Papertrey Ink Songbirds

Howdy there! I am spending a few days with our daughters and a friend relaxing at our mountain condo. Just before Christmas I took a Craftsy class with Laura Bassen on adding texture to your cards. I used Papertrey Ink's Songbirds stamp to create these. The first one I was just experimenting with the stamp and used the sentiment banner to create a thank you note.
The second one was created after taking the class which gave me some new to me ideas. I love doing online classes because it is go at your own pace, and you are given a glimpse into the instructor's creative process. It also helps me to use supplies like vellum paper, designer paper and diecuts. I was so tickled with second card as it wasn't an outcome I would have had on my own.
Thanks so much for your visit. Blessings on your day!

Power Poppy Wreaths

Hi there friends! I have a couple more Christmas cards to share before the year is over. This one features Power Poppy's stamp, "Wreaths Plain and Fancy." I wanted to venture out to blues and golds for this long and skinny card. The gold is a glittery  cardstock and the blue is a natural fiber paper. I decided this year to use my pretties that I  store up year round, and to give away as many of my cards as I possibly could.
Speaking of, my kind husband did the annual post office trip for me. I had ordered some white padded envelopes in bulk online. They were just slightly larger than an A 2 card. He brought one envelope back with a variety of stamps totaling around 2.75 because it did not have the correct zip code. He told me they were all charged that much postage.
Which means I was very irritated...and I'll have to work harder at flat cards for mailing unless it's a birthday, I couldn't believe that was how much itcost...especially after spending so much time on a card and purchasing the envelopes and then the trip to the mailbox.
However, I Do like this card and hope the recipient did as well. Thanks for popping in.
I am see now why stampers resort to one layer cards.

Power and Spark~Sweet Treats Challenge!

Oh, I was really hoping I could find time to participate in this month's Power and Spark Challenge hosted by the talented Christine, "Sweet Treats!"
It's the morning after Christmas and I wanted to share a card "from the heart," when I was feeling quite nostalgic about Santa and the letters our girls would write, even though for the most part, they knew it was "pretend." I wanted to write my own letter...and I did...it was short, obviously...written on some designer paper. I thought this would be a cute card to leave for Santa with his own treats on Christmas Eve. Thanks for popping in and hope you and your family had a very blessed Christmas!

Ho~Ho~Go!! Power Poppy Action Santa!

Hi friends...hope you're not feeling too frenzied or rushed right now. Every year I try to make a card for both of our daughters. Sometimes it is cute, or a fun shaker card, defininitely something a bit more special than the generic card.
When I saw the "Action Santa" Marcella Hawley designed for this year's Power Poppy Christmas release...I immediately thought of our youngest daughter who is always on the go and has wanted a Vespa scooter for awhile now. Not that we're getting her one...Ha! But she likes to get around...and boy does she! She has traveled  more countries than I ever will...and has spent 6 months in Singapore/China/Thailand and other areas with her career. And she has no fear. Anyway...as a Mom I say a lot of prayers on her behalf. I know God honors our prayers and I am so thankful I can lift up others to Christ when I am anxious or concerned and those I love are too far away to be of any help.
So isn't this the cutest?

This is Erin and her puppy, Walter taken last winter. He is too big to carry now...but the sweetest large animal I have ever known. Besides my dog.
So my card is for her:

She likes plaid (as seen in her vest above.) So I thought this festive Christmas red plaid was a good backdrop...then a blue with embossed snowflakes, topped with the Santa image. A Spellbinders dainty snowflake in Shimmer white and a red sparklette are the embellishments.

Here's a little close-up of Santa:

I will admit, this took me a long time to color. I am not fast by any means...but I am getting better over the years and Power Poppy images are my favorite to color because of the exquisite detail and vintage feel to so many of the images.

Thank you so much for indulging me another card and hope you have a wonderful day!

Not your Spring Chick-a-Dee~

We have regular visitors at our bird feeder and bath all season long...the sweet and chirpy Chickadees! This year I've noticed the bird bath freezing over and less and less visitors at the feeder which prompted me to ask for a heated bird bath for Christmas! Wouldn't that be fun to see the birds up close on our deck?
I was able to snap a photo of a chickadee  at our mountain condo last winter. A bit shadowed, it is hard to get a picture up close. They are a little bit shy.

I almost forgot about my card. I used a design very similar to my friend,  Grace Nyweing's , (at Th-inking-of-You, that she shared quite awhile ago...I had the same stamp (I think) and was inspired to use it in a Christmas card.

The image is colored in copic markers and I use a multiliner to add a bit of black to the eyes. The evergreen and pine cone are Spellbinder die cuts and a branch punch with diamond stickles added. I used a retired Stampin Up paper pack. A pretty double loop bow and my, this Chickadee is looking pretty festive. The sentiment is Papertrey Ink.

Thanks so much for your visit. I love hearing from you and knowing you were here. Wishing you blessings as you prepare your heart for Advent and this wonderful Christmas season anticipating the birth of our Lord and  Savior, Jesus! 

Christmas Card for Dad~Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

I love making Christmas cards. I do...and I probably spend too much time on it...but I like making miniature works of art, or if art doesn't qualify...at least it's from the heart. But every year, I still make my annual trip to Hallmark and get a big beautiful card for my Dad as I know how much it means to him...and making a card never seems like it's enough.
But this year I was inspired by Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

I haven't participated in this particular challenge before, but I do love the Simon Says Stamp store and am always inspired by their designers. The first image reminded me of a deer stamp I've had for a few years (now retired)...and the card grew from there. Even though it is very feminine...it is from me to my Dad and I hope he will enjoy it.

The image was stamped on shimmery cream paper in Gold Encore ink which gives it such an ethereal dreamy effect. I had some Stampin Up paper pack with the music and lyrics from "Silent Night" which was used on the background. I added a scalloped note card background, offsetting the scallops (die from PTI), then added the Prima Poinsettia and some cream crochet lace. 

Thank you for looking and hope you were a bit inspired today! 

I am sharing this card on a wonderful blog, WordArtWednesday too! Blessings.

Snowman Sparkling Season

The month of December is here...and as usual, I've been stamping my Christmas cards one by one...never in a hurry and always delighting in the details! Every year I get caught up in the magic and feel like a little stamping elf in my own little cubby creating with pretty papers, glitter, and the occasional jingle bell or two. I love to make ornaments with scripture verses and have been working on a few special ones which I will share soon.
But for today, I have a sweet snowman with cardinal from Darcie's. I created a snow bank, added some German glitter to the base before realizing it was real glass...so handle with care!! I had a lot of fun making this card...the inside sentiment reads, "You add a little sparkle to the holiday season."
I joined our daughters in Denver Saturday for a relaxing afternoon of wandering through a little neighborhood market fair, dinner out at a quaint Italian restaurant, and then a walk through the Denver Botanical Gardens which was all lit up at night. Just beautiful!

Thanks so much for popping in. Have a wonderful, blessed week!