Merry Monday #257 - Decorated Tag using texture, bling and die cuts

Merry Monday everyone - it's week 3 of my Guest Designer slot and time for Sue's Challenge #257 to include a decorated tag using texture, bling, and die cuts on your Christmas card.

Oh my - what a fun challenge! I have lots of different tag dies but I combined a couple for my card. I found the perfect paper pad for the tag and background. Then I spotted a fun polar bear Silhouette image I had cut a while back - still stuck to the mat!

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Black Licorice,

Studio Calico Magical Collection 6x6, scrap of Basic Grey Juniper & BoBunny dotted

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 2 and 13; Hero Arts DI054 Phrase Bubbles,

My Monthly Hero Kit July 2016 (sold out) - luggage tag (cut in half), and

DI197 Tag Infinity Dies (for the tag's tab & reinforcer)

Silhouette Design ID 69566 A2 Polar Bear Card (just cut the bear with scarf)

Stamps - Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings (retired)

Embossing Folder - Darice Snowflake Swirl

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Hickory Smoke Distress Ink

Other - Michael's gems, 3M glitter washi, Copic Markers, scrap of ribbon

I had one last piece of this blue patterned paper and I embossed it for some texture - actually, it's debossed for the most part - they printed the label on the wrong side so I didn't get the normal raised effect. Since it was my last piece of this paper, I used it anyway! Glittery washi adds both texture and bling to the tag and some gems to my sentiment finish it off nicely.

Funny story - I photographed the card and uploaded it, then when I went to check the Silhouette ID for the polar bear, I realized I'd left off his front legs and scarf - oh no!! So I added them and took a new photo, sigh.... Do you ever do crazy stuff like that? Tell me, please! Here's the card with the front legs & scarf missing - have a good laugh, I actually didn't notice anything was missing until I looked in my Silhouette library!!

Thanks for stopping and be sure to check out all the inspiration from my Merry Monday teamies! Have a crafty week!!

Wish Big

Hi all - I'm here today sharing a birthday card for my baby sister who loves elephants. She celebrated yesterday and texted me a picture of my card sitting in her kitchen window - she loved it!

Supplies:  Paper - Neenah white, yellow & brown; Pop-tone Blu-raspberry; scrap of a kraft envelope

Dies - Hero Arts June 2017 My Monthly Hero kit & DI399 Thorn Tree and Grasses Fancy Die

Stamps - Hero Arts June 2017 My Monthly Hero kit & CL674 Circles (retired)

The September 2017 My Monthly Hero kit from Hero Arts released on Tuesday 9/4 (already sold out) and I'm hoping to play with mine (it arrived in yesterday's mail). Meanwhile, I'm way behind on using earlier kits so I put the June 2017 kit to use for this card. The kit (sold out) has an African wildlife theme and included an elephant silhouette (along with many other animal images). One of the birthday sentiments from the Circles clear set worked perfectly with my elephant scene.

When I first received the kit back in June, I did my usual process of cutting apart the dies and making a negative for popping diecuts in to stamp. With a full set of diecuts ready, it was easy to stamp an elephant. I think I had a fiber on the stamp because I ended up with an unstamped line. Of course I noticed after the stamp was cleaned and put away so I ran a Distress Marker over it. Doesn't look perfect but we'll just say my elephant has some skin issues - LOL. The kit came with a small thorn tree stamp & matching die but I used a larger die that paired with the grasses as an add-on.

That's it for today - thanks for the visit! Hope you have a crafty week!!

Merry Monday #256 Favorite Holiday Movie

Merry Monday everyone - time to go to the movies with Nina this week for Challenge 256. Woo Hoo!!

As a young child I always watched Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer on television every Christmas season - it remains a favorite to this day. I remember hiding my face when the nasty Abominable Snow Monster came on screen - yikes! Then he turned into a sweetie at the end and Rudolph with his red nose saved the day by leading Santa's sleigh. A classic!! I found a darling & ridiculously cheap Rudolph stamp set at Michael's after Christmas last year - perfect for this challenge! Here's my movie inspired card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Teresa Collins Sweet Afternoon (blue pattern)
Basic Grey Juniper Berry (black pattern)
Stamps - Inkadinkado Rudolph, Impression Obsession Wooden Plank

Silhouette Design ID 112156 Santa's Workshop A7 card 
Dies - Lawn Fawn Hillside Borders & Impression Obsession Snowflakes Cutout
Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Hickory Smoke, Lucky Clover, Pine Needles, & Black Soot
Other - Stickles, Copic Markers, foam tape, Sizzix plaid embossing folder

The set has 5 of the movie's characters - Rudolph, Sam the Snowman, Hermey the elf who wants to be a dentist, the Abominable Snow Monster, & prospector Yukon Cornelius, plus a snow covered tree and 3 snowflakes. I decided to feature just three of the characters - of course, one of them had to be Rudolph! I stamped all three, colored with Copics & fussy cut. I stamped the tree image three times using two shades of green ink and fussy cut. I thought Hermey would be cute looking out a workshop window at Rudolph & Sam so I went searching for a Silhouette Santa's Workshop design. Found a cute one that includes an A7 card but I just folded my own card stock to A7 size. I selected some of design's pieces and cut them in white, coloring them as necessary with Copics. I embossed the walls and roof for some texture and stamped the shutters with a wood plank background. I added Icy Stickles to the icicle layer of the Silhouette design. The design came with a heart for above the window but I chose a snowflake as the finishing touch. Oops - forgot I was going to hand write DENTISTRY on Hermey's book - just like in the movie. Oh well, I'll add it later.

Thanks for stopping and be sure to check out all the fabulous cards of my Merry Monday team mates! I'm having a blast on my Guest Designer tenure!!

Another retirement card!

Wow - a third person retired from my old workplace! I attended a party back in July and there were two in August - had to miss both of those parties due to other commitments but I sent cards. I didn't blog the July card because it was similar to the cat birthday card from May. The first retiree loooooves cats! Only difference was a butterfly instead of the balloon and a congrats sentiment. I posted the first August retirement card here and today I'm sharing the final card - for my friend Jim:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A7 card, Poptone Black Licorce, 

Neenah Solar White, & a scrap of Basic Grey grid

Stamps - Hero Arts CG279 Musical Clef, Impression Obsession MC185 Fore Retirement

Silhouette files - Design ID60862 Acoustic Guitar & 

Design ID37683 Music Flats Etc, plus text of a B and two 2s

Jim has played the guitar for years - in fact, we used to sing duets back in the day during our on-the-job training after college. Our group lived in an apartment complex during the 3 month training - we called it "Compound W" (real name Westwood Village) because the buildings reminded us of Army barracks!! As recent grads we didn't have a lot of money so we spent time gathered in each other's apartments drinking cheap wine and enjoying Jim's guitar playing. He's a huge Bob Dylan fan and we even got to see Mr. Dylan in concert! Jim & I ended up in different Wisconsin offices but our paths crossed again a few years ago, both working in St Paul MN. I'm sure he got a kick out of the card when he received it on Wednesday.

I've used the sentiment from a golfing retirement set before - it says "Best Wishes Fore Your Retirement" - I just cut the "Fore" out and used a teeny "on" from another set. The guitar Silhouette design comes with a lot of layers - I tried a version making a kraft colored layered guitar but didn't like it. I found the simple black silhouette worked best for my puny "Too sharp to be flat"!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back on Monday for the next Merry Monday challenge - my second week as a Guest Designer and my card is ready to go!

Congrats

Hi everyone - back today with a congrats card I made for a former coworker's retirement.

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts pool A2 card, Heidi Swapp Marquee Love glitter, Pop-tone Black

Pre-fab Die cuts - David Tutera Celebrate Lace Grid

Silhouette die cut - Design ID 207545 Welcome to the Farm

Die - Hero Arts DC149 Congrats Stamp & Cut

Jodie retired to pursue the hobby farm she's had for some time with her husband. I used to recycle my egg cartons by donating them to Jodie for her hens' fresh eggs. I wanted to do something that reflected the farm theme and found a fun Silhouette image. Sometimes the simplest idea turns out best!

Just four pieces to this card and done!! I adhered the lace grid to an A2 card, used foam tape to add the Silhouette image and finally applied the Congrats to the cow. Jodie loved the card - her party was last week but I didn't have time to blog the card until now.

Thanks for stopping and I hope you're having a crafty week!!

Merry Monday #255 JOY!

Merry Monday everyone!! The Merry Makers return from summer break today and, guess what?!, I've joined them as a Guest Designer for the next four months! I've been playing at Merry Monday since January 19th, 2015 and have really enjoyed the challenges. Thanks to Lori & Lesley for giving me this opportunity and I'm delighted to join the rest of their amazing team!!

The fabulous Marcia offers Challenge 255 this week - use the word JOY on your Christmas card.

Photo Source: Pinterest

When I saw this week's challenge, I ran for a new die from Poppystamps - Spectacular Joy. I ordered all three of their new Spectacular word dies and JOY was the first one to see some play. I love the three layers, plus I added a fourth for a bit of black shadow, using the layer 3 die to cut it.

Supplies: DCWV A2 green card, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Black, 

the Paper Studio glitter, Bazzill green, red for rectangle by unknown

Dies - Poppystamps Spectacular Joy, My Favorite Things Blueprints 13, 

Cuttlebug Snowflake Solo (retired)

Background Stamp - Hero Arts CG324 Holiday Background (retired)

Other - foam tape, Michael's gems, Candied Apple Distress Ink

Once I had the layered word built, what to do with it?? I tried putting it over a wreath - didn't work, the wreath was too small. Then I remembered a large snowflake die I found during a recent crafty clean-up. I cut it in white and embossed it within the die - perfect! I cut a stitched rectangle, stamped it with some holiday text, and layered it onto an A2 card. After adding the snowflake, I popped the JOY with foam tape and added some gems - done!

A great thing about Merry Monday is the flexibility on products - no specific brands, no recent releases required. Use what you have, as long as you meet the challenge theme for the week - yay! That's it for today but be sure to check out the wonderful creations by the rest of the Design Team by visiting Merry Monday. I thank them again for including me as a Guest Designer for these next four months!

Thanks for stopping by and have a joyful week!!

Pair of Anniversary Cards

Hey everyone - back today with a couple of anniversary cards. First up, one for my brother and his wife:

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts A2 Sea card, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, scrap of kraft
Stamps - Hero Arts CM165 Color Layering Turtle (with matching dies) and
CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired); Simon Says Stamp Falling Hearts
Inks - various My Monthly Hero Kits
Other - foam tape, Duck Egg Blue Nuvo drops

D&D, as we call them, looooove turtles. When they went on a cruise recently, they were sure to take the turtle tour and made a pair of handmade drums with turtle designs for a drum contest. I couldn't resist making them a card with a pink girl and blue boy turtle using a fun color layering set from Hero Arts. I bought an extra set of the stamps and dies for Donna but I doubt she'll do anything like these crazy colors - LOL! I embellished a bit around the eyes with a calligraphy pen - too much? Anyway, definitely custom made for them!!

Next, a card for cousin Debi and her hubby:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Snow Cone
Stamps - Hero Arts CL945 Color Layering Goldfish, CM165 Color Layering Turtle (one of the seaweeds) and 
CL342 Everyday Sayings (retired)
Dies - Hero Arts DI348 Heart Confetti Fancy Die
Other - foam tape, Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, various My Monthly Hero inks

I was at a JoAnn's store the other day and spotted a 50% off sale on stamps so got a couple of color layering sets I had missed when Hero Arts released them, including these cute goldfish. I added some definition to the bodies with my calligraphy pen. They don't particularly love goldfish but I thought this pair would be cute kissing & with hearts going up instead of bubbles.

That's it for today and the rest of this week - looking forward to some holiday weekend fun! Thanks for stopping & I hope you'll check back on Monday for my Merry Monday post!