A Wondrous Gift is Given

More Christmas cards are needed for my 2021 Christmas stash.  This is a remake of a card made back in 2009, using the now retired Stampin' Up Lovely As A Tree stamp set that was so popular and remained current from 2001 to 2019!  My new card has more layers added, including some sparkly silver glimmer paper, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and sequins that the original did not have.  

I just love the technique of layering trees in navy ink and silver embossing with a little added Dazzling Diamonds glitter into the mix.  Unfortunately, the photo does not pick up on the glitter added, but it is quite sparkly in RIL!  I've also added some sparkly sequins scattered about.  Take a peek at an update of an old card below:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Whisper White, Night of Navy, Silver Glimmer.  Stamps--Lovely As A Tree (ret. 2001-19), Wondrous Gift (ret. 2007-09), Snow Front (2019).  Ink--Night of Navy, Versamark.  Embossing Powder--Silver, Heat & Stick.  Glitter--Dazzling Diamonds.  Ribbon--1/4" Night of Navy Grosgrain; Silver Cording.  Size:  5 x 6-1/4 inch.

Minnie Mouse Visits for Birthday TWO!

I am finally getting around to posting the first granddaughter birthday for 2021, which was celebrated in late February, and I heard that her birthday party theme was to be Mickey & Minnie Mouse, using their traditional colors of red, black, and white.  I also heard that little Sienna would be dressed in her own Minnie dress in those same colors.  She would be TWO, so I needed to put on my creative thinking cap and find a card design that was appropriate. 

First,  I decided that I would stick to just a Minnie Mouse on the card so that it could be a big mouse with a big bow for her head.  I ended up deciding on a large Minnie punch-art head instead of a full-bodied Minnie.  Since the party theme was to be red, black, and white, I decided that would be my card colors as well!  Next, I needed some patterned papers, and I found a red with multi-sized white polka dots in my stash that I thought would be perfect.  I had some other red and black prints on standby just in case I needed a second pattern.

The card sort of evolved adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  I decided the white "head" background panel needed dressing up so I used a happy birthday embossing folder to add texture before adhering Minnie's head.  It occurred to me that it would be "cool" if the head parts looked like fur, so I used the Stampin' Up Subtle Dynamic folder to emboss the head and ear pieces.  I wanted the card to feature that it was her birthday number TWO, so I added a shimmery red number 2 to coordinate with the sweet, shimmery red and white diagonal striped ribbon that I found and thought I would use for Minnie's head bow.  

I continued adding background layering and popped the "head" panel onto the layered card base.  I was thrilled with the look and how well it worked to use the ribbon for the horizontal strip to host the die-cut birthday sentiment, as well as for Minnie's perky head bow.   Take a peek below at the finished card.  I was really quite happy with the results.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up cardstock:  Poppy Parade, Basic Black, Whisper White.  Recollections pattern:  Red Dots.  Recollections Foil/ Brilliant (red).   Dies:  Cottage Cutz Expressions--Birthday, Girl; Sizzlits--Mango Tango Alphabet/ Numbers.  EK Punches:  2-1/2" circle, 1-3/8" circle, Arrow Slim Edger (SU: Pinking Hearts retired), Victorner corners.  Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug--Happy Birthday; SU--Subtles Dynamic.  Ribbon Stash: 7/8" Metallic Diagonal Strip.  Size: 4-3/4x6 inches.

Sympathy & Prayers

I needed to make sympathy cards for my son to give to a long-time friend from his high school days (and his parents), who lost his brother (and son) in an accident in late March.   His friend married a Polish young lady several years ago and resides in Poland; therefore, tragically, he was unable to come home for the funeral.  Our entire family sends prayers of comfort to help him and his family through this sorrowful time.

I decided to use the Stampin' Up Feels Like Frost nature scenes paper for both cards in the lavender and purple hues.  I think this paper, done in off-focus almost ethereal look, lends itself well to sympathy cards.  Both cards are in a similar design, one using a vellum overlay for the front and sentiment background and the other using the vellum only as a background for the sentiment.  Take a peek at the finished cards and inside scripture verses.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Night of Navy, Gorgeous Grape, Heather Highland, Whisper White.  Patterned Paper--Feels Like Frost (2019-21 Holidays).  Vellum--Transluscent.  Dies--Crosses of Hope framelits (2018-20 retired).  Other:  Cottage Cutz Expressions dies.  Pretty Pink Posh sequins--Sparkling Clear & Iridescent.  Triveni Crafts Pearl Sunflowers-White.  EK Corner punch--Victorian.  Size: 4-3/4 x 6 inches.

A Tropical Birthday Drink!

As I mentioned back February on my blog of a friend's birthday card, I made a variety of cards that would be needed in the future while I was on my August, 2020 craft trip with my sister and Mom to Sisters, Oregon.  This has been my first and only trip that I have ventured out during COVID!  Weren't we lucky that this trip happened about two weeks before the horrendous fires all over Oregon's forests!

I also mentioned that because my mojo had been stymied by COVID's intervention, I had purchased several kits and subscribed to Stampin' Up's Paper Pumpkin to try to spur myself into getting into my craft room!   I was really excited about the June 2020 Paper Pumpkin Box of Sunshine kit because of its beautiful, rich colors, and its pineapple die-cuts!  I brought this kit and several others along to work on while in Sisters.

I like to make cards for people where the theme fits the person, whether it be focusing on a hobby, their job, their favorite song, movie, etc.  My husband's job took our family to Hawaii to live for about three years, and Jackie, our youngest daughter, was born there, thus my excitement over the pineapples in the June 2020 card kit.  I saw an alternative card idea in June, just a few weeks after the kit arrived that I really, really loved.  I remembered it and thought the "idea" was perfect for Jackie, but I did not save it to Pinterest, nor could not find it again.  I remembered it used the kit paper supplies, and particularly that it used the black/ white polka dot paper on a center panel.  There was also a pineapple with its top cut off to form a tropical beverage receptacle, plus an umbrella, a straw, and a flower.  It used one of the cardbase folds with the bright alcohol-ink-style background as the card front.  I wished I could find the exact card I saw to give that cardmaker credit for my "memory casing," but alas, no luck!

For my card, I love layers, so I cut the alcohol-ink-style background off the folded card base to use as a layer.  I made a new and larger cardbase using black cardstock and added a second layer of gold foil.  My third layer would be the AI-styled panel that I had cut off.  I cut a set of smaller papers for the center layers...black and white cardstocks and the kit's black & white polka dot paper (similar to my "memory-cased" card, I think).  I fussy-cut the pineapple top off along the diamond pineapple scales and saved it to use as greenery (my "memory-cased" card did something similar, because I remember thinking it was a nice filler).  Next, I worked on my tropical beverage pineapple drink.

My sister brought lots of her My Favorite Things stamp sets with her, one of which had a Hawaiian theme, so I was able to use her Hibiscus stamp for my drink's flower.  I brought my new SU umbrella stamp/ punch set, because Jackie also loves umbrellas.  I thought I might incorporate that into her card theme if my pineapple idea didn't work.  But, the pineapple tropical drink worked very well with the parts and pieces I was able to use from here and there.  I Copic-colored the umbrella and flower stamped images, plus added a bit of  Clear Wink of Stella to the flower for a bit of sheen.   I used the geometric die-cut and a stamp from the kit for the sentiment.  Take a peek below at how Jackie's card evolved into the finished design.  She was delighted with it, and the inside verse's play on a bit of humor!

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  June 2020 PP Box of Sunshine--Patterned papers, sentiment stamp/ die-cut shape, pineapple die-cut.  Cardstock--Basic Black, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Gold Foil.  Stamps--Under My Umbrella.  Other:  My Favorite Things--Birdie Brown Polynesian Paradise stamps (hibiscus).  ColorBox Ink: Chestnut Roan (ink distressing).  Copic Markers.  Wink of Stella/ Clear (hibiscus).  EK Corner Punch--Victorian Medium.  Chatterbox Computer verse.  Size:  4-3/4" x 6-1/4".

God's Peace at Christmas!

This is another of my January New Year's resolution Christmas cards.  It was also another 2019 card kit from my Stampin' Up mentors, Dar Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum.  Its original design was presented by  Dar, and again I did some modifications that came to mind when I looked at the pieces. 

Those who read my blog regularly know that my favorite card size card is more like an A7 (4-3/4 x 6-1/4 inches) than the standard A2 card (4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches).  I really like a 4-3/4 x 6-inch card the very best, which does not fit an "A" anything, and that is was I chose for this card.   So, of course, my first step was to cut a larger cardbase.  I decided on a white base, rather than starting with the Melon Mambo as in the original design.  Also, I exchanged Dar's silver layer for green, Call Me Clover.  I really wanted to bring out the green in the ribbon, and I achieved adding more color as well.  Next, I cut my vellum layer with a cross-stitch edged die to add a bit more texture and interest.  I'm not sure, but I think the original was colored on top of the vellum, but I chose to color with Copics on the backside of the vellum instead.   I retained the rhinestones in the four corners, but I Copic-colored them to a nice warm gold to coordinate with the gold embossing.  Take a peek below at my finished rendition...it will go into my Christmas stash for 2021 cards.

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Call Me Clover, Vellum.  Stamps--God's Peace (candles/ sentiment--2019 Holiday).  Embossing Powder--Gold.  Rhinestones.  Other:  MemoryBox die--Cross-Stitched Frame Border Die.  Copic Markers.  Chatterbox verse (inside).  Size--4-3/4 x 6 inches.