52CCT - Theme .....

.... Hello and good morning!  We've reached the third Saturday of the month and that means it's time for our theme challenge here at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown.  Patricia has picked a fabulous theme for us:

O little town ...

I had fun with this challenge and have two cards for you:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - December Wonder, Holiday Home
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; SU - Elegant Eggplant
Dies: Spellbinders - Petit Ovals Scalloped Lg (S4-139) #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Elegant Eggplant; Kanban - Christmas Mirri Card, Old Town Stacked Print

This card was so easy to make, it almost feels like a cheat!  I cut the gorgeous mirri card slightly smaller than the card and adhered it flat to the card.  I used dimensional gel to layer up the Old Town images, keeping it reasonably flat and then layered the finished piece on a die cut purple oval.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of purple card and stamped a simple greeting on the white panel.

My second card is totally different - more contemporary and it's a folding card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - December Wonder, Holiday Home, Mingle All the Way
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Real Red; Kanban -Christmas Town Tags; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella; SU Marker - Real Red

Again, this one was reasonably quick to make.  The tag images are all joined, so I simply lined the inside with plain white card on which I stamped some Christmas images and a fun greeting.  I added a faux stitched border using a red marker and this defines the inside of each panel.

In the photos above you can see the card opened flat to show the inside as well as see the whole of the front of the card.  I made a belly band to go round the card to keep it closed.  I cut a strip of red card, stamped a sentiment and added some stars and snowflakes, along with a bit of sparkle.

Do check out our blog to see the inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  Looking forward to seeing your creations - have fun!!!

Thanksgiving wreath ....

... Hello all!  I hope you're all having a good week; mine's been great so far!  This morning I've a Thanksgiving card to share with you:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Wondrous Wreath, Tags 4 You, Mingle All The Way
Inks: SU - Cajun Craze, Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry, Early Espresso
Dies: SU/Sizzix - Wonderful Wreath Framelits; Lil Inkers - Stitched Squares #4
Accessories: Cream Lustre Card; SU Card - Pear Pizzazz; SU DP - Colour Me Autumn; SU Punch - Label Bracket; SU Candy Dots; WMS - Twine; Wink of Stella - Clear

I used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#159 for the layout, although I turned to make a landscape card.  The colours are from Colour Throwdown - CTD#315 - they are just right for this time of year.  I used a sheet of design paper to cover the card.  I cut a square of green card and adhered it directly to the card.  I stamped the sentiment on cream card and cut it out with the matching punch.  To make the wreath I stamped first in Cajun Craze (second generation impression), next with Pear Pizzazz and finished with yellow berries.  Then I cut the wreath with the coordinating dies (it's really easy to do).  I stamped a yellow bow on cream card and punched it out.  I adhered the wreath and ribbon with dimensional tape.  Before attaching the sentiment, I looped some dark brown twine and used gel glue to adhere the tag.  I finished the front with some candy dots and some Wink of Stella on the wreath.  On the inside I cut a mat layer from the design paper and stamped another wreath on some cream card.  I finished off with the sentiment stamped in dark brown.

I know that it's definitely autumn here now, I had the water sprinkler system winterised yesterday.  This still feels strange - it's not something we have to do in the UK, but winters here are so much colder that we really do have to make sure there is no water in the pipes otherwise it would be a disaster!  Oh yes, the other really big sign of autumn, not only have the leaves changed colour, but they really feel off the trees in the wind this week!  That's all for now.

Happy Halloweeny! ...

....  Hello!  I'm back today with another Halloween card (yes, I know I said I was done, but I fibbed!).

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Mingle All the Way, Good Greetings; Stampendous - Halloween Diamonds
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; SU - Pumpkin Pie; Distress - Spiced Marmalade; Versamark
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Graphic 45 DP - Steampunk Spells; Cosmic Shimmer Mica - Soft Gold; Copic Markers; Metal Charm

I'm submitting this card to Retro Sketches - RS#135 where we could pick any previous sketch and I've gone with RS#38, but made it landscape.  I've used the colours from The Card Concept - CC#20 and gone with a clean and layered look.  The design paper doesn't actually come in orange, I coloured it by blending distress ink over the top.  I stamped the cobwebs and spider in Versamark and then added some mica powder for shimmer.  The sentiment was stamped in black and I used a copic marker to colour the letters.  I finished the front with an orange banner and a simple metal charm that I found in my stash (no idea who made it).  On the inside I kept it simple with a black mat layer and some cobwebs and a spider and a fun sentiment.

I had a long chat with Ben yesterday, and he asked if he and his girlfriend could come over for a visit.  Obviously, we said yes!  It's still early days yet, but I'm hoping that they'll be here for Thanksgiving!