Paper Trufflez

Wedgewood Tree (5MQ)

Wedgewood is what inspired this design.  White sculptural relief work against a sea of crisp blue.

If you want something stunningly elegant, yet exceedingly simple for your holiday card-making this season, I'd venture to say that this would fit the bill quite nicely. *grin*

Yeah . . . we could bust 50 of these babies out in an hour, doncha' think?!

Hallmark wishes they were this good . . .      *wink*

*****

Credits - Stamps: Snowladen Tree, Merry Christmas; Paper: Winter Sky Card Stock; Clear Twinkle Stickers all by A Muse Artstamps; Silver Cord by May Arts; Ink:  Versamark; White Embossing Powder

I know; it's not Christmas yet.

Today's Thanksgiving.  And, I hope it is a blessed one for you & yours!

There's snow outside my window, a hot cuppa in hand, the smell of a roasting turkey is wafting thru the house, and family will be gathering here to share a feast in a few hours.

I didn't get a chance to make any Thanksgiving cards at all this year, so . . . I'm not posting one. LOL!

But, I do have a submission rejection I thought I'd share, and hope it sparks some ideas in your holiday card making.  *grin*

I really love this design--one of my favorites!  I'm really into red, browns and soft blues this year for Christmas!

A tip on this design *wink*:  Pounce your paper surface with an anti-static pouch, then stamp and heat emboss "HO!" 3x with white embossing powder.  When cool, then stamp the snowflakes with white pigment ink and simply allow to dry or speed heat set with your heat tool, taking care not to remelt the embossed "HO!"s.  I wanted the snowflakes to be a little softer than they would have been if I had embossed them like the letters, so I had to emboss the letters first.

Have a great holiday!

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Credits- Stamps: Fancy Alphabet (clear set), North Pole, Mini Flake, Sky Blue Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Sky Blue Twinkle Stickers all by A Muse Artstamps; Distressed Red Paper and patterned paper by Basic Grey; Inks: Colorbox Frost White, Versamark, Memento Rich Cocoa & Sand Dune; Copic Markers; Wavy Dotted Border Punch by EK Success; White Embossing Powder

A stack of thanks . . . 8 of 8 (a 5MQ)

Eighth, and last, in the series.  The beginning was this post

Stamped "thanks", then cut a strip of patterned paper, with a gap and glued that down.  Looked good just like that; looked even mo'h bettah' with a few butterflies, so I figured why not?!

Eight designs--all super easy and fast to make--they make a nice little stack to keep on hand.  Could do a whole n'other batch . . . all the same, just different paper(s).  Hmmmmm, not a bad idea . . . not a bad idea  at all . . . *wink*

 

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Credits:  "thanks" by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer Collection 6x6 by Basic Grey; Fresh Ink in Chocolate by Impress Rubber Stamps; Multi-butterfly punch by Martha Stewart

A stack of thanks . . . 7 of 8

Seventh in the series of 8.  Have you been watching these pop up since Day 1? If so, you have the patience of a saint! *chuckle*

The Queen Anne's Lace made it quick and easy to whip this one out.  Doncha' just love when a design does that? Easy on the brain.  I likey. Muchly.

I'm off the Rock teaching at Impress tomorrow--teaching classes has always been my favorite part of what I do!

See ya' Monday with the eighth, and last in this series, and I hope you're having a fan-stamp-magorical weekend! (That is not really a word, you know.  I made it up. *snarf*  And . . . I likey. *grin* )

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Credits - Queen Anne's Lace, "Many thanks", by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer & Basics Manila Collections 6x6 pad by Basic Grey; Fresh Ink in Chocolate by Impress Rubber Stamps; Ivory Twine by May Arts; 1 1/2" Circle Punch by EK Success; Circle Scissor by Martha Stewart for EK Success; Silver Eyelet

A stack of thanks . . . 6 of 8

Sixth in the series of 8; You can see #1 and read about my plan of attack here.

In the interest of speed, I left the butterfly uncolored, but if you have more time you certainly could color it in.  I do like the way it looks, however, with the patterned paper showing thru it.  I distressed the edges of the paper with a pair of scissors, and tore off a little of one corner so I could put a brad for accent.

I didn't care if the zig zag stitching was a little crooked; looks like real sewing, BUT IT'SSNOT! 

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Credits - "Many thanks" by A Muse Artstamps; Traditional Butterfly (and retired zig zag stitching) by Hero Arts; Ink:  Fresh Ink in Chocolate and Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer & Basics Manila Collections by Basic Grey; Antique Copper Mini Brad by Making Memories

A stack of thanks . . . 5 of 8

Fifth in the series of 8. You can read more about that here in this post.

A row of piercing accents the bottom of the sentiment, which is 3D mounted over various widths of pretty paper--I clipped those to various lengths and angles.  I included a strip of gold Washi tape to add a little elegance--I love how it only takes a smidge of that stuff to make something stand out! I love how the stuff is repositionable.  I love that it is sheer. I love it.

LOVE it, I tell ya'.

*****

Credits: "thanks" by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer Collection 6x6 by Basic Grey; Gold Washi Tape from www.cutetape.com ; Fresh Ink in Chocolate by Impress Rubber Stamps; Button by Basic Grey; 1" square punch by EK Success; Ivory Twine by May Arts; Button by Basic Grey; Corner Chomper (Rounder) by WR Memory Keepers

A stack of thanks . . . 4 of 8 (5MQ)

Fourth in the series, this design features a 4-square "window pane" type layout, and a metal edge tag.

Note: The same "many thanks" stamp used in yesterday's design, is used again here; I just omitted the "many" so I could use just the "thanks" on the tag.  Cuz I yam  just brilliant that way (I yam, I yam!). *snarf*

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Credits - "Many thanks" by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer Collection 6x6 by Basic Grey; Fresh Ink in Chocolate by Impress; 1" square punch by EK Success; Mini Brad by American Crafts; Chocolate Hemp (craft store supply)

A stack of thanks . . . 3 of 8

Third in a series of 8.  You can see #1 and read about my plan of attack here.

For this one, I used a layout from Jessica that was featured in Paper Crafts Go-To Sketches, p. 133

Easy, peasy, lemon-squeezey! *grin*

Could prolly bust 100 of these out in no time at all--WAAAAAAAAY!!!

Mmmmm, I likey.

I'm teaching two more fun classes at Impress this Sunday--got your spot? 

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Credits - "Many thanks" by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer Collection 6x6 by Basic Grey; Fresh Ink in Chocolate by Impress; 1 1/8" circle punch by EK Success; Corner Chomper (Rounder) by WR Memory Keepers

A stack of thanks . . . 2 of 8

This is the 2nd design in a series of 8 simple thank you cards I made a short time ago.  You can read more about that here in this post.

This started out as an A-2 design, with a layout borrowed from Kristina, but it seemed "off" because of the gap I'd created on the left-hand side.  This annoyed me, of course, so I just whacked off one end of the card and that seemed to restore balance to my universe.  *chortle*

I love the "thanks" stamp.  It's big.  I like big words.  I mean, I like "big" (smart) words, but here I'm referring to scale/size. *chuckle*  Some words are just cool in big type!

More please.

Had a blast at my classes this last Saturday at the A Muse Shop--lovely, lovely gals!  Thanks so much for spending part of your day with me!

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Credits: "thanks" by A Muse Artstamps; Patterned Paper:  Indian Summer Collection 6x6 by Basic Grey; Kraft Card Stock; Fresh Ink in Chocolate by Impress; Ivory Twine by May Arts; Button by Basic Grey; 1" square punch by EK Success; Corner Chomper (Rounder) by WR Memory Keepers; Simple Sentiment (plain scallop) border punch by Fiskars

A Muse + Hero Arts Challenge with Jennifer McGuire: Day 5

Well, I must say I've had a total blast during this A Muse & Hero stamping challenge with Jennifer McGuire--she is such a doll--so delightful and fun, and has the biggest heart.  And, DANG, girl's got mad skillzzz!!!

The other thing that occurred to me, which I know Jennifer has mentioned, is how fun AND easy it is to mix our two lines together!  They play off each other quite fabulously, and that's an awesome thing!

Today we have one last design to share, featuring these great images:

 

Hero Arts #CG225 Snowflakes    and    A Muse Artstamps # 2-2164E Ice Skates

I have been fascinated for quite some time with this shadow box card by Shari Carroll.  I knew I just had to try one because #1.  It's so easy (I'm all about the easy) and #2. Looks cool.

 

Silver Encore ink makes the snowflakes pop against the French Roast paper, and the skates were cut out and 3D mounted inside the window.  I couldn't resist adding some Clear Twinkle Stickers to further enhance the icy effect on the snowflakes. Best of all, this card will collapse flat and can be mailed in a standard A-2 envy, to go FIRST CLASS all the way, baby!!!

THAT's what I'm talkin' 'bout! 

I've got that *giddy* feeling--which means it's time to zip on over to Jennifer's blog and see what she created!  WOOT!

Thank you muchly, Jennifer! This has been such a fun week and I enjoyed myself immensely--YOU ARE DA' BOMB!!! 

I'm off the Rock early this morning, to go teach at the A Muse Shop, and looking forward to seeing everybody!  I'll be back on Monday with #2 of the 8 I was talking about in this post.

Hope ya'all have a stamp-happy weekend!

*****

 Credits:  A Muse Artstamps # 2-2164E Ice Skates, Hero Arts #CG225 Snowflakes, Hero Arts #CL463 Get Merry; French Roast Card Stock; Mitten Weather Patterned paper 6x6 Pad by Cosmo Cricket; Encore Silver Metallic Ink, Memento Rich Cocoa and Desert Sand Ink by Tsukineko; Fresh Ink in Slate by Impress Rubber Stamps; Copic Markers; Clear Twinkle Stickers by A Muse; Ribbon by Martha Stewart; 1.5" Circle Punch by EK Success

A Muse + Hero Arts Challenge with Jennifer McGuire: Day 4

Today, the fabby Miss Jennifer and I are featuring this fun pair:

 

Hero Arts #CL358 Cozy Moments    and    A Muse Artstamps # 2-2175E Snow Gent

 

 

I like circles.  Gee, ya' think?!  LOL! This would be a great design to pair up with a jar of home-made candy cane hot cocoa mix --for co-workers, your kid's teacher, the secretaries--you know, those people you'd just like to give a little holiday cheer to? :)

 

 

Snow Gent and the Cocoa Cup were stamped with a rich red pigment ink and then I just gave them light outline strokes of Cool Shadow Copic marker to give them a little shadow, but it's hard to see that in the photo--IRL it shows up quite nicely and is a super easy effect that often gives an image that little extra "pop".  I was tempted to color them in, but, I just *really* liked how "retro" they looked this way and decided to leave 'em be!

The focal images were lightly sponged with red ink, and 3D mounted on pop dots, and more circles in different sizes were punched from various patterned papers to float around them.  A little bit of white gel pen stitching and "candy cane" baker's twine finished it all off.

By golly, I think I'll make me a cup o' cocoa and hop on over to Jennifer's blog to see what she did--such a fun way to start the morning!  Thanks for visiting me--we'll have one more design each to share with you tomorrow!  WOOT!!!

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Credits:  A Muse Artstamps # 2-2175E Snow Gent, Hero Arts #CL358 Cozy Moments; French Roast Card Stock and Candy Cane Patterned Paper by A Muse; Mitten Weather Patterned paper 6x6 Pad by Cosmo Cricket; Uniball Signo White Gel Pen; Versacolor Cardinal Ink by Tsukineko; Copic Marker in Cool Shadow; Red & white Baker's Twine by Divine Twine; Corner Chomper (Rounder) by WR Memory Keepers; Various sizes of circle punches

 

A Muse + Hero Arts Challenge with Jennifer McGuire: Day 3

I've been havin' a ball gettin' the holiday groove on with Jennifer!  Day 3 of our challenge features these fabby stamps:

 

A Muse Artstamps 2-002CL Sweet Houses       and      Hero Arts #LP177 Christmas Trio       

 

There's something about kraft paper for holiday designs--I think it gives 'em that extra special warmth?  Very festive with red!  I'm always drawn to using it on Christmas cards and projects, and I especially like using cozy stamps, like these Christmas cookies, on the stuff--it makes 'em look good enough to eat! *chuckle*

Inside, the card reads "From Our Home To Yours"--fitting, I must say!

The cookies were white embossed and colored in carefully with Copics, which give a nice saturated color to the paper.  (Note:  I usually avoid coloring with Copics if I emboss with metallic powders because the Copic formula often etches the embossing right off quicker than you can say, "Bob's yer uncle!".  But, if you use clear EP + pigment ink, or a non-metallic embossing powder, you shouldn't have any problems; just take care not to go over the embossed lines iwth the markers.)

 

 

A little bit of sponging along the edges of candy cane paper gives just enough "aging", and mounting some of the cut outs on pop dots creates varying levels of visual interest and dimension. YUMMY!!!

The scalloped "plate" extends beyond the edge of the card, but it still fits easily in an A-2 envy (4.25 x 5.5"), since the card base is 4.25 x 4.25".

Be sure to visit Jennifer's blog to see what she did with the same stamps!  I fell off my chair over that gosh golly cute box she did yesterday!

I'm teaching at the A Muse shop this weekend, so guess who's preppin' & kittin' like a maniac?  Uh huh!

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Credits:  Hero Arts #LP177 Christmas Trio , A Muse Artstamps 2-002CL Sweet Houses, Sweet Christmas Wishes (From Our Home To Yours, inside) by A Muse Artstamps; Candy Cane Patterned Paper and Swiss Red Solid Paper by A Muse Artstamps; Inks:  Versamark, Versamagic Red Magic, Memento Desert Sand and Rich Cocoa by Tsukineko; White Embossing Powder; Copic Markers; Red Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon by A Muse; EK Success Scallop Border Punch; EK Success Scallop Circle Punch; Corner Chomper (Rounder) by WR Memory Keepers