Crafty Christmas Club: March

Hey everybody!! Me and some of my crafty peeps decided to do a monthly Christmas project hop, and this is the first one.  Who wants to join us for some monthly encouragement and inspiration for your Christmas needs?

And it could not come at a better time. We could use a little positive distraction with the events of the world right now.  Many people are on stay-at-home orders, lockdown, or self quarantine. What better time to work on some Christmas crafts,  right?!

For this month's project, I decided to work on cards for gift card-giving. I used the Concord and 9th Christmas Cheer turnabout with the Honey Bee Stamps Coffee Cup Card dies to start these out.

I started with this red one, which is ink blended with Distress Oxides in Worn Lipstick and Candied Apple for the reds, and Pine Needles for the green.

The Christmas Cheer turnabout is White Satin Pearl heat embossed over top of the ink blending. And all of this was done on the the paper after it was die cut with the Coffee Cup Card die.

The poinsettia is made with the dies from the Spellbinders Card Kit of the Month for November 2019- Christmas Wishes. The sentiment banner was cut, the stamped. All of it is popped up with the help of coaster blanks.

Inside, I used one of the Coffee Cup Card dies to cut the smaller cup shape and added Lawn Fawn Simple Gift Card Slots before gluing that to the inside of the card.

Next up is the green version. Same process, just using Iced Spruce and Pine needles Distress Oxides on the cup body this time.

I also used some embossing powder from the November 2018 My Monthly Hero, which is a mix of dark green and gold. Turns out, I really like it! It does well with detailed images.

Now I need to make a pile of these! I want to have stuff ready not just for me to use, but my family and for craft fairs. I better get to work!

I have a list (with links) of the supplies I used at the end of this post.

Before you jump into a project, check out the rest of the stops in this hop. And drop me a comment! I love to hear from you all.

Blog Roll:

1. Tanya Boser- blog and Instagram - that's me!
2. Sue Plote- blog and Instagram
3. Tania Cordie- blog 
4. Marcia Caradinta- blog and Instagram
5. Adam Karle- Instagram only 
6. Justin Averrill- blog and Instagram
7. Jenny Hall- Instagram only

Some of the supplies listed below are affiliate links, some are not. If you use an affiliate link here to make a purchase, I may get a small compensation. I only use things that I love, and do not create paid posts.

Supplies used:

Stamps:
Concord & 9th Christmas Cheer turnabout bundle http://shrsl.com/269cq
Concord & 9th Christmas Cheer turnabout http://shrsl.com/269cv, http://shrsl.com/269d1

Dies:
Concord & 9th Ribbon Banner die http://shrsl.com/269cx, http://shrsl.com/269d3
Honey Bee Stamps Coffee Cup Card dies: http://shrsl.com/269da
Spellbinders Card Kit of the Month- Christmas Wishes (Nov19) http://shrsl.com/269dg

Lawn Fawn Simple Gift Card Slots: http://shrsl.com/269fn

Everything Else:
Versafine Onyx Black ink pad: http://shrsl.com/24gv2
Versamark ink pad: http://shrsl.com/24gsr
Distress Oxide ink pads and refills: http://shrsl.com/24gdb
Color coded Blender Brushes, set of 5: https://amzn.to/2WhcmIM
Hero Arts White Satin Pearl embossing powder: http://shrsl.com/24gco, http://shrsl.com/2639q
Neenah Solar White #110 Cardstock: https://amzn.to/2uS2ppZ
Katz Coaster Blanks: http://estore.katzamericas.com/category/Blank-Coasters

Crafty Friends: Pink Fresh Studios

It is that time again, the 20th of the month. And that means a new compayn featured with the Crafty Friends, and a 20% off coupon!

This month, we are featuring Pinkfresh Studio. If you go to their website, you can save 20% on your purchase (excluding New Releases and already sale priced items).

 I decided to use the Hero Arts/Pinkfresh Studio collaboration set, You Make a Difference. It has this large wildflower image and several beautiful sentiments. It is sized for an A2 (4.25"x5.5") card, but I made another A7 (5"x7") card. I did use the Hero Arts Wood Frame Infinity dies to cut the main image panel, but ended up only using the center fallout. Go figure!

Ink blending with Hero Hues Reactive inks, then White Satin Pearl heat embossing of the main image.

Perfect Pearls pigment powders were uses to paint the flowers. There is a lovely shine to all of the painting.

The sentiment was then White heat embossed in the center.

The 4.5"x6.5" mat panel is even White Satin Pearl embossed with parts of the main image.

I love how this turned out. It gave me an opportunity to play with lots of techniques, and I am a self-confessed technique junky!

 Now, go check out what the rest of the team has done! And don't miss out on the coupon for the Pinkfresh website.

1. Sandi McIver
2. Sue Plote
3. Sara Sherlock
4. Lydia Fiedler
5. Jill Hilliard
6. Amy Kolling
7. Jenny Hall
8. Tanya Boser- you are here
9. Ilina Crouse
10. Maria Willis
11. Becky Roberts

Some of the supplies listed below are affiliate links, some are not. If you use an affiliate link here to make a purchase, I may get a small compensation. I only use things that I love, and do not create paid posts.

Supplies

Stamps:
Pinkfresh/Hero Arts Collab: You Make a Difference
https://www.pinkfreshstudio.com/products/you-make-a-difference
http://shrsl.com/2638m
http://shrsl.com/2638q

Ink:
Blue Raspberry Reactive Ink: http://shrsl.com/2639c
Green Apple Reactive Ink: http://shrsl.com/2639g
Lemon Drop Reactive Ink: http://shrsl.com/2639l
Versamark ink pad: http://shrsl.com/24gsr

Dies:
Honey Bee Stamps A7 Double Stitched Frames: http://shrsl.com/25ger
Hero Arts Wood Frames Infinity dies: http://shrsl.com/263ac

Miscellaneous:
Ranger Perfect Pearls pigment powder: http://shrsl.com/263ag
White Satin Pearl embossing powder: http://shrsl.com/2639q
White Detail embossing powder: http://shrsl.com/2639z
Color coded Blender Brushes, set of 5: https://amzn.to/2WhcmIM
Neenah Solar White #110 Cardstock: https://amzn.to/2uS2ppZ
Katz Coaster Blanks: http://estore.katzamericas.com/category/Blank-Coasters

Lifesavers and Quarantine

Hey friends! I am fresh off a home quarantine, and I have to say I put my isolation time to good use. I made a ton of cards. Including this box of cards!

That right there is 55 cards. I plan to use these to help keep the morale up at work in the near future. Would you like to see more?

I had a wild hair one night and dug through my stash of stamps looking for something medical related. I found the Kindred Stamps Lifesavers stamp set and stamped out a pile of images to be colored. The next day, I colored and fussy cut them all.

I have done this before, and I still have gobs of images colored and fuzzy cut just waiting for a project. But I really want to stop stashing that work and start putting it right onto a project!

So, I found the Heffy Doodle Zap Attack stencil in my stash, and got to work ink blending with Hero Arts Reactive Inks on some really, really retired Stampin' Up! cards stocks. Like, retired-before-2010 retired. Yes, I have a "well curated" craft room! I also used some Hero Arts and Papertrey Ink cardstock that is still available- go me!!

This particular card has Key Lime Fizz and Pool Party ink on Soft Stone cardstock. After ink blending through the stencil, and before removing the stencil, I spritzed it with some Pearlized water (Perfect Pearls pigment powder in Perfect Pearl added to water in a spray bottle). I promptly removed the stencil and set each panel to the side to dry. Remember, I made 55 of these!

This is the inside of this card. It got a little stencil and ink blending too.

This one reverses the Key Lime Fizz and Pool Party.

That sentiment is White heat embossed and die cut with a stitched rectangle die from the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop Up dies.

This one is Blue Hawaii and Grape Slush inks.

Same blue and purple here, but reversed.

Back to Key Lime Fizz and Pool Party here.

This is the Papertrey Ink Vintage Jadeite cardstock with Key Lime Fizz and Pool Party. I really like that combo, huh!

By this time, my arms were getting sore, and I found some spritzers with Stampin Up! Fresh Fig reinkers and water mixed already. And a Sea Foam shimmer spray from a My Monthly Hero kit. Sure sped things up!

Instead of spritzing the inside of these, I did use a blender brush. Safer from warping this way.

And this one uses Stampin Up! Berry Burst reinker and water in a spritzer and the Sea Foam shimmer spray.

That's all of them! I hope I made enough 😉

Some of the supplies listed below are affiliate links, some are not. If you use an affiliate link here to make a purchase, I may get a small compensation. I only use things that I love, and do not create paid posts.

Stamps:
Kindred Stamps Lifesavers: https://www.kindredstamps.com/products/life-saver

Dies:
Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop Up dies: http://shrsl.com/269l6

Everything Else:
Heffy Doodle Zap Attack stencil: http://shrsl.com/269lc
Versafine Onyx Black ink pad: http://shrsl.com/24gv2
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad: http://shrsl.com/24gus
Versamark ink pad: http://shrsl.com/24gsr
Hero Arts Reactive ink pads and refills: http://shrsl.com/269lf, http://shrsl.com/269lh
Distress Oxide ink pads and refills: http://shrsl.com/24gdb
Color coded Blender Brushes, set of 5: https://amzn.to/2WhcmIM
Copic Markers: http://shrsl.com/24gts
Soft Stone cardstock 50 ct: http://shrsl.com/269m1
Vintage Jadeite cardstock 50 ct: http://shrsl.com/269mx
Katz Coaster Blanks: http://estore.katzamericas.com/category/Blank-Coasters

Creating Kindness: Shaker Cards

Hello March!! So happy to see you. And I see you have brought some friends who are ready to get all shook up, hehe!

The guest teammate this month is Emma Goddard, be. sure to give her a sweet welcome. She is a sweet lady!!

This month, the Creating Kindness team is focusing on Shaker Cards. Who can resist a shaker card? No one I have ever met.

To be honest, I made this card yesterday. We hadn't even been home from vacation for more than 12 hours. I was tired and uninspired. But, I had taken a few stamped watercolor panels and my Daniel Smith watercolor palettes with on the vacation, and this panel was one I created on the cruise.

It stared at me, telling me it needed to become a card. And I had a moment of discovery! I could turn this pretty panel into a shaker card in two shakes and a wiggle! (that is one of my favorite things to say, BTW. Makes my patients smile every time! )

Here is how I did it:

1. Use a double stitched rectangle die and cut out the center of the panel. 
2. Cut a piece of plastic packaging saved from a stamp set envelope. You know, the soft and flexible stuff. Cut that a little smaller than the outer panel dimensions, and adhere it to the back, over the hole. 
3. Glue pieces of coaster to the back around the hole. 
4. Tape a couple loops of washi tape and tack the center of the panel to the back of the plastic, right side showing the front, then apply glue to the back of just the center panel. Line it up on the card front, and glue it down. 
5. Lift the window panel off, wipe center panel and the back of the window with antistatic powder tool. Place a pile of shaker bits on top of the center panel. Glue the window panel  to card base, lined up over the center panel. 

I added a quick sentiment to the front, and it is all done! Not so intimidating, right!?

Don't forget to stop at the rest of the projects!


Blog Hop Participants:

Emma Goddard - Guest Designer – UK
Sue Plote - America
Tanya Boser – USA
Danielle Bennenk – Netherlands
Jay Soriano – UK
Lou Kitzelman – Australia
Paula Dobson – New Zealand
Marcy Denning – Canada
Jenny Hall – USA
Charlet Mallett – USA
Cheryll Miller – Australia
Sara Levin - USA


Some of the supplies listed below are affiliate links, some are not. If you use an affiliate link here to make a purchase, I may get a small compensation. I only use things that I love, and do not create paid posts.

Supplies

Stamps:
* Friendship Blooms – Hero Arts & Gina K http://shrsl.com/25gei
* January 2020 My Monthly Hero: http://shrsl.com/25gf3

Coloring Media:
* Versafine Onyx Black: http://shrsl.com/24gv2
* Daniel Smith watercolors: http://shrsl.com/24gdi
* Versamark ink pad: http://shrsl.com/24gsr

Dies:
* Honey Bee Stamps A7 Double Stitched Frames: http://shrsl.com/25ger

Paper:
* Neenah Solar White #110 Cardstock: https://amzn.to/2uS2ppZ
* Canson XL Watercolor paper: https://amzn.to/37FpvxD

Other:
* Brass embossing powder: http://shrsl.com/25gez
* Katz Coaster Blanks: http://estore.katzamericas.com/category/Blank-Coasters
* Aleene’s Tacky Glue: https://amzn.to/2vEXRmT