Keep Christmas Card 2008

This week I have been working on my personal Christmas Cards and so have not posted for a while. My friend, Jane, chided me for that today, so here are two of my cards. I've hesitated to post them for two reasons. One - because some of my family and friends will be receiving them and, second, because they use some retired Stampin' Up! products.

Cranberry Crisp was one of our former In Colors. I liked it so much that I ordered several packages of it just before it was discontinued, knowing that I would use it for Christmas cards. So, here it is, along with the ribbon that is also retired. The image is actually embossed using Bravo Burgundy, which works just fine. I sprayed the card base with gold Pearl-Ex and hairspray mixture to get the shimmer effect. The sentiment inside embossed in gold on the Cranberry Crsip and mounted on Apricot Appeal. Looks nice. I will sign these cards with a gold pen. I think it is an elegant card and am very happy with it. Happy enough to make 30 of them.

Keep Christmas Wreath Gift TAg

Here is another Quick and Pretty tag using the same stamp set, Keep Christmas. So easy, that I just kept stamping and embossing until I had 32. That's when the cardstock ran out without cutting into another sheet. It is a fold-over tag, book style. I left some of them without punching the hole, knowing that we don't always want to tie our tags on to our packages.

If you don't have the Craft ink, you can use Versamark and Classic ink.

The challege is that you have to clean the stamp off each time before you use the Versamark. The technique: Cover the clean stamp with Versa Mark and then with the colored Classic ink, stamp the image and emboss with clear or Iridescent embossing powder. The image is not a bright, but it can be done if you are making just a few. This process also deposits some Versamark on your Classic ink pad. A little bit doesn't hurt.

There will be tags using other sets - promise! But, I'm probably not done with this one yet. I love the candle arrangement stamp, too.

Card stock: Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Glorious Green Craft
Accessories: Clear embossing powder, red gingham ribbon, Real Red Stampin' Write Marker

Keep Christmas Gift Tags 2

Here's another version of Scrooge and Tiny Tim from the Keep Christmas stamp set. Colors are Bravo Burgundy and Apricot Appeal. The light colored, my favorite, uses the corner rounder punch, Bravo Burgundy Craft Ink and clear embossing powder while the other uses Versamark and gold embossing powder.

For a fast tag or card, this can't be beat. It is almost embarrassing how fast these were to make - less than an hour to cut the card stock and make 18.

Keep Christmas Gift Tags

This first two, from the set Keep Christmas, has been a lot of fun. It has taken me the better part of two days to make 18 of them, mostly because I kept experimenting with colors and form. I intended to make just 10, but it is so easy to get carried away - especially when playing.

Both tags are embossed in black. The lamps glitter with Crystal Effects and clear glitter. Scrooge's trousers and top hat are watercolored. His coat in the right one is also watercolored. The rest of the coloring is done with markers.

The cardstock for the tag on the left is Bordering Blue, Certainly Celery, and Whisper White.

The tag on the right is a fold over tag, book style, using Naturals White cardstock.

I know these colors aren't truly Dickensonian, but it was the combo that I liked the best of the several I tried.

Tomorrow's tag will show the same stamp, but will be a quick tag to make.

This is a delightful set. I will probably use the rest of it as well - a candle arangement and a wreath, along with a Dickens quote. I haven't planned that far ahead yet. If you are a stamper, you know that what we plan isn't always the final product, is it?