Swedish Christmas

Do you have stamps that you buy and then they sit unused for months? I do and today I unearthed a stamp and some paper that I bought a year ago when I took a trip to Sweden to visit my brother and his family.

My sister-in-law, Helene, is a scrapbooker and she took me to a store called Panduro Hobby, which is similar to the Michaels or Hobby Craft. I can't believe I've had this stamp for a year and not used it - I have 2 others that I bought as well that I should blow the dust off!


The card base is a Fabriano watercolor card and the extras are from Stampin' Up! - a rhinestone and some cherry cobbler seam binding.

I made this card for today's Splitcoast CAS Challenge and Our Creative Corner's Christmas Tree Challenge.

Note: I have a Cyber Monday sale going on in my Etsy store today. And don't forget to check out my new Vintage Page Facebook page.

Happy Stamping!

Ali

First Xmas Card

I made my first Christmas card of the season today for the Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple Challenge, which was a sketch this week.

You'll be amazed to read that this is actually a current SU stamp set called Beautiful Season - I know I usually use my trusted retired sets. I really needed some new holiday stamps, so I treated myself to this one and I love it!

The red c/stock and ribbon are Cherry Cobbler, but I didn't have the ink, so I substituted it with Ranger Distress ink in Barn Red and the match is pretty good. I popped up the little bird on dimensionals and gave the holly berries some pizzazz with Ranger's Rock Candy.


Have you started your Christmas or holiday cards yet? I'm sure you probably have, but at least I've made a start :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Ali

Candy Winner & Leaf Card

The winner of my blog candy is.....comment #11, Donna from Paper Crows and Dragonflies! Congratulations, Donna! Send me an email at alimanning@charter.net with your address and I will mail out your prize.

Today's card was made for the Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple challenge, which is to use leaves.

I had just been fooling around with some of that French dictionary paper that was still on my desk from the butterfly card a couple of days ago (yes, can you believe I didn't clean up?!)


I mounted a piece of the dictionary paper onto c/stock because I knew I was going to abuse it. I sponged on various Fall colored dye inks, dry brushed on gesso and once dry, sponged a little more ink around the edges.

I then ran the colored dictionary page through my Big Shot with a leaf die. While I had the Big Shot out, I embossed a square on the card base with a Nestabilities die.

The sentiment is from Amuse. That's it - quick and easy!

Inchie Reader

Here's a Splitcoaststampers challenge card I made over the weekend. Chrissy Dickinson, a Technique Junkies Design Team Member, was picked as Featured Stamper a couple of weeks ago and the challenge is to CASE one of her cards. I chose a gorgeous Christmas card she made using the By The Inch technique.


I used the By The Inch (Oct/Nov 10) technique on a background of Antiqued Glimmers (Dec 09/Jan 10). I created the Antiqued Glimmers background by pressing Distress Ink pads onto a non-stick surface, spritzing it with Glimmmer Mist and pressing the cardstock into the wet inky mess. Each one turns out differently and that's why it's such a cool technique. Unfortunately, you can't see the sparkle from the Glimmer Mist in my picture :(

The main image is from the Rogue Redhead plate Relish Reading.

Don't forget to enter to win the blog candy a couple of posts down! I'm drawing the winner on Sunday.

Have a wonderful week,

Ali

Herringbone Card

It's been ages since I took part in one of my favourite challenges, the Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple Challenge. But I took advantage of a free half an hour this morning to participate. This week it's a sketch challenge.



To create the panel, I used the Herringbone technique (Technique Junkies newsletter Dec 09/Jan 10) with strips of a retired Stampin' Up! paper cut into 1/4" strips. I love this technique for using up the piles of patterned paper I have, especially SU packs or 6x6 pads from companies, such as Basic Grey. Because all the colors coordinate, it takes the guess work out of choosing different papers from different manufacturers and making sure the colors and patterns look good together.

The sentiment is also Stampin' Up! from the Upsy Daisy set.

Don't forget to enter to win my blog candy in the post below - there are only 6 days left!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ali

Finally, Some New Cards

I finally stamped! These are the first cards I've made in 2011 - can you believe that? I think I've had stampers' block or may be I just needed a break! Anyhow, I'm happy with how this trio turned out. They're very clean and simple - just how I like it.


The first card is for the Gingersnap's Supply Challenge - charms. I included two silver leaf charms, which I tied onto a piece of Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon with linen thread.


The other two cards are for this week's Splitcoast Clean and Simple challenge. All three cards have Fabriano watercolor card bases and the main panel is also 140lb Fabriano watercolor paper. I love this stuff!



The leaf image is from Memory Box and is watercolored with various shades of green ink. All sentiments on the cards are from Stampin' Up!

Note: We are having a Design Team Call at Gingersnap Creations at the moment. Check it out!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day!

Ali

Sunday CASE

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a very happy weekend here because my brother and his wife finally had their baby yesterday - a healthy baby boy called Oliver. I'm so excited to be an aunt again! I can't wait to see the little cutie.

I managed a quick card today between getting home from church and going to see a movie with my daughter. I checked out the Featured Stamper challenge on Splitcoast and it was a lovely CAS (clean and simple) gallery belonging to Jenn Spencer. Her card can be found by following this link. I changed the color scheme and stamps, but kept the layout pretty much the same.

The panel on the left was created using a TJ technique called Sanded Whitewash. I sponged inks onto a white panel and painted it with a light layer of gesso. I ran it through an embossing folder when it was dry and highlighted the raised areas with ink. I'd made the Sanded Whitewash panel ages ago, so it was a quick and easy Fall card. The sentiment is from SU.

Don't forget it's your last chance for the blog candy today. Enjoy what's left of the weekend!

Ali

Splitcoast Color Challenge

I was asked by Betty to make a sample for today's Splitcoast color challenge - the colors are Rich Razzleberry, So Saffron and Tango Tangerine.

These colors screamed Halloween to me, so I dug out my Artistic Outpost Vintage Halloween set and made this card. Of course, the base is a Fabriano watercolor card and there's lots of white space!


The pumpkin was stamped onto a piece of bookpage background that I sponged with So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie inks (I didn't have Tango Tangerine). I double matted him onto Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry c/stock. I added some piercing and white gel pen to mimic the polka dot ribbon.

Hope you have time to play the challenge today.

Happy stamping,

Ali

Waiting for Baby

We're waiting patiently for a new member of our family to arrive this week. My brother's wife, Helene, is expecting their second child - a little boy and we are all so excited. They live in Sweden, and I want to get a card in the mail to them as soon as possible.

I was inspired by today's Splitcoast Ways to Use It challenge, which is to use a banner on a project. And I still have Gingersnaps Quilt Challenge on the brain. It's a little more colorful than I normally make and I went a little overboard with the patterned paper, but I think it's my sister-in-law's cup of tea.


If you're wondering how to get the triangles on the banner all the same, this is how I made them. [Originally, I eyeballed it - not such a good way to go.] The white triangles started as 1 1/4" squares and the blue triangles started out as 1 1/2" squares.

Happy Stamping!

Ali

Quilt Challenge

The Blue Moon challenge that I posted on Gingersnaps this morning is Quilt Patterns. I was inspired by a log cabin design and also by yesterday's Splitcoast color challenge - rose red, basic grey and daffodil.

Both of these challenges were way out of my comfort zone, but it's good to stretch yourself now and again, right?


Stamps: I Brake for Stamps

Have a wonderful day.

Ali

Winter Trees

We've had a mini heatwave here in New England over the past couple of days - it's been 80 degrees and humid. In an effort to remind myself of cooler weather, I created a card with some winter trees by Innovative Stamp Creations.

I played along with two challenges - Gingersnaps Holiday Happenings and Featured Stamper on Splitcoaststampers.


The background behind the trees was created by simply sponging four shades of blue ink onto a white panel - nothing fancy, but it's clean and simple the way I like it!

Here's looking forward to some cooler days!

Ali