Purple Poinsettia

 I am totally in love with this card! It ws CASEd from one of the design team members on the Alex Syberia Designs site.

The large poinsettia image was stamped and inked using the layering stencils. Using a hot foiled stained glass background for the card front, I adhered part of the flower at the top left corner and the remainder at the bottom right. I used a white gel pen to add some detail to the leaves. The sentiment was stamped and die cut and stacked a few times with cardstock before being added to the card. Some clear dew drops finished off this pretty card - definitely one of my favourites so far this season! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Christmas Greetings Pink Poinsettia

 This card was made for a recent 30 Minute Cardmaking Stash and Dash event. I finished in about 35 minutes, only because I had to redo something... 

The parameters for this challenge were as follows: type of card: shaped card, colour scheme: ombre, embellishment: glittery, technique: inking.

I started out inking a gold foiled background but the gold competed with the poinsettia background so I redid that piece without using a patterned background. The poinsettia image was die cut from gold foil and white cardstock and the white pieces were coloured using pink markers and inserted back into the gold outline. I added a hot foiled sentiment with foam tape and few gold glitter gems to finish off the card. 

Enjoy, 

Alyson

TSOT 622 - Always Grateful

 Welcome to Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 622!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to use washi tape. 

I stamped, coloured and fussy cut several pumpkin images. The long strips of paper were inked with Distress Oxide inks and splattered with water. They were adhered diagonally across the card front. I die cut two hexagons and layered the pumpkins on top. The sentiment was embossed in white and added to the left of the pumpkins. Some gold Liquid Pearls were added along with gold metallic thread and the lines of the pumpkins were brushed with a gold shimmer brush.

Come and join us at TSOT and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 146 plus AH 540 - Picnic Fruit

Welcome to both Double Trouble and Atlantic Hearts!

This week at Double Trouble, it's the Something, Anything, Everything challenge but we are asked to pair with a previous challenge partner. Since I am on the Atlantic Hearts design team, that was a good choice!  

The small graphic for Double Trouble is shown below. Please visit the DT website for detailed information. 

The sketch for Atlantic Hearts is also shown. 

I stayed very true to the sketch. I chose three colours for the background, taped them together and embossed them with a basket weave pattern (perfect for a picnic). Those pieces were adhered to the white card base and I die cut a white tag. I stamped a red plaid tablecloth and various fruit images. The top of the tag was stencilled very lightly with cloud images and I added the fruit on top of the stamped tablecloth. Some black and white twine was added to the tag and I embossed a sentiment in white for the bottom. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret these challenges.

Both challenges end Sunday evening.

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Polar Bear Triple Diamond Card

 I had so much fun making a card like this the first time that I had to make another one! 

This time, my card features polar bears. I stamped two images of polar bears for two of the inside panels and added a sentiment for the centre panel. I used white and silver snowflake patterned paper for the background areas and lightly inked around each of the front panels. I silver embossed a lot of snowflakes and coloured them with blue markers. The blue stamped snowflakes were coloured with a silver glitter marker. Once the card was assembled, I created an envelope with an opening on the back to allow the card to be slid out. I used another polar bear image for the front. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 733 - Pink Poinsettia Spray

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 733!

The optional element this week (in addition to the sketch) is to use sequins. 

I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I saw this sketch. I just purchased a gorgeous poinsettia stamp that fits in a corner so I embossed that and the sentiment in gold and rounded the bottom right corner. The image was coloured with pink and jade markers. I inked around the edges and adhered that panel to green cardstock and then to a white card base. A few gold sequins were added around the image. 

Come and join us at Sketch Saturday and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 563 - Blue Poinsettias

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 563! 

It's a tic tac toe board this week - I used the right column (Sapphire, Capri and Green Apple) plus silver. 

This card took me a long time to piece together! I die cut the poinsettia image three times and coloured the leaves in shades of blue. The sentiment was heat embossed and I placed the silver outline of the images around that, adding in the coloured leaves. A piece of Sapphire cardstock was placed behind the card front and adhered to the base with craft foam. Where is the green? Look closely at the flower centres. It was the only place I could add another colour without changing the feel of the card! 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTC 515 - You are Loved Anemones

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 515!

The theme for this challenge is to use die cuts.

My card is made up almost entirely of die cuts. The background was embossed with a leaf 3D embossing folder and I inked around the edges of the inner rectangle. Other than that, all the other pieces were die cut. The two anemone flowers and leaves were cut, inked and assembled. The sentiment was hot foiled in silver and die cut. I arranged the flowers on the card so the sentiment could go on the right side. I added some silver metallic thread under the sentiment and placed some clear dew drops on the flower petals to finish off this pretty card. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your projects with die cuts. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Trio of Poinsettias

 The inspiration for this pretty card came from one I found on Pinterest. 

I cut several strips of green cardstock and arranged them on printer paper. After die cutting three circles into the card front, I arranged the green stripes behind the open circles and adhered the card front with foam tape. The poinsettias and leaves were die cut and added at the edges of the open circles. A hot foiled sentiment was placed at the bottom and I added some gold metallic thread and gold gems around the card. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Pair of Poinsettia Cards

 Here are two more cards made with a large poinsettia image. The first one was stamped in all four corners (just part of the large flower) and I coloured the images with markers. I also coloured the background in black and I love how it highlights the red and green colouring. I adhered that card front to a gold card base and added a gold hot foiled sentiment and some metallic thread to the centre. A few gold gems were placed around the sentiment and I brushed the lines of the flowers with a gold shimmer brush (only the top section shows the shimmer... issues with lighting!)

The second card uses the same image but it was stamped and stencilled in opposite corners. I added a hot foiled sentiment and metallic thread to the front but purposely kept it clean and simple. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Pink Poinsettia

 I am heavily into making Christmas cards - I send over 200 each year so it takes me some time to complete them as I don't mass produce my cards. 

This one has a pretty stencilled poinsettia in pink and that was set on a pink hot foiled background. I die cut the sentiment from gold foil and stacked it three times for dimension. That was added below the flower and I added some gold metallic thread. A few clear dew drops were placed on the flower leaves and the entire card front was adhered to a black card base. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Diamond Centre Poinsettia Card

 I saw a card similar to this but I changed the dimensions to make it a standard A2 size. 

The background was carefully cut to fit on the dark blue opening and I stamped pine branches and holly leaf images plus a sentiment on that piece. The poinsettia was die cut in white, inked and water splattered before being assembled. I lightly inked the edges of the white card front and arranged the poinsettia on that piece. There is a small place on the back to write a message. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Opening in the Woods...

 I love how this turned out! The opening in the woods was created using three dies, each graduated in size. I inked them in shades of blue, water splattered each of them and added a light blue inked background behind all of them. I fussy cut a snowbank and added a die cut deer in the centre. As an afterthought, I masked the deer and the outside layers and splattered white paint on the card and the effect is stunning! The sentiment was stamped and embossed in white and placed at the bottom.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Hello Floral Panel Card

 I love the bold colour scheme but this card was considerably more difficult to create than I anticipated.

I started with a black and white floral pattern and coloured in the flowers in shades of pink and purple. I ended up making a "dummy card" to figure out the best way to fit the panels along the left side. The coloured pieces were cut and I added them to a piece of yellow cardstock. For the sentiment, I used the same pink and purple markers to blend an ombre background and then die cut the sentiment. That was added to a shadow and placed at the bottom of the card. I added a few enamel dots and also drew a line along the edges of the squares. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTCC 67 - Holiday Trees

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Christmas Challenge 67!

The theme for this challenge is to use Christmas trees. 

I created a card style that I have done before but I love it so much I wanted to do it again! 

The frame for this card is open on the sides, including the back piece. I used a vellum piece for the front section that was die cut with a piercing die. The trees were die cut and inked with green Distress Oxide inks and I blended a Northern Lights background on the piece directly behind the vellum. The trees were arranged on a glittery snowbank and the background is muted through the vellum. I added a few stars at the top and a hot foiled sentiment at the bottom. I'm so happy with how this turned out! 

Come and join us at MTTCC and show us your projects using Christmas trees. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Monogram Letters

 A friend of mine asked me to create some large monogram letters for her grandkids. She gave me the colours and I used my Cricut to make these. 

The green and pink letters were created using magical powers - I really love the green pattern. Since I didn't have any of those powders in purple, I ink blended a large panel and cut that. Each letter is 11 1/2" tall.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Joyful Cards

 All of these cards were made from the same set of foil plates - the text is one plate and the greenery is a second plate but they fit together. I love that I can foil the parts in different colours. 

I used the same 3D embossing folder for the background - it's a gorgeous poinsettia pattern. The foiled images were coloured in various combinations. I used metallic pens for the black pieces so some colour would show up. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Smiles Better Press Card

 This is another attempt using the Better Press system. I used the same press plate to create a floral image in the four corners. I used alcohol makers to colour the flowers and leaves and trimmed the card front to fit on a black card base. The sentiment was die cut three times and stacked before being added to the centre of the card. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

AH 538 - Christmas Greetings

 Welcome to Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge 538!

I stayed true to the sketch - it took some careful math figuring to determine the sizes of the panels to fit them exactly to the background. 

The background was stamped and stencilled and I cut that into equal size pieces. I added a white embossed sentiment with a border and die cut some holly leaves and berries for the corner of the sentiment piece. I used Stickles on the berries but chose to keep this card pretty simple. 

Come and join us at Atlantic Hearts and show us how you interpret this week's challenge. 

You have until Sunday evening to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

DT 145 and TSOT 620 - Peace and Joy

 Welcome to Double Trouble Challenge 145 and Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge 620!

The small graphic is below for the Double Trouble challenge and we are pairing with Try Stampin' on Tuesday for this challenge so that sketch is also shown. 

I chose to make a Christmas card as I am always scrambling come the end of October. I used two patterns - one floral and one checks - plus light kraft paper. I embossed the panel behind the flowers with a holly pattern and assembled the die cut flowers and greenery. A black circle brought out the black flower centres on the patterned paper. The sentiment was hot foiled in gold and I inked it with a light green ink to match the rest of the card. I brushed the flowers with a gold shimmer brush and added some gold gems to finish off this card. 

Come and join us at Double Trouble and Try Stampin' on Tuesday for this challenge!

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

Although the TSOT challenge doesn't open until tomorrow, you can back link for the day before ONLY. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Triple Diamond Card - Pine Boughs

 This was such a fun card to make, although it was very time consuming! 

The pinecones and pine boughs were die cut, inked and assembled. They were added to white cardstock that was inked along the edges. The sentiment was heat embossed in white, die cut and added to the centre panel, along with a few pine boughs and pinecones. The background paper is from an old paper pack and I had just one sheet left! There are two panels on the back for a spot to write a message. 

Considering this is quite a thick card, I made an envelope for it as well. There is a notch at the top (from the back) that allows the card to be pulled out. I used some of the same pine boughs to surround another sentiment on the front. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

SS 732 - Life is Better with Friends

 Welcome to Sketch Saturday Challenge 732!

The optional theme (in addition to the sketch) is to use a doodle. 

I hot foiled, stencilled and fussy cut a large flower for the corner element on my card (I rotated the sketch ninety degrees). The background was die cut and then a grid pattern was lightly stencilled in grey. I die cut two borders - one in green and the other in gold - for the top. The flower was adhered to the corner and I added a stamped sentiment in a circle. Some gold gems finished off this card. 

Come and join us at Sketch Saturday and show us how you interpret this week's sketch. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

CD 561 - Merriest Christmas

 Welcome to Colour Dare Challenge 561!

Close any row or column - you may add additional colours, but ONLY if they appear on the tic tac toe grid. 

I used the middle row (Desert Rose, Pine and Sage) plus Scarlet and Rosemary.

This was a difficult colour scheme for me... these are definitely not my go-to colours! I opted to make a Christmas card using the red and green shades. I used a wreath stencil but adjusted it so I inked only half the stencil on the top and bottom of the card. The leaves were inked with Sage and Rosemary and I used Pine for the branches. Desert Rose was hard - I stencilled the berries using that colour first and then added detail at the base with Scarlet ink. I added a gold hot foiled sentiment with some gold metallic thread to the centre. Gold Stickles were placed in groups of two or three along the sides of the leaves. The card front was adhered to Scarlet cardstock, gold foil paper and finally to a Pine cardstock base. 

Come and join us at Colour Dare and show us how you use the tic tac toe grid shown above. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

MTTC 514 - Stencilled Butterfly

 Welcome to My Time to Craft Challenge 514!

The theme of this challenge is stencilling. 

Stencilling is one of my favourite techniques for card making. I chose a butterfly stencil (single layer) for this card. I used three shades of Distress Oxide inks and stencilled the butterfly, leaving the lightest shade at the bottom. Before removing the stencil, I splattered the image with a mix of water and Perfect Pearls, giving it a beautiful shine. The flowers were die cut from white cardstock and I used similar shades of ink to add colour. The leaves were die cut from silver foil, as was the body of the butterfly. Those pieces were adhered and a hot foiled sentiment was placed at the right side. I die cut the butterfly outline into the card base and adhered a second body to the back to hold it in place so when the card is opened, it has a clean appearance inside. 

Come and join us at MTTC and show us your stencilled projects. 

You have two weeks to link up your project. 

We can't wait to see what you create!

Enjoy,

Alyson

Floral Stencilled Card Set

 I had a lot of fun making this set of cards. The mint background was die cut with a floral pattern die and I used the same die to cut the white background. Those pieces were lined up so the pattern continued across the front of each card. The floral stem was stamped and I used eight different colour schemes to stencil the images before die cutting them. Eight different sentiments were stamped and added to the right side of each stem. Tiny clear heart embellishments were placed around each image to finish off the cards.

Enjoy,

Alyson

Envelope Stamped Background Card

 I saw a card with a background like this on Pinterest and wanted try it myself. 

After digging through my stash of stamps, I found a small envelope image. I stamped that on an angle across an entire background and then coloured the envelope images with markers. I die cut a black circle, a white envelope and tons of coloured floral and leaf images. The images were arranged in the envelope and that entire piece was adhered to the envelope background. I added a sentiment and mounted the background onto black cardstock and then a white card base. I love the final card! 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Pop-Out Panel Card - Thankful for a Friend Like You

 This cute card is very easy to make. I chose a colour scheme of blue and green.

The patterned papers have beautiful subtle floral patterns on them with varying shades of blue on the back. I chose to use the floral patterns for the outside panels and the blue patterns for the centre and the front sections. The images were stamped and die cut and I arranged a floral cluster on the left side and used a couple of the images to go behind the sentiment on the right side. Some gold metallic thread was added to each panel as well. There is a panel on the back for a message and the card folds flat for mailing. 

Enjoy,

Alyson

Card Set - A Note from Me to You

 This very simple set of cards is great for any occasion and also works for masculine cards. 

Each card was created using the Better Press system and I used a variety of ink colours. The front panel was cut down and placed on a coordinating cardstock back. No embellishments were added so these are flat for mailing. 

Enjoy,

Alyson