A Lotus of Thanks

This is for today's WAYS TO USE IT CHALLENGE # 564 - Make A Toast to 2016 where we were to use the cracked glass technique. My layout is from Wednesday's SKETCH CHALLENGE # 573. My color combo is from Tuesday's COLOR CHALLENGE # 563 - Island Lagoons with Pizzazz. I was in a lull Monday thru Wednesday and just could not decided on what to make until today. I used soft sky on the solid image then stamped off last lagoon for #2 and inked again and stamped the 3rd image on top of the other images. I LOVE how it turned out. I stamped off with pear pizzazz for the solid stem then inked again and stamped the 2nd image on top.
For the inside I stamped the solid in soft sky very lightly then stamped the sentiment in island indigo over the flower image. I stamped the Thank You in island indigo on the front side of the envelope. Now off to work for a short day and to begin a long weekend. As we head into 2016 I pray that everyone will be safe and in good health all year. May God surround you and your families with a hedge of protection.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Lotus Blossom 
Paper: white, Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz DCWV - Cafe Mediterranean 
Ink: soft sky, Island Indigo, Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz 
Accessories: ribbon, eyelet 
Techniques: 3D, Cracked Glass

Season's Greetings Silhouette

This is for today's WAYS TO USE IT CHALLENGE # 563 - Christmas Eve where we were to use silhouettes. My layout is from Wednesday's SKETCH CHALLENGE # 572. My color combo is from Tuesday's COLOR CHALLENGE # 562 - A New Year. I cut the focal circle panel from some silver dp and trimmed it with black cs. I used black cs to cut our the trees and deer silhouettes. I used delightful Dijon cs for the gold. I stamped the sentiment and greeting in black ink. Hope you like it.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Season's Greetings 
Paper: white, silver, black, delightful dijon 
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black 
Accessories: Nestabilities Circle, IO Trees, IO deer 
Techniques: 3d, silhouettes

Frosty All Wrapped Up for Christmas

This is for today's TECHNIQUE LOVERS CHALLENGE # 565 - Wrapping Up Christmas and for today's CLEAN AND SIMPLE CHALLENGE # 356 - Some people are worth melting for. Well my husband, daughters and grandkids certainly are worth melting for and Saturday they melted my heart with the joy on their faces as they opened their gifts. I spent less this year than I have in a long time but the faces still glowed with joy and excitement. Anyway, I love this darling snowman and have not had an opportunity to ink him up until today. I am still trying to work on my hills and snowbanks. Maybe one day I will get it rights. These turned out tooo dark to suit me. I added stickles to the base of the snowbanks and around the snowman for bling. I wrapped the ribbon around the pool party panel and tied a bow on the end. I colored the snowman with copics. On the front, inside and envelope I stamped in pool party. Hope you like it.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Jolliest Time of the Year, Come to Bethlehem
Paper: white, pool party 
Ink: Pool Party, copics 
Techniques: copic coloring, bow, masking, snowbanks

Merry Christmas to Jessie

This is for today's WAYS TO USE IT CHALLENGE # 562 - Bring on the Bling, Wednesday's SKETCH CHALLENGE # 571 and Monday's TECHNIQUE LOVERS CHALLENGE # 564 - Rags to Riches. I used copiic coloring and dry embossing for my 2 techniques and the holly panel started out months ago as a 4 1/4 x 5 /12 panel. I trimmed it today to fit the sketch. I have been waiting for ever to ink up this darling set and today was the day. I stamped the image in momento tuxedo black then trimmed and colored with copics. I added stickles to the star, garland and dots on her collar. My focal image was matted on real red and then adhered to the wild wasabi panel. I embossed the wild wasabi panel iwth the holly and berries embossing folder and colored the berries before matting the focal panel. My white card base will aid in the inside sentiment to be decided before giving to my darling hubby. HE has a black lab/pit bull mix MUT!! I stress that it is HIS dog since he has to remain tied or fenced due to his irratic snapping and bitting behavior. God was with our granddaughter earlier this year with this MUT took at bit at her face and made a huge gash under her eye. The vet that we took him too for his next check up stated "no GOD was with the dog because if he were mine I would have put him down right then". My sensitive dh just can not seem to do that so we will see how keeping him tied and fenced goes. Anyway bc he loves this dog so much I had to make his card this year with this set that I bought just for him. I did finished the envelope by stamping in momento tuxedo black and will do the inside tonight. Hope you like it.
RECIPE:

Stamps: IA - Punny Christmas Pups

Paper: white, wild wasabi, real red

Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: stickles, Holly EF

Techniques: dry embossing, bling, copic coloring

Anchor of the Soul in the Bay

This is for today's COLOR CHALLENGE # 561 - A Slate Cabana on the Bay.  or dessert I used my white jel pen to accent some faux waves. I am NOT thrilled with this but it is what it is. My layout is from Monday's MOJO MONDAY SKETCH CHALLENGE # 428. I used a punched scalloped oval as a mask and sponged some smoky slate ink for a stormy sky illusions, I used a straight line to sponge Bermuda bay and then coastal cabana on the bottom for a lighter tone. 

I stamped the sentiments in Bermuda bay.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Anchor, Anchor of the Soul 
Paper: white, Coastal Cabana 
Ink: Smokey Slate, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay 
Accessories: ribbon, crop-a-dile, whie jel pen, scalloped oval 
Techniques: sponging, tags, masking

Trimming the Tree with Peaceful Christmas Wishes

This is for today's TECHNIQUE LOVERS CHALLENGE # 564 - Rags to Riches where we were to use something that we had lying around from another project or a failed project. Mine was the cording and die cut which I had for a previous challenge but did not like the way it looked so I didn't use it as well as the card. I had stamped the branch once and was going to use it but could not decided how to use it until today. I added 2 more stamped branches and like it much better along with adding the die cut. This is also for today's CLEAN AND SIMPLE CHALLENGE # 355 - Trim the Tree.  Well the tree is trimmed and the ornaments are hung. It will soon be time to take them all down again but for now this is what I came up with today. 

I stamped the greeting on the front in cherry cobbler and  I stamped the branches in wild wasabi as well as the sentiment on the inside and envelope. Hope you like it. I am so miffed because I am finished labeling all my cards and have a stamp set I bought just for this holiday and have not even had an opportunity to ink it up. Hopefully tomorrow's color challenge will work. Now off to work I go.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Peaceful Wishes, Christmas Cheer .
Paper: White, gold dp
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler 
Accessories: gold cording, Shapeabilities Holiday Tags, dimensionals 
Techniques: CAS, 3D, die cuts

Come To Bethlehem Feeling the Night Breeze

This is for Tuesday's COLOR CHALLENGE # 560 - Feeling the Night Breeze and gold for dessert. I was not exactly overly thrilled with my card for Tuesday and had this in mind after seeing Maura (aka beesmom)'s gorgeous creation and commenting that I saved it to favs for CASing rights. I CASEd her Silent Night card. I changed the orientation and used a scene rather than trees.
I stamped my image in night of navy then sponged above using a mask to simulate a snowbank, I used a small circle for the moon and sponged some baja breeze around the circle and then inked just the star and stamped it in the clear white area. I added stickles for bling. I dropped down and sponged with some baja breeze using a different mask. I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment in night of navy on the front and envelope and the other sentiment on the inside in NON.

I stamped the image over the sentiment in baja breeze after stamping off once.  I took my daughter's advice and added some dimension to the navy background and I tied some gold cording and matted that on NON then on white cs base. I like this one much better and hope you do to. This is what happens at 1am when I can not sleep. I stamp. LOL.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Come to Bethlehem 
Paper: white, night of navy 
Ink: Baja Breeze, Night of Navy 
Accessories: stickles, cord cording, white jel pen 
Techniques: sponging, masking, reverse masking

Every Blessing Christmas Nativity

This is for today's COLOR CHALLENGE # 560 - Feeling the Night Breeze. That's right ladies, just 1 challenge today. GASP!!! I cut the nativity scene out of baja breeze and adhered it to night of navy then added some stickles to the star. On the inside

I stamped the image in baja breeze then the sentiment in night of navy. I also stamped a sentiment on the envelope in night of navy. Hope you like it.

RECIPE:
Stamps: Every Blessing 
Paper: White, Baja Breeze, Night of Navy 
Ink: Baja Breeze, Night of Navy 
Accessories: cottage cutz Nativity border, stickles 
Techniques: die cuts

Season's Greeting Lovely Tree

This is for today's TECHNIQUE LOVERS CHALLENGE # 563 - Small Stamp Designs. 
I used the small stamp from Lovely as a tree to border my focal image. I stamped all images in garden green for today's CLEAN AND SIMPLE CHALLENGE # 354 - Christmas Greens. After stamping my tree on the focal panel and without inking again I stamped again on the inside of the card for a slightly lighter image then stamped the sentiment over the tree.

I also stamped Merry Christmas on the upper panel of the inside as well as the back side of the envelope. I distressed the edges of my focal panel with the ink pad before matting on white card base. I cut an oval and used the cut out for my reverse masking around the tree using pear pizzazz ink. I added stickles to the tree and all the small twigs around it. I hope you like it.
RECIPE:
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Season's Greetings 
Paper: white 
Ink: Garden Green, Pear Pizzazz 
Accessories: Stickles, oval mask 
Techniques: Reverse Masking, Small Stamp Designs

Happy Birthday Big Boy for James

This is for today's SKETCH CHALLENGE # 569. My color combo is from Tuesday's COLOR CHALLENG E# 559 - Honey there's a rose in my garden and the popped up HAPPY is from the MFP set I used stamped in garden green, cut and popped up on dimensionals for Monday's TECHNIQUE LOVERS CHALLENGE # 562 - Pieced and Cut Words the rose red HB are from It's Your Birthday SU Set. 

I used a sentiment from IYB set for the inside and the HHB for the envelope. I needed a masculine birthday card for Jessie's brother so this will go in the mail today.  Hope you like it.
RECIPE:
Stamps: It's Your Birthday & All Year Cheer II - SU, Big Boy Toys - MFP 
Paper: white, hello honey, garden green, rose red 
Ink: Garden Green, rose red 
Accessories: dimensionals, ribbon, clear glaze 
Techniques: sponging, copics, 3D

More Merry Jingle Bells

This is for today's COLOR CHALLENGE # 559 - Honey there's a Rose in our Garden, and Monday's TECHNIQUE LOVERS CHALLENGE # 562 - Pieced and Cut Words.
I wanted to keep this a CAS so I avoided the temptation to add layers and ribbons, etc. I cut the jingle bell die in hello honey, rose red and garden green and trimmed the top of the garden green panel and glued it on top of the rose red. I filled in the bells with hello honey and rose red. I stamped the sentiments omitting the M and C which were cut out from Quickutz Ginger alphabet and attached appropriately. 
I stamped the sentiment on the inside and envelope in rose red. Hope you like it and now off to work.
RECIPE:
Stamps: More Merry Messages 
Paper: white, Rose Red, Garden Green, Hello Honey 
Ink: Rose Red, Garden Green 
Accessories: Memory Box Jingle Bells, Quickutz Ginger 
Techniques: Paper piecing