Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year!  It's the last day of our Christmas vacation today and we have been enjoying it in our various ways.  The girls went tobogganing this afternoon and DH spent some time playing some music. I've been puttering in my stamp room, trying to clean it up.  It was getting really out of hand, plus I just got my knitting corner cleaned up and was feeling industrious.  My main objective was to clean off my cutting area (done) and the work area of my desk (mostly done).  I need to clean off the rest of the table, but the day is only so long and my family keeps wanting meals.  Still, I may get it done yet - Downton Abbey doesn't come on for another four hours ;-)

One big job I did get done was to sort through all my scrap hoards.  I wanted to get rid of old scraps I am never going to use and corral the scraps I will use.  I made myself a little box of items that will make quick cards, so that's where this card comes in.  I ruthlessly recycled designer paper I don't like, tiny pieces, false starts to cards and an interesting fold card I have been keeping around for years as design inspiration.  I finally decided that if I haven't been inspired to make one like it for this long, I am unlikely to ever make it.  And if I am ever overcome with the need to make one, Google and/or You Tube will help me out.  I'm sure all of you fastidiously neat and minimalist stampers out there are finding all this rationalizing and explaining hysterically funny.  For the hoarders and savers out there, you know what I'm talking about and I'm sure you are keeping every scrap of paper on a just-in-case basis too.  Well, I was able to weed out a lot of old scraps that were just discouraging my creativity instead of sparking it so I am feeling better about ditching them.  As a little reward for all this industry I allowed myself to make this little card.

I had made the ombre glitter hearts recently, trying to come up with my January class samples.  This one didn't make it, but I thought the glitter hearts were too pretty to pass up.  I used four colours of Be Creative glitter, with double stick tape behind the opening left from die-cutting the hearts with a Memory Box die.  I cut a second shape out of red, to put in the opening before I added the glitter.  I used Pink, Rose Copper, Apple Red, and Merlot glitter.  The panel is mounted on red shimmer cardstock, and the card base is Pirouette Pink (Stampin' Up).  The sentiment is from "love chapter" (Penny Black) and the xo is added by hand in metallic pen.  It's an odd shaped card, but with my new envelope punch board, I can make any size envelope I want!  I think I have some red heart wrapping paper in the wrapping box, which will make a great little envelope.

Buoyed by the success of my October stamping challenge, I am going to give myself a January challenge - to use something from my newly sorted scrap boxes and make something every day and post it to my blog.  How about you - any crafty challenges you want to set for yourself this month?

Bellarific Friday - White Theme

Hello!  Here's my card for Bellarific Friday this week at Stamping Bella and the theme is white.  I used the three ornament stamp, stamped on white linen with gold Delicata ink (fabulous stuff - so gold and great detail - I have used it on everything for the last two weeks).  I re-stamped it on cream linen and cut out the ornaments to pop up.  I accented with a white gel pen and then added some tape around the edge of the white linen panel topped with warm highlight glitter ritz.  I accented some of the ornaments with glitter ritz too, to tie it in.  Also, the polka dot ornament is paper-pieced with white linen.  the panel is mounted on gold metallic and the base card is a slightly textured white metallic with gold iridescence.  I stamped the base card with Stamping Bella solid holly using alabaster chalk ink.  In real life it's totally fabulous but Sauron the Scanner bears me some monstrous grudge and refuses to capture its beauty for you.  Trust me.  Even my DH said it was really beautiful, and he's not one who's normally lavish with praise.  I think I will make more of these as they are quite quick to do (minus the fiddly paper piecing, which could be achieved more quickly with the gel pen in future).  I will use the narrower tape for the glitter frame next time too, but again, live and learn.  I'm not displeased with this, but now that I want the narrow edge, I will fixate on that until I get a chance to try it. 

I'm in full Christmas card mode right now, and finished a small batch (6) of cards from Krista's Copic class this fall (the stained glass nativity scene).  I hope to post that soon, but I make no promises.  I have a lot of things to do.  In fact my friend and I were talking (on the chat feature of Facebook Scrabble) about how we're so very far from being ready for Christmas.  I said I have to battle perfectionist tendencies and so far lowering my standards and eliminating unrealistic (i.e. any) goals has been the secret to my success.  She said she will stop procrastinating.  I said I planned to do that as well, but not just yet.  And for the record, Facebook Scrabble doesn't take that long, I usually play a quick word before my morning shower.  That's hardly encroaching on laundry-shopping-wrapping-cookie baking-gingerbread house building- tree decorating - Advent meditating-Christmas card writing time, now is it?  And also for the record, I put "make Christmas cards" at the top of my To Do list every year.  Stephen Covey says to prioritize, and I find that a very helpful secret to success. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I must go and see if I can play my X and Q!

Winter Scene

I made this card for Penny Black's Octoberfest contest using Christmas stamps from this season's new releases. I stamped the snowy scene in Versafine on whisper white cardstock, and matted on navy. The trick there was to put double tack adhesive over top of the whole thing and apply cool highlights ultrafine glitter (Glitter Ritz) to the panel. The shimmer has to be seen to be believed. The sentiment is stamped on shimmer paper. The cardbase is white linen, with a Penny Black botanical stamped in Brilliance platinum. The whole effect is very cool and shimmery and if it's a random draw, I have a good chance. Otherwise, the comptetion is very stiff. There are tons of great entries in the contest.

Happy stamping!