Winter Sparkle

I bet it'll be hard for you to believe that I used the Dress Up Framelits for this Christmas card! Check it out:

Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Garden Green, Glimmer
Tools: Big Shot, TIEF: Snowburst, Elegant Lines, Woodgrain Bigz Die: Stars #2,
Framelits: Dress Up, Edgelits: Adorning Accents

All month long I've been showing you Christmas cards I've created using non-Christmas stamp sets and it has really challenged me in a way that makes me look at all my product in a different light. I've got so many ideas for future series and cards...

Anyway, to get back to this card, I did use the Dress Up Framelits to create the tree:

Can you start to see the tree in the right image? All I did was cut the shape out from the middle point in the bust and just shaped it to be inline with the bottom skirt. I ran three more dresses through my Big Shot, moving the Framelit up approximately 1/4 inch each time so that I got the different layers. Once I had my four pieces, I ran them through the Big Shot again with the Elegant Lines TIEF and then popped each layer up with Dimensionals.

Hope you like and this will inspire you to look at your products differently too.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Christmas Wreath for Sunday Stamps

It's Sunday, so that means another challenge over at Sunday Stamps! This week is a fun sketch challenge from Haley, hope you'll play along. Don't forget that every time you do this month, you'll be entered in a draw for a chance to win one of two $25 SU! gift certificates!

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Gumball Green
Ink: Early Espresso
Tools: Big Shot, Woodgrain TIEF, Lacy Brocade TIEF,
Punches - large & small Scallop Circles, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Jewels

As I was typing out the supply list above, I realized I didn't use any stamps on this card! WHAT?! Well, I guess I didn't need any. haha. When I saw the sketch this week, I immediately thought it looked like a door, so, that's what I created!

My card base is a gate-fold. I embossed the panels with the Woodgrain TIEF and then added my next layer with a Christmas wreath. The wreath uses all our scallop circle punches, including the NEW 1-1/4". I popped up one of the layers with Dimensionals and added some sharpie-coloured jewels for some holiday sparkle. The ribbon is dual purpose - adds some elegance and keeps my "door" closed. :)

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Serene Silhouettes for FMS

Today's card is inspired by both the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, and my upline, Leena Girsa. In fact, my card is pretty much a CASE of Leena's beautiful card (see it here), but with a few twists.

First, here's the sketch:

When Leena designed her card for our monthly team meeting, I just fell in love with it and knew I had to one day recreate it. I just didn't want to completely copy it, so here's my version based on the sketch above:

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Marina Mist
Ink: So Saffron, Old Olive, More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Black
Stamps: Serene Silhouettes
Tools: Big Shot, Woodgrain TIEF, Post-It Notes
Accessories: Naturals Button, Twine

Aside from the tree image from Serene Silhouettes, I sponged the entire image. When I saw the three layers in the sketch, I had the idea to carry the image across all three... kind of like the Triple Time Stamping technique I featured last week (see card here), but with a twist.

I first sponged all three layers with So Saffron and after masking my sun with a 1-3/8" circle, I started adding my layers of colours until I achieved the look I wanted.

I decided to add a tiny black border around all layers - a last minute decision - and I think it works. I glued the initial layer to the card base and then popped up each additional layer. To finish off, I added a button with some twine and I just love how this card turned out!

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph