Elegant Holiday Cards

 

I have been seeing a lot of magnificent cards made by dry embossing metallic cardstock and wanted to have a go at it myself.  They are just as pretty in real life as featured on Instagram.  Take a look!

This one started with the beaded ornament.  My BFF recently retired 

and is dipping her toes into the crafty world.  She's been making these 

"paint by numbers" bead creations and I just had to turn mine into a

card. And being the snarky friend that I am, I added the "I Made This" 

to my tag's tag and mailed it to her.  I'm sure she will get a big kick out of it.

While I had the embossing folder out I decided to create 

another metallic card in green.

I added a huge Joy sentiment and a few pearls and called this one done.

Supplies:

Spellbinders - Loops embossing folder

Spellbinders - Swallowtail Tags die set.

Spellbinders - Christmas Memories Enclosed stamp set

Spellbinders - gold pearl stickers

Simon Says Stamp - Joy die

If you haven't tried running your metallic cardstocks through a 3D embossing folder I highly recommend you give it a whirl.  It provides a lot of bang for the buck.

Thanks so much for visiting!!!

Jules

Christmas Cards for Mom

 

My mom was searching the aisle of the grocery store for holiday cards.  Let's hear it for a Collective GASP!!!

In her defense she was looking for cards that would hold unfolded cash and we all know that A2 size cards are too small for that.  She didn't want me to go to any extra trouble but ... she's my mama.  :-)  

Today I'm sharing two new holiday A2 sized cards (perfect size for gift cards) and five mini slim line cards that are perfect for a crisp bill.  I dug deep into my holiday stamp and die stash and have a wide variety of well loved products and even a sprinkling of NBUS to share with you.

This is going to be a long post so I'm skipping the design processes of each card.  I will however leave the supply list at the very bottom of the post.  If you have any questions regarding the design/assembly leave it in the comments and I'll get back to you.  

I tried to personalize these for each recipient (all family members) so you will see they are totally different with the exception of the two for my nephews.

Up first...a card for my niece who has a black kitty named Puff.

Next is the card for my daughter.  She longs to live in a 

mild climate with occasional snow.

A gender neutral design for each of my two nephews.

One for my North Carolina grandson.  

And two A2 sized cards.  One for my future Son-in-Law...

and probably my favorite of the bunch...one for my nephew's fiancé.

Mission Accomplished!!!  Mom was very happy and these were a fun break from assignments.  Keep reading if you're interested in the supplies.  Otherwise Happiest of Holidays to Everyone!

Love ya!

Jules

________________________________________________________________

Kitty

Cottage Cutz - Santa's Hat Cat die set

Cottage Cutz - Pine Tree Forest die set

Colorado Craft Company - Savvy Sentiments Holiday Wishes stamp set

Poppystamps - Art Deco Celebrate Christmas stamp set (inside)

Honeybee Stamps - designer paper

Snowman

Spellbinders - Snowman die set (NBUS)

Spellbinders - Twinkle Lights die set

Spellbinders - To You and Yours stamp set

Spellbinders - In the Pines embossing folder

Santa Belts

Spellbinders -  buckle from really old die set

Spellbinders - Brushed Black cardstock

Spellbinders - In the Pines embossing folder

Spellbinders - Deco Holiday stamp set

Alligators

Poppystamps - Whittle Tropical Gator die set

Right at Home - Holidays are on the Way die set (gifts)

Impression Obsession - Candy Cane die

Poppystamps - Holly die

Spellbinders - To You and Yours stamp set

Kaisercraft - Yuletide stamp set (inside sentiment)

Simply Graphic - designer paper

Candy Canes

Spellbinders - Holly Jolly candy canes (really old)

Poppystamps - Art Deco stamp set

Poppystamps - Celebrate Christmas stamp set (inside)

Fun Stampers Journey - Love Stripes embossing folder

Flamingos

Cottage Cutz - Christmas Flamingo die set

MFT - Festive Flamingo stamp set

Fun Stampers Journey - Cozy Knit embossing folder

Colorado Craft Company - Holiday Wishes stamp set (inside sentiment)

If you made it all the way here, thank you!  I appreciate each and every one of you.  

Jules

Spellbinders - Felt Snowy Owl and Felt Fox

I'm back with the last of my felt projects for Spellbinders.  Today I'm featuring the Forest Fox and the Snowy Owl created with the Felt Stitch and Create Collection by Nichol Spohr. 

I kept with a traditional color scheme for my fox.  

I stitched him with his head cocked to the side just for some extra cuteness.

The loop to use him as a tree ornament is hidden behind him.

I decided to create my owl in a funky color scheme, just for kicks.

For something a bit different (but extremely subtle) I arranged her wings 

opposite of Nichol's version.  I think she turned out pretty darned adorable too.

Don't critique my stitching too harshly.  I haven't done this in many years and my eyesight and dexterity are not what they used to be but once I got into the swing of things these became very addicting.  I'm hoping to make a few more before the holiday arrives.  

Thanks so much Spellbinders!  And thank you so much for visiting!

Jules  

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #257

 

Merry December to all of my Snarky Friends!  The year 2024 has been a rather tumultuous one but thankfully we have the Snarky Sisterhood to provide us with a bit of humor.  Our final challenge for 2024 is Naughty Ho Ho Ho.  I thought this stamp set perfectly fit the bill.

 

I thought this Pissy Kitty stamp looked fab in black and white so all I did was color the eyes a spooky green and add some sparkly glitter glue to the hat.  I die cut the panel with a decorative die, shaded in the edges very lightly and then matted it onto a slightly larger black panel.  I felt kitty needed some grounding so I colored in the slightest of green shadows underneath.  The background paper is from my stash, manufacturer unknown.  This would be a great design to mass produce, don't you think?

Supplies:

Unity Stamps - Ho Ho No Pissy Kitty stamp set

LDRS - Hand Torn Arches die set

Distress Oxide - Lost Shadow for the vintage look edging

designer paper - really old 6x6 paper pad

I invite you to visit our blog for more seasonal snark and hope to see your holiday sass in our gallery!  See you all back here in 2025!

Jules

Spellbinders - Candy Cane Felt Plushies

 

As promised I'm back with another set of felt projects for Spellbinders.  Today I'm featuring a trio of candy canes created with the Felt Stitch and Create Collection by Nichol Spohr.

Spellbinders carries their own felt collection however because I had some fancy felt in my stash I opted to use that on two of my candy canes.  (The red is metallic.  The white and green are glittered felt.  I used regular wool felt for the center candy cane.)  I purchased the cute buttons from Spellbinders several years ago and they're perfect for this project.  

If you're interested in creating any of these felt projects I highly encourage you to visit Nichol's YouTube video for tips and tricks.  

Thanks so much for visiting!!!  And thanks Yana and Spellbinders for the continues opportunity to work with you.  I'm currently finishing up two additional felt projects that I'll be sharing soon.

Jules

Color Hues #100 ... with Giveaway!!!

 

The Color Hues team is celebrating their 100th design challenge!  I have played along with this challenge pretty much from it's inception however I didn't become a Design Team member until January of 2023, starting with challenge #55.  To say that I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this wonderful challenge and team is a definitely an understatement.  Nancy, our fearless leader and founder of Color Hues, is our host for this special 100th edition and she has a giveaway planned.  Please visit our blog for details on how you could be eligible to win.  

In the meantime, as much as I love my dear friend, I do wish she'd stop tormenting me with her frequent choice of PURPLE.  *wink*

As usual, I went with my tried and true "die cutting in white and coloring with Distress Oxides" approach.  I chose to color the leaves and stems in blue and the daffodils in purple using a nonstick mat and blending brushes.  I added a bit of purple blending along the bottom, fading mid panel to white and stamped the sentiment in the top right corner.  The florals were adhered with liquid glue and the panel was popped up with fun foam onto a white card base.  Whew!  Another purple card is HISTORY!

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz - Spring Daffodils

MFT  - Friends Like Us stamp set

Distress Oxides - Wilted Violet, Milled Lavender, Shaded Lilac, Uncharted Mariner, Prize Ribbon

I invite you to visit our blog and play along for a chance at a wonderful prize package, courtesy of Nancy.  May you celebrate the holidays in the festive style of your choosing and I'll see you back in 2025 for more Color Hues inspiration.

Jules

Seize the Birthday #296

 

Hey there my crafty friends!  Welcome to the last Seize the Birthday challenge for 2024.  Barb is our host for this one and she's chosen a Topping that I personally think is a challenge for many of us.  Masculine.  I was happy to be pushed into making a guy card because I tend to skip them in my regular crafting schedule.  

Now before you go calling me sexist, let me add a disclaimer.  

This could totally be a gal card as well.  I just so happen to know several

real life girlfriends who can absolutely put down a six pack, no prob! 

Trust me, I've been a witness.  LOL!!!  But for today, it's totally masculine.

I began my design by die cutting the six beer steins/pilsners from white cardstock and then used my Copic markers to create the look of beer.  The heads of foam were cut from the same white cardstock.  I arranged the beers three on three onto black cardstock and added a white heat embossed sentiment in the middle.  I used a postage die to cut the focal and added it to an embossed yellow card base.  

Happy Beer-day to Some Yet to Be Determined Human of Male Gender!

Supplies:

MFT - Pint Sized die set

MFT - A Toast to You stamp set

Simon Says Stamp - Lumen embossing folder

Thanks so much for joining me today.  I invite you to visit our blog for more masculine inspiration.  Have a wonderful holiday season and I'll see you back here for more STB fun in 2025!

Jules