Calendar note:  Play Day is tomorrow at Art 'n Soul. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., bring in whatever project you're working on or playing around with to the store and 'play' for the day. It's free . . . it's fun!


I found a way to quickly re-start and finish my 'take-away' card . . .

I'm also working on my holiday cards for the senior home. I have fallen in love with Magenta's Birdie Holly Stamp.

MAGENTA STAMP:  Birdie Holly

Two versions I'm playing with . . .

by Debbie Gaetz

It's hard to see the detail. Image is stamped on kraft cardstock.

Border on the left is colored with my special glitter pens in red,
green and purple, and trimmed with silver. Gliter pen also used
on holly berries. Colored holly, birds, et al., with Tsukineko's Memento colored markers.

Border on the right is colored with red Memento marker, dotted
with silver glitter pen. Remainder of card colored with
Tsukineko's Memento color markers.

Now to figure out the rest of the cards for these two tops.

My most favorite holiday stamp from Magenta is the Large Poinsettia because of its beautiful detail work. I stamped this one with Tsukineko's Encore Ultra Metallic in green and embossed with clear embossing powder.

by Debbie Gaetz

MAGENTA STAMP -- Large Poinsettia

It's figuring out what to do next without disturbing the monochromatic effect of the metallic green on a sage-green color paper.

From the Penny Black blog . . . (I think the 'patterned paper' are the papers from My Mind's Eye Christmas Lost & Found collection). I've seen this stamp in our Penny Black catalog; this card design deserves to be delivered to your best 'fashionista' friend!
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Fashion Delivery by Peet   by Jenyfur

"Peet Roeven is here today, sharing an elegant card she created for this week's theme. Peet used one of our Fashion Girl stamps, pieced with patterned paper."
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by Peet Roeven for Penny Black

SUPPLIES: Fashion Delivery 4213K, Sentiment from Let it Snow 30-086, glitter, designer patterned paper, border punch.




Back to prepping for my 12 Days of Christmas book class on Sunday afternoon. There are a couple of openings if you'd like to sign up. All of the page trimming will be done for you because I want you to focus your time on making your doors and embellishing the book the way you want to. The papers are from Webster's Pages Botanical Christmas collection.

From Elizabeth Craft Designs . . .

"Our friend and frequent guest designer Judi Kauffman sent us a card that mixes stamping with snowflakes in a unique way. The snowflakes are blue and gold, not the traditional white. The card base is glossy coated cardstock folded to an ample 5 x 7. She also sent instructions, just in case you want to make a card just like her sample. (Thanks, Judi!)"

"'Snowflakes are kisses from heaven' is a brand new stamp from Quietfire Design. I chose Ranger Adirondack Brights ink in Sailboat Blue for the stamping and sponging. This ink looks soft and pale on the coated cardstock base, brighter and more intense on the matte cardstock rectangle where the phrase is stamped. I embossed 2.5" gold notary seals with a Cuttlebug folder (Ice Crystals) and used the large circles to draw the eye. (Tip: take your time peeling the embossed notary seals from the backing - they might tear if you aren't vigilent when lifting the edges) I punched tiny stars (Fiskars punch) and 1" snowflakes (EK Success punch) from Blue Iris and White Iris Shimmer Sheetz (Elizabeth Craft Designs). The tiny stars are secured with GemTac glue (Beacon Adhesives). (Tip: A small dot of glue applied with a corsage pin is all that's needed, I used Embellie Gellie to lift each star and place it atop the wet glue. The snowflakes are layered in pairs on foam dots to create shadows and extra dimension. The top snowflake in each pair is embellished with a different snowflake peel-off (Glitter Silver/Gold Peel-offs #7055, Elizabeth Craft Designs). Not one to be a minimalist, I added sparkly fibers from my stash of knitting yarns, and used Glitter Cardstock (Darice) as the border around the stamped rectangle."

by Judi Kauffman for Elizabeth Craft Designs

From SEI's blog . . .

Easy Gift Bag from Club SEI (from their November 14 posting):

To kick things off, we are going to teach you how to make a basic gift bag, inspired by a past club kit project. Making your own gift bag can save you money. Use the concept in any size you want for a custom fit. Gift bags are perfect for odd-shaped items. All you need it two pieces of paper, some ribbon, and embellishments.

DIRECTIONS:
1. Score in 1 1/2” on the bottom & sides of (2) 12” x 12” pieces of paper (one for the front of the bag and one for the back)

2. Cut along one side of each of the 1 1/2” squares in the lower corners of each sheet (as shown in the diagram above)
3. Use decorative scissors along the top edge of each sheet
4. Nest the two halves inside one another to form a bag & secure with adhesive
5. Punch holes & thread ribbon to make a handle
6. Embellish as desired

That's it for today . . . bundle up and stay warm! I'm leaving in an hour for Seattle to attend my husband's annual Board of Directors dinner at Morton's. (Did I say 'moo'?)