Have a Wonderful Christmas

I am using another Heartfelt Creations paper and image for this card. I really love the Heartfelt Creations papers, dies and stamps. They are so very pretty and classic looking. 

Here is the sketch we are using this week (a nice, simple, classic sketch):

We have tried to keep the sketches here toward the end of the year classic and simple. We realize everyone is busy with holidays and/or family, not to mention Christmas cards, so we've tried to create simple but beautifully classic sketches to help you out. This one was created by Debbie and is perfect for lovely Christmas cards!

As mentioned, I am enamored  with the beautiful Heartfelt Creations. For this card, I have used a piece of their paper (background) and the lovely pre-printed cut-out (front panel). The rest of the card is from my stash. I started with a white card base. I layered red card and then the HC background paper. The border piece behind the front panel is a Spellbinder die. The green is from my scrap bag. The panel is pre-printed. I matted it with the red before placing it onto the card. Easy-peasy and quick, but doesn't it look so very pretty?

Please take a few minutes today and check out the other DT creations on the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog. The team always does such beautiful work. I know you won't be disappointed this week, and I hope you will be inspired to join us.

Birdies of a Feather

We Are 3 products:
Image - Birdies of a Feather
Paper - Toasty Warm
             Spring Letters
Sentiment - Holiday Thank You (Retired)


For this little card, I started with a white base card. I layered the toasty warm brown knit patterned paper onto solid brown. The little birds are pre-colored, so after printing, I cut them into an oval shape using a Spellbinder's oval die. I then cut a coordinating scalloped die (Spellbinder Scalloped Ovals) from the Spring Letters blue water drops paper. 

I finished off the card using Wild Orchid apple blossom flowers, Recollections pearls and green leaves punched with a Martha Stewart punch. The little banner, which I adhered using foam dots, is from the Holiday Thank You set.

This card was super easy and quick to put together, but I love the look of it. It looks as if I spent a lot of time creating a special thank you for a special gift. LUV this kind of crafting!

I Love You

I know you are probably thinking we haven't even gotten through Thanksgiving yet so what in the world are we doing featuring Valentine's Day cards? You are probably also saying, "We just did that sketch last week." Hum, let me bring in the sketch and then I'll give you some details and reasons.

OK, Melissa is to "blame" for this (smile). She actually didn't intend for these two sketches to be side by side, and she didn't mean for it to be in November. However, when she was setting up the sketches (she does them months in advance), she didn't notice what was happening (she's a busy lady, so we allow her at least one mistake a year - grin). I didn't mind because I have an anniversary December 3rd, so I can see where hearts and love can be throughout the year and not just in February. OK, so this particular card is a bit too feminine for me to use as an anniversary card for my Hubs, but I've got a jump on Valentines (smile).

Let me show you the prize for this week and then I'll tell you about my card:

Now, on to the details of my card. This beautiful card was made using paper and dies from Heartfelt Creation's newest set. It is designed with love in mind, and I just received it last Thursday -- just in time to give it a try for my Tuesday Morning Sketches DT card!

I started with a white card as my base. The beautiful pink paper is from the pad that goes with this beautiful Heartfelt Love collection. The center was cut from the green using the Sweetheart Borders die. My heart uses the Heartfelt Eyelet Hearts set. It was cut out of pink using the eyelet die and then cut again out of white with the matching stacking die. I then stamped the I Love You using one of the stamps in the Heartfelt Love Sentiments set using Close To My Heart ink. To finish off my card, I added paper flowers from Wild Orchid and pink pearls from Recollections.

You do not have to use a heart (although most of the DT did). Check out Debbie's card over at the blog. Melissa's thinking was a layered heart, but you can change that up to another image as long as you get the layers in there. Use some creative thinking if you aren't into hearts or if you'd like your card to be different. 

Have a great week, and for those of you in the US who will be celebrating Thanksgiving this Thursday, have a wonderful one!

Christmas Blessings

This time of the year, my brain gets a little scrambled and my time gets a little off kilter. I apologize for being late with my posting.

Here is this week's lovely, basic sketch. It is perfect for making some quick but lovely cards during this busy time of year.

We also have a super prize this week (I'd like to have this myself). Here is a super stamp/die set that some lucky participant will win:

My card was even "quicker" to make because I used some of Heartfelt Creations Christmas paper, poinsettia stamp and die and sentiment tag for the elements to this wonderfully classic sketch.   I started with a white card and layered a piece of the Heartfelt Creations (HC) paper which I cut so the holly print would fit into the left hand corner. I cut a piece of green card from my scrap bag for the center strip and punched a scalloped edge with a border punch.

The poinsettia is hand made using red card and the HC stamp and die. I added gold Prells (also from HC) to the center. The leaves are a combination of Martha Stewart (fern shape) and McGill (holly leaves) punches. 

Lastly, the small "ticket" shaped sentiment tag is a HC cut out. 

Stop by the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog and have a look at the other beautiful samples provided by the DT. You should find lots of inspiration, and if you have time, we'd love for you to join this week's challenge.

 

For a Friend

 Today I made a card to send to a friend. She is the sweetest lady and is highly thought of by everyone who knows her. A month ago, she was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. The up side is her doctor feels it can be eliminated with surgery. The down side is she has been waiting for the surgery because they need to get her built up a bit. 

I started with a white card as my base and then used We Are 3 digital papers and sentiment for the rest. The background paper and the strip are from the Spring Letters collection  (https://www.etsy.com/…/we-are-3-digital-paper-spring-letters).

 The sentiment is from the Little Things Sentiments
(https://www.etsy.com/…/we-are-3-digital-shop-sentiments-lit…)

The flower is handmade using Heartfelt Creations dies and paper from the Fall Inspiration Collection (Orange Glow  https://www.etsy.com/…/we-are-3-digital-paper-fall-inspirat…)

I have been having a lot of fun using the digital papers from We Are 3. I hadn't used digital papers much, but it has been very nice (and much quicker) to print off the papers that work together. No going through pad after pad after pad to find papers that would give me the "look" I am after. Not counting the flower (which I had already made previously), this card took me less than 20 minutes to make, and that included cutting the sentiment with a Spellbinder die and inking the middle strip with Colorbox brown ink.

We Are 3 has images (both black and white and pre-colored), sentiments and papers designed to make you a crafting expert in no time at all. Go check them out!

One Horse Sleigh

This week we have a wonderful sketch for you. Here it is:

 

We're thrilled to have our friend and former DT member sponsor our challenge this week.  Bonnie opened a digital shop of her own. We Are 3  The prize is a $15 voucher to the shop (excludes handmade cards).

 

Don't let the black and white sketch scare you off. This sketch is really not complicated (as you can tell from my card as well as the beautiful cards from the other DT members). The most complicated part (for me) was the stitch lines. Our gracious sponsor designed some .png stitch lines that she is selling in her We Are 3 Etsy shop, but sadly, I didn't get the benefit of using them, so I actually pulled out my nice sewing machine (that never gets used) and stitched across the top with a threadless needle (say that three time quickly)! OK, so I'm not going to apologize for the awkwardness of my stitches, but I will suggest you look at the other DT samples and see how they did theirs -- much nicer and neater than mine for sure and for certain (smile).

All of my card (except the white base and the poinsettia flower) is made using We Are 3 digital papers and image. It was really fun putting the different papers together to create the warm feel of this card.  Here is what I've used: Storybook Christmas, Christmas Greetings Sentiments, Toasty Warm Neutrals, Winter Scenes and Warm Sand.

The green background is from the Storybook Christmas collection of papers. The piece matted with the red is from teh Toasty Warm Neutrals collection. The image is from the Winter Scenes set, and it is matted using a piece from the Warm Sand collection. The sentiment is from the Christmas Greetings sentiments, and it is printed onto a piece of red from the Storybook Christmas collection. Whew, got it all in (LOL)! 

The poinsettia flower and leaves were made using Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies, and the center is made using Heartfelt Creations Prells.

I think I may do this card again using some of the other Winter Scenes images but will use the We Are 3 stitching lines which I'll place onto the background paper before I print it off.

Remember to take a few minutes to go by the Tuesday Morning Sketches blog and have a look at all the DT samples. We are also privileged to have three of the We Are 3 team members sharing their cards. You will really be WOWed with all the wonderful talent and inspiration you will see.
 

Happy Christmas

When I made this card, I really wanted a big star in the upper right and the caption "Do You See What I See;" however, I didn't have a star image that would work, so I hope I created the illusion of twinkling stars with the little gems along the top.

This card was made using the Snow Friends Wow Snowman image from We Are 3 Digital designs. We Are 3 offers Wow Snowman in a pre-colored form as well as black and white so that you may color him yourself. I used the black and white image and my Copic markers to create my own look.

My background paper is from Toasty Warm Neutrals.  I used navy card stock for the card base and to mat the strip piece under the snowman. I also used the navy for the die cut on which I've placed my little fellow. I fussy cut the snowman and popped up up using foam dots. The die is from Spellbinder.

The sentiment used is also from We Are 3 and is the Christmas set. I printed it off and then matted it with the navy. Lastly, to give my stars a bit of twinkle, I added crystal gems from Recollections.

If you haven't tried working with digital papers, you really should check out the beautiful sets created by We Are 3. They really make card making so much easier and quicker (less time trying to find and match papers). 

Hipster Snowman

 

I have several snowmen designed by We Are 3 designs that I'll share with you over the next several week. This is the first one.

I have used: Hipster Snowman digital image and three designs from the Christmas Magic digital papers.

Although the Hipster snowman now comes in a precolored image, I chose to color my own. I printed the image onto Neenah white card and colored it with my Copic markers. I then fussy cut him. I used a white card base and printed off three of the papers from the Christmas Magic set (one behind the snowman, one on the band and one the background). I matted the two lighter ones with navy card. I adhered the Hipster Snowman using foam pop-up dots. I finished off the little card with blue pearls.

You can find the image and the papers, along with many more,  in the We Are 3 Etsy shop.