Belle Papier {pretty paper}

I cannot believe how quickly the days are flying by! Only eleven more days till Christmas! We have the tree up…sort of! We seem to have misplaced some of the decorations in all the renovations of the past year. Oh well! I’m trying to stay in the spirit of the season and not get bogged down in trying to make it perfect. I know it’s never going to be so I just do the best I can. This next week I’m hosting another birthday party and then my husband’s family for an early Christmas. I’m glad the shopping is almost done! Do you use a list when planning the holidays. I do…it seems to be the only way to get things done. I still haven’t starting writing those cards though.

 Winter Damask Joy

Here’s another Christmas design to share with you. This design is very simple in one of my favorite Christmas color combos…Teal, Kraft, Dark Red and a tiny bit of Olive.

Also…Cornish Heritage Farms is putting on its last sale before Christmas. From today, Sunday the 14h - Tuesday Dec. 16th, the more you spend the more you save.

Wishing you a joyful day!

Supply List:

Stamps:
Tulle Damask Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage FArms
-Christmas Angel (Sandar Kuck line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
-Christmas Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments line) by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Paper: Frosted Teal, Kraft, Blush Red Dark by Prism

Other:
-ribbon & Velvet brad by Making Memories
- white color pencil by Prismacolor
-felt flower and leaves by Creative Impressions
-label 1 die by Spellbinders

It’s Thursday and wow…this day could go a little better! It’s one of those where you would like to just crawl back into bed. Can’t though…lots to do and it’s Ben’s birthday today! Anyhow….I woke up to no internet or phone service this a.m. and it may not be fixed until tomorrow night. Won’t that be fun! So now I’m out of the house where I can find a connection. I am so glad for hubby’s new laptop!! The SCS Challenge is now posted, albeit a little late.

A few month ago I was browing a magazine and I came across an ad. Half the page was type and details and the other half was one large photo of a baby that had been cropped to just HALF the image. It was a beautiful clean look that got me thinking about just stamping half an image. Your brain fills in the rest. And so…I’m challenging you to find WAYS TO USE HALF AN IMAGE or embellishment. Check out the challenge here.

Silver Chocolate Christmas

For this design I decided to try out this color combo that popped into my head the other day. I noticed how pretty silver and chocolate looked together…a nice fresh look and threw in a little pink for fun. Definitely not your traditional Christmas design. The silver may look more like white on your computer but trust me…it really shines.

To design this card for the challenge, I stamped half the snowflake from the Joyeux Noel stamp set on the main focal panel. The background is created by randomly inking the Distressed Grid Scrapblock™.

Thanks for stopping by! Happy stamping!

Supply List:
Stamps:
-Distressed Grid Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms
-Joyeux Noel (snowflakes) Classic Collection by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink: Silver Brilliance Ink by Tsukineko

Paper: Suede Brown Dark cardstock by Prism, pink patterned paper by Basic Grey

Other: beads, trim by Fancy Pants, rhinestone, Glossy Accents by Ranger

Now and then I just like to try on something a little different for a change of pace. These two cards are super simple and quick with simple classic designs. There’s nothing wrong with changing up your style and I feel it always gives me a new fresh look on designing. While its important for a designer to have a style that is their own, it’s also important to continue to grow and try out new things. These two designs feature black square card bases, rub-on transfers, an emphasis on circles and some fun embellishments.

Stick Pin Christmas Design

This card went together super fast. The Around the Block stick pin was super fun to play with and I highlighted its darling snowflake by adding a rhinestone to the center.

Quick Tip: Don’t be afraid to add a little zing to your rub-on transfers  by coloring in with markers.

Supplies:stick pin by Around the Block, cardstock by SU, circle punches by EK Success, ribbon by Michael’s

Grommet Hope Design

This fun design is a simple one layer card. I love the black for a classic look. One again I embellished my rub-ons…this time by adding a little bling. The Making Memories Hope grommet is set in a semi-circle of eyelets. Love how the curve breaks up the square design!

Supplies: cardstock by Bazzill, rub-on by Basic Grey, sequin by Queen and Co., eyelets and grommet by Making Memories

Have a simply wonderful Saturday!

I’ve been having fun playing around with one simple little product…the white colored pencil. Ever so humble…I really never thought of it much until the past week and now I can’t seem to put it down. Inspired by a design of Kim Hughes where she colored an image all in brown pencil…I decided to try my own version by just adding in  highlights using white. I love the monochromatic and vintage look of this simple technique. It brings me back to high school art class and reminds me of those conté crayon sketches we drew.

White Pencil Highlight Technique

1.  Stamp line art image in brown ink on Kraft cardstock. I used Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. Detailed lines work best.
2. Study your image to see where the highlights or light spaces would be. Color in lightly with white pencil.
3. Go back and add stronger white highlights where needed to add extra dimension.

Chocolate Santa

I am totally in love with this Santa’s Lap image! It’s actually a very large stamp but I wanted to focus in on darling expressions on the faces and die cut it down to my focal point. Using red and green colored pencils…I also highlighted the sprig of holly on Santa’s hat. To create the background I stamped the Ornamental Vines Backgrounder in Versamark on Suede Brown Dark cardstock andembossed with clear embossing powder.

Stamps: Ornamental Vines Backgrounder, Santa’s Lap (Saturday Evening Post line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Versamark by Tsukineko, Vintage Photo Distress ink by Ranger, Rich Cocoa Memento ink by Tsukineko
Paper: kraft and suede brown dark cardstock by Prism, Basic Grey 6×6 paper pad
Other: ribbon by Making Memories, velvet ribbon by May Arts, clear embossing powder by Ranger, pencil crayons by Prismacolor, Spellbinder dies

55 Corvette Wishes

As I couldn’t stop with this technique…I had to try it out on this new Corvette Image by Cornish Heritage Farms.

Quick Tip: Try switching the Kraft cardstock to another medium toned hue for a different look.

Supply List:
Stamps:
-1955 Corvette (GM line) By Cornish Heritage Farms
-Perfect Plaid Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink-Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger,White Adirondack Pigment Ink by Ranger, Rich Cocoa Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Paper:Kraft, Frosted Teal, Suede Brown Dark by Prism

Other: sewing machine, button by Autumn Leaves, ribbon by creative Impressions, white colored pencil

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you a beautiful Sunday!

Today’s design is a quick tree ornament I created over the weekend. It feels good to be starting to papercraft again. I’ve been limiting it to rather quick projects as the headaches continue but I’m hoping I’ll be back to my normal self by the end of the week. This design uses some Clear Card Sheets, my Thomas Kinkade Christmas Series paper and my Sakura Glue Pen to add some glitter. You may be wondering where the challenge is in all this as Mondays around here always bring a challenge. This week the challenge it to use Sakura Glue pens, Glitter Pens or Glaze pens in your design. I love how easy these Sakura pens are to work with!

We’d love to have you play along with our challenge! Details will be posted shortly in the CHF Forum. The CHF DT always has some great samples to share with you. For inspiration visit… Dawn, Carole, Kim & Michele

TK Simply Clear Ornament

This project is so easy to do. To create my ornament, I ran a piece of Clear Card Sheet through my Cuttlebug with a Spellbinders die. These Clear Sheets are MUCH stiffer than normal transparencies and will hold up well hung on the tree. To add some definition to the layer, I stamped it with my Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock™ in Black Stazon. Each Thomas Kinkade Christmas pack comes with smaller focal images and these are perfect for this project, I die cut them with the smallest die in the package…two for each ornament. Adhere one on each side of the ornament to finish it nicely and keep it looking great it if spins.

I love using my Sakura Glue Pen to add bits of glitter to highlight projects. It also works well for adding flocking or adhering small items…especially paper piecing. A little red velvet ribbon finishes off the design.

Quick Tip: Make cute gift tags with this project to hang on your packages.

Wishing you a great start to your week! Happy holiday crafting!

Supply List:
Stamps: Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Stazon by Tsukineko
Paper: Clear Card Sheet by Cornish Heritage FArms, Thomas Kinkade Christmas Series paper pack by Cornish Heritage Farms
Other:
-ribbon by May Arts
-Spellbinders dies
-glitter from Art Institute
-Sakura glue pen