Muse + Festive Friday Snowflakes + Simon Says

It feels like forever since I posted a card, but my jingle bell series have been safely delivered to my sister and will add to the Christmas joy at her house next month.

I took advantage of my kids having this week off school to sneak in a quick visit to my parents (their being off school saves me from rearranging car pools & activities while gone). All I can say is aging is not for the weak - since I last saw my parents in August, the family house has been sold and care needs have separated them. Mom, with dementia, requires full-time care now but dad, at 84, is going strong and in a lovely retirement community.

Today I am avoiding the pre-decorating cleaning and catching up on some of the card challenges while my insane husband has taken the kids and headed to a mall or two.

The Muse Card Club has a wonderful card to inspire us this week from Lucy F.

I used a snowflake wreath die (ETA Sussex Snowflake die from Memory Box) to create a similar look to Lucy's card, layering the offset die cut back onto the panel it was cut from. I discarded the leftover center from the panel and backed the open space with a piece of vellum.

A Technique Tuesday sentiment is inked with MFT Berrylicious to finish the card.

I am also linking this card to the Festive Friday blog where for their final challenge of 2013 you can pick your favorite challenge from the past year. I didn't participate in this one the first time around, but am picking the Snowflake Challenge.

 

With Anything Goes at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog, I am also linking up there.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Merry Monday # 84 + CASology Bells + Curtain Call

I am heading to the airport in a few minutes, but woke up very early with a card on the brain. This truly was a 10 minute dash card, but it is not my first time stringing jingle bells.

 I wanted a third card to go with this and this for one set of nieces and a nephew. These are going to be passed onto my sister this weekend - the only reason crafting took priority this morning.

A Cuttlebug embossing folder adds texture and a Technique Tuesday stamp provides the sentiment.

I am going to link this card to Merry Monday #84  (hoping the shiny bells are blingie enough), CASology Week 71 Bell and the Curtain Call CASual Christmas challenge.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Paper Smooches Sparks + Merry Monday #84 + CAsual Fridays 120: Curtain Call

This card is being linked up to four challenges, but it really started with the Paper Smooches Sparks November Cool Shades challenge.

 

Sticking to my Christmas card focus and going through my PS stamps, I decided to use Hullabaloo to create a little Christmas scene like the one in the Curtain Call Inspiration photo and CASual Friday #120 challenge.

A triangle of patterned paper forms the tree and paper pieced gifts sit at the base. I curved the sentiment and stamped it on both the white panel and the tree.

An orange star brings in the final color and a Prima crystal provides some bling, making this card perfect for Merry Monday Challenge #84.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

CAS(E) This Sketch! #54 & CASology Week 71: Bell

You know the week is not off to a good start when you get asked "why is there water on this chair?" by the child about to sit down. Why, that would be because we have another leaky pipe and water is dripping from the saturated ceiling onto the new leather chair {sigh}.

Trying to look for the bright side, I am happy this happened today and not over the weekend while dear husband was away. I freely admit to handing any household maintenance/repair issues to his capable hands while I take care of all card making responsibilities.

After shutting off the water main, moving furniture, placing buckets and poking holes in the ceiling to release the water and stop further ceiling damage, I squeezed in some crafting time and made a Christmas card based on the CAS(E) this Sketch! #54.

The card is sweet and simple and uses more of my little jingle bell collection.

I am editing this post to add the card to the new CASology challenge.

If you are interested in why our pipes are leaking, google copper pipes & chloramine.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Muse Challenge #43 & CASology Week 70 : Triangle

I have a couple more Christmas cards to share today. This first one is inspired by this card from Therese Calvird for Muse Challenge #43.

Purple has been my favorite color for forever - I even persuaded my dear husband to paint our house purple in Washington - but it is a color I rarely turn to when paper crafting. 

For my card, I did stick mostly to shades of purple with a little aqua thrown in for interest.

I used a similar sentiment to Therese and hope my cascade of snowflakes passes the test. Technically these are part of a flower stamp set, but I think they can pass for a modern snowflake.

I used a glitter pen on the sentiment and the centers of the snowflakes for a little frosty sparkle.

When I saw the CASology Week 70 Cue Card was Triangle, the first image that came to my mind was this trio of holiday trees.

After stamping the image, I used markers to color in the ornaments. Glossy accents gave them a little shine & dimension.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

RIC#47 Christmas Card

I really need to stick to making Christmas cards for the next couple of weeks, so didn't think I was going to participate in the current Runway Inspired Challenge given the blue & orange color profile of this ensemble.

But you know how sometimes a challenge gets in your head and you just can't let it go? When I saw this Santa sleigh & reindeer (part of a larger image that needed to be masked), I had a lightbulb moment and knew I could work this color palette into a holiday card.

I stamped & heat embossed the Santa sleigh first, then masked & colored the moon before masking it and inking the night sky.

The image panel was attached behind a window die cut and then adhered to the blue woodgrain wall.

The Hero Arts sentiment is one of the few wood mounted stamps I still have kicking around in a drawer.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Make it Monday #140 & Festive Friday

This week Ashley Cannon Newell provides the challenge for PTI's Make It Monday #140: Ink Pad Designs. I started by swiped a few different colors of ink onto cardstock, trying to figure out how to use this idea for a Christmas card or two.

The rounded shape of the PTI ink pads created some interesting swirly designs and my first thought was to go with a snowflake card, but instead went with sequins.

I love the PTI one Liner dies!

The inked panel is cut narrow to leave room for a trio of jingle bells.

This second card is for the Festive Friday Challenge 21.

I've used the aqua & red color combination a few times of the last couple of weeks - it really is one of my favorites!

This card is super simple - it started with the patterned paper and some paper scraps. The snowflakes extend from the paper and the simple die cut provides the sentiment. I need a number of flat cards for mailing, so didn't add any bulk to this one.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Monday Mood Board #22 + CASual Fridays Embossing + Simon Says

The Monday Mood Board #22 from Wplus9 has been pinging around inside my head for a few days - this is one of those cards that looks nothing like the plan I started with, but I think it is going to be one of my all-time favorites.

I started with the tag and everything progressed from there.

I pulled out a few pieces of pattern papers that echoed the colors & feel of the Mood Board to make the tag - the bonus of paper piecing a tag like this is I had enough "pieces" to make 3 tags.

An embossed stamp from Lacey Layers creates a home for the sentiment from Fresh Cut Florals. A border is created with the same stamp down one side of the front panel along with a piece of lace tape.

I am also linking this card to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #119: Embossing and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Keep it Clean and Simple.

CFC119: Use dry or heat embossing on your Clean And Simple project.
Deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 13th at noon eastern.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Paper Smooches Stripes & CAS(E) this Sketch! #53 + Simon Says

The challenge at the Paper Smooches Sparks blog this week is Trend Watch: Stripes and I took a little different approach to find my stripes.

Starting with the large "thanks" sentiment from Chit Chat, I played around with extending the lines of the letters to create stripes and before you know it I had colored in the center panel on this card.

An embossing folder on the white panel reinforced the stripes design element without distracting from the sentiment panel.


I added another card to the Christmas pile after seeing the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge.

 After stamping the Hero Arts sentiment, I thumbed through my Authentique paper pad looking for something that might echo the feel of the funky lines in the sketch and choose this holly paper.

I fussy cut the top edge to reinforce the chevron pattern. My first attempt at this card had the same paper going in the opposite direction for the smaller panel, but then I decided to cut a couple of holly leaves out of felt and make an embellishment to mimic the pattern in the paper.

A trio of red jewel stickers finish off the card.

This card is CAS enough to enter in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to Keep It Clean and Simple.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

Muse #42 + Dynamic Duos #77 + Simon Says

The Monday Muse card is from Laurie Willison this week. Laurie's card has a lovely elegance to it with the CAS design. I took her design elements (striped border and large ampersand) in a more energetic direction by adding the colors from  Dynamic Duos #77. 

 

The sentiment is stamped along the edge of the card base to create a diagonal striped border. Alphabet die cuts, along with the ampersand, then repeat the same sentiment on a larger scale.

The Ranger holographic embossing powder came out again to add a touch of glitter & shine to this card.

Color challenges are more difficult for me than sketch challenges, but I love the red & aqua together so am joining the Dynamic Duos for the first time.

I think the design on this one is CAS enough for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to Keep it Clean & Simple.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie

CAS(E) this Sketch #52 + CFC119

This card has me giddy, I am so happy the way it turned out. I'm supposed to be concentrating on flat holiday cards that can be mailed without any added postage, but then realized a trip later this month to see my parents means I can hand deliver a number of cards. This one is a little longer & narrower than usual, making it perfect for holding a little Christmas cash.

I started with the current CAS(E) this Sketch! and the tiny jingle bells that have been living on my desk the last couple of weeks.

This red bells are throwing the color balance off, giving a pinkish tinge to the card which is driving me crazy - the card is really pure white in real life.

I cut a rectangular panel, then used a border die to round the bottom and cut the panel into four sections. A Technique Tuesday sentiment is stamped on the bottom panel and the other three were embossed for a little extra texture. 

All nine bells are strung on one piece of linen thread which is adhered to the back of the panels. A glue dot holds the middle bell in each section in place, but the others are able to move around. The pieces of the panel are all popped up with foam squares.

The dry embossing makes this card eligible for the current CASual Friday Challenge.

CFC119: Use dry or heat embossing on your Clean And Simple project.

Deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 13th at noon eastern.

I just checked the new challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog and since it is Keep It Clean and Simple, I am going to link this card over there too.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie