Happy New Year!

Hi everyone - Happy New Year!!

I'm starting the year by sharing a few cards I made and sent out for Christmas, but didn't have time to post late last year.  These were all made with backgrounds I had in my stash.  Most times I will make multiple backgrounds when trying out a new technique.  I keep them handy to create cards later on.

For details about other supplies I've used on these cards, check out the Card Recipe at the bottom of this post.

Above is made with a brushos background ... the two cards below are made from a recent technique from Group of Cardmakers - Textured Tissue Paper with Dry Embossing.  Long name :) ... but a grouping of fairly simple techniques that together, create lovely backgrounds.

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Sending the above card to Stencil Fun December challenge - Winter related.  Closes Jan. 3, 2026.

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Card above is stenciled using Sticky powder and gold mica powders.  Again, made from my stash of technique samples. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Card #1:

Stamps:  Shine Upon You (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Cold Press Watercolour Paper (Arches 140 lb.)
Ink:   Brushos:  shades of green and blue; Mowed Lawn distress ink (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Evergreen Window die - retired (Memory Box)

Card #2:

Stamps:  Snowglobe Sayings (MTF out of business); Merry Up (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Blue Metallic paper (Tonic)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Broken China, Salty Ocean, Wilted Violet (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Tissue paper (watercolour with light light blue, dark blue, purple), sponges, Vine Canopy embossing folder (Simon Says Stamp), Brayer,Citrine metallic acrylic paint (Lumiere), Stitched Rectangle and Square Frames (AliExpress)

Card #3:

Stamps:  Jolly Snippets (Penny Blck)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Black card stock (SU!)
Ink:   Versamark; Black (Memento)
Accessories:   Layered Poinsettia Stencil (Tim Holtz), Sticky Embossing Powder (Ranger), heat tool, gold mica powder (Arteza), brush, Rectangle Frame (AliExpress)

Challenges:

Stencil Fun December challenge - Winter related

Merry Christmas Poinsettias

Hi everyone.  Today is my last post before Christmas.  I wanted to share a few poinsettia cards I made back in November, using the beautiful layered Poinsettia Bloom Etched dies from Spellbinders (designed by Yana Smakula).

My friend Christine has this die, which she brought to one of our crafting sessions in early Fall.  It's so beautiful, I had just to get it! :)  And I wanted to try making a few cards using different colours.  First up, the traditional red. 

The Poinsettia Bloom Etched die (Spellbinders) was die-cut from gold foil card stock and white card stock.  I sponged the white Poinsettia pieces in two shades of red Distress Inks (Candied Apple, Aged Mahogany), using detail brushes.  Then the pieces were inlaid into the framing and leaves background die-cut from gold.  This is such a beautiful flower that I didn't want to add too much to finish.  A simple gold foil, die-cut sentiment and a few gold pearls. 

Close-up ...

Sending the card above to the following challenges:

Christmas Kickstart #105 - If it's Christmasy, Link it Up!

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #179 - Poinsettia

 

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Next, I made one using shades of blue (Christine's favourite colour --- hopefully she has already received this card in the mail). :)

I was inspired by this photo ...

Same as the first card above, substituting silver foil for the gold, Salty Ocean Distress Ink for the reds, and silver pearls.

Close-up ...

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I'm going to sign-off my blog until next year.  As always, I truly appreciate your support through the year.  Thank you so much for your visits and comments!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

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Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Gold Foil card stock (SU!); Matte Silver card stock (SU!)

Ink:   Distress Inks:  Candied Apple, Aged Mahogany, Salty Ocean (Tim Holtz)

Accessories:   Poinsettia Bloom Etched dies (Spellbinders), Line it up: Christmas dies (Papertrey Ink), Gold pearls / Silver pearls (Studio Katia)

Challenges:

Christmas Kickstart #105 - If it's Christmasy, Link it Up!

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #179 - Poinsettia

Glitter Trees

Hi everyone.   I've been sick with the flu for a few weeks now and just starting to feel better.  This is why I haven't been by to visit and stopped posting.  I'm doing a bit better and hope to be fully recovered in time for the big day.  Don't want to miss out on the delicious turkey dinner!! :)

I came across a youtube video on this beautiful way to show off a tree die.  The video (by Pete Hughes - 24:01) is fairly long, but the technique is so pretty!  It has different ways to colour tree die-cuts and add glitter.  It's an easy technique, so I made multiples of this card. :)

I blended shades of purple onto the tree die creating an ombre effect.  I left a bit of space at the bottom white.  Then I sprayed the trees with adhesive and sprinkled with glitter.  The adhesive only held onto a little bit of the glitter, so I added a layer of white glue and more glitter ... thankfully it worked.  For the final step, I sprayed shimmer spray over top to seal the glitter.  I'll have to find a better spray adhesive for next time or maybe use glossy accents.

I die-cut a small circle from a post-it note (including the sticky strip on the back to hold it in place) and used it to mask my "moon" before sponging lightly over top with soft purple and pink.  Once the mask was removed, I added some very light shading to create shadows on the moon. 

I added a simple sentiment with gray ink to finish.

Close-up ... this shows how lovely and glittery the tree really are.

Sending the above card to ...

NBUS Challenge #81 - first time using this die

Peace on Earth Challenge #101 - Anything Christmas Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Christmas Sentiments (Penny Black)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet, Villianious Potion (Tim Holtz); Shadow Grey Archival (Ranger)
Accessories:   Christmas Trees die (Temu), sponged, post-it note for masking, small circle die (Spellbinders), Spray Adhesive, Clear glitter, Shimmer Spray

Challenges:

NBUS Challenge #81

Peace on Earth Challenge #101 - Anything Christmas Goes

Peace on Earth

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing my latest Christmas card.  It is a CASE (copy and share everything) of a beautiful card made by my friend, Hilary.  I just loved her card and the technique she used for making the beautiful night sky (Direct to Paper Inking).  Here's a link to Hilary's card post.  Thank you for the inspiration, dear friend!

I used the stamp pad to go direct to paper with three colours for the background (Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Unchartered Mariner).  Because of the saturated ink colours, this background is very bold and dramatic.  Adding in the black die-cut trees and white die-cut sentiment creates even more contrast.  I finished the card with simple white acrylic ink splatters.  This was so much fun and easy to do. :)

Close-up ...

Sending this card to the Peace on Earth Challenge #100.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Black card stock (SU!)

Ink:   Distress Inks:  Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Unchartered Mariner (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Row of Trees die (Memory Box - retired); Peace on Earth sentiment die (gift from a friend many years ago), White acrylic paint (diluted) for splattering

Challenges:

Peace on Earth Challenge #100