Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Shupe family!

It's Christmas Eve!

It's Christmas Eve and time for my final cards for the countdown.

I used the Sea Glass and Oh Deer! paper in a previous card. I love these colors so of course I made more than one card using them.

For both cards, I gold embossed the stamped images. For this one I used the joy stamp, and the All is Bright stamp set and some gold shimmer trim. I also thin cut the snowflake from the sea glass glitter paper. (That snowflake thin cut sold out but our Cricut cartridges have some great snowflakes too!)

This card uses the All is Bright stamp set and all the same elements as the card above. I love this one because it reflects the reason for the season. 

So Merry Christmas everyone! May you have a wonderful one!

Christmas card countdown--2 days to go!

We're so close!

You get another two-fer today because I got started a little late with my Christmas countdown. More City Sidewalks paper on these two!

The Ho Ho Ho stamp set is retired but I still love it. I colored it with our fabulous markers and accented with red enamel gems. 

This second card is just a 4 x 4. Perfect to go with a gift. Or to put a gift card in. 

Merry Christmas. I can hardly wait!

Christmas countdown--three days to go!

Three more days until Christmas!

You get two cards today. For both, I used the City Sidewalks paper (which is only available until the end of the month or supplies sell out--whichever comes first) and the Merry and Bright stamp. For this first one, I also added some washi tape.

Fast and simple! And that Merry and Bright stamp is only $2.95. I got my money's worth out of that one this year.

For this second card, I embossed the paper with the Snowflake embossing folder. I sponged lightly over the snowflakes with Crystal Blue ink.

Keeping it simple! Merry Christmas!

Christmas card countdown--a Winter Solstice card!

I thought I would countdown to Christmas with some of the cards that I made this year. I always make more than one design for two reasons. I want to show off the great papers and stamps that Close to My Heart makes each year, AND it's fun!

Since today is the Winter Solstice, I thought this card was appropriate. 

I paper embossed Sea glass cardstock with the Snowflake embossing folder,  gold embossed the word joy on the Oh Deer! paper, and used the snowflake and winter thin cuts with sea glass glitter paper, and a little gold shimmer trim to finish it off.

Happy Winter Solstice and Merry Christmas!

Playing with watercolors on my Christmas cards

Christmas is just days away! Days, people! I mailed some of my Christmas cards today and the rest will go out tomorrow.

So let me share some of my Christmas creativity with you.

I am not a watercolor pro. I dabble. So this technique is a great technique for experts and dabblers alike. You'll need watercolors, brushes, stamps, and some plastic wrap.

Scrunch up the plastic wrap and then dab some water color onto the plastic wrap. I used two different blues. Don't smear the paint around--you don't want the colors to blend. Literally dab it on the plastic wrap with your brush.

Now place your paper face down on the plastic wrap. Gently press down (again don't move it around because you don't want to smear the paint).

When you lift it off, you should have something like this. If you have too much white, dab some more paint on the plastic wrap and press the paper on again.

Once the paint is dry, stamp with your stamps. In this case, I used the Snow Shadows stamp set, the Swirling Stars stamp, and Pacifica ink.

I love the way the final result turned out. Super simple with a nice winter vibe. Merry Christmas!

A crazy kitty cat!

It's my birthday month! And it's almost over! And that means the August Stamp of the Month is almost over too! Before it is, I wanted to share this silly cat card using the August Stamp of the Month with you. It makes me smile.

Here is the Stamp of the Month set in its entirety. But you have to order by tomorrow or it is gone!

One last shot of that crazy cat. I thought the googly eyes were appropriate. 

Happy Crafting!