Good morning! I have a Lockhart Candy Wreath card posted here on the CLASSroom blog today, complete with instructions and a full product list. Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly Mini Deck papers were a perfect fit for this Lockhart Candy Wreath image.
As a reminder, Ellen Hutson, LLC still has a sale going on through Monday, November 30. I saw a number of items from 10% to 40% off here.
Have a lovely day!
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Today I'm happy to participate in my friend Taylor's Perfect Package Blog Hop! To decorate my Perfect Package, I chose the Taylored Expressions Home Sweet Home set; I've been wanting to color that gingerbread house with my Copic markers ever since I saw this set online for the first time. I used the Copic markers pictured below. (The one Ciao marker is a G00.)
Of course, when I saw all of that candy on the house, I needed to pair it with my Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly papers, Merry Berry and Smitten Mitten. I thought I'd do a bit of baking to fill this special box; I filled it with some homemade Cranberry Pecan Biscotti. (Here is a link to biscotti recipes, in case you are looking for some; I made so many substitutions in the recipe that I used that you'd probably be better off trying one of these anyway.)
I cut and embossed my two label sentiments using Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio set and Double Ended Tag set. Ribbon and buttons are from PaperTrey Ink.
Below is a list of the rest of the Perfect Package Blog Hop group; this was a very simple box to cover, and I'm sure that I'll try another in the near future. Thanks for visiting!
Alex Maldonado: http://fairyblossoms.typepad.
Amy Rohl: http://inkaboutme.blogspot.
Beate Johns: http://beate.blogs.
Bev Gerard: http://savorthejourney.blogs.
Charmaine Ikach: http://oodabugalley.blogspot.
Cindy Haffner: http://cindyhaffnerscorner.
Donna Baker: http://www.serenityinstamping.
Jami Sibley: http://jami.blogs.
Jen del Muro: http://iheart2stamp.com/
Jen Tapler: http://jentapler.blogspot.com/
Jenn Balcer: http://jbalcer.blogs.
Jennifer Buck: http://thebuckstampshere.
Jessica Diedrich: http://thewhimsicalbutterfly.
Joan Ervin: http://stampingwithapassion.
Joanne Basile: http://www.stampedbyhand.
Linda Duke: http://www.lindaduke.typepad.
Lori Craig: http://loricraig.blogs.
Rose Anne Reynolds: http://paperdelightz.blogspot.
Sankari Wegman: http://sunnysankari.blogspot.
Sharon Harnist: http://paperfections.typepad.
Sherry Cheever: http://sherrycheever.blogs.
Taylor VanBruggen: http://www.
After you have seen all of the eye candy in the list above, it might interest you to know that the code TEBlackFriday will get you 15% off of everything in the Taylored Expressions store. In addition to all of the regular cool stuff, there are some darling new aprons that I'm loving. Happy shopping!
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Welcome! Today I'm enjoying Thanksgiving with family, but I have a post pre-scheduled--just telling you that so you don't think I'm that dedicated to blogging! ;-D I adore this little snowman from the Just Rite Old Fashioned Christmas set. I stamped the snowman and border three times: once on white cardstock with Memento Black, once on a pale cream cardstock with a couple of red inks mixed (PTI's Pure Poppy and Scarlet Jewel), and once on Ripe Avocado cardstock with PTI's Ripe Avocado ink.
I had chosen some papers that were in my last year's Christmas stash, Snowy Jo Cup o' Cheer from Imaginisce. While I knew I wanted to color the snowman with Copic markers, I had a bit of a challenge in finding just the right reds that were muted enough to coordinate with the patterned paper. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to show you how to use gray markers to tweak and tone down intense colors. Some of you may wonder why I didn't just stamp him on cream cardstock, which I often do. I wanted to have a pure white for contrast in parts of his face, even though I intended to use creamier tones elsewhere.
I first colored the stamped snowman with the Copic markers shown underneath him. (Click to see a larger image and read marker names.) He's pretty with these colors, but he's too intense to coordinate with the papers.
Next I colored over him with several different values of warm gray markers. Copic Coloring Tip: To choose the best gray marker to tone down an intense color, you will usually want the marker ending in the same number that the original marker ended in. So if I'm toning down an R24, I will usually chose a W4, C4, T4, or N4--make sense? You don't want to change the value--just the intensity. (Simply put, value is basically lightness or darkness. Intensity has to do more with the saturation or dullness of a given color.)
These pictures are taken at slightly different angles, but you can still see the difference before the warm grays were added and after--especially in the reds. The "after" version works much better with the patterned paper that I chose. [In some colors, I could simple chose a higher first number in my original marker and do away with this step (such as using a YG91 instead of a YG 11). In the reds, however, you will see that the R80's tend to to be cooler reds, leaning toward mauve and burgundy. I needed a true red, but a muted true red.]
After a bit of experimentation, I decided to trim around the snowman and mount him with foam tape on an ivory background. I used my Spellbinders Plain and Petite Scalloped Circle dies to create the Ripe Avocado frame around my snowman. You might have noticed that I also added a bit of pale pink blush to his cheeks to help him coordinate better with the snowmen on the printed paper.
Why did I want to post this today? I wanted to let you know about JustRite's Black Friday Sale that begins today and will continue through November 30! I hope you have some fabulous family time this weekend, and I hope you find some great deals as well. Thanks for stopping by!
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Today I have two cards to share with you, both using the same sentiment and layout, but with a different "feel" to each. The first one is somewhat shabby, and the second is clean and graphic. I used the Communique Curves set on both cards, as well as PaperTrey Ink cardstock (Ocean Depths, Scarlet Jewel, and Vintage Cream on card one, and Spring Moss, Pure Poppy, and Vintage Cream on card two).
On the first card, my red rhinestones weren't quite dark enough to coordinate well with the Scarlet Jewel cardstock, so I deepened the color with an R89 Copic marker from the Scarlet Jewel Collection. The background is embossed with Spellbinders Snowflakes Impressabilities and then distressed with PaperTrey's Vintage Cream ink.
On the second card, everything is pretty much self-explanatory except for perhaps the dot-strings by which the ornaments hang. Smokey Shadow ink was a bit darker than I wanted, so I used True Black ink, stamped off once on a piece of scratch paper before inking the cardstock. The green rhinestones at the tops of the ornaments on the second card are moss rhinestones.
I am absolutely loving the different looks that you can get with Communique Curves; it's a winner, especially when paired with the alternate Communique Sentiments set for double duty! Have a great weekend, and thanks for visiting.
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I've enjoyed playing with some of my new PaperTrey Ink November release sets over the past couple of days and thought I'd share a Christmas card that uses several different stamp sets. The sentiment is from Alli's Communiqué Curves set. Of course, with a sentiment like that, I wanted to work in the new Home Made set, using it for the window image (stamped in Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, and New Leaf). That little greenery bough across the bottom of the window came from last year's Home for the Holidays set, stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.
Patterned paper in the background is Wrapping Paper from Cosmo Cricket's Oh Joy Collection. Ribbon is PaperTrey's New Leaf Satin ribbon, and the wreath in the center of the "O" is from HOme for the Holidays. This card is about 3-1/2" x 5", fitting one of PaperTrey's A-1 envelopes. This was a fun little card to make!
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If it's "hip to be square," just where is my square? Relax--my card base is square! Besides the new square frames, we could also use Christmas stamps for the JustRite Hip To Be Square Blog Hop. Since I'm always adding to the stash, I chose a stamp from the Old Fashioned Christmas set, along with the 3-1/4" round wooden stamper.
I used the Copic markers shown on the left to color the snowmen image, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink on Natural White cardstock. (Click on the image to enlarge, if you need to see the marker caps better.) I also added some Star Dust Stickles for shimmery snow here and there. Pink patterned paper is Play Day from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly Collection, and the snow pattern is from the Jolly by Golly Mini Deck. Spellbinders dies that I used were the Plain Circle and the Petite Scalloped Circle Nestabilities.
There is a lot of inspiration in this list--enjoy!
Start off at the JustRite Blog, and then:
Barb Schram
Heidi Blankenship
Kathy Jones
Kellie Fortin
Angela Barkhouse
Lauren Meader
Lisa Somerville
Michele Kovack
Michelle Wooderson
Sharon Harnist
Sharon Johnson
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For the November 15 PaperTrey Ink release, Alli Miles has created a fabulous graphic word and shape set that has almost endless possibilities. In this post, I'm sharing two cards that use the same graphic elements, but one is a Christmas card, and the other a birthday card.
I used the wreath of leaves as my graphic and sewed little red French knots as my berries. The wreath is stamped in Ripe Avocado ink, and the sentiment is stamped in Pure Poppy ink. I used a Spellbinders Fancy Scalloped Border die to enhance the lower edge of the card. Patterned papers are from PTI's Rustic Snowflakes collection.
My second card uses the very same leafy wreath, again stamped in Ripe Avocado. The sentiment is stamped in Melon Berry ink, and the patterned papers are from the Autumn Abundance collection. I made the French knots in this one coordinate with Melon Berry--same layout, different occasion. The best part is that this add-on set is only $5--quite the value!
Be sure to check out what the other PaperTrey Ink girls have done with this fabulous set!
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I have another Holiday Button Bits card to share with you, one that is up for grabs on the Moxie Fab Blog right now, actually! Today. in celebration of the first anniversary of her Moxie Fab Blog, Cath Edvalson is featuring several PaperTrey Ink Christmas stamp sets, and giving away both stamp sets and cards! I worked with Holiday Button Bits, which you've already figured out is one of my favorite sets this year.
I used patterned paper from PTI's Rustic Snowflakes collection. Vintage buttons are Ocean Tides, Spring Moss, and Pure Poppy. Although the paper already looked pieced, I added some simple stitching for wow factor. I used a Spellbinders border die for the tiny scallops. The ornament strings and bows are heat embossed with Filigree Detail embossing powder.
Again, be sure to check out the Moxie Fab blog for giveaway details, and wish Cath a Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for visiting.
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Here are your random numbers:
386
Timestamp: 2009-11-10 06:01:34 UTC
Number 386 is our winner of the Holiday Button Bits set here, but you still have a chance to win at the Moxie Fab Blog!
They are all so wonderful....especially the bow in the shape of a cross. Definitely my favorite.
Carolyn, I have e-mailed you to get your address. Thanks for playing, everyone!
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I'm still trying to finish up a couple of projects before I leave for Oregon, but I have a sweet little card to share with you today, as well as a gift for someone out there. First, the card: I'm still on a mission to use every one of those Holiday Button Bits images! I hadn't used the gift bow yet, so it was time to play with that one.
For patterned papers, I chose some Cosmo Cricket Oh Joy papers (Yuletide and Mitten Mitten). I loved the vintage look of these papers, and I liked using one strong print (to draw attention to the gift) paired with two plainer prints.
The sentiment is heat embossed in Filigree Detail White embossing powder. Button is a Pure Poppy Vintage Button.
Now about that giveaway, I ordered an extra Holiday Button Bits set for one of you! All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment saying which image in the Holiday Button Bits set you like the most--easy peasy. Comments will stay open until 11:59pm CST on Monday night, or as soon as I can get an internet connection to close them. I will choose a winner with the random number generator and will post the winner at the top of this post as soon as I can. Since I'm traveling, it *may be* as late as Wednesday evening when I return, but I'll do it sooner if I possibly can.
On another front, things are happening with Copic! What that means for you is some great giveaways in the next few days, starting on the November 11. Be watching Marianne's blog in case she gives out any information early, if you'd like. Thanks for visiting, and good luck with the Holiday Button Bits set!
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I haven't forgotten about blogging--really! I've been trying to meet several deadlines before heading out to Oregon early Sunday to visit Copic; I've never been to Oregon before, and I'm looking forward to a fabulous visit there. More about that another day!
Today I have a Christmas card to share using Heather's PaperTrey Ink Holiday Tree set and her new Rustic Snowflakes paper. This is a fairly quick card, which could be made quicker by leaving off the stitching, I suppose, but I like it better with the stitching. I used Spring Moss, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate, and Ripe Avocado inks, along with some yellow and red Stickles. Twill is PTI's Spring Moss, and button is a Pure Poppy Vintage button. Card base is the Rustic White cardstock, and mat layers are Pure Poppy.
This card took a relatively short time to make and would be simple to mass produce, if it comes to that. . . Thanks for your patience this week!
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