Merry Christmas!

I made my last holiday card for this year, using a piece I stenciled to use in a different card. I originally made a few stenciled images to make this card for the CAS Mix UP October Challenge.

I used darker shades of blue and green distress inks, but then the images looked too dark and heavy-handed for the card I wanted to make. So I didn't use it at that time.
Now the card doesn't look too somber because the image is only a small part of the white space.

Thanks to the holiday frame die, the card turned out pretty crisp, and I liked the ink colors peeking through the sentiment apertures.
I'm glad I was able to make use of the piece I almost threw away. 😉

Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog this year and giving me a lot of support and encouragement!



Stamp: "Stamptember" 2017 Tim Holtz Collection (Stampers Anonymous/Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Watercolor Paper (Canson - 140 lb), Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Oxide Distress Ink (Ranger - Broken China), Distress Ink (Ranger - Chipped Sapphire, Pine Needles, Faded Jeans, Ground Espresso), Craft Ink (Whisper White - Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Woodland Stencil (Tim Holtz), Falling Snow Stencil (Simon Says Stamp), Holiday Frames (Simon Says Stamp), Die-namics Centerpieces Framed Lovebirds (My Favorite Things), Nuvo Glimmer Paste (Tonic Studio - Moonstone), Foam Tape (3M)

CAS Watercolour December Challenge Reminder - waving hi

Today's card is a reminder for the CAS Watercolour December Challenge. You have until the 24th to play along.

I'm so appreciative to be able to end the year with this wonderful experience of being a Guest Designer and playing alongside all the talented designers!

And here's my card:

My card earlier this month was a bit more serious, so I switched gears to a cuter mode for this one.
I painted a water wash for the background. I mixed Turquoise Green and Azurite. I stamped the sentiment with white pigment ink, and spattered Perfect Pearls. 

I did partial die-cutting with the icebergs, cut off the rest with an x-acto knife to make a frame, and raised it with foam tape.

I hope you find time to check out the challenge blog to see the inspiring cards made by the Design Team and in the gallery! Looking forward to seeing you there!


Stamp: Polar Bear Pals (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Watercolor Paper (Strathmore - 140 lb), Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Gansai Tambi Watercoluor Paints (Kuretake - Azurite, Turquoise Green), Versafine (Tsukineko - Onyx Black), Pigment Ink (Hero Arts - Unicorn), Zig Clean Color Real Brush (Kuretake - Light Pink, Scarlet Red, Orange)
Accessories: Die-namics Polar Bear Pals, Icebergs (My Favorite Things), Perfect Pearls (Ranger - Perfect Pearl), Foam Tape (3M)

CAS(E) this Sketch #250 - joyful

I saw a pretty sketch at the CAS(E) this Sketch this weekend, and I made a card using it.

Here's Leigh's sketch:

I stenciled the holiday tree medallion with Distress Oxide inks in the corners, and heat-embossed the sentiment in glitter gold.
I heard good reviews on Neenah paper, so I used it for this card. The stenciling worked great on the paper with the help of Crarity stencil brushes.

I'm also adding this card to the CAS Mix Up Challenge as I have stamping, stenciling, and heat-embossing.

Thanks for visiting me!


Stamp: Handwritten Holiday (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Neenah Paper (Classic Crest Solar White - 110 lb)
Ink: Distress Oxide (Ranger - Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Stencil (Simon Says Stamp - Holiday Tree Medallion), Embossing Powder (Wow! - Metallic Gold Sparkle), Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh - Iridescent Peacock Feathers 4mm, Metallic Red 6mm), Stencil Brush (Craritystamps)

CAS Mix Up Challenge - you're so sweet

I've been wanting to die cut alcohol inked (AI) paper with my favorite die set, Fantasy Floral, and I did this weekend!

I made a few cards using the die set and this is my favorite result. 😊

I used red/pink/yellow shades and gold for the flower, and blue/green/purple shades for the leaves. There are actually 3 layers of the flower, but I used only two of them. I tried layering all three at first, but that was too much because the AI colors were so vibrant. I thought there should be some space to breath.

Here's a close-up.
I spritzed a little blending solution over the flower.

I'm entering the card into the CAS Mix Up Challenge. I used stamping + die cutting + die embossing.

Thanks for looking!


Stamp: Sprinkles and Smiles (Penny Black)
Paper: Yupo Paper (Ranger), Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Alcohol Ink (Ranger - Sunshine Yellow, Sunset Orange, Flamingo, Watermelon, Red Pepper, Raspberry, Limeade, Botanical, Clover, Patina, Turquoise, Purple Twilight), Versafine (Tsukineko - Onyx Black)
Accessories: Fantasy Floral 3D Die Set (Altenew), Die-namics Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things), Blending Solution (Ranger), Thin 3D Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesives), Embossing Pads (Spellbinders)

CAS Watercolour December Challenge - winter wishes

I am so honored and thrilled to be Guest Designing for the December challenge at CAS Watercolour!

This month's theme is "Anything Goes"! Isn't it nice sometimes to just explore your creativity and make whatever you want?

Here's my card:

I heat-embossed a log in white, and smooshed the embossed cardstock with distress ink. I watched one of Loll's tutorial videos and tried the smooshing technique for the first time. It was fun!!

Then I heat-embossed the deer and in glittery platinum and stamped the sentiment in dark red.

Please check out the challenge blog and you can find inspiration from the Design Team. Come play along! I can't wait to see your card in the gallery!



Stamp: "Stamptember" 2017 Tim Holtz Collection (Stampers Anonymous/Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Watercolor Paper (Strathmore - 140 lb)
Ink: VersaMark (Tsukineko), Distress Ink (Ranger - Peacock Feather, Broken China), Cherry Cobbler (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Embossing Powder (Hero Arts - White, Wow! - Metallic Platinum Sparkle)

CAS(E) this Sketch #248 - have a tweet birthday

I made this card for this week's challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch.

Here's the sketch by Chrissy:

I thought the banner tail angle was perfect for the shape of the bird. I extended the twig by adding a thin dark brown strip.

I colored the bird with Zig brush markers and heat-embossed the sentiment.


Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp: Birds of Paradise (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, DSP Brights (Stampin' Up!), Translucent Vellum (My Favorite Things)
Ink: VersaMark, Versafine (Tsukineko), Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (Kuretake - Black, Dark Brown, Light Blue, Cobalt Blue, Peacock Blue, Turquoise Green, Pale Green, May Green, Yellow, Lemon Yellow)
Accessories: Embossing Powder (Hero Arts - White), Nuvo Crystal Drops (Tonic Studio - Ebony Black), Wink of Stella (Kuretake), Thin 3D Foam Squares (Scrapbook Adhesive)

Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas 2017

I made another tag for Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas, using the tissue paper background.

This background was colored with the leftover ink I used for coloring the tissue paper the other day. I spritzed water over the leftover ink so the colors were much lighter, but I liked them.

I die-cut a few snow flakes from a piece of silver foil paper and decorated the tag with them. I stenciled just a few glimmer snowfalls on the background. The sentiment was heat-embossed in silver on a strip of vellum. I used a silver cord instead of a ribbon this time.

I've been enjoying looking at the wonderful holiday tags in the gallery.
Thank you, Loll, for hosting this fun event!


Stamp: Embellished Events (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue (for the back of the tag), Silver Foil Sheet (Stampin' Up!), Translucent Vellum (My Favorite Things), Tissue Paper
Ink: Distress Ink (Ranger - Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch, Salty Ocean), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Die-namics Stylish Snowflakes, Stitched Traditional Tag STAX, Tag Tails (My Favorite Things), Embossing Powder (Stampin' Up! - Silver), Stencil (Simon Says Stamp - Falling Snow), Nuvo Glimmer Paste (Tonic Studio - Moonstone) 1/4" Circle Punch (Stampin' Up!), Cording Trim (Stampin' Up! - Silver)