Christmas Follows Valentine's Day, Right?

Hi! Thanks for stopping by. I'm delighted to have made a card for some wonderful on-line challenges. 

Ever receive store-bought cards which are just too pretty to be put in the neighborhood recycle bin? This card is one of those. Recycled "in-house", this card front has only been altered slightly with blue ink, VersaMark and Sparkle Embossing Powder, and of course, lots of layers and embellishing.

A very talented Girl Friend invented a spectacularly-easy-to-use Bow Maker called Craft-Dee BowZ. Even my fumble fingers make perfect bows everytime. While it is designed for children and adults, she also made some adjustments for "handi-capped" people such as myself. Thank you DeeDee!

Sparkle EP allows use of the VersaMark Pad and/or VersaMarker, to get in those special spots. Here a small 1" cube was smooshed across the bulk of the snow, and then the marker did the areas around the children and sky, so they remained glitter-less. Much easier than glue, Sparkle EP will never rub off, either. 

This card has been submitted to the following fun challenges:
Christmas Card Challenges #11 - Sketch
Christmas Inspirations - Challenge 41/2012 Anything Goes
Christmas Crafting Challenge - Blue, Silver, White
Crafter's Companion #21 - Anything Goes
Pretty Little Ribbon #7 - Anything Goes
Totally Paper Crafts #104 - Ribbons and-or Bows

Thanks for visiting!
Stamping Hugs,

Pop Up Gift Card Holder

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. A few friends said they would like to see the other cards which will be included in the Olive and Navy Card Gift Box so here is the 2nd of the cards. (Everyone knows how slow I am in card creating, so it will take a few days!)

In making the coordinating cards to go into the Card Gift Box, I happened to pass by the closet yet again, only to hear **more** whining and sniveling inside. Opening the door, I found an old corner punch (Trumpet Paper Shaper - remember those?) and some old organza ribbon by Sheer Creations (back in the days when sheer ribbons were used LOL).

Then some pitiful cries erupted from my beloved wood mount stamp stadium. My Leigh Hannan stamps by Impression Obsession were crying from neglect! The Victorian Rose (F2064) and Flourish Three (C2040) literally jumped into my hands and begged to be used with the Gold Coast EP. The front of the card is graced with the Rose image. The leaves are colored with olive and blue pencil pastels (aka chalk pencils). The flowers are painted lightly with Twinkling H2Os (both coloring mediums are part of my "old stuff" collection.) The panel was sprayed with Krylon Workable Fixative to keep the chalks from smearing. I am always so happy using my Leigh Hannan images. To see all her stamps at IO, please click here.

Inside the card, designer paper was enhanced by stamping with the IO Flourish image, and embossed with the same EP. They are happy little stamps now (but like most children, they are dreading their bath time). A blank panel was added to the inside so a stamped or hand-written message could be added.

This card was inspired by Kim, who showed me how to make an A2 size pop up gift card holder. My Victorian Rose card is size A7 to coordinate with other cards which will fit inside the Gift Card Holder.

The Pop Up Gift Card Holder may be found at SplitCoastStampers Pop Up Gift Card Tutorial.

The pretty bow on the front of the card was made with Craft-Dee BowZ, an easy way to create bows, even for those of us bow-challenged folks!

A Martha Stewart border punch and 3 Spellbinders dies were used on the inside of the card, leaving a blank spot for the gifter to write a note.

Thanks for stopping by!

hugs,