Fun Surprise Gift Bag Inside a Holiday Card

My project today was inspired by The Paper Players. It is a theme challenge for gifting, and so I wanted to try a project that I had up my sleeve for quite some time. It's a holiday card with a surprise gift bag inside. It's sized for a gift card, cash or a small gift such as jewelry. 

I used some supplies in a bag that were left from a scrapbook layout I created a few years ago. I only needed to add some Neenah Desert Storm cardstock and ribbon from my stash. 

These were super fun to make, and I'm sure I'll make more soon. Those little gift bags are just too cute.

Cheers!

Debbie

Holly Jolly for 52 Christmas Throwdown

Today's card is inspired by the October sketch at 52 Christmas Throwdown. It was my pick from this past year's sketches. 

I did shift some elements a bit in my card, and I chose an ornament instead of a tree. I also used a fair amount of pattern paper for my elements. 

That ornament paper background began my inspiration for this card, and is why I shifted to an ornament for the focal point. 

Another Christmas card for my stash. 

Get creative!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Holly Jolly

Stamps and Dies:  Ornament Stamp and Stitch Stamp Set and Dies (Concord & 9th);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder (Wow)

Paper:  Powdered Sugar Cardstock (The Stamps of Life); White Christmas Pattern Paper (Moda Scraps); Brushed Gold Cardstock (Stampin' Up); Favorite Flannel 6 x 6 Paper Pack (Lawn Fawn); Vellum (Close To My Heart);

Other: White and Gold Ribbon (Close To My Heart); Dublin Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Designs);

Q is for Quote

My card today was inspired by Alphabet Challenge to use a quote on a card. 

I created this card using some leftover supplies from a Pinkfresh kit. I love the colors in this paper pack, and my quote is from Charles Schultz. Love a good Peanuts quote. 

The holiday cards are coming fast and furious right now. I hope you are being creative in your neck of the woods. 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Happy Holidays

Stamps and Dies:  Holly Jolly Stamp Set (Concord & 9th);

Ink & Embossing:  Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Holiday Magic Pattern Paper (Pinkfresh);

Other: Twine (Concord & 9th); Holiday Magic Chipboard Snowflake (Pinkfresh);

Holly Jolly Christmas

My card today was inspired by the colors at Color Dare. 

I used an old 6 x 6 Christmas pack from Bo Bunny. I matched my inks in my tree to the greens in the paper, attempting to get variation in color from one side to the other. 

Hoping stamps and dies are under my tree.

Hope your day includes some creating. 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Stamps and Dies:  Falala Fringe Stamp Set and Dies (Concord & 9th);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad, Golden Glow Embossing Powder, Opaque Bright White and Pure Platinum Embossing Powder (Wow); Deck the Halls and Martini (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper:  White Cardstock (Park Lane Paperie); Mistletoe Pattern Paper (Bo Bunny); Gold Glitter Cardstock (The Paper Studio);

Other: Gold Smooth Disc (Spellbinders);

Chillin' With My Gnomies

The Inspired By challenge this week included a gnome. I pulled from an old stamp kit with a gnome die from Simon Says Stamp to create my card. 

I love paper piecing; like inlaid dies, I find it similar to a jigsaw puzzle and love putting all the pieces together. 

Who doesn't need a glittery beard on a gnome, and a gnome on an action wobble.

I hope you find some time to create today.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Chillin' With my Gnomies

Stamps and Dies:  Gnome for the Holidays Stamp Set and Little Gnome Wafer Die (Simon Says Stamp)

Ink & Embossing: Midnight (Catherine Pooler Ink)

Paper: Kringle & Co. Pattern Paper (Photoplay); Schoolhouse Red Cardstock (Simon Says Stamp); Solar White Cardstock (Neenah);

Other: Action Wobble Mini; Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (Stampin' Up); Black Shimmer Trim (Close To My Heart); 

Treats for Lawn Fawnatics Challenge

I love cookies! I think they are likely my favorite treat, even over candy, cakes and pies. So they were my pick for the current Lawn Fawnatics challenge. Since the holidays are upon us, I also decided to go with a holiday card. 

I crated a few cookies for inside my shaker, and I dropped a few "candies" in the jar as well. 

As much as I love cookies, I never make cookies. I feel like I never want to open that door to have them around. Every year I say I'm going to make them, and I never do. Perhaps this will be the year. 

My favorite cookie is the Russian Teacake . . . those little round snowballs of delicious salty/sweet. 

What's your favorite?

Debbie

Supplies Used - Peace Joy Love (and cookies)

Stamps and Dies:  How You Bean Stamp Set and Dies, How You Bean Christmas Cookie Add-on Stamps and Dies and Simply Wavy Banner Dies (Lawn Fawn);

Ink & Embossing:  Midnight (Catherine Pooler Inks); Tuxedo Black (Memento) and Copic Markers; White Pen (Marvy);

Paper: Daisy White Cardstock (Close To My Heart); Knit Picky Fall Pattern Paper (Lawn Fawn); Gumball Green (Stampin' Up); Acetate (Newton's Nook); Red Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart);

Other: Very Cherry Sprinkletz (Buttons Galore and More); Merry Christmas Confetti Mix (Pretty Pink Posh); Cookies and Cream Twine (Catherine Pooler Designs); 

It's All About the Glitter

Today's card was inspired by the prompt at As You Like It Challenge. 

What's my favourite? I love gold, I love silver, but anything glitter makes me happy. I especially love white and black glitter papers but honestly will take them all. Something about the way it catches the light just makes me happy. 

I used a butterfly set that was part of Concord & 9th's summer camp. The top layer was cut from a watercolor background piece, and then I stacked additional solid white dies to give it a bit of lift. I used that same due to cut from white glitter cardstock and then inlaid the pieces. I love inlaid dies . . . it's like a jigsaw puzzle.  

The die cut background also had inlaid pieces, so double jigsaw puzzle fun. 

Of course, I have additional pieces for another card saved in a tray, so perhaps another card will be posted soon. 

I hope you find some time to inlay some pieces, if that's your thing! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Thinking of You

Stamps and Dies:  Butterfly Inlay Stamp Set and Dies (Concord & 9th);

Ink & Embossing:  Black, Harbor, Lilac, Fig, Grape Soda, Parsley Grasshopper and Evergreen (Concord & 9th);

Paper:  White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); White Glitter Paper (Concord & 9th); Distress Watercolor Cardstock (Ranger);

Other: Iridescent Sequins (Gina K Designs); 

Sympathy Card Inspired by Little Red Wagon

Oh my - it's been a while! Just a day over four months. While I was away from posting, I wasn't away from crafting. I just had a bit of a cataract issue to deal with, and things were a bit blurry when looking at the computer screen.

Getting back into the swing of being challenged and today finding inspiration from Little Red Wagon. Sad songs, and so a sympathy card.

I embossed my design on white cardstock and then used the coordinating stencil to add some color to the images. I tried to keep things light so it would look a bit like watercolor. 

Hoping I can keep the trend going with posting regularly, and certainly hope anyone reading this finds some time to create today.

Debbie

Supplies Used - With Deepest Sympathy

Stamps and Dies: Floral Laurel Embossing Folder, Stencil and Stamps (Altenew);

Ink & Embossing:  Garden Party and Pixie Dust Ink (Catherine Pooler Designs); Pimento and Honeysuckle Ink (Concord & 9th);

Paper:  White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Kiwi Cardstock (Hero Arts); 

Other: Clear Confetti (Concord & 9th); 

Life Happens . . . Chocolate Helps!

Today's card was inspired by the photo inspiration at Just Add Ink.

I was inspired by the chocolate and really wanted to try my hand at a box of chocolates with a stamp and die that had been in my set for quite some time.

My one regret was not using gold paper for the wrappers for each candy. The last box of candy I had was from a company in Ohio who has gold foil box covers, which I did go with if you see the outline of the box. Their papers for each candy were brown, and I knew that wouldn't stand out so I used white. I felt like the gold would be too much, so I went with white. 

My overall goal was to create a card with chocolates that looked real, with that shine upon them. I used embossing powder to get the shine, and it definitely has shine. I may take this in a different direction next time.

But now I crave chocolate.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Life Happens . . . Chocolate Helps

Stamps and Dies:  Quilted Heart Backdrop Landscape (Lawn Fawn); chocolate2stamp and chocolates2Love Dies (The Stamps of Life);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and French Toast Embossing Powder (Wow); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn);

Paper:  White Cardstock (Scrapbook Cards Today); Brushed Metallic Cardstock (Stampin' Up); Solar White (Neenah); Cranberry Cardstock (Concord & 9th); Early Espresso Cardstock (Stampin' Up);

Other:  Liquid Glass and Resin Mini Hearts (Close To My Heart);

My Favorite Color?

My card today was inspired by Seize the Birthday's inspiration of favorite color. 

I'm horrible with favorites. From colors to music. Movies to books. Beverages to foods. I never can choose. And if I do choose, it can only last about 42 seconds, and then my mind changes. 

And so my card today is inspired by my favorite color across the span of time it took me to create the card.

I am drawn to color combinations, and nothing beats a rainbow card. There is something about it that just makes me happy. I had the pattern paper on my desk from cards over the last few weeks, so I brought it in some matching inks to create my birthday card.

Am I the only person that stinks at determining favorites? (I secretly tell all my dogs they are my favorite.)

Crafting is my favorite! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Celebrate

Stamps and Dies:   Celebrate Today Dies and Cardscapes Stamp Set (Concord & 9th);

Ink:  Honeysuckle, Buttercup and Oceanside Ink (Concord & 9th); Jet Black (Lawn Fawn);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Pattern Paper (Concord & 9th);

Other:  Clear Sequins (Concord & 9th); Silver Trim (Concord & 9th);

Another Ruff Day Design

I had the critters still on my desk from a few days ago when I created another card, so a CAS card for CAS on Friday seemed to be right in front of me.

Similar pups and sentiment that I used the other day, but a completely different look. Dogs on parade commiserating with you about a "ruff" day - who doesn't need that? 

If you have a furry friend in your life, tell them I said hello!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Heard You Had a Ruff Day, Sending Pawsitive Vibes

Stamps and Dies:  Bow Wow Dies (Photoplay); Newton's Kite Stamp Set (Newton's Nook); Simply Celebrate Pets Stamp Set (Lawn Fawn);

Ink & Embossing:  Midnight (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: Bow Wow Pattern Paper (Photoplay); White Cardstock (Park Lane); Licorice Cardstock (The Stamps of Life);

Other: Black Smooth Discs (Spellbinders); 

Masculine Shaker - Out of This World

Tonight's inspiration came from Little Red Wagon's prompt for a masculine card. For this card I pulled out a set from Pretty Pink Posh.

I kept my colors masculine, which is easy when it's space themed! I had fun with the little shaker windows. Shakers are always fun!

If you haven't created a shaker recently, you should definitely shift gears. They can be magical!

Shake it up! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - You're Out of This World

Stamps and Dies:  Stacked Squares Dies and Outer Space Stamp Set and Die (Pretty Pink Posh);

Ink & Embossing:  Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Copic Markers; Black Jack (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper:  White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart); Vintage Dots Pattern Paper (Simple Stories); Acetate (American Crafts);

Other: Clear Star Gel Pen (Sakura); Star Duo Stencil (Dare 2B Artzy); Starry Galaxy Mix (Pretty Pink Posh);

Ruff Day for Freshly Made

My card today was inspired by Freshly Made Sketches. I flipped the sketch for this one and went portrait (because I needed all the dogs). Here is the card . . . 

This particular card included paper and dies to match a stamp set. I only used the stamp set for the bone borders top and bottom. The rest of the card is all paper. 

I find that when working with matching paper/dies, you get a tremendous amount of dimension if you cut dies from white cardstock and stack your paper images on top. The images are sturdier, and it makes them pop. 

Love the message this card sends - perfect for dog lovers.

Go be creative!

Debbie

Supplies Used - Heard You Had a Ruff Day

Stamps and Dies:  Bow Wow Stamp Set and Dies (Photoplay);

Ink & Embossing:  Buttercream (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper: Bow Wow Pattern Paper (Photoplay); White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today);

Other: Washi Tape from Stash; Clear Sparkling Confetti (Pretty Pink Posh); 

Heat Embossing Goodness!

Another holiday card today, and this one was inspired by the challenge prompt at Christmas Card Throwdown. The current challenge is a technique challenge to use foil or hot embossing. I went with heat embossing for my card, and I used both gold and clear.

I have a number of sets with holiday lights. I used a Stampin' Up set in my stash that came with a punch. My gold embossing is in the center ring, in the base of the bulbs, the sentiment, and the edges of the cardstock panel. 

I used the clear embossing for each of my bulbs, stamping them with varying colors of ink and then triple embossing them with clear embossing powder to get the maximum shine.

Time-consuming, but worth the results for these bulps. 

Heat-gun goodness. Nothing more satisfying than melting embossing powder.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Friends Make the Season Shine Slimline

Stamps and Dies:  Making Christmas Bright and Making Every Day Bright Stamp Sets (Stampin' Up);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Powder, Clear Gloss Regular Embossing Powder (Wow); Cranberry Fizz, Martini, Glitz, Glam, Dress Blues, Uptown and Flame Ink (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White Daisy Cardstock (Close To My Heart);

Other: Christmas Bulb Builder Punch (Stampin' Up); Crater Lake Sequin Mix (Catherine Pooler Design); 

Joy to the World - Color Inspiration

Today's card was inspired by Color Dare Challenge, where the colors led me to a holiday card. I tried to keep the colors as subtle as the image and have more greenery than the pinks. 

Pinkfresh Studios has such a great suite of products, and these were from a holiday event a few years ago.

I really enjoyed creating with this set. I hope you find time to enjoy the sets in your stash.

Be creative! 

Debbie

Supplies Used - Joy to the World

Stamps and Dies:  Art Deco Frame, Christmas Sentiments Stamp Set and Dies, Snowflakes Die, Berry Brach Stamps Set and Dies (Pinkfresh Studios);

Ink & Embossing:  Embossing Pad and Cream on the Top Embossing Glitter (Wow); Rose Petals, Peppermint Scrub, Sage, Spruce (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook and Cards Today); White Glitter Cardstock (Close To My Heart);

Other: Ballet Slimmer Dies (Pinkfresh Studios);

Holiday Cheer for Christmas Kickstart Challenge

Today's card is inspired by Christmas Kickstart Challenge, where the challenge prompt was . . .

I created my card using some ornaments dies in my collection.

I went with ornaments in all the fun colors . . . perhaps I was thinking of a real merry-go-round? Most of my focus was on shading the ornaments. Once I had them done, I pulled them together with gold thread, gold sequins and gold foil cardstock. 

I love how this turned out and will happily add it to my holiday card stash!

Here's to making something festive this week.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Holiday Cheer

Stamps and Dies: Ornament Cover Die (Pretty Pink Posh); Christmas Friends Stamp Set (Gina K Designs);

Ink & Embossing: Jet Black (Lawn Fawn); Grape Crush, Something Borrowed, Deck the Halls, Limoncello, Cranberry Fizz (Catherine Pooler Inks);

Paper: White and Gold Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today);

Other: Diamont Gold Thread (DMC); Gold Smooth Disc (Spellbinders); Tinsel Time Shape Sprinkles (Doodlebug Designs); 

Happy Birthday Cupcake Truck!

Today's card comes from the archives of my crafty supplies. I just adored creating with this stamp and die set from The Stamps of Life, and I pulled it back out along with some other crafty items when I saw the challenge at Seize the Birthday. 

For me it's about the details, and I took great pleasure in the awning and the treats on my "stainless steel" serving counter. Good enough to eat!

I hope you find some time to work on the details.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Happy Birthday Step Card

Supplies from The Stamps of Life December 2018 Card Kit:  Cardstock, Pattern Paper, and Ribbon

Other Supplies:  icecreamtruck2stamp Stamps and Dies, Licorice Ink (The Stamps of Life), Black Pigment Ink (Ranger), Various Markers (The Stamps of Life), Gloss White Crystal, Gold Coast Glitter, Holiday Cheer Glitter, and Purple Rain Glitter Drops (Nuvo);

Merry Christmoose!

My creative week continues, and today's card was inspired by the prompt at Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog, Christmas in July.

I created this card using a lot of supplies from Dare 2B Artzy. I might have used more dies than ink on this one. The creativity goes how it goes. 

The moose were just too cute.

I hope you have some "too cute" items in your crafty space.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Merry Christmoose

Stamps and Dies:  Christmoose Stamp Set and Dies, Center Step Die (Dare 2B Artzy);

Ink & Embossing:  All That Jazz (Catherine Pooler Ink);

Paper:   Daisy White Cardstock and White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart); Chocolate Moose Pattern Paper (Dare 2B Artsy); White Glitter Paper (Close To My Heart);

Other: Rock Candy Glitter (Ranger);

3 of the Same for Inkspirational

My card today was inspired by Inkspirational Challenges' prompt of "3 of the same". 

I used this set from Concord & 9th to create three pair of eyeglasses, and I honestly could not have had more fun. As an eyeglass wearer, this was right up my alley. Such a fun die set. 

I have to admit that I have a pair of glitter rainbow frames in my collection, and while they aren't wire frame, they were a bit of the inspiration for these three pair.

I hope you can find some glittery, rainbow fun in your craft room.

Debbie

Supplies Used - Great To See You So Happy

Stamps and Dies:   Buttercup Cabin Gift Die (Concord & 9th)

Paper: White Cardstock (Scrapbook & Cards Today); Oceanside, Parsley and Pattern paper (Concord & 9th); Disco Ball Glitter Paper (Reminisce);

Other:  Enamel Dots (Concord & 9th);