Christmas in July Blog Hop

Hard to wrap my head around anything Christmas right now, but its really never to soon to start preparing. My goal in life is to have everything ready before December starts, including our Christmas cards. HAHA Yeah...Right...  

Either way, I'm so excited to be joining another blog hop hosted by Scrap N' Stamp. They are giving away these awesome stocking dies as a gift with every $50 purchase! To find the link to  your next stop keep reading until the end.

My first priority was using this gorgeous stocking die. I immediately knew it needed to be inlayed with glitter paper, which also allowed me to make three at the same time. Win Win. The process is simple but slightly time consuming. Cut it the three times from different paper, then start piecing them together. 

I really wanted the stocking to stay the focal point, so a simple design with lots of white space worked. Some old patterned Christmas paper down the side gave it a tad more interest. 

For my sentiments, I heat embossed white onto black cardstock and did some fussy cutting. They went onto a basic tag die. I made some simple bow embellishments using coordinating twine and strategically glued it down. A small banner at the bottom completed the sentiments but also help to fill the void space. For that I just raided my Christmas sets to find some basic sayings. (These happen to be from some old Lawn Fawn sets.)

I loved this sparkle paper, it was thin and didn't leave a glitter mess behind. In fact the paper is quite smooth, a unique characteristic. They even sell in in an assortment of colours and even a variety pack. Plus the sparkle of these cards is out of this world but of course impossible to capture in a photo.

Thanks for joining us,
 you can find your next stop with Julia at

http://paradiselostyyc.blogspot.com/

and make sure to visit Scrap N' Stamp for the complete list of amazing designers participating in today blog hop here http://www.scrapnstamp.ca/blog/

Merry Christmas in July!

Here are the links to the awesome supplies used for today's projects (I am an affiliate to SNS and may recieve a small commission, which in no way effects the price you pay but it allows me to work from home with my children. I only recommend products I believe in.Thank you for your support!!):

Sparkle paper -

RED

GREEN

BLUE

SILVER

GOLD

VARITY

Stocking Die

NOEL STAMP

MERRY CHRISTMAS RETRO

Merry Christmas Script

Merry Christmas BOTH

Hello 2017 Card

Tomorrow is New Years Eve! Did you have a great year? I hope so!

This is my last card for 2016!!! 

This one doesn't have any fancy tricks, just mostly die-cutting.

I love the Avery Elle Sweet Scallops die. I used the frames and the stars for an embellishment.

I also used a Hello die and cut it with fun foam and from glitter paper to make it dimensional. (I wish I could tell you the die manufacturer but I never had a reason to keep track of that stuff until now!!)

The last die I used was Memory Box Penne Frame. It really is gorgeous with the impression it leaves behind. The numbers were stamped using Hero Arts Stamp n cut Number It set and heat embossed with Ranger Black Sparkle. 

I'm all about the simple techniques and having things come together quickly!

Happy New Years!

How to Emboss Resist with Distress Inks

Back with another New Years card! I wish I could get away from the black, red and white... just my jam lately I suppose.

I really wanted to use the Concord&9th Sophisticated Script and just chose the Banner Alpha Bits to go with it. 

Concord&9th

Not surprisingly it was near impossible to see where I was stamping using versamark on white cardstock. I would pour my white embossing powder after each letter in hopes to see it better, but really it was difficult to line the letters up. 

So no this isn't perfect, but I think it adds to the messy look anyhow.

Concord&9th

After heat embossing, I took my Festive Berries and Black Soot Distress Inks on a sheet on plastic and sprayed it with water. Then you smoosh it (technical term there) onto you paper. 

It never looks good at this point, but just roll with it. Trust the process. 

I use my heat gun to dry it so I can add a second layer of Festive Berries. This will deepen up the red and make the sentiment stand out most.

It definitely needed some shine so I dusted Rangers Perfect Pearls across the card front. You know you can never capture these things on camera. 

Trimming it down and adding the borders really make it pop.

My favourite part are the gorgeous gems and in person they look like little disco balls!

This card came together really quick and I loved getting to do something messy. Thanks for stopping by and please share!


Supplies

I list all the supplies I use at the end of my posts for your convenience. The letters below represent where the product can be purchase, ie. AZ – Amazon, SB – Scrapbook.com, etc. Affiliate links are used when possible at no extra cost to you. Affiliate linking is what keeps my blog running and enables me to work from home with my kids! We appreciate your support!

SB	SB	Bazzill Basics - Bulk Cardstock Pack - 25 Sheets - 8.5x11 - Raven	Bazzill Basics - Bulk Cardstock Pack - 25 Sheets - 12 x 12 - White	SB	SB
SB	SB	SB	AZ	SB	AZ
Distress Ink Pads - Black Soot	Ranger Ink - Inkssentials - Mini Mister - Mini Spray Bottles - 3 Pack	SB	SB	SB	AZ

InLinkz.com

Classy New Years Card

Do people even give out New Years' cards? I don't know if they do, but I've been making them anyhow. This one was fun, trying to keep it classy.

It started with the Hero Arts Number it Stamp n Cut set, because I loved the look of the numbers. I stamped the year out repeatedly on an angle. The 'Happy New Year' is from Lawn Fawn's Toboggan Together. 

Hero Arts

I stamped the floral in Versamark and heat embossed in gold. You could use any flower image that you love. 

I used fun foam to pop the banner up, then added a strip or gold glitter paper I had in my scrap basket, it already had the scalloped edge. 

I kept thinking I was finished with this card, but it was just missing that 'something' you know? The banner just felt too plain. 

I wasn't sure if I wanted to add another colour and kept going back and forth. Finally I decided to use a pop of red. 

I used Copics to colour in the 0's and 7's. Then that wasn't enough so I coated the whole thing with my Wink of Stella marker. Then that still was not enough so I went over all my colouring with Glossy Accents.

R29, R39

I wish I could capture the sparkle and shine it has. It's so hard to do in pictures. I think the black and gold give it an elegance that you think of at New Years.

At this point the only thing left to do was tie in the red with the rest of the card somehow. A little red bow got the job done. I actually quite like how this one turned out in the end.

Thanks for coming by and please share!

One-Stamp Card

Today I'm sharing my last Christmas card for 2016! 

I really love how this one turned out and I only used ONE stamp.

R29, YG17 

I simply used a T-Ruler and lined the stamp up over and over again in Rangers Archival Ink Jet Black. I love these inks because they are crisp and even out well. I stamped it one more time and coloured it using Copics.

The banner was cut by hand and when you pop up the middle piece, it adds all the dimension the card needs.

Just like that. Easy peasy. 

Have a Merry Christmas and I'll see you next week when I share a few fun 

New Years cards!

How to get the Most from your Patterned Paper

In an effort to actually use the patterned paper I've collected over time, I thought I'd challenge myself to pick some unconventional colours and use them on Christmas cards. I think they turned out pretty cute in the end!

These stamps are actually just some old block stamps I hadn't used before. And the sentiment, stamped in white embossing powder, is from Hero Arts. I coloured my images with Copics and added details with my White Uni-ball Signo gel pen. 

I die cut the circles using MFT's Wonky Stitched circles and layered them up.

When choosing my paper I made sure each card would end up with at least one traditional Christmas colour, which I think gives them all a look of cohesion. I was able to make 8 cards in total. These would make an awesome gift set.

The black banner and white circle are what really grounds the cards with all the patterned paper. I used the metallic twine to add a bit of flair along with the strip of red glitter paper. 

They may not be the most conventional Christmas cards but hopefully they inspire you to actually use that patterned paper we all know you have piled in your stash. 

Stamping on a Budget

I love to buy those small wooden Recollection stamps at Michaels. Usually $1.50, you can't go wrong. A few years back they had little sets, for a steal, one set contained this large santa image. Since I've never gotten around to using it, I wanted to share it now!

I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to quickly colour him after stamping him out twice.

 I wanted to create lots of layers in a graphic way, I did that by adding different layers of cardstock.

I also had another Recollections stamp set from an old summer collection that had these pretty flora. Even though they aren't 'christmas' I was really inspired by them. I stamped them using Stampin'up's Stampin'Spots (discontinued a while ago). Mini ink pads are my favourite, they are convenient and easy to use.

To get the variation in colour I would ink them up in the lightest green, then take the darkest green to the outer edges. I think it gives them a more life-like feel.

On the card above, I stamped the leaves out probably 30 times and fussy cut them. (That took longer than I care to admit!) I used them to make a wreath and popped them up with some pop-dots. I love the way they look, I just wish I had matching dies. On the card below, I only used two branches but it still makes a big impact.

The 'merry christmas' was stamped using Amy Tangerines alphabet blocks I got in clearance at Homesense a while back and love the look that they give to an otherwise basic card.

The 'wonderful' is from another of the Recollections summer stamp sets. I heat embossed it with Versamark and Recollections gold detail embossing powder on white cardstock. After cutting that out I put it on vellum and cut it again to give it some interest. I put the word 'Christmas' on the inside of the card to finish the saying. 

I like how these are proof that you don't have to spend a fortune on products to get amazing little cards. Most of these products were purchased at Micheals over time, using coupons. In Canada you have to pay a premium to order stamps online and this is a great way to keep crafting on a budget.

I hope these inspire you to reimagine some stamps that you already own and at the same time save some money this holiday season! I'd love to know what you think, leave a comment below!

(This post was not sponsored and all opinions are my own)