Unto Us A Child is Born

Merry Christmas to you!

I decided to pull out one of my Nativity Scene stamps(Inkadinkado)  to create a special card to share just for today. 

All of my Nativity Scenes are very detailed stamps and this is no exception. This inspired me to create a cracked glass and lumpy embossing to give the effect of an old image that has been encased in resin. 

I added a raised arch and a hint of watercolor.  The background is a mix of stencils and other stamped pieces.  

A very blessed holiday to you and your family!

Suzz

Bells of Joy

Bells of Joy is what I named today's tag.  I was inspired by Linda's Week #10 in her Funkie Junkie Tags of Christmas challenge which is sponsored by her store The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Her tag used the cool tinsel stencil which I loved as soon as I saw it.  I had decided to tinsel it up with some shimmery silver embossing paste sprinkled with glitter.

After I created this over the top shimmery background I was trying to decide how to play against the beautiful background.  I took inspiration from Linda's tag with her focal point of a wreath and scattered snowflakes and decided to use a big snowflake.

I wanted a bright color to go with the silver and the citron spoke to me.  I splattered, sprayed and died my snowflake, ribbon and background.  I then dangled some bells from the bottom.

When I think of bells of joy, I think of walking into church with the ground covered in snow, seeing my breath and listening to the bells sing. Christmas Eve Mass at midnight the church filled with everyone celebrating the birth of the Savior.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Suzz

Wintry Scene

Brrr... The temperatures are dropping and we are hoping for a white Christmas.  I have been staying inside and playing with my crafty supplies. 

This tag was inspired by Linda's lovely tag for her 12 Tags of Christmas challenge.  This is week #9 tag.  Linda had a beautiful snowy scene with the deer and trees.  I used stamps instead of dies but the design and images are very similar.  I am almost finished with my tags for Linda's challenge which has fun prizes offered from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

The tag was created by splattering the white paint on cardstock.  Letting it dry and then coming back in with a mix of distress inks to create the blue/gray background.  

I then stamped the images and used brown embossing powder to help make them pop on the background.

I added a touch of stenciled embossing powder along the top and bottom to frame my scene.  I also cut my tag down to fit to my main images.

Thanks for coming over and visiting with me.

Suzz

Glitter much?

Hi!  I am back with my final tag for Linda's The Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas Challenge.  I  have a few queued up for the next few days.  This one took a glittery turn and once it started I couldn't stop it!

The inspiration for this was Linda's week #12 tag.  You will look at Linda's beautiful vintage tag and wonder how did I get here?  Well it started with me trying to create a pattern in the background like the pretty pattern paper.  I pulled out stencils with patterns which I used to make a few background patterns with.  As I was doing that I thought what if I added texture with embossing paste and oh why not sprinkle it with glitter while it is wet.  

After that I was on the glitter train and it picked up speed!  Needless to say I am covered in pink and green glitter!  I decided to go with a vintage retro Christmas and did a little die diving (meaning digging through my extra pre-cut die images) and found this cardboard deer.  What deer doesn't want to be covered in bright pink glitter?

I then needed a sentiment and decided to use vellum to allow my shimmer background to shine. :) I finished it off with pearls and gems to really add some glam. 

I hope your day was brightened up with all this shimmer and shine. 

Linda's tag challenge is sponsored by her wonderful on-line store called the Funkie Junkie Boutique and I don't do much on-line shopping but I definitely shop at her store.  If you have a little time to get creative you should join in on the fun. 

As always I appreciate you stopping by! 

Suzz

Snowflakes

Howdy!  I hope you are getting some time off to get ready for the holidays!  I have been busy playing and catching up on Linda the Funkie Junkie 12 tags of Christmas challenge.   This card is based on her beautiful Week# 8 tag.  The challenge is sponsored by her boutique The Funkie Junkie and she is offering prizes for playing along.

Linda's design and snowy background had me thinking of how to create snowflakes and add a banner as my focal point.

I used the snowflake stencil and crackle embossing paste to create a snowy background.  I then used a mix of sprays to create a blue green backdrop. 

I added the vellum banner and then pulled a few die cuts from my scrap pile and finished with a simple sentiment stamped and embossed in the center.

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Merry Little Christmas

Hi!  I have been very busy with work and getting ready for the holidays.  I am now taking a few days off and hope to finish up all my tags for Linda The Funkie Junkie's Twelve Tags of Christmas.  Her boutique The Funkie Junkie sponsor's the challenge and there are randomly selected prizes if you follow along with the guidelines provided. 

Today's tag is inspired by Week #11.   I started by stenciling in green on the background to emulate the lovely background on Linda's tag. I also tried to follow Linda's lovely design with a main focal point of the clock.  But then I wandered into my own design. :) 

I misted the background with mowed lawn.  I then added a layer of pattern paper on the top and bottom. Once I did that then the background didn't match so I had to distress it with Antique Linen and some spotting of brown dye ink.

I then found the fun fringe (courtesy of the Funkie Junkie)  and added that as a divider between my background and pattern paper.  I added the fun lasercut clock and layered in the ephemera.

I hope you enjoyed my tag. I will be back with a few more of these before Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Most Memorable Gift

Happy Wednesday!  We are a few weeks out from Christmas and I am sharing a few projects I created for the latest Frilly and Funkie Challenge - Most Memorable Gift.

I am hosting the challenge this time around and this is how I described the challenge on the Frilly and Funkie blog.

"December for many of us is a time where we give and receive. That had me thinking about the most memorable gifts I have received over the years. These including a signed book from one of my favorite authors, handwritten notes from my children, a singing hot dog condiment stand and the first gift my husband gave me when we were dating. I want you to be inspired by one of your most memorable gifts. Use that inspiration to create a vintage or shabby chic project. You can make a card, a tag, share a journal entry or any kind of project you desire. Just be sure to mention the memorable gift and how it inspired your creation."

After I set the challenge I had plenty time to think about what memorable gifts I have received over the years.  It is funny what you remember and what becomes more important to you as the years go by.

I had the gift of seeing what my design team friends created before I finished my projects. The beautiful memories they shared are equally inspiring and fun. Make sure to go and visit each of them to enjoy some of their special memories and art!

I spent some time thinking about why the gifts were so memorable to me and I realized the things I treasured the most was the love and caring behind the gifts I had received. 

Each of my children at one time or another has written me some beautiful letters.  Sometimes in anger, sometimes in hurt and sometimes just to share their love for me.  All of these are beautiful gifts which I will always treasure.  I decided to create mail art to encompass a special note back to each of them sharing our love with them at Christmas. 

These letters hopefully will become a treasure for each of them to keep as a memory that they can pull out years from now.

 I shared how to create the poinsettia on the F&F blog previously if you want to go see how it was created you can find it here.

I hope you will choose to share one of your memorable gifts and the art that your are inspired to create.

The team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us as a Guest Designer here at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Thanks for stopping by..

Suzz

Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia BIGz Die	Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencils - Set 32	(March Pre-order) Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - GRID DOT	Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Swirly Snowflakes	2014 CHA Release - Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Leaf Green
2014 CHA Release - Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Hydrangea	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Potting Soil	(JULY PRE-ORDER) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Salty Ocean	(JULY PRE-ORDER) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Antique Linen	Ranger Tim Holtz Ground Espresso Distress Ink Pad
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Mowed Lawn	Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Crocheted Doily 1 by Tim Holtz 661497 (February Pre-Order)	Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Starry	Winter Wonderland - by Tim Holtz
Heartfelt Bigz Die	(APRIL pre-order) Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Etcetera	Prima Watercolor Pencils Vintage	AUGUST PRE-ORDER Prima Watercolor Brush and Bag Bundle - 14 pieces	Impression Obsession - Yvonne Blair Designs - A Voice
(February Pre-order) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Type Lower Cling Foam Stamps	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Aged Mahogany	Emeral Creek Alure Powders - Charred Gold	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Newsprint

Give Thanks!

Hi, I am back to share a few cards in celebration of giving thanks!  The fantastic Sara Emily is hosting the Frilly and Funkie Challenge this time around.   She has challenged us with "Give Thanks".



Here is the challenge as described by Sara Emily:

"We have so much to be grateful for! The Frilly and Funkie team is thankful for our loyal readers and our newest visitors! For this challenge, simply create a vintage or shabby chic project that expresses gratitude."

I have been thinking about the fun farm animals from Stampers Anonymous and using them in a rustic farm based card.

 I searched in pinterest for some vintage images using the farm animals and it inspired me to create the following card:

And since I can never just create one image as I am playing around I ended up with a herd of cows and decided to create a rustic Christmas card as well:

Isn't  he adorable with his little ribbon bow tie?

I thought it would be funny to brand him with a north pole postage mark.

I masked and sponged the various stripes and blocked off areas of colors and stamps.  I do love layering my stamps and images. :)

Please come play along in the challenge.  The team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us as a Guest Designer here at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

(APRIL pre-order) Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - On The Farm	$17.95 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Christmas Nostalgia	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Holiday Postmarks	Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves	Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves
(APRIL pre-order) Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Etcetera	Wendy Vecchi Select a Stencil UC	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Pad #3	(February Pre-order) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Fossilized Amber	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Marker - Black Soot
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Jute Twine	(LATE SEPTEMBER PRE - ORDER) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Bells	May Arts 3/16 Inch Solid Checkered Ribbon Red	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Aged Mahogany	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Mowed Lawn
Tim Holtz Jute Christmas Twine