Sparkly Medallion

This is just one of those cards that wows in person, and my inspiration comes directly from the winners of the Paper Pal Arts challenge for white on white announced yesterday--this card, made by Andrea Ewen, jumped up and begged to be CASEd.

This also gave me an excuse to break out some of my favorite things--the Medallion stamp, Basic Rhinestones and Pearls, Snow Swirled (which had yet to see ink this year!), and silver embossing powder.  Kiran used the Medallion for her holiday cards last year, but I had yet to do so.  I don't know why I waited so long--it's the perfect giant snowflake.

For the step-by-step, here's how I made this card.  Don't be deceived by the bling; it's really very simple!

--Stamp Medallion in VersaMark on Baja Breeze card base.  Then coat in Silver embossing powder, tap off the excess, and set using the heat tool.
--On a 1-3/4" circle of White Naturals, stamp the large snowflake from Snow Swirled in Baja Breeze.  Then ink "celebrate" in Baroque Burgundy and center it over the snowflake.
--Apply Basic Rhinestones and Basic Pearls liberally--use the dots of the Medallion and snowflake as your guide.
--Use dimensionals to pop the snowflake on the center of the Medallion.
--Need another sentiment?  I'm not sure I did, but I still inked "Peace on Earth" (from Four the Holidays) in Marina Mist, and embellished that with a line of Basic Pearls.

That's it!  Though this isn't the card I'll be sending this year, I think this is ripe for mass production.  Perhaps next year...

Today's bingo piece is the mittens.  Good luck!
Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Medallion, Snow Swirled, Fabulous Phrases, Four the Holidays
Ink: VersaMark, Baja Breeze, Marina Mist
Paper: Baja Breeze, White Naturals
Extras: Circle Scissors Plus, Glass Mat, Silver embossing powder, heat tool, Basic Pearls, Basic Rhinestones, dimmensionals

Snowman Mojo

As I mentioned, I love snowmen.  I also prefer snow, especially if it's going to be this cold, but no luck yet.  The good news is that I head North for Christmas, and you can always count on a white blanket in the snow belt.  Whew!

This card uses the same sketch as yesterday's winking Santa--can you tell?  I used the Mojo Monday sketch 168, and my interpretation is a bit more literal this time...though it's still not an exact match.  But that's ok; sketches are for inspiration and this one has my creative juices flowing!  I stamped the snowman from Jolly Old Saint Nick in Pacific Point (my favorite shade of blue) on White Naturals, then inked the snowflakes from the same set in Bashful Blue for the background base of the card.  My sentiment is from Snow Swirled, a long time favorite, and the fun finishing pieces are the Bashful Blue ribbon (retired, sorry), Whisper White snowflakes cut out using the Big Shot and Northern Flurry decorative strip, and five Basic Rhinestones that I lined up with the Mat Pack guide.

A quick note about adhesives--you might have overlooked it, but there's a fantastic new addition to Stampin' Up!'s line-up on page 17 of the Holiday Mini.  Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets are just the thing for adhering oddly shaped pieces to your cards and scrapbook pages.  You can either adhere the entire sheet to your paper before running it through the Big Shot, or press a cut piece (as I did with these snowflakes) between the backing paper and the glue to get them nice and sticky.  This is the perfect alternative to snail for die cuts and paper strips that are too thin.  It makes things much easier, and really cuts down on the use of the adhesive eraser!  Be sure to give these a try; you're bound to love them!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for.  Today's bingo piece is...the ornament.  Good luck!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Jolly Old Saint Nick, Snow Swirled
Ink: Pacific Point, Bashful Blue
Paper: Pacific Point, White Naturals, Whisper White
Extras: Big Shot, Northern Flurry decorative strip die, Basic Rhinestones, Mat Pack, Bashful Blue Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)

Luminous Boxes

To follow up on my last post (sorry to leave you hanging for so long!), how about luminaries for gift boxes?  These are super easy to make...so easy, in fact, that I whipped up the fall one before work this morning...and using one of these for a gift box means that the box is also a decor piece for your home.  How lovely!

I first saw this project at the Regional Seminar in Baltimore, and immediately it went into my "to do" file.  All you need is cardstock, a paper trimmer, and some vellum, and then you can decorate it as desired.  For the fall luminary above, I used Early Espresso paper, which I cut into pieces 4" by 8-1/2" long, then scored at 1/2" and 4-1/2".  I used my Circle Scissors Plus (which I love, by the way) to cut circles out of each 4x4 square, and then cut my vellum just shy of 4x4" to fit.  I stamped the images from Day of Gratitude (available in the Holiday Mini) using More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Wild Wasabi, and Riding Hood Red.  TIP: Ink takes longer to dry on vellum, so let your pieces "rest" before adhering them.  Then I just adhered the vellum to my circle frames, and used the 1/2" flaps to glue the luminary together into a cube.

Since we'll be using Flurry Decor Elements at Jackie's party tomorrow, I wanted something that would coordinate with our project, so I came up with this winter/holiday themed luminary.  It's the first one I ever made, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!  I used a number of holiday sets, including Snow Swirled (tree and snowflakes), Northern Hearts (lovebirds and wreath) and Jolly Old Saint Nick (snowman).  My frame is Marina Mist, currently my favorite shade of blue, and my inks are Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler, and Marina Mist.

I could use these for sleeves around holiday treats, or put bottoms in them so that they become actual boxes.  All I need now are candles--I'll be using the electric tealights that are popular now, so this project doesn't become a fire hazard--and they'll give a lovely glow.  This is a great project for any season, any table, and any light.  Wouldn't they make great centerpieces at a wedding?  It's all about the colors and stamps you choose.

Have fun, and make some luminous boxes of your own.

Cheers!

~Melanie

Fall Luminary

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Ink: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Vellum, Early Espresso

Extras: Circle Scissors Plus

Holiday Luminary

Stamps: Northern Hearts, Jolly Old Saint Nick, Snow Swirled

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Vellum, Marina Mist

Extras: Rhinestones