Welcome to the February, 2024 Sparkles Christmas Challenge #217! I’m the host for this month’s challenge and I chose using kraft paper as the theme. When you finish here, I hope you will visit the challenge site to see the creations from the rest of the design team. We’d love for you to play along with us and post your creations to our gallery.
Here’s my card:
Measurements:
The Night of Navy base measures 8-1/2 by 5-1/2 inches, scored at 4-1/4 inches.
After embossing the kraft paper with the Snowflake Sky embossing folder, I trimmed it to 4-1/8 by 5-3/8 inches.
I used a piece of Night of Navy cardstock for the focal image stamp.
I embossed the envelope flap using the same embossing folder. Then, I punched a 1-inch circle from a piece of kraft paper to use for an envelope seal and ran it through my XYRON create-a-sticker.
Trim a piece of white cardstock to 4 by 5-1/4 inches for the inside of the card.
Stamping, Embossing, and Assembly:
First, I dry-embossed the kraft paper. Then, I gently swiped a white craft ink stamp pad over the embossing to enhance it. The craft ink needs to have ink added pretty much every time you use it. However, I didn’t add any this time so I could have more control.
After rubbing my embossing buddy on scraps of Night of Navy and a piece of kraft paper, I used the Magical Meadow stamp set and VersaMark ink for all the elements on the card.
Then, I covered all the stamped areas with white embossing powder and used my heat tool to set it.
I used the Magical Meadow dies to crop out the trees and the foliage behind the trees on Night of Navy.
I cropped the sentiment using a deckled rectangle die.
Next, I added dimensionals under all the cropped pieces and adhered them to the the front of the card. I did have to use a little bit of liquid glue on the top of the Night of Navy tree piece to adhere it to the embossed foliage pieces.
I wound a piece of Night of Navy ribbon around the kraft paper and tied it in a bow.
After adding the kraft paper to the base using liquid glue, I added some sequins to the center of the embossed snowflakes and one on the sentiment panel.
Finally, I stamped the inside sentiment on the white cardstock using Night of Navy ink and adhered the cardstock to the base using liquid glue.
With that, I’d finished this coordinated card, envelope, and envelope seal set.
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Welcome to the first Sparkles Christmas Challenge for 2024! We, the design team, look forward to the New Year of challenges and hope to see your creations each month. When you finish here, I hope you will visit the challenge site to see the creations from the rest of the design team members. Debs is our host for challenge #156 and she chose Winter Wonderland.
Here’s my card:
I know that it’s supposed to be a Christmas card, but I need to mail a card out and, because of the time of the year, I need a New Year’s card. However, it definitely is a winter wonderland fun fold using the now retired One Horse Open Sleigh DSP (designer series paper) and silver trimmed ribbon. While this card may look like it took a long time to create, I’d put it in the easy-peasy category. There are no dimensionals, no cropping dies or punches. I adhered all the DSP using multipurpose liquid adhesive. The DSP does all the work!
Measurements and Assembly:
The Misty Moonlight cardstock base measures 5-1/2 by 8-1/2 inches, scored at 2-1/8 and 3/8 inches. That leaves the center panel measuring 4-1/4 by 5-1/2 inches.
This card used two pieces of the 6 x 6 inch DSP, and I was able to line everything up on the outside and inside so it all flows.
The two DSP panels for the outside measure 5-3/8 by 2 inches.
There are two panels on the inside with the same measurements.
The middle panel measures 4-1/8 by 5-3/8 inches.
I trimmed a piece of Misty Moonlight 6 x 6 inch DSP to6 by 2-1/2 inches for the envelope flap.
Each piece of ribbon measures about 7-1/2 inches long. I adhered the end of each piece using tear & tape adhesive so that the ribbon goes off the sides of the front panels.
The two sentiments, stamped in Misty Moonlight ink, were stamped directly on the DSP.
That’s it – easy-peasy, just don’t tell anyone and it will be our secret!
I hope you all have a very safe, healthy, and happy 2024!
Welcome back to the Sparkles monthly Christmas Challenge # 155. Our host for December, Helen, chose holiday animals for the theme. When you are finished here, I hope you will visit the challenge site to see the fabulous projects from the rest of the design team members. We’d love to see your creations in our gallery, so please play along.
I’ve been posting so many polar bears lately, and you can see my most recent polar bear card here, which is a twist and pop polar bear, here. I didn’t want to post another polar bear, so I went through my stash of Christmas DSP (designer series paper) and created a set of four Christmas cards using the Peaceful Prints DSP.
Here are my reindeer and other Bash My Stash cards:
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the red, black, and white color combination. All four cards use the Real Red, Basic Black, and Basic White colors.
Yesterday, I posted a z-fold card with measurements for the same pieces I used for the z-fold card today. You can see that post here.
You might be asking yourself where I got the black and red gingham ribbon because you somehow missed it in the catalogs. It’s actually the black and white gingham, and I used the dark Real Red blends combo to color it. Pretty nifty, isn’t it? You can use blends to color your bakers’ twine as well. HINT: Make sure you let the ribbon or twine completely dry before you try to use it on your card. Trust me on this one.
Hopefully, I have inspired you to Bash Your Own Stash. I can’t wait for this weekend so I can continue bashing mine!
It’s time to sign up for your December Paper Pumpkin kit!
Send a wish to all your loved ones with the December Paper Pumpkin Kit! It comes with nine card fronts, three each of three designs, and nine coordinating envelopes. It has paper pieces detailed with gold foil, embellishments, an all-occasion stamp set, and an acetate box where you can store your finished cards! You can gift the kit itself or the finished product in the acetate box; either way, it’s the perfect last minute gift for any occasion.
If you live in the U.S. and don’t already have a Stampin’ UP! demo from whom you order, I would be honored to work with you.
When prompted, please enter the following HOST CODE:
Welcome back to the monthly Sparkles Christmas Challenges! Our host for challenge #154, Zowie, chose Christmas stockings for the theme. When you finish here, I hope you will head over to the challenge site to see what the rest of the design team created. As always, we’d love for you to play along with us and then upload your creations to our gallery.
Amazingly, the only Christmas stockings product I have is retired DSP (designer series paper) Sweet Stockings. I am actually just about finished with any card I could do for dogs, and probably have enough for two cat cards if I am careful. For this challenge, I created two cards using some of the different DSP patterns.
Here are my cards:
Not only is the DSP retired, but the Cherry Cobbler dots, ribbon, and the Framed and Festive stamp set are retired as well. The cardstock and the Stylish Shapes dies are current. Therefore, this post is going to be short and sweet.
Good to Know:
The cardstock bases measure 11 by 4-1/4 inches, scored at 5-1/2 inches to create a tent card.
The mats for the front of each card measure 4-1/8 by 5-3/8 inches.
I used Mossy Meadow and Old Olive 6 x 6 inch DSP for the envelope flaps. Each piece of DSP measures 2-1/2 by 6 inches.
I used Stamping Write Markers to create a stitched line in the ditch of the sentiment squares.
HINT: Go slow and steady and be sure to use the bullet end of the marker when working on the stitches in the ditch.
I added dimensionals under each sentiment square so that they would straddle the ribbon.
This ribbon is a bit too thick to tie in a bow, so I tied it in square knots instead.
HINT: Whenever I am tying a square knot I repeat something I heard Connie Stewart say years ago: Left over right, pull it tight, right over left, pull only from the left. Works every time!
Add a glue dot under each square knot.
Use multipurpose liquid glue to adhere the rest of the elements together.
See….. short and sweet.
Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Have a Peachy Day!
Sue
On November 7, 2023, you will be able to order from the new online exclusive products.
I think one of the cutest bundles is the Fluffiest Friends bundle. You can see a card I made with this bundle here and here. So stinking cute!
If you live in the U.S. and don’t already have a Stampin’ UP! demo from whom you order, I would be honored to work with you.
Welcome back to the October Sparkles Christmas Challenge #153! Our host for this month, Melanie, chose flowers or foliage for the theme. When you finish here, I hope you’ll visit the challenge site to see what the rest of the design team members created. I’m always so impressed by everyone’s creations. We hope you will play along with us and then upload your creation to our gallery. I’m playing along with the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #544 for the layout of my card.
You can download the following catalog, or find the link on the Stampin’ UP! website. Not surprisingly, some items have already gone on backorder. Now is the time to order your Halloween and some of your Autumn supplies.
Welcome to the September edition of the Sparkles Christmas Challenge! Our host for this month, Caz, chose the theme of snowman for challenge # 152. When you finish here, I hope you will visit the challenge site to see the wide variety of snowman cards from the rest of the design team members. I can’t wait to see what you create and upload to the gallery!
I found this fun fold videos about 6 weeks ago and knew I would be making three of these for the great-nieces and great-nephew for Christmas. MayMay, from MayMay Made It, has two videos for this fun fold. You can find the links for them here and here. The first one explains the mechanism made with one sheet of cardstock and some scoring. The second one explains how to create the snowman. She even included a pattern for the mittens which can be printed from her blog post..
Here’s the inside of my stinking adorable snowman card:
I feel like the outside is just for show, but here it is:
I will be uploading this snowman to the Creative Creases Challenge as well. You can find the link for that challenge here.
MayMay Made It:
I used the directions and measurements found in MayMay’s videos, with a few adjustments.
After I did all the scoring and folding for the white inside pop and twist part, I closed it up and trimmed an extra 1/8 off of the top and bottom so the Misty Moonlight cardstock border was more even on the inside.
I trimmed the mechanism that holds the mittens to an inch wide in order to accommodate the size of the mittens.
I adhered both mittens to the bottom parts of the mechanism.
HINTS:
Before I did anything with the snowman parts, I turned the white cardstock over and used my bone folder to try to flatten out the vertical score line as much as possible.
Before drawing the face, adhere the DSP 9designer series paper) you are using for the scarf. Trust me, you want to adhere this piece first
I used a 1-inch circle punch for the buttons. I created the dots using the biggest end of a scoring tool and white craft ink.
I used a banner die from the Stylish Shapes die set for the letter banners.
I punched the eyes with a 1/2-inch hole punch and just trimmed a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock for the nose.
The embossing folder for the front is included in the new mini-catalog which goes llive in just a few days. YEAH! After embossing the snowflakes, I very lightly swiped the StayzOn white ink pad over the top.
This card will tightly fit in the medium basic white envelopes. However, it will require extra postage.
MayMay’s videos are very easy to follow. I’ll be posting my other versions of this card soon!
The new mini catalog for the holidays goes live on September 6th, 2023. While I can’t show you the inside of the catalog yet, I can show you the gorgeous cover:
If you live in the U.S. and don’t already have a SU! demo from whom you order, I would be honored to work with you.
When prompted, please enter the current HOST CODE:
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Again, thank you for stopping by! I’d love to hear your comments or thoughts. Sue
Welcome to Just Peachy Stamping by Sue Jackson: an independent Stampin' Up demonstrator.
Through Stampin' Up!, I happily share my love of papercrafting through sales, classes, small stamping group meet-ups and workshops. I think that being a teacher in my "real life", I have a unique approach to sharing my fantastic hobby. I look forward to connecting with you!
