Art Journal

Hi guys! I am back after a couple of weeks off for vacation. I am so excited about this new year and I hope you are too.

I have started this year off with an art journal entry of some birds who need to show a little more compassion. Sure they can make room for one more friend.

I decided to do this page because it has been so rainy here in Louisiana, I thought it would only be fitting to reflect the weather and the thoughts on my heart as I created this page.  I hope you like this design.

I used stamp sets by: Avery Elle "Weather It", Sizzix "Bird Talk", and a couple by Dylusions "Dyan Reaveley". I also used Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pens, copics to color the umbrella and birds. I

I entered this art journal piece in the SSS MondyChallenge "Start Afresh".

Thanks for stopping by!!

Simple Christmas Cards

Hi Guys,

I have been busy again with work and unable to keep up with my blog post. I hate being inconsistent but, it was a very busy week and I got home late every night. Although my week was very busy I was able to enjoy the weekend and do a little crafting. I got a simple card idea from a YouTube video by Maymay Made It Crafts.

I have been able to make eight of these cards to give to the special ladies who work with my daughter. I am glad to have their cards completed which eases some of the pressure. 

I have also been able to create eight seasonal holiday cards for my coworker. They are shown below. after I made the background I decided to make them into shaker cards, but I ran out of materials. So, only two of them are shakers now I am left with the task of deciding which two coworkers will get the shaker cards. I think I have an idea for now unless things change. 

I have added a very short video to my YouTube channel which showcases the cards of the Christmas Season. Please take a minute to view The Countdown to Christmas.

As always, thank you for stopping by my channel. Let me know what you have been creating. Leave a comment below and I will check out your post too.

Happy crafting,

Raquel

Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit

Hi Guys!!

As always, I am excited when my monthly SSS card kit subscription arrives. When I see that package on my door step each month it is like my birthday every month.

This month's kit is Christmas themed. I am super excited to show it to you. Plus in this kit there is an item I am so excited to receive. Read on to found out what is included and why I am so excited.

The stamp set Merry and Bright is so cute. The set also comes with a Christmas tree, reindeer, snowflakes, hearts, presents, a candy cane and a banner. There are also two small letter-type font sentiments which fit nicely into the arched banner. The Christmas Wishes sentiment can be used inside the card.

The 6 x 6 papers in this kit are from Doodlebug "Here Comes Santa" and the four sheets of cardstock by SSS are in the colors Schoolhouse Red, Green Apple, Surf Blue and White. In addition, there is a sheet of vellum.

Side 1

Side 2

Two envelopes sizes are in the kit too. One is the SSS Schoolhouse Red V-Flap envelope in standard A2 size and the other is a SSS White Mini Gift card envelope.

Next, this kit came with two packs of stickers from Doodlebug. The first set is a samples of the Candy Cane Sparkles Shapes. The other set "Dear Santa" are pop out stickers.

Lastly, there is the item I am most excited to receive. The Chibi Light kit!! This will be my first time ever creating a card which lights.  I think my daughter will love a card that lights up. I am excited to make her one for Christmas.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the items included in the December SSS Card Kit. If you are interested in receiving a Simon Says Kit Of The Month your first kit will be the January 2017 kit. It will ship between Jan. 17 and Jan. 27.

Please share this blog with others. Thanks for stopping by and until next time, happy crafting!!

Christmas Trees

Hi Guys,

As promised I have been working on more Christmas cards from the Studio Calico paper pad. Here are the two latest cards I have created from that pad of paper.

The design on the cards were cut using my Silhouette machine. If you are interested in the design it is titled Mountain Monogram by Sophie Gallo. I loved this scene so much,  I just had to use it on som of my holiday cards.

For the round sentiment, I used Recollections 110lb white cardsstock andcolored it with Distress Inks. I had never used this paper before but, it performed well. I used Candied Apple and Frayed Burlap to color the sentiment area and then stamped them both with StazOn Ink.

After the ink dried I gave each round sentiment a good layer of Wink of Stella. WOS makes everything look great. I am pleased with the way these cards came out and I can't wait to use my silhouette to help me cut more images to make great cards. 

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you would like to see anything in particular for the month of January.

Christmas Dies

Hi Guys,

As promised I am going to be using the two paper pads shown in an earlier blog to make all of my Christmas cards for this year. The first couple of cards are using papers from Studio Calico Magical Collection 2013.

When I thumbed through this pad, I noticed this starry night sheet and I knew I had to use it on the cards with these christmas trees. The Christmas tree stamp and die set are from a recent Michaels haul. The sets were on sale for a ridiculous $4. This was the week before Black Friday. I love the smoky gray of the background and the bright stars. It is a great contrast for the green of the trees. The Copic markers used on the trees are listed below the pic. After coloring each tree I gave them a heavy coat of Wink of Stella (WOS). 

COPIC Sketch: 100,  G02, G09, YG03, YG09, and YG17

I have decided to enter these two cards into the Wednesday Challenge at Simon Says Stamp. The challenge for Wednesday, November 23, was titled Christmas To Die For. I would actually die for a Christmas in which I could play in the snow. The likelihood of that happening is very slim since I live in Louisiana. But a girl can dream!

COPIC Sketch: B00, B02, B24, G02, G09, YG03, YG09, and YG17

I hope you like these two new cards. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section. Have a great week and keep crafting!

Old/Discontinued Paper Pads

Hi Guys,

I am in my craft room doing a little organizing. I came across these two paper pads and got to wondering; 'how can I put these wonderful paper pads of cardstock to good use?' Well, I decided to use both of them to make all of my Christmas cards for 2016.
These pads are both old but, I thought they are very cute. The Magical Collection is a Studio Calico for 2013  which I got from Tuesday Morning and the Doodlebug Design pad is from a Simon Says Stamp sale earlier this year. The Doodlebug pad is dated 2015.

Stay connected so you won't miss any of the cards I am creating with these two pads. 

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Hi Guys,

Monday is gone and I am glade it is over! I didn't work today but, I ran errands and the traffic was as bad as if it were Black Friday already. I just want to remain home for the rest of my holiday break. Since I am going to be busy tomorrow I decided to create this card for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge today. The challenge this week is Trio-Tastic. On your submitted project(s) you must include 3 of something; you decide. I have chosen to create a 3 reindeer card titled Ho! Ho! Ho!.

This was a very simple card to make. I used Distress Inks (Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch) to create the blended background, I did a snow background using the Hero Arts Layering Christmas Trees stamp set (specks of falling snow), the Recollections cling stamp set (reindeer and ho! ho! ho! sentiment) purchased from Michaels on clearance last year, and the Stampendous cling stamp set (tree) purchased form Michaels this fall. I used several Copic and Spectrum Noir markers to color the reindeer and Christmas Tree. On the body of the reindeer I used E13, E15, and E18. For the nose I used Spectrum noir DR3, and DR8. On the tree, I again used Spectrum Noir markers JG1, JG3, and JD6. Each red nose is highlighted with Glossy Accents. I used some ultra fine glitter by Recollections on the tree, and a white gel pen to create snow on the tree.

I used my Silhouette PixScan mat to cut out the stamped images of the 3 reindeer. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and subscribe to stay updated. Please if you have any questions about the items used leave a comment and I will reply.