#TGIF140 Amazing Friend

This week's challenge is an easy one.  Pick one of the Designer's cards at #TGIF140 and CASE it.  Case as much or as little as you like.  When you're done share it on the TGIF site.

Get ready, in two days it will be 2018!  And in five days it will be Sale-A-Bration!!

Today for the challenge it's all about SHIMMER.  Don't let this card fool you.  In person this card radiates sparkle and shine.  (I love lots of sparkles)

I love LOVE this Sale-A-Bration stamp set.  It offers great images and greetings in a variety of sizes which combine so easily to create awesome cards.  I have used the half burst shape image to stamp an ombre pattern at the bottom of my card front.  I started with a row of Sweet Sugarplum, next Berry Burst, then Fresh Fig, and last Perfect Plum.

The word friend is cut out using the Lovely Words Thinlits in both Silver Glimmer Paper and Silver Foil.  I added a coating of Fine Tip Glue to the top to give a smooth and thicker appearance to the die cut word.  The Blushing Bride Shimmer Ribbon was the PERFECT color for tying the card together.  

#TGIF139 Last Minute Santa

Why is it that we work and work and bake and wrap and party and shop and we still seem to have last minute things to do just before Christmas comes?  I feel it's because we fully get into the spirit of thinking and wanting to give to others who bless our lives.

Our theme this week at #TGIF139 is Last Minute Santa.

What are you whipping up to make sure you have everything covered for the big Day?

I made a few ornaments that make sweet little thinking of you/neighbor gifts that also double as fancy gift tags.  A Mini Pizza Box is the base for my ornament and inside I have added a Merry Little Christmas Memories and More Card Pack background along with trees and a deer cut from the Card Front Builders Framelits.  With a piece of Window Sheet I closed the scallop square hole which gave me the chance to add a little fake snow -- my favorite.

The top of the box is decorated with a Lemon Lime Twist 1/4" Ombre Ribbon loopy bow, Green Sprigs, a Mini Ornament Embellishment, and a glitter edged greeting banner.  I used the silver color trim from the Tinsel Combo Pack to tie it all together and make an ornament hanger.

The Paper Pumpkin Kit for November was exactly what I needed to put together some sweet treats for my coworkers.  I whipped them up right quick, so quick I didn't even bother to turn them right side out.  I kind of, no scratch that, I REALLY like the serged edge showing.  The rustic look fits the buffalo plaid and Cherry Cobbler Twine.

I filled the stockings with hand cream, butterscotch suckers, chocolate balls, and cinnamon candy canes.  I just need to sign the tags and I'm ready to go!

Monday Montage Quicksand

Quicksand?  Yes, quicksand roses are the inspiration for today's Monday Montage card.  I work for a large floral business and get to see gorgeous flowers everyday; some totally blow my mind at there pure and glorious beauty.  One flower type we stock regularly are Quicksand Roses.  Several vendors sell their version of a Quicksand Rose and each are unique, but equally stunning.  The main color of Quicksand roses is a nude blush with hints of dusky-dirty rose tones.  Some, my favorites, have deep pinkish red tips on the petals.  As they open their look is oh so fabulous.  

This card features the floral image from the upcoming Sale-a-Bration Amazing You Stamp Set.  I stamped the image repeatedly on Shimmer White Card Stock with a Tuxedo Black Momento Ink Pad.  I used the Crumb Cake Light and Dark, Pink Pirouette Light and Dark, and the Cherry Cobbler Light Stampin' Blends to color the flowers.  A pale wash of Pool Party Ink fills the background for a subtle punch of color. 

For added dimension I cut the word "lovely" from the Lovely Words Thinlits four times and glued them all together.  The top layer is Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper on which I Sponge Brayered Powder Pink and Berry Burst Ink.  It's really hard to see in the photo, but I also coated the entire "lovely" in Fine Tip Glue.  It gives it a smooth shine with embedded glimmering diamonds.

A narrow strip of Pieces and Patterns DSP, several Black Rhinestones, and Linen Thread embellishments finish up my card.

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Gift Packaging That's Festive and Feminine

I have some beautiful packaging to share today featuring the Foil Snowflakes, Bundle of Love Specialty DSP, and the Take Out Boxes (retired).

I started by cutting two 4" wide by 12" long strips of the Bundle of Love Specialty DSP.  I glue them together to for a long 4" wide by 23" piece of paper.  With the seam at the bottom of a Take Out Box I  wrapped the paper around the box to meet at the top leaving about 5" extra for each end.  I creased them in the middle and glued them together.  Next, I slid the belly band of wrapped DSP off of the box and cut an oval in the center of the 5" extra end with the Layering Ovals Thinlits.  Tip:  don't run the entire piece through the Big Shot, just go in far enough to cut the oval and then come back.  This will keep from adding any unwanted creases in your perfectly folded belly band wrapper.

I created a tag using the center cut pieces from the wrapper as my base then I layered on a Whisper White Merry Little Labels tag.  An extra layer of Powder Pink and Gold Foil give the tag some depth and the leaves and gems bring the tag to life.  The leaves were cut using the Card Front Builders Thinlits and the Basic Rhinestones were colored with a Dark Pink Pirouette Stampin' Blends Pen.

The big goofy bow is made with Foil Snowflakes.  These may look tricky, but they are so SO simple to make.  I fold a single snowflake over my finger to create a point, add a blob of hot glue to the point, and stick it to one side of the belly band wrapper.  Each side has five snowflakes.

A New Happy Birthday

It's time for a color challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments!

While it's December, this is a color challenge that I am taking in a non-holiday direction.  The inside cover of the Occasions Catalog has a new small two-piece stamp set that I kept checking out.  I finally decided it would be part of my preorder order.  It's called Birthday Wishes for You.

I've stamped with Basic Black Archival Ink on Shimmer White Card Stock and then I painted in the image with and Aqua Painter and inks.  All the banners were cut from the challenge colors using a piece from the Build a Bike Framelit set.

Finishing details include Basic Black Bakers Twine and Black Rhinestones.

TGIF's Square Sketch

Oh what fun we are having with this week's square sketch challenge!  Join us at #TGIF137.

At this time of year, during the rush of the season, making Christmas cards can be made easy without losing any artful impact.  Here is how you do it.  Go out and find a sketch challenge that piques your interest and pair it with elements from a Memories and More Card Pack.  

For this quick making style card I used the Merry Little Christmas Memories and More Card Pack.

 Add a few Mini Dimensionals behind the card stock stickers included in the pack and layer them onto your card for a fast and festive look.  The red and silver Tinsel Trim Combo Pack and the Black Rhinestones are a few more perfect products to have in your Christmas card making stash of accessories.  

Product List

Merry Little Christmas Memories & More Card Pack [144638] $10.00	Layering Circle Framelits Dies [141705] $35.00	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $30.00	Lemon Lime Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144245] $8.00
Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100702] $8.00	Mini Tinsel Trim Combo Pack [144636] $9.00	Black Rhinestone Jewels [144639] $5.00	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $4.00

Creation Station is Going Wild for Metallics

December's Creation Station Blog Hop has arrived and this month the theme is "Metallics Gone Wild."  I love metallics, they are perfect for gorgeous holiday boxes, cards, or tags.

The most glorious paper in the Holiday Catalog is the Champagne Foil Sheets.  They are a luxurious color and when embossed ... WOW they are stunning!

This season making small packages with the Window Box Thinlits is a must when wrapping special gifts.  The Holly TIEF mixed with the Champagne Foil Sheets takes an ordinary box, card, or tag from nice to GORGEOUS GLAMOUR.

If you are going to emboss your box you will need to run each of the cut Window Box pieces through the Big Shot in two sections.  I emboss the top/bottom piece and then I reposition the folder to texturize the side panel sections.  

For the box bow I made a dimensional flower out of the Foil Snowflakes.  To make the flower I used three snowflakes, two gold and one silver.

1. Take one gold Foil Snowflake and with pair of Paper Snips clip a straight cut between two arms of the snowflake to the center.
2. Twist/spiral the clipped edge in on itself and continue to spiral around to create the first few inner rows of snowflake petals.  
3. Secure the spiraled snowflake with hot glue on the bottom.  Here's a good tip:  squirt a blob of hot glue on a Silicon Mat.  Press and hold your spiral in the glue until it sets.  Once set and cooled peel it off the mat.
4. For the next layer of petals take a silver Foil Snowflake and clip a straight cut from between two arms of the snowflake to the center.  
5. Instead of spiraling around a couple of times like the first snowflake, just spiral far enough to overlap two of the snowflake arms.  For this step I used Fine Tip Glue because the hot glue was too thick and would show.
6. Take the second snowflake and hot glue it directly on top of another gold Foil Snowflake.  
7. Hot glue the first tighter spiraled snowflake to the center of the other two layers.
8. Add a Clear Faceted Gem to the very center.  My gem is stuck on top of a small blob of hot glue to raise it up a bit. 

The base of this card is Thick Very Vanilla with a layer of Copper Foil.  A bit spendy for a card, but for a special occasion why not?

I stamped one of the greetings from the Pining for Plaid Paper Pumpkin Kit on Shimmer White Card Stock with Fresh Fig Ink.  A quick cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits and my greeting was ready to layer onto my card front.  Tucked under the greeting is an upside down Foil Snowflake.  For me, I love the mix of white with the off white tones in the ribbon and the back side of the snowflake.  Who says neutrals have to be matchy matchy?

The top embellishments include a Green Sprig and Boxwood Wreath.  I trimmed both of them to fit the Silver 1/4" Ribbon tie.  The final touch was to add a few Silver Glimmer Paper berries cut from the Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies.

Pull out your metallic papers, ribbons, and accessories and create sparkling works of heart for Christmas and New Years.  Your family and friends will be delighted.

Your next stop for this Metallics Gone Wild themed hop is with Sara Levin.  She is just the best, totally adorable, and has some crazy amazing stampin' skills.

Holiday Inspiration #278

The Hand Stamped Sentiments Design Team has an inspiration challenge timed perfect for the Christmas holiday season.  I have pulled out one of my favorites for this challenge--In the City.

A while back I was in search of ideas to spark my creative juices.  I decided to search 70s Christmas greeting cards.  That search fit the bill for giving me some thoughts on what to create.  Then when I saw our inspiration challenge for this month at Hand Stamped Sentiments I knew I needed to finish that card idea that was spinning in my mind.

First, I cut a 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" Basic Grey card base to make a square card.  Next, I cut the night sky piece from the Card Front Builders Thinlits.  For the white specks I used an Aqua Painter and Whisper White Ink to splatter all over the card base.  Then the fun was creating my little winter scene.

I finished the card with Rhinestones and red and white twine (retired, but I luckily still have a little in my stash from last year).

Thank you for stopping by.  If you are in need of paper crafting supples just click on the hostess code below.  Happy Christmas crafting', Elizabeth

Product List

In The City Photopolymer Stamp Set [143771] $16.00	Card Front Builder Thinlits Dies [144674] $30.00	Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121044] $8.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.00
Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $4.00	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $7.00	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [126949] $6.50	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad [101731] $8.00
Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad [131179] $6.50	Aqua Painters [103954] $17.00	Mini Stampin' Dimensionals [144108] $4.00	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220] $5.00