Non traditional colors.

I was challenged to make Christmas cards using what I would consider non traditional holiday colors and these are the ones I came up with.

The first card was the hardest because I have a problem combining shades of "pink" so I decided to make the background a solid pink and go from there. The wreath is made using a hand punch (McGill) of a pine branch punched from plain white paper. I drew a circle in pencil and then filled it in with the punched out images until I got a wreath. The pink bow was pre-made (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) - thank goodness! The text is a rub-on (K&Company/E.K. Success) and the bling are faux pink gem stickers (Stampendous Dot Sparklers).

The second card uses an old die-cut (Sizzix) and three pieces of grey/green coordinating paper (7 Gypsies). I punched out a tree from two of the papers, cut one of them up and then alternated the cut pieces on the one remaining solid tree. The third paper was used for the background and was mounted on a piece of gold paper (The Paper Company), trimmed and then attached to a white card. The text and flourishes on the tree are rub-ons (Martha Stewart/E.K. Success) and the bling are faux gold gem stickers (Stampendous Dot Sparklers).

The third card is made in shades of blue (with a hint of white) using an electronic die-cut machine (Cricut and the Christmas cartridge) for the house, a circle punch for the foliage and some fancy hand cutting for the tree trunk. I haven't decided on a text for this one yet but whatever it is it will be added in the upper right hand area of the card.

I enjoyed trying to find not only non-traditional colors but seasonal themes that would compliment the colors. Definetly something different for me!

One more ornament card!

This card uses a 3D gift tag from "Punch Studios" as a base.  The tag actually had one more back rectangular layer; which I removed to highlight the shape of the actual ornament.  The gold lines are "Stampendous" stickers and the scroll work surrounding the ornament are all left over dams and insets of various gold corner stickers from "Stampendous".  The faux ruby gems are also stickers from "Stampendous".  The text is a glittered border from "K&Company/E.K. Success" that I cut up.

Christmas Time ... a little early!

One of my favorite image for Christmas is the "ornament" and I like creating my own "ornaments" for my cards. One of my favorite "ornament" image I use is actually a circular shaped rub-on made for the clear plastic ornaments you can make yourself. To finish off the look I embellish the rub-on "ornament" with stickers.  This year I selected two cozy snowy scenes for my images.

The first one card uses a legal size card (4 3/4" x 11"). The rub-on image (Royal & Langnickel Brush Man.) was added on the center of the lower portion of the card. I then ran a thin gold line (Stampendous) from the top of the card to the top of the rub-on. To add to the "ornament" look I surrounded the top and bottom with some of the rub-on gold rub-on flourishes that came on the same sheet as the ornament, gold flourish stickers (Stampendous) and ruby colored faux gems (Stampendous Dot Sparklers). The text is a sticker (Hallmark) which I picked up in the card department of WalMart.

The second card uses a standard A2 size card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). The rub-on image (Royal & Langnickel Brush Man.) was added slightly off center on the lower portion of the card. I again ran a thin gold line (Stampendous) from the top of the card to the top of the rub-on. To add to the "ornament" look I embellished the top and bottom rub-on with gold rub-on flourishes that came on the same sheet as the ornament, with gold flourish seals (Gartner Studios); which I picked up at one of our local office supply store.  The text (Michael's) is a sticker.

These are fun and easy to make ... the best part is that the rub-on scenes are actually pre-glittered!

Thanksgiving Scarecrows.

My favorite images for Thanksgiving besides the turkey are wreaths and scarecrows.  Scarecrows do not need to be scary, on the contrary here are a couple of cute friendly looking scarecrows to celebrate the Holidays.

The first scarecrow is a 3D paper sticker (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) that is framed by branches with seasonal leaves and vegetables.  The frame is a die-cut (Cricut - Home Decor cartridge) while the leaves and vegetables are left over stickers (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique).  The text was computer generated and printed on a clear address label (Avery).  I chose a  light brown background to insure that all the other fall colors would pop!

The second scarecrow is a 3D paper sticker (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) that stands against a group of leafless trees while pointing to a pumpkin.  The trees are flat laser cut stickers (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique) while the pumpkin is slightly embossed 3D sticker (E.K. Success/Jolee's Boutique).  The text is a sticker (Hallmark/Stickeroni).  For the background I chose a distressed blueish paper (Basic Grey) to simulate a foggy night.

These scarecrows could also be used for Halloween ... they love their work and are only too happy to help out!

Sunflowers

One of my favorite fall flower is the sunflower and I really enjoy using them on cards.  Here are the latest examples.

The first card uses "Sticko/E.K. Success" glittered sunflower stickers on a background created using two "Cricut" cartridges: the "Home Decor" for the green flourishes and the "Elegant Edges" for the tag".  The tag was edged in brown and black ink to match the card; which was covered with a "DCWV" hounds tooth patterned paper.  The text is a rub-on from "Chartpack".

The second card uses "Jolee's Boutique/E.K. Success" 3D vellum sunflower stickers on a background paper from "Brinks Designs".  The paper is actually a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card size card stock paper; which I found at a craft show several years ago and bought a hand full of different designs and just color photocopy now.  The text is computer generated and printed on a clear "Avery" address label.  

I kept the cards simple to insure that the beautiful stickers were highlighted and became the focus points.