Let it snow...

Two post is one day? That hasn't happened in...ever I think ;)

This was one of the first cards I started colouring, but it didn't want to get finished. I had the papers, but couldn't really put it together until today. I really like the colourcombo although it's not something I usually use. Kind of the point - to challenge yourself and I really did here. I think it's a great card for a guy so I will be sending it to one of my male friends that lives in Germany (good timing as cards to Europe needs to be sent sunday at the latest, yey!)

The stamp is one of the older ones from Whiff of joy called Charlie building snowman. I'm superpleased with the colouring on this one. I kept adding and adding until I almost ruined it. The last thing I did was to add that darkbrown shade around Charlie and right side of the snowman. After adding it to the pants I realised I had to add it on the jacket and sleeves, and...good thing I didn't manage to ruin it totally.

The challenges I've used for this card are:

ABC challenge - J is for jewels
Everybody art - sketch
Papertake weekly - red and green can not be seen
Simon says stamp - Christmas, but NO red or green
Whiff of joy - no red or green

Merry kissmas

For the last couple of days I've been making (or at least trying to) Christmascards like crazy. I need 20 cards and had about 2,5. Some are supposed to be sent today, some sunday and most of them thursday at the latest. Where did the time go?! As I hate to make the same card twice, or a batch of cards - yuck! - I'm in a bit of a pickle. I'm trying to be smart about it though, colouring several images to match the same line of patterned paper. That way I only have to find the matching promarkers once and colour several images at once. Now I just need time to put them together...Having a secret bloghop on monday and accepting a GDT spot isn't helping, lol.

This card was so much fun to make, using one of my newest Kraftin' Kimmie stamp called Raychel. I don't have any Christmas-themed ones so I had to improvise. With the right sentiment, papers and embellishments you can do anything. If you would like to get your own Raychel (or any other crafting item) stop by stamp and create. It's one of my fav internet shops, especially for stamps. Lacey - the owner always has a product spotlight which means that itemss in that category are 25% off. Sometimes she has a whole line of stamps in the category, sometimes a theme ("food" for instance). The prices are already low and the service is superb!

I have used a patterned paper from keisercraft as the background. With a paper like this I didn't feel like I needed many embellishments. Raychel is coloured with promarkers and I stamped different snowflake stamps around her with distress ink (weathered wood and old paper). The sentiment is printed out from the computer. I think the font is called kings and queens and can be found at dafont.com. And as all my Christmascards this year I'm making them look like postcards both to save the environment and my economy. Here's the backside:

The challenges I've used for this card are:

7 kids challenge blog - winter wonderland
A spon full of sugar - Christmas card
Daring cardmakers - snow much fun
Kraftin' Kimmies - let it snow
Promarker challenge - anything goes
Secret crafter - Christmas
Sketch and stash - sketch

No peaking!

Today I want to show you a hilarious stamp from stämpelgården. I've been wanting it for years, but since it's a Christmasstamp I was too cheap to buy one. Always got stamps that were more versatile and for the whole year. But this year when the shop had their annual anniversary sale I just had to pick it up. Isn't it the cutest and funniest thing you've seen?! I didn't know what sentiment to add on the tag, but while searching my stash I came across this one from SeeD's - isn't it just PERFECT?

I'm very proud of this card. It took a quite a while to "ripen". I'm so proud of the colouring that is made with promarkers and I love the snowflake decorations that I made using different dies and punches. The colours give the card a modern feel and I think it's perfect as a male card. The little snowflakes around the reindeer are stamped with distress ink and it's one of those things I've only done once or twice.

I also want to show you the backside of the card. We use up a lot of paper which is neither enviromental nor economical. It also costs more to send, so my Christmascards for this year will look like post cards. To make them look better, not just like I have cut off a vital part I decided to decorate the back a little. I had a perfect textstamp which I embossed and stamped some snowflakes and distressed the edges.

I apologize for the poor quality of my photos lately. My camera is still broken (not showing anything in the display) so I have to photograph in the dark only to see how they turned out in the computer. I am wishing for a new camera under the Christmastree though...

The challenges I've used for this card are:


Dutch dare - Christmas
Paper romance - winter theme
Pile it on - it's all in the wrapping (thought it was funny, although not sure it qualifies)
Promarker challenge - old & new (I used a new stamp and old papers)
Simon says stamp - sketch
Totally papercrafts - X-mas punches
Wags n whiskers - snowflakes

Believe - a sympathy card

Recently a blogfriend of mine lost her mother and I made this card for her. There is nothing really that can be said in a time like this. Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words.

The image I have used is called shining on from sweetpea stamps. It's one of the few stamps that are only sold as a single stamp. I knew I had to have it when I first saw it when sweetpea donated money to Haiti when selling it. I think it's quite appropriate to use for a sympathy card.

I started colouring the image with my promarkers in muted colours: skintone and greys. The image got a bit too boring so I used a hint of pink on the wings and butterflies. I'm quite happy with how I managed to make it look like the light from the candle shines on her face.

I used a white twinkling h2o to add that shimmer to the wings and a black sparkle gelly pen on the leaves in her hair and as an "eyeliner". I found the little chain with freshwater pearls and the key laying around in my to-do jewelry pile. I started making an earring out of it and didn't like it. I added the charm "believe" (which it took a while of persistent searching to find). The charm is attached to two hydrangea flowers with a brad. The papers and piece of ribbon is something I've had in my stash for years, but never used. I love the elegant and muted feeling of this card. It doesn't have to be a sympathy card. You could use it as a little different Christmas card too.

I used a sketch from papertake weekly because of its simplicity which I thought was perfect for this type of card. Other challenges I've used:

Flutterby wednesday - your favs.
Moving along with the times - for someone special
Paperplay challenges - monochromatic