Coffee and Cards with Deb and Michael - Christmas in July Edition

Hello all!  I am joining my friend Deb (Meticulosity) today for her "Coffee and Cards" day.  She normally does this with her friend Celeste but Celeste is away so I stepped in to play.  We decided to go with the theme of Christmas in July

and, since I am in the process of making a Christmas card, I thought I would just blog about it.  

To go along with the theme, my coffee and coffee mug of choice is Starbucks Christmas Blend Vintage 2016 with my favorite Christmas Pig mug (thanks Sue M).  Don't worry, the coffee gets kept in the freezer to keep it fresh.  

To make this card, I started with a top folding A2 card base to which adhered a piece of Christmas decorative paper.  

I am using a retired set called Christmas Village Holiday from CTMH.  I place a piece of white cardstock into my Misti and I stamped the Church, the Sweet Shoppe, and the sentiment, using Amalgam Black ink (Gina K. Designs).  

Then I stamped the house on another piece of white cardstock.  I plan on fussy cutting it and popping it in front of the other two buildings.

I colored in the images using a variety of Copic, Sharpie, and BIC markers, I fussy cut the house, and I also die-cut the white cardstock again using a stitched rectangle die.

I adhered a piece of white fun foam to the back, adhered this to the card front, and then adhered the house using some foam tape.  

Lastly, I applied Crystal Stickles (Ranger) to the roof areas and a few drops on the front to give some sparkle.

I had a lot of fun making this card!!  Now I just need to make 50 more - haha - will never happen.  I'd love to know what you think so feel free to leave a comment below!  

Please make sure you stop over at Deb's blop - she has an adorable Christmas card using a cat image from Impress!!  You can find her HERE!

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog and, until next time - 

Hugs from Brasil - 

Michael

Retro Rubber Card Challenge - Purple, Yellow, and Green - Birthday Card

Hello everyone.  It's been a long time since I played along with the folks over on the Retro Rubber Challenge Blog and I thought I would make today's card for their Challenge No. 115, which is all about purple, yellow and green.  Perfect colors for flowers.  Also a great time to use some of my stash that has not been used in over a year!

For today's card, I was inspired by Penny Black and their stamp called Bunches For You.  I love this stamp but it would take forever to get here if I ordered it.  So I decided to "case" it using some things I have in my stash that have not been used a long time.  Not the same but close.  LOL 

I found a paper pad in my stash called Artist by Paper House.  It's retired but had the perfect colors for my card base.  I adhered a piece of purple to the card front.  Then, using the largest die from Stitched Rectangles (Memory Box/30009) I cut a piece of white cardstock.  Then I adhered a piece of fun foam under the white and adhered this to the card front.  

Using another sheet from the same Artist pad, I cut an envelope die that I found in a set from American Crafts/Dear Lizzy set called Daydreamer.  It has a small heart in the center so I cut it again using a small piece from the same purple as the card front. 
 

I also stamped Daisies (Deep Red Stamps), twice, fussy cut them and colored them with Polynesian Purple, Margarita Green, and Yellow Bliss BIC Markers.   One of the flowers I cut apart to use later.

Next, I adhered all the pieces to the card front...the envelope with the purple heart, and then the flowers.  Lastly, I die cut Happy Birthday (Top Dog Dies) using the same purple paper and white cardstock, used some Yellow and Firefly Stickles on the flowers and leaves, and adhered 3 small sequins to the front.

I am loving how this card came out.  I still love the whimsical flowers in the Penny Black set and I will get it on my next trip to the states.  But, for now, I will have to use this card for someone!  

Please, leave a comment below and let me know what you think of my "case" idea.  As always, until next time - 

Hugs from Brasil - 

Michael

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments with Anthony's Paper Craft

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas (in July)!! Today is my DT time for Anthony's Paper Craft and it's all about Christmas.  Considering the heatwave taking over most of the USA and other parts of the world, I think many of you wish it was Christmas. 

I love to find new ways to use images and today I will show you how to use Tile 4 and Tile 6 to make an ornament for your Christmas tree.   You can actually use any of Anthony's "tile" stamps.

For Tile 6 -

I started with the image stamped on a piece of white card, along with a piece of designer paper with a light design, a stitched circle die (Memory Box/30036) and the bow and ornament topper from Circle Ornaments (Divinity Designs/CDB45).

Using the stitched circle die, I cut the center of the image and a piece of the designer paper.  I also cut the bow from red cardstock and two of the ornament topper from a piece of gold cardstock.

Next, I grabbed the Christmas colors from my Ultra Fine Tip BIC markers and I colored in the whole image.  I used Rambunctious Red, Moonstone Yellow, Key Lime, and Oceanview Blue.

Next, I glued this piece to the back of the designer paper and adhered one of the ornament toppers to each side.  

I stamped the image again on to another piece of white cardstock and colored in the area that I knew I was going to adhere with pop dots and then fussy cut it out.

I adhered this to the front with pop dots/foam tape to give a 3D effect.  I also adhered the bow, some crystals, and Stickles to give a shimmer.

And on the back, I adhered a sentiment from a peel-off pack I had in my stash. 

Now just to wait until Christmas to hang on the tree!

For Tile 4 - 

I started with the image stamped on a piece of white cardstock, a piece of designer paper but with a light design, and the Circle Ornaments set again.

Using the middle circle die, I cut the center of the image and a piece of the designer paper.  Using the largest circle die, I cut two pieces from red cardstock.  I also cut the bow from red cardstock and two of the ornament topper from a piece of gold cardstock.

I colored in the image using the same BIC markers as above.  I also adhered the ornament toppers to each of the red pieces.  I also stamped the sentiment "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" from the Christmas Mantel Set on the back of the decorative paper piece.

I stamped the image again on to another piece of white cardstock and colored in the area that I knew I was going to adhere with pop dots and then fussy cut it out.

I put some pop-dots on the back and adhered this to the ornament front.  I also used some Crystal Stickles on some of the red, adhered the bow, and glued down two crystals.  I also adhered both sides of the ornament together. 

Here are the two ornaments again fully finished and hanging on a tree branch.

I think these would make an amazing gift to someone special.  It looks like a lot of work but it's really not.  Especially if you love to color.  I hope you enjoyed these two ornaments.  Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below!  Until next time - 

Hugs from Brasil - 

Michael

If You Give A Crafter A Cookie Challenge No. 122 - ROBOTS!!

Hello everyone!  Well, it's time for the next challenge over on the If You Give A Crafter A Cookie Challenge Blog!!  We are up to Challenge No. 122 and this time it's all about Robots!!  Here is your inspiration photo if you want to play along - 

I realized when I saw the above photo that I didn't have any robot stamps!  But then I remembered that, for some super strange reason, I have two stamps sets called Lots o Bots (Stampin Up/Retired).  Why I have two, I have no idea, but one of them came in perfect for this card.  

I started with a side folding A2 card base of white cardstock.  Then, using a stamp positioner and Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I stamped the left edge with the 0/1 stamp in the Lots o Bots set.

Then I cut a piece of white cardstock and a piece of white fun foam, 3.75" x 5.5", embossed the cardstock with the gears embossing folder from the Clock and Steampunk Set by Tim Holtz/Sizzix, adhered the fun foam to the back and then I adhered this to the card front.

Next, I grabbed some silver cardstock and die cut some gears using Cogs (Spellbinders/S4-386) and Sprightly Sprockets (Spellbinders/S5-048).   I also stamped one of the images from the Lots o Bots set, colored it in with some BIC markers, and then cut it out with a Stitched Circle Layers die (Memory Box/30036).  

I then adhered all the pieces to the card front to finish off my card.

I hope you guys enjoyed this card.  Feel free to leave a comment below.  If you want to play along, just click HERE to be taken to the challenge and let me know if you do...I'd love to see what you make.

Until next time - 

Hugs from Brasil - 

Michael

If You Give A Crafter A Cookie Challenge No. 121 - The Beach

Hello everyone!!  The beach!  I love and miss the beach!  Even though I live in Brasil, we are at least 2 hours (or more) to a beach and the traffic we have to deal with can be insane!  So I spend summers at the pool instead.  We are now in winter and that means no beach or pool here in the countryside of São Paulo but I can still make a fun beach card and imagine the sand between my toes!

There is a new challenge over on the If You Give A Crafter A Cookie Challenge Blog.  It's Challenge No. 121 and it's all about the beach.  Here is the inspiration photo the design team was given to work with in case you want to play along with us - 

The first thing I wanted was a sunset background.  I have a lot of distress inks but I recently got all of the Gina K Design inks and wondered if they would work the same way.  I found this nice color combo from The Colours of Magic, an Instagram account I follow.  Next, I picked 5 colors from the Gina K. Designs line that matched as close to the distress inks she used.  I went with Blue Raspberry, Wild Dandelion, Prickly Pear, Tangerine Twist, and Faded Brick.   

I cut a piece of white cardstock with a stitched rectangle die and decided to use one of those "life-changing blending brushes" with each of the inks.

Working from the bottom up, I started with Blue Raspberry, then Wild Dandelion, Prickly Pear, Tangerine Twist, and Faded Brick.  After each blending, I went back to the color before to blend it in again.   

I heat set the inks and was blown away by how nicely they blended!!  My blending inks just tripled in colors!!  YAY!

I made a card base of light blue cardstock.  Then I adhered the blended piece to a piece of navy blue cardstock and then to the card front.  

Next, I stamped "Hammock Pig" (Hambo Stamps) on to white cardstock with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, colored it in with Copic markers, fussy cut it with fine tip scissors (Martha Stewart), and adhered it to the card front with pop dots.

The last thing I needed was a sentiment.  Not having one I grabbed Small Talk (Holtz/idea-ology), found the one I wanted to use and adhered it to the card front under the image.

And that's it!  I am in love with how these inks blend...did I mention that before?  LOL  I would love to know what you think too.  Feel free to leave a comment below. 

If you would like to take part in Challenge No. 121 you can click HERE to get all the details!  I hope you do.  Until next time....

Hugs from Brasil -
Michael