Merry Monday Sketch - Sounding Joy

Pin It Now! We're almost halfway to Christmas, and I have to jump with joy because I got a copy of the NEW SU HOLIDAY MINI today! What a way to get in the mood for Merry Monday :) The goodies in this catalog...the stamps, papers, and embellies, are very trendy and elegant. I can't wait for a preorder.

There's a sketch for Merry Monday this week. I pulled out a piece of last year's Candlelight Christmas paper and built from there.

The banner end is die cut from the largest Apothecary Accents Framelits, by tucking the end through so it's the only part that gets cut. The large red scallops are from the Tasteful Trim die. Finally, the kraft die cut (Pocketful of Posies, Spring Mini) is heat embossed with the lovely sentiment from The Sounding Joy :) LOVE that beautiful stamp set!

So check out the sketch, and get inspired...apparently it's not too early to (almost) order brand new Christmas supplies! Visit the MM sketch at Lesley's Always Playing With Paper blog and say hi to the design team - what pretty cards!

SUPPLY LIST:
STAMPS: The Sounding Joy
INK: Craft White, Real Red, Versamark
PAPER: Candlelight Christmas, Real Red, Very Vanilla
EMBELLISHMENTS: Kraft tag: Pocketful of Posies, Very Vanilla seam binding ribbon, Basic Pearls

Have a blessed and creative day! ~ Erika

Tags, Bags, Boxes & Bows...TAGS!

Pin It Now! I'm holding a Tags, Bags, Boxes & Bows gathering at Wittman UMC on Sunday, Dec 12th. We'll have a dozen beautiful little projects to choose from, and I'm going to post all of them over the next week.

Here are my first sets of gift tags!




This first set is a sparkly but elegant tag set with glimmer paper and Bells and Boughs. A little satin ribbon & popping up. Pretty and pretty easy!



Next up is a gorgeous velvety combo. Mocha Morning is so rich and elegant. The tag is a CASE from UstampWithDawn's I Heart the Holidays event, by the fabulously talented Gretchen Barron, and I created a wine bottle tag to go with it.



Third set is a super quick & easy group made with antiqued Very Vanilla, the Ticket Corner punch & quilted ribbon trim. With the right supplies, even a one-minute tag can make your gifts look SO put together!



Can't wait to get together with all my wonderful friends and neighbors. This is what it's all about <3

I'll be posting gift bags next!

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

Clean & Simple White Christmas

Pin It Now! Oh, how I love clean & simple cards, but they're SO hard for me to do! A couple of reasons-
1) I can't keep anything clean &
2) I can't keep anything simple.
Inkypinkies is truly what I am, I get ink on everything. And isn't it easier to keep adding things to a card til you're satisfied that it's brilliant?! {sigh}

But I digress. A clean & simple color palette paired with a beautiful sketch made a Christmas card as fresh as the driven snow...


I wanted to use almost exclusively white for this card, with just a touch of Night of Navy, so to give it the punch it needed but keep it monochromatic, it needed two things: Texture (Simply Scored) and Lighting (Stampin' Dimensionals).

The quilting effect on the background was done by scoring a sheet of Whisper White into 1/2" squares, then cutting down to the size I needed. I popped that background off of the card.

The rosette is a 1-1/2" of Whisper White, scallop punched along one end. Then scored at the dip in each scallop to give it a nice, uniform look. The centerpiece layers are (1) a 1/2" circle punch of white, (2) a silver glimmer snowflake and white snowflake layered with dimensionals, and (3) a medium Basic Rhinestone.

I used Crystal Effects to adhere everything, it tacks up quickly and is truly clear and doesn't leave a residue.

The vertical strip is a 1-1/2 x 5 strip of white, double scored along both sides, and embellished with silver glimmer paper snowflakes. 



The Joy (from The Sounding Joy) was first stamped onto Whisper White, then run thru the Big Shot with one of the Designer Frames embossing folders. Then hand cut and adhered with dimensionals.



Here are the two challenges I was inspired by...


   
An aside...
Every time I create something, I place it somewhere conspicuous so I can love on it every time I walk by (LOL, don't you do the same thing??!!!)  My son has started doing the same thing.  He created this catapult out of K'Nex, and here's what I saw when I walked by my srsly retro den this morning...

Haha!  He's just like his momma!

...and yes, those are reel to reels. And a TV from 1957.

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

SIMPLY SPARKLING SSC229

Pin It Now! Help! I need an intervention! I should be doing SO many other things, but I'm hooked on making Christmas cards. I was actually dreaming about this sketch. Thinking about it during the sermon at church. While cooking bacon. So the only way to get it off my mind was just to do something about it!

The glimmer paper makes this wreath so dreamy! A few punches from the bird punch, a few glue dots, and some red glimmer holly berries from the owl punch. Finished off with a bow of Real Red 1/4" grosgrain & a rhinestone brad. I wish I had one like this to hang in my house!

The sentiment is from The Sounding Joy. I stamped it on a piece of Whisper White, then trimmed evenly around the word, leaving enough room around all 4 sides to run 2 score lines down each side. The Simply Scored tool makes it look so well finished.

Here's the Stamping 411 sketch...


Can you tell that I do my blogging on my iPhone?!

The main card base is from a Simply Sent kit. These kits are great! Precut, embossed, scalloped. Envelopes & sentiment trim included.


Here's the bird punch that the wreath leaves came from. The wrap & interlock so nicely.


Happy Sunday to all! I'm decorating for Christmas this weekend to leave more time in December for the good stuff.

Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net

THE SOUNDING JOY OF JINGLE BELLS!

Pin It Now! Today's card is a result of three challenges I was inspired by. I am already so much into the Christmas spirit that I'm all over the web looking at gorgeous, festive crafts & decor.

I made my very own wreath of jingle bells last night! It's only 1-1/2" wide!

It really was easy. I strung Stampin' Up jingle bells onto a length of craft wire and then formed them into a loop. The naturally nestle together in pairs, giving them a nice rounded wreath shape. I then ran one end of the craft wire through the last jingle bell on the opposite end, gently pulled them together, and twisted the craft wire to secure. Like magic! Then I looped some cherry cobbler seam binding ribbon to "hang" it on the card, & embellished with a long, soft Pear Pizzazz bow. This wreath took about 43 bells. The come in a pack of 48 for $2.95, so it's almost a pack. Not bad for a pretty one-of-a-kind card!

I just love the regal look of The Sounding Joy. It is a really elegant set, and makes it easy to create a beautiful looking card.

Here are the challenges I used for inspiration...




PPA119 Pals Paper Arts. I loved her fair, glowing skin tone against the traditional evergreen & dark reds. And look! There are bells in there!



DEEsigns by Nina Dee. If you ever need inspiration, check out her blog. It's brimming with beauty. My long banner of Cherry Cobbler striped grosgrain was perfect for her challenge.



SUPPLY LIST:
PAPER:
Wild Wasabi, Shimmer White
STAMPS:
The Sounding Joy
ACCESSORIES:
Jingle Bells, Basic Rhinestones, Seam Binding Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler & Pear Pizzazz, Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler, Sponges, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Snowburst Embossing Folder
OTHER:
Craft Wire, Oval cutting tool.


Have a blessed & creative day! Erika. www.erikaclark.stampinup.net