Blue & Red Christmas

Hi guys. Is it cold enough for you yet??? I love the snow-y weather...makes me want to curl up with a cup of cocoa and a great book! :) Or get some crafting in when the mojo comes round...

Today I have a pretty simple card to show off. This card started off a little on the CAS side....

...when I hit the CAS card making groove, I find it really difficult to make myself use designer papers. Ever since I got my Cuttlebug, it's been a lot of textures...and/or just stamping on cardstock, etc. when I make cards....and my designer paper gets left in the drawers...waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

Every now and then I force myself to think outside the CAS style...

I love the way this card turned out! Blueish designer paper and red -- I know the combination works, but for Christmas? I wasn't too sure, but it actually worked out nicely. It doesn't look "patriotic (American of course), does it?  I sure hope not! :p LOL

Leave me a comment and I'll drop by your blog as well. I hope I have inspired you to think outside your box a little. :) Happy Crafting :)

challenges:

Creative Craft World -- Anything Goes
The Ribbon Carousel -- The Holidays (including ribbon)
Sparkles Christmas Challenge -- Button or Bow

Color Q Challenge:

Word Art Wednesday -- Glory to God/Anything Goes
 Squiggle Fly -- Anything Goes with a Sentiment
Crimbo Crackers -- Sentiment as focus (Christmas or Festive related)
Sarah Hurley Challenges -- Christmas
Lady Bug Crafts Ink -- Anything Goes at Christmas

Christmas Angel

Hi guys. My Christmas cards this year are very CAS (clean and simple) type of cards. I make a lot of my cards using the Inkadinkado Christmas clear stamps -- used two different stamping sets. They were such a blast to work with! The stamps themselves have a lot of details...which I blinged up...and that's pretty much all it needed. :)

The "Angel Silhouette" is my favourite stamp from these Inkadinkado stamp sets. Angels played a big part in the Christmas story. From the angel Gabriel who told Mary about how she would conceive the Christ-child, to the wonderful gathering of angels in the sky proclaiming "Glory to God in the highest...and on earth...peace, goodwill towards men..." -- angels and Christmas just go together for me. So when I saw this angel silhouette stamp, I was sooooooo impressed! :) Just the perfect stamp for some Christmas cards...

Here are the two Inkadinkado clear stamp sets I used:

I loved how the card turned out! Simple....but striking -- especially once I added all the bling. :)

I made a few different variations -- just color wise, 'cause I loved the overall look of the card too much to change it. Here's another bunch of Christmas cards finished and ready to sign and send off! :)

 some challenges for these cards:

The Stamp Spot -- Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: What's your Favourite?
-- Stampin' Up Cardstock, Inkadinkado Clear Stamps
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes 
Sweet Stampin' Challenges -- Christmas Anything Goes
 

Season's Greetings

Hi guys! I've loved working with Inkadinkado clear stamps this Christmas time. I've finally figured out how to get a clear and crisp image every time...and now there's no stopping me when I get started with stamping...

but as long as cards are being made, all is good, right? :p

I'm not a big fan of the "Season's Greetings" expression -- I like the good old "Merry Christmas". The Christ-child is a big part of the Christmas season (He is after all the whole purpose behind the season). But I liked the look of this stamp and decided to make one card using it.

I added a punched border  to make things a little bit interesting. Love the bit of extra the border punches add to cards...

Finally I added a border of punched snowflakes to the bottom of the card, 'cause it was looking a little bare. Added some bling to spice it all up...and the card was complete. :)

Thanks for dropping by my blog today. Hope I've inspired you  a little bit. :) Have a blessed day. :)

challenges

Simon Says -- Anything Goes (with Martha Stewart Products)
-- used the Martha Stewart snowflake punch
Party Time Tuesday -- Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday -- God's Goodness/Anything  Goes
Crafty Bloggers Network -- Christmas Anything Goes
FAb 'n' Funky Challenges -- 3 of anything on your project
-- used 3 punched snowflakes
Stamping Sisters in Christ -- Make a Christmas Card
Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps -- Christmas
Sparkles Monthly Challenges -- Christmas is Coming
Delightful Challenges -- Red & Green
Creative Inspirations -- Traditional Christmas Colors

Christmas is Coming & Some Giveaways

Hi guys...I'm back with another Christmas card to share with you. This one features ribbon. Ribbon is one embellishment that I love to see on cards, but when I try using it on one of mine, they often don't turn out quite right.

This card actually turned out the way I had it planned in my head. :) Thanks to an online friend, I have the Easy Bow maker to help make the perfect bows.

The Easy Bow Maker doesn't look like a whole lot, but it makes perfect bows every time...and saves lots of time trying to get the bows look pretty. It's definitely a time-saver. :)

Here's the full view of the card:
 

supplies used:

Inkadinkado Christmas Silhouette Stamps

Cuttlebug Folder -- Victorian

Ribbon from Stash

Red Bling

Also want to let you know about an amazing giveaway. Nicole's Stamp Addiction is having a Thank You giveaway -- 50 promarkers!!! I have never used one of these markers, but if you're into using stamped images for your cards, this giveaway is for you! They look like a lot of fun to play around with. :) Her giveaway ends when she reaches 3450 followers -- so head on over to Nicole's Stamp Addiction and sign up. You can't win if you don't try. :)

Also, The Scrapbook Garden is having a fabulous November/December giveaway. Head on over to her blog to get all the details. You could be the winner of this:

I've never actually tried Distress Inks, but from the tutorials I've seen using them, they look like sooooooo much fun! And there so many different ways of using them! I would love to win this! :)




Really Reasonable Ribbon is having a pre-holiday blog candy. I have been the lucky winner of the RRR blog hop twice (they have one every month with an amazing ribbon prize), so from experience I know their ribbons are awesome! They are great quality and great looking too! :) Plus, their pre-holiday giveaway has a lot of extras. Head on over the Really Reasonable Ribbon blog to read all the details.

And if you're looking to be further inspired with Christmas related cards and projects, head on over to the At Studio D blog. They're having a 25 days of Christmas giveaway -- and there's lots of inspiration to find there as we head into the Christmas season.

challenges:

Stamping Sensations -- Traditional Christmas
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious -- Bling
Through the Craftroom Door -- Anything Goes
House of Gilli -- Celebration

The first of many to come

Hi guys...can you believe it's November already?!! Like wow!!! We're a month away from the Christmas season!!! And with time flying by so fast, I think it's time I got some serious Christmas cardmaking done,  'cause time ain't slowing down anytime soon! ....and I don't want to have them all pile up on me at once...

So today I headed to my scrapping table to get started on some Christmas cards...

I decided to try using some clear stamps -- "Christmas Silhouettes" by Inkadinkado. (love the name of the stamping company, don't you?) LOL

This set of stamps is so much fun to play with!!! One thing I love about them is that you don't need to add a whole lot to the card to make it look amazing! Just a little color and bling...and whah-lah! I had created my first Christmas card. :)

Wanna see???

Not my typical Christmas card that's for sure....

...but I decided to try the reindeer stamp anyways, 'cause I love the trail of "snowflakes" and "flowers" it has behind it. It's just a fun stamp...and so pretty! :)

I love the bit of extra blitz the image gets when you add some bling to spice it up...

Here's a look at the whole card. Clean and simple...just the way I like it! :)

 Thanks for dropping by today. God bless you. :)

challenges for my card:

Crafts & Me Challenges -- Bling it Up
Word Art Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Willow Sketchie Challenge -- Sketch 

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge -- No Patterned Paper
HotShot Crafts -- Bling it On
Anything Goes Challenges -- Anything Goes
Totally Stampalicious -- Anything Goes
DL.Art Challenges -- Any Holiday from October to End of the Year
Crafty Pad Designs -- Christmas is Coming
Creative Craft Challenges -- Special Occasion, Not Birthday