Punch Art Penguin

Hi!

Today I have a card for you that I used as a sample for a card class.  I had been asked to make a card that used the Owl Builder Punch in a different way to the usual owl.  I've seen a few cute penguin Christmas cards that are made using the Owl Builder Punch, so I decided to go with that.

How cute is that little fella! We created the snow he's playing in by tearing some Whisper White cardstock in half, sponging the edges and layering the pieces on the front of the card.  Then our little penguin was popped up on top and the whole thing was sprayed with a shimmer mist.

Quite a few of my ladies decided to give the little bloke a playmate or two.  I guess he does look a little lonely all by himself on the front of the card.

So, there's my first Christmas card done for the year.  Only 99 or so more to go!

Bye for now,

Tina

Guest Blogger: Ada

Hi!

Today you get a break from my cards.  I recently bought a bigger desk for my crafting space which allows my kids to craft with me if they desire.  During the Summer school holidays Ada crafted with me a few times. Today I have for you one of her cards.

She likes being an independent crafter, so she chose everything.  The ornament cut out was from my stash of scraps that may come in handy (do you have a stash like that too?).  Other than that piece she chose, stamped and arranged everything else. Oh, and she cleans up after herself too - winning!

I really love that she likes to try out new things (the sponging on the front) in an effort to be just like me.  It certainly makes me feel loved.

Bye for now,

Tina

One Final Christmas Card

Hi!

Today's post is a bit of a reminder that the current Holiday catalogue is about to end, and a lot of the products in it will be gone forever. You have until February first to place any orders.

The products I used on this card were some of my favourites from the Holiday Catalogue.  They include Colour Me Christmas stamp set, Christmas Messages stamp set and the Season Of Style DSP stack.

The design of this card came from a thank you card I received from a fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, Angela Footit.  I liked how easy it was to recreate as a Christmas card.

Well, that's it for Christmas cards for now. I doubt I'll make any more for a while - I'm a bit Christmassed out!

Tomorrow the new Occasions Catalolgue begins, as does the Sale-A-Bration brochure. Sale-A-Bration is always exciting, but this year it's even better as the minimum spend requirement has been lowered.  You now only need to spend $90 to receive a freebie! There are lots of gorgeous freebies on offer.  You've seen some on my blog, and I will continue to post more in the coming weeks.

Bye for now,

Tina

Color Me Christmas Reindeer

Hi!

Today's super cute Christmas card was a CASE of one I found on Pinterest.  You can see the original card here.  It was such a cute card that I didn't change much.

This was a really quick and simple Christmas Card.  When I first made the card I heat embossed the reindeer and present (on this inside) before colouring, but in the end I switched to stamping in Stazon ink as it was much quicker and less messy.  Quick and easy is good when it comes to Christmas cards!

I changed the embossing folder too, as I don't have the snowflake one.  If you squint a bit the polka dot folder looks a bit like snow.  Well, not really, but I can pretend it does!

A bit more colouring finishes off the inside.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #194: Just Add Santa

Hi!

How many days until the man in the red suit visits good children?  I don't think I really want to know at this point in time! So let's think about something else instead, like the latest Just Add Ink challenge.

This week we are challenging you to Just Add Santa to your papercrafting projects.

I've made a few of the shirt front cards lately, so I decided to make a Santa version.

It was a pretty easy card to make, and I love how cute it looks!

I made the silver buckle from the Glimmer Paper.

I made this card with a few of my regular stamping groups, and it was quite a popular card.  A lot of the ladies added a few black buttons down the front of the shirt using a small circle punch to create the buttons.  Two of my ladies went a step (or more!) further and made these cards.

I loved how they turned my Santa Claus idea into Mrs Claus!  Fabulous idea!

I hope you can find some inspiration amongst the Design Team cards and also some time to play along with us at Just Add Ink this week.

Bye for now,

Tina

Washi Christmas Card

Hi!

In my last post I showed you a Christmas card I'd made using the Winter Frost DSP.  It was a really simple design, and one I really liked, so I decided to repeat it, but with different papers.  I went for the Season Of Style DSP Stack this time.

Isn't the Christmas tree cute?  I used the coordinating Season Of Style Washi Tape to create the tree.  I cut the Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler strips in half longways and layered them on a triangular piece of Whisper White cardstock.

I used some of the Crumb Cake tape to create the pot for the tree and popped both pieces up on Dimensionals.  A small rhinestone finishes the tree off nicely.

 

I used some more washi on the inside, just to tie it in with the outside.  This would be another card that would be easy to mass produce.  You could layer the washi on a long rectangular strip and then trim it into the triangles.  Easy!

 

Bye for now,

 

Tina

Winter Frost Christmas

Hi!

Well, December is finally upon us, and Christmas is creeping ever closer.  A little too quickly for my liking, but there's not much I can do about it!

This is another Christmas card I did with a few different class groups.  I really love the Bermuda Bay/Smoky Slate colour combination in the Winter Frost DSP stack.  I don't usually go for snowy Christmassy stuff, but I really loved the colours in the DSP.

For the classes I changed the Rhinestones to Dazzling Details Silver Sparkle.  It still adds the same bling but it's a little more cost effective.  I ended up making another 10 of these cards a few nights ago using the Dazzling Details also.

Both of the Smoky Slate ornaments were stamped off once before being stamped on my cardstock.  It gives a lighter shade of grey, allowing the Bermuda Bay to stand out more.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #193: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

Boy - where did that week go? Apologies for not posting on Wednesday as usual - the week really ran away on me!  But now it's Friday, and time for another Just Add Ink Challenge.

This week Kim has found this gorgeous picture to inspire us.  Lots and lots of stars for all kinds of Christmassy (or not!) inspiration.

I had resisted buying the Christmas Star stamp for a long time, but while it was on special last month I gave up resisting and purchased it.  So glad I did, as it's fantastic!

Sequins are very on trend right now in papercraft, so I decided to add some to give the card a bit more sparkle.  It was in fact the sequins that dictated the use of Tempting Turquoise on the card, as they matched perfectly.

I used a Candy Dot and brad combination at the centre of the star, just for a little more emphasis.

Can't forget the inside of the card either!

And because I'd also purchased the Envelope Punch Board, and the card was 5 inches square, I just had to make a matching envelope too.  Any excuse!  I used Sahara Sand cardstock to match with the card.

Well, that's it for me.  Are you inspired to create?  I hope to see you over at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Masking Tape Christmas Card

Hi!

Today I have another Christmas card for you that uses a technique I'd never tried before.



It's pretty easy to create this lovely background for your cards.  All I did was tear off some masking tape, apply it to my inkpad and then use the tape to transfer the ink to the cardstock.

Low tack tape like masking tape, or painter's tape, is essential for this technique so that the tape easily lifts off the inkpad and cardstock without tearing.

 

Masking tape gives a rather textured look while painter's tape gives a smoother look.  It was fun having a play and trying some new things!

Bye for now,

Tina

An Island Indigo Christmas Card

Hi!

Are you a traditional red/green Christmas card maker, or do you prefer more non-traditional colour schemes?  I'm pretty happy with either!  Upon reflection though, blues and silvers are becoming more common in Christmas cards so maybe they are the 'new traditional' colour scheme!

This design is a bit of a CASE of a card on page 38 of the Holiday Catalogue.  I've made this card lots for parties and classes lately and it's been quite popular.  I left off the stitching (too hard in a class!) and swapped the Baker's Twine for some of the lovely Silver Ribbon from the Holiday Catalogue.

One of the really appealing things about this card is that it only uses two narrow strips of DSP, but they really make a statement.  Even better is that you can use the offcut bits from the Winter Frost DSP Stack instead of wasting them.  I always end up with heaps of strips, so I will be making more of these cards for sure!

This is a fabulous card that you could easily mass produce to build up your Christmas Card stash.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #190: Just Add Masking

Hi!

Time for another Just Add Ink challenge.

This time it's my turn to set the challenge, and I chose masking.  For my card I chose reverse masking to achieve a 3 dimensional look.  You can find a tutorial on reverse masking here.

I chose three different shades of teal, from memory they were Pool Party, Coastal Cabana and Bermuda Bay.  I started with Pool Party and sponged from the edges into the centre, leaving a small section in the middle unsponged.  I followed this with a layer of Coastal Cabana that was thinner than the Pool Party layer, and finally Bermuda Bay around the very edge.

Hopefully it makes the bauble look a bit rounded!  I then stamped the star in Bermuda Bay while the mask was still in place.

I really love this card - it's going to be hard to part with it a Christmas time!

What will you create for this challenge at Just Add Ink?

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #186: Just Add Inspiration

Hi!

Yes, it's Friday again - must be Just Add Ink time!

This week Delys found this gorgeous picture to inspire your papercrafting.  Yes, the challenge is to Just Add A Wreath.

The amount of work in that is just incredible!

I went with the wreath but decided to make a Christmas card. It was still time consuming, but nowhere near as time consuming as the Inspiration Picture I'd bet!

I cut some strips of Gumball Green cardstock that measured around 0.5mm by 15cm and then quilled them by rolling them around the tip of my paper piercer.  I let each one loosen a little before gluing the end down with a little Tombow Glue. I then glued the rolls down around the edge of a Very Vanilla 2 1/2" Circle punchie.  This is really important unless you are expert in creating freehand circles!

Stamps: Sweet Essentials, Christmas Messages, Daydream Medallions
Ink: Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler
Cardstock: Gumball Green, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Other: 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Simply Scored Scoring Board, Paper Piercing Tool, Tombow Glue

Will you play along this week at Just Add Ink? How does the Inspiration Picture inspire you?

Bye for now,

Tina

Winter Frost Christmas Card

Hi!

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?  I've had a few requests for them in classes lately, which is great as it gives me a chance to start building up my supply.  I usually send out around 100, so I really need to get going with them!

I'm not sure what this fold is called - maybe a Z Fold? All I did was cut the card base longways, folded it in half as usual and then folded the front half back on itself. Here's a look from the top so you can see what I mean.

It's such an easy fold that gives a great impact!  The hardest part (which wasn't hard at all) was placing the sentiment on the inside so that it was under the ornament panel when the card was closed.

I can see myself making lots more of these cards!

Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, Christmas Messages
Ink: Coastal Cabana
DSP/Cardstock: Winter Frost DSP Stack, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Deco Labels Framelits, Circles Collection Framelits, Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Bye for now,

Tina