Ring in the New Year DCC at Repeat Impressions

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It is Cheri’s turn and her challenge theme is “Ring in the New Year”. Why don’t you join us in this challenge and enter your New Year’s celebration card for a chance to win some awesome Repeat Impressions rubber? Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's projects for this DCC challenge. I have seen them and you do not want to miss them!

My New Year’s card features RI’s wine glasses filled with golden champagne, RI’s fireworks embossed in gold and RI’s Happy New Year stamp on a golden patterned paper from my stash. I sent the card to my brother to wish him a Happy New Year, and that is my wish for you too!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Scribble and Scrap.

And don’t forget: For a 10% discount on any size order at Repeat Impressions, just make a note of my discount code (rr10kh), click on the blog badge on the side of my blog and go to the website here to shop and save!

5 Year Blogging Anniversary Celebration

Today I am celebrating 5 years of blogging with some huge giveaways and the last of my 2014 Christmas cards and tags. If you want to know anything about the cards, just leave me a comment or contact me via the contact feature on the side of the blog.

I am excited to say I am now up to 454 followers (between Blogger and Bloglovin') and am hoping to hit the magical 500 follower number soon!

I have 7 prizes to announce thanks to my favorite stamp companies' generosity. If you see your name here listed as a winner, jump up and down and yell "woo-hoo", then - VERY IMPORTANT- CONTACT ME VIA THE CONTACT FEATURE ON THE SIDE OF MY BLOG. I need to have your email address and to hear from you BY JANUARY 4TH to give you the code to collect your winnings. And if you are the grand prize winner, I need your snail mail address to mail out the prize.

If I do not hear from you, and am unable to contact you, I will have to redraw another name for your prize.

The winner of the $20 gift certificate to Repeat Impressions is...........................................................................   Cara Malrose!!

Joyful, Joyful! The winners of the first three $15 gift certificates from Crackerbox Palace are.............................................................................................................................................................................. .Joann (Sassy Raggedy), Gloria Shirr and Brenda Lawrence!!

Merry Christmas friends! The winners of the last two $15 gift certificates from Crackerbox Palace are ................................................................................................. KT Fit Kitty and Verna Angerhofer!!

These are some tags I made for my daughter and daughter-in-law. I know, you don't care about tags. You just want to see your name as the grand prize winner, right? Here is a reminder of what the Grand Prize Winner will win:

That's a lot of stamping and crafting goodies!! And the winner is......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Karen Schroeder!!  Please contact me, Karen, as I will need your snail mail address to mail out the big package of blog candy to you.

I am truly appreciate all my subscribers and followers and those who take a minute to leave lovely comments on my cards that I blog. I love sharing ideas here, in my classes and in my published articles and plan on continuing for a long long time!

Beautiful Bokeh Brusho Backgrounds

It is my turn to share a Project of the Week with everyone at the Repeat Impression’s blog and here on mine. Isn't this photo with Bokeh lights beautiful? I have seen some cards on Pinterest using this Bokeh effect and even tried making a few cards myself. But recently I found a tutorial here, and I tried her tips with a few adjustments and am really happy with the cards I was able to make.

First of all, what is Bokeh? I looked up the definition and it is "the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image." It is pronounced bōˈkā.  

To create a Bokeh background for cards, start with a piece of watercolor paper slightly larger than you want it on your card. Tape it down with low tack tape onto a craft sheet. Apply water to the watercolor paper with a water brush or paint brush. In the tutorial linked above, the instructor applied watercolor paints to her wet background. I do not have watercolor paints, so I decided to try my Brusho Crystal Colours. Here is a picture of what happened when I applied violet, orange and crimson Brushos to the wet watercolor paper. 

Then I spritzed the colors with more water to smooth them out and this is what it looked like:

I soaked up the excess water and dried the piece with a heat gun. Next comes the Bokeh magic. I created a stencil out of a piece of acetate with various sizes of circle punches. Then I applied white pigment ink through the circle holes onto the Brusho colored piece. The key to success with this step is to make sure your white pigment ink pad is very moist with ink. The largest circles should be lighter and as the circles get smaller, they should be brighter. The circles should overlap in some areas. Let this piece dry completely or dry it with a heat gun. This is how my Bokeh Brusho piece looked after inking through the circle stencil:

Now it is time to make a card with the beautiful Bokeh Brusho background we have created. I layered the piece onto black and then onto a lavender card base. I stamped Repeat Impression’s hot air balloons onto black cardstock and cut them out. I stamped the perfect sentiment ribbon and applied it with mounting tape to raise it for dimension.

I made a second card with blue, yellow and green Brusho Crystal Colours and white pigment ink applied through my “holey” stencil. After it was dry, I attached the piece with pop dots to a blue top folding card base. I stamped Repeat Impression’s “hug and hold” sentiment on vellum and attached. I created side flags out of vellum and attached them under the top piece. I stamped the sweet baby boy on cream cardstock and paper pieced his polka-dotted pjs. He was also raised on pop dots when attached, and I added some sequins to complete the baby boy Bokeh Brusho background card. Try saying that three times fast. Or better yet, try this fun background technique and see if you love it as much as I do.

Merry Christmas Cards and Wishes

Wishing you Christmas Joy on this special day! Our Christmas celebrations are on the weekends before and after Christmas, so I am posting a few Christmas cards today I made with NBUS before I put it all away. Not going to go into great detail about each one, but if you have any questions, leave me a comment or contact me via the contact feature on the side of the blog.

And a couple using laser cut stickers:

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenge at Love's Rubberstamps and the Christmas all around challenge at Deep Ocean.

Sweet Surprises Sketch Card on Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! It's time for another fun sketch challenge at The House that Stamps Built and we are challenging you to make a card using the sketch below and link it up for a chance at some great Repeat Impressions rubber! For all the details on what you can win and to see the other Rock Stars cards using this sketch, please visit our blog.

I used the Sweet Surprises swing stamp set to make my Christmas sketch card. I started with two scalloped squares I cut out with Nestabilities dies. I stamped the presents and paper pieced both, then added the sentiments stamped in red. I added a bow and some washi tape following the sketch.

Here is the sketch for you to follow when you create a card for our challenge. You do not need to use Repeat Impressions stamps to enter our challenges, but you get an extra chance to win if you do!

I am entering this card in the Christmas challenges at  Crafty Cardmakers and Ooh-la-la Creations.

**Don’t Forget: for a 10% discount on any size order at Repeat Impressions, make a note of my discount code (rr10kh), click on the blog badge on the side of my blog and go to the website here to shop and save!**

Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

It’s Tuesday and time for another Through the Craft Room Door challenge. As always the theme is my favorite, Anything Goes! There is a new challenge every Tuesday at TTCRD. I am on Team A and this week is our turn to post our cards. The sponsor this week is Just Inklined Digital Stamps and the prize is a $10 gift certificate! 

I think this Scrabble image from Just Inklined is perfect for a birthday card for kids or adults! I printed the image on white cardstock and again on yellow, and paper pieced the Happy Birthday tiles. I cut a window in an aqua blue square with a die cut from QuicKutz and embossed that piece and the card base with an embossing folder from Embossalicious. I attached the window piece over the Scrabble board with pop dots to raise it.

**Don’t Miss It! The November-December 2014 issue of Through The Craft Room Door magazine is available right now in the "Subscribers Only Area" of the TTCRD website.  It is loaded with paper craft tutorials, tons of inspirations and projects you can create. Plus free digis and even holiday recipes! Come check it out!  It’s almost time for the January issue to come out and I have an article and several cards in this issue! If you do not currently subscribe to the magazine you will need to go to the top of the page and click on the Subscription/Renewals tab. I highly recommend everyone get a subscription to this great on line magazine!** 

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create, That Craft Place and Scribble and Scrap.

Vellum Shaker Peace and Joy Card

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and I am sharing a shaker card I made recently with Crackerbox Palace’s beautiful stamps. I am loving all the shaker cards I have been seeing lately and decided to try one with vellum. I heat embossed the snowflakes and sentiment with white embossing powder. I colored the snowflakes from behind with a marker. I stamped CBP’s lovely dove on white cardstock, cut out and attached so the wings are free to fly. I raised the vellum piece up with mounting tape, added some sequins and covered the sides with washi tape.

**As a holiday present to you from Crackerbox Palace, all the  stamps on this card will be 20% OFF for one week! What a deal! **

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes Holiday Blitz at Love’s Rubberstamps, the Winter Inspiration challenge at Simon Says Stamp, and the Christmas All Around challenge at Deep Ocean.

 As the card says, “Wishing you (and yours) a never ending season of peace and joy!”

Distressed and Peaceful Holiday Card

The challenge this month at Virginia's View is "All Things Distressed" and I used two blue distress inks from Tim Holtz and Ranger to make this peaceful background on a last minute holiday card. I started by heat embossing a tree from Stampin' Up with green embossing powder. I sponged on two shades of  blue distress ink after heat embossing the beautiful "Peace on Earth" also from Tim Holtz. I sponged on some white stars with white pigment ink through a stencil from Heidi Swapp, added a gold punched star and layered onto a white card base.

I am also entering this card in the Anything Goes Holiday Blitz at Love's Rubberstamps.

Peace to you and yours this holiday season and into the new year!

Think Snow Designer's Choice Challenge

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It is Melissa’s turn and her challenge theme is “Think Snow”. Why don’t you join us in this challenge and enter your card with snow for a chance to win some awesome Repeat Impressions rubber? Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's projects for this DCC challenge. I have seen them and you do not want to miss them!

The Repeat Impression’s stamp I used on this snowy card is one of my favorites because it reminds me of my kitty looking out the window on a snowy day. I stamped the window snowy scene on navy paper and again on white. I paper pieced the white kitty and colored her bow with a gel pen. The card base was embossed with a snowy embossing folder from Sizzix.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes (Christmas) challenge at Incy Wincy and the Create a Scene challenge at Love to Create.

Happy Hanukkah Bister Card

Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate this joyous time! I fell in love with this beautiful new set from Stampin' Up and will be designing again with it sometime soon. Today I decided to try my Bister powders on a silver non-water color paper after embossing the stamps in black detail embossing powder. The water did not soak in, but created this unique background. I tried cutting out the piece with a fancy Spellbinders rectangle, but the top and  bottom did not cut well at all. So I covered them up with some silver stars metal tape. Most "mistakes" are just opportunities to embellish or step outside our boxes and experiment.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Sentimental Sundays.

Present Card with NBUS for Classes

I saw a present card on Pinterest recently and decided to try making one for the classes I teach in my home. Here is the blogpost with the measurements I used.  For the front of the present, I cut a beautiful snowflake using my new die from Simon Says Stamp out of the navy, then popped in a white snowflake into the negative space. I also put back in the small navy pieces for the inlaid die look. The top of the present has an embossed piece (Sizzix embossing folder), a white ribbon that I colored with blue dye ink and a sparkly bow I cut out with my new Clearly Besotted die. When the front was done, I sprayed it with silver Glitter Dust from thermoweb. This is the best glitter spray I have ever tried!

The top part of the present pulls up and this is what is attached in the inside. I just got a beautiful script Merry Christmas from Fun Stampers Journey and I embossed it with sparkly blue embossing powder from Stampamania (another recent discovery and the best sparkly embossing powder I have ever used.) Still working on my pile of NBUS (never before used schtuff) before I put them away, especially the holiday schtuff:) But since I make Christmas cards all year, if I don't get done, I will play into the new year.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Treasured Times and Vandicrafts Artistry (and the present is square.)

Another Sparkly Ornament Card

I cut a bunch of ornaments and bows (with my new dies from Clearly Besotted) out of sparkly paper and made this easy card with some of them. I usually stick to traditional Christmas colors, but decided to use some sparkly purple paper and am loving these bright ornaments. I started with a white top folding card base that I embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I "hung" the ornaments with thin gold washi tape. The gold bows were attached and then the ornaments were popped up with pop dots.

I am entering this card in the Happy Holidays challenge at Jo's Scrap Shack and the Last Minute Christmas at Crafty Catz.

If you are a new follower, welcome! If you are not yet a follower, click on the Blog Candy picture on the right to see what you could win just by becoming a follower. And if you are a long time follower and friend, thanks!

Gold and Red Sparkly Peace

I just got a new die set from Clearly Besotted with fun bows and ornaments and the idea popped into my head to use half one color and half another for the bows and ornaments. I pulled out my sparkly red and gold cardstock and tried it out. I started with a white top folding card base and attached a strip of the red sparkly paper down the left side. Then I diecut the ornaments and bows in gold and red sparkly paper and cut them in half. I used thin red washi tape to "hang" the ornaments. I added a gold diecut "peace" by Julie for Essentials by Ellen which is my wish for the world and you.

 I am entering this card in the Bling it On challenge at Simon says Stamp and the Celebrations challenge at Southern Girls.

Goddess Birthday Card for my Daughter

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and I am sharing the card I made for my daughter’s birthday featuring one of Crackerbox Palace’s Goddess stamps. I created the background on this card with my new Brusho Crystal Colours. After it was dry, I rounded the corners and attached to a white card base with rounded corners too. I stamped the beautiful Water Goddess on the Brusho piece, on cream cardstock and on script patterned paper. I cut her out after coloring her hair. Then I paper pieced her dress and headband and attached her to the card front. I added some silver gel pen to the water drops. All the Goddesses are just beautiful and are available here on the Crackerbox Palace website.

**As a holiday present to you from Crackerbox Palace, all the Goddess stamps will be 20% OFF for one week! What a deal! **

In addition to that great deal, you can also qualify for a chance at some great blog candy. I am celebrating my 5 year blogaversary all this month, and you can win one of 7 prizes just by being a follower of my blog. Crackerbox Palace has generously offered 5 gift certificates worth $15 for 5 lucky winners to shop with at their website! I have two other great prizes too, so sign up as a follower and you might be one of the lucky winners! Just click on the picture on the side of my blog for all the details.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Party Time Tuesday and the Anything but Christmas challenge at Penny’s Paper-Crafty.

BFF Christmas Card

This is the card I created for my best friend and her husband for Christmas. The sentiment- which is perfect- is from a set by Close to My Heart. I heat embossed a Penny Black tree scene with some super sparkly blue embossing powder from Stampamania. I popped up a frame and acetate and created a shake card with sequins and glass beads. This is what the inside looks like:

I tried a new fold, and the diecuts are all from Paper Smooches. It is fun to try new looks on special cards for special people.

I am entering this card in the Winter or Christmas challenges at Love's Rubberstamps and at Crafty Sentiments Designs.

What If? Wednesday Sketch Challenge at Repeat Impressions

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for another fun sketch challenge at The House that Stamps Built and we are challenging you to make a card using the sketch below and link it up for a chance at some great Repeat Impressions rubber! For all the details on what you can win and to see the other Rock Stars cards using this sketch, please visit our blog.

I started my sketch card by stamping Repeat Impression’s musical notes background in red ink on a kraft card base. I added a flag I cut out of some fun dp from The Paper Studio. I stamped Repeat Impression’s candy canes in red ink and attached to a red piece after rounding the corners on both pieces. I added some fun snowflake and candy cane eyelets to complete the card. 

Here is the sketch for you to follow when you create a card for our challenge. You do not need to use Repeat Impressions stamps to enter our challenges, but you get an extra chance to win if you do!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Scribble and Scrap.

Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

It’s Tuesday and time for another Through the Craft Room Door challenge. As always the theme is my favorite, Anything Goes! There is a new challenge every Tuesday at TTCRD. I am on Team A and this week is our turn to post our cards. The sponsor this week is Oak Pond Creations and the prize is 3 digis!

I think the Christmas Owl from Oak Pond Creations is so cute with his sideways head. I printed him on kraft paper and paper pieced his hat, eyes and elf shoes. I mounted his head with an Action Wobble so it wobbles and wiggles. The designer paper I used for the background elements is all from The Paper Studio.

**Don’t Miss It! The November-December 2014 issue of Through The Craft Room Door magazine is available for your viewing pleasure in the "Subscribers Only Area" of the TTCRD website. It is loaded with paper craft tutorials, tons of inspirations and projects you can create. Plus free digis and even holiday recipes! Come check it out! If you do not currently subscribe to the magazine you will need to go to the top of the page and click on the Subscription/Renewals tab. I highly recommend everyone get a subscription to this great on line magazine!** 

I am entering this card in the Unusual Christmas challenge at Open Minded Crafting and the Anything Goes challenges at 613 Avenue Create and Scribble and Scrap.  

Merry and Bright Bokeh Brushos Card

I had so much fun playing with my Brushos and the Bokeh technique with white pigment ink and circles stencil, I had to make and share one more card with you. (For a link to the technique video, scroll down on this blog.) I created a blue and purple background with my Brusho Crystal Colours on watercolor paper, then after it was dry, added white circles in different sizes with a homemade stencil and white pigment ink. I simply heat embossed Tim Holtz's Merry & Bright and added a Memory Box snowflake and gem to complete the card.

I am entering this card in the Unusual Colored Christmas challenge at Kitty Bee Designs and the Winter challenge at Crafts 4 Eternity.

**Don't forget I have a Blog Candy contest going on through the month of December. All you need to do to qualify for a chance to win is become a FOLLOWER! For more chances and all the prize details, click on the picture on the top left!**

Winter Fun 4 Kids Challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids!

Happy Holidays from SAS4Kids!! It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is Winter Fun 4 Kids!  Create and link any winter card for a child and you could win one of our great prizes. 

This is our last challenge for 2014, so you have until January 2^nd at noon CST to enter a winter card for a chance to win one of our prizes. I am giving our awesome design team the rest of December off to enjoy their holidays with family and friends. 

We have three very generous sponsors for this challenge: Dollar Graphics Depot is giving their winner a $15 gift certificate!  Sassy Studios is giving their randomly picked winner 4 digis of their choice!  And A Day for Daisies’ winner gets a $12 gift certificate! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

Isn't Snowball Scott from A Day for Daisies cute? I printed and cut him out, then paper pieced his sweater and hat. I stamped some snowflakes, sponged a sky and glittered some snowbanks on a top folding A2 card. Then I raised the side pieces with mounting tape, and attached Snowball Scott. CAS but cute for one of our kids.

For my second card, I printed and cut out a sweet winter scene and the great sentiment from Dollar Graphics Depot. I created an easel card and popped the sentiment up on pop dots to hold the card open. I added some gems to complete the card.

I am entering these cards in the Christmas challenge at C.R.A.F.T. and the Celebrations challenge at Southern Girls.

Christmas Greetings and Great Deals and Chances to Win!

It's Crackerbox Palace Friday and I am sharing a Christmas card I made with CBP’s great stamps and a Bokeh technique I learned about in this video. In the video, the blogger used watercolor paints to create the background, but I do not have any, so I used my Brusho Crystal Colours in several shades of blue. After that was dry, the Bokeh look is achieved by sponging white pigment ink through a stencil with several sizes of circular holes. I created my stencil with a piece of acetate and some circle punches. After I finished the Bokeh background, I embossed the Santa and Sleigh silhouette and Christmas greeting stamps with black embossing powder.

**As a holiday present to you from Crackerbox Palace, all the stamps on this card will be 20% OFF for one week! What a deal! **

In addition to that great deal, you can also visit my blog here for a chance at some great blog candy. I am celebrating my 5 year blogaversary all this month, and you can win one of 7 prizes just by being a follower of my blog. Crackerbox Palace has generously offered 5 gift certificates worth $15 for 5 lucky winners to shop with at their website! I have two other great prizes too, so sign up as a follower and you might be one of the lucky winners!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Wonderful Wednesday and the Christmas challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Did you notice the sweet and sassy Crackebox Palace watermark that I am debuting on my card today? Once again, the wonderful Kathryne from StampArt Design by Kathyrne has worked her magic and created a perfect personalized watermark for Crackerbox Palace and me. If you are considering getting your very own personalized watermark, I highly recommend you contact Kathryne as she does a great job!

5 Year Blogaversary Celebration and Blog Candy Giveaway!

Do you believe the end of this month is my 5 year Blogaversary?! For five years I have been sharing my cards and designing with you all here on my blog! I am still having fun (after all these years), and am hoping to be still here designing and blogging for many years to come. I have decided to celebrate all month long and on December 30th I will be giving away not one or two but 7 pieces of delicious blog candy to 7 of my wonderful followers. Here is a peak at what the grand prize is:

Wow- 6 sets of stamps (Paper Nest Dolls, Bella Blvd. and Heartfelt Creations), 2 large embossing folders (Spellbinders 2 in 1 and Couture Creations), 2 washi tapes, one Memory Box die, one Lawn Fawn paper pad and a partridge in a pear tree. Well, maybe not the partridge...

And to help me celebrate, my friends at Repeat Impressions and Crackerbox Palace have donated some blog candy for 6 more followers of my blog! One lucky winner will win a $20 gift certificate to spend at Repeat Impressions website!  And Crackerbox Palace is donating FIVE gift certificates worth $15 for five lucky winners to spend at their website here. 

I have been so blessed to make so many friends during this blogging adventure, and Vicky and John at Crackerbox Palace and Wendy and Bill at Repeat Impressions are among my favorites!

So what do you have to do to have a chance at winning one of these prizes? #1 YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF THIS BLOG. #2 You must check back between December 30th and January 4th to see if you are a winner, and contact me via the blog contact form on the side if you are one of the lucky winners. You will have until January 4th to claim your prize, or another name will be drawn. Everyone of my followers will be assigned a number and Mr. Random will draw 7 numbers.

It is that simple! Want to earn another chance at winning? Post my blog candy pix with a link to this blogpost on your blog and leave a comment telling me you did that with a link to your blog. OR refer a friend to my blog (who then becomes a new follower and qualifies for a chance at the blog candy), and leave a comment telling me you did that (with your friend's name) and you earn another chance at winning. Refer several friends and you get that many more chances. 

My goal is to reach 500 followers and as of today, I have 407 (between Google and Bloglovin'). If the magic number of 500 is reached before the end of this celebration month, I will add another surprise piece of major blog candy!

Thanks for coming along on this adventure with me! I appreciate all my subscribers and followers and the lovely comments and encouragement this past 5 years. Follow me as I continue to grow and learn and share stamping smiles with you all!

Anything But a Card Challenge at Repeat Impressions

It’s another Designer’s Choice Challenge at The House that Stamps Built, Repeat Impression’s blog. It is Deonna’s turn and she has challenged us to make something other than a card. Why don’t you join us and then enter your project for a chance to win some awesome Repeat Impressions rubber? Please visit the blog for all the details and to see the other Rock Star's projects for this DCC challenge. I have seen them and you do not want to miss them!

I decided to make a wine gift tag for this challenge. I love Repeat Impression’s Snowflake Orb and embossed it with copper sparkly embossing powder to create an ornament. I cut the tag with a die from Elizabeth Craft Designs and punched along the bottom with an ek success punch. I stamped the perfect toast sentiment from Repeat Impressions on rust cardstock and cut and embossed it with a Spellbinders die. I added the top piece of the ornament (Sizzix) and used thin gold washi tape to “hang it”.

I am entering this tag in the Anything Goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp and 613 Avenue Create.

And don’t forget: For a 10% discount on any size order at Repeat Impressions, just make a note of my discount code (rr10kh), click on the blog badge on the side of my blog and go to the website here to shop and save!

Bokeh Dots with Brusho Crystal Colours

Can I just say I love this card?? I found a video here on an easy way to achieve the Bokeh look on our cards and this is what I made after watching it. In the video, she used watercolor paints to wash the background, but I do not have any. I saw another card using dye inks for the background, but I tried that. but it was too light for the dots to show. I tried my Brusho Crystal Colours and this is the beautiful result. Watch the video for great tips on how to achieve this look. But, basically, you wet a piece of watercolor paper, and then apply your colors (I used purple and violet Brusho crystals, then spritzed them again.) After dry, apply white pigment ink through a stencil with different sizes of circles. You can easily create your own stencil with acetate and circle dies or punches. The smaller the dot, the brighter you want your inked circle to be. The key is a very wet inked white pigment pad. Let that dry and decorate as desired. I actually heat embossed the greeting (from Tim Holtz) before doing the bokeh dots and background. I completed the card with an ornament I made with an Elizabeth Craft Designs sticker, very fine glitter and copics.

I am entering this card in the DOTS challenge at Addicted to CAS, and the Clearly Christmas challenge at Curtain Call.

Bisters vs. Brushos

A few weeks ago, before I received my package of Brusho Colours, the idea of using my Bister powders to make a card using the triple time technique came into my head. I decided to use red and yellow Bister powders on the layers of watercolor paper and the first card above is the result. I thought I would love it, but did not. Too many brown undertones in the colors, I thought. I do love the Christmas Words Tree diecut from Die-Versions, and on the first card, I used gold on the star and on my favorite word for this season, and layered it on black to make it stand out more.

So when I got my box of Brusho Colours, I decided to try their red and yellow colors to see if I liked the card more with them. The red Brusho is more pink than red and so for Christmas, is not my favorite color. But I still like how the card turned out- just not in love with it.

I have decided I like them both. If you are trying to decide between the two crystal color options, you have to decide what matters most to you. Bister powders are less expensive and create lovely one of a kind backgrounds. Many of the colors have a brown undertone to them, which can be gorgeous depending on what you are doing with them. They are available here in the U.S.  Brusho Crystal Colours are a little more expensive, but have many more colors to choose from. Most of their colors are more true, but sometimes can be boring if just using one color. Brusho Crystal Colours are available here at Dick Blick.

Sorry I  can't be more definitive. I will be using both and blogging with both as I am fascinated with the unlimited and original color options you can get with both.

I am entering these cards in the All About Christmas at Paper Creator's Crafts and the Get Festive challenge at We Do Doobadoo.

Christmas Card with Brushos and Pillowtop Background

I have been playing with my new Brusho Crystal Colours and creating some pretty pieces that can be used for backgrounds or die cut elements on a card. I decided to stamp two different colored ones with the Snowflake Orb from Repeat Impressions to create some pretty ornaments.The gold tops of the ornaments were diecut with a die from Sizzix. I created the background by sponging lightly with a red ink one way and a green ink the other way, using a piece of acetate to create the lines. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp and Brown Sugar.

Sketch, Colors and Thankful Challenges

I was inspired to make one more Thanksgiving card because of a new challenge blog and website I just discovered. Check out this sketch and color inspiration at My Creative Time:

Aren't those great inspirations? I love the sketch and color selection. Then I checked out The My Creative Time website here - oh my, so many yummy dies and stamp sets! I want them all!

I used the cream color to make the card front with a Sizzix fall embossing folder, and attached to a brown card base. Then I cut circles and scribble circles in gold, burgandy and green with QuicKutz and Paper Trey Ink dies. I added a gold cord bow and some sequins to complete the card.

I am also entering this card in the Thankful challenge at Raisin Boat and the Grateful challenge at Open-Minded Crafting.

Santa and Reindeer Gift Tag Set and Great Deals at Crackerbox Palace!

Happy Crackerbox Palace Friday! Today I am sharing a funny Christmas tag I made with Crackerbox Palace’s great stamps. I cut the top of the tag with a die from Elizabeth Craft Designs and the bottom with a stitched die by Lawn Fawn. I also diecut a second tag out of reindeer dp and layered the two tags together.  I stamped Santa stuck in the chimney on the kraft tag and paper pieced his suit and boots. I also stamped the snowflakes and the two sentiments, then added a piece of reindeer washi tape.

ALL the stamps I used on today’s tag will be on sale at the website 10% off  for one week! In addition, there is still free shipping on any size order until November 30^th!  Such a deal! 

What If? Wed. Sketch Challenge at Repeat Impressions

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's time for another fun sketch challenge at The House that Stamps Built and we are challenging you to make a card using the sketch below and link it up for a chance at some great Repeat Impressions rubber! For all the details on what you can win and to see the other Rock Stars cards using this sketch, please visit our blog.

I love using Repeat Impression’s Flip sets because they tell a story even if you don’t put them on a flip or waterfall card. I stamped the Snowman Flip Set on the four central pieces of this sketch. So easy to round two edges of the small squares for this fun look. I did a little coloring and added a strip of washi tape and some punched snowflakes to complete this CAS card.

Here is the sketch for you to follow when you create a card for our challenge. You do not need to use Repeat Impressions stamps to enter our challenges, but you get an extra chance to win if you do!

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Through the Purple Haze and My Craft Creations.

**Don't miss the big sale at Repeat Impressions going on through November 27th- 20% off all their awesome stamps and products! Before or after enjoying Thanksgiving with family and friends, you can click on the blog badge on the side of my blog (after noting the savings code) and shop easily - even in your pjs.**

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!