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December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas!!!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

I'd like to take this opportunity to share my last Christmas card with you. If I could, I would personally send one to each of you! THANK YOU all SO much for all your support and friendship over the year. Words aren't enough to express what each of you means to me!



Card: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Silver Foil and scraps of Coastal Cabana (retired)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise and Coastal Cabana (retired)
Stamp set: Embellished Ornaments
Tools and embellishments: Delicate Ornaments Thinlits, Silver Cording Trim
Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals, Adhesive Sheets (retired, alternate Fine Tip Glue) and Tear & Tape

I'll be back on New Year's Day, so whatever you're doing to celebrate, have fun and be safe!

Love, blessings and

December 23, 2015

Stamped Ornament Trio Cards

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

The cards I'm sharing with you today were inspired by a couple of designs I spotted in one of the groups on Facebook. While they aren't a direct CASE of Gill's, seeing them helped clear the design haze a little!

I love the color combinations I've put together and hope you to do?

Rich Razzleberry and Blushing Bride...

Tempting Turquoise and one of my favorites, Pool Party...

And a peek at the inside...


Card: Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White and scraps of Silver Foil
Ink: Tempting Turqoise, Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry and Blushing Bride
Stamp set: Embellished Ornaments
Tools and embellishments: Delicate Ornaments Thinlits, Deco Labels Framelits, Basic Rhinestones
Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals, Tombow and Adhesive Sheets (retired)

Challenges...
AG at TTCRD
#65 AG at Inspiration Destination
#208/209 AG at Pixie's Snippets Playground

I'll be back on Friday with a special card, so I hope you'll pop by at some point during the festivities to see it.


December 21, 2015

Hanging Ornaments Cards

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

I'm absolutely LOVING the Embellished Ornaments/ Delicate Ornaments stamp and die bundle, but you might have already realized that! Grin. The round ornament in the die set is so pretty and I didn't want it to feel left out, having focused pretty much on the longer one, so I've used it to create today's cards.

I don't yet own the 1 3/4" circle punch that would have sped up the creation, so improvised by drawing around the outside of the die, and then carefully trimming the excess off once the two layers where adhered. Although I gotta say I don't think you'd have known that if I'd not admitted it?



Here's a peek at the inside of them both...



Card: Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Silver Foil, Silver Glimmer and scraps of Pistachio Pudding and Crisp Cantaloupe (both retired)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Tempting Turquoise, Crisp Cantaloupe and Pistachio Pudding (both retired)
Stamp set: Embellished Ornaments
Tools and embellishments: Delicate Ornaments Thinlits, Deco Labels Framelits and Silver Cording Trim
Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals, Tombow and Adhesive Sheets (retired)

Challenges...
#204 Metallics at Use Your Stuff
#177 AG at Brown Sugar
#155 AG at 613 Avenue Create
#208/209 AAG at Pixie's Snippets Playground

I'll be back on Wednesday with another creation, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 16, 2015

Christmas Banner

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

Way back in September when I created and shared my first Christmas cards for this year, I had thought that the color combination I used for those Delicately Glitzy Ornaments, Tempting Turquoise and Rich Razzleberry, would be the color scheme for my decor. Little did I know then that the appropriately named Pool Party, one of my favorite colors, would gatecrash the party!

Unlike some uninvited guests, this gatecrasher was welcomed with open arms and in the process pushing Rich Razzleberry outta the way. There's always NEXT year for that combination, but we'll see what happens. Grin.

Enough of my chatter, I can hear you saying, let's take a look at what you've done...



I really do love the cool color combination, so yep, the gatecrasher is welcome to stay!

Card: Whisper White and Silver Foil
Ink: Tempting Turquoise and Pool Party
Stamp set: Embellished Ornaments
Tools and embellishments: Delicate Ornaments and Little Letters Thinlits, Silver Cording Trim (used to hang the banner)
Adhesives: Adhesive Sheets (retired)

Challenges...
#154 AG at 613 Avenue Create
#292 AAG at Craft Your Passion
#207 AAG at Pixie's Snippets Playground

I'll be back on Monday with another creation, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 14, 2015

Christmas Happy Mail

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

I've recently taken part in a couple of swaps with my House of Cards DT sisters. The first was a pocket letter swap and here's the stunning, stuffed to bursting creation I received from the amazingly talented Shawna Standish...

Every element can be used and I just hope I'll be able to do everything justice!

Here's the gorgeous card Shawna sent...

The second swap was a holiday card swap and here's the fab slider card I received from my amazing Norwegian sis, Merethe Arstein...


I feel very blessed to receive both. Thanks girls!

I'll be back on Wednesday with another creation, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 11, 2015

Joyful Season Album Part 2

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

Following on from Wednesday's post, today I'm sharing the cover, insert and box lid I created for both of those albums.

Cover...

First page...

Box lid

Because they are both Christmas gifts, I'm not sharing the inside cover dedication, because I don't want to spoil the surprise! Suffice to say that it is decorated similarly to these and handwritten. 

Card: Cherry Cobbler (other album), Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Rich Razzleberry and Early Espresso
Marker: Blackberry Bliss Stampin' Write (from 2014-2016 In Color pack, used for "SEASON")
Stamp set: Gorgeous Grunge and Joyful Season
Tools and embellishments: Crystal Effects
Adhesives: Tombow

Challenges...
#213 AAG at Word Art Wednesday
#291 AG at Craft your passion

Whatever you're doing this weekend, have a great one. I'll be back on Monday with another creation, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 9, 2015

Joyful Season Album Part 1

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

Today I'm sharing another couple albums that have been created recently. Yep, one of them is the one which features in my Basic Concertina Album Pictorial! For insert dimensions, please refer to Monday's post.

Both of the albums featured today use the Gorgeous Grunge and Joyful Season stamp sets from Stampin' Up!




Both of these were again a lot of work, but the result is well worth it, as is knowing how much they will be forever treasured by the recipients.

Card: Cherry Cobbler, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Rich Razzleberry (grunge on matching album) and Early Espresso
Stamp set: Gorgeous Grunge and Joyful Season
Tools and embellishments: Deco Labels Framelits
Adhesives: Sticky Strip (retired)

Challenges...
#213 AAG at Word Art Wednesday
#175 AG at Brown Sugar
#291 AG at Craft your passion

I'll be back on Friday with part 2, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 7, 2015

Beth's Album and Pictorial

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

A month ago today my beloved sister celebrated a milestone birthday. She'll likely kill me for saying it was her 50th, but as it's mentioned in the album I created for her, I think I'm safe. Least I hope so! Grin.

I was unsure what colors to use, so asked her what she wanted. I'd mentioned a while back, when creating her son Daniel's album, that I'd create one for her, so wasn't spoiling the surprise. Her reply was "Camo, please!" She's a skilled crossbow hunter, so it didn't really surprise me!

In addition to the Basic Concertina Album I shared with you on Friday, you'll need LOTS of card OR DSP for the inserts and LOTS of Sticky Strip. While this one isn't the same base as in the linked pictorial, and it's the same size as Daniel's album, it differs from that one because all of the pages in this one are photo pockets.

This one is a whopping 18, yes, EIGHTEEN concertina pages, the thinking behind that originally coming from Daniel's birthday being his 18th.

Card or DSP
To cover every page you'll need 57 pieces cut to 4 3/4" square, plus a few extra for the cover. AND 17 pieces cut to 4 3/4" x 3 1/8"
Inks: Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive used for the background, and Early Espresso
Marker: Mossy Meadow Stampin' Write (from the 2014-2016 In Color pack)
Stamp sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Joyful Season, Butterfly Basics and Me = Grateful
Tools and embellishments: Deco Labels Framelits, Stamping Sponges and Crystal Effects
Adhesive: Sticky Strip (retired) and Tombow

Using the second largest die from the Deco Labels, cut apertures from all the squares of card/ DSP and using the smallest die, cut apertures carefully in the smaller pieces

Stamp the pages as desired. For these I sponged on the inks then added Gorgeous Grunge to complete the camo look, before stamping the branch from Joyful Season onto the squares.

Carefully add tape to 3 edges of the photo pockets, having decided on the orientation of the aperture. Here each double page has a horizontal and vertical aperture

For the smaller pieces, attach them so that the edge is flush with the tab used to join the pages. Stamp the tab if desired

For the cover, I stamped the sentiment from Butterfly Basics in Old Olive and randomly added Crystal Effects to mimic raindrops

For the top page I stamped a sentiment from Me = Grateful in Early Espresso and colored the letters with the Mossy Meadow Stampin' Write marker

For the inside of the cover I added a handwritten dedication

I also created a box for the album and decorated this the same as the album cover

While there is a heck of a lot of work involved, I know this and indeed Daniel's albums will be forever treasured. It is well worth the effort and I hope you'll agree

Challenges...
#153 AG at 613 Avenue Create
#175 AG at Brown Sugar
#291 AG at Craft Your Passion

I'll be back on Wednesday with another creation, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 3, 2015

Basic Concertina Album Pictorial

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

Back in September I shared pix of the album I created for my nephew Daniel, and I've been meaning to share a pictorial since then. Well, all good things come to those who wait and today's the day! Grin.

By its nature this project uses a LOT of card, both for the base, which is what I'm sharing today and for the other elements, some of which I'll share with you on Monday. The amount depends on how many pages you want in your album. Today's example uses 9 sheets for the pages, plus another for the cover...

Card: 5" x card length for all except ONE of the pages, so 8 in this case. 5" x 10" piece for the last page and 5" x 11" for the cover
Tools: Simply Scored and stylus
Adhesives: Tombow OR other wet glue. You COULD use tape, but having wriggle room is better.

Score the full length pieces at 5" and 10"

Fold and burnish each to create a V shape

Make sure all your pieces are facing the same way. Using your Simply Scored to help keep everything square, apply glue to the flap and attach the next page

Finish with the folded and burnished 10" long piece and you'll have something like this

Score the 11" long piece at 5" and 6". Yep, I know the score lines look closer and you'd be right. This one measured 10½" and needed surgery because I'd underestimated the thickness! Add glue to the right square

Again using your Simply Scored to help keep things lined up, attach the pages so that the tabs are next to the spine and the last page folds out to the right

Here you can see the tabs

So far everything fits nicely into the spine. Yep, it wouldn't stay that way, but it's an easy enough fix

Whatever you're doing this weekend, have a great one. I'll be back on Monday with examples of some of the pages and a pictorial, so I hope you'll join me then.


December 1, 2015

End of Term Blog Hop at House of Cards

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by and for all your wonderful comments. I'm honored to have you here and I truly appreciate each of you more than you know!

Can you believe we've come to the end of term at House of Cards?!? It's been an amazing six months so we're celebrating with a blog hop! You should have arrived here from Dotty Jo's blog. This hop will run FROM December 1ST AT 6:00 AM CST THROUGH December 15TH AT NOON CST, ANY CARD STYLE is welcome and we've got a gorgeous photo inspiration for your crafting enjoyment!

I'm honored to be using images from one of our amazing sponsors, DeeDee's Designs. I've used the pre-colored images and a sentiment from the Gingerbread Holidays set. My inspiration was the color of the box in the cue pic.

For my gatefold card I teamed the images with some Gorgeous Grunge spatters in Cherry Cobbler and Pear Pizzazz inks...

I added more images from the set to the inside of the card...


Card: Crumb Cake
Ink: Cherry Cobbler and Pear Pizzazz
Images and sentiment: Pre-colored from DeeDee's Designs
Stamp set: Gorgeous Grunge
Tools and embellishments: Jewel Accents (on the hearts)
Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals and Tombow

Now get to hoppin'! Your next stop is Emily's blog! Don't forget to link up a project with us after completing the hop for an extra chance to win a mystery prize from one of our fabulous sponsors, too! HUGS and happy stamping to you all! :)
I'll be back on Thursday with another creation, so I hope you'll join me then.