{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 25 ~ Artistic Christmas Tree ~ Gina Marie Designs

 Hello there crafty friends!

I had some fun playing with a new die I just got and thought it would be perfect for the {BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 25 from the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group. It's the Artistic Christmas Tree die from Gina Marie Designs and boy is fun to mix and match papers for this die! So many possibilities!

I chose some American Craft pattern papers that I've had in my stash forever. I think I actually got them from Target years ago... they're called Holiday or Christmas, not sure. I loved the glitter papers in the pack and been slowly using up the scraps and whatnot. I thought I'd focus on the beautiful green plaid and green glitter papers for my cards today.

I also added my favorite True Black card stock from Papertrey Ink. I found the glitter paper and the plaid paper got lost in the background so I used the black card stock for the tree outline so it would pop a bit more on the card.  

For the first two cards I cut the pattern papers to 3-1/4 x 4-1/2" and adhered them to a card front of True Black card stock measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". And then I used the opposite papers for my strips... plaid on the glitter paper and glitter on the plaid paper. I just used scraps of the pattern papers for my vertical and horizontal strips. A great way to use up some of those scraps!

The sentiments are just Holiday Talk sentiment metallic stickers from Tim Holtz. Very easy peasy and they worked well with the sketch and didn't take away from the focal piece. To get them to stick to the glitter paper I used Ranger Multi Medium Matte to adhere them. The sticker itself didn't have enough adhesive for the job.

My last card used a full card front of the plaid paper measuring 4-1/4 x 5-1/2". I love this plaid paper!! And I used a couple scraps of the green glitter paper. I almost added skinny strips of black card stock to either side of the glitter papers... my trick for a faux mat... but decided against it. I think the tree pops much more on this card than the other two. It's definitely my favorite of the three. What do you think?

As I mentioned before, I die cut the tree from True Black card stock. I did that three times for the outlines. I only kept one set of the die cuts though (the puzzle pieces for the inside). I couldn't think of a way to use them... I hate being wasteful but I'm also trying to clean and organize my studio and I can't keep everything! LOL... at least that's what I'm telling myself right now.

I also die cut the Artistic Christmas Tree from the green glitter paper and the green plain paper. I had fun mix matching the pieces for these trees... it was very much like a puzzle but trying to evenly distribute the colors so each tree looked nice. I enjoyed it! I added a bit of Ranger Glossy Accents to the two stars that weren't glitter paper. I also added foam tape to all three trees and popped them up on the cards. Love how these turned out!

Here's a look at this month's Sketch 25 for the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Facebook group. I sure enjoyed this sketch for the month of August... I hope you have too! Be sure to stop by the {BYSHC} blog to see a whole bunch more adorable inspiration from the {BYSHC} Design Team.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge 21 ~ Say Cheese Christmas Ephemera ~ Simple Stories

 Hello there crafty friend!

I'm back with my weekly Christmas card and this time I used a couple beautiful ephemera pieces from the Say Cheese Christmas ephemera pack by Simple Stories. I adhered the two ephemera pieces together to make one focal piece for my card.

I don't have much left of my Say Cheese Christmas pattern papers so I opted to use American Crafts Christmas papers that I've had in my stash for years. I'm pretty sure I got them in the Dollar Spot at Target. I may be stretching it here on my design with all the black and red in my background and no white, but I think it makes the red and black of the poinsettia pop.

I felt like it was missing some green and I tried the sparkly green glitter paper in the pattern pack but it wasn't working for me. So I opted for a few green enamel dots from my stash. These were loose in my stash so I'm not sure where they are from. I think it ties in the green from the ephemera pieces very nicely. What do you think?

Now I didn't have any sentiments in my ephemera pack that would work so I picked one of my favorite Christmas sentiments from the adorable Felt Stocking itty bitty stamp from Unity Stamp Co. I just love this font!! I adhered the trimmed sentiment to the focal piece and then popped them up together on the card with foam tape. I added a bit of sparkle to the poinsettia with a Nuvo Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer pen but I wasn't able to get a good picture. It's really quite subtle, but ties in the sparkle from the red glitter paper. A pretty quick and easy card with minimal stamping!

Here's a look at the fun {BYSHC} Sketch 21 for the month of April! I hope you'll join us and play along with the sketch! If you're interested in seeing a bit more inspiration for this sketch, check out the gorgeous inspiration from the design team over on the  {BYSH} Cardmakers blog! I'll be back next Friday with my first card for the Spring into Christmas 2022 {BYSHC} Linky Party! I hope you'll join us and start building your stash of holiday cards for 2022!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky hugs,

Crystal

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Hello and Hugs ~ Advent Calendar Day 17 ~ Unity Stamp Co.

  Hello there crafty friend!

It's Day 17 of my Countdown to Christmas series!! I'm sharing a little reveal and a project each day on my YouTube channel using the fantastic Advent Calendar from Unity Stamp Co!! Please be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don't miss a day of this fun countdown series!

Day 17 ~ a cute kitchen shelf!

I paired it up with the My Bright Life paper pad from American Crafts. 

The images and sentiment, from the Doily Hugs and Wishes {March 2021 Sentiment Kit}, are just stamped with Black Amalgam ink from Gina K. Designs and colored up with copic markers.

Check out my process video here... Unity Advent Calendar Day 17.

I'll be back tomorrow with Day 18 of the Advent Calendar reveal and a cute vintage card!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

See ya next time.

Inky Hugs,

Crystal

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