Monday, November 18, 2024

The Red Christmas Car with TCP


Hi There!  Today I have a really fun design from The Cat’s Pajamas which captures all the delight and retro cool that TCP is known for.  This fun-loving snazzy cat called Sprinkles is zooming down the highways and byways to deliver the Christmas tree and presents.  It’s called ’Tis the Season.  Isn’t it cute?  


I coloured the image with Copics, and added in detailing with coloured pencils.  Having recently been in England and having the delight of being in the famous black cabs - I was a little inspired by this car’s likeness to their style.  So - it had to be red, cause I mean, Christmas!  But, I was thinking of those black cabs as a coloured it up.  The tree almost looks too big for the car!  


After trimming the image out, I placed him on the deep juniper green card base, with a foiled snowflake layer, background trees from a retired TCP die and simple die cut sentiments also from a retired TCP die.   Thanks for stopping by!  

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Creamy Kissed Christmas Florals with Crafty Meraki




Hello!  I’m delighted to be with you today working with Crafty Meraki’s Christmas Countdown, showcasing beautiful Christmas inspiration.  Today I’m back with a beautiful die called Christmas Flower Layering Die.  This die is designed to be stacked to give beautiful 3D effects to your floral.  I cut the layers of petals and leaves from cream cardstock, and then placed them on a sticky craft mat.  I pulled my stylus across the petals to create veining for more realism.  Then, I kissed the petals with some soft peach ink blending and gave the leaves layers of green ink.  It has such a beautiful effect.  



Next I layered my flowers together with foam dots between the sections to really amp up that 3d feel.  I splashed some pretty gold shimmery mist onto the layers to give it shimmer, as you can see below.  The background texture is created with the cream on cream theme using Crafty Meraki’s Mini Slimline Parisienne Para Dies.  I also inkblended the background to tie it together.  Because its a slimline die, I just ran it through sections of paper, and added in the piece as a design detail.  


The pretty Joy sentiment from Crafty Meraki’s Festive Flora Wreath Stamp Set, and I embossed it in gold.  


Simple gold enamel dots accent the sentiment for more touches of gold.  It has a lot of dimension and I’ll probably need to create a special envelope for it ....but oh so worth it for the effect!  

Thanks for joining me today!  

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Holy Night Nativity with RAM Stamps


Happy Wednesday evening!  Have you explored the wonderful world of RAM Stamps recently?  Rachelle has a treasure trove of gorgeous designs with such sweet whimsy!  At the end I have a special coupon for you at RAM Stamps, so don’t miss it!  

I could not resist this beautiful image Nativity Scene Creator to work with for Christmas.  She’s captured Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus so tenderly, and you can design the scene any way you like, including puffy sheep and wisemen, (which I didn’t include).  



I wanted to spend more time on this image using coloured pencils on kraft paper, so I took my time wiht the layers of colour.  I kept any other detailing very simple so the image takes centre stage.  


I did add a textured stripe die background for the slimline card base, and some white gel pen stars in the distance.  "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"  (2 Corinthians 9:15).

As a way of saying thank you for being a faithful reader - I’m extending my 10% off coupon to RAM Stamps - use CHRISTINEOKKEN at checkout! 

Monday, November 11, 2024

Peachy Poinsettias with Pinkfresh



 Hello!  Today I’m bringing you some fresh poinsettias from Pinkfresh Studios with a suite of products including the Poinsettia Frame stamp , coordinating stencils and dies.  They are the perfect framing element for the Christmas season.  Fair warning - I have a lot of poinsettias ahead this month from different companies to show you.  For some reason, I seem to have them on the brain.  They are the perfect quintisential Christmas flower.  


For this design, I stamped the image in a very light Toffee Crunch Memento Ink, then stenciled and ink blended the colours, finishing up the detailing in the flowers with coloured pencils, die cutting the fram out.  

As a perfect foil for the peach poinsettias, I layered the frame on a Seaglass card base with Pinkfresh’s Twist Pattern die, also using the negative image from the die as the place for the sentiment (a long ago stamp from Stampin’ Up!)


A little glitz and glam is added some iridescent holeless sequins, and another Christmas card is in the books!  Appreciate your visit!  
 

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Berry Grateful Wreath with The Stamp Market

 

Wreath Shaped card with 3d leaves and embossed sentiment

Hello!  We had our first snow that stuck (for a day) this week.  It’s put me in more of a Christmas mood....while still wanting to hold on to Autumn as long as possible.  And while we’ve had Thanksgiving already in Canada, its always good to be full of thanks no matter the circumstances.  So today’s card is a bit of a transitional design between Thanksgiving and Christmas with new goodies from The Stamp Market.  This is the October Kit from The Stamp Market, and it includes a gorgeous oblong wreath for a shaped card design, lots of dies to accent the wreath and a coordinating sentiment set, dies and paper in the kit.  It’s a beauty!  


I went with some cool greens from the kit to design my wreath, and rather than flowers in the wreath, I only used the flower centers to create berries for the greenery.  Perfect to lean it more toward Christmas. Each bit of greenery was ink blended to give the leaves some extra dimension and colour.  


The sentiment is a lovely one, and I embossed it in silver and used the coordinating dies to cut it out and pop it up with foam.  With such great texture and colour, it didn’t need anything else to still be a gorgeous shaped design.  

Monday, November 4, 2024

The Sweetest Surprise with RAM!

 

Girl dressed in Santa Hat with Santa’s bag on card

Hello!  I’m back after a month away on a combined work mission trip to Romania and a dream trip with my husband through Europe!  It was a truly amazing experience on all levels.  And I’ve come back today with a little surprise!  Before I left for Europe, Rachelle of RAM Stamps (Rachelle Anne Miller) connected to ask if I’d be interested in joining her design team!  With the sweetest storybook style illustrations and the ability to colour them to life on cards, it was an easy decision for me.  So, today we’re kicking things off with the new November Release of images!  This precious cutie is called Santa’s Little Helper.  


I started by colouring her up with Copics, and finishing the details with coloured pencils and a white gel pen.  Isn’t she darling with her little pup reindeer?  After die cutting the image out, I placed her on a striped background of cardstock colours to coordinate.  


With a few die cut snow accents and some sparkly sequins she’s ready for gift giving, and looks adorably festive in the process.  

I’m excited to show you more RAM designs in the future!  Here’s my affililate link if you’d like to go shopping,  I appreciate your support!