Celebrate with River of Creativity!

 December is here and this months challenge at River of Creativity is Celebrate! You can enter anything that you've created that means celebration to you! I made this card especially for this challenge to celebrate my growth as a card maker and to celebrate this wonderful season.  I hope you like it!

I used Trinity Stamps Slimline All Spruced Up stamp set to make the fur tree outline, the pine cones, poinsettia flowers & leaves; I stamped the fur trees with Wendy Vecchi's Archival Ink in Fern Green,   for the pine cones I used Potting Soil, all on regular card.  Then I used the Fern Green for the poinsettia leaves and Red Geranium for the flowers on watercolor card (the Fern Green and Red Geranium are the best inks to use for green & red designs in my opinion.  I haven't found better colors yet!).  I used my Zigs to color in the poinsettias and the leaves. I used the coordinating dies to cut everything out and used a slimline card base. Then I cut out the sentiment from glitter card and glued it onto vellum. That was placed on the card, the poinsettias are pop dotted and the little glitter dots are Christmas Red Stickles.  I realize my sentiment isn't perfectly placed, but I loved this card so much I wanted to share it anyway. I hope you have a celebration project you can share with is at River of Creativity - remember, you can enter anything that is handmade!

This is the last challenge for now - after the holiday season is over stay tuned for a NEW River of Creativity Challenge - we are doing a revamp!! COMING SOON!!!

I wish that each & every one of you has a peaceful holiday season :) Be safe :) Thanks!! Christi

I am entering my card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Sparkle Mode
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Holidays/Christmas
International Art & Soul, #123 - Use Dies and/or Punches
Allsorts, #653 - Use a Die
Cut it Up, #240 - Holiday Cards
Crazy 4 Challenges, #613 - Christmas Flowers/Foliage
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge, #571 - Anything Christmas
Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge, #5 - Anything Christmas

Peace & Happiness

I found this card among my blog drafts - I made it long ago, but never published it.  Well, I think this is a good time to publish this card with all the recent events as I wish all my fellow humans & furbabies health, peace & happiness now & forever. 

When I first began card making, Asian design was all the rage.  We used anything Asian {often mixing countries and regions} on our cards; joss papers, hell money, pieces from advertisements, newspapers, book text, and anything even remotely Asian looking.  I've used more than one take out menu on my cards!  Even replicated coins found their way onto our cards.  I still have a fabulous supply of Asian papers, rubber stamps, trinkets, tassels, papers, coins and charms, and most of the items can be found on eBay, Etsy, or in small craft stores.  There are even a few stamp companies who still make beautiful Asian stamps, Hero Arts being one of them, and I'm lucky to still have many of my wood mounted, red rubber, Asian stamps.  When I received this stamp and die set, it brought back so many memories of the gorgeous creations my fellow crafters would make that I just had to play with it.  I hope you like what I've designed!

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Blue and Silver Asian Background Paper {stash}
Hero Arts Japanese Wishing Garden Stamp & Die Combo, #SB148 {retired but available}

Watercolor Paper {I use this}

Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

Zig Clean Color Brush Markers
Distress Ink in Blue Jean
Alchemy Petal Point Inks from Colorbox {I used the silver ink petal}

Once I had stamped four buildings on watercolor paper and colored them with my Zig markers, I set them aside to dry so I could cut them.  While waiting, I stamped the cloud element and the butterfly a few times on scrap white card

See the sparkle!

using silver ink.  I attached a strip of the decorative paper to the white card base and cut out all my items.  I stamped the sentiment and arranged all the pieces to the card and the card was finished.  I wish you could see the sparkle of the paper; it's raised a bit as if it is embossed {and it may be} and the shine is beautiful!  I have a major collection of this type of decorative papers gathered when I was certain I'd be hand binding books and I'd need them for the covers.  I still do hope to learn to do a hardcover binding but the papers are just waiting to be used, so I snipped a bit for this card.  

This card brings me feelings of peace; it's part of my promise to make more "any occasion" cards that I can just mail out - no birthday or holiday needed.  I

Another Look

am my own worst enemy and will find things wrong with a special occasion card so I tend to let slide on a "just thinking of you" card. I'm getting back to the roots of card making.  I want to have fun with my creations and not worry so much about them being perfect.  As I often say, if it was perfect it would be 'store bought'!  I hope my story has prompted you to drag out some of that old paper, especially that paper you are saving {for what!?!} and some of the stamps you haven't used in a while.  Or maybe purchase a new set in your "old" style; whatever works for you! Just create and have some fun!  Fondly, Christi


I am entering my card in the following challenges:
Classic Design Challenge, #12 - Anything Goes
Cute as a Button,  #75 - Anything Goes option: Vintage Feel
Krafty Chicks, #588 - Stamp Act
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Christmas/Holidays
Addicted to Stamps and More, #419 - Any Occasion
Everybody Art Challenge, #503 - Blue & White
Inspired By Challenge, #198 - Inspired by the Graphic {Blue & White are my FAV colors!}

Reindeer Games with Paper Funday!

Welcome to Paper Funday's Monthly challenge - the theme this month is Holiday Time!!  I recently purchased the Mama Elephant Flurry Frame and I had some of the reindeer floating around on my desk from Reindeer Games so I made this card :)

 

Like I said, I already had the reindeer colored and cut, so all I had to do was cut out the frame (out of white card), and the red glitter paper background.  I used a white card base, glued the glitter paper to the back of the frame, glued that onto my card, then placed and attached the reindeer. I gave one reindeer a little red nose using a gem from my stash; I think it looks like the other reindeer are celebrating Rudolph!  I love these little reindeer, you will be seeing them around. 

I hope to see your Holiday Time Creations at the Paper Funday Challenge - you can't win if you don't play :)  Thanks for stopping by! Christi 

I am entering my card in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Sparkle Mode
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Happy Holidays/Christmas
Make the Cards Challenge, #43 - Christmas
Dies R Us, #182 - Anything Goes w/ Dies they Carry
Make my Monday, #162 - Cute Christmas
Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas Goes