All Dressed Up Three Little Christmas Girls

Yay!  Head over to Kit and Clowder's Facebook page where they are doing an Advent Calendar.  Today's sponsor is All Dressed Up.  There are some great prizes over there!  Here is Three Little Christmas Girls.  Make sure you head to the store to pick this cute image up!

She's so cute...I don't want to give her away.

Colors Used

xoxo,

Jo

First post for 2015 - A New Beginning

Well before I move into New Year mode, below are a couple of the cards I made for 2014 Christmas.    They were fun and I don't want to forget about them.  Putting them here makes it kind of memorable...at least to me.

This one uses a holiday collection image from Stampin' Up called Santa Stache.  I used felt for his mustache.  He was colored before I took a lesson from the Kit and Clowder Clothing Class.  It would be fun to do him again using the techniques I am learning.

This is also an image from the Stampin' Up holiday collection called Bearing Gifts.  I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color the image.  So cute and so easy.  It's one of the reasons I like Stampin' Up so much.  They makes things so easy to do.

Ok let's talk about the New Year.  I don't like New Year's resolutions...it's so much pressure to keep resolutions, so I never make them.  But as mentioned in my previous post, 2014 was a tough year, and it appears the full time position I was hoping for will not become available.

SOOOOO...even though it appears a little of 2014 will bleed into 2015 and I still need to find a new job at the end of January, I think I should approach 2015 differently.  My new year's resolution is to try to color often (an Alyce Keegan influence) and blog often.  I'm not much of a writer, but perhaps this will be a new way to approach life...with new creativity and new positives in my life.

While I have been coloring several images, I haven't worked on getting them into cards.  Cards are hard for me to envision and put together.  Are any of you like that?  So for now, I will post one I've done recently and given to a co-worker who just celebrated her 25 year work anniversary.  It's hard knowing that I will no longer have the privilege of working with her after January.

This sweet girl is a digital image from Tiddly Inks called "Ellie Says Rock and Roll".  Below are the Copic markers used to color her up.

Skin  E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair  YR14, E08, E18

Shirt & Leggings  Y15, Y18, Y17

Dress  BG000, BG092, BG05, BG07, BG09

Skates  C5, C7, C9 and N0, N4, N7

I hope you have enjoyed her as much as I enjoyed making her.

Much love and creativity!
Jo

Glittery Christmas Elf Marci (workshop)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Hopefully 2013 is a great year!  Everyone knows how hard it is to keep a

 New Years resolution.  That is if you choose to even make one! 

Mine was to try and buy less crafts and use up the stash I have because

my craft room is busting at the seams!! But I'm pretty sure I'll break 

 that resolution! I just need a bigger craft room!!

Here is project #2 from the workshop I took in early December with

Irina Blount of LaLaLand Crafts.  I was really excited about this one

because it was a new approach to coloring for me: coloring ON glitter!

It was a little challenging at first but it actually is easier than I thought.

My pics do not give the glittery effect justice because I'm not using

a great camera.  But in real life it is super sparkly!!

               

Left and right side views to try and show the many layers.

   

            

The glitter was Glitter Ritz and it was burnished onto double stick paper.

The image is then stamped on top of the glitter and colored.

Who woulda thunk it?? :)

Here I'm trying to show the paper pleating of the printed green paper.

I love how it gives a lot of dimension.  I also love the candy cane yarn.

And last the inside of the card!  Irina always stamps the inside of her cards

with the same image that is on the front and I think it just adds so much!!

So as far as supplies go, of course the image is LaLaLand Crafts.

She is called Christmas Elf Marci.   All the dies used are also LLL Crafts.
They are Christmas tree, holly flourish, large flourish, rolled roses and lotus.
The little ivory dots are pearl paint.

Thanks for looking!

                    XX,

                    Angie

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!  I hope everyone is getting to spend some

quality time with their friends and family on this fabulous

Christmas day.   For some reason I have really been wishing for

a white Christmas this year.   Too bad I'm in sunny San Jose, CA so

that's never gonna happen.   But this card definitely has a wintery

wonderland feel!   This cute little image is from LaLaLand Crafts

and is called "Christmas Lantern Marci".   I made this card in a workshop

taught by the owner of LaLaLand Crafts, Irina Blount.

We had 5 projects to make in this 8 hour workshop!!  Needless to say,

there was definitely homework!  Not one project was finished.

But we had soooooooo much fun!  And I would rather have more

projects presented and finish them later anyway!!

So here is my take on this super fab card designed by Irina.

It is just like the one she made on her blog.

I just added some cute little pearls to her coat and the plastic

roses on top of the flowers and the bow of her hat are from

Recollections. (Michaels brand)

      

                                                                            

All the dies I used are from LaLaLand also.  I used 5 different dies and a

doily on the front and inside.  The dies are as follows: Christmas tree, Heart fence,

Large Flourish, Lotus, Filigree.

That's it for this card!!  The 4 other projects 
will be posted at a later time!!

                     Hugs today everyone!

                     Angie

Non-traditional Christmas

So is everyone out there scrambling to get Christmas cards done??

I always tell myself I'm gonna start making them in July so I don't feel so rushed in

December, but what happens to me EVERY year?  I feel rushed!!  But it's

okay, somehow it'll all come together in the end.  Even if I have to buy

a few store bought ones! LOL!

  Well I absolutely love non traditional Christmas colors so

today I have "Winter Marci" from La-La Land Crafts in a gorgeous

purple hue.  I love purple and blues together so I thought I would try

this combo out on a winter card.

The papers and the seam binding ribbon are from my stash.  I really like

the multicolored chevron paper.  It has a Missoni look to it and feels like it

should be on a sweater.  Hehe.The crochet lace is Melissa Frances and I just love it!! 

I ended up buying it in all the pastel colors she had.  The cute

 little purple clip holding the sentiment and the snowflake brad are

from Michaels.  The charm was purchased off Etsy.

Other products I used:

Spellbinders Floral Ovals

MS: pine punch

Flowers: WOC and Prima
 sentiment: LOTV

This is another one of those images that I colored over a year
ago when I was first learning to use my copics but is
just now being used on a project.  I know the purples were colored
with V91, V93, V95, and V99.  The rest of colors I didn't write down.

Challenges I would like to enter:

yumifumihandmadecrafts.blogspot.com: ribbon or lace

karensdoodlesnetherlandschallenge.blogspot.com: non traditional Christmas colors

craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.com: ribbon or trim

delightfulsketches.blogspot.com: festively floral

craftdoormagazine.com: anything goes
scrapbitzcopics.ning.com/group/cmccopicchallengegroup: non traditional Christmas colors
uniquecrafterschallenge.blogspot.com: Christmas
crafts4eternity.blogspot.com: Christmas chaos
fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com: #3 or 3 of something
abcchallenges.blogspot.com: anything goes

Red Cups Are Back!!

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love Starbucks.  I can truly say I'm addicted.   I love the aroma, the taste, the warmth. I love the feeling I get when I walk into a Starbucks and I know I'm going to leave with my cuppa Joe.  And I especially love the Christmas red cups!

Oh and I love my Bucks app too.  I love not needing my wallet or cash to get my cup.  All I need is my phone.  And I always have my phone. Only trouble with that is I tend to buy more than just my coffee when using my app.  It feels like I'm getting something for free so those salted caramel cake pops and bistro boxes always seem to leave with me too!!

Well the other thing people who know me knows is that I absolutely L-O-V-E eggnog!!   I mean I'm a total FREAK about it.  Seriously. I gain like 7 lbs. every year during nog season because I have it every single day.  Again.  Seriously.   I will make everything I can with nog during the season.  Nog cookies, cake, cream puffs, popcorn. You name it.  I'd try it with egg nog!  NO joke!

Sooooooo,  the relationship between the two things that people know about me is that the Red cups are back at Starbucks and that means EGGNOG LATTES!!   I will have one almost daily from November 1 to January 1.  Red cups also mean all the yummy holiday flavors are

back.  Which one is your favorite??  Peppermint mocha, creme brulee, gingerbread, eggnog??   The website even had a countdown to when the red cups were going to back this year!  So clearly more people than just me are excited about it!

Well finally onto my card.  I wanted to give a Starbucks giftcard to a special person for Christmas and I wanted it to be super cute so here it is!

This is a Sugar Nellie Simply Sassy stamp called Luv a Latte. I printed out a small red cup so she can enjoy her holiday latte also!!  

The snowflakes are MS punches and smothered in glitter.  The oval is Spellbinders and then woven with Christmas "Joy"  ribbon.  The XL scallop square is also Spellbinders.

Inside the card...

I cut one of the holiday red sample cups and used it to hold my giftcard.  I hope she loves it!!
And lastly, the back of the card...

Challenges I would like to enter:

sugarbowlblog.blogspot.com: sketch with an optional color palette

delightfulsketches.blogspot.com: snowflakes

craftsandmechallenges.blogspot.com: Reds

paperplaychallenges.blogspot.com: snowflakes

platypuscreekdigitals.blogspot.com: Christmas red & white

ribbongirls.blogspot.com: sparkle

craftuscrazy.blogspot.com: favorite color and/or holiday theme

southerngirlschallenge.blogspot.com: Christmas

kraftyhandschallenge.blogspot.com: Christmas

thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.com: red

craftybloggersnetwork.blogspot.com: Christmas anything goes

whimsyinspires.blogspot.com: traditional Christmas colors

Ornamental Christmas

Hello everyone!  Hope all is well.  I'm trying to get a head start on
some of my Christmas cards so I'm not panicking at the last
minute like I usually am!!

This sweet digi is from Saturated Canary and she is called Christmas Angel.

I colored her over a year ago when I was first learning to use my Copics.

 My coloring has improved since then and I can see all my mistakes.  Hehe.

But oh well, don't wanna waste her!!  Yes, I could print her out

again and start all over, but I like seeing my progress.  Plus I still

think she's hella cute!!

The sentiment is from Whimsy stamps and can be found here.

I just love their sentiments.

The ribbon is seam binding that I colored ombre with my Copics.

I used RV91, 95, 99.  I think it turned out pretty nice.

The oval is Spellbinders floral ovals.

The poinsettias diecuts are from Marianne creatables.

The pine branches are Cheery Lynn.

They are all finished off with lots and lots of sparkly stickles!!

The pink stem that looks like it is covered in ice I bought from

my local Michaels.  This thing is gorgeous and it comes in

multiple colors!!

I don't have any ornament shaped die cuts so I decided to make my own.

This is just like we all used to do before the land of electronic cutters

and die cuts existed!!  LOL!!

A close up view of the silver topper on the ornament.  I drew in some lines
with my embossing tool to give it some depth.

Hope I can stay on course and continue to plug away at my Xmas 
cards!!

I will be entering the following challenges:

saturatedcanarychallenge.blogspot.com: shaped card

simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com: get in shape

whimsyinspires.blogspot.com: all things sparkly

cutecardthursday.blogspot.com: fairies & angels

mariannedesigndivas.blogspot.com: shaped cards

fussyandfancychallenge.blogspot.com: pearls & flowers

crimbo-crackers.blogspot.com: shaped, pink, Christmas

craftyannschallengeblog.blogspot.com: Christmas in October

stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.com: anything goes

charismacardz.blogspot.com: recipe