Having a Blue Christmas in a Winter Wonderland

Happy Wednesday!  I just want to let you all know that this will be my last post for about a week.  The hubby and I are making our annual trek to Gettysburg starting tomorrow!  YEA!!!  :)  Last night though I made a card for this week's Winter Wonderland challenge:  Blue Christmas

I've seen many cards similar in nature on Pinterest, so I thought I would try my hand at one too.  I utilized my 2011 and 2012 Heirloom ornaments from Spellbinders.  I cut 3 layers of each shape out of plain cardstock to add some stability to the designer paper, and inked the edges with Broken China.  I added white ribbon as hangers and bows, and a layer of glitter paper between the base and main panel.  The sentiment is stamped with Bahama Blue.

I also want to enter this into these other challenges:

Holly Jolly:  Deck the Halls
Craftyhazelnuts Christmas Extra

Thanks for stopping by!

~Marie~

Festive Friday #36

Howdy and happy Sunday blogging buddies!  Today I'm here to share a card for a challenge I like to follow, but rarely get the chance to participate in:  Festive Friday!  For their current 2-week challenge, they are asking us to be inspired by this photo:

Isn't that a gorgeous scene??  How I wish my house looked like that during the holiday season!  But anyway...here is what I came up with:

I took my inspiration from the white and silver colors, the 3 presents on the right side of the fireplace, and the word "NOEL" leaning on the candle on the table.  All three gifts are popped up on foam tape, with the middle one using 3 layers! The sentiment is also popped up so...this is DEFINITELY a hand delivered card!  :)  The silver backing layers, the silver on the MS dp, and the presents are all shimmery paper, which, as always, is lost in the picture taking process!  I also embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder.

This card will also be added to Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra, Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge, and Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge, Layer it Up Thanks for stopping by to take a look...make sure you check out these challenges too!!

~Marie~

Merry Monday #117 {Sequins}

Hello again bloggers!  Even though it is now just after midnight and therefore Sunday, I am back to share one more Christmas creation with you for this week's Merry Monday challenge, suggested by Deanne:

Although this is an ornament and not a card, I hope they will accept it into the challenge anyway!  I had some flower pieces left over from this card so I used them on this.  The shape is from the 2011 Heirloom Ornament Nestablities set...my favorite!  I printed out 2 digi papers in tones of purple, cut them into 1" strips and pieced them next to each other on a scrap of  cardstock.  Then I ran them thru my Cuttlebug with the Vine Pattern embossing folder from Darice.  While it still lay in the folder, I brayered some Star Dust Stickles over the embossed areas.  IRL, it's very pretty and subtle.  Then for that extra bit of glam and bling, I added some sequins here and there.  I inked the edges with Dusty Concord & voila, another ornament completed!  The other side is finished using the same papers in the same way, but without the glitter or anything stuck to it.

The current Merry Monday challenge is nearing its end, so please get on over there and have a look at all the fabulous samples from the DT and all the other entries!   Maybe it will inspire you to make your own sequined creation!  As usual, this will go into Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra as well.  Thanks for stopping by, and take care!

ETA:  Also adding this to Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge too!

~Marie~

Holly Jolly Christmas Critters

Hello bloggy buddies!  I'm back again today to share my card for the current Holly Jolly challenge:  Christmas Critters!  So many ways to go with this one, but I chose something fairly typical:

A penguin!  This is a Silhouette file I made into a card.  Isn't Santa Penguin cute?  ;)  I think so!  I used white shimmer paper for his belly, but as usual, you can't tell in the pic.  The scarf is cut from a piece of patterned paper, while the rest is just cardstock.  I added some Polar White Flower Soft to the brim and pompom of the hat for a bit of fun texture.

I'll also be adding this to Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra.  Thanks for stopping by to have a look!

Take care,

~Marie~

Guest starring on Jingle Belles this week! :)

Howdy blogging buddies!  This week at Jingle Belles, I am serving as their humble guest star.  Ever since Lauren changed the design of their blog header, I have loved it and I thought, "What wonderful inspiration that would be for a card."  Take a look for yourselves:

Since Stef and Lauren are always kind enough to let their followers make suggestions, I decided to see if they would accept my suggestion of using the blog header for inspiration.  That is, if no one else had given them the idea before.  Luckily for me no one had, so here is my card inspired by the Jingle Belles blog header:

 

I've been wanting to make a card using purple and gray for awhile now...I guess the gray comes from the shading on the white flowers in the header!  I just couldn't do brown and purple, at least not THIS shade of purple.  I used a Silhouette file to cut the flowers, but for some reason the blade would not cut all the way through, so I had to trace the lines with a blade to get them out.  The shading was done with Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord.  I love the effect it gives!  The doily is from stash, and I used homemade shimmer paint to spray thru a snowflake embossabilities plate on the card base.  Dug some bling outta my bling stash and pearls for the flower centers, and the card was done.

 

Please take a look at what Stef and Lauren have created for the "Take a Header" challenge, and I hope you'll be inspired to make something as well!  Thanks for stopping by to have a look, and take care until next time!

 

Can't forget to link this up to Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra!

 

~Marie~

Merry Monday #116, Green and White

This week at Merry Monday, LeAnne is the hostess.  She is asking for a lovely color combo of shades of green and white:

 

Isn't that a great inspiration photo?  Such a cute little scene!  And I love the star garland!  Well, my card looks nothing like that...

 

I decided to use one of the Silhouette files I have purchased recently, and backed it with some glitter paper from American Crafts.  I used foam tape to add some dimension between the layers.  The ribbon is from Walmart's after-Christmas sale a couple years ago.  It is very thick ribbon, so this card will not be going through the mail!  The sentiment is from The Paper Company Christmas Glamour set.  I think I may have to make this card again in different colors!  I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to cover all the stuff on the inside without making the card super thick.  Hmmm....

I also made another card based on this color scheme:

 

I used another Silhouette pattern here.  So intricate!  The green paper is from a shimmer stack, but as usual, you can't see the shimmer.  I went super simple with the layout, making the ornament look as if it is hanging from the top of the popped up white layer.

That's all I've got for today!  Thanks for stopping by!  Here are the challenges this will be linked to:

Merry Monday #116:  Green and White
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra for July

 

Merry Monday #115: White on white.......and a Happy Birthday card

Happy 4th of July weekend to all of us Americans, and Happy belated Canada day to all my friends and relatives up North!  This extra day off has me all outta whack...it feels like Sunday to me instead of Saturday!  And to actually have the whole entire weekend off WITHOUT having to request it, is totally awesome!  I wish I had changed jobs much sooner than I did!  BUT, I digress...I know you are not here to read those kind of comments...you wanna see a card!  So I will oblige by sharing my Merry Monday card for this week, where Kristie was asking for white on white, and the sentiment in silver:

 

I used the same elements for this card as I did on this one a few weeks ago, but I rearranged them, and added some Recollections swirly bling for more interest.  The sentiment from the Vintage Christmas set (The Paper Company) is stamped with Versamark and embossed with Recollections silver.  For the centers of the flowers, I layered buttons, sequins, and pearls.

 

Make sure you check out the DT samples for this week...they are beautiful, as are the gallery entries!  As always, also linking this up to Hazel's Christmas Extra, and I can just squeeze this into the Holly Jolly challenge for glitter (I generously swiped it on each flower petal and leaf.)

 

As my title suggests, I also would like to share a birthday card made for my blogging buddy, Darnell.

Seeing as her birthday is soooo close to Independence Day (the 2nd), I went with a patriotic color scheme.  Nothing too fancy here, just die cut the star using a Nestie, and alternated red and blue ribbon behind it at an angle.  Something I always wanted to try, just hadn't!

 

Thanks for stopping by to have a look, and take care until next time!

ETA:  I found another challenge while commenting on others' gorgeous creations:  Dies R Us, and they're looking for Christmas in July, and dies of course!  I used Spellbinders Large Standard Ovals and Large Scalloped Ovals, and the Layered Poinsettia die.

At Darnell's suggestion, I'm also going to link this up to the birthday party post over at MASKerade.

 

~Marie~