Another Christmas Card

Another hot day, so why not more Christmas cards to help us all think of cooler weather, right?

Here is the card I mentioned yesterday.

I used another stamp from Unity Stamp Co for this card. The stamp is called "A caroling we go". I colored this cute snowpeep image with spectrum noir markers. I cut the image and some fun foam out with a circle die cut. After cutting some red banners I heat embossed the sentiment with metallic silver powder and set everything on a simple green and white polka dot background. The stamp set came with a sentiment that says "A caroling we go" but I decided to go with the simple Merry Christmas instead.

I love the cute simplicity of this card. In fact I think I need to get all the Snowpeep stamps that go along with this one and make a whole set like this! I guess it's time to give the hubby the pout face as I explain why I need to make another Unity Stamp order, hehe.

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Pals Paper Art #260 Sketch
SIP #5 - theme, christmas
Inspiration destination #42
Creative Knockouts #98 - Outside fun

Christmas in July

I know some of you are going to boo me but I'm already ahead of my Christmas card making. I sell cards, or attempt to because I make so many I just have too many cards. Anyways I'm already getting a nice stack of Christmas cards. I've already made 2 card sets and probably a handful of single cards. Hehe!

Today I'm only going to share one of two cards I've made today. I'll share the other one tomorrow because the challenge I used for it won't be posted until then.

For today's card I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #195.

I used {Oh deer} Happy Holidays stamp set from Unity Stamp Co. I think I should have gone with a more solid background but I still like it. This stamp is so cute and there are a few more deer like this one if you want to make a whole set of cards just using these cute little deer. I colored him with Spectrum Noir markers and raised his little circle off the base with some fun foam. The dps I used is from a 6x6 paper pad I bought last year on clearance from Michaels. The paper pad is from American Crafts and is called Merry Mint.

I hope you enjoy this Christmas card. Oh how I'm counting down the days until fall so we can get some cool weather again.

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Freshly Made Sketches #195
Inspiration Destination #42
SIP (stamp ink paper) challenge #5 - Christmas theme

Penguin Christmas Set

The hubby took vacation most of last week so I didn't get any crafting done. We didn't do a whole lot but run around town mostly for funsies and eat out a lot more than usual. I did have hibachi for the first time at a new restaurant in the next town and it was soooooo gooooood. Now every time the hubby asks what I'm cooking I always answer with let's go eat hibachi! Let's just say I end up cooking. Lol! I love that man.

Anyways on to my cute card set! I wanted to make a note card sized set but decided 3.5" squared is better than 3". The smaller size just seemed too small.

I started with a white card base, then a dark blue mat the size of the base. I had this cute light blue snowflake DPS I had bought last year from Hobby Lobby so I used as a mat (3 3/8") and also as the liner for my envelopes. The image is from Sweet n Sassy Stamps' Christmas Penguins set. I also have the die cut set for these stamps and used them to cut out the penguin and his cute little present after coloring them with Spectrum Noir markers. I also hand cut the little snow mound out of white card stock and then using the sentiments from Sweet n Sassy Stamps' Beary Christmas, I heat embossed the sentiment in black on vellum.

I made one extra card front for the box and created a flip top box using THIS tutorial (adjusting the measurements to fit the card size I used). I found the tutorial on Pinterest. Love love love Pinterest.

The measurements I used for my card box since my cards are 3.5x3.5" are:
Card stock 6 1/4" x 11"
score on short side @ 1" & 5 1/4"
score on long side @ 1", 5", 6" & 10"
Then follow cutting and taping instructions from the tutorial linked above. All 8 cards and handmade, lined envelopes fit comfortably inside. There may even be room to add one or two more but I I haven't tried it.

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Loves Rubberstamping #159 Anything goes

Freshly Made Sketches

Usually I struggle with sketch challenges but it seems this week I'm finding a lot of inspiration with them. This card was inspired by Freshly Made Sketches #192.

I've also noticed I've been going for mostly simple layered looks. I used to try and make them very embellished and beautiful like some of those really girly cards I see with tons of die cuts and flowers etc. For my personal tastes I find that those cards are just a little too ... busy. So I'm really starting to like just a clean layered look with a pretty background l ike the colorful present dps I used here. The silver layer is also a shimmer paper. The camera picked up a little of the shimmer but it's rainy here today so not a lot of light.

This cute little bear is from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and he's called "Beary Christmas". I colored him with spectrum noir markers.

To finish up the card I just stamped the sentiment with black ink on to a strip of vellum and poof.. done! This set has some other really cute sentiments that come with it other than the Beary Merry Christmas. And you can even purchase the die cut set to go with it. I was going to die cut the wreath part and use foam tape but I decided to use some fun foam under the entire image to pop it off the busy background.

I hope you enjoy this wintery card in this awful summery heat.

Other challenges I'd like to enter:
Simon Says Stamp Wed. Anything goes
Inspiration Destination #39

Christmas in.. june

You know it is never too early to start on Christmas cards. When I saw Mojo Monday's challenge this week I thought it would be perfect for a Christmas card.

The stamp image I used is called "All Santa's Reindeer" from Unity Stamp Co. I thought about coloring the image but I didn't want to distract from all the reindeer names scripted around the antlers. I used some vintage styled dps from a paper pad I've had forever. I was going to add a sentiment on vellum but couldn't decide on where to put it so it would still look balanced and not pull too much from the beautiful image.

I hope you enjoy it and it brings you inspiration.

Other challenges I'd like to enter:

Unity Stamp Co. Friends with Flair 6/26

Showcase Friday: Unity Stamp Company

How doesn't like to get the most out of their money? Especially when it comes to crafting supplies? By now you may know that I hate to pay full price for anything, but when I do I want to feel like I'm still getting a deal. This is one of the reasons I love my showcase for today, Unity Stamp Company!

Before I go on about this company I would like to state that I do not work for this company, nor am I being compensated in any way for this post. Unity Stamp Company is simply just one of many favorite stamping companies that I buy from most frequently.

Now on to the good stuff... Unity Stamp Co. have sales EVERY weekend. Yes I said that... EVERY weekend. You may be thinking oh it's a Saturday and Sunday thing. Nope! Their sales typically run from Friday or was it Thursday around noonish to midnight Monday! And when this company puts things on sale.. they throw a HUGE sale!

Here is this weekend's sale!

I know there are so many exclamations in this post already, but I get so excited about a sale. Every Friday my husband gives me that "Oh crap" look when I'm verbally ooooing and aaaahhing over everything on sale. If I had may way I'd make an order every single Friday, but sadly my checkbook says no.

Whew. I think I've calmed down now, hehe. It's time to show you my creation for this week.

I've never created using the one sheet wonder idea, so I figured why not try it out. I pulled out one of my Christmas paper pads from my huge stash of DPS and some cream, dark red and dark green cardstock. The template I used for the cards and the OSW I found on Pinterest and you can find the original post HERE.

These are the cards I created. The template I used made 10 cards and a cover for my box.

The cardinal pictured below was my Day 4 coloring for The Daily Marker 30 day Color challenge.

These first three images I used stamps from Unity's Kit of the Month for October of 2014. If you want a deal, their KoTM is a big one. It's a subscription and you get a themed sheet of stamps (they are mounted on cling foam and trimmed). There are always images and matching sentiments and they are always amazing. I have a few KoTMs but sadly I had to cancel due to financial reason. But trust me as soon as I'm able, I'll be renewing my subscription. It is definitely a good bang for your buck.

These last three cards, I used random stamps from my stash that are for different companies.

I think I really love this OSW idea and may just have to make more of them soon. But what good is a matching set of cards without a cute box to put them in? Again on Pinterest, I found this tutorial on how to create a gift box for cards. All 10 cards fit comfortably inside with the envelopes because they are basically flat and not embellished.

I hope you enjoyed this week's Showcase. I'll be browsing the sale and attempting to convince the husband it's a good idea for me to make an order this week.

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Unity Friend's with Flair June 5th
Inspiration Destination #36
Sister Act #109