OWH Red Friday and ATCAS Dots

Over at Operation Write Home they are celebrating "Red Friday" instead of "Black Friday." Right now, from November through February or so, are the slowest months for OWH while everyone takes a break for family times and celebrations! OWH has over 100 units on our list, even with the drawdown – and we need to keep on shipping beautiful cards overseas.

If you would like to help OWH you can read more about it on the blogpost HERE.  

Here's my red card for OWH and also for the Addicted to CAS "Dots" challenge #53.  Which is sponsored by Inspired by Stamping. 

This is a take on a card by Laura Bassen for the Operation Write Home Bloghop.  I used the Inspired by Stamping Washi Tape Polka Dot Stamp and the I love you Because Stamp Set.  

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Goldfinch

I'm here with an extra card for Inspired by Stamping today.  This is the last Winter Bird stamp that wasn't used in my set.  The Goldfinch was a little challenging to color.  I finally resorted to Distress Ink to stamp him and colored him with Distressed Markers using a watercolor brush.

Only 25 days until Christmas.  Enjoy the Advent Season and try not to stress out. 

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Winter Birds

Gift Card Holder Idea

I usually give gift cards to my teenage nieces since they are hard to buy for.  I was searching around Pinterest and came up with this pin for a gift card holder idea.  Here is my version.

I used one of the Inspired by Stamping December 25th Labels stamped on to silver glimmer paper.  (Hard to see the shine in the photo)  When you open it up, the cover pulls up the gift card for the receiver to see.  

I stamped the inside in silver ink with Inspired by Stamping Background Basics III and a sentiment from All Year Wishes.  I didn't have any gift cards handy so I made my own for the photo (LOL).  

With less than a month before Christmas, there's a lot to do!

Happy Crafting!

Donna

December 25th Labels

Background Basics III

All Year Wishes

Club Scrap Lakes Bloghop

Welcome to the Club Scrap Lakes Blog Hop.  If you got here from Annette's Page you are in the right place.  If you got here some other way and would like to go back to the beginning of the blog hop go to the Club Scrap Blog here. I subscribe to the Club Scrap Digital Kit, the Art Nouveau Stamp, Club Stamp Kit,  Unmounted Borders and Backgrounds Stamp, and the Embellishment Pack.  

The digital kits come at the first of the month so I played with my digital kit first.   I finally got around to scrapping our trip to Indiana in 2012.  We went out there to meet my daughter's future in-laws.  While we were there they rented a boat and we spent the day at a lake close to their home.  This was the perfect kit for this day!  Nice to get another scrapbook page done!

The colors in this kit are gorgeous!  When my Club Stamp Kit arrived I had fun making a card with it.

Even though Kay had made a shaker card on Monday on the Club Scrap blog, I decided I was still going to make one since mine is different.  This is another Pinterest Inspired CASE.  I used a porthole design and stamped my fish with Ranger Cobalt Archival Ink on top of the transparent paper with the sequins behind and a colored ink background.  I used copper pearl pen for my rivets and copper embossing powder for the anchor.  Thank You sentiment is from the Cape Cod kit.  

Thanks for joining us on the hop!  Next up is Wendy Bellino.   If you want to go back to the beginning of the blog hop go to the Club Scrap Blog here.  

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Feeling Blessed

The challenge at the Cards in Envy Challenge blog this week is Thankful.  The rules for the Cards in Envy are you must make an A2 card and it can't be more than 1/4 inch thick so it fits in a mailing envelope.

 I'm thankful for all the good things the Lord has given me.  A wonderful husband, beautiful (and smart) daughter, my health,  a room full of crafting goodies, living in beautiful Colorado...the list could go on and on.  Here's a thank you card to express my feelings.

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up here in the States take time to think about all the good in your life.  What are you thankful for?  

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Products Used:

Non-Christmas Stamps on A Christmas Card

Sometimes it's fun to challenge yourself by using stamps for Christmas Cards that have nothing to do with Christmas.  The banners in the Whimsical Banners Set from Inspired by Stamping offered some inspiration for me.  Using the triangle shaped pennants as Christmas trees and bending the banner hanging line I came up with this card.

I stamped and embossed (with clear EP) the pennants on shiny silver cardstock and cut them out.  I stamped the sentiment and embossed it with clear embossing powder also. I shaped the banner holder line on my acrylic bloc and stamped it onto the white cardstock.  The ribbon is Inspired by Stamping Christmas Ribbon. 

Do you use non-Christmas stamps on any of your Christmas cards?

I am entering this in Craft Stamper's Magazine November Challenge and the Penny Black & More Anything Goes Challenge. 

Happy Stamping!

Donna

Products Used:

Whimsical Banners

Christmas Ribbon

Ginger Blessings

The card I am showing you today is a special one for my Daughter and Son-in-law.  Last December 27th they got married.  Since my Son-in-law is a red head, the "Ginger Blessings" sentiment from the Inspired by Stamping Sugar and Spice Stamp set fit perfectly!  I made his and her Gingerbread figures and they are holding hands.

I thought it would be fun to use the Sketch from the current IBSIC #87 challenge.  Today is the last day to enter this month's challenge.  It is worth your while to enter the challenge for a chance to win a gift card from Inspired by Stamping.

Sugar and Spice

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Products Used: 

Christmas Tags

I am taking the Online Card Classes Holiday Card Workshop 2014. I'm a little behind but I did get these two tags done to show in the class gallery.  One's a shaker tag.

I'll be back this week with a few more cards from the class!

Happy Crafting!
Donna

Christmas Chickadee

Of the four Winter Birds in the Inspired by Stamping set, I have only seen two in my yard.  The Chickadee is the one most often hanging out at my bird feeder.  I've only had a Goldfinch visit once.  Cardinals are not native to Colorado and I am not sure if I have ever seen a Titmouse.  Since the Chickadee is one bird I see often, I made this Christmas card to show him off.

I used the cut file to cut the Chickadee out on watercolor paper and them stamped him.  He only needed a little bit of soft gray watercolor since he is basically a black and white bird.  I used the holly and berries from the Build A Stocking set, the Joy sentiment from the Elegant Christmas Sentiments, and some ribbon from the Crochet Collection III.

Hope you enjoyed my little Chickadee Christmas Card!

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Products Used

Winter Birds

Build A Stocking

Elegant Christmas Sentiments

Crochet Trim Collection III

Another Winter Bird

I showcased one of the Winter Bird set (Cardinal) as a Christmas Card.  I wanted to show how well these bird stamps work for other types of cards.  Here is the sweet little Titmouse on a Thank You Card.  The sentiment is from Autumn Blessings.

I'm adding this to the Words 2 Scrap By Challenge "Gratitude."

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Products Used:

Winter Birds

Autumn Blessings

House of Cards November Challenge

This month at the House of Cards Challenge Blog we have a sketch for you to try.

Mynn has a video tutorial for you on how to create the fun textured focal image on her card.

Here's my card for the challenge.

As I was looking at all my Pinterest pins I noticed that I had pinned a lot of yellow and black cards.  So I dug out some yellow and black DP from Hot Off the Press and one of their Paper Tole designs.  

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Making Multiples of the Same Card

At Christmas time I like to send out a lot of cards, my family and close friends get a special one of a kind card.  For everyone else I like to find ways easy ways to make a lot of cards.   

  

 Here's a quick way to make multiples of the same Christmas Card.  I used three different stamps sets December 25th Labels, Elegant Christmas Sentiments and Build A Stocking. I used all the snowflakes, a sentiment and and flourish.

1)  Arrange your stamps on your cardstock until you get a design you like.

2) Line your stamp press grid with the edges of your card.  I used the left and lower edge of my card as my reference point.   Press down to stick the stamps to the Stamp Press.  NOTE:  If you don't have a stamp press you could use a large acrylic blog with grids on it.  

3)  Flip the stamp press over and apply your ink to the stamps.  For this card I used embossing ink.

4) Flip the press back over.  Line it up again with the edge of your card and stamp down firmly.  Re-ink stamps and repeat on as many cards as you would like!

Here's my card ready for me to heat emboss the images.  

Here's the finished card.  Hope you enjoyed my tutorial.  

Happy Crafting!

Donna

Products Used:  

Build A Stocking

December 25th Labels

Elegant Christmas Sentiments