Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge

Hope you are having a great Saturday! Between laundry loads, vacuuming and a trip to the PO, I'm working on this entry for the Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge #10. I went with a fairly large tag that could be gifted with some yummy local coffee that I get at Micah's Coffee.

I used Gina K. Designs Gnome for the Holidays stamp 'n stencil craft kit. It's easy and fun to assemble and all I needed was a coffee cup. I went into my stash of Verve stamps and pulled the Always Time set. Don't you like how the gnome is balancing the cup on his right foot - lol?!

INK: Hawaiian Shores, Tropical Teal, True Black, Limeade Ice, Simply Chartreuse, Cocoa Bean, Pinefeather, Ocean Tides (dye inks by Papertrey Ink).  

DIES: Gnome for the Holidays (Gina K Designs); Rounded Banner STAX Die-Namics (My Favorite Things), Always Time (Verve).

 

Thanks for stopping by and commenting!  ~Wanda

Blessed is the Man...

 

I was needing a pastor appreciation card this week and was inspired by the photo for the {PIN}spirational Challenges and the sketch for Freshly Made Sketches. In the photo, the sentiment is the central focal point and it's surrounded by random leaves. I went with an old but faithful sentiment by Verve - Jeremiah 17:7 - as the focal point. My new favorite "loose leaf" stamp is the collaboration set by Reverse Confetti and Simon Says Stamp during their Stamptember celebration.

The outline was stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink and the

filler colors were Shabby Shutters, Scattered Straw and Stormy Sky distress inks.  I slightly tweaked the sketch by offsetting the sentiment panel and I put the trio of circle elements in the upper right corner.  I can't seem to get enough of the Crimped Frame dies that were recently released by The Greetery! They are especially fitting for masculine designs. The base cardstock is Enchanted Evening by Papertrey Ink.

Remember, October is traditionally pastor appreciation month...so don't forget to show your pastor some love!
                                                                         ~Wanda

Irish Blessing

 

One of my favorite sentiments to highlight during the St. Patrick's Day season is this Irish blessing from the Blessings stamp set by Verve. I did not realize that the Tag, You're It! challenge that I used to play along with has returned after taking over a year off.  Yay! (Edited to add: I just discovered the Linky has already closed for this challenge!) I tweaked the current Mojo Monday Sketch challenge a bit and changed the circle to a tag element so I could enter this into both challenges.  I played with some alcohol inks and gold mixative to create the background.  The terracotta and turquoise papers were in my massive leftover pile, so I'm not sure of the exact colors or the company they came from.  

The horizontal border is heavy weight vellum that was torn along

the two long edges.  It was adhered using four tiny brads and a bit of adhesive behind the tag. The fibers have been in my stash a VERY long time but worked out perfectly with these colors!

Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!

Freshly Made Sketches

I'm taking a break this afternoon for a quick card for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge where Judy has a super fun layout for us!  I wanted to highlight this verse - a Plain Jane sentiment from Verve - to send to my dad who is in an assisted living facility and is battling depression. It's hard when I'm living in another state and can only call or send mail periodically.  

I started by sponging Peacock Feathers and Evergreen Bough distress inks with the English Brick Wall stencil by My Favorite Things. I had a leftover piece of alcohol inked Yupo paper that was created with turquoise alcohol ink and silver mixative.  I cut the border using a stitched die by Lil Inker Designs.  

STAMPS: Verve Plain Jane Psalm 46:10; Petals 'n Posies by Reverse Confetti.
PAPER: White (PTI), Brushed Silver (SU), Yupo (Ranger).
INK: Bumblebee Yellow, Parakeet, Iced Aqua, Aqua (Reverse Confetti); Versafine Onyx Black; Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough distress inks.
DIES: Stitched Circle STAX Die-Namics by MFT; Petals 'n Posies by Reverse Confetti; Stitched Border by Lil Inker Designs.
 

Mojo Sketch #510

 

Julee has a square sketch for the current Mojo Sketch Challenge! I love square cards but it does require extra postage if you mail them.  These colors tend to have a fallish feeling, but what the heck...I went with them anyway!  Psst...initially I was going to use this for an upcoming Color Throwdown challenge but changed my mind. 

I had this Verve coffee stamp set and coffee word die out for another project, so just went with it for this sketch.  The mug is paper pieced and the 'steam' was white embossed.  I used Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale: Quilted die for a square within a square (yes, I did some sketch tweaking - haha!).  Patterned papers are from the Perfectly Plaid Fall 6x6" pad by Lawn Fawn.

INK: Peacock Feathers distress ink by Tim Holtz; Soft Suede by SU.

Addicted To Stamps Challenge

I decided to venture outside my usual box and played with a brand new (to me) challenge called Addicted to Stamps. The design team is uber talented and they have so many wonderful cards to get your mojo flowing!  The current theme is "Autumn Colors" and it was perfect to get a card done for pastor appreciation Sunday that's coming up soon.

I started by stenciling this leafy background with Antique Linen and Bundled Sage distress oxide inks.  I then added some tendrils with Forest Moss distress oxide ink and popped up a pumpkin (Spiced Marmalade) and some leaves (Peeled Paint) from Simon Says Stamp's Ornate Leaves stamp set.  It required fussy cutting which reminds me I need to check their store to see if they have matching dies.  I thought this verse from Jeremiah 17:7 - a Plain Jane stamp from the former Verve store - would be perfect for our pastor! 

So...if you attend a church...please remember the pastor during this month which is nationally recognized as pastor appreciation month!  They have a difficult and often underappreciated job!

Fusion Card Challenge

It's time for a new Fusion Card Challenge and we've got a pastel Halloween inspiration photo to get your mojo moving! Obviously, I was inspired by the beautiful pastel colors and chose to go with fall leaves for my focal point.  These fun leaf stamps are from Verve's Harvest Blessings stamp set and the sentiment is from Reverse Confetti's Forever Fall set.

I wanted to add some texture, so finally chose to use an old embossing folder by Sizzix.  I put my inks away before I wrote down the names, so my apologies that I don't have that detail to include for you.  

For more inspiration, be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has created.. Barb Ghigliotty, Jeanne Jachna, Jen Mitchell, Karren Johnson, Linda Callahan, Lyndal Higgins , Michelle Leone, Michelle Lupton, Wanda Cullen (you are here).

Hope to see you in the Fusion gallery!

Shades of Pink

The Paper Players challenge is a color challenge this week and it's all about shades of pink. I'm using the sketch again for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge and chose some pretty patterned paper from KaiserCraft's "The Lake House" pad to pair up with a Fantasy Floral Die from Altenew.  

This was an incredibly simple card to throw together!  

I quickly colored the leaves with Zig Clean Color brush markers and the flower was layered with 3 different pink pieces of cardstock from my leftover pile.  The sentiment is from Verve's "Small Phrases" stamp set. 

Quote from 365 Days of Wonder:

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
           --Mark Twain

Viva La Verve

Good Monday everyone! It's been snowing all day...not sure when it started since I got a late start thanks to jet lag from changing to Daylight Savings Time yesterday!  Looks like at least 4" has accumulated so far.  Thankful I worked the weekend and now have today off, so no driving needed and more stamping time can be accomplished!
I'm finally getting around to playing with the sketch for Verve's March Viva La Verve challenge.  

I wanted to build up my stash of graduation cards and this sentiment from Verve's Sparkly Dreams set was perfect for that! Inside the card, I added "Congratulations On Your Graduation". The butterflies were white embossed on heavy weight vellum, die cut with Verve's Butterfly Dreams die and adhered with a tiny glue dot.  I also used two die sets by Reverse Confetti: Lacy Scallop Circles and Edge Essentials. Patterned papers are from Papertrey Ink's Bitty Big series: Aqua Mist.  As I generally do when stamping sentiments, I used my MISTI to stamp it 3 times to get a really crisp and clear result!

Quote from 365 Days of Wonder: 

MAR 12 - "That Love is all there is, is all we know of Love."

                    --Emily Dickinson 

Irish Blessing

How do you share your cards? Are you one that mails them out frequently or do you have other outlets? I donate cards for fundraisers - mostly through our church - and also donate a large container with about 2 dozen cards at our annual Christmas brunch at work.  I keep a basket of cards on the table in the nurses' station where I work and have them for sale. This helps to reimburse my habit...errr...hobby - lol!  Yesterday, one of the nurses asked about St. Patrick's Day cards.  I have very few stamp options for this holiday, but I do have two Irish blessing stamps from Verve's Blessings stamp set.  I'm featuring one of them of my card today.

I accented the quote with florals from Reverse Confetti's Blooms 'n Buds stamp set and die cut them with matching dies.  The background was a leftover panel from a day I was experimenting with alcohol inks.  Here's what else I used...

STAMPS: Blessings (Verve), Blooms 'n Buds (Reverse Confetti).
PAPER: Enchanted Evening (PTI), Cucumber Crush (SU), White (PTI).
INK: Cucumber Crush, Dapper Denim, Night of Navy (SU), Bumblebee, Tangerine (Reverse Confetti).
DIES: Striped Sentiment Strip Cover Die-Namic (MFT), Stitched Circles Die-Namics (MFT), Blooms 'n Buds (Reverse Confetti).

Quote from 365 Days of Wonder:

FEB 20 - "Whatever you are, be a good one".

                 --Abraham Lincoln 

Oh Deer!

I whipped out a couple more of the same Christmas cards this afternoon. No particular challenge in mind. I like these non-traditional colors for Christmas and combined products from many different stamp companies!

STAMPS: Unto Us (Verve) - deer; Wreath For All Seasons (Papertrey Ink) - wreath and sentiment.
PAPER: Tim Holtz "Christmas/Noel/Navidad" 8x8 pad; Black Licorice & Ripe Raspberry (MFT); White (PTI); Lime Green (Reverse Confetti).
INK: Parakeet, Magenta (Reverse Confetti); Versamark; Versafine Black Onyx.
DIES: Edge Essentials (Reverse Confetti); Stitched Circles and Fishtail Flags STAX Die-Namics (MFT); Holly (Reverse Confetti); Reindeer Fun (Verve).

Color Throwdown & Viva la Verve

Another Wednesday means another Color Throwdown Challenge is up and running. Barbara is our hostess this week and was inspired by this great winter scene to use red, gray and black.  I used the new Viva la Verve sketch for December and wanted this sentiment to be the focal point.  I can't seem to get enough Christmas cards created this year (Note to self: start earlier next year!). 

I pretty much let the patterned papers do the talking and embellished with snowflakes die cut from silvery white glitter cardstock. Here is what I used:
STAMPS: Richly Blessed (Verve).
PAPER: Tis the Season 6x6 pad by Echo Park.
INK: Versafine Onxy Black.
DIES: Stitched circle, rectangle and scalloped border by Lil' Inker Designs; Stitched Fishtail Flags Die-Namics by My Favorite Things; Let it Snow (snowflakes) by Reverse Confetti.

We're happy to announce that the talented Debra James is our guest designer for December!  Welcome Debra!  (Edited to add...she has the most adorable card for today's challenge!).

I also want to give a shout out to our star stamper this week - Kathy Straw!  Stop by her blog HERE to say hello.

We'd love to have you join us in the challenge!  For more details on how to play along, head over to the Color Throwdown blog and you'll find the information on the right sidebar.  You can also visit the rest of the design team's creations for more inspiration by clicking on the links below:

Amy Rohl 
Amy Rysavy
Barbara Anders   
Broni Holcombe
Jodi Collins 
Lisa Henke
Lori Tecler
Lynn Put  
Vickie Zimmer 
Wanda Cullen (you are here)  
Debra James - December Guest Designer 

CAS(E) This Sketch

I decided to create two nearly identical cards using the current layout for the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge.  The poinsettias are from Verve's Joyous Noel stamp set - stamped in black on Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  The leaves are Spellbinders' poinsettia dies which I sponged with Old Olive ink.  The stitched lines are from Reverse Confetti's Edge Essentials die set and the sentiment was layered 3 times using RC's Winter Words die set.  Patterned papers are from the Simple Stories 'Cozy Christmas' 6x6 pad - a long time favorite set of Christmas papers.

Speaking of joy...as I finished my card, Martin Truex, Jr. won the Nascar championship race at Homestead!  He dominated all season and I was rooting for him to win! 

Pastor Appreciation

It's Friday eve and a startling fact is that Christmas will be over in 2 months from today - EEEK! I need to get a serious start on Christmas cards but it won't be today - hahaha!  I needed two pastor appreciation cards, so I went to my 'go to' Plain Jane stamp by Verve using the verse from Jeremiah 17:7.  I white embossed on Baked Brown Sugar cardstock then die cut with MFT's Traditional Tags STAX.  The little half circle topper is from PTI's Tag Sale #3 die.  I CASEed the layout from this card by Amy Sheffer that I had saved on Pinterest.  I arranged the die cut stamped elements from PTI's Holiday Greens stamp set very close to Amy's design.  I love that this can be used for any winter card...not just Christmas. The background was embossed using SU's Woodgrain EF then lightly sponged with Baked Brown Sugar ink. 

That's it for now...a quick post between laundry loads.  I'm always amazed at how much laundry continues to happen with just two people in the house anymore!  😁