May Christmas Card

Sylvia Durocher's Christmas Card Challenge for the month of May is to incorporate an oval and the colour black. I recently picked up this JustRite Stamp called "Christmas Holly Background Stamp" at the local stamp store's going out of business sale, so it worked well.

Using my MISTI I stamped it first in Versafine black and heat set, Then I coloured in with Zig Clean Color watercolor markers. I cut out the center as I was originally going to mount on a different coloured background, but then changed my mind and used the same white Bristol.

After finishing the colouring, I placed the panel back in the MISTI and overstamped with clear embossing ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. You can see the raised detail below. The center sentiment is a Quietfire Design stamp. I stamped in Versafine black and clear embossed. Both were mounted on black Recollections 110# cardstock from Michaels. As the card is a little longer than the panel, I added gold peel-off border top and bottom.

I had a Pop-Tone Black Licorice A-6 envelope (4.75 X 6.5 inches) from Paper-Garden.ca that fit well so I stamped a JustRite holly border from the Christmas Trimmings set in white StazOn. I will need to use a white label for mailing. 

Am entering this in the Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge as there are two layers on top of the base card. And that's a wrap!

Wedding Pearls

Here is a card I made last week for my nephew Luke and his lovely bride, Morgan. It is white-on-white with pearly embossing powder to provide some sheen (and thus emminently impossible to photograph). The wedding was lovely... 

Stamps: Just Rite Lacy Background; Waltzingmouse Stamps Big Day Additions

Flowers: Marianne dies; Martha Stewart pine branch punch; Label: Tim Holtz On the Edge Brackets die; Pearls and brads: Recollections; Pearl White EP.

A Two-fer!

How nice - a bonus card made from offcuts of the first. I made a birthday card for my DH recently:

I am the first to admit there is a *LOT* going on with this card. I was trying too many things at once (spatter, sanding, fancy aperture cuts, pyramid die cutting...) and it lost its punch in the process. However, I will try again and choose one fancy technique per card and learn from this!

The die cuts that were created when I was cutting the folded apertures out of the card above became another birthday card for my DH's uncle:

The die I used is the Botanical Medallion Label from JustRite Stamps. I used a matching stamp to decorate it. Then I embellished with teal Swarovski heat-set crystals. This second card came together much quicker than the first - thanks to leftovers!

Trying to capture the sparkle of the crystal...

Happy New Year 2010!

This is my first attempt at blogging. Previously I kept all my photos over on Picturetrail, but I am going to move to this blog if things go easy peasey.

I just completed a card for the Caardvarks New Year Challenge and wanted to try and post the photo here. There is a prize from JustRite Stampers so hurry over and enter!

The "Just Because" is a JustRite stamp. The Fleur de lis punch outs were made with an EK Success punch. The designer paper is 7 Gypsies and I am not sure what the stripe was - it was a scrap. Beneath the punch outs is a layer of tape with glitter applied in the burnished velvet technique, but the effect seems lost in the scan. Looks good IRL!

Well, I need to go shop around for some bling to dress up this blog!