Freshly Made Sketches Snowflake

Hi there stampin' friends! What a busy week it has been...ugh! Can I please have a few more hours in the day to stamp? That would be awesome. :) I wanted to share a card I made inspired by this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. The super-sassy Rita Wright is hosting the challenge this week and I couldn't wait to play along. She's a fellow Texan and a really cool gal. (Hi Rita!)  Here is her sketch:

If you have followed my blog for a while, you already know that making holiday cards with "traditional" colors is something I have a tough time with. I'm not one for the red/green Christmas card creations, but I CAN do it...I just prefer to step out of the box, whenever I can. For this card, I was very inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest. Here it is: 

I decided to use my new Snowflake punch for the focal image, using red Glimmer Paper. I punched a few accent circles made using the "eyes" of the Owl Builder punch. For the center of the snowflake, I used the circle from the Bitty Punch pack. I used the Scallop Trim Border punch and Red Glimmer Paper to add some sparkly trim. Then added ribbon and pearls to dress it up. I stamped the "Merry Christmas" sentiment in Basic Black Craft ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder for some shine. Finally. I used the Scallop Trim Corner punch to add a bit of pizazz to one of the corners, just for fun. All the supplies used are listed at the end of the post.

Here is a quick shot of the inside of the card:

I will be back later today with a card for a fun team that I am a Guest Designer for this week. Be sure to come back to visit. Also, please stop by the Freshly Made Sketches site and join in the fun with Rita's sketch. Their DT has awesome inspiration to share.


Have a very HAPPY day today! :)


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Four the Holidays, Season of Friendship and Occasional Quotes (ret. hostess) for the inside sentiment
Paper: Newsprint DSP, Real Red Glimmer Paper, Real Red, Basic Black and Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Basic Black Craft ink and Real Red Classic ink (inside)
Punches: Scallop Trim Border punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, Snowflake punch, Owl Builder punch, Bitty Punch pack (center of snowflake)
Accessories: Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Clear Embossing powder, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Stampin' Dimensionals and Basic Pearls

Operation Write Home Challenge

Happy Wednesday! Thanks for all the well wishes, I am feeling MUCH more like myself today! Yahoo! What better way to get up and moving again, then to get a little creativity going? I was super excited when I saw a comment, left here on my blog, from Teresa Kline about a sketch challenge she was hosting over on the Stars and Stamps website. Not only is it a fun sketch but it is a "sketch with a purpose". The added challenge is to make some holiday cards (based on the sketch below) for deployed soldiers to send home to their loved ones through Operation Write Home. (Click on the links to learn more.)

I couldn't wait to get started creating some cards to send off. I really enjoy creating holiday cards with "non-traditional" holiday colors, I don't really know why. Maybe somewhere in my youth I had traumatic experiences of being dressed up in little red and green outfits every Christmas...maybe it was something else, who knows? I vaguely remember the outfits though, hmmm! Anyway, I went with Rich Razzleberry, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black and Brushed Silver for my combo because I thought the colors together created a very elegant look. I heat embossed both the sentiment and the snowflake image in silver to add some pop without using glitter (which is not allowed on cards for OWH). 


I really liked the simplicity of the sketch so I wanted to dress it up with a couple of simple accents. I used an embossing folder on the silver cardstock, a brad in the center of the snowflake and some silver stretch cord with some tiny beads securely knotted in. I'm not sure if the beads are okay to send or not, I will have to check on that. If not, I will whip up the rest of the cards without them, because the silver cord is still a great accent on it's own. :) 

Supply List:

(all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Four the Holidays (sentiment), Snow Burst (retired)

Ink: Versa-Mark

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Not Quite Navy, Basic Black and Brushed Silver cardstock

Accessories: snowflake embossing folder (non-SU!), Ticket Corner punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, Circle Scissor tool for 2" Razzleberry circle, 1 3/4" circle punch, 2 3/8" scalloped circle punch, silver embossing powder, jewel brad (non- SU!), beads (non-SU!)


Have a great day! 
Happy Stamping,