Let it Snow!

I'm in a punch art swap later in the month, and I have 21 of these ready to go in the mail. I had so much fun making these snowmen! Here's what I used.

Snowman body: 1 3/8", 1 3/4" and 2 1/2" circles, all sponged with Pool Party
Scarf: Modern Label punch and Letters to Santa DSP
Arms: Snowflake punch and Soft Suede CS
Hat: 1" circle, small oval for hat, word window (cut down) for hatband
Eyes: Neutrals brads
Sign: Word Window, Frostwood Lodge DSP, Punch Pals for "Let it Snow"

To make his carrot nose, I used an craft knife to trim a pencil eraser into a carrot shape. I've used this technique before when I have something small I need to add. I guess in a way it's like carving your own rubber stamp! I leave it right on the tip of the pencil so it is easy to hold on to. Once it was done, I just had to ink it up with Pumpkin Pie ink and I was ready to go!

The background is Pool Party, and I used a sponge dauber to add Frost White Shimmer Paint to the embossed snowflakes (Northern Flurry embossing folder).

If I have time I will make a sheet of directions and pieces to post so you can see how I put this together.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,
Barbara

The Stockings Were Hung...

Happy Saturday! Welcome to my blog! I hope you are enjoying a morning cup of coffee and you can stay a while. If you are following the DIVA Saturday Sketch Challenge, you can find the list of this week's participants here. This week's sketch really got me thinking! I kicked several ideas round, and finally came up with something I like. Here's the sketch we were given.

The first thing I did was to rotate the sketch. Then I changed the number of ovals from five to three. It worked out perfectly for what I had in mind. Earlier in the week I was playing with Stitched Stockings and the Stocking Builder Punch for a swap I was in. It got me thinking about stockings hanging from a mantle or a railing. Here's my card. (The base is Cherry Cobbler with a mat of Early Espresso and Frostwood Lodge DSP.)

Here's the supply list:

Stamps: Stitched Stockings, Short and Sweet
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso
Papers: Whisper White, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Frostwood Lodge DSP,
Accessories: Bird Builder Punch (garland), mini Jingle Bells, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stocking Builder Punch, Decorative Label Punch, basic rhinestones

I've included a detail of the stockings. The new mini Jingle Bells are adorable, but they are a bit of a challenge to get threaded on the Baker's Twine. Let's just say I wouldn't want to do a hundred of them...


I just love working with sketches! They lead me to places I would never go on my own. This sketch reminded me that when my children were little, we would decorate the staircase railing with garland and hang decorations from them. That gave me the idea of the stockings on the staircase with a garland. I hope you like this card as much I as enjoyed making it.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara

Snow Much Fun!

Happy Saturday! It's time for the weekly sketch challenge with the Utah DIVAS! To see who is participating in the challenge this week, you can check here and you will find all of the links to the blogs. Here is the sketch we were given. As soon as I saw it an idea popped into my head, and that's what I went with. Here's the sketch.

And here's the card I designed. I used one of my favorite new holiday sets, Snow Much Fun!

Stamps: Snow Much Fun
Papers: Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo
Inks: Pool Party, Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral
Accessories: Aquapainter, Basic Black and Basic Gray markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Big Shot, Snow Burst embossing folder, Northern Frost decorative strip die

Here's a detail showing all of the wonderful texture created by the Snow Burst embossing folder. I think this snowman and his little friends are having snow much fun, aren't they?
(My pictures were taken with my cell phone since I am having some camera issues, which I hope I can resolve soon! I also don't like taking pictures in artificial light, so I apologize that they are not the best quality.)

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara

Diva Saturday Sketch 153

Well, I'm delighted to be back! Here's this week's sketch. You can find the links to the other sketch team members if you head over to the

UDI blog

.

And here's what I did with it. I had been playing with this stamp set earlier in the week, so I took the liberty of changing the central image to a circle rather than the square pictured in the sketch.

Recipe follows:
Stamps:  Christmas Lodge
Paper:  Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Ink:  Not Quite Navy
Accessories:  Snow Burst embossing folder, dazzling diamonds, two way glue pen

I just wanted you to see how beautiful this image is. It really stands all on its own without any coloring. All I did was use my two way glue pen to highlight any areas where freshly fallen snow would be and then I sprinkled it with my dazzling diamonds. Pretty, isn't it?

Well, I'm off to the airport!  We have a wedding this weekend in Chicago.  Congratulations to my nephew Peter and his beautiful bride, Nicole!

Thanks for stopping by!

Barbara

Creative Elements

This year for convention, I joined 10 different organized swaps.  I'd never done that before, and I must say I was really pleased with the cards I swapped and received.  The day before Convention, I realized that I did not have cards for general swapping, so I got busy and starting playing with my new stamps.  This was the card I came up with, and to be honest, it was my favorite of everything I swapped.

Here's what I used to make it.

Stamps:  Hello, Doily; Creative Elements
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, SNAIL, Crop-o-dile. sponge daubers, crinkled cellophane paper

I had planned on using Wisteria Wonder, but I really felt this needed the deeper Elegant Eggplant to give it some punch.  I also did a lot of antiquing with the crinkled up cellophane paper and Crumb Cake ink.

After Convention, I made some of these for a swap I was in.  The Very Vanilla card stock was a double layer, scored and folded at the top.  Then there was a score line 1/2" from the top fold, so the front lifted up like a flap, with the ribbon securing the layers.  (Elegant Eggplant was cut 4 1/2" x 5 1/2", Lucky Limeade was 4" x 5 1/4", and Very Vanilla was 3 3/4" x 10" and scored at 4 3/4" and 5".  I hope that helps!)

Thanks for stopping by today!  As always, I love to hear your comments, and if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.

Blessings,
Barbara

Back to Blogging!

After taking close to three months off from blogging, I'm rested and raring to go again!  I have lots of things to show you from my summer projects as well as convention, so let's get started!

Today's card is one I just finished for a monthly swap I am in.  It is a case from a card I saw this week, from the wonderful Mary Brown, with some tweaking to make it my own.

If I could only have one new stamp set from this year's catalog, it would be "Hello, Doily."  It is just exquisite, and gives such beautiful texture to a card.  It really looks like a hand crocheted doily.  Here are all the details.

Stamps:  Hello, Doily (BG), Field Flowers
Inks:  Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Accessories:  Houndstooth embossing folder, basic pearls, dotted scallop ribbon border punch

After I had the main images stamped, I softened the look by taking crinkled cellophane paper (that covers our card stock) and inking it with some crumb cake ink, then pouncing it over the background.  This has become one of my favorite new techniques to give a soft, aged look.  I also added the dotted scallop ribbon punched in Crumb Cake with just the small scalloped edge peeking out.  I hope you like it!  Here's a close up so you can see the details.

Well, I'm off to do some class planning and work on some sketch challenges.  I hope whatever you do today, you can work in a little time to stamp.  It's good therapy!  :-)

Blessings,
Barbara