322- Ornament Gate Fold Card

This is a very simple card using the delightful decorations set, ornament punch and gate fold technique. It is a great card if you need to make a lot of Christmas cards because you can make it really fast and it's a fun fold.

This is a different gate fold than I have ever used- usually they are vertical cards but this time I made it a horizontal gate fold. I really like it- I will use this layout again soon I think.

When I was first designing this card I was actually going to use more paper to add 2 layers behind the ornaments but in the end I decided to keep it simple. It is actually harder for me to keep the card simple- I always want to add more. But I was inspired by so many of my friends who enjoy simpler cards and just left this alone. And I'm really happy I did- I think the finished product is nice and clean looking.

Recipe:

Stamps: Delightful Decorations

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, Holiday Treasures DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Ruby Red

Accessories: Ornament Punch

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321- Jolly Tree Card

I am trying to use up my holiday DSP from last year before I open up this year's pack. I love the finished product- it just screams Christmas! This layout is from the Mojo Monday challenge this week (MOJO114).

I didn't have any ruby red ribbon but riding hood red was very similar and I still had some of this taffeta ribbon left- I definitely think the colours went together well and it looked seamless.

I have been doing craft fairs recently and have learned that most people enjoy traditional holiday colours (I'm not one of them). That was the inspiration for this card and the next few that I will be posting- I'm trying to go back to basics.

On the image I added dazzling diamonds on the "snow" to add some shine and I lit up the balls on the tree with crystal effects.

Recipe:

Stamps: Jolliest Time of the Year

Paper: Holiday Treasures DSP, Whisper white. Old Olive

Ink: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: 1/4" riding hood red taffeta ribbon, dazzling diamonds, scallop edge punch, crystal effects

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320- Happy Holidays

This was a difficult challenge for me because I wanted to use it in a Christmas card. In the end I do like the card- I wouldn't necessarily use the shimmer paint again but I was trying to find a way to bring some shine to the card. However, you can't see the pink snowflakes that I rolled onto the whisper white anymore- they are very faint. Next time I would probably use Dazzling Diamonds

Recipe:

Stamps: Big on Christmas, Bold Snowflakes wheel

Paper: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Old Olive

Accessories: Frosty white shimmer paint, crystal effects, tag corner punch, big shot, petals a plenty embossing folder

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Open House This Sunday!

I will be holding an Open House on Sunday, November 29th from 1-5pm. If you are in Mississauga or the GTA please stop by anytime to make a fun project and enjoy some holiday treats- be ready to stamp and have fun with all the tools in my stamping room. There will be prizes and lots of other fun surprises!

Please RSVP by Friday, November 27th.

Holiday Extravaganza Sale!!!

For the second year in a row Stampin' Up! is having a Holiday Extravaganza sale!!! There are package deals and also up to 50% off certain items like embellishments and punches- how fantastic is that?!

The sale will last for one week- please make sure to place your orders before midnight on November 30th. You can order directly through me or if you live in Canada you can order online in my store 24/7 at the link below

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryID=462

Last year these bundles and items sold out quickly so make sure to get your order in as soon as possible!

319- Accordion Card

I was asked to make up an accordion card for a woman who is opening a kennel. It was made on coasters to keep it sturdy and opens up and she can put pictures inside it.

Recipe:

Stamp Set: Schoolbook serif alphabet

Paper: Holiday Treasures DSP, Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: 1/2" soft suede ribbon, coasters

318- Christmas Trees

This was one of my first attempts at blank embossing for a splitcoast technique challenge (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466417). I wanted to make a two tone card with some shine and I think I accomplished that. I definitely need to practice more to get a perfect blank embossed card- I need a thicker blocker.

I first gold embossed the sentiment- I'm not sure if it would look as good if I dry embossed the paper then tried to put on the sentiment. It might get bumpy and jagged but I've never tried it.

I used my coluzzle to cut an oval in a coaster- thicker than cardstock but thinner than chipboard. I used the masking technique on the very vanilla to stamp the trees in the oval. I then used dotto on my oval and put it on top of the masked image and ran it through my big shot in the plenty of petals embossing folder. If all had worked out well the area under the oval should have stayed smooth and the area around it would have been embossed. Well as you can see that didn't really happen- those folders just really give a deep impression!!

I left the oval on and brayered Handsome Hunter over the dry embossed area- it's a great way to colour the image you've embossed. I ended up using my frost white shimmer paint on the centres of the flowers but I knew I needed to still pop out my central oval. So I used the shimmer paint to colour in the whole oval. I have to say this is motivating me to buy the champagne shimmer paint but I used what I have

So I tried it again a second time- this time I still used an oval out of the coaster but I put one on the front and on the back. I definitely got a better window this time but there is still the faint impression. I think next time I'm going to have to suck it up and use my chipboard to do this.

I need your opinions- do you like it better when I use the shimmer paint in the oval or can it stand alone? Let me know!!

Recipe:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Snow Swirled

Paper: Handsome Hunter, Very Vanilla

Ink: Handsome Hunter

Accessories: Petals a Plenty, Big Shot, Coluzzle, Gold Embossing, frost white shimmer paint, brayer

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