Keeping Christmas: February

Hello! And welcome to February's blog hop for 'Keeping Christmas'.

It's a card hop for inspiration, and just plain joy for doing our 

Christmas cards any time of year. 

2 cards with the same layout and stamp set from Concord & 9th's Christmas Florals

and a stamp called Woven Stripes.

1st card is stamped with Momento Northern Pine, and colored with copics.

The Merry and Christmas letters are die cut with shimmer card stock.

The centers of the poinsettia, Nuvo Gold drops. I wanted a down home country

very traditional look to my card, so the stripe stamp was turned and stamped

again for a plaid look.

If you like a more contemporary look for a card, this card's chrome and black is 

on target. Same background stamp, this time, 1st white embossed, then stamped

with silver ink. Both times on the vertical.

Stamped with Jet Black Archival, and painted with Metallics, one of my

favorite mediums on rich dark cardstock.

If you look closely, the silver mirror letters are placed just above the stamped 

black letters for a bit of shadow.

2 more cards for the Christmas pile! Still a long way to go, folks! But

it feels so good to get a stash going. Do you like creating Christmas cards

throughout the year? It sure helps during the busiest time of year, to have

some if not all of my Christmas greets done!

Be sure to check out all the designers on the hop for more inspiration.

Here's a list:

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

Vicki Finger

Claire Broadwater

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Nancy Guse

Marybeth Lopez

Nancy Penir (me)

Carol Hintermeier

Candy Valentine Vans

Hi and welcome to my happy hippie van valentines!

I made a bunch of these for the youngest of my grands. Just a way to say

Gma loves you!

The die for the van is the Greetery's Happy Hippie Van, and the heart border is an

old PTI set called Confetti Heart Border.

All the vans open on the back end to reveal a candy package.

The package folds easily to fit in the back.

They also each get a Target gift card tied to their candy vans.

The banners are created using the Greetery's Signed & Sealed with a Kiss (heart)

and Halvsies Diamond Die.

The older grands get cards and money. I try to please all!

Happy Valentines!

Keeping Christmas: January

Greetings Blog Friends, and welcome to my 1st Christmas Card Making

January post! A monthly post especially for creating Christmas Cards.

I'm so excited to be joining a group of fabulous designers honoring Christmas all

year long. Vicki Finger asked if I'd like to join. Of course

I said 'yes'! Once a month on the 25th we post a Christmas card or 2, or 3. The 

object is to be ahead of the Christmas Card Rush. Wonderful! I LOVE Christmas,

all it represents, and all the sharing of a season of joy and giving.

So, with thanks to Vicki and Kelly Lunceford for inviting me, let's get to my

cards.

Christmas is a time to honor and send love to special people in my life.

Among those very special to me are 3 aunts I adore! They just happen to

think my handmades are collectible treasures. That means doing extra special things

that let them know how much I treasure them.

Creating brings me more pleasure than I can express. Last year I added

some of Spellbinders Shapeabilities die sets to my stash: Grand Snow Globe and 

Grand Holiday Cabinet, and ran out of time before I could use them. Isn't that

always the case during the busiest time of the year?

These die sets allow you to create a 3-D vignette, which

folds flat for mailing. (note: you do need extra postage).

There are 6 panels to be cut, a front, a back and four more to decorate creating a

vignette or scene. Together with the slotted side panels, your project becomes

a 3-D greeting.

For one of the 6 die cuts, I created a window with vellum. To do this, I traced around the

circle die, cutting it just a bit bigger so it could be glued to the back. This allowed me to

float the bird with the star as though it were flying toward the tree. The tree is actually

on the panel behind.

The finished vignette with it's matching card. The scene on the front of the envelope is 

done by die cutting a mask, inking around it with metallic gold ink, stamping the tree

and poinsettia (the Greetery), and drawing lines for the address. Very special for 

my very special aunt.

Card 2 features the Shapeabilities Grand Holiday Cabinet die set, paired with their

Reindeer Prance Layering Set.

This set also folds down for mailing. 

And the 3rd is another snow globe in red and gold.

This one uses some of the same elements as the first, with the addition of Spellbinders'

Starry Forrest set.

3 cards for 3 special people, all ready to send. I'm absolutely sold on doing

a few each month, and am thrilled I was asked to join 'Keeping Christmas'.

Be sure to visit all the designers. I know there'll be oodles of inspiration.

Here's a list:

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

Vicki Finger

Claire Broadwater

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Nancy Guse

Marybeth Lopez

Nancy Penir

Carol Hintermeier

Creating Tag/Cards with Poppystamps

Hi and welcome to another Poppystamps post. I'm up on the blog today 

bringing you some simple tag cards made with the new Valentine release.

All the how-to's are on the blog to create these fun, mailable valentines

All the products used are on the blog, but I've listed them below as well.

Their links will take you to the store.

Thanks for the visit! 

Have a super crafty weekend!

Valentine Tag Cards by Nancy Penir

Supplies

                                                                 2302 Heart Tag Trio

CL489

CL488

2303 Confetti Heart Plate

2298 Graceful Heart Frame

2311 Love Flourish

2294 Stitched Envelope

PP1002 Dashing Stripes and Dots 6x6 pack

CL478 Picnic Plaid clear stamp set

A Quartet of Pine Blossom

Hi and Happy New Year! 

Well, the New Year is off to a happy start. Saturday was one of those days

with no one around, quiet and chores free. Way too good a day to waste!

The holidays came and went so fast, I hadn't used the Greetery's Pine Blossom

at all, and there it was right on the top of my order.

I die cut and stamped the bouquet and flowers in several colors.

I hadn't used the Berry Branch Stencil either. 1st inked, then played with

stencil paste in a couple of colors.

My stash of birthday cards is low, so all 4 cards were done for winter birthdays.

My outdoor garden is sleeping right now. It's down to freezing where I live,

but on this card it's bright and happy.

I just love the new bow Betsy created. So open and animated!

And finally one with my favorite greeting, blessings.

Nothing better than a crafty weekend!

Here's a list of what I used: All Greetery

Pine Blossom stamp set and dies

Fit to be Tied die

Inside Out Berry Branch die

Berry Branch stencil

Terrarium die

Knit Wits stencil

Nordic Frames die

12 Kits of Occasion October: Autumn Days

Happy Fall y'all! It's time for 12 Kits of Occasions, and this month it's courtesy

of Sharron Gregory of On Papillon Wings. Sharron sent a kit full of seasonal 

delights, wonderful die cuts and plenty of sweet images to color.

I made 4 cards with this month's kit, and starting off with a favorite of mine,

made with 3 lovely leaves Sharron stamped for us in  soft autumn colors.

Sharron sent us this acorn die cut with a lacy cutout. I paired it with the Greenery's Oval 

frame cut from one of the beautiful autumn papers included in the kit.

Hello Autumn is Penny Black's masterpiece stamp. One of those sweet images 

that tells the story all by itself. I just love her!

My last card is my wish for the season, a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

So sorry this post is late. My hubs and I celebrated a milestone anniversary a

few months early by taking a river cruise up the Hudson River. It has been a 

dream of mine for some time to see first hand the glorious exhibition of color

along the eastern seaboard. We live in the west, and while a few trees change 

nothing surpasses the concentration of wild glorious color the Hudson has!

Take a look.

Nothing matched natures' beauty does it? Hope you enjoyed a few reminders of 

fall's glorious transformation!

Thanks for the visit and thanks to Sharron for a kit full of fall's beauty!