Winter Blossom

My card today was made for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge which is to use something new. The  Flourishes Stamp set, Winter Blossom, the red velvet ribbon, and the yellow flower soft are all new.

The design inspiration started with a Verve challenge sketch, week one. I did a lot of stamping, coloring and cutting out, and layering with these images to get the dimension I was looking for.I wanted to keep the colors soft pastels except for the splash of red in the berries and ribbon. They were all colored in with Copic Markers.

All of the stitching around the card was done by hand with matching Embroidery Floss. I always prefer the dimension I get with hand stitching over machine stitching. I added some Flower soft to the centers of the flowers.

This card also fits perfectly for this challenge:
Quirky Crafts - New & Pink

Flourishes Love Letter's Challenge

I'm playing a game of Beat the Clock today. I wanted to play along with the Flourishes Love Letter's Challenge but I didn't have any appropriate Flourishes stamps to play.  So I've been waiting for my latest order to come in for the Heartlines stamp set. Well, it just arrived this morning. Just in the nick of time. One  hour left to get this posted.

The design inspiration for this card came from week two of the Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge.
I actually used two different Flourishes stamps, but you can't notice the second one. I stamped the roses from A Year in Flowers 2. second generation onto the die cut that was stamped with the Sentiment.
I ran the pink CS through the cuttlebug, then stamped the roses on that also. The subtle pink lines of the rose is slightly showing on the raised hearts.

The Hand Stitching was done in my own unique design with an off white embroidery floss.

Winter Emma and the Chickadee

Here is a card made using the fabulous pre-colored image from Fred She Said called Winter Emma and the Chickadee. She comes in five different colors, or as a digi to color yourself.
The inspiration for this card started with  sketch 73 from Sunday Sketch and Stash.

The papers are old retired Close to my Heart Papers from the Lucky Collection. 

Snowflake embossing folder was used for the two narrow stripes as well as a variety of Spellbinder dies. PLUS, I just got a new dies from Memory Box called Snowflake Corner.

The Hand stitching was done with white embroidery floss.

Other Challenges for this card:

All Beautiful Cards - Shiny and Sparkly

Smudgy Antics - Use scraps

Anything Goes - Just good friends

Digital Tuesday - Layers

Bearly Mine - Something Old, Something New

Scrap Creations - Something New

Winter Chickadee Birthday Card

I'm still in the Christmas Mode for making cards because Fred She Said has some amazing winter images.  So, I decided to make several "Winter" cards instead of Christmas. After all, winter is just beginning even though I wish it were over.

The design of my card started with a sketch challenge over at Sunday Sketch and Stash. We were to use any of the sketches presented in 2012. I chose Sketch #30.

For this card, I used the pre-colored Winter Chickadee from the Christmas Birds Series. I also added a small pre-colored pine cone from the Pine Cone Spray set.
I love using Blue and white when I make winter cards and it was perfect for this image. Because of the red berries, which I added a small amount of red stickles to, I added red velvet ribbon and some red sparkles. 

The papers I used are retired papers from the Wonderland collection from Close to my Heart.

The Birthday Greetings was stamped then Embossed using the Just Numbers clear acrylic stamp set from Close to my Heart.

I hand stitched around three sides of the card with White Embroidery floss in my own unique design to look like snow flakes.

Other Challenge Blogs this card was made for:
Gingerloft - Christmas or Winter
I Did It! - Use a Doily
Stamptacular Sunday - Use Doilies
Broken Box Stock - Winter/Snowflakes

Dove and Holly Ornament

Happy New Year stamping friends!

Have you made your New Years Resolution that you're not going to keep? *Ü* Every year it's always the same for me....to lose weight. So, this year I want to make it something that makes me feel really good. Yes, losing weight would make me feel ecstatic but this year my resolution is also to stamp more. My goal is a minimum of 3 projects a week. Who knows, just maybe one will lead to the other!!!

 Front

Back

Ok, here is my second creation this week. The other one is on my CTMH blog. That poor blog is rather neglected compared to this one.

I made a Christmas Ornament for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday favorites of 2012 challenge. I used the Flourishes #200 Challenge which was to make an ornament.  I love making my own ornaments. 

I used a Spellbinders Die and cut out two pieces of cardstock and one of chipboard. I sponged Dessert Sand ink around both pieces of CS with the die over top.  I then used my xyron to add adhesive to both sides of the chipboard. to sandwich all the finished sides together.

I started stamping the large image from the Dove and Holly stamp set THREE times.  I purchased this set last year before Christmas and never got around to using it.

I colored the image with my Copic Markers then cut out the whole image and adhered to the front piece of CS. Then I colored the Doves of the second one and cut them out and layered on top of the first image with foam tape. Then I colored the one dove and cut that out and layered with foam tape again. I also colored one of the holly sprigs and cut that out to add in a bare spot at the bottom of the ornament. 

I then added cream colored pearls around the edges, added a hanger and bow to the top. Topped the bow with a flower button. 

On the back, I stamped "Peace on Earth" sentiment and more holly. 

This makes a great package topper that can then be used for an ornament. 

These are so much better then paying big buck for cheap ornaments made in China!

Other Challenge Blogs for this project:
Tuesday Alchemy - hopes & Dreams (Peace on Earth)