Season’s Greetings {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a fun gift tag to share today, featuring a couple of images from Purple Onion Designs. Pippin and Christmas Tree are both from Shari Bresciani’s line of stamps. Pippin is from last year’s Snow Much More Fun release, while the Christmas Tree is from the It’s Snowing Cats & Dogs collection from 2021.

I colored the cute mouse and the tree with Copics, before fussing cutting them. I left a white trim around the edge to make it a little easier on myself, that mouse is small and I didn’t want to accidentally cut off his tail. Onto Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I ink blended trees using the Wintry Forest stencil set from Pinkfresh Studio along with Polar Bear, Icy Water and Winter Lake inks from Altenew. I used the largest die in the Stitch. Trad. Tag STAX die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a tag and sprinkled on chunky white embossing enamel from Stampendous, which I melted from the back for a snowy look.

I mounted Pippin and the Christmas Tree to the tag using foam tape. I stamped a sentiment from the Holiday Blurbs I set from Purple Onion Designs using Gravel Gray ink from My Favorite Things, fussy cut around it and used more foam tape to add it to the tree.

I used a reinforcer die from the Fold-up Tags die set from MFT to add strength to the hole at the top of the tag, added a couple of Snowdrift Sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, as well as some blue satin ribbon, a piece of Blueberry Divine Twine, a thin string and a snowflake charm to the top of the tag for a finished look.

Simple color palette for this one. I didn’t even go overboard with the snow on the tree.

Let it snow! {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. It’s no secret that I love a lot of the cute characters that pop up around Christmas. Reindeer, snowmen, penguins, polar bears; give me all of them (please leave Santa out, he’s creepy). Today’s card features an adorable snowman from the Snow folk  stamp set from Lili of the Valley.

I colored my snowman with Copics, added black Glaze to his eyes, then a white dot using a Gelly Roll 05 once the black was dry. I also used the white to add the white dots to his hat. I fussy cut my snowman, leaving a thin white trim around him, before putting him to the side to work on the rest of my card. I covered my card base with patterned paper from Maja Design. This frosty blue paper is from the Vintage Frost Basics collection from 2013, the sheet’s called 13th of December. I used the Notebook Edge die from My Favorite Things to create a fun border on a piece of Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste from The Crafter’s Workshop to create snow through the Falling Snow stencil from Simon Says Stamp. While the paste was still wet, I sprinkled on Rock Candy distress glitter for an even frostier effect, and mounted my white panel with foam tape to my card front.

I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley onto a scrap piece of the patterned paper, before using a die from the Itty Bitty Strips die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a banner. I also die cut a white banner, grouped the two together and adhered them to the back of my snowman, which I mounted using foam tape. I finished off with a few snowflakes I die cut using the Snowflake Confetti Fancy die from Hero Arts. Sadly, this die is discontinued, but the snowflakes it creates are the perfect size, so I probably won’t ever stop using it!!

Simple color palette for this one. Lots of blues.

Christmas Delivery {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! I have a fun gift tag to share today, featuring Flappy’s Christmas Delivery from the Tofu & Friends holiday collection from Purple Onion Designs. I love the quirky nature of the cuties in this collection from the new illustrator.

I stamped the image with Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things, colored it with Copics, then stamped again, this time using Obsidian ink from Altenew for crips, dark lines. I decided to fussy cut right against the stamped lines, and put this cute dog to the side while I worked on the rest of the tag.

I die cut a tag from white cardstock using the Stitched Trad. Tag STAX die set from My Favorite Things, before using Polar Bear, Icy Water and Winter Lake inks from Altenew to ink blend a soft blue sky. I die cut a couple of trees using the silhouette snow trees from Mama Elephant and adhered them on top of my ink blending. I used a die in the Stitched Hillside Borders die set from Lawn Fawn to create the faux stitch hill, then used the tag die again to die cut the bottom part and adhered it to the tag also.

I added my dog using foam squares. stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Julehilsen stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto Wild Cherry cardstock from My Favorite Things, before trimming it down and adding it  with foam squares to the tag. I die cut a reinforcement piece from white cardstock using a die in the Fold-up Tags die set from My Favorite Things and adhered it to the top, before threading some ribbon through and adding a  charm. I used some May Arts Natural Twine to tie a bow to secure everything.

On the back of the tag, I stamped the Til/Fra frame from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Obsidian ink from Altenew. I used Dark Chocolate and Classic Kraft inks from Papertrey Ink to stamp the images that make up the background. The stamps are from North Star Design, Inkido and Ladybug and Friends. I believe none of these companies are still in business, but I love these particular stamps and use them regardless.

Simple color palette for this one. No wonder, as it’s essentially just brown, gray and red.

Gledelig jul {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends! I have a sweet Christmas card (is there any other card this time of year?) to share today featuring Merry Little Christmas, which is one of my favorites from Mo’s Digital Pencil (I have many favorites, her images are awesome).

I colored my image with Copics and used a fancy border die from Papirdesign (Snøkrystall ramme 2) to create trees and snowflakes along the edge. I wanted to do something different, and actually created a card base from vellum. I have heavyweight translucent vellum from My Favorite Things, and it’s a very thick, sturdy vellum that can handle being a card base.

I sprinkled on chunky white embossing enamel from Stampendous both on my colored piece and on the vellum base, before adhering the two together. I decided to create a white panel with the same die cut border for the inside of the card, as the vellum is very slick and not well suited for writing a personal message.

I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the B05 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad onto Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used the Wax Seals die set from Waffle Flower to turn it into a faux seal and mounted it onto my card using foam tape.

The vellum and die cut border create unexpected elements, the embossing enamel creates texture and you get a little bit of dimension with the sentiment seal. They all contribute and make this simple card a special one.

Not a whole lot of Copics for this, and a fairly muted color palette.

God jul {Streamside Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. 40 days until Christmas, and I’m still in a holiday card creating mode. This time, I’ve got a fun wreath to share using the new Sweet Christmas stamp set from Streamside Studios.

I tend to choose fairly bright color combos, but this time, I wanted to shake things up with a more vintage vibe and used a very different color palette.

I colored the wreath, then fussy cut right up against the black stamped lines in the image. I added foam tape to the back and mounted it to a top fold A2 card base i created from Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I die cut the sentiment from Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink using a die from Papirdesign. I stacked three die cuts for a little dimension and adhered the letters at a bit of an angle inside the heart wreath, before finishing off with a few faceted pearls from Kort & Godt.

The foam tape on the back of the wreath makes it look like it’s floating above the card front.

Vintage color scheme!

Merry Christmas! {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back with another card featuring the new Merriest Little City release from Purple Onion Designs. This time, I’ve focused on the ice skaters.

I always say that you can’t go wrong with a penguin, and with so many images to choose from in this release, I knew I could color another penguin and the rest of the card would fall into place. Tuxedo looks like a very happy penguin, too, and I decided to use Cleo & Archie, as well as Willow on the same card. I masked off Cleo & Archie and stamped a couple of the trees from the Mini Evergreen Set in the background, masked those off and decided to use the Frozen Pond image from an older release so they’d have lots of room to skate. I then added one more mask and used the City Skyline in the background.

I colored the ice first, and added a hint of reflection underneath their feet. I probably could have used a darker marker, but it’s more noticeable in real life than in the photos. Initially, I’d planned on keeping the buildings and sky uncolored, but once I’d colored the snow and the trees, it kind of all looked white, so I decided to add color to the background anyway. I colored the buildings in various shades of cool greys, before masking off the buildings and airbrushing a blue sky behind them.

I colored my critters (here you can see the reflection in the ice a bit better) before finishing up with a sentiment from the Merriest City Sentiment Set stamped in Caribbean Sea ink from My Favorite Things. I cut down my panel and adhered it to a top fold A7 card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I normally don’t make cards this big, but whenever there’s a new release from Purple Onion, I tend to not care about card sizes and instead focus on getting my scenes to work, no matter what size the card ends up being.

There’s an ice rink stamp in this release, I just really loved the large area I was able to create with this older horizon stamp.

Lots of Copics used for this card. B000 was only for airbrushing the sky.

There’s still a chance to get this entire release in a bundle at a 30% discount. It includes all the images in the Merriest Little City release, as well as the coordinating Merriest Little City sentiment set. The offer expires on Wednesday, November 15, 2023.

Christmas Hugs {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a sweet Christmas card to share today featuring this cutie from the Christmas Friends stamp set from Lili of the Valley. I don’t know if the intention is for him to be a regular bear or a polar bear, but I decided to go for the polar bear look to keep most of the card as light as possible.

Isn’t he cute holding his little lantern? I went very untraditional with my aqua/purple combo, but I think it works. Onto a top fold landscape A2 card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I stamped the Hand-Lettered Holiday background stamp from Simon Says Stamp using VersaMark ink. I then brushed Perfect Pearls powder on top for a shiny, but subtle effect. I stamped the snowflakes from the Wreath & Mulled Wine stamp set from Ciao Bella on top using Sno Cone ink from My Favorite Things.

I die cut a white tag using a die from the Stitched Trad. Tag STAX die set from My Favorite Things and stamped the word Hugs from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley. My stamping is two-toned, I have Sno Cone ink from MFT at the top and Summer Splash ink, also from My Favorite Things, on the bottom part. Onto a piece of Summer Splash cardstock, I stamped Christmas, also from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from LOTV, using Summer Splash ink, before using a die from the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice little banner. I added my polar bear with foam tape and finished off the card with a few pearls from the Glossy Porcelain Mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

As usual, I use way more colors than I anticipate going in.

Merry everything {Streamside Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a blue Christmas card with a penguin to share today. Normally, I’d say that’s pretty common for me, but there’s something about the layout of this card and the remaining colors that are not typical things I do with my cards.

This penguin is from the Christmas Cupcake Toppers stamp set from Streamside Studios. I colored his beanie blue, which is my go to Christmas color, but the piping bag he’s holding in his hand makes him a bit different, so I decided to also color up the gingerbread house from the Sweet Family set, which I fussy cut and added to a piece of Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things, before adding a layer of 40 lb vellum on top to soften it a little.

I adhered the light blue panel to a top fold card base I created from Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things, and die cut a scallop border using the Stitched Rectangle Scallop Edge Frames die set from My Favorite Things. I cut the frame apart and added one strip to the top and one to the bottom of my light blue panel. I used the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant to die cut three layers from white cardstock and one layer from X-Press It blending card that I colored pink with Copics. I stamped the word everything from the Holiday Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto white cardstock using Cornflower ink from My Favorite Things, added a few layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and embellished with a few pink sequins from the She’s So Lovely mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. The penguin was easy to add with a little bit of foam tape.

I didn’t use too many colors for the penguin itself, but the gingerbread house required quite a few markers.

Tiddeli bom {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a simple winter/holiday card to share today that I created for the Kort & Godt galleri blog. The title of this blog post and the sentiment on today’s card don’t really have English translations. The sentiment is from a song called “It’s snowing, it’s snowing”. It’s actually from a Winnie the Pooh song, but to my knowledge, this song only exists in Norwegian. The Norwegian translator (Thorbjørn Egner, accomplished children’s author himself) of the originial A.A. Milne books made the stories his own and wrote small songs that he added to the stories (he did this in his own work, too). The song in the sentiment is from the first chapter of Ole Brumm og vennene hans (Winnie the Pooh and his friends), published in 1955.

I die cut a tree nine times from three different shades of green patterned paper. The two lighter ones are both from Maja Design, while the dark one’s from Kaisercraft. This die is pretty small and perfect for scraps. There’s also a die in the sets that cuts the trunk, but I decided not to use that for this card.

I sprinkled on Chunky white embossing enamel from Stampendous to each of the trees and melted the granules from the back to make snowy trees. I then used three different thicknesses of foam tape behind the trees for varying dimension.

I stamped and white heat embossed the sentiment onto a black cardstock strip (True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink), added a couple of more layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and glued it on top of two of my trees.

A little bit of story time to finish today (for anyone who understands Norwegian):

“Det snør, det snør, tiddeli bom..”
“Tiddeli – hva for noe,” spurte Nøff.
“Bom,” sa Brumm. “Det er der for at sangen skal bli god å synge. – Det er det det gjør, tiddeli bom..”
“Jeg syns nettopp du sa snør,” sa Nasse Nøff.
“Jamen, det var før,” sa Ole Brumm.
“Før tiddeli bommet?” spurte Nøff.
“Nøff,” sa Brumm, “det var et annet tiddelibom.”

Kort & Godt products used:

Die 323 – Diverse jul

M-428

We wish you a merry Christmas! {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. There’s a brand new collection of stamps in the Purple Onion Designs holiday/winter release that came out yesterday. The Tofu & Friends Holiday collection is from Pei, a new illustrator with a funny, quirky style. I love the images in this collection, and today’s card features Tofu & Friends Christmas Carol, as well as the Winter Trees Background.

I stamped my critters using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things, added a mask and stamped the trees in the background using Stormy Sky ink from Papertrey Ink. It’s a nice grayish green that goes really well with the colors I used for the coloring of the trees. I created my signature winter sunset behind it all, and did my best to create depth in the background by varying the intensity of the coloring of the trees. Once everything was colored, I stamped the critters again, this time using Obsidian ink from Altenew for a crisp, black outline.

At the bottom, I stamped a sentiment from the Holiday Time sentiment set using Cornflower ink from My Favorite Things. The carolers are just the right size to fit on an A2 card with a little bit of air around them!

I used lots of Copics for this one. Lots!!

The entire Tofu & Friends holiday collection is available as a bundle with a 30 % discount for a limited time. The bundle consists of 11 stamps and the coordinating Holiday Time sentiment set. The bundled promotion ends on Thursday, November 16, 2023.