Santa Hedgies for Rudy Day

Good evening, and welcome. It's time for the October Rudolph Day Challenge, and next month will be the last one for 2018. In case you don't know about this challenge, it is a Christmas Anything Goes themed challenge, which opens on the 25th of each month, and closes on the last day of that month. Our hostess, Maureen always has some nice prizes, and it's just a fun and fairly easy rules challenge...just do something related to Christmas. 

Here's my entry for October....I've managed to join in each month of 2018 (I _think_!)

Penny Black image

CZ Design die sentiment

Hedgies colored with copics; Polar White Flowersoft for the fur and used a quickie glue pen over the string of stars. Then dumped some Brutus Monroe Gilded Gold over the wet glue. The glue pen allowed the EP to adhere fairly well, so IRL the stars have a nice glimmer. A silver slicci pentel pen helped the scissors to look metallic.

the snow was created by using a rather dried up snow writer (it wouldn't come out of the end so used an embossing paste spreader to put some on the card; then used my finger to spread it). Then dumped on some glitter while this was wet.

I sprayed a fixative over the flowersoft to keep it from falling off (hopefully) and the wet 'snow paste' held the glitter as it dried.

used red mats and a dot dp snippet piece to add some color on the background.

3 layers of snippets made up the sentiment. A red snippet in the middle, with 2 white snippet layers colored with copics. A business card was handy, so used the white back and sandwiched the red snippet between. The thickness of the business card gave a nice dimension. Nuvo Crystal glaze applied, once the layers were put together. Laid this on the kraft non-stick mat, as I applied the Glaze. This way when it blobbed over, as it does sometimes, it was not on the card, leaving a splodge that the camera picks up.

Please check out this month's Rudolph Day Challenge, and see lots of inspiration & then play along if you are able. Only a few more weeks to build your Christmas Card stash!

Hope to be back later with a card for our Christmas Card Club. Ya'll take care, and thanks for joining me. Hugs

A House Mouse for Rudy Day September 2018

Hap-PY Saturday! Checking in with the September Rudolph Day card (will be back later for a Christmas Club Card post).  For any readers who don't know about Rudolph Day (or as I call it "Rudy Day") - it's a Christmas themed Anything Goes challenge that opens each month on the 25th and runs until the end of that month. There's always lots of inspiration from the cards submitted and our Dear Hostess Mo has some nice prizes as well. So if you have never played along with this challenge, give it a checkout, using the link above, ok?

We have an 80th surprise birthday party to attend in a little while, so best get to it. Here's the Rudy Day card:

Stampabilities - House Mouse Monica - You Cane Light the Way

Spellbinders Super Ellipse Die (S5-188)

Memory Box Holly border die

Cottage Cutz sentiment die

Copic coloring, used the Gina K Amalgam black ink - I'm liking this ink, and have been using it along with the Momento Tuxedo Black that I normally use with copics. So far, have had no bleeding problems.  This also has some WoS on candy cane, and Nuvo Crystal Glaze on the lights to give a 'glass' effect.

Die cut the image with the S/B Ellipse. Red mat done with drawing the _inside edge_ of the next size larger die, then trimmed a little off where needed. The red paper was a snippet that was just large enough to cut this mat.

VOS red & white stripe paper.

- snippet of Coordination green cut 2 Holly borders, then added some red Nuvo drops for the berries.
- snippet of same green cut the Ho Ho Ho (left off the exclamation points) and under top layer, had 2 white snippet layers which were colored a dark green). Applied Nuvo Crystal Glaze once this was down. On the first "H" too much glaze came out, and had to try to pick it away with a straight pin. The photo picks it up, but not noticeable IRL. Sometimes the ease with which this product comes out of the tip, is not always a blessing. But guess it's better than fighting with the clogged Glossy Accents, ...maybe!

For the lights glow: Yellow copics colored around the lights, then added versamark and some Chunky Glitter mixed with white EP, and heat embossed. After I had the holly borders down, I remembered that I have a border die that has little bulb lights on it. Story of my life!!!

Off to link up with September's Rudolph Day, and hope to see you there. Back later with the Christmas Card Club post, due tomorrow! Ya'll have a wonderful afternoon, and thanks for joining me. Hugs

Rudolph Day August 2018

Good morning, and Welcome! It's Rudy Day for August 2018, and gosh, not that many more challenges left in this year...So best get a move on, and start making some Christmas Cards. For any who may not know about Rudolph Day, it's an Anything Goes Christmas Challenge, opens on the 25th of each month, closes on the end of that month. Only rule is the theme must have something to do with Christmas. Lots of inspiration and some good prizes too, with our hostess, Maureen (aka Scrappymoi)

Penny Johnson Stampavie Jolly Holly (thanks Bonnie)- colored with copics, Sakura clear star, Nuvo Rhubarb (holly berries)

- P. Black Snowflake Stitch Frames

- P.Black Curved Stitch border

-  Gina K 6x6 Cold Snap pack

- Sookwang tape with Ritz Glitter for the green border

- clear stamp inked with Gina K Red Velvet for the sentiment

Now ya'll c'mon and join me in playing in this month's Rudolph Day Challenge. And thanks for visiting. Have a super great day. Hugs

Christmas Trees

Good morning, and welcome - I nearly missed Rudolph Day for August, and then there is a CAS Christmas Challenge going on...with trees as the theme. Now I have a lot of tree stamps and dies, so thought "Surely this time I can join in with the CAS Challenge". But as frequently happens to me, time just got away. So I hope this CAS card will do double duty here!!!

 

 

Way back in June I shared some Brusho Play on this post (scroll down past the card to see the backgrounds created by using brusho-s with an embossing folder). Decided to cut the MBox tree die from one of those backgrounds. The marbled colors show up in the photo, but the embossing texture doesn't show all that well. It does IRL however, and I was pleased. Also had some thin metal where DH & I had used Loll's Heated Copper technique (who knows when we did that!) - after placing the trees on the embossed card front, thought it needed a 'little something' - yet still keep it CAS. Took a cheapie tiny star die (probably a $1 find at Michaels) and to my surprise - the tiny die* cut that metal. I wasn't certain it would. It bent the star shape just a bit, and I had planned to straighten the 'legs' once I had the star down. Decided I liked it with the little curls. The center star looked lonely, and since the first cut had gone well, I added 2 companions! Die cut the tree shape from white, embossed that piece. Used 2 colored tree die cuts, with the white cut from the embossed piece to inlay into the front, and it has nice dimension.

 *meant to write punch!

Since today is the ending of Rudy Day I'm also going to jump over the pond to join in that challenge.

 

Linking to: August CAS Christmas Card, and July 2018 Rudolph Day Challenges. Looking forward to seeing your cards there too!

 

Thanks for joining me this morning, and ya'll have a nice day (that's what we say here in the South!)

Hugs.

 

Supplies: CuttleBug Snowflakes EF, Memory Box Pine Trio Background, Hero Arts CL343 clear sentiment set

Rudolph Day June 2018

Hello, and here it is the 25th of the Month. That means Rudolph Day! That's an Anything Goes as Long as it's Christmas challenge hosted by our Maureen, otherwise known as Scrappymoi. The challenge opens the 25th of each month and ends on the last day of that month. Maureen always has some nice prizes on offer, and lots of lovely people join in.

My card has snippets and left overs from this card.

- S/Binders Candy Cane die. Used the glitter white paper left from the Christmas Card Club one, ditto the red bits from cuttingthe red card stock.

Gine Marie frame die (sorry I can't find a link at the website so perhaps it's been discontinued) that has some holly flourish corners with the frame die. Used the flourish die, for the holly under the ribbon, and the ribbon is also part of this frame set.

- S/Binders Holly Ribbons E/F, and Wplus9 Hand letter Holiday die for the sentiment. There's 4 layers...2 white snippets colored red, a red snippet from the candy cane left overs, then a white glitter snippet. Tried to show the red as a shadow. Used up a lot of the snippets left from cutting the red and then white glitter candy cane shapes. YAY!

The aqua mat was cut with a S/Binder and was also in the snippet box. Just big enough to die cut and use behind the candy canes!

So okay, off to join June's Rudy Day, and  hope to see you there! Thanks for visiting, & I'm still catching up, still trying to find files (where the new files go!) on this Windows 10 computer. I've learned about One Drive, and then learned I don't want to pay for extra storage. So downloaded a bunch of files I put on One Drive to an external hard drive. Windows 10 isn't using the file hierarchy that I've always used, and I'm finding I can't always create new folders when I want to, where I want to. I very much dislike having everything go into the Documents folder!

Since I have a good many snippets on this one, AND since I'm behind in commenting anyway, I think I'll jump to the Snippets Playground for challenge 329 -  and say Hello to my little buddy, Parsnip. Another neat challenge where it's very easy to have something that gets you in the door...Just Have used Snippets (or scraps!). Miz Pixie also has some good prizes on offer too.

Come again, when you have time. Hugs & Blessings.

Ducks for May Rudolph Day

Hi, and it's time for Rudolph Day for May 2018. In case you don't know about this challenge, it's a Christmas Challenge hosted by Scrappymoi (Maureen). It starts the 25th of each month and runs until month ending. The only rule is that the card must have a Christmas theme ...of anything you wish. There's always some good prizes, and lots of participation & inspiration from the Design Team. So I urge you to check it out, if you're not familiar with it.

Now my card was started for a previous Christmas Club Challenge but I didn't get this one finished in time. Brilliant idea: save it for Rudy Day. It's an old Penny Black image, which I think was an eBay purchase. Just cause I think these silly ducks are adorable. But...the image is long, so it was a challenge for me to think of how to use the finished image as I normally make card sized 5.5x4.25.

Colored, of course - with copics and some WoS. Die cut & dry embossed with a S/B long rectangle and did some antique distressing along the edges while still in the die so there is a white outer frame on the image.

Cut mats - each one successively larger but trying to keep it from growing way too large. The mat closest to the image was edged with double stick tape, then applied a Rose Copper Glitz Ritz. Burnished and thought that looked pretty ok with the colors in the image. Next mat did the same, using a gold Ritz, etc. The outer mat was cut from white (as were the other 2 mats), but then used the same copic reds in the Noel letters to color the edges. Inked with WOW embossing ink, and applied 3 coats of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE). Heat the first application, and immediately re-ink and add another coat of UTEE, heat emboss. I did 3 layers to get the shine I want, and the gleam that is visible in the top right corner - is from the UTEE, and the light reflection. Actually I think it looks quite nice with the enameled mat combined with the glittered mats. The card base is white, and it WILL fit into a size 10 envelope (a business size). It's not quite as long, so I may choose to make an envie that it fits better.

Please do look in at Rudolph Day, it's a great way to build your Christmas card stash, and who knows, perhaps you'll win the prize Mo has on offer for this month.

Take care, God Bless and come again when you have time. I've been MIA on the posting & blog visits of late. Just been busy. (Oh, yes, for all those who were kind enough to ask about all the medical tests...they are finished - we hope! - and all went well. Thank goodness).


NOTE:  Today it seems I'm having the same problem with comments coming into my email. I just happened to think to check the Awaiting Modification section, after I'd done the Christmas Card Club post, as no comments were being notified as of late evening. No biggie, I was late with my post; just thought nobody had seen it to comment. Then when I was getting ready to publish this draft I'd done earlier, I thought to double check the awaiting section, and there were about 13 to be published. Not sure why this is happening again. I've changed nothing. I'll call my provider tomorrow. I did already check to be sure I've not blocked anything. I think it's Blogger, as another blog pal had asked me how I fixed it last time. Don't think I fixed anything, honestly!!! I just don't want to miss returning visits to someone who was kind enough to spend time looking at my post :-).

Rudolph Day for April 2018

Good afternoon and I'm skating in at the last moment with a card for April's Rudolph Day. Just by the skin of my teeth, but what the hey, here I am! Been busy, what can I say?

- Navy Blue Card stock

- Penny Black Snowflake die (cut one from glitter paper, one from white card stock, rotated slightly when layering)

- S/B fancy square die for the square background on the snowflake.

- VOS for the blue check dp behind the s/b die.

- embossed with a Snowflake EF... dabbed Tsukineko Delicata White glimmer, then silver glimmer over the embossed snowflakes

- Joanna Sheen Brittania word dies (some of my very first word dies, thanks to Mrs. A, who told me about them) 2 layers, heat embossed with Brutus Monroe Sterling EP.

Very simple card, but I like the sparkle. There's still a few hours before April's Rudolph Day closes, so maybe you can sneak in behind me!

Ya'll have a nice afternoon; I'll be doing some catch up commenting, and maybe plant a few plants we bought over the weekend. I got them home and thought "now WHY did I go buy this stuff?"

Thanks for joining me and come on back when you can! Hugs & Blessings.

March 2018 Rudolph Day

Good afternoon, and welcome to March 2018 Rudolph Day (which I nearly forgot about!) While returning some visits on Tuesday night (the 27th), I saw some Rudy Day entries, and suddenly realized the significance of the date. If you don't know about the Rudolph Day Challenge, look here.
This is an easy challenge to play in, as all one must do, is have a card with something Christmas as the theme, and the challenge opens the 25th of each month, and ends on the last day of that month. It's a terrific way to build up your Christmas card stash all during the year.  Here's my entry for March's Rudy Day. Hope you like it.

 

- Dee's Distinctively Birch Tree Frame (IME-266) - Enhanced with Warm Gray copics to look like birch trees we see in New England. Covered with WOW Embossing, then sprinkled WOW clear EP glitter over it. This EP is translucent, allowing what is underneath to show, and this created an icy, brrr feel to the oval cutout.

 

- IO Die 333-H (birds, cut from white snippet, colored with copics, WoS)



- background sky created with DOX Broken China, Wilted Violet, Peacock Feathers, and Memento Sky Blue. Used a white gel pen for snow.

- Gina Marie Designs Double Pierced Oval was dry embossed around the Birch Tree frame.

- Memory Box Be Merry Flourish, 2 layers of snippets. Used Brutus Monroe Ultra Fine Sterling EP to emboss the sentiment. I had first colored this with a red copic and it didn't look right, so decided to use the Sterling instead. Liked this better.

Entering in March 2018 Rudolph Day
Snippets Playground Challenge 322 (must use snippets or scraps!)

Both challenges still are open! C'mon and join in.

Thanks for visiting, and come again when you have time! (hopefully my comment notification problem has corrected itself...!) Hugs & Blessings.

Caroling Cardinals for Rudolph Day February 2018

Good evening, and welcome. I'm skating just under the wire to play in February's Rudolph Day....so best get to it! You ask what is Rudolph Day (or as I usually call it "Rudy Day")? Well, it's an Anything goes as long as it's Christmas themed challenge, hosted by Sweet Maureen (Scrappymoi)...opens on the 25th of each month and closes whatever the last day of the month is. Easy peasy, so do join in. Helps to build a good stash come December.

Artful Stamper image (wood block, VOS), colored with copics, enhanced with gel pens, black nuvo drops (on the eyes) and some glitter and snow for them to dance upon. That center guy is doing some moves, isn't he?

- Spellbinders dies, Authentique 6x6 dp, and red top fold card base (Recollections)

- SU punched out sentiment...which was cut from a snippet of the Authentique pack.

Let's be off to that linky tool at Rudolph Day. Ya'll come back when you can, and big hugs going your way.

Penny Black for Rudolph Day

Hi and welcome to the first Rudolph Day Challenge of 2018. I missed a lot of Rudy Days last year, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to join in if at all possible in 2018 (that wasn't a New Year's Resolution or anything, but hey, it would make a pretty good one, yes?) You DO know about Rudolph Day? It's a challenge hosted by Scrappymoi, opens on the 25th each month, closes at the last day. The only rule is 'anything Christmas'.

Was inspired by this card by my so talented friend, Bonnie K. Of course then I had to buy the Penny Black stamp. Decided I'd use it for Rudy Day, as I needed to make something that didn't take a long time to color. First thought about using gold to emboss it, but had gotten some NBUS Altenew Platinum that needed a try, -- was pleased with the effect. Did some DOX sponging..(trying for a glow right around the tree, not sure I've achieved that. Still pleased with the outcome. My first try at coloring the swirls inside the tree wasn't great, neither was my second. Tried with an alcohol marker - got it messy outside the embossed edges. Then tried another effort with gel pens, still not great. Went to Polychromos pencils, not dark enough in the tiny spaces to show well, so went over the pencils with the Kaiser glitter pens. Liked that better).

Embossed Penny Black Starry Tree withWOW watermark pad, then heat embossed with Altenew Platinum Crisp EP. Colored elements within the tree with pencils and Kaiser glitter pens. Using a snippet of my other failed efforts, sort of masked the edge of the tree while sponging DOX Twisted Citron, Bundled Sage & Iced Spruce at the bottom. Spritzed a pearlized mica spray, while shielding the tree image. That same snippet mask was used to ink WOW versamark over the edges, then heat embossed with Platinum. Two slivers of that same snippet were trimmed, inked with copic blue greens, then used WOS for a little glitter. Started coloring the strips with the Kaiser glitter pens, but the ink didn't flow well. I'm not particularly thrilled with these pens, as they don't seem to hold much ink. A couple of times use, then they appear to dry up, even though you can still see ink in the barrel. Pulled out the trusty copics, inked, WOS, done. The blue doesn't match the swirls color but I liked the contrast between the platinum and this color, so....

Penny Black Rejoice die, cut 4 layers from the last of the failure snippet, then embossed with the same platinum used elsewhere on the card. After seeing the picture, the sentiment didn't get centered as well as might be.

Is anyone else having a problem with Blogger slowness when leaving comments? At some blogs, I hit publish and then it 'goes'. Other times I publish, wait, hit the publish button again, and finally it appears to take the comment. I'm not always sure.

Please do check out this fun challenge, as Maureen (Scrappymoi) always has some lovely prizes. So see you at Rudolph Day January 2018. Be there, or be square!

Thanks for joining me today, come again when you can, and hugs & Blessings. Stay well, as there is so much sickness about.

Spiral Christmas Tree for Rudolph Day

Waay Haay! Finally, have a simple card ready in time for Rudy Day. In case you don't know about Rudolph Day, it's hosted by the very fabulous Scrappymoi (Maureen), is open every month from the 25th to the end of the month, and the only rule is that the card have a Christmas theme. Pretty simple, yes?

Have been playing with some products, making a few backgrounds if I had a little time and was in the mood. So today's card is the product of those efforts. Found a Sizzix 3D EF at the local Hobby Lobby, had a coupon, and well, you just couldn't not buy one, right?

 

 

Background made from sponging DOX in blues and lavenders, with some iced spruce to tone down the colors just a tad. Sprayed some pearlized water over this and dried overnight. (A tip: Do the embossing and _then_ spray with the pearlized stuff...; tried that next time and that seemed to work better for me)

One caution on these Sizzix 3D embossing folders: Check the sandwich with _your_ machine, as it would be easy to break the machine. After a few efforts and the machine felt 'too tight', I just opened  the tabs on the multi-purpose platform, put the EF down with no bottom plate; added a shim from some saved die backing (like you get the S/Binders dies on), added the top cutting plate. It rolled through with no forcing and I still got a nice impression. It was not the sandwich suggested on the Sizzix package.

 

Impression Obsession Swirl Tree die cut from another play piece made from Ken Oliver Mineral Burst, colorburst crystals and pearl spray.

 

Sentiment from an Echo Park word set, cut from the same tree paper... used some snippets from other spray pieces to make 2 more layers to add dimension. Added Glossy Accents after this was adhered, then sprinkled some white glitter over the wet. It's quite bling-y after drying. Did the same on the star as well.

 

Very simple to do with pieces handy. So now I'm off to join some lovely folks over at November's Rudolph Day Challenge.

 

Didn't include links to products used, but if you are interested, will happily try to provide the info.

Thanks for joining me, and have a wonderful blessed day! Hugs



 

 

 

March 2017 Rudolph Day

Welcome to March 2017 Rudolph Day. This is a Christmas Challenge that opens each month on the 25th and is open until the last day of that month. Rules are very simple: the card must have a Christmas theme of some kind...your choice. Maureen always has some nifty prizes to win, and there's lots of inspiration to check out, and then perhaps take time to play along...

My card has been in the works since December 2016 when we were in Florida. Did some stamping, coloring, fussy cutting of the critters, then when we were home again, did some die cutting. Finally put the card together last week, on one of my cleaning breaks (making some progress...slowly!)

This Rudy Day card was inspired by Vicki's so cute penguin card and when I was stamping out the critters, I remembered how she had done the silver & snowy hills, so that gave me the idea for these little guys. Thanks Vicki!

- Background was die cut with a star background die (done some time ago, and I don't remember which company, nor do I remember the company for the critters...I'll guess Lawn Fawn, but not sure. I can look up if anyone truly wants the names!) Navy cardstock is backed with some gold glitter paper.

- Die cut the snow hills with a stitched die, silver and white glitter paper.

- The negative sentiment die cut was done with a recent THoltz Sizzix die that was on sale in our local Hobby Lobby for $7.00. Got two of those, as I've never been real sure how I'd like this look. Seemed like a good sale was the time to find out!!

Don't forget - today is the last day of the blog candy #2. Will be doing R.Generator tomorrow, so do post that thumbnail...Last time lots of folks lost out, because when I'd check the blog, I didn't see that picture. Good luck to anyone who is interested in the goodies (and I always add a few little extra surprises beyond what is pictured!) Rita's win was mailed to her on Thursday. Congratulations, Rita!!!

Now I'm off to link up with March 2017 Rudolph Day. Why don't you play along with us? Thanks for popping in this evening, and hope your weekend was good. Ours was quite, some drizzly rain.  Hugs

Recycling for February Rudolph Day

Good afternoon. Welcome to February's Rudolph Day Challenge, which opens on the 25th of each month and ends on the last day of that month.

My card today is one that has been made up for a couple of weeks. Sorting through the cards received this past Christmas were some that I thought had 'recycle' possibilities. A Memory Box Oval Master frame that had come in an order, made me think one card would work fine with that die.

 

 

- Covered a white card base with Paper Studio plaid pattern.

 

- Die cut the original Christmas card with the MB Oval Master Frame die. This die also cuts a thin oval frame, which was used on this card. If you look closely at the oval in this card, you'll see part of the picture image from the ornament.

 

- Another scallop, stitched oval die had been used to cut a frame using the back of this same original Christmas card, and thought it looked pretty good with the ornament motif. However, that red frame had something showing that I didn't want on the card, so -- Martha Stewart poinsettia punch to the rescue. Used some cream c/stock to punch out several layers, shaped and formed some poinsettias to tuck around, hide part of an image that I didn't want visible. Added some gold seed beads to create the stamens of the poinsettias. Some of the flowers were colored and cut apart to form leaves. Thought these rather complimented those flowers in the printed image.

 

- DieVersions die cut sentiment from a snippet of gold mirror paper. Aside from the plaid background, pretty much this entire card is snippets I guess! We received another card with what I thought was this same ornament, and had thought to fussy cut and add over the top with some tape to create dimension. However, once I had the idea, found the other card, nah, it has a pretty poinsettia image, rather than an ornament. The rest of the card is identical though - to the one I recycled here. Same design except for the switch of the ornament to a poinsettia!

 

Do pop over to Scraps of Life to join in with February's Rudolph Day Challenge. Maureen always has some lovely prizes! Thanks for joining me this afternoon. Big Hugs

 

 

Rudolph Day - Challenge 1 for 2017

Good morning, and I'm skating in at the last moment to join in with the first Rudolph Day of 2017. Our hostess with the mostess is Maureen of Scraps of Life and this challenge is open each month from the 25th to the ending day of each month. It's a great way to have fun, build your stash of Christmas cards throughout the year, and perhaps win a nifty prize. AND to see some fabulous inspiration by all the folks who do join in with Rudy Day.

Here goes with my card, and it was hard to photo - the mirror paper creates a glare:

- Impression Obsession Fancy Ornament Die Set (DIE026-O) cut from watercolor weight paper. This had been given a watered glaze with Silk Glaze paint (NBUS) in a yellow green & sort of purple color. Because the paints had never been used, and were rather old, had to have some water added to the pot to make them easy to spread with a brush over the wet paper. After this dried, spritzed some water, then some Brusho crystals just to see what would happen. The gold specks showing in the filigree is actually the yellowish green Silk and the darker blue is from the purple Silk. Interesting effect, but rather lost when it was die cut.

- the underlay behind the ornament was cut with a classic S/B circle that fit the shape of the ornament.

- gold top of the ornament a tiny snippet left on some glitter paper and the bow was from a snippet of textured red. Sometimes it seems a bit is just too tiny to bother tossing in the snippet box, but it can come in handy for just the right use!!

- Rectangular gold mirror paper was a cut out snippet also from another project, and the embossed outlines are still visible.

- border strip cut from a purchased card received this past Christmas, and thought the traditional colors of the plaid would look ok as a border, plus the gold trim.

- White background embossed with a wood grain folder, and this too, was recycled from material that held a die. Embossed quite well, too!

- Avery Elle die set for the sentiment, cut from the same piece as the ornament.
That's all!! Off to link up at Rudolph Day before the linky expires. Hope to see you there!

Thanks for joining me, and have a wonderful day. Hugs.

Rudolph Day - An Embossed Die Tree

Good evening on what has been a pleasant & quiet Sunday. Have been catching up some comments, visiting my Christmas Card Club Team members, and now finally have a few moments to post my card for Rudolph Day. In case you don't already know this, the 25th of each month, our wonderful Hostess with the Mostest (Maureen of Scraps of Life by Scrappymoi) opens the gates for sharing Christmas themed cards. Honestly, that's the only rule...something of Christmas. The challenge closes at the end of each month, and such inspiration you will see if you pop over to have a browse. Maybe decide to enter a card. I think this is last Rudy Day of 2016 however. So why don't you have a look, and maybe plan to join in for sure next year. Helps to build a good Christmas stash.

OK, here goes (using an embossing with dies technique shown on this video by Jennifer McGuire)

 

- background created by sponging quite heavily, DI shades of green (Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Clover, Mowed Lawn...the glow around the tree is from the Twisted Citron). Sponged and blended until I got the look I wanted, then made the corners darker. Burnished with a handy dried out baby wipe. Then sprinkled some Biscotti Perfect Pearl mica powder over the inks, burnished with a fluffy brush until it was all spread evenly. Then again, with the dry baby wipe and this creates such a sparkle...which of course does not show well in the photo.

 

- S/B 2012 Holiday Tree die was inked well with Versa mark. Used a 2nd layer under the background piece, as sometimes the die can cut through. I do the sandwich with: the cutting plate, the embossing pad, the c/s, the die face down, the top plate. . I learned to emboss with the die face up; even with taping the die, it would always seem to slide.  Even with the extra c/s between bkgrd & die, there were still some places that embossed very deeply.

 

- Sprinkled Ranger's Princess Gold (not nearly so pretty as the Queen's Gold IMHO) all over, and heat embossed. Had to do some trimming to fit this on an A2 card that I normally mail. Harder to find the Queen's Gold of late..guess Ranger has discontinued it.

 

- white c/s inked at the edges with Versamark, and then more Princess Gold to get a matching gold around the edges.

 

- Memory Box die sentiment - 3 layers, inked and heat embossed with Princess gold, and it looks a bit metallic. I had used just the "Merry" part of this die on the CCClub cards yesterday.

 

After adhering the sentiment, decided to use Ruby Slippers Nuvo Crystals for the 'i' in Christmas (and this time I had the little piece available too!). After seeing the color over the 'i', decided to add some more 'pearls' for ornaments. It was one of those situations where once again I asked "Should I have left it alone?". Do you talk to yourself while creating? Maybe it's a sign of something that I'm doing that!!! LOL.

 

Please think about entering a Christmas card over at Rudolph Day and say Hello to Miss Mo. You will definitely get some fantastic inspiration from the Guest Designers and all the players!

 

Thanks for joining me tonight, and big hugs. See ya soon. (oh yes, added a new card to the Cards by Friends section too)

Penny Black for Rudolph Day October 2016

Good Evening. Welcome to a very late Rudolph Day post. What is Rudolph Day, you may ask? It's a fun Christmas Challenge that is held by our sweet Maureen of Scraps of Life by Scrappymoi.  Rudy Day opens each month on the 25th and closes on the last day of the month. Maureen always has some lovely prizes, and it's a great way to build up your Christmas stash for the coming year. The rules are very simple: A card with a Christmas theme.

 

 

Lately I've been watching some Penny Black videos done by Jill Foster. She uses some of the scenic PB images with a Misti, inking the scene with a dark ink, restamping to get a good image. Then Jill uses TomBow markers to add more detail to the scene, and then uses a water brush over the image to soften. After using versamark and embossing with clear EP, then she will sponge Distress inks or other inks to create the background. That's what I attempted here.

 

PB Woodland Wonder image, stamped with Versafine Smokey Gray, and then Versafine Olympia green. Since I wasn't planning to do any marker details, I cleaned & reinked the image (while still in place on the mini Misti) and overstamped with versamark, heat embossed with a clear EP. Taped the borders to create a frame, then inked with (1)DI Spun Sugar (2)Iced Spruce, and various shades of blue distress ink. Finished the top edge and corners with Chipped sapphire.

 

A white gel pen added some stars and a few branch highlights.

 

- Impression Obsession deer (cut out of a velvet paper, left over from another project - snippet!) and a PBlack tree die (Nature's Beauties) cut from a white snippet and colored with Green Copics.

 

Finished off with a Cheery Lynn Winter Holiday Word sentiment - from a white snippet.  Heat embossed with Ranger's Liquid Platinum, several coats.

 

- Cardbase is a deep turquoise, although it looks aqua in the photo. The card stock is textured as well.

Hope you'll join in with all the other Rudy Day-ers to get some great Christmas inspiration, and maybe take home the prize!

 

Thanks for joining me. Don't forget to check back for the Christmas Club Card which is due tomorrow. Hugs & Blessings.

Santa Sleigh with Deer & Trees for Rudolph Day

Good afternoon. Tried very hard this month to get something ready in time for September's Rudy Day, since I missed last month. What is Rudy Day, you ask? Well, it's a challenge more properly called Rudolph Day, that is open from the 25th to the end of each month, and hosted by our sweet Scrappymoi, (Maureen). I happen to like the name "Rudy Day", and it's faster to type!

Did ya'll notice the Seasonal change-over to Fall on the Blog look? Isn't that a fabulous Fall banner with that gorgeous Cardinal? Thanks Loll!  Loll and Bonnie are starting a new challenge ( CAS Watercolour Card Challenge.) You might want to check this link out.

Even though today's card was started earlier this month (with bits & pieces) - still was finishing it up last night. Just too many things going on lately. DH had his 2 navy friends visiting, and then we were gone for a few days. Went to Charleston, SC, so we could tour the USS Yorktown. I'm very happy that these 3 Vets got to be together one more time. Next day, we toured the city of Charleston, very nice to see the old houses. (Hot & humid though, so we were all tuckered at the end of the day. Even though part of the tour was on an a/conditioned bus, we still did a lot of walking). Next day, 5 hour drive to Atlanta to see the Georgia Aquarium (2 hours south of where WE live, and we'd never been!) Worthwhile visit, saw an amazing dolphin show. Back home, and then some local running around. One fella left yesterday to fly home, the other drives back to Massachusetts tomorrow. (Usually he's here at least annually).

OK - on to the card:

- Leaping deer & trees were cut from a piece of corrugated paper (torn from a packing box - so big time snippet!). This paper had caught a lot of overspray and has been on the airbrush/spray table, for a long time! I didn't add any more colors to the crinkles - just found dies and cut the shapes. The glitter trees in the background - also from a snippet piece, think this was a Memory Box border die. Don't remember what companies for the trees and the deer.

- base was started for This card - with sponging on the background, and I got it way too dark for the first card. Thought it could work ok for this one. Added a bit of 'snow' to the horizon line where the glitter trees are placed. Then added the smaller corrugated tree shapes, the leaping deer, then the largest tree. There is shadowing with the tall tree and the deer, but not showing in the photo.

- Decided to add a circle punch glitter moon (snippet), behind an Impression Obsession die of Santa & 8 reindeer. (cut off some of the front deer to fit this card). This black piece was another salvaged snippet.  During the recent closet cleaning efforts, found 3 pretty velvet type boxes, which had held Christmas ornaments. Have no idea why I kept these, but planned to pitch the boxes. The inside had partitions, black velvet textured material (like you find in a box that has held jewelry). Hmmm...could I take this out and use it? So I did. The die was cut to use the velvet side showing on this card. When it went through the Big Shot (and I used the nifty special metal shim so it cut pretty well), the die left 'impressions' on the velvet stuff, so I used the backside of the material...which is a bit glossy.

- Sentiment is from VOS sheet of sticker sentiments, and sponged a bit of DI Broken China on the edges. Pretty easy card to do, should not have taken as long as it did! Lotsa interruptions!!!

I'm skating in at the last minute to enter this card at Rudy Day, so I hope Maureen will still let me sneak in! Please take a look at all the fab cards that have been entered, and you still have til tomorrow night to get something linked up!

Hopefully next week all things will be back to normal. My cleaning efforts are still going on, been working in the stamp area a little bit. Slowly, slowly. Thanks for joining me this afternoon...and big hugs!

A Rudy Day Stocking

Good morning - and Happy Monday. July 2016 Rudy Day Challenge is open today until the month's end. What is Rudolph Day (or as I call it - Rudy Day) you may ask? It's a fun challenge, wherein the only rule is to make a Christmas themed card. Easy peasy...our sweet hostess is Maureen of Scraps of Life by Scrappymoi. Mo always has some nifty prizes, but the best thing is seeing all the fab Christmas cards made by the guest designers and people who join in...a very friendly group - to be sure! So c'mon.

The card today was made from a Papercut kit bought who knows how many years ago, at a stamp show. Found it when rooting around for something else - which I never found. The kit had all the supplies EXCEPT the stamp.

 

 

- Impression Obsession Stocking (K10006) which had a sentiment as part of the stamp set. I chose to leave off a front sentiment. Also colored the image according to the sample shown on the kit packaging, and it did NOT photo well at all. Actually the sample colors are rather pretty,but the picture doesn't show that. (Photography challenged operator is at fault). Colored on Copic Xpress white paper; the kit had cream paper, but decided not to use that. Image die cut with an MFT Xstitch die sized to fit the green mat.

 

- Forest Green, Gold mats included in kit-- cut out the center portions with a rectangle die, to be used for another project.

 

- Card base is a deep burgundy, and the insert liner is cream colored. A Christmas verse will be stamped inside. There just didn't seem to be a good place for a front sentiment and surely, everyone will know it's a Christmas stocking- LOL!

 

If you can, join the fun over at July's Rudolph Days and be inspired to add yet another card to your Christmas stash. Not many months remain to get a jump on this holiday, but ...hard to believe how fast 2016 is whizzing past, isn't it????

 

The kitchen tile is in progress today, and the 2 bathroom floors have been grouted. Progress is being made! Gosh, what will I have to 'talk about' once this mess is finished?

 

Thanks for joining me today, and Big Sunny Hugs!

 

 

 

 

 

- 

SU Woodland Folder for Rudolph Day May 2016

Good morning, and welcome to Rudy Day, May 2016! I've had the Stampin Up Woodland NBUS embossing folder for a while. Had been seeing some really pretty cards using it, so after sorting the embossing folders for a couple nights, decided this folder needed to be used. Guess what? It was NOT in the SU plastic storage box....it was NOT in the Trees section of the other EF plastic boxes. So much for my sorting efforts  :-(  ! Then remembered putting it away 'carefully' so I'd not misplace it, (not in the EF boxes of course!). Began hunting through some other places. It did turn up, and after this use, will go into that SU box.  I liked the folder so much I made several cards - just using different colors of inks. Here's one of the cards that I decided would work for Rudolph Day. You DO know about Rudolph Day, right? It's a challenge hosted by Maureen of Scraps of Life by Scrappymoi, starts the 25th of each month til month's end. Only rule: have a Christmas theme. Easy Peasy, yes?

 

- SU Woodland Textured Embossing folder over a top fold tan cardstock, which was left from another project (Hmm...could this be considered a snippet? Perhaps). Copic warm grays to shadow the trees and darken around the tree bark. A white pigment ink (Hero Arts Unicorn - very wet)

was used to ink the folder. My first effort, I inked the trees instead and that yielded nice look - but that will be in a later DT post. Looked at some videos, yeah, you're meant to ink the background....Many thanks to all those bloggers & Pinterest posters who inspired me with their use of this pretty EF--- way too many to mention & link.

 

- MBox birds die cut the cardinals from a white snippet, then colored with copic reds, with black Spica for the birds' masks. (you knew they'd be cardinals, didn'cha?)

 

- MBox Woodland Fawn die cut from a snippet of copper that had been created by using a butane torch to patina. (Stamping with Loll's Heated Copper Technique - great video). Got a better result with the effort this time; my first try some time ago, was not very successful. Still do not have the lovely patina you'll see in the video, but it's improving. The fawn is popped up on dimensional tape.

 

- Simon Says Stamp sentiment - tried to cut this from the copper, but the lettering was just too fiddly; cut another from a white snippet.  First embossed with a Sweet Stamps Rose Bronze EP-- the color didn't look well with the rest of the elements. Re-embossed this with a Ranger Gold Detail EP, and liked it better. Just for grunts & giggles, have been using a WOW embossing pad, and like it just as well as the old faithful Versamark. It seems a bit 'juicier' - and not just due to being freshly inked either.

 

OK...so now I'm off to link up with May's Rudy Day, and ya know what, perhaps I'll see if Parsnip will let me in the gate at the Snippets Playground for Week 230.  It's been so long since he's seen me, he may not recognize me! Why don't you come along to both these friendly challenges, and have some fun with the rest of us?

 

Thanks for popping in today, and hope it's a wonderful afternoon for you. I'm waiting on some marble folks to (hopefully!) show up to put in a new shower pan. THEN we wait for some other crafts people to show. The coordination of crafts persons is what is taking this project so bloomin' long! (But I'm trying hard to be patient. Impatience doesn't help, I've already tried that!!! LOL)

 

Hugs & Blessings.

 



Christmas Birds for Rudolph Day

Good Morning, and it's time again for the April 2016 Rudolph Day Challenge (which starts on the 25th of each month and is open until the last day of each month). Since I missed joining in the fun last month, I wanted to be sure to playl along in April. Actually the card today was meant to be in last month's challenge...had the image colored, but just never got round to making a card with it. So here 'tis:

_ Whipper Snapper image, colored with copics, and it was really fun to color this trio of cuties. Some WoS for a little sparkle. Added some Sparkle n Sprinkle white flocking to the pom-poms on the hats, and some SnS Twinkling Clouds to make snow on the branches.

- S/B Curvy Rectangle die cut the image, and tracing around the outer edges of the same die, created the red faux mat.

- Viva Décor Mother of Pearl modeling crème applied using THoltz Layering Stencil Snowflakes and a Dreamweaver Snowflakes Stencil.

- Sticker sentiment and added some sparkling snowflake stickers as a final touch.

Now I'm off to link up at April's Rudolph Day Challenge, where there are some nifty prizes on offer, as well as some terrific inspiration to get you excited for adding one more card to your Christmas stash. Why don't you just com'on along, and have some fun!

Thanks for joining me this morning, hope your day is off to a fine start. Big hugs.