Inspiration Challenge

As I have mentioned many times before, the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast is my favorite of the week. Today's site, Embroidery Everywhere was chock-full of inspiration. I actually did three projects based on the embroidered images on the site.

The first card was inspired by this Tranquility Tree. A fellow-SCSer Mary (a/k/a jandjccc) sent me some window diecuts (while I wait to order and receive the dies) to use. What a great diecut! I stamped the image from a Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, set called A Trip to Lancaster, coloring it with Copic markers. I embossed the cardbase with a Sizzix bricked embossing folder and then glued on the window scene.



My second card was inspired by this Retro Lemonade image. I used a layout from Page Maps to get started. The lemon was stamped twice -- one of which I cut out and popped up. I used DP from Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry paper pack.



My third project was actually made initially for Speedy's Friends Challenge #88 -- to use a snowflake. Looking for something that would be appropriate for a snowglobe and snowflakes, I found this embroidered snowman. It's hard to see behind all that glitter, but there definitely are snowflakes stamped on the paper. I bought the snowglobe kit from Hobby Lobby and used a retired set from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, called Snowman Country. I love that little snowman!



Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Masculine Cards

I've been trying to add some masculine cards to my stash this week. Here are two of them:

The first one was done for Friday's Free4All challenge on Splitcoast -- to make a tri-fold card. One of my favorite types of tri-fold card is the Joy Fold Card. You can find the directions for this fold in the Resource Section of SCS. I used Green Forest and Hazelnut Tan cardstock from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, for the panel bases, and two different designer papers from Basic Grey's Oxford paper pad. The image, a new favorite, is from MFP's brand-new set New Pines, and stamped onto MFP Fresh Cream.



On the inside I stamped the single pinecone and overstamped the sentiment in Versafine Olympic Green.



My second guy card was made for the Inspiration Challenge on SCS. Pam Stang had suggested Urban Art Loft as the inspiration site this week. Believe me, it is chock full of all kinds of inspiration. I chose this print as my inspiration. I used the barn scene from MFP's A Trip to Lancaster for the main image, coloring it with Copic markers. The paper I used was MFP's Deepest Mahogany, Hazelnut Tan, Desert Tan, and Snow Storm Smooth. I added some trim with a thin strip of the Deepest Mahogany.



So I've got a few more guy cards in my stash now. Several birthdays are coming up, and I will surely use these. Thanks for stopping by my blog and hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

MFP Blog - New Pines

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's December Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Pucker Up Featured December 13
Pussy Willows Featured December 14
Ice and Snow Featured December 14
New Pines Featured December 15

I'm still making Christmas cards, so in addition to an image from today's set, New Pines, my first card has a Christmas sentiment from another MFP set, Greetings of the Season mini set. I still had some MFP Robin's Egg cardstock on my desk from one of yesterday's cards, so I stamped the two trees onto it rather than on white. To "cover up" the blue on the trees, I added some snow -- by way of Polar White Flower Soft.



I think my last card of the blog hop is my favorite. Masculine cards are always a challenge, but these pinecones made it so much easier. Stamped on MFP Corn Husk cardstock and colored with Copic markers, I matted them with several layers (MFP Deepest Mahogany and Corn Husk) and popped the panel up on pop dots. The background paper is from Basic Grey's Oxford paper pad.




Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! We will announce all four winners on December 16, 2011 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Thursday December 15, 2011.

Lois (you are here)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Tammylee
Silvia
Mark's Finest Papers

Card 1
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - New Pines & Greetings of the Season mini set
Paper: MFP Greener Green, Robin's Egg; Basic Grey Jovial DP
Ink: Versafine Olympia Green
Accessories: Clear ep, Polar White Flower Soft, EK Success trees border punch, White gel pen

Card 2
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - New Pines
Paper: MFP Deepest Mahogany, Corn Husk; Basic Grey Oxford DP
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Accessories: Copic markers, MS border punch, Baker's Twine, Pop dots

MFP Blog Hop - Pussy Willows & Ice and Snow

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's December Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are
Pucker Up Featured December 13
Pussy Willows Featured December 14
Ice and Snow Featured December 14
New Pines Featured December 15

My gatefold card for the Pussy Willow set is rotated from yesterday's gatefold card layout. I love pussy willows -- they remind me of my childhood. When I was a kid, we used to put pussy willows in jars of colored water. As the water was drawn up into the stems, the pussy willows would change color. I had rows of different colored pussy willows sitting on my window sill.



For my second card, I stamped the large and small branches onto a piece of MFP Hurricane Gray cardstock to make my own background. Using a layout from Page Maps, I made one of the sentiments from this set into the focal point of my card.



The second set for today is Ice and Snow. My gatefold card is pretty straight forward. I stamped the trees onto a piece of MFP Robins's Egg cardstock, which is slightly mottled, giving the sky a realistic look. I cut one side off to make the image asymmetrical and added the deer image.



I love the icicles from this set and stamped them across the top of the background piece, adding some Icicle Stickles, and then stamped the large snowflake with some Memento Summer Sky ink. The sentiment was cut out using Spellbinders Labels Four (both regular and small sets) and popped up with pop dots. I punched out some snowflakes and scattered them around.





Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! We will announce all four winners on December 16, 2011 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Thursday December 15, 2011.

Lois (you are here)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Tammylee
Silvia
Mark's Finest Papers

Card 1
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Pussy Willows
Paper: MFP Flecked Dirt, Snow Storm Smooth; Authentique Journey DP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distressed Tumbled Glass
Accessories: Copic markers, Labels Eleven, Sponge applicator

Card 2
Stamps: Marks's Finest Papers - Pussy Willows
Paper: MFP Bang Up Blue, Hurricane Gray, Snow Storm Smooth; Authentique Journey DP
Ink: Versafine Blue Lagoon, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Clear ep, Ribbon, Corner rounder

Card 3
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Ice and Snow
Paper: MFP Dark Night Navy, Sparkling Silver, Robin's Egg; Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distressed Faded Jeans
Accessories: Clear ep, Stardust ep, Ribbon, Modern Label punch, Pop dots, Snowflake brad

Card 4
Stamps - Mark's Finest Papers - Ice and Snow
Paper: MFP Premium Heavy White, Dark Night Navy
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Sky; Tim Holtz Distressed Tumbled Glass
Accessories: Icicle Stickles, Labels Four (large and small), Snowflake punches, Pearls, Pop dots

MFP Blog Hop - Pucker Up

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's December Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Pucker Up Featured December 13
Pussy Willows Featured December 14
Ice and Snow Featured December 14
New Pines Featured December 15

I like doing fun folds, so my first card for this month's blog hop is a gatefold card. I used the large lemon image for my focal panel, coloring it with Copic markers. The patterned paper is from Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry paper pad. How appropriate was that paper with its sliced lemons and other fruit.



For my second card I used the smaller lemons and cut them out with circle nesties, matted in two different papers from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie DP pad. I punched the top of the background paper with an EK Success border punch.




Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day for more chances to win! We will announce all four winners on December 16, 2011 on the Mark's Finest Papers blog. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Thursday December 15, 2011.

Lois (you are here)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Tammylee
Silvia
Mark's Finest Papers

Card 1
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Pucker Up
Paper: MFP Lily Pad, Snow Storm Smooth; Basic Grey Nook and Pantry DP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Scallop corner punch, Small Photo Corner punch, Pearls

Card 2
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Pucker Up
Paper: MFP Premium Heavy White, Basic Grey Urban Prarie DP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Circle nesties, Lacey Circle nestie, Ribbon

Speedy's Friends and Inspiration Challenge

I made two cards for this morning's Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. The inspiration was appropriate for the season -- lots of hand-blown glass Christmas ornaments by Christopher Radko. I chose this retired ornament as the inspiration for my first card, which is also for Speedy the Cat's Friends challenge of using your favorite embellishment. I used the icicles, large snowflake and sentiment from a soon-to-be released set from Mark's Finest Papers. a Heinrich Company, called Ice and Snow.



The icicles were stamped in ColorBox Silver pigment ink and embossed with Detail Silver embossing powder. Using Copic Opaque White paint, I colored them in and then added some Icicle Stickles. The sentiment and snowflakes were stamped in Stampin' Up Whisper White and embossed with Winter Wonderland embossing powder, which has some silver sparkles in it. I guess my favorite embellishment would be ribbon, especially when paired with a stickpin or two.

I did wind up making two cards for the inspiration challenge. I chose this little church ornament as the starting point for my second card.



Colored with Copic markers in the same colors as the ornament, this church reminds me so much of the mission church I attended as a child in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This week's SCS sketch challenge seemed to be a good layout to highlight the church scene. The designer paper is from the Authentique Wonder paper pad.

Card 1
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Ice and Snow, unknown small snowflakes stamp
Paper: MFP Dark Night Navy, Sparkling Silver, Snow Storm Smooth
Ink: ColorBox Silver Pigment, SU Whisper White
Accessories: Copic Opaque White paint, Ribbon, Stickpins, Stickles, Winter Wonderland embossing powder, Detail Silver embossing powder


Card 2
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers: Christmas in the Country
Paper: MFP Cherry Slush, Snow Storm Smooth
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distressed Tumbled Glass
Accessories: Square nesties, Copic markers, Stickles

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Gift Card Box

Yesterday I was part of a joint blog hop with Technique Junkie Newsletter and Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company. I was was totally blown away with one of the projects done by a fellow MFP design team member, Geri Utterback. She made a gift card box from one of the tutorials on the Technique Junkie 3D and Fun Folds CD. I knew I had to make one of those boxes, and here it is.

I used MFP Cherry Slush and Greener Green cardstock and some Paper Pizazz designer paper for the panels.

The sentiment on the front is from a retired MFP set, but the Santa on the inside is from a mini set called Snowball Fun. I "borrowed" Geri's chimney idea for the card holder, inking up the Sizzix Bricked embossing folder with SU Whisper White ink before I ran the cardstock through my Cuttlebug. I used some Detail White embossing powder to bring out the pattern of the bricks.

I will be making several more of these gift card boxes because I tend to give many gift cards at Christmas, and these boxes are so much more creative than an envelope! Thanks so much, Geri, for your wonderful inspiration.

Technique Junkies Newsletter/Mark's Finest Papers Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to The Mark’s Finest Papers a Heinrich Company, and Technique Junkie Newsletter joint Blog Hop! The Technique Junkie Newsletter is excited to show case their new 3D and Fun Folds CD.

The Technique Junkie Newsletter has been publishing rubber stamping technique tutorials since 2002. The 3D and Fun Folds CD contains 70 step-by-step technique tutorials in pdf format – perfect dimensions, perfect directions and great pictures for every step. Visit www.techniquejunkies.com/ for more details about the CD and the Technique Junkie Newsletter.

A fantastic group of design team members from both the Mark’s Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, and the Technique Junkie Newsletter, have helped put together this fabulous Blog Hop to kick off the 3D and Fun Folds Cd.

We have a Blog Hop happening each day with an opportunity for you to win many prizes from some of our wonderful advertising companies! Please stop through EVERY DAY and take your time visiting each blog! You have until 11:59pm EST December 2nd to leave comments on as many blogs as you can to win the Grand Prize.

On Saturday, December 3, Pat from Technique Junkie Newsletter will announce the winners from each company. Be sure to hop along on each day! There will be FIVE WINNERS! On Monday, December 5th, Pat will announce ONE LUCKY WINNER with a GRAND PRIZE with a bundle of prizes from all of the participating businesses.

If you have been following along already you should have come from Created by Ann. If you are only starting here, please head back to the Technique Junkie Blog and go from there. You won't want to miss any stops along the way – in order to win you will need to comment on everyone’s blog AND Pat Huntoon’s Blog. There will be an additional chance to win by playing along in her Blog Hop!

Here are my projects for the hop. The first one is the Top Note Box. This church scene from MFP's Christmas in the Country is one of my favorites. I colored it with Copic markers in shades of gray and sponged the sky with Tim Holtz Distressed Inks Tumbled Glass and Chipped Sapphire. I wrapped some silver cord several times around the rectangular panel and added the sentiment, which I punched out with a Word Window punch.




You can make either two or four sections for the inside -- depending upon what you want to put in there. I attached the lid with a square piece of black vellum.



My second project is a Desktop Perpetual Calendar Box. The sentiment on the front is from an MFP set called Brick Wall, and I thought the Sizzix Bricked embossing folder would be a perfect complement. I finally got the "ink up the embossing folder" technique mastered, and I love the way it turned out. The flowers were made with a 3-piece Sizzix accordian-fold flower die set, which is also available from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company.



The tutorial also includes the calendar pages.





Your next stop on the hop is Chris Dickinson, but just in case there are any hiccups, here is the whole list of celebrants on this Blog Hop!

The Technique Junkie Newsletter Blog
Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company Blog
Geri Utterback

Ann Clack

Lois Bak (that's me)

Chris Dickinson
Patty Penn

Pat Huntoon

Friends of Speedy TV Challenge

This week's challenge on Speedy TV is to use your favorite sketch. I like color blocking, and I've used this sketch with both squares and circles as a background. I'm in full Christmas card mode, so I used the challenge to make another card for my stash.



Unfortunately, this particular Mark's Finest Papers' set is retired, but I do love these cardinals. I stamped the smaller cardinal four times for the corners, and the larger cardinal I cut with a Labels Thirteen die, using my matting technique for the green layer. The cardinal images were colored with Copic markers -- R43, R29, R59, G40, G82, E33, E35, and outlined with BG10. It's hard to see, but I used some gold Smooch paint to outline the large cardinal panel.

If you aren't aware, Technique Junkies Newsletter is having a blog hop this week. Several MFP design team members are participating on Thursday. Be sure to check out all the projects this week. You have a chance to win the Grand Prize.

Featured Stamper Challenge and More

Today's challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is the Featured Stamper challenge. I CASEd this card from JBgreendawn's gallery because I liked the "woodsy" feel of it. I kept that theme and also the layout -- although I did add another layer (the blue one).

I love the "airy" feel of this forest scene with its little stream and icy trees. I tried to increase the icy feeling by adding some Stickles. This image is from a new set from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, called What a Fox.



These two cards were made for both of Friday's SCS challenges -- the Ways to Use It challenge (to make a Christmas card highlighting black, in honor of Black Friday) and the Queen for the Day challenge, whose Queen was Dawn Lusk, a very talented artist.



Both of these cards were made with Christmas in the Country, another set from Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company. I just love that church scene. It reminds me of the little country mission church I attended back in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.



I've got a wonderful announcement to make here. Technique Junkies Newsletter is having a Blog Hop this week (Monday through Friday), showing many of the 3-D projects included in their new CD. Several members of Mark's Finest Papers, a Heinrich Company, design team will be part of the hop on Thursday. Be sure to check out the hop all week.

MFP Blog - What a Fox

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's November Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Peaceful Nuthatch
A Trip to Lancaster
What a Fox

What I liked about this scene is the "airy" look of the bare trees and the reflection in the water. It did not require much coloring -- just the sky and the fox. I did add some brown to the trees, but I'm not sure that was really necessary. The Polar White Flower Soft brought some texture into it -- giving a little more sense of winter.



I fell in love with the sentiment I used on the treat box for this set! The large single fox is sitting there just checking you out! The trees in the background are from another MFP set -- A Walk in the Woods.



Here is the inside of the box. See -- he did bring you chocolate!



Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day! We will announce all three winners on Thanksgiving Day. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Wednesday November 23, 2011.

Lois (that's me)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Mark's Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - A Trip to Lancaster

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's November Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Peaceful Nuthatch
A Trip to Lancaster
What a Fox

Today's set is A Trip to Lancaster. I am originally from Pennsylvania, and one of my close friends when I was young was Mennonite, a Protestant sect similar but not the same as Amish. While sharing basic beliefs, Mennonites are not as outwardly different from other Christian groups as the Amish. (so much for the religious history lesson!) In doing my research for today's card, I came across many sites which listed "Amish Barn Stars." Apparently many Amish barns have stars on them, similar to the "hex signs" or "distelfinks" you find on Amish barns. So I used an embossing folder with stars as the background for my card.

My "cheese container treat box" today does NOT contain candy. While Amish children don't eat candy, the Amish do bake cookies. So my treat box contains cookies. I painted the box black and used MFP Hurricane Gray as the scallop layer. The buggy is popped up on pop dots. Note the "slow moving vehicle" sign on the back of the buggy. These are required to be attached to the buggies to alert other drivers on the road. Some of the stricter orders of Amish refuse to attach these signs because they oppose the use of bright colors.



And here is the box open.

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day! We will announce all three winners on Thanksgiving Day. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Wednesday November 23, 2011.

Lois (that's me)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Mark's Finest Papers

MFP Blog Hop - Peaceful Nuthatch

Hello! Welcome to Mark's Finest Papers a Heinrich Company's November Blog Hop!

This month's New Stamp Set Releases are

Peaceful Nuthatch
A Trip to Lancaster
What a Fox

My first card for this month's hop is made with the sweet little nuthatch sitting on a fence. For my background, I took a sheet of designer paper from DCWV's Photo Stack 2 and reduced it to 50% and then matted it on MFP Dark Night Navy. I added a strip of diecut icicles cut from a Marianne Design die I found at StampFest last year. I thought the icicles would complement the icicles on the fence. The image was stamped on a piece of MFP Snow Storm Smooth and cut out with a rectangle nestie, matted in another piece of Dark Night Navy and angled on the card. The image is colored with Copic markers, the sky with Pebbles Pearlescent chalks.



Last month one of the former MFP design team members, Carol Hurlock, posted a video tutorial on how to make a cute little candy box using an empty Laughing Cow cheese box. I loved it! So I decided to make several myself. Here is my first try -- using the single nuthatch from this month's set. Because it's going to be used as a little Christmas favor, I used some glitter designer paper from a DCWV matstack. To provide some depth, I stamped the nuthatch three times, cutting the bird and the pinecones out and layering them -- popping up the layers on pop dots. Coloring was done with Copic markers.

Here's the box with the lid open. As you can see, I put some Christmas wrapped candy kisses inside. BTW, there is another red scalloped piece of glitter paper on the back.

Please hop along with us! You have a chance to win one of the above stamp sets! Just comment on the following blogs (don't forget this one), each day! We will announce all three winners on Thanksgiving Day. You can go back and comment if you missed a day. The winners will be chosen at 11PM EST on Wednesday November 23, 2011.

Lois (that's me)
Vicky
Anne
Connie
Linda
Karen H.
Patty P.
Geri
Dawn M.
Marilynn
Chrissy
Karen K.
Pam
Debbie
Brenda T
Bonnie
Harriet
Mark's Finest Papers

Playing Catch-up -- Again

I admit it -- I have been very remiss in posting to this blog. Sometimes life in general gets in the way of publishing for fun. I won't say that I will be better in the future -- but I'll certainly try.

I did participate in this weekend's Virtual Stamp Night mini challenge on Friday night. I wasn't able to make all my cards as the challenges were posted, but I did follow the 45-minute rule. My first card also qualifies for this week's Friends of Speedy the Cat challenge on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog -- to use your favorite technique. I love to mask. You can obtain lots of depth on a flat surface this way. The VSN challenge was "A Marshmallow World," and we were to put clouds (marshmallows?) on our cards. Using several of the trees from A Walk in the Woods, I created a little bit of the forest, stamping and masking as I went along. The clouds were created by sponging against a scallop circle.



This VSN Challenge was "Let It Snow." We were to use a product like flower soft or flocking to create faux snow on our card. I used an old set from Lizzie Anne Designs called Christmas in the Country. I love that snowman and the little Charlie Brown Christmas tree! I added my Polar White Flower Soft on each of the panels.



One other VSN challenge was to make a card depicting your favorite Christmas song. I won't say this is my FAVORITE Christmas song, but it is the one that brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it -- Mary, Did You Know? Here is the last verse:

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I AM.

I used a Stampin' Up set called Holy Triptych along with some MFP Dark Night Navy and Sparkling Silver cardstock to create my card.



Finally, today's Featured Stamper is Itsapassion (a/k/a Anne). I didn't have to go very far in Anne's gallery to find something to CASE. I had placed her Butterfly Postcard in my Favorites earlier in the week. I changed her butterflies to cardinals and moved the postcard embossing folder a little forward. I had purchased that folder a while ago and had never used it. I sponged the postcard folder and the tulip folder with Tim Holtz Distressed Antique Linen.



Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I hope to be able to be a bit more consistent in posting in the future.

MFP Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 8

Here we are, starting the second week of our Mark's Finest Papers' 12 Days of Christmas blog hop. I have seen so many wonderful, creative projects so far -- and today is no exception.

Candles and Christmas go together like bread and butter or salt and pepper. The first time I ever did stamping on candles I was amazed at how easy it was. With the help of my sister I followed the tutorial on Splitcoaststampers and was so pleased with the results. The images on my candles are from Cardinals in Winter and Greetings of the Season. Because the tissue paper on which you actually do the stamping is so thin, you can reverse the images before you melt them into the candle wax. I found the trick to making the images lie flat is to hold the waxed paper really tight against the candle and not to hold the heat on any longer than is necessary. Once the wax has melted enough to show an even shine on the waxed paper -- stop!



I thought it would be nice to show you how the arrangement looks when the candles are lit.



Be sure you check out all four projects for today:

Pam

Debbie M

Lois (that's me)

Linda

This is the end of my participation in the 12 Days of Christmas blog hop. Thanks for stopping by and looking at my projects. I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop. And hopefully you have gotten some great ideas for your Christmas projects.

Matting a Spellbinders Labels Die

I’ve been asked on several occasions how I make a narrow mat behind a Spellbinders die when the difference in sizes in the set are really much too wide for attractiveness. Some of the Spellbinders Labels sets do have “small” versions, Labels One and Labels Four, for example. But most of the Labels dies do not. So I have written this tutorial hopefully to make it easier for you do accomplish the look you want.



First of all, stamp your image, color it as usual and cut it out with your die. For my sample, I am using Labels Twenty-One – which has five dies. I am using the two largest dies in the set. I like the look of the white “border” around the edge of the diecut, so I sponged in the sky before removing the die.







I have found that the easiest way to make that narrow mat is to use the same die that I used to cut the focal image or background. Turn it over (blade side UP) and, using a pencil, draw around the outside of the die.





You can see the pencil line pretty well – even on dark cardstock. The cardstock I used for this card is Mark’s Finest Papers’ Dark Night Navy. But, as you can see, the pencil lines are still quite visible.



Then cut it out with your scissors. I usually turn the mat over so that there is no chance of seeing any of the pencil lines.



My card will have two different-sized layers, so I cut out a piece of designer paper with the largest die in the set – and then repeated the process of drawing around the die and cutting it out with scissors.





Here again is my finished card. You can see the difference in sizes of the two die cuts, but the narrow mat sets them both off nicely. I hope my tutorial was helpful.



Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers - Country Christmas
Paper: MFP Dark Night Navy, Snow Storm Smooth; DP from a stack of holiday paper I bought several years ago
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Tim Holtz Distressed Tumbled Glass, Chipped Sapphire
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels Twenty-One, Eclipse Masking Tape, Sponge Applicator