Hoppy Holiday Serenade by Jenny Griffiths

Hello Crafty Friends!

Today I bring you a cute frog couple singing Christmas Carols in a snowy scene.  The boy frog is all dolled up with his red velvet bowtie and doing his best to dazzle the girl froggie who has a stylish wintery scarf.  This froggie serenade card was too much fun to design.  I love to make elegant Christmas cards but this one is for the young and young-at-heart. 

This begins as a white top fold note card with the Beaded Background navy blue panel overlay.  The white notecard peeking through the overlay gives the appearance of snow falling and it's one of my favorite Memory Box dies.  I cut 2 snow drifts and flipped one to curve the opposite way.

 I love the die sets which coordinate with their respective stamp sets...and the way the dies leave a margin around the design.

 Take a good look at these parings---there are several "accessory" pieces like the bowtie, music notes, trees and of course sentiments included in both sets.  This card shows the froggies in a holiday setting but it can be used for everyday cards---the lilypad, lotus flowers and birthday sentiment make this a very versatile set.  

I hope that blue and white gift box contains something sparkly from Tiffany & Co.  A girl froggie can always hope.

Happy Friday! 

Hoppy Holiday Clear Stamp Set Curved Dashing Hoppy Holiday Die Set Beaded Background

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White Christmas Card by Donna Sledzik

Good morning everyone! 

Today I have a quick and easy card for you, using only a couple stamps and a simple inked background.  

 

Begin by sponging Mowed Lawn Distress ink in the center of the card.  Mist lightly with water and dry the background with a heat tool.  Stamp the "Tree of Lights" on the left side of the card and the sentiment on the right side.  Tear two strips of white cardstock and ink the edges lightly with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  Adhere those to the bottom of the card.  Color in the lights on the tree with colored pencil.  Add snow dots using white acrylic paint and a toothpick.  Sprinkle with glitter while the paint is still wet.  

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tree of Lights White Christmas Cling Stamp

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Snowflakes and Ink Blending by Lindsay A.

Hello Memory Box fans!

Lindsay here, sharing a couple of Holiday cards to inspire you with! One of my favorite products is the large card font size dies. They take the design guess work out of your projects! With a splash of color, and a cover die, you have a simple, yet full impact card!

For my first card, I chose the fabulous Scattered Snowflake Frame, and die cut it from a piece of white card stock. To get a clean cut, make sure you have a shim to place in between your platform, and cutting plate for added pressure. Once that was die cut, I sat it aside and worked on my ink blended piece.  

I took a piece of water color card stock, and cut it down to my card front size. I chose water color paper because ink blends smoothly over it without a lot of sponge marks. Give it a try! Blending two different aqua Distress inks, I then flicked some water onto the panel, and, using a paper towel, blotted it off. These inks react with water, and so I am able to achieve this effect easily.

Once I adhered the panel to my card base, I added my snowflake frame over it, and attached the beautiful Merry script die cut. I die cut multiple layers, and adhered those together to get a thicker piece, almost like chipboard. I added a bit of glitter to it for added interest.

For my next card, I used the same techniques, with different products.

I used Distress Inks again, this time in colors that looked like a night sky. When I had finished with the ink blending, I flicked on white paint, and allowed it to dry.

I then die cut the Holly Jolly Frame from white card stock, and adhered it over my panel.

To finish it, I took the Brightly Shining Wood block stamp, and white heat embossed it onto a piece of black card stock. I adhered it with a piece of foam tape, and that finished the card!

I hope you were inspired today, to try a bit of ink blending and using those large intricate dies for your next masterpiece. Thanks so much for joining me today! Have a great day.

 

Scattered Snowflake Frame

Make Merry

Holly Jolly Frame

Brightly Shining Stamp

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Shimmering Alpine Snowflake Drop Ornament by Jean Okimoto

Shimmering Snowflakes and the Alpine Snowflake team up on a quick Christmas card in glittery winter pastels - just the type of design you might need when the big day is less than three weeks away!  Hi there - Jean Okimoto here with another frosty holiday design for you.

Save yourself some time - attach a few strips of Scor-Tape behind the pink, lime green and pale blue glittered cardstock before diecutting the Alpine Snowflake and two of the Shimmering Snowflakes.   The snowflakes are so delicate - you don't need to completely cover them with adhesive.  They'll be easier to work with too! 

 Cut the Drop Ornament Layer from textured white cardstock, and again from light gray cardstock.  Layer them and let the gray ornament create the illusion of a shadow and add a bit of dimension.    Don't you just love multi-tasking ornaments?

Stamp Season to Sparkle on a side-folded A2 card of textured white cardstock with Delicata Silver Shimmer.  It's the perfect silver for the holidays.

Attach the snowflakes and some small opalescent white sequins.  I love the way the pearly sequins complement the sparkly snowflakes and add another layer of dimension.

Visit our site to see our great 2015 Holiday Collection - and classic favorites from previous years.  

Big thanks to everyone who took last weekend's Winter Bliss class at Impress.   Hope you liked the un-holiday cards and enjoyed a quick break from the holiday rush.  We're having another Winter Bliss class at Impress again on Saturday December 12.  It's my last class of the year...and what a year it's been.  Thanks everyone, for taking my classes throughout 2015 - see you in 2016!

Thank you for stopping by - join us again this afternoon for Lindsay's post.

 

Alpine Snowflake Season to Sparkle Shimmering Snowflakes

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Mix It Up! by Anne Thompson

Cookie Swap season is upon us.  I'm not much of a cookie baker.  In fact, I've been known to purchase cookies from a local bakery and wrap them up prettily for exchanging with friends.  I've got lots and lots of cookbooks and magazines dedicated to Christmas cookies and I love reading the recipes and looking at the pictures.  I did buy a new cookie sheet recently so this may be the year that I actually try baking my own!  I really would rather spend time out of the kitchen and in my craft room working on how I will package up said cookies.

Last week a friend showed me an easy way to make my own gift bags and all week I've been making bags and experimenting to make bags of varying dimensions.  (If you want to try making your own gift bags, there are lots of good tutorials and videos on-line.)  And I purchased some food-safe bags for wrapping up cookies or other yummy treats before tucking them into a made-by-me gift bag . 

And, of course, every bag needs a terrific tag--or two!

For the two tags:

• white, brown, and shimmering blue cardstock and Blueberry Distressed Dots Paper
• TAG YOU'RE IT SQUARES die set 30025
• IN THE KITCHEN CLEAR STAMPS SET CL5164
• ALL MIXED UP dies 99258
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Close-up of the tiny tag:

Close-up of the larger tag:

So...the packaging is ready!  Now I have to figure out what goodies to put in it!

Happy Crafting!

 

All Mixed Up In The Kitchen Tag You're It Squares Blueberry Distressed Dots

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Peaceful Birds by Sherry Hester

Oh my gosh, Christmas is coming so fast!  With that in mind, peace is the focus of my card today!

Clean and simple cards are my favorite style, with a little glimmer to top it off.  For the ornament frame, I used the third largest ornament from the Drop Ornament Layers set and the second smallest stitched circle from the Stitched Circle Layers set.  This circle fit perfectly inside the ornament, and I was able to cut them together from cream card stock.  I cut three of the Sketchbook Peace die, glued them on top of each other, and layered that over the frame opening.  I die cut the "fluffiest" of the three sprigs from the Floral Sprigs set, added red gemstones for the berries, and adhered that to the ornament as shown.  I added two of the birds from the Birds of a Feather Die.

I mounted the assembled ornament to a piece of light sand colored card stock that was embossed with a wood grain embossing folder, and then used foam tape to adhere it to the cream colored A2 card base.  With a few gemstones scattered around and a little Wink of Stella on the birds, this completed the card. 

So glad you stopped by, and have a peaceful Sunday!

 

Drop Ornament Layers Stitched Circle Layers Floral Sprigs Sketchbook Peace Birds of a Feather

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Gnome Card by Donna Sledzik

Hi everyone!

I have a Christmas card for you that uses the backing from a stamp set.  I loved the grid pattern on the paper came with the set and thought it would be the perfect background for a Christmas card. I selected two small stamps from the "Gnome for Christmas" set and stamped the pattern on the grid paper using Archival Vermillion and Memento Luxe Pistachio ink pads.

Stamp, color and die-cut the gnome.  Adhere the gnome to a strip of white cardstock which has been stamped with the sentiment. Assemble the card as shown.

 

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

Gnome For Christmas Clear Stamp Set Gnome For Christmas Die Set

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Christmas Peace by Shelby Thomas

Good morning all!  The Christmas season is upon us and with all of the craziness that comes with this time of year, I hope all of us can find some peace, or at least try!

Blue and silver is one of my favorite Christmas color combinations and so I went with these gorgeous colors for this design.  I used the O Christmas Tree stamp and inked it up with 2 different Hero Arts Shadow inks (Navy and Pool) for a little softer look. The A2 card base was cut with some brushed silver cardstock.

I die cut the word Peace and the Choir of Angels from the same cardstock as the card base.  I adhered the word Peace to vellum so it would be more prominent and noticeable in the design.  I used silver thread to add some more interest.  Just a tip...I found it easier to wrap the thread around my fingers (I used 4 for this design since it was wider) and place on my work space.  I then apply the vellum specific tape to the vellum and place it over top of the thread to adhere the thread to the vellum.  Thee last step is to then adhere the vellum/thread combo to the panel.

I added some ultra thick embossing powder (UTE) before placing the vellum and angels for the look of snow.  I think another gorgeous combination for this design would be with green and gold. 

Thanks for visiting today, and I hope you have a marvelous weekend!

 

O Christmas Tree Sketchbook Peace A Choir of Angels

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Shimmering Snowflakes and the Stitched Happy Holidays Square Frame by Jean Okimoto

Let a trio of Shimmering Snowflakes sparkle around the Stitched Happy Holidays Square Frame...for a quick and easy winter whites card.  Hi, Jean Okimoto here, with the directions for my December Challenge inspiration design.

Congrats to the winners of the November Challenge - love your beautiful designs!  Hope everyone enters the December Season's Greetings Challenge too.  There are so many great Memory Box and Open Studio holiday designs to chose from - create a challenge card with a few of your favorites.

I love how the delicate Shimmering Snowflakes cut right through glittered craft foam - it's the quickest way to add both sparkle and dimension to your holiday cards.  The glitter may look a little "flat" immediately after the snowflakes are cut - but it'll be bright and sparkly again in a few minutes.  Trust me. 

Want to add a little more dimension to diecuts?  Just attach adhesive label paper to the cardstock before diecutting.  It adds a little thickness - without having to glue the diecut layers together.  It's great for monochromatic designs that need a little bit of a boost - and for lightweight cardstock.  

Attach the frame and snowflakes to an A6 (4-⅝" x 6-¼") card of textured white cardstock.  Add some little green sequins.   Ever notice how cards get easier and easier as Christmas gets closer and closer?

 Thanks for visiting today...see you at the Winter Bliss Class at Impress on Sunday the 6th.  We'll make some un-holiday cards - pretty colors, shimmery inks and lots of great techniques!

 

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Shimmering Snowflakes Stitched Happy Holiday Square Frame

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A Holly and Berries Card by Lindsay

Hello!

I am glad you could join me today! I have a Holiday card to share with you, using a couple of fun dies from the Holiday 2015 Collection. I did quite a bit of ink blending on it, as well as splatters! 

To start, I took a white panel, and blended in some blue ink, using a foam applicator. I then splattered a bit of water and ink onto the panel, and let it dry. White that was drying, I die cut the Stitched Holly Leaves from white card stock, and blended in a couple of shades of green ink, as well as reds for my berries. I adhered the panel to a white card base, as well as a scrap of striped paper, and adhered my holly and berries to it. 

For my sentiment, I chose the lovely Sketchbook Joy die cut, and ran that through my Big Shot using gold glitter paper. I adhered it to the lower portion of my panel, and finished the card with a bit of clear gloss to the berries. 

Thanks again for stopping by today! Happy crafting!

Stitched Holly Leaves

Sketchbook Joy

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