Christmas/Holiday Cards #19 - Ornaments

I just had to include these cards featuring the Ornament Keepsakes in this series.  I won this bundle of stamp sets and coordinating dies from a raffle held at one of our stamping group meetings.

All the ornaments were heat embossed with white embossing powder on cherry cobbler card stocks.   I wanted to use the same elements and create three distinctly different cards.

The first card came together pretty quickly until I got to the sentiment.  I tried different placements and punches but ultimately decided to add another ornament with the "merry" adhered in the middle.

The next card layout came to me the first time I saw this particular stamp.   Somehow it reminded me of those sparkly bead "curtains" from the sixties.  I thought the embossed double lines added just the right touch of texture.  This is my favorite out of the three cards.

With the last card, I tried to create a non-holiday card using holiday elements.  I made a "flower" with the ornaments and used a vague sentiment.

Here's the side view.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time .............. Cheers!!!

All supplies used were from Stampin' Up

Christmas/Holiday Card #18 - Bethlehem

City of David - Bethlehem take two!  I finally got a design/layout for this stamp set that I'm satisfied with.

The first one is made with brushed silver card stock cut into a center step card.  I stayed with silver, white and black color combo.  I used silver glimmer paper for the stars, it added just the perfect amount of bling.

Don't you just love it?  Here's the side view, where you can see the steps.

I'm on a roll... can't stop with just that one card.  I tried the same idea but with color and this time I cut the red card stock into a side step card to accommodate the die cut main image.

Here's a side shot.

I'm pleased with these results!  Now onto the poinsettias, I'm still fine tuning the construction and texture to translate the ideas in my head onto paper.

Until the next post my friends............ Cheers!!!

Christmas Cards 2012 - Part 1

September is normally too early for me to be making Christmas cards and these cards were made in August.!!  Back in June, I won one of the giveaways from our group meeting.  I don't think I ever mentioned here that I am a Stampin' Up Demonstrator hobbyist.  I occasionally attend group meetings and workshops to get new ideas and spend a day with a group of talented artists.

At our June meeting, my upline Patty Bennett told us to write down on a piece of paper our name and one item that we would like to get from the upcoming Holiday Catalog and she will draw one name.  She picked my name from the bucket and I selected the Ornaments Keepsake Bundle which consist of a nine-piece set of clear stamps called Ornament Keepsakes plus the coordinating eight-piece dies called Holiday Ornaments Framelit dies.  Woohoo, I was elated since I never win anything from raffles like that.

I didn't get my actual prize until early August since items from the Holiday Catalog were not available until August first.  And to show my appreciation, I tried to make some cards to share with our group right away.  I quickly realized that I am not so keen on the ornaments as my main focus for card making since I have been playing and creating with ornaments the last two Christmas seasons.  I struggled with the layout and design but I finally managed to create something I can live with.

This one is another center-step card.  The card base was embossed with an embossing folder and all the elements were heat embossed in white embossing powder.  This is the most elaborate of the three samples I made.  I was going for a non-holiday look using holiday stamps but ended up with a poinsettia looking focal point so it's a holiday card after all.

This is the side view, you'll see why it's called a center-step card.

This card is more traditional and I think I achieved the clean and simple look I was going for.  Again, all elements were heat embossed in white embossing powder.  I was too lazy to dig for a better sentiment.

Lastly, my favorite!  I will actually make more of these and send them out this Christmas.  I had this layout in mind and I was able to execute my vision pretty quickly.  When I finished the card, I thought it looked retro and named the photo file 'retro Christmas'  but when my niece saw it she said "Oh, this one is very modern."  You be the judge.

 All supplies used were from Stampin' Up.

Wedding - Bridal Shower

And finally, the card I made for the Bridal Shower.  This is another center step card, a type of pop-up card.

The main image was embossed in black, very dramatic!  And in keeping with the beachy wedding theme, I sponged the panels in turquoise ink and used masking technique to simulate billowy clouds.  I attached a piece of kraft cardstock to the bottom and heat embossed it using clear embossing powder to simulate sand and scattered the tiny flowers with pearl accents.

At the bridal shower, I won one of  the games we played and got these sparkly votive candles for being the first one to guess five correct answers.

My family has always been into crafting.  We always say " I/We can do that."  But the single event that turned me into the crafter that I am today happened over fifteen years ago.  One evening as I was channel surfing, I came across QVC where they were presenting a heat embossing tool.  I watched the whole presentation and bought my first crafting tool!  I thought it was the coolest thing and actually used it to create heat embossed items for many years.  I still love heat embossed technique and often used it on my cards.

Love how this card came together.  The black heat embossed main image really pops out.  The card fold is called center step card.