Happy New Year a few days late!

Welcome to 2021 friends! Confession: I'm a very lazy blogger. I've viewed many of your blogs and have spent a lot of time on Instagram at vikkispapertrailetc the past couple of months as it is easier to post. The mail carriers have been kind to me with new products and new supplies of ink and glue to reinforce my stash.  Next week marks the end of our first year in Portland. We're grateful to live in a walking neighborhood after 40 years on a rural hilltop. It has made the difference in my outlook in this quarantine life. As a natural introvert it has been important to see people daily walking to and fro living the best they can in these circumstances.

I alluded to new items and the two cards in this post feature one of them, the Altenew Hanging Garden dies. My cards use the positive and negative parts of the die in an inlay technique with the additional touch of red to brighten the neutral gray and white. The Color Hues Jan. 1-14 challenge to use gray and red determined the colors of my paper and ink. The two grays vary in their cool and warm tones but work together, I think.

Card #1

Card #1 begins with a side folding PTI Weathervane gray card stock splattered with white. Textured gray woodgrain paper and a white panel were each die cut with the larger die. The positive parts of this process were inlayed in the opposite negative panel. The berry portion of the die was cut twice from red linen paper. The encouraging red sentiment is from a PFS Partial Cut Floral Frame set from 2019's SS Stamptember. A thin red strip on the left finishes the triangle of red areas on the card.

 

Card #2 

My second card uses a PTI soft stone card front and the gray woodgrain panel finished with the largest SSS stitched rectangle. A PTI Enclosed: Wreath's sentiment, Peace, die cut in red and embellished with Wink of Stella clear finishes this one. The texture is so pretty. Christmas card #1 done for the year. I almost wished that it was turned horizontally with the sentiment in another corner.

Both cards are linked to three challenges: 

Color Hues #TCH 9, SSW: Something New, and NBUS

                      

Thanks for your visit and again, Happy New Year! 

Color Hues: TCH #7

Happy holidays on the first of December! I'm delighted to join the Color Hues 7th challenge today as the guest designer. This bi-monthly challenge focuses on a two color palette in your card design. 

The two colors selected this session work well

 for winter themes, don't you agree?

Card #1

My first card sparkles with starry blue holographic paper on one ornament and magenta shimmer paper decorating the second. The blue ball dangles via a scored line from the pine needles. Both ornaments and pine spray were directly glued on a die cut panel which was then adhered to a top-folding white card front. 

Card Menu: Nordic Frames die (The Greetery)

Pine Needle Trio dies (SSS)

What the Doodle: Ornament die (PTI) first time to use this one

December Typed Words (PTI)

Card #2

I hate to discard negative die cuts especially when they serendipitously all line up. After a trim the white rectangle was directly glued to a blue panel to create the blue needles. The winter sentiment will let me use this for Christmas or other occasions.

Card Menu:

Pine Needle Trio dies (SSS)

an old HA monthly kit sentiment

vellum banner (The Greetery)

The Color Hues team have beautiful ideas that you can see on the blog. They would love for you to play along with their new challenge.

My cards are also linked to the SSSW challenge: Anything Goes

Thank you for your visit!

Four Cards from Hero Arts November Card Kit

                                         

It's been a while since a Hero Arts card kit arrived at my house but as soon as the November kit was released it was ordered. I absolutely love its contents and especially the new masking dies. I recently posted two cards on Instagram featuring the tree, bird, and background stamps.  A Blog Named Hero announced their new monthly challenge Glitter and Sparkle which describes cards three and four. I'll show you each in order of their making.

     Card #1                                  

  

Card #2

     

    

Card #3

The circle vine stamp was inked with DI Festive Berries and the watercolor card stock glistens with a light metallic gold watercolor wash (Altenew) around the "ball" ornament. A washi tape hanger with a gold PTI Bells & Bough bow finishes the ornament. Sentiment (PTI)

Card #4

I've seen several rainbow Christmas tree cards this month and decided to die cut the tree using a pad of glitter paper. The trees needed a care taker so the snowman was die cut, stamped, embossed with psychedelic EP, and spiffed up with some coloring. A bit of white snow was added to the tree branch edges. The background was ink blended with DO faded jeans and snow white spatters added to complete the design.

Cards 3 &4 will be added to the ABNH challenge

Thanks for your visit!

25 Days of Christmas Tags: Day 5

Peace Joy and Love Tags 

Sharing four tags today that were all inspired by Lindsey Larsen's black and white on kraft tags on Day 5 of 25 Days of Christmas Tags.  Three tags used SSS Village houses and trees, Essentials by Ellen Mondo Amaryllis sentiments, PTI Warmest Wishes snowflakes, and miscellaneous Hero Arts stamps. The fourth tag had the same EBE sentiments, PTI's Warmest Wishes and Make it Market Mini Kit: Holiday Folk images.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

25 Days of Christmas Tags: Day 4

Today's tag features a wreath, word die sentiment and traditional red and green colors! In looking at the daily designs on the 25 Days website, I chose a red bookmark design by Tatiana Trafimovich. The wreath was stacked three layers high for reinforcement, "joy" was cut from green glitter paper, and green DI was splattered on the red tag. While Tatiana cut two different green card stocks for her wreathes, mine used different shades of green inks to add more depth. A fun tag that will probably be added to a card front next month. 

Linking also to JUGS Word Die Cuts challenge

Thank you for visiting!

25 Days of Christmas Tags: Day 3

 I love poinsettias. I have three different poinsettia stamps but could use a few more! 😉

Today's tag was inspired by the beautiful poinsettia tag by Kim Heggins.

Card Menu: PTI Tag Sale: Quilted, Rustic Wreath (sentiment);                                            Hero Arts Color Layering Poinsettia, Stickles for center

Linking to 25 Days of Christmas Tags

25 Days of Christmas Tags: Day 2

Today's sponsor of 25 Days of Christmas Tags is Simon Says Stamp! I was inspired by the darling gnome tag Lin Brandyberry shared! Since I've never used the gnome die that she used, I grabbed it and had fun paper piecing the various parts into my funky little gnome. Here's my tag for day #2!

Card Menu: PTI Basic Bookmark #2, Warmest Wishes (sentiment/snowflakes), Tag Sale #8 die; SSS Li'l Gnome; Recollections pattern paper

Linking this also to SSSMChallenge, NBUS

Thanks for the visit!