Foiled Poinsettias - MMSC77

Greetings! Halloween is over - all the little goblins are home, the porch lights are turned off and it's now time for Midnight Madness (the sketch challenge variety of course) in my house.  It's MMSC77 and I've chosen to follow the clean and simple sketch for this week using a technique that becomes a focal point of the card.

The technique is dry embossing aluminum foil.  Here, I've used a poinsettia embossing folder to create the texture on the foil.  Quite simple really.  You only have to be a bit careful when adherring the foil to your cardstock so as to not burnish it flat.  Otherwise you cut the heavy-duty foil to the size you desire for your card and just insert it into the embossing folder like you would any cardstock. 

After embossing and adherring to the cardstock, I distressed it a bit with dark chocolate ink and some tea dye distress ink.  The inks hits some of the cracks and crevices and adds an aging effect.

For the image panel, I've chosen the "Bells and Boughs" stamp set from Stampin' Up.  I love the vintage look of these stamps.  The image was colored with Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green and Hansome Hunter inkpads using a Dove blender pen.  A bit of Mustard color ink was used to outline the image and make it pop.  The panel was distressed using Tea Dye and Old Paper distress ink from Tim Holtz.  A bit of yellow stickles to highlight the flower centers and a few silver rhinestone embellishments and that's it. 

Hope you like this vintage looking Christmas card this week!  Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday Challenge at Sugar Creek Hollow

Hi there! It's another "Sensational Saturday" with Sugar Creek Hollow! We have a challenge this week and we welcome you to join us.  Our challenge is to use LACE on a card or project - you can use lace or even create your own lace effect.  You'll have to see the stunning work of my design team colleagues on the Sugar Creek Hollow blog and some of the faux lace they created - some phenomenal techniques.  You'll find the challenge details there too.  Just use any SCH image (we have Freebies available too), make something using lace and then link your work on the site so we can also enjoy your creations.  Think about joining us this week - you could win a free digi stamp of your choice from the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe. 

For my card, I used two Sugar Creek Hollow images from the Christmas release, "Christmas Plaque and Christmas Star".  The Christmas Star digi is offered as a FREEBIE right now only at the CDAC (Crafters Digital Art Center).  You'll have to hurry - it'll come down soon but will then be offered for purchase in the SCH Shoppe. 

I loved this image from the moment I saw it and was so excited to use it today.  I've colored both the star and plaque green with my photoshop software.  The star has been distressed using Tea Dye and Old Paper ink from Tim Holtz, and then I sparkled it up with shimmer mist spray (hard to see it on this photo unless enlarged).  In real life it is quite sparkly!  My lace paper is from Graphic 45 - isn't it perfect for this challenge?!  I made the lace flower and sponged it and the lace panel with distress inks to "age" them for a more vintage look.

It was just that easy and we'd love it if you played with us this week on this challenge!  After all, if you're like me you have bolts of lace in your stash, so why not join in on the fun! Remember you might win one of the wonderful digis from Sugar Creek Hollow.

Thanks for visiting me today!

"Sheepish" Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow

It's another Saturday featuring the wonderful digis at Sugar Creek Hollow.  Today's card is showcasing this darling Primitive Sheep digi stamp using the Midnight Madness sketch for the week, MMSC76. 

I went with the Midnight Madness fancy sketch this week but I rotated it horizontally to better fit the image.  I thought this was the perfect design layout for what I was trying to achieve with this card.  I've used buttons to represent the scroll work on each side of the image to match the primitive feel of the card.

To dress up this beauty, I've paper pieced her body and heart using papers from Cosmo Cricket.  I dry embossed the floral to add the perfect sheepish texture to her! The pinkish sponging on the image panel is done with Tim Holtz Tattered Rose distress ink. Antique Linen distress ink was used on the edges of each panel of the card as well.

The Sugar Creek Hollow design team is showing off this image and the Cardinal digi this week - both are from the Christmas release that debuted earlier this month.  Take a stroll over to their blogs and see their amazing creativity - links to their blogs are on my left sidebar.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Recipe:
Stamps - Sugar Creek Hollow "Primitive Sheep"
Paper - Cosmo Cricket
Ink - Tim Holtz distress inks "Antique Linen" and "Tattered Rose"
Accessories - PTI Vintage Buttons, Lace

Sugar Creek "Hollow"een Quilt

Nearly a week away from Halloween now and my family is gearing up for the little spooks and goblins that will visit us!  So I thought I'd share a vintage Halloween card showcasing some of the wonderful images at Sugar Creek Hollow.  It's not too late to get these images at the SCH Shoppe for your Halloween cards.

I'm also entering this in the Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge RRR10 which is Halloween Theme cards. 

This features the crow, owl, spider, web and witch pumpkin images along with a "quilt" sentiment from the Sugar Creek Hollow Fall release.  I've sized them all to fit into 1-1/4 inch squares that I had "quilted" together.  This features some stitching around the image panel and between the images for the quilted effect.  There's lots of glitter and glam here with the rhinestones and from a glitter gel pen I used on the images.

Happy Haunting to all of you!

"Charming" PDCC51 & Exciting News!

A quick post tonight with an exciting announcement and a card I'm entering in the Play Date Cafe color challenge this week (PDCC51).  This card also uses a wonderful sketch by Arlana Patten for Sweet Sketch Wednesday.  I'll start with details on the card...

Colors this week at the Play Date Cafe are beige, blue and a touch of light mint.  I like these colors together and what an interesting inspiration photo selected this week from Sarah Anderson! 

I've used Stampin' Up's "Charming" stamp set for this card and SU colors Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and Vanilla.  The DP is "Blueberry Crisp" from Stampin' Up as well.

 My touch of mint comes into play on the butterflies - they're even glittered in a mint color!

 Now for the fabulous news today:  Arlana at Sweet Sketch Wednesday asked me to join her design team - and of course I am!  Took me all of 30 seconds to make that decision!  I am honored by the invitation - lots of talent and creativity on that design team.  I love the weekly sketches at Sweet Sketch Wednesday and am really looking forward to this experience starting the first Wednesday in November.  So stay tuned - even more goodness coming here to my blog!

Thanks for visiting today!

Recipe:

Stamps - Stampin' Up "Charming"

Paper - Stampin' Up "Blueberry Crisp DP, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake and Vanilla cardstock

Ink - Crumb Cake, Marina Mist

Accessories - Spellbinders Starburst Nestabilities dies; SU Marina Mist taffeta ribbon; PTI button

Grandmother's Antique Fan - MMSC75

What a beautiful weekend we've had here in SE Michigan. I've spent most of my weekend with my Grandmother who was here from Georgia visiting.  She's 90 years old and will run any of us down with her energy and stamina.  I spent two days shopping with her and she was like the Energizer bunny - kept going and going and going!  I wore out before she ever would!  But it was a wonderful time and I thank God for every day that he continues to give us with her.

So that brings me to my card today for the Midnight Madness sketch challenge MMSC75. I was inspired to use this wonderful fan image from Priscilla Styles digi store for the card. 

With the focus on family and memories this weekend, this image brought to mind my other grandmother who was a collector of antique fans.  She had some of most exquisite fans - some so old and fragile that they were specially framed to preserve their beauty.  As a kid, I imagined myself using those fans at a grand ball - flittering them around my face!  She had all kinds that she collected from her extensive travels to unique places - beautifully handpainted fans, jeweled ones and some of them had lace on them, as I have done here on Priscilla's image.

If this were one of my grandmother's vintage fans, I imagine it would be of the finest silk fabric, fragile of age and and a beauty to behold.  Thanks, Priscilla, for this wonderful image that floods my mind today with precious memories of my special grandmother.  And thanks to all of you card crafters for strolling with me down memory lane!

All the best,

Recipe:

Stamps - Priscilla Styles "Victorian Rose Fan" digital stamp

Paper - My Mind's Eye "Quite Contrary", SU Sage Shadow, Soft Suede

Ink - Copic markers

Accessories - Spellbinders Labels 14 Nestabilities dies, TPC Studio "Ancestral" pearl and jewel brads, SU Lace, Sakura glitter gel pen

Butterfly Angel - SCH Color Challenge!

Welcome to another sensational Saturday with Sugar Creek Hollow! This week we're challenging you to use a beautiful color combination - it's Baja Breeze, Expresso and Kraft (or tan color paper).  Won't you join us this week in creating a card with these colors?  You could win a free digi stamp at the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe by entering a card in this color challenge - how fun is that?!  Follow the link above to the Sugar Creek Hollow blog to enter your card using these colors in the challenge.

For my SCH image this week I chose this wonderful digi called "Butterfly Angel".  I love her glittery wings and the unique trail of snowflakes she leaves behind.  I've also used the SCH sentiment "Peace on Earth" as finishing touch to this Christmas card.

I wish you could see this in real life - all the sparkly snowflakes and shimmer of the wings really set this off.  I used a new MS snowflake edge and corner punch on this and repurposed the snowflakes as embellishments with a bit of glitter on them. 

You can purchase this beautiful Butterfly Angel here at the SCH Shoppe or better yet, win it by playing along in this challenge!  And along the way, why don't you visit the rest of the design team's blogs in my sidebar and leave a little love along the way!

Thanks for visiting today!

Recipe:
Stamps - Sugar Creek Hollow "Butterfly Angel" and "Peace on Earth"; SU French Script BG
Paper - SU Expresso, Baja Breeze, Kraft, Whisper White
Ink - Expresso
Embellishments - MS snowflake edge and corner punch, glitter, Spellbinders deckled edge oval dies

Up For a Challenge! MMSC74 & PDCC50

Alas, it's Sunday night and I'm dreading the work thing tomorrow! So in usual fashion, I've buried myself in my craft room trying to escape from thoughts of the work week and created this card for two challenges. 

I seldom do one card for two challenges but it just worked out that way with this one.  The colors are for the Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC50 - White, Green and Melon.  The wonderful sketch that I followed is compliments of Priscilla at Midnight Madness MMSC74.

When I saw the MMSC74 sketch, I thought of this stamp creation. Can you believe this is created from one single stamp?!  Well it is!  It's a stamp from Holly Berry House that I saw demonstrated at a craft show this summer.  I had intended to do just this with it - a single statement/focal point for Christmas cards.  Thanks to Julie Ranae at the Play Date Cafe, I'm getting an early start on my cards!  The green and white ornate panels are a digital stamp from Sugar Creek Hollow - a new one from the Christmas image release.

This picture shows the layers achieved with this single stamp.  To create this effect, you stamp the image on different colors of cardstock and cut out each layer following a variety of cutting lines.  Truly the sky is the limit on how many unique medallions you can create with the one stamp.  Here I chose three varying shades of green and three varying intensities of melon.  In all, there are eight layers to created this medallion.  Not difficult, just a lot of cutting. In the end, it looks very dramatic and has a grand presence on a card. 

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.  Thanks for stopping by!

P.S.  Those who visit my blog regularly will notice I've changed my look for Fall.  I haven't given up on my cherries theme - just retiring it until next spring.  All the papers and embellishments used to create this blog look were purchasing through Shabby Miss Jen designs.  A link to the SMJ website is on my left sidebar.

Recipe:

Stamps - Sugar Creek Hollow "Christmas Plaque"; Holly Berry House "1343L"

Paper - Papertrey Ink White, Melon Berry, Avocado; SU Poppy, Regal Rose, Olive, Celery

Accessories - Glitter stickers, red pearl brads from Recollections; Spellbinders "In Spades" die (ribbon embellishments), Cuttlebug embossing folder

 

Sensational Saturday at Sugar Creek Hollow

It's another sensational Saturday with Sugar Creek Hollow and today we're working with a sketch challenge that was perfect for these two Sugar Creek Hollow images called Fall Church and Fall Bingo.  Autumn is my favorite season and I can't get enough of the fall images at SCH. 

Here's the great sketch that our DT coordinator Joseline designed for this weeks challenge.

I colored this wonderful SCH Fall Church image using Prismacolor pencils and then went over it with Gamsol to blend and set the colors.  It also really makes the colors pop brighter and richer.  A little bit of sparkle was added with a Sakura glitter pen.  A Spellbinders Labels 10 die was used to cut out the focal image which fits these dies perfectly.  That fabulous ribbon is also a Sugar Creek Hollow exclusive - hand dyed "Country Crinkled Ribbon" made by Tracy Vinson.

So glad you stopped by on this beautiful Fall day!

Recipe:
Stamps - Sugar Creek Hollow digis "Fall Church" and "Fall Bingo"
Paper - Scribble Scrabble "Sweet Shoppe" collection, Papertrey Chocolate and Melon Berry
Accessories - Sugar Creek Hollow "Country Crinkle Ribbon", Spellbinder Labels 10 Nestabilities dies, K&Co tapestry brad

Sugar Creek Hollow Christmas Release

Good morning bloggers!  We've been so excited for today's Christmas digi stamps release at Sugar Creek Hollow.  We have some incredibly beautiful stamps being released today - if you're not yet in the Christmas mood, visit our Shoppe and you will be!  Also today, we're having a blog hop challenge with a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner.  All you have to do is Decode our secret worD by hopping around to each of our Design team blogs gathering the letters along the way.  Of course you have to spend some time leaving some love (comments) on each blog before you move on.  So if you've arrived my blog from my fabulously talented team member Cec then you're on the right path.  If not, please start over at Tracy's blog - she's the owner and master talent behind the release today and you'll love what you see there! Now on to the card...

This is one of the new Christmas Digi stamps sets at Sugar Creek Hollow called "Winter Wonderland".  It's a set of three stamps for $5 - an absolute value in my mind - and I love all three of them.  In fact my card uses elements of all these stamps on it. 

I used the skate image on the main focal panel, colored with Copics and glittered it up.  But if you look closely at the Cosmo Cricket "Mitten Weather" DP, I used the snowflake and the star from the other two images!  I just laid out the various sized snowflakes and stars virtually in my word program and then printed that on to the DP. 

Now let's keep you moving along the hop.  If you have figured out my letter, leave me a comment please and then head on over to my friend Renee's blog to find your next letter.  You'll love what Renee is showing - truly a feast for your eyes.  I've also listed all the design team links on my left sidebar so you can see where you are and where you're hopping to!  You should end up at the Sugar Creek Hollow Shoppe where you enter the secret word! 

Thanks for "hopping" by today!

Recipe:

Stamps - Sugar Creek Hollow "Winter Wonderland" digital stamp set

Paper - Cosmo Cricket "Mitten Weather", Stampin Up Plum and Shimmer White cardstock

Accessories - Spellbinders Lace Circles Nesties dies, silver cording from SU, rhinestone swirls from Recollection, Glitter from Stamp LaJolla