WWC198 - Gail's All About Holidays Challenge

I don't often reach for pink when I'm making cards - but when I do, it's sparkly. Well, not necessarily, but I like how the sparkle and pink work with Crumb Cake and white. And, Christmas is the time for sparkle!

If you happened to see my blog post from last week's challenge, when I die cut the large snowflake from the Snowfall Thinlits Dies, this week you'll what I did with that snowflake.

I cut a small snowflake from some retired Sweet Sugarplum glimmer paper to put in the center. Then I used the new Rose Metallic Thread behind the snowflake to pick up on the Sweet Sugarplum.

The sentiment is from the Snow is Glistening stamp set, stamped with Crumb Cake on a strip of Whisper White cardstock. Some accents also cut from the Sweet Sugarplum glimmer paper set it off.

Now, for the background. While it doesn't show on photo, it is really plush in real life! I embossed a piece of White Velvet Sheet with the Basket Weave embossing folder. Sadly, this paper was so popluar, as part of the Snowflake Showcase suite, that it quickly sold out.

The card base is Sweet Sugarplum. I quite like this Crumb Cake/white/pink combo for Christmas. How about you?

There is an abundance of holiday inspiration waiting for  you at Watercooler Wednesday.

WWC197 - Kath's Masculine Anything Goes Challenge

This week, Kath brings us a theme that many cardmakers find challenging - making cards for the men in our lives.

My card was inspired by a card I saw online that was made using a large snowflake die from another company. Luckily, I just happened to have recently received the wonderful Snowfall Thinlits set. And it has a gorgeous large snowflake that was perfect. Take a look:

This card was quite easy to make. I started by cutting the large snowflake die from the piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, then ran it through the Big Shot with the Corrugated Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Next I sponged Whisper White Craft Ink all over. Once that was dry, I used a very find paint brush to paint Copper Shimmer Paint all around the shape of the snowflake.

On a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, I stamped the pine trees from Rooted in Nature using Mossy Meadow ink. By using the stamping off technique, it's possible to get various shades of green and create depth in the image. The sentiment is also from Rooted in Nature, stamped with Soft Suede. I also sponged a little bit of Mossy Meadow over the edges of the embossed piece.

Here's a closeup of the trees:

When I was ready to photograph my card, it happened to be sitting on my craft table right beside a Distressed Red Card Tin that had been in my last order. I love anything distressed! Thought it went well with my card, so it became a prop.

If you need ideas for creating masculine-themed cards look no further than Watercooler Wednesday and the very talented Watercooler Artists!

WWC196 - Heidi's All About Occasions Challenge

There are so many card-giving occasions throughout the year, including birthdays. Heidi hosts this week's challenge and you can choose your occasion.

I went with a birthday, as one of my sisters celebrated hers recently and I am the offical card maker for our birthday celebrations. (Last week's gift bag project was also made for her birthday.)

I love the You've Got Style stamp set. It was so much fun colouring this, as I just grabbed any Stampin' Blend from a pile without giving it much thought. Except for the cat - I did pick a colour for her.

After the colouring was done, I used the clear Wink  of Stella and 'winked' her shoes, hair, ear rings and jewelery. To add some more bling, I matted the image with the Black Foil and then mounted it all on a Berry Burst card base.

I put the birthday greeting on the inside:

And that's it! Check out Watercooler Wednesday for more ideas and occasions.
 

WWC195 - Charlotte's Feminine Anything Goes Challenge

Our theme this week, from Charlotte, is Feminine Anything Goes.

I needed to make a gift bag, so decided it would do double duty and also be my project for this challenge. I love when stores use bags with handles to put your purchases in. They are perfect for upcycling. Like this:

I went with a fall theme and stamped random leaves from the Rooted in Nature stamp set using Merry Merlot, Mango Melody and Shaded Spruce. I stamped all around the bag.

The tag is a large shipping tag from the office supply store. I embossed it with dies from the Nature's Roots Framelits. I sponged lightly with Crumb Cake.

Peeking out from behind the tag is some of the Chicken Wire Elements that I coloured with Copper Shimmer Paint. Still going with my copper obsession, I die-cut some Copper Glimmer Paper from the Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper pack with a die from In The Woods framelits.

Then I went kind of overboard with Merry Merlot & Copper reversible ribbon, Linen Thread and Burlap Ribbon to finish off the tag. Well, what's that saying? Go big or go home!

You can see a little bit of what looks like tissue paper peeking out from the top of the bag. It's actually from a sewing pattern I bought at the thrift store. It's a huge pattern for a costume and it was .50. I've used parts of it on some mixed media and love it because of the lines and lettering on it. And it works great to stuff in a gift bag.

Now it's your turn to show us your Feminine Anything Goes project. Check out the other Watercooler Artists at Watercooler Wednesday.