I’m on a roll!  Here’s another Christmas card I whipped up super quick.  I didn’t want to do much thinking so I used the new Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalogue as inspiration.  Page 16 of the new mini has a decorated chipboard journal and I used the layout from this journal to make my card.  Again, no rubber stamping but this card is great for those friends/relatives that don’t ‘get’ stamping.

Here’s how I made the card:

Step 1:  Fold A5 Purely Pomegranate card in half.

Step 2:  Using the scallop border punch (look out for this 1st December 2008!) punch a border on the Holiday Harmony designer series paper (this is only available until this Sunday 30th November!).

Step 3:  Adhere a strip of another sheet of Holiday Harmony paper over the scalloped paper (red strip over scalloped Always Artichoke)

Step 4.  Adhere your patterned paper strip to another piece of Holiday Harmony paper (River Rock) then adhere the whole thing to your base card.

Step 5.  Using the circle scallop punch, punch out a scallop using Always Artichoke cardstock.

Step 6.  Adhere the “Happy Christmas” adhesive die cut (Hand Selected Accents & Elements – only available until this Sunday 30th November) onto the scallop circle.

Step 7.  Adhere the small circle adhesive die-cut to the centre of a flower (from the Pretties Kit) and then punch a small hole in the centre and insert a small clear diamante brad.

Step 8.  Adhere your flower to the centre of the Happy Christmas embellishment using Mini Glue Dots then mount the whole embellishment to your card using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Step 9.  Punch a hole on the right hand side ofyour card using the Crop-a-dile and set a Jumbo Brass Eyelet, again using the Crop-a-dile.

Step 10.  Thread some Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon through the eyelet tying it into a simple knot.

All done!

All products used for this card are by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com

Like to receive your own copy of the new Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalogue?  If you’re in Australia please email me at angelasargeant@gmail.com and I’ll post one out to you asap.

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So we’re on the home stretch now and for some of us elaborate Christmas cards aren’t an option now that it’s almost December.

Here’s a card I whipped up this morning while the kids were having breakfast.  There’s no stamping, no fancy techniques, just a quick yet elegant Christmas card.

Please note that the ribbon, paper and adhesive die-cut used on this card are from the Australian Spring Mini Catalogue which is finishing in a couple of days on the 30th of November.  So if there’s something you’d like from the Spring Mini catalogue, today is the day to call me!

Here’s the products I’ve used and reasons why I specifically chose them to make a quick card:

Naturals Ivory cardstock – this is for the base of the card, it’s a nice strong card with flecks through it, I chose this as my base as it as has enough ‘interest’ in itself and I didn’t need to stamp or sponge it.  Not as stark as white and great for a variety of occasions.

Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon – this ribbon is wide and rich looking so that it becomes the focal point – makes my card look ‘gift wrapped’.

Hand Selected Die-Cut Adhesive – the word “Joy” is a sticky die-cut, that means it’s much thicker than a sticker so it says “elegance” rather than “kids craft”.

Designer Label Punch and 1″ Circle Punch – these two punches work well together and as far as I’m concerned, punch add a professional look to your card nice and quickly.

Holiday Harmony Designer Series Paper - I know that because all these papers are double-sided and coordinate that I’ll be able to throw some together and my card won’t look busy or patchworky (is that a word????).  I was able to use the striped paper on the base of the card, and two other coordinating papers punched with the Designer Label and 1″ Circle punches to give a uniform look yet have my sentiment stand out.

Pretties Kit – I’m constantly using the Pretties Kit to enhance my card.  This time I’ve used the small ivory flat-backed pearls which I’ve adhered to my card using Mini-Glue Dots.  The pearls not only add elegance but give the card that “touch me” reaction which I love the recipient to feel when they receive my cards.

Glue Dots - I love Glue Dots!  I used to use all sorts of glues to stick down my embellishments over the years but Glue Dots have replaced the glues for pearls, buttons, other small embellishments and also for securing ribbon that just needs one glue dot to keep it in perfect position.  So much faster to whack on a glue dot than to apply glue which has the tendency to seep out of the sides of pearls and buttons.

Stampin’ Dimensionals - I go through heaps of this stuff.  The punched label at the bottom of my card has been mounted onto the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals.  The great thing about Stampin’ Dimensionals is that they’re already cut out into little hexagons, so I just have to pop one off and onto my embellishment.  If I need something a little extra on my card I find that just raising one element can make a huge difference.  Try it yourself today… make two cards, one flat and one with a raised element and see the difference

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Hmmm, I don’t know whether I should post this as a masculine card or not.   I think it could be for either a woman or a man, it could be ‘thank you’ or ‘sympathy’.  I purposely left off a sentiment so that I could make up my mind later what I want it to be.

I just wish I could take photos so that the colours show true to life – this is sooo much nicer in real life.  But right now I’m just happy I could take one that’s not got a big shiny patch in the middle from the flash.  I still struggle to take photos of cards using gloss cardstock.  Aaaanyway, on to the card….

The trees in this card are gold embossed onto white gloss card and then I sponged some Sage Shadow for the grass, Soft Sky for the Sky (genius!) and then sponged some Blue Bayou over the top half of the sky to give some depth and extra colour.  When I finished sponging I just ‘buffed’ up the card with a tissue to remove excess ink on the embossing.  The background on the left is my old favourite that I can rely on anytime – Weathered background – I find as long as I have a crackle-type background and a script background then I’m confident I can make any type of card.  The Weathered background stamp was stamped in Blue Bayou over Soft Sky cardstock and then sponged around the edges with Blue Bayou.  The striped paper on the right is from the Spring Silhouettes Designer Series paper and I sponged the edges of that too then pierced holes around the border.  The golf dots on the background are simply made using a Blender Pen very lightly dipped into Encore Gold reinker – you only need a tiny bit and I’m amazed at how well it cleans off the Blender Pen too… I’ll definitely be using the gold a lot more in the future now I know how easy it is to use.

So that’s it.  I hope you like today’s effort.  As usual, here’s the list of products I’ve used and if you have any questions about the card or the products I’ve used then please feel free to email or phone me (details on the top right hand side of this page).

Lovely As A Tree stamp set (ye olde faithful that gets dragged out over and over and over again)
Weathered Background stamp (another work-horse)
Chocolate Chip cardstock
Soft Sky Cardstock
Blue Bayou cardstock
Blue Bayou inkpad
Spring Silhouettes Designer Series Paper
Brushed Gold cardstock
Gloss White cardstock
Versamark inkpad
Gold Embossing Powder
Heat Gun
Encore Gold Reinker
Blender Pen
Sponge Daubers (to sponge colour on the background of the trees and around the cardstock)
Crafter’s Tool Kit (to make holes around the patterned paper
Antique Brass Hodgepodge (square metal clip)
Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon
SNAIL Adhesive
Glue Dots (to adhere the ribbon with the clip)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (to mount the centerpiece onto the card)

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There’s just a few more spots left for my Christmas Gifts Class on the 28th of November at 7:30pm to be held in Lane Cove on the Lower North Shore in Sydney.

Hurry and email me now to reserve your spot – this is going to be a super fun class where you will leave with Christmas gifts for loved ones, friends or kid’s teachers.  Learn how to make some lovely gifts that look “hand crafted with love” not “home-made from scraps”.  Once you make these gifts I know you’ll want to make more of them at home.

Email me now at angelasargeant@gmail.com for more details.

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One thing I’m often asked for by my customers is the wonderful Stampin’ Up! markers in single colours rather than in packs of 12.  Now, from the 10th to the 30th of November is your chance to purchase these markers individually for only $4.95.  I’m truly amazed at the price because I remember about 5 years ago I used to purchase markers for stamping for at least $2 more than that.

But wait!  There’s more!  Being Stampin’ Up!’s 20th Anniversary, there’s a double promotion this month.  Rub-ons are 20% off with purchases of $20+.

Anyway, I needed to make a card today for one of my daughter’s friends who is moving overseas for a while, so I challenged myself to make a card using my Stampin’ Markers and Rub-ons but no ink.  Here’s my card:

The big white flower is a rub-on from the ‘Perfect Day’ rub-ons and check it out! it fits perfectly into the Scallop Punch.  Want to talk about coordinating???  That black circle in the middle of the flower is the 1 1/4″ circle punch and it fits exactly over the white centre of the flower.  More coordinating?  The little heart in the middle has been stamped using the Passion Pink marker which is the same colour as the cardstock, but the part that really impressed me is that the heart in the circle it only part of a stamp (hence me using a marker instead of an inkpad), yet it still fits perfectly into the 1/2″ circle punch!  The greeting “bloom where you’re planted” is also a rub-on and the black strip down the bottom that looks like printed ribbon is actually just cardstock with a rub-on border.  Finally… the little dots in the white scallops on the right are done with the fine point of the Passion Pink marker.  So there you go – coordination overload using cardstock, punches, a marker and rub-ons. LOL.

Hope you enjoy and if you’re feeling tempted, email me and I can fix you up with your own markers and rub-ons today.

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