Christmas in July!?

Hi there crafty peeps!  You might be wondering about the title of this blog post.  Has she gone crazy? It is July.  Did she honestly mention the big "C" word this early?  Well you read it right, I did!  I usually start prepping my Christmas cards starting in September with the hope that I can have them all out in the mail by the 2nd week in December but this year I have decided to start even earlier.  My husband and I purchased our first home this spring and I am so excited to decorate it for Christmas this year, so by starting my cards earlier, it will leave me more time to do this!  I created this little beauty below as my first Christmas card of 2015.  I plan on giving this to my grandma as Cardinals are her absolute favorite bird.

I stamped this beautiful image made by Deep Red Stamps onto Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock with StazOn Jet Black Ink.  I then watercolored the image with my Distress markers.  I matted the image onto a piece of red glitter cardstock and forest green cardstock.  I then took this and adhered it to an A2 card base made from the same Forest green cardstock and a slightly smaller plaid red and green patterned paper.  I stamped a "Season's Greetings" sentiment from My Favorite Things onto some left over forest green cardstock with Versmark ink.  I then heat embossed it with Ranger Gold fine detail embossing powder.  I cut out the cardstock with the sentiment into a fishtail flag banner and popped this up onto the card with foam tape.  I added a poinsettia embellishment to the card for a final decorative accent.

As I am talking about preparing for Christmas today, I wanted to mention that over at Patience Brewster they are busily preparing for the Holiday season as well.  If you are not familiar with this wonderful company you should definitely head over to their website and blog to check them out.

"Patience Brewster, Inc. is a small one artist company creating unique ornaments, gifts and textiles from start to finish."

This family run business is so full of creativity and imagination.  Their Christmas ornaments are so fun and whimsical.  I fell in love the minute I first saw them! Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore owls, so I have to say I am particularly fond of the Olivia Owl Ornament.  They are having a Christmas in July contest over on their Instagram page and there are still a few days left to enter!  All of the details can be found on their blog.

I hope you enjoy the first of many Christmas cards to come this season.  Stay tuned as I will be posting more as it gets closer to the big day.  Have a wonderful day!

Summer Botanicals

Hi there crafty peeps!  I am back again with a card I created by coloring one of the beautiful botanical stamps from PowerPoppy with My Copic Markers and adding some stunning shimmering ribbon from the Really Reasonable Ribbon Store. 

 

 After I stamped and colored the image, I die-cut it out my Pierced Rectangle Stax from MFT and matted it onto peach cardstock.  I took three designer patterned papers from my stash (My Girl by American Crafts) and layered them together onto more peach cardstock to create a background for my card.  I matted the image onto this background with foam tape.  I then wrapped Sheer Iridescent Ribbon in Peach around the card and also created a triple loop double layered bow with my Bow-It-All tool.  Finally, I added some aqua flat backed adhesive gems to the top and bottom for an accent, and adhered it all to a white A6 card base.   

I am entering this card into the current challenge "Hang Some Paper" over at the PowerPoppy blog. I am also entering it into this week's Wednesday "Sparkle and Shine" challenge at the Simon Says Stamp blog.  I hope you enjoy this fun summer colored card.  Have a wonderful day!

Ribbons on Sale!!!!

Hi there crafty peeps!  Just popping in quickly to announce that there is a 4 day sale going on right now at Really Reasonable Ribbon.

The codes are good now through midnight Eastern time on Wednesday 7/22/15.

 

 

 

(Sale code is not valid on prior orders, ribbon club subscriptions, ribbon club gift subscriptions, or special order items).

 

Order subtotals from $10.00 to $39.99 SAVE 10% using code SUMMER10.

Order subtotals $40 and up SAVE 15% using code SUMMER15.

 

* YOU MUST USE ONE OF THE SALE CODES ABOVE ON YOUR ORDER TO RECEIVE THE DISCOUNT *

 

The sale code is good on everything including SALE items. Did you know we stock a wide variety of Scor-Tape? Take advantage of our sale and stock up on this great product. Don't forget to take a look at our fun decorative bags. 

Elegant Wedding with a Pop of Color

Hi there crafty peeps!  I am back today to share a simple but elegant wedding card I created for friends of mine in their upcoming wedding colors.  The main colors are black, white, and gray with pops of lime green and aubergine.

I stamped a sentiment stamp from Stampin Up on black cardstock and heat embossed it with WOW white detail embossing powder.  I matted it on lime green and aubergine cardstock.  I then matted that onto patterned paper from Teresa Collins.  I tied Green Apple Delicate Stitched Satin ribbon and Black Ric Rac around the top of the card.  I created a double layered single loop bow with the same Green Apple Satin Ribbon and placed it on top of the card as well.  I adhered all of this to a white A2 cardstock base.  Finally, I added a line of Perfect Pearls in white to the bottom for an accent.  I hope you enjoy this card and have a lovely day!

Really Reasonable Ribbon July Blog Hop

Hi there crafty ribbon lovers!  Today is the day for the July Blog Hop at Really Reasonable Ribbon. The design team and I have cooked up some beautiful projects with the new Black and White ribbon assortment.

If you are following along you should have come here from Ginny's Blog.  If not, head over to the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog to start at the beginning.

I made a simple but cute card that could be used for any celebration using the Tim Holtz Bird Crazy Stamp set and two ribbons from the July assortment.  I stamped the sentiment and bird image onto Canson watercolor paper with Versafine ink.  I watercolored the bird with my Spectrum Aqua Markers.  I used patterned paper from Pink Paislee's Bella Rouge Collection and created the layout with the Blueprints 15 Die-Namics from MFT.  I matted it all onto black cardstock with a white A2 card base.

I used White Sheer with Satin Stripes ribbon and 3/8" Black Satin Swiss Dots ribbon to create my sash around the card and my doubled bow.  I added some perfect pearls in white in a line at the bottom of the card as an accent.  I also added glossy accents to the birds eyes and beak.

I just absolutely love how this adorably crazy looking bird turned out and how the black, white, and pink go so well with her.  Now head on over to Bonnie's Blog which is the next on our hop.  Have a wonderful crafty day!

Happy Birthday Banner Card

Hi there crafty peeps!  I am back today to share a card I created with a new Lawn Fawn stamp set and some lovely ribbon and twine from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I will be giving this card away to my brother for his upcoming birthday this month.  I tried to make it masculine, which is hard for me, but I think I actually pulled it off quite well.  I will let you be the judge!

I colored the cute little images with my Zig Clean Color real brush markers and fussy cut them out. The banner is a Lawn Fawn die.  I just love how vibrant the colors come out with these markers.  The patterned paper is also from Lawn Fawn. The grass is cut with a layered grass border die from My Favorite Things Stamps.  I added some shine with my Pico Shimmer Embellisher to the cake, present, and hats.

I tied the top of the banner with Tangerine Satin with Silver Metallic Edges Ribbon and Ivory Burlap String.  I hope you enjoy this fun little masculine birthday card.  Have a wonderful crafty day!

Pretty Bows Challenge at Really Reasonable Ribbon

Hi there Crafty Peeps!  It is time for another challenge over at the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog.  Bonnie is challenging all of us to grab our prettiest ribbons and create a project that showcases the beautiful bows you create.

I used some of the beautiful digital elements included in PollysPaper Victorian Trading Card Creativity Kit to make a 5in square card. This wonderful shop is owned and run by my good friend and fellow DT Ginny Nemchak.  Her Creativity kits and other items are out of this world and you absolutely have to check her out if you haven't already!  I layered up my digital goodies and accented with a few Mulberry Flowers.  

I created a band around the card with Ivory Crochet Lace and Rose Pink Diamond Satin Ribbon.  I added a little bit of Ivory Jute string to the top of my ticket tag to create some interest.  Finally the showstopper bow was created using my Bow-It-All tool and 7/8" Pink Gingham Ribbon. I am so in love with how this card came together!  I hope you will join us for our latest challenge so we can see your beautiful bows too.  Have a wonderful day!