Christmas is Coming

The weather turned cold after our snow earlier this week but they say the weekend will warm up.  The cold weather made me realize how quickly Christmas is approaching.  I decided to start making a few holiday cards. 

The limited edition Holiday Frames & Tags Cricut cartridge has a wide variety of multi layered shapes that are lovely for cards.  The shapes remind me of the type that were on the Lacy Labels Lite cartridge.

The frames and the tags are designed using four layers.  This frame is on page 69 of the handbook (letter M).  The top layer cuts in two pieces to reveal a shadowline of the lower color - in this case, red.

You could use some of the frames with just two layers and make different combinations to suit your project.

This frame is designed to have a top layer that reveals just a bit of the layer below.

By leaving the center section of the top layer off you can have a different look.

I tried one version of the card using the frame without the center top layer and then heat embossed the word "JOY" from a Martha Stewart stamp set with white embossing powder.

After trying several variations, I ended up using all of the layers of the frame and embossing the stamp with red glitter embossing powder by Zing.  The frame would look nice on a plain red card front like this.

I decided to add more layers and used this green foil cardstock from the DCWV "Merry Christmas" stack from last year.

This is the stack I used - there are so many Christmas stacks with similar names from DCWV that I thought it would be easier to show you the exact one.

I cut my card layer carefully to make sure that the foil design was centered.  I added a second white cardstock mat to add a thin line of definition around the green foiled mat.  The finished frame was raised from the card front with foam circles (you probably don't need this many, I get carried away sometimes!).

The frame ends up to be quite thick when the four layers are assembled.  I used DCWV Shimmer cardstock (green and red) and Core'dinations Gemstone and Core Couture white glittered cardstock for the top layers.

In hindsight,  I think it would be better to use a smoother cardstock for the top layer if you are planning to heat emboss the sentiment - particularly if you are using glittered embossing powder.

It's hard to tell from the photo but the glittered word works very well with the shine on the green cardstock.  It is important to cut the green layer so the pattern will be symmetrical on the card.  This frame was cut at 3 1/2 inches and fits the card and the design in the cardstock perfectly!

While the cartridge is called Holiday Frames & Tags it is really suitable for almost any occasion.  You can vary the look by using papers in colors that suit the occasion - pastels, metallics, etc. 

Creative Memories has designated this cartridges as a "Limited Edition."  The "Limited Edition" items are only available for two months (until the end of December) and could sell out sooner.  You can see the full handbook for this cartridge HERE.  If you don't have a local consultant and you are interested in buying this cartridge, I'd be happy to help you.  You can order on my website HERE and have the cartridge shipped directly to your address.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  I think that I have sent my Dad's address to everyone that requested it so they could send a card.  He'll be 88 on the 17th.  If you didn't get an email with the address, please let me know right away - Thanks!


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A Thank You card and a new set of ProMarkers...

 

I am happy to see that quite a few people have found the quick video I did about grouping in Design Studio helpful - I will do more as soon as I can.  Today was another busy and family filled day for us.  The snowstorm was intense but relatively short and our roads and services are pretty much back to normal.  We had most of the family here this evening (a few couldn't make it due to work schedules) and I have been pretty busy with all the food preparation and visiting.

After everyone left, I had a chance to  spend a little time trying out some recent arrivals.  I ordered these stamps by Heartfelt Creations from Terri at Stamps Alive and, as usual, they arrived in record time.  These stamps are designed to coordinate with the Spellbinders Blossom 2 Nestabilities dies.

I visited the Heartfelt Creations booth at CHA this summer and I was very impressed by their products.

 

I used the next to the largest die and stamp - you can see how perfectly they fit in the photo above.

I decided to try something different and embossed the stamped image.  You can see the finished image at the top of this photo and the image before I applied the heat gun at the bottom of the image.  The transformation is always magical!

I used this metallic blue embossing powder from American Crafts called "Zing" - this is my favorite brand of embossing powder.

Here is my stamped and embossed image after I cut it out with the Nestabilities die.  I had a bit of trouble lining things up and had to do a little hand trimming.  I checked on the Heartfelt Creations site and found a better way to cut the images that I will try next time.

A couple of weeks ago I told you that I had received a package with something interesting to share with one of my readers.  It was this set of 12 ProMarkers that also includes a fine liner pen.

The colors in this set are Henna, Ruby, Bright Orange, Canary, Lime Green, Forest Green, Sky Blue, Indigo Blue, Amethyst, Rose Pink, Cool Grey 4 and Black (along with the bonus black fine liner pen).

I used the Sky Blue, Rose Pink and Amethyst to color the flower.  The Rose Pink and the Amethyst worked together nicely to give a highlight to the larger petals in the design.  I added just a bit of shading in the blue sections with an extra application of the Sky Blue marker along the edge after the first coloring had dried.

After I colored the flower, I cut another flower from light blue Core'dinations Couture glitter cardstock using the largest die in the set.  I also cut the "thanks" sentiment using the "With Gratitude" Cuttlebug cut and emboss set.  The card base is a dark blue Bazzill cardstock.

 

I wanted to add a pearl brad to the center of the flower so I used the handy "hook" tool from the Cricut tool kit to make a starter hole.  

I usually have some of these pearl brads left over when I change out the centers of the Vintage Velvet Poppies from Creative Charms.

I flattened the ends of the brad so I could adhere the colored flower to the larger glitter flower.  You will notice that the ProMarker alcohol inks bleed through the cardstock - this is completely normal but you do need to remember to color with a few layers of paper for protection under the stamped image so your table surface that won't be damaged.

Here is a closer view of the glittered cardstock and the flower.  These three colors from the set of twelve work nicely together.

This is a simple card but it was fun to try some new tools and techniques to make it.

Letraset has given me an extra set of these markers to give to one lucky blog reader.  I was going to do a mini blog hop with my "evil twin" Okie (she will also be giving away a set of these markers).  Unfortunately, Okie has been under the weather with a terrible cold so she has not been able to do much crafting.

I think Okie is starting to feel better, so there will soon be some more ProMarker coloring projects on her blog to inspire you.  We are both still getting familiar with these markers and have found them to be easy to use and fun to experiment with!

If you would like to try the ProMarkers, this would be a great set to get you started.  The markers are also sold individually and are quite reasonably priced so you can build your collection in certain color groups as you work with the markers.  You can find ProMarkers online at Carpe Diem, Art Supplies Online and other art supply stores.

Please leave a comment on this post and be sure that there is a way for me to contact you (blog, message board name, email address - with the "at" and "dot" typed out to help you avoid spam).  I will pick a winner next Wednesday, the 5th of January, so leave your comment by Tuesday night. 

ENTRIES ARE CLOSED PLEASE CHECK BACK WEDNESDAY FOR THE WINNER

There are just a few days left in this year - do you have any resolutions for the new year?  I am working on mine...

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Butterfly Card from A Child's Year

While I was away last week, I was looking at the butterfly card on the A Child's Year cartridge.  (Here is a LINK to that post).

I thought that it looked too delicate to send as a card and I decided to create a shadow layer and place them both on a standard card for stability.

Here is the butterfly card that I cut with Design Studio.  It is slightly altered from the standard cut that is made when the size is set to 5 1/2"  (of course I also eliminated the tick marks for scoring the fold!).

I cut the card in patterned glitter cardstock from the DCWV Citrus stack.  Even though the paper is only partially glittered, I used multi cut 2 to be sure that the cut would be finished cleanly.

When I looked at the cut in Design Studio I was worried about the delicacy of the "legs" of the butterfly.  The card will stand by itself but I still think the thin places could easily be damaged.

I decided the blackout layer behind the head was not needed with the heavier cardstock.  One option would be to join the butterfly and the base card only at the top so the butterfly could be lifted to reveal an additional message.

For this first card trial, I decided to adhere the butterfly to the card base.  The cardstock for the base is also from the Citrus Stack and is cut to standard A2 size (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 folded to 5 1/5 x 4 1/4 inches).  I outlined the butterfly with a metallic pen after it was adhered to the card.

A plain sentiment stamp would suffer in contrast to the glitter paper, so I decided to stamp and heat emboss the "Thinking of You" in the lower right corner.

I used this metallic green embossing powder called ZING by American Crafts.  It is very easy to work with and coordinates well with the glitter cardstock.

There was no layering option for the card and I chose to keep it very simple.  I might experiment with designing and cutting a body shape to add to the card.  The card has a butterfly on both the front and the back which makes it more interesting.

For just a little added detail, I used two medium pearls from Creative Charms to make the butterfly "eyes."

Soon this card will be on the way to someone who needs a bit of cheering up.  When I have a chance, I will try some more variations.  I think the card options on A Child's Year are yet another reason to have this cartridge on your "Cricut Top Ten" list.