I’ll admit, I didn’t send out all the Christmas cards I wanted.  In fact I mailed out very few… what is it with that? I made them but then got caught up with all the Christmas preparations that I didn’t end up writing/mailing them.  So I’ve made a bunch of Happy New Year cards to mail out to some friends and Stampin’ Up! team members.

Hmm, I just couldn’t photograph this card well due to the glitter paper but anyway…

So it’s simple but I think using the silver glitter paper and a little embellishment (notice the paperclip the ribbon is tied to and the rhinestone?) it’s enough because the patterned paper is just so lovely.  Watch out for a lot more cards from me using this glitter paper, it’s an absolute delight to use.

Try this tip:  Try making this same card in another theme.  I think it would look fantastic as it is but changing the ’2012′ to say ‘baby’ and making it a baby card.  Or maybe change the colours and change the ’2012′ to say ‘love’ for a Valentine’s Day card.  I think this card is flexible enough to be used for a variety of occasions.  What do you think?

Ribbon tip:  The ribbon I’ve used here is a wide striped grosgrain.  I know some people find they’re not sure how to use wide ribbon – personally I love wide ribbon.  A different way to use than doing the usual bows it is what I’ve done here: just cut the edges off a length of ribbon (that is, cut up the left and right of it) then pull the threads to create a fringe.  It only takes a few seconds to do and it’s a lovely effect and changes the look of ribbon.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
No rubber stamping on this card!

Cardstock & Paper:
Marina Mist
Early Espresso
Spice Cake Designer Series Paper (Australian Summer Mini Catalogue)
Silver Glitter Paper (Australian Summer Mini Catalogue)

Tools:
Big Shot
Simple Numbers Bigz Die (use the Simple Letters Alphabet if you want to make this card for other occasions like Valentine’s or Baby card)

Accessories:
Soft Suede Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Clips Assortment (paperclip)
Basic Jewels (rhinestone)

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Tombow Multi (a thin outline to glue down the glitter numbers)
Stampin’ Dimensionals

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Oh how I love pairing red, black, cream and kraft together.  Somehow even with black and kraft, no Christmas paper and a non-Christmas accessory, this card still manages to look festive.

There’s really nothing to say about how this card was made as it’s really straighforward, but if you want to make a Christmas card to really stand out from the rest, try using some tactile paper and accessories.  The patterned paper I used for this card is so luscious (am I sounding like Nigella???) – the black pattern on the papers is velvety and feels so beautiful.  To go with the feel of the card I sponged around the circle with some Crumb Cake ink to soften it up and also used seam binding ribbon for a traditional/vintage look.

If you have any questions about how this card was made or about any of the products please ask!  Of course all comments are also very welcome

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
Merry & Type

Cardstock & Paper:
Cherry Cobbler
Very Vanilla
Crumb Cake
Morning Mocha Designer Series Paper

Inkpad and Other Colouring Items:
Cherry Cobbler inkpad
Crumb Cake inkpad

Tools:
Decorative Label Punch
2 1/2″ Circle Punch

Accessories:
Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding
Rhinestone Basic Pearls
Crown Trinket
Sponge Dauber

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimentionals

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Stampin’ Up! have pre-released the Stitched Stocking Punch & Stamps that are going to be in the new Summer 2011 Mini Catalogue as of today.

No need to wait until 1st December, you can now order your Stitched Stocking Punch and Stamps right now.

Here’s a sweet Christmas card that’s a little different from usual using this fun stamp and punch set.

Rubber Stamps:
Stitched Stocking
Welcome Christmas

Cardstock & Paper:
Melon Mambo cardstock
Whisper White cardstock
Brights Patterned Designer Series Paper

Inkpad and Other Colouring Items:
Lucky Limeade
Melon Mambo

Tools:
Scallop Edge Punch
Stocking Punch
1/16″ Hole Punch
Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack
Big Shot
Stripes Embossing Folder
Sponge Daubers

Accessories:
Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon
White Bakers Twine (available 1st December 2011)
Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Mini Library Clips
Green thread

Adhesives:
SNAIL

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This idea for a Christmas card has been around forever but comes up in different forms.  Many many years ago I did one where I filled the tree with punched out stars then filled in with glitter, I’ve seen some that are similar with sequins, or completely done with buttons.  Here’s my version that I did using a variety of white, vanilla, clear and Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) buttons, a couple of glitter brads and then filled in with little rhinestones and pearls.  Have you ever made a similar card? and what did you use to make the tree?

Now I did use the Big Shot and the Perfect Pennants Die to cut out the Christmas tree but I’m hopeless at cutting out any sort of shape straight.  So if you can cut out a nice straight and fairly even triangle then you won’t need anything fancy, just cut away.  And look! Another Christmas card using patterned paper that isn’t specifically for Christmas – I’m loving this idea of non-Christmas paper for some of my cards as I can grab pretty much whatever I have in my stash.

So a couple of little things to explain about this card… the buttons have been stuck down with Glue Dots – love these things, nice clean and easy to use.  If you’ve never used Glue Dots before and are want to try then here’s a tip for you: don’t pull the Glue Dot off the roll, simply press the button (or whatever else you’re using) onto the Glue Dot then gently peel off.  That way the Glue Dot comes off cleanly onto the back of your button.  The clear buttons have some patterned paper stuck to the back of them – I actually have punches that match the shape of the clear buttons.  The heart shaped clear button has a bit of glitter over the top of it – you can’t see it well in the photo but it’s another idea for you to use.

So there’s my accessory Christmas Tree.  Let me know if you’ve done this sort of a card before and what you’ve used.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Cardstock & Paper:
Mocha Morning Specialty Paper
Crumb Cake (Kraft)
Confetti Cream
Very Vanilla (for the tree)
Designer Series Pattern Pack (Neutrals)

Inkpad and Other Colouring Items:
Crumb Cake inkpad (for sponging around the Crumb Cake cardstock and Morning Mocha paper)

Tools:
Big Shot
Perfect Pennants Die
Sponge Daubers
Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack

Accessories:
Neutrals Designer Buttons
Basics Glimmer Brads
Bitty Buttons
Clear Rhinestone Brads
Basic Jewels (self-adhesive rhinestones)
Basic Pearls (self-adhesive pearls)
Linen Thread
Chantilly Crochet Trim

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Glue Dots

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Who says you need to use Christmas patterned paper to make a Christmas card?  I’ve been busy making Christmas cards and I only realised after uploading this photo of my card that I seemed to have been making my Christmas Cards using either background papers or embossing folders that aren’t specific for Christmas.  Somehow I think it works though, what do you think?

I’m pretty pleased with the way this card turned out.  I had the idea that I wanted to stamp and emboss onto patterned paper and found that this bauble stamp worked well as it had enough of a pattern to show off some gold embossing but still a decent amount of space to colour which works well with the newspaper-style patterned paper.

So to make this card I stamped the bauble image using Versamark ink onto the patterned paper and then gold embossed it (email me for specific instructions if you don’t know how to do this) and then coloured in the image using a Blender Pen picking up the colour from my inkpads.  The sentiment Merry & Bright was stamped in Garden Green and then punched out.  I highlighted the shape with Glass Glitter by tracing around the punched cardstock with a Tombow Glue Pen then sprinkling the Glass Glitter over the top.  The rest of the card is self explanatory but please feel free to email me if you want more information.

A Stamping Technique For You To Try: Try this stamping and embossing over patterned paper technique yourself. I like to use it also for stamping flowers onto patterned paper – I think it looks good with many images, it’s fun and easy

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
Merry & Type

Cardstock & Paper:
Garden Green
Cherry Cobbler
Very Vanilla
First Edition specialty paper

Inkpad and Other Colouring Items:
Crumb Cake inkpad (for sponging around the First Edition paper)
Garden Green inkpad
Cherry Cobbler inkpad
Daffodil Delight marker
Versamark inkpad

Tools:
Scallop Trim Border Punch
Decorative Label Punch
Heat Gun
Sponge Daubers
Blender Pen

Accessories:
Champagne Glitter Glass

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Tombow Multipurpose Glue (to adhere Glitter Glass)

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Phew! I’m just back from Stampin’ Up! Australia’s Incentive Trip at Hamilton Island (with a few days at Hayman Island afterwards) so this is just a quick post with a Christmasy Promotion that Stampin’ Up! is currently having.

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Do you like to make your Christmas Cards quick and easy?  I do!  I guess I feel that the quick and easy Christmas Cards are also the ones that turn out to be the most elegant and striking.  This is one of the cards that I’ll be making this Christmas for family and friends because I just love the way it looks in real life.

This card is so quick and easy it really just takes minutes to create.  I stamped the “do not open until Dec 25th” image in Old Olive ink on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and then punched it out with the matching Designer Label punch.  The image was then adhered to the back of the Designer Label metal hardware (Hodgepodge) using Crystal Effects.  Crystal Effects is traditionally used to add a glaze or dimension to an image but I love using it as a glue, especially for this purpose because the nib is the size of the groove on the back of the Hodgepodge Hardware so I can quickly and easily draw a line of glue on the back then pop the image in and leave it for a minute to dry.

The base of the card is textured cardstock that I slipped into an embossing folder then ran it through the Big Shot to give me that beautiful embossed background.  Although the embossed image isn’t a Christmas one, I think it still works well.  I then placed the Hodgepodge onto the card and secured it with two clear rhinestone brads and finished the card off with the wide striped grosgrain ribbon tied around the card front with a simple knot.  The great thing about using wide ribbon is that it becomes a major embellishment in itself so you don’t feel like the card needs anything else.

So will you be making quick and easy Christmas cards this year?

I’ve listed below all the products I’ve used but if you have any questions at all about this card or if you would like to purchase any Stampin’ Up! products then please feel free to email me.

Rubber Stamps:
Winter Post

Inkpads:
Old Olive

Cardstock & Paper:
Old Olive Textured
Very Vanilla

Accessories:
Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Designer Label hardware (Hodgepodge)
Clear Rhinestone Brads

Tools:
Big Shot Machine
Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder
Designer Label Punch

Adhesives:
Crystal Effects

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Aaak! only 25 more days until Christmas.  So in preparation I thought I would share with everyone The Australian version of Jingle Bells.  Maybe my Australian readers would like to print this out and insert it into their Christmas cards.  For everyone else reading this I hope you get a kick out of it:

Australian Version of Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust, Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs
It’s summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer’s day
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine’s getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos
The Swaggy climbs aboard, he is welcome too
All the family’s there, sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbeque!

CHORUS:

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer’s day
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
are swimming in their clothes
The time comes around to go
we take the family snap
pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS:

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer’s day
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

(Colin Buchanan)

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Christmas is getting closer and closer so I’m in a frenzy of Christmas card making at the moment.  As with most people, I have many Christmas cards to make but don’t have much time (I also need to make some birthday cards, congratulations cards, thank you cards, etc., etc…. you get the picture!) so I’m all for speeding things up a little.  An idea you might want to try is to stamp your image onto patterned paper, it gives interest to your card without colouring-in.  In this card I stamped the Christmas tree onto some patterned paper and then cut it out (the cutting was super quick).  Speaking of patterned paper, one thing I’ve been asked many times over is how to mix patterned paper effectively without it being overwhelming.  You’ll notice on this card I’ve used 4 different patterned papers but it’s not overwhelming in the slightest.  The trick I’ve used here is to use patterned paper that is related, that is – the patterned paper is from one range.  The paper I’ve used here is from the Ski Slope Designer Series (by Stampin’ Up!) and because the patterned paper colours are all pulled together in the striped paper and I the plain cardstock and ribbon I’ve used are all the same colours in the patterned paper, it makes it all work.

All in all I’m pretty happy with the way this card turned out.  I enjoy using some metal hardware and ribbon on Christmas cards as it seems to reflect wrapping and treasures.

So how are you going with your Christmas cards? all done yet?

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

Rubber Stamps:
Christmas Classics

Inkpads:
Chocolate Chip
Real Red

Cardstock & Paper:
Real Red
Old Olive
Whisper White
Ski Slope Designer Series Paper (retiring in less than a week!)

Accessories:
Styled Silver Hodgepodge (star brad)
Baja Breeze Double Stitched Ribbon

Tools:
Circle Scissors (available 1st December 2009)
Word Window Punch

Adhesives:
SNAIL Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals

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We wish you a Twilight Christmas, we wish you a Twilight Christmas and a happy new year! LOL.  Okay it’s a bit early for all that but since I went to the movies last night and saw New Moon I was inspired to do a Twilight Saga inspired Christmas card today.

As usual I made my Twilight inspired cards to amuse myself.  I love trying to figure out how to use my stamps to make them fit into a certain theme and it’s particularly stretching the creativity to come up with a Twilight Christmas card (well it was for me anyway).  Anyone who’s watched the movie will get the ‘dazzling’ line bit… “do I dazzle you?”.  After watching New Moon last night I think the inside of the card should say “just watch out for paper cuts!” LOL.

So here’s Edward in all his sparkly glory presenting Bella in her famous red truck a Christmas present.  But seriously, if you’ve got Edward who needs any presents ever again???

Hope you like my Twilight inspired Christmas card. I’d love to tell you about New Moon last night but I don’t want to give anything away.  I’ll just say that I absolutely loved it (thank goodness) and can’t wait to see it again next week.  Surprisingly there were some funny lines but the funniest thing was listening to the Twimums giggle during the kissing scenes and giggling again when Jacob took his shirt off. LOL, too funny.

So let me know, are you going to see New Moon?

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

Rubber Stamps:
Loads of Love (Truck, Christmas Tree and the “wishing you a” and “Christmas” sentiment. “Dazzling was handwritten”)
All In the Family (Edward)
Loads of Love Accessories (gift – only part of the stamp image was used)

Inkpads/Colouring:
StazOn Jet Black
Baja Breeze (to watercolour Edwards Shirt and to sponge around the watercolour paper)
Watercolour Crayons (to colour the rest of the scene)
Real Red Marker (to write the word ‘Dazzling’)

Cardstock & Paper
Watercolour Paper
Old Olive
Very Vanilla
Baja Breeze
Real Red
Ski Slope Designer Series Patterned Paper

Accessories:
Fire Rhinestone Circle Brads (only used the tiny red ones)
Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (for Edwards face and arms)

Tools:
Aquapainter

Adhesives:
SNAIL Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals
2-Way Glue Pen (to adhere glitter on Edward)

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