Christmas cards for friends.

With Thanksgiving behind us it's time to kick our Christmas cards into high gear.  Today I'm posting a few cards that I've been working on and have already sent out to friends.  The first two cards were sent to a couple of my StampNation sistahs up in Canada for a Christmas card exchange we're having over at StampNation.

This first one went out to my Sistah Sue.

Stamps: Holiday Style (Sunny Studio), Winter Woodland (WPlus9).
Ink: rockin' red (Catherine Pooler Designs), natural (My Faovorite Things), forever green (Hero Arts), peeled paint (Ranger Distress), crystal pewter, found topaz (The Ton), onyx black (Versafine), clear emboss (Versamark).
Paper: white 100 lb cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs), lipstick red (Simon Says Stamp).
Accessories: Winter Woodland dies (WPlus9), Whirl Wreath dies (Penny Black), Cross-Stitch Oval (My Favorite Things), Border Builders (Lil' Inker Designs), clear sparkle embossing powder (WOW!), fun foam.
 

And this one went north to my Dream Team Sistah Ally.

Stamps: Yay Stripes (Catherine Pooler Designs),  Merry and Bright Boughs (Stamp of Approval/Candy Cane Lane Collection/Catherine Pooler Designs), Outline Holiday Cones (The Ton).

Ink: forever green, cup o' joe, red royal (Hero Arts), peeled paint, tarnished brass spray stain (Ranger Distress), onyx black (Versafine).

Paper: gold foil (My Favorite Things), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: Stag Trio dies (WPlus9), Merry Labels dies (Stamp of Approval/Candy Cane Lane Collection/CAS-ual Fridays), Stitched Mats Circles, Stitched Mats Rectangles (Lil' Inker Designs), gold sequins, dimensional tape (3M).

This card and tag are part of a gift set that I made.  I bundled up four of each of these to make a nice little gift for a friend of mine.  I love this cute little Charlie Brown looking tree stamp from Unity Stamp Company.

Stamps: Small Stuff Christmas (Unity Stamp Co.), Peppermint Stick background (Stamp of Approval/Candy Cane Lane/Catherine Pooler Designs).

Ink: rockin' red (Catherine Pooler Designs), tumbled glass (Ranger Distress), onyx black (Versafine), kuretake real brush watercolor markers (Zig).

Paper: white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: Tag Buddies dies (Stamp of Approval/Friendship Collection,/CAS-ual Fridays), Silly Stitch die (Lil' Inker Designs), pine branch punch (Martha Stewart), Glossy Accents, gold gellyroll pen, twine, fun foam:

  

That's all for today but be sure to stop back because there are plenty more where these came from  I am still cranking out holiday cards so I'll be posting more photos this week.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend and happy stamping! 

Nothing says "Merry" like this!

 Hi there and thanks for stopping by today.  I just wanted to share a couple cards I made using the Brushed Merry stamp set by The Ton.  Nothing screams Merry louder than this awesome stamp!

I have made quite a few cards using this stamp set.  It's straight and to the point and what an impact!  I can picture this "Merry" up on my friend's mantle on display and wow, they'll be able to see it from across the room.  Nothing subtle here.

For this first card I flipped over a large round stamp from the Spot On stamp set by Catherine Pooler Designs.  I saw my friend Deepti Stephens do this during our Foundations Box Blog Hop last week and I just had to give it a try.  I'm loving those extra large polka dots with that giant Merry and a big diecut  bow to top it off.  It reminds me of a Christmas present ready to be unwrapped.

And holy cow, check out this embossing!  I am loving this Brushed Merry embossed in silver!!  I did a little coordinating embossing along the edge of the card to tie it all in.

 Stamps: Brushed Merry (The Ton), Spot On (Foundations Box/Catherine Pooler Designs).

Ink: Rockin' Red (Foundations Box/Catherine Pooler Designs), Soft Garden, Bright Fern, Crystal Pewter (The Ton), clear emboss (Versamark).

Paper: white 100 lb cardstock (Foundations Box/Catherine Pooler Designs), lipstick red (Simon Says Stamp).

Accessories: Whirl Wreath dies (Penny Black), silver embossing powder (Ranger), fun foam, silver sequins.

I embossed the heck out of  this next card using  this fantastic Blue Tinsel embossing powder by Ranger.   I added some snowflakes from CAS-ual Friday's  Bring on The Snowflakes stamp set, topping them off with a little extra bling by adding clear jewels.

Stamps: Brushed Merry (The Ton), Snowy Sayings, Bring on the Snowflakes (CAS-ual Fridays), Yay Stripes! (Catherine Pooler Designs).

Ink: clear emboss (Versamark).

Paper: White 100 lb cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs).

Accessories: Blue Tinsel embossing powder (Ranger), fun foam, clear gems.

Look at those clean stripes at the bottom of this card using this amazing embossing glitter and  Catherine Pooler Designs YAY Stripes!  stamp set.  I have to say these photos do not do this card justice.  This Blue Tinsel is drop dead gorgeous!

That's all for me here today but I'm guesting blogging over on Catherine Pooler's blog this week so stop on over.  I have another fun Christmas card over there using more supplies from the Foundations Box. 

Have a great day and happy stamping!!

CAS-ual Fridays The Challenge - Be Thankful

It's The Challenge time again over at CAS-ual Fridays!  This week, with the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, show your appreciation and Be Thankful my friends.

Before we get started I'd like to let you in on a wonderful little "Thank You" to you from CAS-ual Fridays.  Starting today thru the end of the November you can receive 15% off your entire order by entering the code BETHANKFUL!  Enjoy!!

OK.....onto The Challenge!!

For my card this week I used the following stamps and dies from CAS-ual Fridays:

          Tin Roof               Thanks                Mon Ami           Mon Ami Fleur

 For my thanks card I stamped the background using Tin Roof stamps.  This stamp lines up so perfectly when using the MISTI stamping tool.  It's one of my favorites and I love it in a pretty shade of lilac. 

 For this card I also used the following supplies:

Ink: shaded lilac (Hero Arts Distress), Midnight (Catherine Pooler Designs), Copic markers.

Paper: White 100 lb smooth cardstock (Catherine Pooler Designs).

Accessories: Nuvo Crystal Drops ebony black, dimensional tape (3M).

When stamping this beautiful Mon Ami flower I decided to draw a stem by using a fine line marker, then colored with Copic markers.  For the green background I also used a Copic marker and just scribbled up and down and then side ways to give a subtle crosshatch pattern.

I hope you'll play along with us for your chance to win!

All you have to do is Be Thankful and make a card showing your gratitude.  Then link it up over on the 

CAS-ual Fridays The Challenge blog by November 29th ----------->HERE<--------------

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Have a great weekend and happy stamping!

Get Your Foundations Box Today!!

 Good morning!!  It's the day we've all been waiting for!  Catherine Pooler Designs has finally released the Foundations Box.  I can't let this special day go by without adding one more card to the mix.

How do you like my cute little tree farm card?   I used the For Everything Stamp set to make this card along with Fiesta Blue, Grass Skirt and Midnight inks.  I'm absolutely loving the affect that second generation stamping creates with both the snowflakes and the little trees. The scene on this one layer card took just a few minutes to stamp on Catherine Pooler Designs bright white 100 lb smooth card base.  

 

I even did a little clear sparkle embossing on the bottom of this card and didn't experience any warping to the cardstock at all.  I can't wait for this cardstock  to hit the store shelves in January because it will be a new staple in my craft room in 2017.

This Foundations Box has so much that every seasoned stamper yearns for.  By now we all know the importance of good ink, thick, smooth cardstock and easy grip clear blocks.  We also know the value of a stamp set that is interchangeable and covers all the bases of  special holidays and events in our lives.  Well I think we've demonstrated that the Foundations Box has it all.  Now, if you're just getting started you can consider yourself one step ahead of all of us.  I wish there would have been a box like this when I first started out card making.  An everything-every-stamper-needs box.  A Foundations Box!

Today I'm jumping in line and purchasing one of these boxes for my niece Rylee for Christmas.  She comes over all the time to make cards with her aunt Lisa but I think she needs some supplies for her house, so she can make cards whenever she feels inspired.  I can't wait to show her all of the wonderful inspiration from the design team and she's going to love watching the videos and stamping along with the designers.  She's only 10 years old but this will be perfect for her to get her started at home.

Now I'm off to shop!!   You all have a great day and thank you so much for stopping by! 

Foundations Box Blog Hop - Catherine Pooler Designs

Hi everyone and welcome to the Foundations Box Blog Hop day 2, featuring  a brand  new box of goodies from Catherine Pooler Designs.  

We knew it was coming.....she's been teasing us for weeks.....haha!  If you've been following Catherine's postings over  at StampNation, her blog or on Facebook you have already had a sneak peek into the Foundations Box  that she will be releasing tomorrow, November 16th at the Catherine Pooler Designs online store.

The main idea of this box is to provide you with all of the supplies you will need to make a variety of cards including:

3 stamp sets

 5 ink pads

1 clear round block

 A 30 count pack of smooth bright white cardstock 
(scored for A2 size cards) 

From your mailbox, to your craft table you will be able to sit down and instantly start making cards.  I was lucky enough to receive one of these boxes a couple weeks ago so I put it to the test!  Here's what I came up with exclusively using the supplies from  the Foundations box:

The first thing that caught my eye was this fabulous Fiesta Blue dye ink.  Wow!  Where has this color been all my life?   LOL!  I grabbed a pre-scored white card base from the package and went direct to paper with this Fiesta Blue, lightly swiping it from one end to the other to achieve a faux woodgrain look.  Then using Midnight black,  I moved on to see how these inks fared up to second generation stamping. Using that fabulous round clear block I just started stamping some foliage images from the Amazing Floral stamp set.  This stamp set also has an array of words that you can mix and match to make your own sentiment phrase. A-mazing!

 

Wait!  I'm not done with that Fiesta Blue yet.  Let's see how it blends.  For my next card I grabbed some paper and scissors to make an arched stencil/mask.  Then I lightly blended my Fiesta Blue to make snowy hills and blue sky.  I stamped these trees and sentiment from the For Everything Stamp set using Grass Skirt green and Orange Twist ink for the stars.  If you stamp second generation the orange turns to a beautiful gold. Stretch those colors!!  The end result was this fun one layer Christmas card.

As long as I have my scissors out....let's cut out some little cups from the For Everything Stamp set.  Aren't they adorable?  I used all five colors of ink on this card and a Copic brown marker for the coffee.  Two colors I'd like to give an A++  to:  Midnight, (look how crisp that black is plus it's Copic and watercolor friendly) and Rockin' Red, WOW!!  The solid red strip along the bottom of this card was a direct to paper technique.  Amazing, solid color just swiping the Rockin' Red ink pad across paper a few times.  Fantastic coverage!

For more information on this Foundations Box, head on over to Catherine Pooler's blog.  She has some fantastic videos demonstrating everything.  She has also announced the winner of yesterday's blog hop.    If you want to see more of these products in action just keep on hopping along with our designers listed below.   Up next is my good friend Deepti Stephens.

But wait!!!.......Before you go, leave a comment below for another chance to WIN this whole Foundations Box  of awesomeness!   Tell us what product in this box excites you the most.    Be sure to leave a comment at each stop on the blog today because each comment is a chance to WIN!  Good luck!!

Catherine Pooler

Kristie Goulet

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Laurel Beard

Kelly Griglione

Lisa Harrolle <---you are here

Deepti Stephens<---Go Here Next!

Melissa Miller

A Girl's Best Friend - Coffee

It's finally friday, whew!  This has been a long week.  I'd like to wrap it up today with a couple cards featuring one of my favorite comfort drinks.  mmmmm Coffee!

 

I make coffee cards for my daughter Amber a lot and I fell in love with these stamps from Unity Stamp Company, mainly because they remind me so much of her.  Amber has the most beautiful, long, thick brown hair so of course my Copic browns were put to good use.

 

For this first card I water colored the background using distress inks.   I wanted the background to be busy and messy like my head is sometimes in the morning, before I've had my first cup of coffee. There's something about just losing yourself in that first cup.  Taking in the warmth and rich aroma.  Aaaah, I love mornings.  Ok....if you know me you know that last line is not true.  LOL!  But I do love my coffee!

Stamps: Cup of Love (Unity Stamp Co.), Caffeine Crush (The Ton).   Ink: broken china, tumbled glass, abandoned coral (Ranger Distress Ink), tuxedo black (Memento), copic markers.   Paper: 140 lb water color (Canson), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).   Accessories: Speech Bubbles 2 dies (Lil' Inker Designs), Blueprints #15 dies (My Favorite Things), dimensional tape (3M).

Brrrrrrr!  The next card I made is a wintery mix of embossed snowflakes and ink blending to go with this lovely lady's big warm sweater.   I think this stamp is gorgeous!  So much great detail from the stitching to the strands of hair falling around her face.  While I'm not a pro with Copics I still had fun coloring and attempting to shade this image for as much depth as I could.

Stamps: Dream of Being (Unity Stamp Co), Basic Labels (The Ton), Bring on The Snowflakes (Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic Collection/CAS-ual Fridays).   Ink: tuxedo black (Memento), clear emboss (Versamark), festive berries (Ranger Distress Ink), Copic markers.   Paper: white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).  Accessories: Funky Flakes dies (Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic Collection/ CAS-ual Fridays), white Stitched Mats Rectangles dies (Lil' Inker Designs), embossing powder (WOW!), clear sequins.

 Thanks so much for stopping by today.   I'll be back next week with some more fun cards and a blog hop on Tuesday that you won't want to miss!   Until then, have a great weekend and.....take a little time to smell the coffee!

For more information on the upcoming release of the  Foundations Box by Catherine Pooler Designs, click on the photo below.

 

CAS-ual Fridays The Challenge - Using Autumn Colors

It's The Challenge time again over at CAS-ual Fridays!  This week we are celebrating with a beautiful autumn color combination.  The challenge is to make a card using orange, brown and kraft colors.

This week I decided to make two cards for this challenge using the following stamps and dies from CAS-ual Fridays:

Autumn Blessings             Funky Square Tag Frie-Dies            Acorn Fri-Dies

    

For my first card I wanted to do some coloring on top of my kraft cardstock.  Let me start out by saying this is technically not kraft.  I don't usually use kraft card stock so when I'm in need I reach for the next best thing, my khaki cardstock.  As you can see, it's very similar in color.  I did some gold embossing using the leaf stamps from the
Autumn Blessings Stamp set.  I also filled in with some tiny acorns and little dots.  

For this card I also used the following supplies:

Ink: clear emboss (Versamark), onyx black (Versafine), Copic Markers

Paper: khaki (Simon Says Stamp), chocolate brown, gold foil cardstock (My Favorite Things) white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: gold embossing powder (Ranger), dimensional adhesive (3M), twine.

Next I used brown and orange Copic markers to color in my embossed leaves.   Look how vibrant those colors look when colored directly onto the khaki background!  I then cut out a tag shape from the finished background using the
Funky Square Tag Fri-Dies.  I cut a tag out in gold foil cardstock also and just trimmed off the bottom so I could use the top strip on my tag.  I popped the tag up a with dimensional tape.

For my second card I did some partial die cutting using the Acorn Fri-Dies.  Then I stamped the coordinating leaves from the Autumn Blessings stamp set.  After stamping the leaves and sentiment, I popped up the die cut panel onto the stamped khaki background using dimensional tape.  

For this card I also used the following supplies:

Ink: orange soda, soft sand (Hero Arts), aspen cocoa, found topaz, warm hazelnut (The Ton), onyx black (Versafine).

Paper: khaki (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: Blueprints #15 dies (My Favorite Things), Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain (Ranger), sequins, twine.

The tape really adds some great dimension to the card.

I hope you'll play along with us for your chance to win!

All you have to do is make your own card using the the three chosen colors: orange, brown & kraft,  then link it up over on the 

CAS-ual Fridays The Challenge blog by November 15th ----------->HERE<--------------

I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Have a great weekend and happy stamping!

There's an elephant in the room!

Happy November!  This month starts off with a special card for my sister. Yes.....I remembered her birthday.  Elephants never forget and if they do they can always tie a string around their trunk to help them remember right?  This card just fell together that way using Kaisercraft's Elephant stamp and die set.  I loved this elephant from the second I saw her.  It was one of those aha moments where I immediately pictured this card in my head.  The colors and the balloon were all there. This fabulous elephant takes on the fun theme of those popular adult color books with detailed graphics just begging for some Kuretake real brush watercolor markers.  It was so fun to color!  I didn't worry about shading at all, I just had fun with it.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps: elephant (Kaisercraft), Textile Rectangle Sentiments (My Favorite Things).

Ink: onyx black (Versafine), spiced marmalade (Ranger Distress), Kuretake watercolor markers (ZIG).

Paper: soft navy (Simon Says Stamp), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: Elephant dies (Kaisercraft), Balloon dies (Lil' Inker Designs), clear gems, natural twine, dimensional tape (3M).

Then I went on to create this card in a whole different way.  I started by using some distress inks on watercolor paper for a beautiful watercolor the background.  Then I stamped the elephant image over it for a real artsy look.  I can't even express enough how much I love this elephant!

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps: Elephant (Kaisercraft), Label Love (Altenew)

Ink: peacock feathers, picked raspberry, mustard seed (Ranger Distress Ink), onyx black (Versafine), black soot (Ranger Distress Spray Stain).

Paper:  black (Simon Says Stamp), 140 lb watercolor (Canson), white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah).

Accessories: dimensional tape (3M), clear sequins.

Be sure to stop back here on Friday for another CAS-ual Fridays The Challenge!  I have two more cards to share with you and a chance to win $25 to spend at the CAS-ual Fridays online store, woohoo!!  See you tomorrow!