First Christmas Card of the Season / NAC #2

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a fantabulous day! Yes, that is a word, despite what my spell-checker is trying to tell me. :) I'm soooo excited about today's card! Did you see the sneak preview yesterday? I posted it because I entered it in a challenge and hadn't planned on posting it untill tomorrow or maybe even next week. But I can't wait...

Here it is-

Z-Fold Card featuring
Merry & Type

Do you love it?!? Ooooh, I do! And if you've been around here for long, I don't get overly excited about too many of my own cards. I mean I like them, sure, but sometimes you just sit back and say to yourself, "Wow! I made this." This one will definitely be going in my Christmas in July class. I had Girls Nite Out last night with my friend Brenda (Hey girl!), and showed her this and she wants to make a set of these for her Christmas cards. *Happy Dance* 

Wanna know the best part of this card? Even though it's a WOW! card, (or at least I think so) it was Super Simple to make. No really. Like a beginner class easy.  In fact, you'll be surprised at just how easy it is. 

I have to thank the DT over at Nacho Average Challenge for the color combo. The colors are not ones I would have put together, in fact this was the first time I had even used my More Mustard paper and ink pad. In fact if you're new here, this challenge is only the second real "color challenge" I've done although I did two for it. I don't do them because as a general rule I feel like I'm pretty inept at them. There are just too many possibilities with a color challenge, too many ways to lay them out and combine them and it really just stresses me out! I'm trying to break away from my Scaredy Cat tendencies though, so I'm forcing myself to try. I think I got lucky that they picked a really cool combo. Additionally, I was just really inspired and let's face it, that's not always the case. So I'm going to just enjoy my two little victories (self-proclaimed) and be glad next week's challenge is another sketch. LOL!

Here's the Color Challenge-

I was walking to the slug-line trying to come up with stamp sets I could use (Preferably that didn't include Betsy's Blossoms or Bright Blossoms, isn't that nice of me to try and switch it up for you? Yeah, well that's just the kind of person I am. HAHAHAHAHA!) I thought of this set and then remembered a card my team-leader Robin Merriman had created for us either at a team meeting or a Christmas Card Class, I can't remember which. That card used this layout, but the ornaments were all stamped in Riding Hood Red, there was some Early Espresso c/s and a little ribbon too. So I guess, I should say thanks to NAC and Robin! Thanks! MWAH!!! Well after thinking about this set and card layout I wondered if I couldn't make these colors more "jewel -like" to give my ornaments that old-world, blown glass appearance. I used my Blender-Pens and started out with light washes of color  and then went back and added more to create depth of color and shadowing. After that a little Two-Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds and WOW!!!

Here's a close-up of the ornaments-

Jewel-Toned Holiday Ornaments
So exciting that the dazzle and shine showed up!

I recently met a new blog-pal (Hey Molly!) who confessed to having the same anxieties I do about figuring out the dimensions for cards and especially the separate design elements/mats. So here's the dimensions for the Sentiment and mats. The Very Vanilla c/s in 1.5 x 2.5, the More Mustard layer 1 5/8 x 2 5/8 and the Lucky Limeade layer 1 3/4 x 2 3/4. Hope this helps. Oh and the base is a standard Z-fold cut at 4 1/4 x 11. Scored at 5 1/2 and 2 3/4. I used my Stampin' Write Markers to ink up the main sentiment.

Here's the card opened up-

I used another sentiment from the same set for the inside. I love that even with the decoration down the side of the card, there's still enough room for a nice hand-written note.

Oh, I really hope that you like this card as much I do. I really hope the design team over at NAC like it too! :) I hope it inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. You might just surprise yourself. I know I sure did!

Thanks sooo much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by here today. I love hearing from you, so if you liked today's card and have a minute to spare, I hope you'll consider leaving me a comment. I read them all and try to respond back. They really do make my day! If you liked it and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons here on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

I really am going to post my MDS Scrapbook page tomorrow, so I hope you'll come back and see me then. Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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Very Last Minute Gifts - Wine Tags

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Merry Christmas Y'all!

I had intended to do this post on Monday but when I went down to the storage room to get the plastic ornaments for the Dasher Ornament I was going to show you, guess what I found? That's right no ornaments. Now I'm sure they are down there somewhere but definitely not where I expected them to be. :-( As I am however already about 12 hours later than I had planned on posting I decided to just go ahead and post this instead. So I sit here writing this blog as I watch A Christmas Story. It just never gets old!

I did a wine tag and post for Thanksgiving and it was so well received and so easy to do that I decided I would make extras and keep them on hand. They dress up even a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice and are so much nicer than a bag. I have 3 to show you today. These will make great last minute gifts that you can whip up in no time as you are getting ready to head out today or for any of your other special occasions.

Here's a picture of them grouped together-

The possibilities are really just endless with this design. Just take a 7 x 3 piece of c/s, score it at 2 punch out the opening for your bottle neck with a 1 1/4" circle punch and then decorate to your hearts content. The backer piece starts at 3 1/8 x 5 1/8 and then you adjust the length, adding to it depending on how much border you want to show at the bottom. See, I told you, Super Duper Easy!

Here's the one I'm taking to my sister's house for Dinner tomorrow-

I used the Petals-A-Plenty Embossing Folder, the Scalloped Ribbon Border Punch and added a few of our large rhinestones for a little extra shine.
Here's one for any winter occasion-

I did an extra layer on this one with Whisper White c/s that I spritzed with Frost White paint and alcohol to make it Shimmer after I ran it through the Big Shot in my Northern Flurries Embossing Folder. I used some Silver Glimmer Paper on this one. Want to know a secret? I punched multiple different punches from the center of the glimmer paper (it's so pretty I didn't want to waste any!) and then simply put another piece of Old Navy c/s behind it to cover up the holes.  Bonus, no waste! I used a whole string of rhinestones at the top and it's so nice because they were already attached to each other. All I had to do was lay them down in place. I just had to add two extras to finish off the line. How easy is that?

With New Year's coming up I thought about all the Celebrations that would be happening and decided to use one of my new SAB stamp sets. Here's a little Sneak Peek for you.

I started with a base of Pool Party and then got to play with some of my SAB goodies. I used a backer piece of Everyday Elegance DSP, which you can see peeking out at the bottom. I then got out my Outlined Occasions stamp set, also a SAB exclusive and stamped it 3 times on Very Vanilla c/s. I used my Blender Pens and Classic ink pads to color in the images. Because the Everyday Elegance paper is antiqued around the edges I got out my Crumb Cake ink pad and lightly sponged over the whole  piece of c/s, making it a little more concentrated around the edges.

If you liked today's project, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

That's all I have for you, well almost all.

Here's a video of one of my All-Time Favorite Christmas Songs. I couldn't find a video from the artists but I did find this one with Harry and Hermione. Yeah, I'm a Harry Potter fan. This is a funny song, and it always makes me smile, but I think it also gets the message out about how we often forget the true meaning of Christmas in our desire to get just the right gift.
If you don't like Harry and Hermione I hope you at least enjoy the song. It's the Twist of the Magi by She Daisy and Rascal Flatts.

I hope you have a safe, happy and Very Merry Christmas spent with family and loved ones.

I hope to see you back here soon.
As always, if today's project inspired you to make some of your own, I would love to see what you come up with.


Till next time-

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Merry and Pink Christmas Challenge - SSC231

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Hey y'all. I hope this post finds you good this morning. It's overcast here in the DMV and our unseasonably spring weather is headed out and the rain and cold is on it's way in. Boo- Hiss!

Hey, did you see MNF last night? Drew Brees led the Saints in a Romp over the Giants! I listened and kinda peeked at it while I was working on my technology/computer homework. More-like, while I got frustrated with my homework! I swear I do what the program asks and then I submit it and it says I didn't do it. I'm gonna have to go back and re-do it and and save screenshots of each step to prove I did it! SMH!!!!!

Well, finally, it's almost midnight and I got so frustrated that you know what I did, I pulled out my ink and paper and made me a card. Now what does that tell you, when challenges, and stamping, stress inducing activities are the things I turn to at that time of the evening? I know! It confused me too!

I had seen this sketch over at Stampin 411, and kinda knew where I wanted to go with it.













A lot of the people doing this challenge were only using paper for the center-panel. Who knew just using paper for a focal point could make such a statement? Apparently, quite a few people! Well, I decided to challenge myself to not CASE them and to do something different and stamp the center-panel. I also decided to alter the angle of the panel and the sentiment tag. What in the world was this Scaredy cat thinking at that time of the night? Thank goodness, Stampin 411 gives measurements! Can you imagine if I had to figure those out at that time of the night! OMGoodness! I left my kitchen table a mess as it was... but I'm pretty happy with the results. Let me know what you think.

Here's my card-

I used Pretty in Pink Cardstock for the base. I wanted to use Blushing Bride for a little softer card, but I was out. I think the color is still nice though. I layered it with the Letters to Santa DSP that coordinates with the Merry and Type stamp set I used. I love Love that set and paper. So Pretty! Next came another layer of Pretty in Pink and Very Vanilla set at an angle. These two layers were mounted together with Tombow and then were mounted at an angle to the base with Tombow so the overhang could be trimmed off.

After everything was mounted I stamped the ornaments from the Merry and Type set in Pretty in Pink on the Center Panel. I  let Tink do her thing and instant Bling. The sentiment is also from Merry and Type. I inked it with my Stampin Write Markers in Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip, stamped it on a scrap of Very Vanilla and punched it out with  my  Designer Label Punch and stuck it to a piece of cardstock I punched from Pretty in Pink using my Modern Label Punch.  Tink had her way with the label too, and I think it looks great!

The only think I would have changed about the front is when I went to put the label down I felt like it need some sponging, but if you do one thing you really kind of need to do everything. But, since I had mounted all the layers to trim them, it was too late to do that, so the label got "Tinked" instead. Looking at the card in the light of day, I think perhaps I could have let Tink edge the center panel too and it would have been "just right". Maybe we'll fix that at home later.

P.S.- I came home tonight and couldn't resist a little editing just to see "What if?" and here's what happened. Oh and the difference in color is due to my new Ott light that I got myself for my upcoming Birthday on an Black Saturday Sale, at almost 50 % off. (I changed the next pic too because the color is just sooo much better) I think the new touch is just what it needed.

Now you know, even after midnight I couldn't let the outside of the card have all the fun... so here's the inside-

The sentiment is from Four for the Holidays. It stamped it in Chocolate Chip. I inked the bottomed image with my Stampin Write Markers in Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink and the stamped off once so it would be a lighter impression and then let Tink do her thing because the inside really should be pretty too! I took a closeup of the bottom corner hoping it would sparkle a little more for you but I think it just looks a little sugared in this picture, but still pretty.

In real life it's like diamonds sparkling all over it....Cue the OOOOOOHHHHHH.....AHHHHHHHHH  LOL!

Well, that's all I have for today. It was a quickly thrown together card, which of course for me means...Oh let's not go there! Let's say instead that it came together quicker than most, yes that sounds better. :-)

I hope you like it and I hope you decide to play along with us. If you liked it, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :) 

Here's what I used today-
Cardstock- Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Letters to Santa DSP
Ink- Stampin Write Markers- Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Stamps-Merry and Type, Four for the Season
Punches- Designer Label, Modern Label
Accessories- Tombow, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter


Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan


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