CAS Christmas

I have been doing more "thinking" than crafting lately. Sometimes I find myself taking a step back to try to gather my thoughts to find something new for me to create. This is a CAS card I made and I thought I would share it with the SUO Challenge-CAS Holiday Card.

 

I first embossed this with the Chevron Impressions Folder. I then added the DSP from the Festival of Prints Paper Pack. To make the snowflake I stamped the 2nd largest snowflake from Snowflake Soiree and punch it out with the Blossom punch. it fits perfectly! I then used the Snow Flurry Bigz Die for the other layers of the snowflake. A little Ribbon and banner finished this card. To me, this looks like a very traditional Christmas Card.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Aimee

Let it snow!

Yep! That is right! I am ready for some snow! It may sound crazy but in Indiana that is what makes winter. I decided to join in the challenge at HSS Theme Challenge this week. It is all about snowflakes!! This is another card I made for swaps at the Lansing Regionals.

This is such an easy card to make! I embossed the snowflakes and the sentiment with Silver Embossing Powder at the same time. I then started with the lightest shade of blue and used a sponge dauber to add the color. Each time I added a new shade I kept the color closer to the center of the snowflakes. O n this card I added some Rhinestones, but on some other I used the Dazzling Details for some sparkle and that worked great too!

It may be hard to see in the picture but I also added my own Platinum Shimmer Mist to the base of the card. To make this I used 70% alcohol and Platinum Shimmer Paint. This is a great replacement for the Silver Smooch if you had run out like I did! I used the wonderful new spray bottle from Stampin' Up. These give a nice, even coverage of color.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

 

 

Stamp Sets: Greetings of the Season, Snowflake Soiree

Paper: Midnight Muse CS, Whisper White CS
Ink: Midnight Muse, Baha Breeze, Night of Navy,
Accessories: Silver EP, Versamark, Rhinestones, Platinum Shimmer Paint
Baha Breeze Seam Binding
Tools: Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Up Spray Bottle, 70% alcohol


Dynamic Duos Soft and Subtle

Well this is the second card I have done for the Dynamic Duos #28 Challenge this week. BUT the first card I did I used the wrong colors! So it gave me a great excuse to make another card.

I have been seeing so many beautiful cards made with the Holiday Frame Embossing folder with an ornament hanging on it. I decided to fussy cut the frame so more of the Sahara Sand CS would show. I used the Wood grain background stamp to give the background a bit more texture. I sponged Frost White Shimmer Paint over the Holiday Frame to give a little sparkle. I embossed the top of the ornament in pewter as well as the Circle decoration I layered under the sentiment from the Hostess Set Mixed Medley. 

I was hoping that this closeup picture showed shimmer that the paint added to the frame.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Christmas Lights

Today I am going to share another card I swapped at the Lansing Regional Event but first I want to share a bit of exciting news. I had put all 3 cards that I swapped in the basket to take back to the Stampin' Up! Headquarters. For those that have not been to a SU! event, they put the "swap cards" on boards so everyone can see. It is so much fun to see all the wonderful creations that people design!! At the end on the conference, Shelli Gardner, Co-founder and CEO of SU!, picked 5 of her favorites....MINE WAS ONE OF THEM!! I was so excited I started screaming in a room filled with 800 women...BEFORE she said my name!! It was quite an honor for me! I tried to keep this card simple since I was making several of them. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Here is my card...

 

I also thought I would tweak this idea a bit and join in the fun sketch challenge at Merry Monday #41- A Trio of Possibilities. I am so glad I have joined this challenge! I enjoy all the different ways of designing a Christmas card. I have so many Christmas cards already done for this season and next!!

These light bulbs are made from the Holiday Ornaments Framelits. I sponged the edges with the corresponding color. I then wiped the end on a VersaMark pad and embossing with Silver EP. I didn't use the Bakers Twine on my swap card due to how many I was making. It was a bit easier to use my Stampin'Write marker to make a winding cord. For this card I used Alcohol and reinker to die the White Bakers Twine. It dried very fast and allowed me to have the perfect matching color. This is why I love SU! The sentiment is from Sassy Salutations. I have to say I really like this card dressed up a bit more.

Once again, thanks for stopping by!!

Aimee

 

All Dressed Up!!

I am back from a great time at the Lansing Regional Stampin' Up! Event. It was so much fun to spend the day with friends. This was the first event for my wonderful friend, Patty, and she is excited to go again! I have some exciting news to share but I am going to wait until tomorrow because it will fit better with that post. (Just a bit of a teaser..hehe!)

I saw so many creative people that had done so much with the Holiday Collection Framelits. I have struggled with these a bit so i thought I would give it a go for today's challenge card. I decided to the the RetroSketches #37 challenge this week.

 

This little gingerbread is so cute so I though I would dress him up and make him come alive. We have been watching Shrek at our house so i know it is possible for a gingerbread man to come alive! LOL! I thought the Googlies were just the right detail for him. My son LOVED this little guy when he saw him!

I also wanted to try to show you the difference it can make when you condition your stamps before using them. to condition my stamps I use a adhesive remover and rub all over the stamp. I feel safe doing it this way and do not worry about ruining my stamps. It really makes a big difference for a nice stamped image. I hope you can tell it in the picture.

 

before

After

Thanks for stopping by!

Aimee

Lansing.. Here We Come!!

I am so excited to be going to the Regional Stampin' Up! event this weekend! It is so much fun to see so many fellow SU! addicts like myslef! I am going with my wonderful friend, Patty. This will be her first SU! event. We are meeting my friend and Upline,Shana Gaff, and some more friends, Sheila, Mandy and Laura.

This may be a little premature but I wanted to show you some of my swap cards I will be taking. This card fits perfects in the Black Tie Challenge #8 this week.

 The rules are to pick 1 item from each column so I chose...Rectangular base, Something metal, and Green.

This really is a fun and easy card to make. I used the new Holiday Ornaments Framelits to make the light bulb. I cut htem out first, then sponged the edges with matching ink. It is amazing how much depth this adds! To make the "something metal" part of the light bulb I just wiped the end of the bulb on a Versamark Ink pad and embossed in silver. I used a Uniball white pen to make the highlights on each bulb. Sassy Salutaions was the perfect sentiment for this card!

If you see me at Regionals be sure to say HI! I would love to meet you! :) I am hoping to post my other swaps soon!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Aimee



Oh Christmas Tree!

I honestly have to say that I am ready for Chritmas music! I have started planning Christmas shopping a little earlier for me this year too! My hopes are to really enjoy the Christmas Season this year and appreciate the gift of our Savior! I think since I have been making cards so early this year that it has really put me in the Christmas spirit!

Here are a couple challenges I decided to join...Dynamic Duos #27 and the Merry Monday Sketch Challenge #40. (These are my MUST challenges! Just love them!!)

 

 

This was a fun little card to make! I decided that instead of adding just cardstock in each of the color sections I wanted to add texture too but still keeping with the sketch. I just opened a box of goodies today and the Distressed Dots Background stamp had arrived!  I think you will be seeing much more of this stamp!! I wanted the tree to "match" the dotted background, but when I first stamped it, I did not have enough dots on the tree. I wanted them to look like ornaments. SO...I stamped a piece of Whisper White CS first with Gumball Green. I then used the Stamp-A-Majig and stamped the same stamp with Raspberry Ripple. I was so excited! I matched the paper but i was able to have the pattern tighter for this small tree. I then covered the dots with Crystal Effects. I have a lot of "dots" on this card but Iwas hoping that used the Stripped Impressions folder on the Raspberry ripple panel helped break things up just a bit.

Once again..Thanks for stopping by!!!!

Aimee



Fall Elegance

I have been having so much fun making Christmas Cards lately that I thought I wanted to try a fall card for a change of pace. I found some challenges I thought I would join...Just Add Ink #142 sketch challenge, Color me beautiful Challenge #10, and SU only Challenge #57-Autumn Elegance. I love making the real looking leaves so I thought I would give them a try once again.

 

I started with River Rock and Sahara Sand as the base for each of the leaves. I then added all five other colors to end up with the colors on the leaves. I added some homemade shimmer mist and Log Cabin Smooch Spritz to the leaves as well. I figured any elegant card needed a little bling so I added the Champagne Glimmer Paper. The piece of hardware I used was originally silver but I sprayed it with the Log Cabin Smooch Spritz to color it. I had fun with all the different textures on this card as well.

Thanks for stopping by!

Aimee

 

Stamp Set: Always Thankful, Wonderfall

Paper:Champagne Glimmer Paper, Early espresso, Very Vanilla, River Rock, Sahara Sand

Ink: River Rock, Sahara Sand,Early Espresso, Basic Gray, Soft Suede, Versamark

Accessories: Neutral Brads, Hodgepodge Hardware, Victoria Lace Ribbon, Early Espresso EP, Log Cabin Smooch
Tools: Lacy Brocade Impressions folder, Stripes Impressions Folder,



Fab Friday Snowflake

I have been having so much fun making Christmas Cards! With all the great challenges you can find in the blog world, there is always something making me think outside the box a bit more. This week I decided to join  the Fab Friday Sketch Challenge #5. I thought about this sketch for several days and my card slowly came together. I actually had finished it and woke up in the middle of the night thinking about adding another detail. I would love to know what you think...

 

I knew I wanted a snowflake as my main focal image. I used the BIGZ Die, Snow Flurry, and cut out the image on white CS. I have been using so much homemade Shimmer Mist lately and thought this would be perfect to color this snowflake silver. This is very subtle but sets the snowflake apart from the rest of the card. This was also my first time using Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP. I LOVED the elegance this added to the card. I mentioned before that I added something after I thought I was finished with the card and that was the Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Tulle Ribbon. I was surprised how easy this was to work with and manipulate.

This was such a fun card to make and I can't wait to give it to someone very special!! Who knows...that may be you!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Aimee

 

FAB FRIDAY 05 FAV



 

Stamp Sets: Greetings of the Season, Ornament Keepsakes

Paper:Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP, Whisper White CS, Basic Black CS, Cherry Cobbler Glimmer paper

Ink: Versa Mark, Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad

Accessories: Clear Brad, Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Tulle Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler EP, Basic Black EP, Silver Shimmer Paint

Tools: Snow Flurry Bigz Die, 1 1/4 scallop circle punch, Lacy Brocade Impressions Folder

CAS(E) this Sketch #4

I am excited to finally be able to join  the CAS(E) this Sketch challenge! And this week I love the sketch! It is possible to go many different ways. BUT... since I am a "circle girl,"  I decided to stick with the sample given.

 

This card is pretty straight forward. I haven't used the new piercing kits as much as I had intended when i bought them but I do love the detail it adds to a card. This was very quick and easy but I loved the simplicity. Thanks for stopping by!

Aimee

Stamp Set: Sassy Salutations

Paper: Whisper White CS, Basic Gray CS, Tempting Turquoise CS, Pretty in Pink CS, Razzleberry DSP

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Rhinestones

Tools: Circle punches and Paper Piercing Pak

 

Merry Monday Snowflakes

I am rushing to finish this post so I don't miss yet another Challenge deadline! I am joining in on the Merry Monday Sketch Challenge  this week. I love the idea of making Christmas cards all year long!! Here is my take on the sketch...

 

This was a fun card for me to make. I used the Festival Prints DSP from the SU! Holiday Catalog. I also made my own Very Vanilla Shimmer CS by spritzing the CS with my own Shimmer mist made with alcohol and Frost White Shimmer Paint. To make the snowflake I recently noticed that the second largest snowflake form Snowflake Soiree stamp set fits very nicely with the Blossom Punch. You may have figured this out already but it truly was a light bulb moment for me!! for the center of the snowflake I used the Boho Blossom punch and I sponged on the Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Stampin' Pad.

I usually do not make Christmas cards with these colors but I was very happy with how this card turned out. Thanks for taking a peek!!

Aimee

 

Stamp Sets: Snowflake Soiree, Snow Swirled

Paper: Early Espresso, Bashful Blue, Island Indigo, Silver Glimmer Paper, Festival Prints DSP

Ink: Bashful Blue, Island Indigo. Versa mark, Illuminate Glimmer Watermark

Accessories: Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Bashful Blue brad

Tools: Blossom Punch, 3/4 circle punch,Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Boho Blossom Punch, Early Espresso EP

Liebster Award

I was so honored to receive the Liebster Award from the wonderful Karen Aicken on her blog, Altered Scrapbooking! Thanks so much Karen for your kind words and support!! Here are the details...

ABOUT THE AWARD

This award was designed to be a blog award in the pay it forward fashion. Once you've been nominated, you award it to blogs that you like that have fewer than 200 followers, to encourage new visitors to visit these new blogs.

RULES FOR ACCEPTANCE

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to their blog. Post the award onto your blog. Give the award to five bloggers who you appreciate that have fewer than 200 followers. Leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you have given them this awesome award!

PAY IT FORWARD
Here are the list of WONDERFUL blogs that I would like to honor as well:

Shana Gaff, "Stress Free Stamping with Shana"
Bonnie Klass, "Stamping with Klass"
Allyson Anderson,"Laughadaisy"
Tracey McNeely,"In My Creative Opinion"
Kim,"Just a smalltown girl and her stamps"

Thanks again Karen! Please visit all these extremely talented ladies and give them some love!! They are all wonderful!!

Nacho Average Challenge

Happy Saturday everyone! I was happy to have NOTHING else scheduled for today so I could join in on some challenges. I loved the colors chosen for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. I hadn't used Calypso Coral in a long time so it was fun to break it out again! I noticed after the card was finished that I had used Crumb Cake instead of Soft Suede! Bummer! Oh well...I will pay a bit more attention the next time but I do like how the Crumb Cake looks with these colors.

I don't use my Brayer often but I decided to try it on this card and was very happy with the results. I used the Glossy white card stock. This helps the colors go on a bit more evenly. I colored the pearls using a little Modge Podge first and letting it dry. You can then color them with the Stampin' Write markers and you have perfectly matching pearls!!

I am hoping you see a few more posts this week. I am excited to be going to the Stampin' Up! Regional Convention next weekend!! I may give you a sneak peek of my swap cards later this week.

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

Fallen leaves

This card was made for the Freshly Made Sketches #59 using the colors from Color Me Beautiful. I missed the cut off for CMB. :( This was the first time I had made my own "real looking" leaves and I thought the CMB colors were perfect for making them.

The base of the card is Chocolate Chip and embossed with the square lattice folder. To make the leaves, I started with Summer Starfruit card stock and scored where the veins of the leaves would be. I then sponged on the other colors starting with Perfect Plum,Raspberry Ripple, then Chocolate chip. With this technique you can change the color of the leaves depending on how much of each color you add. I then used some home made shimmer mist to add some shine and while wet I srunched the leaf into a ball. I unfolded the leaf and added some Log Cabin Smooch Spritz. I learned this technique by watching a video by RaeDeen Bittner. Thanks RaeDeen for sharing!

Thanks for taking a peek!! :)

Aimee