Snail Mail Greetings

A little while ago I won't a Tiddly Inks Challenge. You can see my entry here - "Got Chocolate?"
To say I was delighted is an understatement, so I high tailed it over to the Tiddly Inks Store with my gift certificate and snagged some goodies from my wish list.

One of them was the Snail Mail Wryn set. The set contains 5 different digital images all featuring snails. Really cute, and a good price too.

I coloured the image using coloured pencils, my favourite way to add colour to just about anything (closely followed by water colours) For the card base I used a woodgrain stamp (by Heidi Swapp) and Treebranch Archival Ink by Ranger and kraft card stock.

Next I made a cluster with designer paper, some tissue paper, crumpled and torn to give it some texture and a die cut lace strip. These I sewed together using black thread. I then added the cluster to the card and finished it all off with a banner, stamped with a sentiment (ProvoCraft) and stapled to the card. I found those purple staples a few years ago in my local department store. Sometimes one finds the nicest goodies in unexpected places!

And 'Wryn' is ready to be on her way taking love and best wishes with her.

This is a Gloop

A Spotted Bellied Gloop to be more precise.

I got it from the 'Curiosity' Cut set over at Lettering Delights. (affiliate link) And I liked the colours so much, I stayed pretty true to them.

I've had this set for a long time, and every time I see it, it begged to be made into a 'hello' or 'hi friend' card. 

I'm glad I finally have Gloops on the desk...

Do you see the reflection on the glasses of the Gloop on the right? I put acetate behind the frames to help my Gloops see better. No pretend glasses around here, no way...

And here is that cute goofy face up close. I wonder how many different types of Gloops (or is it Gloopi?) there are...hmmm

Lovely Little Jane

Not her real name...names have been changed to protect the innocent...LOL...

My lovely niece, back in the 40's. I just love this picture.

I used Cathy Krenek's new kit 'Be An Optimist' for this page. It is so pretty and just what I needed for my girlie girl picture!

At $2.00 while part of the Gingerscraps Buffet, this kit is a bargain!

Milestone Birthday

90 year young. That sure is a milestone to reach!

So what sort of card do you send a flower lover for her 90th? A box full of flowers of course!

I cut my box for the flower bunches from kraft card stock and stamped the woodgrain on using brown dye ink and a stamp by Heidi Swapp that I picked up from Michaels.

And really once that was assembled all I needed to do was decorate the different inserts and that was done with cut file flowers and punches pieces. I did add a lacy die cut to the front of the box to soften the design and to bring a bit more white in, while repeating the lace detail of the doily on the back panel.

A little organza bow finished of the tag. Besides, who gives flowers without any ribbons or bows, right? I love all the dimension these box cards have.
We added a sentiment and handwritten notes to a panel at the back of the large panel on the card.

I used :

Christmas Box Cards - SVG Cuts (affiliate link) Mary includes plain box cards for you to customize. For my card I used the Christmas Tree Box Card style.

In Bloom - Lettering Delights

Happy Birthday Titles by Miss Kate Cuttables

Snowy Christmas

Quite appropriately, it is white with snow outside my window as I type this...now if only we could have a little over Christmas to keep things really cozy! Family, a cozy fire in the wood stove and a winter wonderland outside. That's the stuff memories are made of.

But now - on to my snowy Christmas cards.

Lili of The Valley carries some truly beautiful stamps, honestly it is so hard to narrow my wishlist down. I opted for digital stamps but they also carry clear and rubber stamps and cross stitch patterns.

Since I like my cards to be displayed and they were going to travel internationally (actually 'back' to the UK!) I decided to once again make easel cards.

I started by sizing the images and sentiments in Photoshop, preparing a document for printing.  Still undecided about whether I wanted to use the car or the church scene I included both.

Once that was set-up I could print multiple copies as needed. 

The church scene was quick to colour, using coloured pencils, after which I trimmed the image out and attached it to card front which was prepared with patterned paper.

The inside of the card is also lined with a snowy paper, while the sentiment strip is edged with a holly punch (Fiskars) I added a couple die cut and one punched snowflake. Some puffy fabric paint (Tulip) gives the snowflakes on the panel dimension and while the paint was wet I sprinkled on a small amount of super fine light blue glitter.

It was a quick make and I'm very pleased with the result!

Next up was the mailbox - very appropriate for an 'across the miles' greeting.

I used coloured pencils for the colouring as well as a silver Sharpie pen for the metal details on the postbox. Another print of the same picture provided me with a mailbox to trim out and pop up on foam for dimension. I also popped the birds and some of the holly leaves up to add a bit of depth.

Once again I used the puffy fabric paint for my snow and added glitter for that frosty sparkle. I also added glitter to the berries and some of the leaves. This card did take more time and more 'fussing' with all the trimming and layering, but I enjoyed every minute of making it.

I thought the envelope shape on the patterned paper made a very fitting place for the stamped sentiment. Some punched holly leaves and glittery berries was all I needed to add.

Some understated green patterned paper and a couple die cut snowflakes provided the final touches.

Both cards are on their way right now and will hopefully remind dear people how much they are loved...

Christmas Card - More Poinsettias

I had to make at least one more Christmas card this year featuring poinsettias. This was such a satisfying card to make!

I used a wide selection of cut files, dies, punches, embossing folders and patterned paper.

To make it an easy to display card, I turned it into an easel. I figure a Christmas card might as well become a decor item!

An online search for Christmas sentiments brought this one up, and I used the Silhouette pen feature and a gel pen to write it out for me. The holly border punch is by Friskars.

I'm pleased with how it turned out and since it will be hand delivered, the size - 6" square - as well as the dimension with all those bits and bobs makes no difference.

Christmas Cards - Oldies and Goodies

I have had these clear stamps for so many years, I've lost count. And I still like using them. The clean, simple and graphic design means they are timeless. The stamps, made by ProvoCraft, also work really well for tags.

The cards were really quick to put together - I layered patterned paper and a piece of embossed card stock onto the card front. After colouring the images with coloured pencil, I fussy cut them and adhered them to the front with thin foam for a bit of dimension.

The stocking also got a simple knotted ribbon and sequins.

 I joined the mittens by looping a length of twine between them, added some sequins and a basic sentiment on a strip of cardstock finished off both cards.

I really like all the colour, texture and dimension on these very simple and quick cards!

Do you have 'oldies-but-goodies' stamps that can take another turn at center stage on your projects this year?