Let’s Cozy Up

I’ve been focusing on making winter-themed cards with products I own, despite being lured by spring-themed stamps, dies and papers (not easy to do, but I’m enjoying embracing the current season)! Today, I’m sharing a friendship card featuring the My Favorite Things Cozy Sweater die.

Let's Cozy Up

I created an ombré pattern with the My Favorite Things Sweater Stitch Background stamp (bought last year and had never used) using several Hero Arts inks (their ombré pads are on my wish list). It’s hard to tell, but the color is lighter at the bottom. I tried putting on white cuffs and collar, but the blue needed a bit of punch, hence the red. Once I had red, I needed a balance, so chose the gray for the background. Finally, I needed something to fill out the background, so I added snowflakes cut with dies in the Avery Elle Snow Caps set.

Supplies: My Favorite Things Die-namics Comfy Sweater, CS Cozy Greetings

Valentine’s Day Cottage

Today, I’m sharing a card featuring the Poppystamps Cute Cottage dressed for Valentine’s Day.

Poppystamps Valentines Cottage

It took me a while to figure out the colors for the cottage body, window boxes, trim, etc. But once decided, the card came together quickly. Since Valentine’s Day takes place during the winter in the Northern Hemisphere, I created a winter landscape with snow banks and a falling-snow dry-embossed background.

I heat-embossed the sentiment, from Taylored Expressions Welcome Home stamp set.

Supplies:

Penny Black Simplicity – Snowflakes

There are some lovely snowflake stamps, included in a number of Penny Black stamp sets, that I’m putting to use, along with an apt sentiment on a CAS winter-themed friendship card. I’m attempting to embrace winter this year rather than pretending it doesn’t exist!

Jean Manis Penny Black Simplicity Snowflakes

I first stamped the sentiment from #30-307 holiday snippets and then added the snowflakes (one on the same set and the other two from #30-316 season’s gifts). I finished off the left-hand side of the card base with a strip of patterned paper in coordinating colors (just my luck!) from the #80-012 wintertime paper pad set. I’m drawn towards shades of blue and purple at this time of year.

AEI♥U Challenge #32 – Winter

Happy New Year! It’s time for a new AEI♥U Challenge!! This month’s theme is winter!

Here’s my take on the challenge theme:

Jean Manis Avery Elle Challenge Jan 2016

I stamped the images from the Penguin Greetings set onto the card base and colored them with colored pencils (and Gamsol). I added a sentiment using the “warm” die from Penguin Greetings ELLE-ments set and heat-embossed words from the Penguin Greetings set.

There’s no limit to how you can interpret this challenge! Check out the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team over on the AEI♥U Challenge Blog!  You’ll also find the InLinkz tool to link up YOUR take on the challenge – we’d love to see your beautiful work in our gallery! There are two $25 Avery Elle Gift Certificates up for grabs for the two best entries!  You have until  January 26, 2016 to link up your take on the challenge!

Supplies:

Avery Elle How You Doin’?

Although Christmas may now be behind us, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t still winter-themed cards to be made! Today I’m sharing a friendship card featuring the bear and rabbit on a sled image from the Avery Elle Snow Much Fun stamp set which I framed with Pretty Pink Posh’s Decorative Tag 1.

AEHowYouDoinI stamped, cut and Copic-colored the bear and rabbit, adding them to the PPP frame. (I cut a snowbank with Dotted Borders and with the PPP inner frame.)

I heat-embossed a sentiment from Simply Said: Hello and cut it with a banner die. I added a dry-embossed rectangle and a strip of patterned paper to the card base. (I’m using a pattern from one of my many Christmas-themed patterned paper pads.)

Supplies: