is my second entry for the Merry Monday Challenge - (see yesterday's post)   to use an ornament on your card

My design is this week's Waltzingmouse Fanatics sketch - although I didn't use a sentiment on the outside of my card.

Stamps:  Festive Foliage and Folk Art Christmas Additions - Waltzingmouse
Paper:  white - PTI, gold - Michaels
Ink:  Versamark, Ranger Distress Evergreen Bough and Frayed Burlap
Accessories:  gold embossing powder, heat gun, Rays embossing folder - Sizzix, foam dots, glitter eyelash yarn - Martha Stewart, reindeer die from Folk Art Christmas Dies Waltzingmouse, pine bough from Pinecones die set - Waltzingmouse.