Button Christmas Card + Holiday Link Party

From Adriel:

There's a holiday link party at the end of this post! Link up your holiday goodies, and by that I mean anything you've been working on, be it baking, crafting, sewing... you get the picture! Here's what I've been working on.

I finished up this Christmas card last week. I was waiting on the snowflake punch, which came and it finished off the card. My mom was the one who said it needed the snowflake... she is a genius! =)

You can't tell in the picture, but I spritzed the snowflake with some shimmer mist. I think the buttons add some charm to this card. The color combo for this card is conducive to "charming" and "cute-sy". ;-)

It was kind of hard having to get into "Christmas" gear in August. My mom did most of the holiday creating. This was my small contribution. We'll be making this card and others at a card class coming up in the next couple of months. It is already September, so I guess it's about time to get ready for the holidays. =)

Linked up with:

New Friend Fridays @ Trendy Treehouse

Have you been working on anything related to the holidays coming up? Link up below! The only guideline is that submissions be family-friendly! No other strings attached! =)

Masked Reject

From Adriel:

Okay, so I've been working on cards for a masking technique class (which I think is in August). This is one of the cards that didn't make the cut for the class. It's not that it turned out bad or anything, it is just too time-consuming. When my mom and I plan for classes, some of our ideas are great except for the fact that they would take way too long with a larger group of people. Anyway, I thought I would share it because it did come out cute. =)

For the masking on this card, what I did was cut out a few leaves using my Big Shot and the Little Leaves die cut out of computer paper. I adhered these leaves to my card front with temporary adhesive in the desired locations. Then I misted the card front with a shimmer mist mixture that I added a few drops of Old Olive reinker to. I guess you could call that Tinted Shimmer Mist! =) Let it dry for a minute or two and then remove the Little Leaves die cuts. From there I added a stamped sentiment from the Fresh Cuts stamp set, added some little flowers using the Itty Bitty Bits stamp set and Punch Pack and Melon Mambo ink, and finished the little scene with a few cute little butterflies using the Beautiful Wings embosslit die.

Masking Tip: Most of the time with masking, you want to use thin paper such as computer paper, because then your edges on the masked section are more crisp.

Make your own Tinted Shimmer Mist: Mix a small amount of alcohol, a few drops of shimmer paint, and a few drops of ink in the color of your choice in a small spray bottle, such as a travel hairspray bottle. Shake and mist away!

I'm looking forward to the Open House in honor of the new Stampin' Up! catalog at my mom's house this weekend! I'm sure I'll be seeing some of you there and I'll have the baby with me, so you can see her too. =)

Cya! =)

Newsy Tuesday

Here's what we've got that's new this week!

Adriel's card for the THS Color Challenge #2:

Remember those flowers I showed you that I made awhile back? I told you I was going to do something with them, remember? I decided to incorporate them into my card for this month's THS Color Challenge (which BTW, is open for more participation until midnight tomorrow!). I had a ton of fun with this card! More than that... TONS! =)

I mixed up some homemade shimmer mist using a small travel size hairspray container, some alcohol and white shimmer paint (shake, shake, shake and you've got your own shimmer mist). I masked the So Saffron CS background with 1/2" punched circles all over the CS in a polka dot pattern. I used a temporary adhesive to stick the circles on. Then I spritzed the CS with the shimmer mist, allowed it to dry, then removed the circles. I ended up with this fun shimmery, polka-dot background. It's a bit hard to see in the picture, but it's TONS of fun... you gotta try it! =) I also added even more texture by distressing the edges of the So Saffron CS with an edge distresser.

Like I said, it was tons of fun and I love how it turned out! =)

Here's a bunch of invitations to the preparation party (for the new baby coming soon). We made pocket invitations with the color combo of Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black and Whisper White. The sheer flowers are 3 layers of 5-petal punched vellum. Makes it a bit more delicate looking. =) We'll be sending these out soon! Obviously, I'm having a girl! I'm sure with all the pink and flowers it's hard to guess. =P We have decided on a name, but I can't decide how to spell it. When I do, I'll let you know what it is!!

I'm almost done with the baby boy flip album I was just getting started on last week. This project has turned out to not be as simple as I had initially thought it would be, but that's how it goes sometimes. There were measurements missing from the directions and some other info, so it was almost like starting from scratch at some points. At least now, the information is all complete (I think) and making another one won't be such a big deal. =)

I'm sure we'll be working this week on some new projects. I'm not exactly sure what at the moment! I guess I'll just have to surprise you and myself and save all the rest of the news for next week!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! =)

Easter is Around the Corner

From Adriel:

When I was a girl, my grandma would have us over for a jelly bean hunt. She would hide jelly beans all over her house and in her yard and my sister and I (and later my brother, too), would have little baskets and hunt for jelly beans. We always looked forward to it!

Here's an Easter card I made last week. I intended to use a different floral stamp set, but it was packed up for a class and I decided to use something that was easily accessible. I used a retired set called "Doodle This", which is so whimsical... very pretty.

I used a simple color scheme of Pale Plum, Whisper White and Basic Black. I think the results are so elegant and sophisticated! =) I mixed up my own shimmer mist using a small travel size hairspray bottle (contents discarded, bottle washed and dried), alcohol and shimmer paint! I misted my flower with this and added a rhinestone brad to the center. The flower is beautiful with that shimmer! =)

Just something to share with you today. Hope you're having a good Monday! =)