Easy Christmas Card!

Here's a quick card you can mass produce in record time! Just stamp the tree toward the right side, color the decorations, add a freehand border, tie a ribbon around the left side of the card and add a message inside. Done!

Kinkade Church

After seeing so many beautiful cards done with Kinkade stamps, I just had to try it. Unfortunately, the colors don't reproduce well on my scanner.

This card was done with an Adirondack spectrum pad (Cabin Fever) on white cs. It was cut into an oval using the Creative Memories system and was then coated with Versamark and embossed with Antiquities Frosted Crystal ep. (The only coloring was done on the windows and the reflection on the water below.) A larger oval was cut in the center of a pinkish-beige textured cs, silver twine was tied on the side and it was then mounted to a dark brown textured card with double stick tape. The four silver brads were attached at the corners, and the image was secured to the card with SU pop dots.

The hardest part of this card was deciding on the cardstock colors! (IRL, the yellow is softer and the texture more interesting. Click on the image for a better view.)

Thanks to Amy Celona...

...for this wonderful card idea--what an inspiration! (See amycelona.com.) For my version, I used the large pine tree stamp from Stamp in the Hand. My card has a top fold (Amy's fold is better, I think) and the matting is reversed. To make the trees more lifelike, I used a dark brown marker to highlight the bark and some of the branches. The sponge daubers worked fine for the white at the top, but not on the trees; so I just used a Q-tip for them. The snow was done with Dazzling Diamonds, which I added while the white pigment ink was still wet. Tearing the bottom of the paper added to the illusion of snow on the ground.

I plan to send this one-of-a-kind card to the dad of a one-of-a-kind friend!

View from the Tower

We woke up to 6" of new snow here in Northern New Jersey today--looks like good stamping weather!


(Second photo was taken from the tower window this morning.)

Snow Scene Card

Yes, I turned the snow scene photo into a lovely card for my parents. (See post below.) The only thing I added was a snowflake brad in the upper left corner after triple mounting it on black, silver and green cardstocks on a white card. Of course, I neglected to copy it, but you get the idea...

First Dusting of Snow

Brrrr...it's too soon to be thinking about winter! Wouldn't this scene from yesterday make a great card, though???

Birthday Card for Li'l "O"

Happy Birthday Owen! Unfortunately, your card will be arriving a few days late. I hope you enjoy making the lights flash on this race car. We miss you, but will be seeing you in Prague soon!

Sticker of Blessing

Lucienne, affectionately called "the Queen of France" by her friends, had to have minor surgery this week. When I found this blinking crown sticker at Michael's, I couldn't resist turning it into a GetWell card. If you look closely, you can see one of the lights lit (at the top of the crown.)

In addition, I found the "you are the queen" stamp for $1 and used it for the inside. The girls at Bible Study each added a note of cheer to enclose. We gave her the card when we picked her up from the hospital today. Needless to say, she loved it!

Notice how the card-making class members are concentrating on their cards... They have learned that a hand-made card can be used to bless someone in a special way.

Tunnel Card Revisited

Here is my Christmas version of the Autumn tunnel card shown below (see post for Oct. 25.) The front reads "How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given."

(The blue looks a lot softer IRL.)

The Rule of Thirds

When I first made this card, it was full size (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) but just didn't look right. Then I remembered the rule of thirds used in photography; so I cut off some of the bottom to make it more proportional. Notice the top third is the pink cardstock, the middle third is the dry embossing and the bottom third is the sentiment and brad. Happy with the adjustment, I then made a new envelope to fit the scaled-down size.

Sometimes, corrected mistakes make the most beautiful cards!

A Quick & Easy Christmas Card

This card was made using a leftover three-dimensional poinsettia sticker and a pre-cut card. The sticker is placed on the inside so that it shows through the opening. The ribbon was tied and fastened to the white overlay (also precut)and fastened to the card front. I added some Stickles to the center of the flower, stamped the greeting at the bottom and also stamped a verse on the inside (under the opening); and there you have it!

November 1st Already?

Where did October go? It's my favorite month, so I'm sad it's over. November brings us closer to winter and all that goes with it: bare trees, cold, northerly winds, shorter days and less time outdoors. Of course it's not all bad. There's more time for cats on my lap or stamping next to a sunny window or sitting in front of a toasty fire...and Christmas on the horizon. That reminds me--I'd better get back to making more Christmas cards!