It's been a punchy Christmas

I recently purchased one of the 3-in-1 punches from Stampin' Up and I have been having so much fun with it! I decided to use the punch for this year's Christmas cards (see the sample one below). I mixed & matched the glitter (Glitter Ritz) as well as the papers I used, thus getting very different looks.

I also used the same punch for my gift tags this year. Along with the Stampin' Up punch, I also used the Martha Stewart pine branch punch. And I have to brag at my thriftiness (LOL) because the clear beads/gems added to the sprig of pine actually came from the Christmas crackers we used 2 years ago! How's that for using up stash!

 

Challenges:

• 4 Crafty Chicks - something new (the punch!)
• Charisma Cardz - anything goes
• Cooking it up with Katie - anything goes
• Divas by Design - Christmas
• Little Red Wagon - something new
• Partytime Tuesdays - anything goes
• Unstampabelles - Christmas

Christmas tags for the kids

I've had a wonderfully crafty weekend playing with my new Stampin' Up punch. My first project using the punch was this set of gift tags that I'll be donating to Send A Smile 4 Kids (Canada). Each year the BC Children's Hospital sets up a Christmas Village where hospitalized kids and their families can wrap gifts for each other. Last year they used close to 200 gift tags; I've challenged myself to make & donate at least 75 tags this year.

This batch of tags (there are a dozen in total) uses a Tim Holtz Sizzix die for the tags (cut from sparkly gold paper) and the Stampin' Up stocking punch. I used a selection of papers, including some Basic Grey and Bazzil. These were very quick to make - the most time-consuming aspect was tying those itty-bitty little bows.

Challenges:

• 2 Sisters - holiday
• Craft Your Days Away - buttons or bows
• Craft Your Passion - anything winter or holiday
• Crafty Ribbons - tags
• Moving Along with the Times - ribbons & bows
• My Partner in Crafting Crime - Christmas tags
• Paper Creations Ink - Christmas
• Ribbon Reel - anything goes
• Simon Says Stamp - tags
• Simply Create Too - Christmas

Halloween Cards

Trick or Treat Everyone!

This is a record, 2 blog posts in one day but this will be a quick one. I just wanted to post my Halloween cards before Halloween is actually here!


This first card is my very favorite - the bats & stars are altered with glitter and glossy accents and then connected with orange wire. The stamp is from the Recollections "Halloween" set. And thanks to Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge for the "Hocus Pocus" inspiration. I just love the witch on this stamp since the spray of stars following her tones down the "scary" and pushes up the "whimsy" (kind of like the movie). I wanted to add some dimension to the card so in addition to layering the papers, I also added punched bats and stars that were embellished with glossy accents and attached to orange wire.




This card is totally thanks to my friend Jacqui since I used her stamps (another Recollections set). The images are coloured in with Copics and then cut out and mounted with pop dots.




This card is another favorite from this year. I used a Penny Black stamp along with the Cuttlebug web embossing folder. The bats are punched with Martha Stewart bat punch and then glossy accents added for shine. And, of course, I used my Copics to colour everything in.




I got the idea for this card from a UK paper-crafting magazine. Pulling gently on the sides of the card causes the stamped witch legs and ghost to pop up. The stamp on front is a Stampin' Up image that I pulled off a make & take. The paper is super distressed to give the entire card a spooooky look.