Magnolia Christmas Card

This card was made specifically for the CDAC Seasonal Fun Challenge. We are supposed to make a project reflecting the weather is our area using at least one digital element. I had to wait until I got a winter digital element. I had all kinds of trouble with trying to download zip files at my local library. I finally found an artist who sent me a jpg file instead. Thanks to Teri at Delicious Doodles I have this great image called Snowy Mailbox. I love this image and had a lot of fun trying to figure out what to do with it. I like it just the way it is in black and white and so I left it that way. I did add just a hint of green to the pine trees. I wanted to emphasize the snow and so I added snow tec. The snow dried before I could get any glitter sprinkled on it, so I misted it with Mr. Huey Shine color mist. Boy was it shiny. I rubbed some of it off. It hurt my eyes to look at it (just like real snow LOL).

 I did not have any winter stamps involving people, so I found the adorable Tilda with winter heart scarf. I did not want to take away from the mailbox image, but I wanted the snowflakes that surround Tilda. I ended up stamping her on vellum. I cut her out with a die from Lifestyle Crafts. I colored the vellum around her with B00 copic. I used copics and colored pencil on Tilda (but, darn it, I could not find my gamisol so it didn't turn out as good as I would have liked). Since vellum is see-thru, it is difficult to find an adhesive that does not show through. I chose instead to attach it with a decorative brad. I used a die from Spellbinders and silver glitter paper from Michaels to make the silver snowflake. I also added a snowflake to the ribbon using a Martha Stewart punch.

I don't usually send out winter cards, so I made a vellum label using another Spellbinders die and added a Merry Christmas sentiment. Rhinestones cover up the adhesive. I colored it with B00 to match the other vellum.

Here are some close ups:

 

Here are links to the challenges I am entering:

 

http://ribbongirls.blogspot.ca/2013/02/magnolia-only-challenge_24.html  Anything goes using Magnolia

http://simplymagnolia.blogspot.com/    Anything Goes

http://priscillastyles.ning.com/group/seasonal-fun-challenge-group

http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/    Snowflakes falling all around
http://tildastown.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/challenge-41-christmas/
http://theprettylittleribbonshop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/february-challenge-19-anything-goes.html
http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.com.au/    D is for Designer Paper
http://youmeandmagnolia.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/challenge-8-alles-mag-anything-goes.html

Another Birthday Card

I needed some more birthday cards, so I checked out some challenges to get some inspiration. Here is what I came up with:

 

I started with the color challenge at Annabelle Stamps. A few weeks ago I bought some products from them. I figured this would be the perfect time to use them. The color challenge used grape, pumpkin, and waterfall.  I didn't have anything grape, so I just had to try to match as close as I could. I chose a decorative paper from a pack by Paper Pizazz called Great Backgrounds. I've had this paper for a long time. I used it to make the strip down the left and the butterflies. The ribbon is from Annabelle Stamps and is the pumpkin color. I used a white textured card base and stamped flowers using inks that came close to the pumpkin and waterfall colors. These stamps are from an Annabelle Stamps set called Designer Flower. This set features both sizes of flowers in both solid and outline as well as leaves, flower centers, words and sentiments, and a small flower growing from the ground. In the centers of the flowers I placed buttons from Annabelle Stamps in the pumpkin and Waterfall colors.

 

The die is from Spellbinders. I really like this die and obviously use it alot. The image is Tilda in Lace Jeans. She is colored with copics. Lavender stickles make her sparkle. The flower stamp on the die is also from a set by Annabelle Stamps called Standing Tall. It features 3 different types of standing flowers, sentiments, and some other stamps. I stamped it and used YR 18 to make the orange lines in the flowers. I then colored them with B00. I covered the dots with a pearl pen and added some extra dots. The sentiment is from the Standing Tall set. I cut it out by hand.

 

The butterflies were done using a stamp and die set from Sizzix and Hero Arts. I can't find the name on the package, but there are 3 sizes of butterflies and two dogwood stamps with matching framelits dies. I stamped the butterflies and cut them out. I then covered them with wonderfilm from PK Glitz and cut them out by hand. After peeling off the other side of the wonderfilm, I dipped then in a transparent, microfine glitter called Crystal Glitter Ritz. I used the Cool Highlight color. I discovered that the darkness of the paper, covered with the glitter made the stamped image basically disappear, so I had to restamp them.

 

I found a challenge at Deep Ocean Challenge: Use the letter B. My "B" items are blue, birthday, butterflies, and buttons. I am also entering the challenge Things with Wings at the Allsorts Challenge Blog since my card has butterflies.

 

I am entering in the following Challenges:

http://www.annabellestamps.blogspot.com/2013/02/ac156.html

http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.com/search/label/challenges

http://deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/challenge-45-letter-b-blue-baby-birthday.html

http://magnolia-liciouschallengeblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-challenge-all-about-birthdays.html#comment-form

http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2013/02/week-194-things-with-wings.html

http://bearlymine-challenges.blogspot.com/    Lace, Ribbon, Twine

http://challenges4everybody.blogspot.com/     Anything Goes

http://stampandcreatewithmagnolia.blogspot.com/ Spring with Butterflies

 

New Card and Candy Winner

I want to start this post by thanking all of you who participated in my blogiversary candy giveaway and by becoming new followers. I am so very thankful that you liked my creations enough to follow me. I hope that my creations will only get better as I expand my knowledge of products and techniques. Before I post my newest card, I need to announce the winner of my blogiversary candy.

Using Random.org's sequence generator, the winning number is (drum roll please):

No. 8 Laurian!

 

Congratulations Laurian! I will try to get a message to you, but if you see this post before that, contact me at mc-reeda@seovec.org and give me your address. I hope that you enjoy my bag of goodies.

 

Now-onto my newest creation:

 

This card came at the inspiration of two great sources: Linda Wilson and Heidi Steinhebel. I participated in my first Magnolia-licious card kit swap at the Magnolia-licious group at Yahoo. Linda sent me a great kit with the image, fun papers, jewels, ribbon, and white felt flowers. I won some great blog candy at Heidi's blog-chipboard cutouts from Gina Hubbard at Gina's Designs. I wanted to thank Heidi by sending her a card made with some of the cutouts. When I saw this cute Tilda I thought that it looked like she could be holding a bird cage. When I saw that one of the papers Linda had sent had birds on one side I knew that it was perfect!

 

                                                                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I chose to make an easel card. The base is cream cardstock. I used a Martha Stewart scallop punch along the bottom edges and left them exposed. I used a spellbinders die to mount Tilda on. I colored her with copics and added stickles for sparkle. I popped her with a foam square because I love dimension. I took a chipboard bird and covered it with a white pearl pen so that it would look like a dove. I left the birdcage brown and added patina stickles to make it stand out. I used the leftover paper from the diecut to punch the flowers around it and on the tag. The flower punches are from Paper Shapers. I layered it with plain white cardstock and added jewels from the card kit. The sentiment is one I got from KC Andrews. I used Stazon and stamped on vellum. The punch is from EK Success. I made a tag and wrote a message on the back. The tag was made using a tag making kit from Making Memories. I've had the maker for a long time, so I don't remember the name of it. It comes with different shaped silver frames and templates. I traced the template onto green paper, cut around it, placed it in the frame and sqeezed it together with the maker. Viola! Instant tag. I then decorated the tag with a matching (although bigger) flower and put a note on the back. The fiber is just some that I bought a long time ago in a yarn department somewhere. I used a hole punch to make the hole in the tag. I found leaves in another card kit, so I traced them onto the leftover green paper and cut them out by hand. I like this card so much that I hate to send it away-but that's what cards are for. Right?! I am going to have to send Linda an email and find out where these great papers came from.

Thanks ladies for the great products and the great inspiration! I am going to have to check out Gina's website at www.ginasdesigns.net to see what other great things she has to offer.

I entered the following challenges:

http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.com/search/label/challenges

http://tildastown.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/challenge-40-easterspring/ (hopefully this qualifies as Spring)

http://stampandcreateblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Challenge
http://twistoffaithcards.blogspot.com/ Spring Colors and a scripture.

Blogiversary Candy

I can't believe that it has been a year since I first made my blog and got started in participating in all of these great blog challenges. It has been so much fun. To celebrate and to thank all of you who visit my blog, I have come up with a little blog candy to give away.

 

The candy consists of: My favorite pen-the Gellyroll Clear Stardust pen, Copic Markers R20, RV23, and RV25, a roll of white organza ribbon (another favorite because it's great for inking), two stamp pads by Studio G, the jumbo tulip stamp by Stampendous, a crown stamp by Anita's, a royal sentiment stamp set from the Scrapbooking Queen, and Christmas Treasures jeweled brads by the Paper Studio.

 

I would love to get more followers, so to enter become a follower and post a picture of my blog candy on your sidebar with a link back to the giveaway. If you already have these Copics, leave a comment and let me know. I have a few more on hand that I can substitute. I will get with the winner to work out the details. I don't want anyone to end up with duplicates that they don't need.

 

Make sure to use the inlinkz button to link your blog so that I know you entered. If you do not have a blog, use the link to this post and leave me a comment.  Good Luck! Thanks for being my followers! The contest ends Feb. 15 @ 6:00 pm EST

 

 

 

 

Silhouette SD Giveaway at Clare Curd Crafts

I found a nice little giveaway at Clare Curd Crafts. She is giving away a Silhoutte SD. Just click the link on my sidebar and follow the rules. Good luck.

Winter Card

I'm not much into winter, but I wanted to enter the Magnolia-licious Inspirational Challenge. I also used a sketch from Mojo Monday to design my card and Reasonable Ribbon's Monochromatic Challenge. Here is what I came up with.

 

 

 

 

 

I used the Winter Wonderland cricut cartridge to cut the snowflake. I did 2 layers at 2" and 1 1/2 ".  The Magnolia image is mini Autumn Tilda with Broom. I used the Paper Blossoms Pine Branch punch and Tim Holtz ribbon. The ribbon is normally white but I inked it with Distress Worn Lipstick to go with the pink color scheme. For the background paper I used a light pink paper from my stash and stamped it with 2 sizes of Stampendous snowflake stamps. I stamped with Versamark and embossed them with clear glitter embossing powder. The paper with the trees on it is watercolor paper that I colored with gelatos. I wet the gelatos and swirled the colors together to make the background. I took my stardust clear pen to draw snowflakes. You can't really see it very well in the pictures, but I also took a snow writer and put some white on the trees and ground for snow. I thought that the swirl paper kind of resembled wind.

 

Here are the challenges I am entering:

 

http://magnolia-liciouschallengeblog.blogspot.com/

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/2013/02/mojo-monday-279-contest.html

http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.com/search/label/challenges

http://timeformagnoliachallenge.blogspot.nl/

http://tildastown.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/challenge-39-anything-goes/

Working with Shimmer Sheets

This card was actually made for a challenge at my local scrapbooking store called Cut It Out. The owner (Kelly) teaches some fun classes, including a copic class every month. In January's copic class, we learned a "no line" technique. Kelly challenged us to go home and try the technique on our own. Also in January we created cards using a new product for us called Shimmer Sheets. This is a very unique paper. It is thick and very shimmery and shiny. It is very pretty, but somewhat difficult to work with (I think). It is a very tough paper. It will not cut with a regular die cut machine like a cuttlebug. It also would not cut with my Vagabond. I ended up having to cut things out by hand after running them through. You cannot use any kind of alcohol product on them because it removes the sheen and regular inkpads rub off. Staz On in the ink of choice when inking directly onto the surface. Another thing to keep in mind when using Shimmer Sheets: Use a lot of adhesive. They are hard to adhere. I used glossy accents on these at the suggestion of Kelly. I used two layers on the one flower and had to glue it twice.

After much time cutting here is what I came up with:

 

You can see the shimmer and the differences in the color. I am not sure that I did Tilda justice with this technique. I had a hard time with her hair. I will experiment more with this technique. I am always so jealous of the beautiful coloring that I see on everyone's blogs. I hope I can get that good someday.

The shimmer sheets come in several colors. I used pink and blue here. The DP is from a pack of Michaels paper called Habitat. I colored the pink rhinestones with a copic marker to match. The flowers have icicles stickles and blue rhinestones from my stash. The rectangle die that I tried to use is from Lifestyle Crafts. The flower is from Spellbinders.

 

I am entering the following challenges:

http://stampandcreateblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/february-challenge-spring-is-coming.html

http://www.annabellestamps.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/ac155.html

http://stampandcreatewithmagnolia.blogspot.com/2013/02/challenge-2-spring-flowers.html

http://www.creativeinspirationspaint.blogspot.com/2013/02/ci-paints-inspired-by-anything-goes.html

Edwin says "Happy Birthday"

Here is another twist to my card from yesterday. This time I needed a more masculine card to give to my minister. I used Edwin Wants a Hug coupled with more masculine colors and a less frilly die cut.

 

I again used paper from My Minds Eye and glitter paper from Michaels. I am really liking this new glitter paper. It has a kind of soft, fuzzy feel and the glitter does not seem to rub off. This time, my sentiment was stamped and then cut out by hand. Edwin and the balloons were colored with copics. No glitter on the balloons, just sprayed with the mist I made from water and white perfect pearls. I sprayed a little heavier this time. The die is from Lifestyle Crafts.

 

I am entering the following challenges:

 

http://perfectsentimentschallenge.blogspot.com/2013/01/psc64-anything-goes-with-die-cut.html

http://thesquirrelandthefox.blogspot.com/2013/01/challenge-36-something-new.html

http://glitternsparklechallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/challenge-17.html

http://leikkaan.blogspot.com/