Feathery Flakes and Perfect Fit Card

I love how the colors on this card look.  I used Outdoor Denim cs for the card base and stamped it with a snowflake from CTMH's "Feathery Flakes" set using White Daisy pigment ink.  The little birds and sentiment are from CTMH's "Perfect Fit-Holidays" set.  I colored the birds with Copics, and the whole white piece is popped up with dimensional adhesive.  The red & white bakers' twine is also from CTMH.

Jingle Shadow Boxes

I got this general idea off (you guessed it) Pinterest.  The 5x7 shadow boxes were on sale this week at Michael's for something like $4.50, so this was really cheap.  The jingle bells, also from Michael's, came in a tube with assorted colors, and I used about 2/3 of them for each shadow box.  The letters are glittery chipboard I had left over from another project.  The snowflake "dot" of the "i" is piece of cs punched out with a pink adhesive gem in the center.  I also added some B&T paper with a muted pattern of snowflakes for the background.  The bells are loose inside the box, so they shake (and jingle!), and you can let them pile up any way you like.

Here's a second jingle box I made:

This time I left the black felt in the background that comes with the shadow box to show off the blue, silver, and white bells.  I also gave it a horizontal orientation instead of vertical like the first box.  "Jingle" is stamped with white ink on the outside of the glass.  The glitter sticks to the background and the back of the glass and adds even more sparkle.

Here are both boxes together:

Neither picture really does justice to the box with the pink and green bells.  It really sparkles and looks festive with a modern look.  I would estimate that each box only takes about 15 minutes to put together.  I probably spent more time shopping for the supplies than making them.

Winter Joy Card

I was going for a retro feel with this color combination, and I think it worked.  The image and sentiment are both from CTMH's "Winter Joy" set.  I added just a little Stardust Glitz to the snow at the base of the image.

Christmas Greetings Cards

These cards are both made with CTMH's "Christmas Greetings" stamp set.  I colored the images with Copics, and on the card below, added some Stardust Glitz.  Both cards are pretty simple and self-explanatory.  You can barely see it in the pictures, but when I color images with Copic markers, I almost always outline the image in C1, Cool Grey No. 1.  I think it really makes the images pop. 

 

Pair-a-Phrase Snowman Card

A post on Pinterest inspired this card.  I liked the dark blue and red with brown, so I copied the scheme for this card using the snowman from CTMH's "Pair-a-Phrase" stamp set.  I stamped the snowman on white cs, then colored with copics.  I ran the Twilight blue mat through my Cuttlebug for the snowflake embossed background.  I sanded it lightly so the white core of the CTMH cs would show through.  The Cranberry strip of cs was stamped with a newspaper stamp from Stampers Anonymous.

Mojo Monday 269 / Merry Pursuits Card

I'm playing along with the Mojo Monday sketch challenge blog this week.  Here is the inspirational sketch:

I chose the square version and made my card (above) using CTMH cs, the "Merry Pursuits" stamp set for the elf, and the "Vintage Type" set for the letters.  My favorite snowflake punch is on there again, and I added some adhesive pearls to the snowflake centers and one red adhesive gem to the end of the elf's stocking hat.

Snow Flurries Cards

CTMH's "Snow Flurries" is a great stamp set.  Both the flourish and the sentiment are from this set.  I chose to stamp right on my card base with White Daisy pigment ink.  I added one snowflake punch and embellished the punch and the snowflakes within the image with Liquid Pearls.

Basically the same as the last card, on this one I just switched the sentiment and embellished with CTMH's Stardust Glitz.

Santa's List Card

Back to my quest to use at least one stamp from every one of my Christmas stamp sets.  These images are from CTMH's "Santa's List" set.  I colored them with copics and added CTMH Stardust Glitz on the star and the ground and some pink Stickles on the Christmas tree.  

Penguin Gift Tags

Penguin Tags!  I think these little guys are the cutest.  Tom bought me an early Christmas present on Black Friday---A Cricut Expression 2!  It's way more complicated than my little baby 6" Cricut, but so far I absolutely love it!  I made these penguins from the patterns that were included with it, and I added the CTMH black embellishments for the eyes.

Nature's Gift Tags

These tags came together in minutes and turned out so cute!  I have a big clunky punch that I used to make the tags, and I stamped the images with CTMH's "Nature's Gift" stamp set.  I stamped each with a different color, making sure the stamp ran off the edge of the tag.  Then I added a snowflake punch to each card, which I embellished with Stardust Glitz, and a simple piece of coordinating baker's twine. 

Here's the Slate tag up close.  They turned out much classier than I expected.  I have several small gifts to give, and I'm going to put them in plain white boxes with only baker's twine and one of these tags as decoration.

I Believe Photo Card

This is one of my all-time favorite Christmas photos of my kids.  Jess must have been around four, and St. Nicholas must have been about one.  I probably make something every Christmas using this photo.  This year I paired it with CTMH's "I Believe" stamp set.  The bottom right stamp is all one, but I paper-pieced the word "Believe" in red.  The snowflakes are the same punch I use an almost every Christmas card, and I used lots of Stardust Glitz--looks like I need to touch up a few spots around the picture.

Holiday Wishes Embossed Cards

CTMH's "Holiday Wishes" is a beautiful stamp set.  I thought this set screamed to be embossed, so I dug out the silver embossing powder and the heat tool, and came up with this elegant card.  I used a white card, Slate cs mat, and embossed on Outdoor Denim cs.  I also used Outdoor Denim ink around the edges to give it a little depth.  I'm a novice embosser, so I usually do at least two at a time when I have all the gear out, and here's the card I made with the second image:

I used my Cuttlebug to dry emboss snowflakes into the Slate cs background.  The sentiment is also from the "Holiday Wishes" stamp set.  It's not showing up on the picture, but the snowflake is covered in Stardust Glitz. 

Christmas Card: Snow Friends

I used my old CTMH "Jingle" paper again.  I love this paper.  I don't know why I have so much left!  The stamp set is one of my favorites from when I first started selling/using CTMH, "Snow Friends."  I tore strips of white cs to make the snow drifts and highlighted them with Stardust Glitz.  The snowman and birds are colored with copics.  I used my BG10 Cool Shadow copic to make the barely blue shadow on the snowman.  The sentiment is from the "Perfect Fit Holiday" stamp set.

Christmas Card: Penguin & Snowman

My daughter gave me this clear stamp set from Recollections last year for Christmas, and I had forgotten about it.  What a fun surprise to find this year!--kind of like when you find the Christmas decorations you forgot you bought in the after-holiday sales.  I used CTMH Slate cs for the card base (have I mentioned I LOVE this color?).  The stamps are all colored with copic markers, and there are bits of Stardust Glitz and Liquid Pearls here and there.  I like to outline images I color with my copies with my C1: Cool Gray marker.  I think it gives the images a more finished look.  The snowflakes across the bottom are stamped with CTMH's White Daisy pigment ink.  They are actually on the inside flap of the card.  I cut the front shorter than the back.  The front stops at the bottom of the snow.  The snow is torn on the horizon to make it look fluffier.

Christmas Card: Bundled Buddies

I used some of my old CTMH "Jingle" papers again.  This time with the cute "Bundled Buddies" stamp set.  I colored the little fawn with copic markers.  The snowflakes are punches.  I added CTMH Stardust Glitz to the snow, trees, and snowflakes.  I coated the ball on the hat with Liquid Pearls.

Christmas Card: Believe WOTG

This colorful card is made with the papers and Santa stamp from CTMH's "Believe" WOTG.  The tiny little reindeer across the top are the zip strip from one of the paper sheets (that small strip you have to cut off that doesn't match the rest of the paper).  The sentiment is from the stamp set "Holiday Wishes."  I colored Santa with copic markers.  Outlining the white areas in the lightest of grays you have (C1 Cool Gray No. 1 for me) makes the white areas pop.

Christmas Card: Wonderland WOTG

This time I used the stamp set from the "Wonderland" WOTG.  I paired it with CTMH's "Jingle" papers to make this cute thank you card.  The cup and the steam have Stardust Glitz highlights.  The card base is Slate cs.

Christmas Card: Heartfelt Tree

This is definitely a card that looks better in person.  The tree is from CTMH's "Heartfelt Christmas" stamp set and the B&T paper is from "Wonderland."  I stamped the tree in Juniper ink and added Liquid Pearls, CTMH's Stardust Glitz, and a small glittery bow.  This is an easy but pretty card, and I'm continuing to use older stamps and paper from my stash!

Cricut Artiste: Mitten Tag

This cute mitten tag came together in minutes using my Cricut and CTMH's Cricut Artiste cartridge.  I used the mitten and it's accompanying accent.  The half snowflake on the cuff of the mitten is a separate Cricut shape from the same cartridge.  All the "pearls" are Liquid Pearls. 

Christmas Cards: Using My Stash of Stamps

Christmas stamps are the best.  I add to my stash every year and own way more than anyone would ever need.  With no plan to stop buying new ones, I'm going to start USING more of them.  Last year when the season was over, I had brand new sets still unused.  So this year, I'm going to TRY to make at least one card with every Christmas set (that's set--not stamp) I own.  Hopefully, that will mean a lot of blog posts too!

I'm not going to limit myself to CTMH stamps either.  This stamp and sentiment is from SU, and I just added it to my collection.  The set is called Happy Hour.  I paired it with CTMH's "Jingle" papers from a few years back.  (I'm going to try to use up some of my old paper stash too!).  I used my new favorite--CTMH Slate cs (see my last post), some punched snowflakes, CTMH Starburst Glitz (the drinks & the snowflakes all sparkle), and Liquid Pearls.

 

Slate Cardstock: My New Favorite

I'm obsessed with CTMH's new Slate color.   I love pairing it with White Daisy pigment ink.   My pigment inks sit on the shelf for months, because they are kind of messy.   If you stamp several cards at a time, however, you can let the ink dry on some while finishing the others.   Here are several Christmas cards I made with Slate cs and White Daisy pigment ink.

All of the cards in this post use the flourish stamp from CTMH's "Love Life" set.  The snowflakes are punches highlighted with CTMH's Stardust Glitz.  The blue embellishments are adhesive bling, but all the pearl dots are Liquid Pearls, another new obsession.  I'm too cheap to use that many little pearl embellishments to one card, but I have a whole bottle full of them in Liquid Pearls.  I love the look of the White Daisy ink for the flourish.  The trick is not to use too much ink.   If the ink still doesn't dry fast enough for you, just use your heat tool to speed it up.

Same idea here, except I added a stamp from the "Pear & Partridge" WOTG.  Another note about pigment ink:  I never  mess up my stamp cleaning pads with them.   I wipe off the excess ink with a paper towel, and then take the stamps straight to the sink to rinse off the rest.

The snowman and sentiment on this card are from a new CTMH stamp set "Flakey Friends."  I colored the snowman with copic markers and added some Stardust Glitz and matching baker's twine.  Every shade of blue looks great with the grey and white combo.

I think this is my favorite of all the cards.  It's pretty much the same as the first card above, but has the added punch and sentiment.  The sentiment is from the "Pear & Partridge" WOTG.  I love that set!  You can order all the stamps, cardstock, Stardust Glitz, White Daisy pigment ink, and baker's twine used for these cards any time from my website:  http://mollyrawls.ctmh.com

Pear & Partridge Cardmaking

It's time to make Christmas cards. My Christmas card list varies arbitrarily every year depending solely on the number of cards I manage to make in time to send them out. Sometimes that number is less than ten. This year I have a good start, so maybe I should buy some stamps.

All the cards on this post start with CTMH's "Pear & Partridge" B&T papers.  This first card also has a little bit from CTMH's "Mistletoe" papers.  The snowflake is two punches layered.  The stamp is one of my favorites for Christmas this year from CTMH.  It's only available with the "Pear & Partridge" cardmaking workshop on the go.  A paper-pieced the words "A Merry Little" in a different color and added some bling.

The flower here is made from punching five scalloped circles from the "Pear & Partridge" paper, folding each circle to form a petal, and gluing them in a circle.  I faux stitched around the ruby paper, and stamped a branch from the "Flirty" workshop on the go.  "Merry Christmas" is from the "Pear & Partridge" WOTG.  The large pearl is a CTMH opaque, and the tiny pearls are actually dots of Liquid Pearls.

This is very similar to the last card, just a different layout, and I added a snowflake. to the center of the flower.

A combination of the first two cards.

I used the branch again from the "Flirty" WOTG, but this time I "hung" ornaments from the "Pear & Partridge" WOTG stamp.  I added a red gem to each ornament and lots of Liquid Pearls to the branch.