Thursday, October 29, 2009

Snow & Witches?

It's that time of year where the collective psyche of all paper crafters kicks in high gear. From now until year's end, there are an abundance of holidays, projects, home decor, and gift ideas that dance in our heads like sugar plums on that fateful night.

I've been busy tackling several home decor and alteration projects (some of which may end up on this page). In between time, I've been on a kick with the holiday cards. Here are two more in my growing arsenal of designs:

This particular project was unique and satisfying in that the background images of this card are all hand stamped. I'm recently inspired to start creating some of my own 'decorative' papers for my projects.





(INGREDIENTS: Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Guidelines I Grid Sheet White, Bazzill corduroy textured in Petroleum Blue and Ice Blue; Stamps: Papertrey Ink 'Giga Guidelines' and 'Signature Christmas' sets; Inks: Tsukineko Memento in London Fog and Bahama Blue; Cricut & Gypsy Die Cuts: Christmas Solutions ornament and shadow cut; Adhesives: Zig 2-Way glue pen, Stampin' Up! Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots; Accents: Prima Marketing faceted rhinestone, Stampin' Up! 1/4" grosgrain ribbon in Tempting Turquoise;)

This second card came from a negative cut of a piece I used on another project. Once again proving that your scraps can always inspire.





(INGREDIENTS: Cardstock: Bazzill corduroy textured in Raven Black and Spiced Pumpkin; Cricut and Gypsy Die Cuts: A Child's Year (witch outline), George & Basic Shapes (rectangle); adhesives: ATG 714;)

Interestingly, this card was dictated by the size of my negative diecut. It is a 4" x 4" square card and purposely layered the cardstock so that the waling texture was perpendicular to one another for more visual and textural interest.

Finally, I received a couple of new toys this week. My numerous years too old digital camera finally gave up the ghost. I still can't believe what wonderful pictures I got out of that 3.2 megapixel Canon. I stuck with the Canon family and upgraded to 10 megapixels. So, I'll be experimenting with images for a while--so bear with me. I also finally broke down and purchased a Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine. I was able to get in on a "goof" deal on the Sizzix website and purchased a Hello Kitty edition of the Big Shot for $29.99. At that price, I figure I can deal with a hot pink machine that doesn't match any of my other crafting tools. Of course, I had to buy the extended cutting pads, crease pads, and accoutrement. So, I hope to bring you some projects using it in later entries.

As always, bundle up from the chilly winds....and keep crafting!