25th and Pine, all mine!

Not too long ago, my name was drawn from the hat for some sweet goodies from Basic Grey, courtesy of Creating Keepsakes. THANK YOU! I thought I was only getting what they showed in the blog, so imagine my surprise when a huge box showed up at my house with most of the line! We're talking transparencies, journaling cards, washi tape, brads, letters... the works! And don't get me started on the wax seals. What a way to get me to buy the matching papers, Basic Grey! (Twist my arm, why dontcha!) I spotted the 6x6 pad at Archivers, and that brings us to today with the beginnings of my Christmas Card Craftstravaganza.

My first card was intended for Cas(e) This Sketch #52, but I buzzed past the deadline. The enamel dots are from MME, and were a last second addition to cover some errant glue. Whoops! Happy accidents... Anyway, this sketch was a great way for me to play with some of the transparent titles which I have never used before. There are two or three more so I might repeat this card in other colors. Maybe. It's not my favorite—needs more dimension, maybe?

I am rather more fond of this card, based on Retro Sketches #89. I fussy cut (wow! I never do that!) the Joy ornament from one of the "snippets" that came in the pack. I was too lazy to power up the Pazzles for the circles, so I did it with my manual circle cutter... not exactly the most perfect circle-maker in the world, but it does the job. Sometimes. (Thanks, Martha.) Here's hoping you wouldn't have noticed if I didn't say anything! ;)

That's about all the paper crafting I've done in say... the past two weeks? I've gone full-tilt beadaholic since starting my new job. I'll have to make a whole bead post to catch you up on that!

Happy Crafting! 

Supplies: All papers and embellishments from Basic Grey 25th & Pine, with exceptions: ink, Tsukineko VersaMagic Wheat; scrap Navy cardstock; twine, Hemptique; ribbon and marker, American Crafts.

Two More from World Cardmaking Day

I got two more in yesterday, both on Retro Sketches #84. Just screaming for washi tape, isn't it? But we'll get to that in a minute.

First up, this stamp set I bought with my dad in mind: Tool Time from Technique Tuesday. I like how it's multiple stamps, but it's set up on the sheet like a background, which is how I wanted to use it! I arranged the stamps around the sentiment and stamped with Tsukineko Brilliance Starlite Black. It's black ink with a heavy amount of silver sheen, so that it appears as graphite. Seriously, the ink is like pencil lead: metallic dark gray, but not too shiny. I love the effect, especially on these tools! Sorry that it doesn't photograph as well as it looks. I do feel like the sentiment got a little lost, so I wish I had clear embossed it or used a better ink (my 'Night Sky' is kinda dry).

ETA: This card won a Shout-Out from Retro Sketches!

I am sooooo excited! It's my first call-out/win/blog badge ever!!

 

I said I'd get to the washi tape, and here it is. :) I can't decide if I like it. I go back and forth. The colors (and the lines) are taken from Runway Inspired Challenge #45. The two challenges kind of speak to one another, don't you think? But, again, I think I'm too literal. And I look back at the inspiration cards for RIC45 and I feel so 'blah' by comparison. Oh well! I made something, and someone will like it. It goes in the "I made this and I don't know what to do with it" box.

Happy Mail!

My better half has completely indulged my desire for washi tape. He bought me a huge order of rolls from Cute Tape one day, and I relish getting to use them. I spotted Case This Sketch #47 and decided it needed washi tape, but I wasn't sure how. It seemed too obvious just to run tape lines across the card, so I decided to tear them up a bit.

I kind of like it. I don't know if I should have made it messier or cleaner. Also, I need to start using blending card, because regular ol' card just isn't cutting it. There's some bad use of alcohol marker here -- just be glad you can't see it so much in the picture!

Supplies: Washi Tape; Lawn Fawn 'Quinn's ABCs'; Stampendous 'Typewriter Wishes'; Doodlebug Pearls; Spectrum Noir TB1-TB3; Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black.

Birthdays everywhere!

Late August is full of birthdays, so it seems. I've got two friends in the need of cards. These came out way more colorful than I thought they would. I had planned on an all-white background, but the white sentiment and mostly white pastry-image squares were getting lost. So I busted out the spray inks (most of which I 'stole' from ScrapbookSteals.com) and got a little overzealous. I was a little overwhelmed at first, but I think it worked out. I decided to run with the color bomb, and I think the washi tape and pearls help!

Happy Birthday, RR and AS! Sorry if your cards are late. I've had one heck of a week!