Playing with Greens

The fun part about commissioned cards is that I can use whatever I want. In this case, I found a few sparkles, embellishments, and I just had to break out my Cricut machine once again.

The inspiration for this card is here: http://nikkispencer-mysandbox.blogspot.com.au/2014/08/just-add-ink-227chipboard.html.

I used Liquid Glass to make the red Baker's Twine behave on the front of the card but it wasn't easy as Liquid Glass takes some time to dry. Then, I cut up a few snowflakes with the Cricut and I used a few snowflakes.

I brought the eyes of the owl and the patterned cardstock inside the card.

Other
* Cream cardstock
* Copics B24, B21, Y11, Y13, Y21, R24, R20
* White cardstock

CTMH:
* Bundled Buddies - retired
* Shinhan Touch Markers R11 and C46
* Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge
* Pear Ink
* Ponderosa Pine Ink
* Blue and Green Adhesive Rhinestones - retired

The little Christmas Village is lit and the Christmas lights are on!

It's a beautiful blue Christmas...

One of my utmost favorite things about working on custom Christmas cards for my friends and family (or commissioned work) is that I know that each card is one of a kind - even if I'm working on templated Christmas cards, they all come out just a little bit different. The other favorite part? Knowing favorite colors and favorite patterns and being able to tailor the card to each recipient.

The recipient of this card is a huge fan of blue, and blue is one of my favorite colors to work with for Christmas be it cardmaking or decorating. That reminds me it's time to talk my awesome hubby into hanging the Xmas lights this weekend.

Inspiration: Amy of Amy's Paper Crafts - http://amyoneillblog.com/2014/08/16/an-eclectic-mix-with-gesso/ courtesy of PInterest.

I replaced the layered butterflies with layered snowflakes and went to town with the sparkles. I may not have had the frilled ribbon but the bronze shimmer trim seems to fit better in with this card. I can't resist digging through my mystery box of embellishments from catalogs gone by to find the perfect finish to any card.

I brought both patterns inside and had to use the prancing reindeer from the same set as the sleigh on the outside. With a sprinkling of snowflakes, the card was complete. I almost don't want to give this one away but I know it's going to a fantastic home... after all, she and I have been friends through thick and thin for almost 20 years.

CTMH:
* I Believe (retired)
* Merry and Bright (retired)
* Frosted Level 2 Paper Pack (retired)
* Blue and Green Epoxy Adhesive Bubbles
* Bronze Shimmer Trim
* Sparkle Assortment (retired)
* Crystal Blue Ink
* Indian Corn Blue Ink
* Saddle Ink

I'm glad that it's been a little warmer these days but I am sad to hear that Christmas this year may not have any new fallen snow!

I love being able to...

... use stamp sets that I bought on a whim! With the Hostess Reward set "Sing Glory", I was able to come up with the fifth card that I promised my friend. When I use inspirations, sometimes I start somewhere and wind up totally different, and this one was one of those!

Inspiration: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/40884309092309793/ by Cards On The Table With Vicki.

The ribbon is sourced from somewhere... I'm a total ribbon hog! I love Christmas for what it is, but it also winds up being a massive ribbon grab for me! I'll keep anything that looks like it could be card fodder and this red ribbon was no exception.

I brought the patterned cardstock inside the card like I usually do along with the holly leaves and the berries. This was an old retired paper pack from a few years back : Pear and Partridge.

Other:
Kraft cardstock
Red ribbon

CTMH: 
Sing Glory
Holiday Commentary - retired
Card Chatter - Christmas - retired
Pear and Partridge Level 2 Paper Pack
Cranberry Pigment Ink
Ponderosa Pine Pigment Ink
Ruby Ink
Ponderosa Pine Ink

Time to go put up Christmas decorations!

Postage stamp bliss!

I saw this card on a Pinterest board and I knew immediately that I had to case it. It was so adorable with sparkles and snowflakes, but I didn't want to completely copy the card.

Inspiration: http://cloudwplus9.blogspot.ca/2012/12/december-blog-hop.html from Cloud 9 by their guest designer, Maureen!

I replaced the snowflakes with little Angels, and of course I decided to move the sparkles just wherever I felt like it! The ribbon was sourced from something random at my local Michaels.

I brought the pattern inside the card, a cool little sentiment and one more press of the Angel stamp! I really loved how this worked out. I'm always looking for new ideas for the insides of cards.

Other:
* Red ribbon

CTMH:
* Angel Sent set : retired
* Card Chatter-Christmas : retired
* Ruby Ink
* Mistletoe Level 2 Paper Pack : retired
* Red and Pink Adhesive Sparkles : retired

It's getting close to Christmas, I'm singing along with all the carols on the radio!

Pigment Inks and Paintbrushes...

I'm still working away on the commission I had for the 10 cards. My client has gotten pictures of all the ones I've completed so far and he's just loving them.

Inspiration: Pinterest Image with no actual author! https://www.flickr.com/photos/54210777@N05/5838427648/in/faves-25616484@N08/

On the front, I combined two retired paper packs - Frosted and Wonderland with a ton of foam tape for each layer to stand out on it's own. But none of my cards go without that little something on top, so I used the retired Red and Pink Adhesive Sparkles along with some itty bitties. I colored the ribbon and fir boughs with a paintbrush and pigment inks.

This is a first where I've used pattern paper for both parts of the inside of the card. It's simply amazing what you do wind up doing when you just sit at home on a snowy day and fiddle like hell.

Other:
* White cardstock

CTMH:
* Frosted Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Wonderland Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Yuletide Greetings Set
* Snow Flurries - retired
* Itty Bitty Adhesive Sparkles
* Red and Purple Adhesive Sparkles - retired
* Sweet Leaf Pigment Ink
* New England Ivy Pigment Ink
* Sky Pigment Ink
* Cranberry Pigment Ink
* Desert Sand Ink
* Cocoa Ink

On my schedule - hanging Christmas Lights, breaking out the annual villages, and wrapping presents!

Almost a year later...

.. I can't remember what the inspiration was, but I can definetly say a lot of the stamps and card stock were from the previous catalog. These were birthday cards that were for my brother and sister in law.

First card - for my sweet sister in law in CA!! I couldn't imagine adding a sweeter person to the large family of siblings I am part of either by blood or by marriage.

Only because I spent so much time with the Give A Lift stamp set and La Belle Vie is my favorite paper pack of all time is why I still know the name of the set! I used a plain paintbrush (dollar stores or your local craft stores will carry these) and a bunch of CTMH water based ink pads. Coloring with the pigment inks gives you a deeper color and it's easier to paint with.

Whoops, looks like I never quite took this photo in the correct orientation! I brought a strip of the same patterned cardstock inside and added some floral flourishes.

Second Card - for my little bro in CA. With the deep freeze that shows up from time to time, he was the smarter one and moved down to where it was warmer!

Another set that I spent a lot of time with for my Spring 2014 workshop - Robot Family with Timber Level 2 Paper Pack! I love these little robots and what's even better; husband loves robots, so I will be using this set over and over again :) and even better - the gears are from the Artiste CTMH Cricut cartridge! I can't get enough of how much I love CTMH and how it's held up so well over the years.

Gears are from the same stamp set - they're super cool! And how cheesy is the sentiment? I just had to use it - my little brother is an engineer so totally relevant. And P.S - the red gears were left over from the cuts I did originally for his wedding banquet invites. Waste not, want not.

Are you gearing up for Xmas yet? I certainly am!

Advent Packages!!

I saw the movie on how to make little packages from CTMH which was featured in a previous catalog and they were dead easy to make. A tradition I've had in years past is to buy Advent Calendars, but the chocolate isn't that great and I didn't get around to actually buying them.

So this year, I decided to make my own and use After Eight wafers - the hubby's favorite type of chocolate. He eats them like a fat cat given free reign to treats!

To put these little guys together:

1. Cut out a 4 x 6 rectangle of patterned cardstock
2. Glue the short ends together to create a "toilet paper roll" - use a glue gun!
3. Put your top embellishments together (in my case it was a 3/4 x 3 flag and then I cut the banners from the top of CTMH patterned paper to a length of 3", then I stamped images from Magical Days, cut them out and added that with foam tape).  Adhere to paper roll
4. Pinch one of the ends together and staple shut. I wasn't sure if my little flag would stay on so I stapled that on as well (middle staple)
5. Fill, then pinch the bottom opposite to Step #3 (to create a "triangle") and staple shut.

That's it! I used a variety of current and retired paper packs.

CTMH:
* Magical Days Set
* Pear & Partridge Level 2 Paper Pack - retired
* Snowhaven Level 2 Paper Pack
* Yuletide Carol Level 2 Paper Pack
* Ponderosa Pine Ink
* Ruby Ink

Can't let you go without letting you know about the latest promotion: Deal of the Decade!

A qualifying order of $50 in product nets you the best deal yet - any C or D size stamp from the Annual Inspirations catalog for 10$! A C size stamp set retails at $15.25 CAD and a D size stamp retails at $19.75, so you could be saving anywhere from $5.25-$9.75. What a steal! And even better yet, $50 also qualifies you for the cute SOTM below : Cutie Pie.

So glad the deep freeze has lifted!