Silver Poinsettia

This card was created as an entry for the Unity Holiday Card Challenge. The caveat to this challenge: no red, no green. Red and green is traditional... but I have always been a fan of adding metallic hues to my holiday cards. I love gold, silver, copper or bronze accents this time of year. Christmas cards are my favorite to make, so I will always take extra time and effort to make them look elegant and special. 

On this card I choose the same layout as the one on the card I featured in my Friends of Unity blog hop post which you can see here. I choose navy and silver for this card, but unfortunately the navy did not photograph well and looks black in this picture. There are so many techniques you can do with vellum and/or a heat embossed image, but I stopped here as I felt any addition at this point would take away from the elegance and simplicity that I have obtained in this card. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

...Poinsettia with Love (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Dark Indigo (Papertrey Ink)

Brushed Silver (Recollections)

Vellum (Stampin Up)

Ink:

Versamark (SU)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat tool 

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Silver embossing powder (SU)

Friends of Unity December Blog Hop

Welcome Unity fans to our Friends of Unity December blog hop! This month I am featuring my favorite new reindeer stamp. I wasn’t sold on this one until I started seeing all the awesome creations from other fans just like you! 

When I decided to use this stamp set for my design, this idea popped in my head. I loved seeing the reindeer heat embossed, so I knew that would be one element of my card. I went back and forth on the color choices between gold, silver, or copper... then what colors next? I loved the elegant and simplistic look of the gold with the black so much that I didn’t attempt any other color combinations. I debated on the red nose... and as you can see Rudolph decided to make an appearance.

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

...Cheerful Prancing (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Vellum (Stampin Up)

True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Brushed Gold (Recollections)

Ink:

Versamark (SU)

Accessories:

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Marvy Heat Tool

Gold Embossing Powder (SU)

Christmas Red Stickles (Simon Says Stamp)

FRIENDS OF UNITY BLOG HOP MEMBERS

Crystal O. Minkler

Wynne Grob

Eileen Mathys (You're Here!)

Robyn Jordan

Jeanie Hays

Amber Trubiak
Dawn Fields

Mistletoe Kisses

I have very few stamp sets in my collection in which all items have been inked. I am a self admitted font junkie... and when I first saw this one, it grabbed me right away. The words are easy to read and fun, covering a variety of December holidays. They are all sized nicely for a variety of projects... and perfectly for tags, as the name implies. 

On this card I choose a similar layout that I had used previously, this time to maximize the retired and soon to be retired green colored cardstock I had on hand. I seem to carry so much retired paper over from year to year, that I neglect the older colors in favor of the new releases. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Tin of Tags (Stampin Up Retired)

Paper:

Early Espresso (SU)

Whisper White (SU)

Cherry Cobbler (SU)

Emerald Envy (SU)

Mint Macron (SU Retired)

Presents& Pinecones DSP (SU Retired)

Ink:

Cherry Cobbler (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Large Scallop Circles (Spellbinders)

Pumpkin Season

Pumpkin season could be best described as the period between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Where not only flavors burst on the scene with pumpkin, or pumpkin spice... but the decor does as well. I think you either love it or you hate it. I don’t believe there is a group of people who are just so-so in this area. I am a BIG fan. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, pumpkin spice lattes, but I draw the line at body lotion and similar. I like it, but I’m not that in LOVE with it. 

I choose a simple layout with this stamp, because I wanted the sentiment to take center stage. The colors and patterns in the designer paper are simply beautiful and hard to choose just one. I purchased this stamp late in the season, and am going to explore many possibilities with it next year. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Neat and Tangled Pumpkin Everything (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:

Old Olive  (Stampin Up)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Dark Chocolate (PTI)

Echo Park Fall is in the Air (SSS)

Ink:

Pumpkin Pie (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Petal Burst Embossing Folder (SU)

Ornate Fall Greetings

Fall is a beautiful season. In Northern New York we are well known for the colorful display in our leaf bearing trees. With all that inspiration around me, this is the one time of year I seldom make fall themed cards. I seem to skip right over Halloween and Thanksgiving and start making Christmas cards. 

The stamps used were part of Simon Says Stamp ‘Stamptember’ product line. The background stamp has lots of potential with the henna type style. I can see that being used in a variety of ways... from a Copic colored birthday card to an embossed resist card with distress oxides. The ornate leaves also nicely coordinates with the same pattern and can easily be used for a fall thru Thanksgiving card. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Ornate Background (Simon Says Stamp)

Ornate Leaves (SSS)

Paper:

Crushed Curry  (Stampin Up)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:

Versamark (SU)

Crushed Curry (SU)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat Tool

Clear Embossing Powder 

Corner Rounder Punch 

Hampton Arts Stamp Perfect

Full of Fall

Distress oxides are so fun to play with, and this fall color combination paired with this large leaf stamp is no exception. The leaf has so many possibilities... I just started this one since I am on an Oxide kick at the moment. 

I love large stamps... Ones that can cover almost the entire card front.  Especially designs that can be quickly colored in or embossed. Stamps that can make quick and simple cards when needed. These are my favorite... a design that is so simple and elegant that you can whip some up on a rainy afternoon. Having cards that just need a sentiment added is a great way to always have something on hand to send, regardless of the occasion. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Full of Fall (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Terracotta Tile  (Papertrey Ink)

Stampers Select White (PTI)

Vellum (Stampin Up)

Ink:

Versafine Black

Fired Brick Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide (TH)

Peeled Paint Distress Oxide (TH)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat Tool

Clear Embossing Powder 

Silver Christmas Tree

Getting the finishing touches on my holiday cards for my BIGGEST craft fair of the year. This craft fair attracts buyers and sellers from miles away. In a good year, we can see upwards of 3000 people. This is an event where I make sure I go in well prepared. I check the weather leading up to this day like a bride would for her wedding day. Seasonal weather brings out extra shoppers, sunshine drives in bigger crowds yet, while rain may keep some people away.

I CASE’d this card from the Simon Says Stamp website. While I didn’t copy their design exactly, I took the basics from the card design and added a little of my own flair. I love the shadow/word bubble that comes with this die, because I feel using the vellum adds just a touch of depth and dimension. In this card I love using the softer colors as it is a break from the traditional red and green color hues. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

None 

Paper:

Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)

Brushed Silver (Recollections)

Perfectly Plaid Winter (Lawn Fawn)

Vellum (Stampin Up)

Ink:

None

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Believe Wafer Die (Simon Says Stamp)

Corbel Tree Collage Wafer Die (SSS)