Friday, November 27, 2009

A Pile of Christmas Cards

Okay- I have a bunch of Christmas cards to post as there have been quite a few friend requests for cards for the holidays.

So I've been a little bit glitter crazy obviously! Glitter is absolutly essential for any Christmas card- don't you agree? lol. I just loved being challenged in this way with many people wanting something different. Before now, I've been making my own Christmas cards so it was a batch of all the same, my own style. Now there is trying to make other people's style and tastes fit into my cardmaking skills. It sure stretches me as an artist, but I have found it VERY fun!
So the first card was a photo insert card that I made to fit a wallet size photo in it. It was challenging to think how I was going to work it- but she just wanted something simple, one page, no open up- so it was basic stamping and layering. The second one was fun too- and I lifted the card idea off of a Stampin' Up idea page. I got a LOT of use from my Martha Stewart snowflake punches for these! I got the two that were available last year. The third one I had NO clue how to start. My friend wanted something more spiritual as we both, being christian, wanted to focus on the reason for the season. I used some Prima pointsettas to finish it off. The last card I tried something different. The glitter snowflakes are my FAVE! What I did was punch the snowflake out- added my mix of embossing powder and fine glitter and inked the entire front of the snowflake and poured the mix on and heat embossed it. Then I punched a brad in the center and dangled them from some sheer ribbon. I used the same glitter technique on the "Season's Greetings" sentiment- making it POP! I love it- and I think it looks store-bought- but for much less! It just took my Cricut and Jasmine cartridge, mix, ink and time.
All cards are basic A2 sizes. Stamps are clear stamps from Inkadinkado, flowers from Prima, ink from Colorbox, glitter and snowflake punches from Martha Stewart, embossing powder from Stampendous, leaves and snowflake border punches from EK Success.
SO! I have a couple more cards to share but I'll save that for later- thanks for stopping by!
~Brandie~

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A Bit Busy

With babysitting, creating gifts and cards for people on my FB store and just life in general- I have, yet again, become a VERY bad blogger :( Sorry guys. I do want to do better after Matty gets here. BUT that being said- I have a LOT to share, so I'll just take a few posts to share everything with :)
The first thing I want to share is a baby gift I made for a friend for HER friend. The baby onesies seem to be a big hit and it's fun to stamp on them. I am thinking of doing something Christmas-y for the heck of it and then again something for my new little bean. TWENTY NINE WEEKS DOWN WOO HOO! Even tho I've done this three times before, I am PETRIFIED of going thru the labour again. Aigh. I know it's worth it but still....
OKAY- back to the subject on hand- CRAFTING :) SO here's my little set:
She wanted a keepsake box to hold the cards that her friend would be getting for her new baby. I thought it was a cute idea and whipped up the box. It's personalized with the baby's info on the front, and has a "T" for his initial. Then I got one of my acetate 2 4 6 8 boxes with a lid all decked out to hold the onesie in. I used Inkadinkado's baby boy stamp set for everything stamped and my corner punch for the borders.
So the box all opened up shows two little 'shelves' that you can store the cards in- standard A2 cards- which I am hoping fit. I made it a little bigger so it would have space for a bit larger cards. What I loved was adding glitter to the ribbon I wrapped around the onesie box. Then on the onesie itself I added fabric glitter to the stamped image and buttons for the 'wheels' on the cars- I don't know if you can see it too well in the first photo.
I find that adding glitter, flock, embossing powder and stickles to different images lets you take a plain peice of CS and make it wonderful. I save a LOT off of patterned paper doing this. To be honest- I don't find alot of DSP that I like, and it's usually pretty expensive. I really like a lot of the SU! DSP- but for me to set some money aside to make an order takes a bit of self control- and I don't have much. I'd rather buy at a store and have it NOW! BUT I need to learn to be patient. With my new business, I really want to set some money aside cuz there are FAR too many cute Cuttlebug folders I don't have- as well as I found Pink Cat Studio and have decided to take the plunge and start stamping with images instead of just sentiments. But that will come in time- I've only been doing this card making thing for a few years now- and the first couple had a bunch of SUCK! lol- I am grateful to the crafting blogs of the world in which I glean a LOT of inspiration from!
So- being as it's been a while, I'll also show one of the (many) cards that have been keeping me busy. Another friend was going to a Hallowe'en wedding (I know- we're thinking of Christmas and I want to back track to Hallowe'en!) and I didn't know how to do a 'spooky' wedding card so I opted for something elegantly gothic.

I LOVE MY STORYBOOK CARTRIDGE!
If I haven't made that abundantly clear- I would like to do so now :) I made a tri-fold card and cut a 'window' out of each panel. Then I used my Storybook cartridge to cut the rectangle of leaves out. I sponged them with silver and then added some glittery black flowers from Prima. I stamped the four corners of the 'frame' (I forget the stamp maker :S Sorry) and embossed with silver. Then by finding a poem from one of the card sentiment sites printed on some vellum with a ribbon added the perfect finishing touch. She loved it and that's all that matters.
SO there's a couple of things to chew on. I have quite a few Christmas cards on the go for various friends- so I can show you them soon (and by soon- I mean quicker than a months time!)
Thanks for stopping by!
~Brandie~