Elf Christmas Card - Inspired By #2

I love Laurel Seabrook's new challenge blog "Inspired By". The inspiration photo for this week brought to mind, Red curves, Elves and Whimsy. As soon as I saw this photo I thought of Santa's bag of toys and the great little stamp set 'Merry Pursuits' (which is unfortunately retired).

This card is in a different style than I usually make, but I did have fun making it. I cut a piece of red cardstock 4 1/4" x 10 1/2", scored it at 5 1/4" and folded it to make the card base (the card base is 1/4" shorter than the finished card so that the presents at the top can extend beyond the top fold and cover it). I free handed a toy bag on a sheet of copy paper 4 1/4" x 5 1/4", cut it out and traced it onto the front of my card base. I cut out the shape (cutting through both back and front layers of the card and then using my pattern as a mask I inked the edges and folds of the bag using first Tulip then Grey Wool ink. (see below)

Here is the inspiration photo:

Here is the pattern that I drew. You can see where I cut the pattern in order to ink the image.

Supplies - All Materials are CTMH except where noted - Card size is 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
Paper - Animal Cookies (retired), White Daisy, Tulip & Dutch Blue cardstock, Solar White cardstock for images (Neena)
Stamps - Merry Pursuits (retired), Beary Much (retired), Tiny Typewriter Alpha
Ink - Tulip, Dutch Blue, Grey Wool, Sunflower, Clover Meadow, Tuxedo Black (Memento), Copics
Accessories - Color Ready Alphabet - Bold, Sparkles - Clear, Blue, Green, Red, Assorted Ribbon Scraps, two way glue, glitter, Black Waxy Flax, 3D foam tape

Joy Christmas Card - Inspired By #1

Laurel Seabrook has started an new challenge blog called "Inspired By". The muted tones, the word 'Joy' and the punch of green is what jumped out at me in the inspiration picture. Here is the card that I created.

Here is the inspiration photo:

I based my card on the Card Patterns sketch #144

Supplies - All products are CTMH except where noted - Card size is 5 1/2 x 5 1/2
Paper - Designer Paper - Mistletoe (retired), Bamboo, Heavenly Blue & Colonial White cardstock
Ink - Bamboo
Accessories - Dimensional Elements Monograms, Clear Sparkles, Green 1/2" seam binding (May Arts), bakers twine (May Arts), Snowflake buttons (unknown)
Other - Edge Distresser, 3D foam tape, Labels 18 (Spellbinders)

Gift Idea - 3D Frame

I created this framed photo as a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. It features a picture of her as a young girl of 17 on a date with her future husband at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto in 1955. I love the Roxie paper with this photo, not sure why but it just says retro to me. The shadow box frames were bought in a pack of three from Michaels for about $12.

I started out looking at scrapbook layout sketches for inspiration and ended up using a card layout sketch. Since the actual working space available is about 6" x 7 1/2", card sketches actually work well. This layout was inspired by a past Mojo Monday sketch #155.

I wanted to do a video tutorial for this, but don't have the time right now. So here are the measurements for anyone interested.

Cardstock Background - 10" x 8"
Designer Paper Background - 10" x 8"
Left DP strip - 6" x 1-3/4"
Center DP strip - 6" x 1-1/2"
Right DP strip - 6" x 2-1/2"
I used my Spellbinders to cut a shape for across the bottom, but you could put a rectangular piece across the bottom at 1-1/2" x 6"
Photo Mat - 5" x 4"
Photo - 4-3/4" x 3-3/4"

I don't own a Cricut yet, but if I did I would have made some 3-D flowers using the Art Philosophy cartridge instead of the prima roses. I distressed the edges of the paper with Desert Sand ink and an edge distresser. I coloured the center rhinestone on each of the rhinestone brads with a Copic marker so that there would be a touch of Juniper on the right side. I changed the colour of the top of the pins using liquid glass mixed with black re-inker and popped the photo with a double layer of 3-D foam tape to pop it up higher.

Supplies: (all CTMH except where noted)

Paper - Roxie designer paper, Black & Juniper cardstock
Stamps - Circle of Love (D1438), Because I Love You (C1259 - retired)
Ink - Black, Smoothie, Desert Sand, Juniper, Black re-inker, Copic marker BG72
Accessories - Paper roses (Prima), Rhinestone Designer Brads, pins and rhinestone button - Bling Assortment, Bamboo Waxy Flax, Bitty Sparkles, 3D foam tape, Liquid Glass, 1/2" Black seam binding (May Arts), window charm (unknown)
Other - Edge distresser, leaf punch (Martha Stewart), Labels 18 (Spellbinders)