SSINKspiration Christmas Cards: Detailed Santa Chalkboard Style!

Happy Friday (and Christmas Eve Eve)! Today’s my last day of work (yeah!) and the guys are joining me this afternoon for my Holiday party at work, Aidan will get one last chance to put in a good word with Santa before the big day!  Today the SSINKspiration designers are sharing what are probably our final Christmas cards of the season (can’t believe it’s already here).  I’ve decided I’ve waited long enough and decided to share our family Christmas card for the year with you (I’m hoping everyone I’ve mailed them to has received them at this point).  I always start designing our family Christmas card over the summer when the Holiday catalog is first released and try to have it all completed (minus the picture) by the end of the summer, some years I’m more successful than others.  This year as soon as I saw the Merry Medley stamp set and Detailed Santa Thinlits I knew they would be on this year’s Christmas card.

I started with Cherry Cobbler cardstock for the cardbase and then added a layer of Basic Black Cardstock that was stamped with the Merry Medley stamp set and Whisper White Craft Ink for the perfect chalkboard effect background.  I used the Candy Cane Lane Baker’s Twine to wrap around the bottom and tie a bow.

Next came the fun part…the Santa.  I used the Big Shot, Detailed Santa Thinlit, and Whisper White cardstock to cut out the Santa.  It’s actually really easy, you just need to poke out all the little pieces of each Santa (did I mentioned I made 70 of these cards?)  After getting the Santa’s all glued on the background I realized it needed a little bling (shocking I know!!)  So I then proceeded to cut Red Glimmer Paper for the little pieces of the ball on Santa’s hat and glue them on (again cut these 70 times, haha yes I am just that crazy!)  The final touch was our picture and after getting family pictures taken it was convenient that we coordinated with the colors of the Christmas card so I just cut them out with the 1 ¾” Circle Punch and attached the picture with dimensionals.

I absolutely love this card!  It has lots of my favorite things and just makes me smile.  I don’t normally make lots of the same card (and when I do it drives me a little batty, but it is so worth it this one time a year).

Below are easy ordering links to the products used on today's card:

Have a great weekend and a Merry Christmas!

Diana

Fab Friday 97 Sketch Challenge: Detailed Santa Greetings

Happy Friday!  It's shaping up to be an eventful weekend here on the east cost and our thoughts are with everyone who's impacted by Hurricane Matthew and we're hoping for his early departure back out to see.  We've had a super busy week, full of activities which has left little time to relax so I made it a point to hop down to the studio for a little crafting therapy to relieve some stress and decided to play along with this weeks Fab Friday sketch challenge.  I've been working on a lot of Halloween projects lately, I think because it will be there soon so I decided to change things up and make a fun Christmas card using some products from the Holiday catalog I haven't shown off yet.

I started with Crumb Cake cardstock for the cardbase and then added a piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock as a mat behind my Basic Black cardfront.  On the carfront I used the Merry Medley stamp set (this background set as so many great greetings you could use together or individually) and stamped it using Whisper White Craft Ink for a chalkboard effect.

For the main image I took a piece of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper and cut a circle out using a 2 1/2" Circle punch and then used the Big Shot and the Detailed Santa Framelit to cut just a part of the Santa image and then added another circle of Emerald Envy cardstock so the details pops.  I like how I didn't glue down Santa's glasses so they look like they're raised (completely unintentional).  For the greeting I sued the Greetings from Santa stamp set (it's part of a bundle with the framelit so you save 10% when you buy them together) an was stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink on Crumb Cake cardstock.  To cut it out I used the Big Shot and Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits to make it look like a ticket and then attached it with dimensionals.  The final touch was to add a double bow tied with Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.

It's hard to tell from this picture but the Santa is so sparkly I love it and it's not too overpowering (I've heard some people think you can have too much glitter, of course I think they're crazy!)  I know you don't want to admit it but Christmas will be here before you know it so now is the time to start planning your family cards and other gifts and projects.  If you need inspiration please let me know and we can come up with something perfect to suit your needs.

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today's card:

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Diana

Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Color Sketch: Yippee-Skippee

 Good morning!  It’s a short week for me and I’m really looking forward to my getaway, even if I’ll be flying solo to one of the happiest places on earth!  Before I head out I have a lot on my to do list so I’m going to work as hard as I can to get as much done so I can plan and not stress.  With the start of a new month it’s always fun to see what new challenges are in store for us onver on the Stylin’ Stampin’ INKspiration blog and today we’re kicking off the month with our color sketch challenge.  These are always fun since it gets you to use colors and combinations that you may not normally think of.

I started with Crisp Cantalope (retiring) for the cardbase and then added a piece of Island Indigo cardstock as a mat for my stamped Whisper White cardstock.  On the white cardstock I started by stamping with the Background Rules stamp (so sad it’s retiring) using Crisp Cantaloupe ink and then sponged all over it using Hello Honey, Island Indigo, and even Sahara Sand ink to really distress it. 

I added a piece of Hello Honey striped DSP from the Lullaby Designer Series Paper.  Next I added a piece of Island Indigo Chevron Ribbon as the second layer.  The greeting is from the Yippee Skippee stamp set (one of my favorites and oh so sad it’s also retiring, but staying in my stash).  I stamped the greeting on Chalkboard Paper using the Rose Coral Color Box Chalk Ink (it looks similar to Crisp Cantaloupe).  The final touch was to add a bow using some Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Baker’s Twine so I punched a couple holes using the ¼” Handheld Punch to thread the baker’s twine through the paper.  Dimensionals were used to attach the greeting tag to the cardfront.

This was a unique color combination but it’s always fun to see what you come up with when you step out of your comfort zone.  The designers are sharing some other great cards so go check them out for further inspiration and come play along.

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today’s card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

Enjoy,
 

Diana

Stylin' Stampin' INKsiration Masculine Monday: Two Times the Fun

Good morning!  Today over on the Stylin’Stampin’ INKspiration blog it’s Masculine Monday and you know we always need ideas for the guys in our lives.  Aidan just finished his basketball season this weekend and Chris decided to coordinate at the last minute gifts for the coaches and then volunteered me to provide the cards for the kids to sign, oh and I had just a few hours to have them finished (no pressure!!!)  So down to the studio I went, and thanks to the Adventure Abounds Designer Series Paper Stack, I came back shortly later with these two cards that were super easy but really turned out great. 

For this first card I started with Basic Gray for the cardbase and embossed the front of the card using the Big Shot and Woodgrain Embossing Folder.  Next I cut a piece of the Adventure Abounds Designer Series Paper Stack in half (I like to do this so I get two cards with each piece of DSP and don’t have any scraps) and matted it with Sahara Sand Cardstock.  For the greeting I used the Hip Notes stamp set and stamped it with Versamark and then Heat Embossed it using the Heat Tool and Basic Black Embossing Powder on Vellum.  I wrapped the Vellum and a piece of Natural 5/8” Chevron Ribbon around the DSP layer before attaching the whole piece to the cardbase.

 

 

For the second card I started with Sahara Sand for the cardbase and once again embossed the front using the Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder.  For this card I used a scrap of DSP from the Adventure Abounds Designer Series Paper Stack and cut tails for a flag.  For the greeting I used the Chalkboard Paper and stamped the greeting from the Simply Wonderful stamp set (a SAB Freebie!!) using Whisper White Craft Ink.  Since I was in a hurry I used the Heat Tool to set the ink and then cut matching flag tails in this layer.  For the final detail I used the 1/8” Handheld Punch to punch two holes to thread some Mossy Meadow Stitched Satin Ribbon into a unique bow.

For not having a lot of time to whip these cards but I really like them (however I later learned I should have added a separate layer for the embossed piece so that both sides of the inside of the card were flat, forgot how big kid’s write, oops!!) and this DSP stack really has some beautiful images that can make cards simple yet impressive.  The rest of the design team is sharing some great masculine cards so make sure to check them out and then pick one to CASE and play along with.

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today’s card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

Happy Stamping,

Diana