Skating Santa Gift Card Holder -- Buttons & Bows at International Art & Soul

Our theme this fortnight at the International Art & Soul Challenge is Buttons & Bows.

Santa, the sentiment, and the tree are from a Paper Magic set. The pretty blue bows came on Santa & the tree. I added blue thread to some buttons from my stash, and added them to Santa with Glossy accents. They work nicely to make him slide, too! I used a die from an Elizabeth Crafts set to make the slot on the card, and affixed skating Santa with a paper tab.

Inspiration/Challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #378: Outdoor Winter Activities
More than One Score at Scor-Pal #43: Special Gift Packaging + more than one score (gift card holder)

Update: This was chosen as one of the Top 4 for 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #378!

Update: I sold this at a local craft fair!

Thank you for visiting! Hope you'll join us at International Art & Soul,

Gift Card Holders at Crafting with Dragonflies

This fortnight at Crafting with Dragonflies we're challenging you to make a Gift Card Holder. We're sponsored by Bugaboo and I used their wonderful Cat in Hat - Youer than You digi stamp:

I had so much fun using this Buagboo image for my Tissue Box Cover, so I couldn't resist using it again for this card for a good friend of ours. He was amazing supportive during a rough time, grabbing us groceries & driving us around. I told my husband that we couldn't just reimburse him, I needed to make a card! Our friend's cat and dog were my inspiration and I did my best to reference their coloring. I colored the Buagboo image with Copics and distress ink, and added FlowerSoft and flocking to the cat. The dog is heat-embossed in yellow on black paper with a clear stamp from an Inkadinkado set.

I'm not sure why, but when I thought about the design for this card I immediately wanted to include an origami cat made from a dollar bill. Just seemed like a fun idea! I decided to make an Origami Money Cat, based on the video tutorial by Jo Nakashima. I didn't want to glue it down, some I created a pocket with a die-cut fence.

I used drywall tape for the grassy background on the front, coloring each piece with different greens. The clouds are die-cut from a white metal from Add a Little Dazzle. The sign image is glued onto a wood coffee stirrer.

For the inside, I made a simple pop-up base and attached a blue rubber band (an upcycled tourniquet actually) with leaf-shaped eyelets and gemstone brads. I used a Chinese money envelope for the gift.

I'm entering this project into the following Challenges:
Sweet Pea Stampers: All Creatures Big and Small

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us at Crafting with Dragonflies,

Piling On one more card for 2013!

It's the final week of 2013, I can't believe it! It's also the final week of our "P is for..." Challenge at Pile It On (deadline January 4). I couldn't resist making one final card! Our sponsor for the month of December is Jellypark, so I used her Penguin with Woolly Hat digi stamp.

I piled on five "P" items: Penguin, Pocket, Polka Dots, [liquid] Pearls, and Postage Stamp. You can check out all the beautiful DT projects, including my other Penguin card, and join the challenge here at Pile It On!

I made a lot of these "Diagonal Double pocket cards" this year, as we mostly gave Gift Certificates. I got the idea from my mom, who had learned the technique at Scraps of Love. It's a variation of Claudia Rosa's tutorial at Splitcoaststampers. I like it because the card look good without or without the gift and is a fun way to use a double-sided paper, although in this case I used a one-sided paper so that I had white sheet on the inside for the message. This striking black-and-white paper is from a Recollections collection.

For the pearl accents, I used black and white Opal Liquid Pearls, and a gold Viva Pearl Pen. The penguin was painted with the same liquid pearls, it worked really nicely. The hat was paper-pieced with a shiny white paper, and detailed with a gold pen.

The sentiment piece was embossed/cut with a Christmas present (well, a post-Christmas-sale present, from my mom!) A.C. Moore had this and other specially-priced Pagemap/Spellbinders die sets, and this set goes along with a Pagemaps set I already own. And Mom bought herself a present too! We had such a nice visit.

I cut the foil stamp from a white card covered with a gold Rolo wrapper using my Xryon sticker machine, and popped it up with foam tape. I stamped the "warm wishes" sentiment with Staz-on. The middle fold was decorated with a lacey tape, and I added some scrap white ribbon just for good measure. The penguin is on an Action Wobble.

I'm entering this into the following Challenges:
Alphabet Challenge: W is for Whatever You Wish
Animal Friends Challenge: Anything Goes with an Animal
Crafts 4 Eternity #156: Something New (the die is new & this is my newest favorite fold)
Crafty Calendar: Cold and Frosty
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Bling

Thank you for visiting and hope you'll join us at Pile It On,

Pile On the Patterned Paper!

This week at Pile It On, we want you to pull out that delicious Patterned Paper!

I had a bunch of scrap pieces from my Patterned Kraft DP pack from Recollections, so I made a tag/gift card holder using this fun Nutcracker freebie by Wonderstrange Art.

I used my wood-grain embossing plate form a*muse studios for the back:

Inspiration/Challenges:
Anything Goes Challenge - Early Christmas
Bearly Mine - Anything But A Card
Crimbo Crackers - something to hold a gift card

Jackson's Digital Expressions - Anything But A Card

Make it Monday with Kraft Outlet Challenge #86 - Shape It Up + use Kraft paper
Moving Along With The Times - Make a Christmas gift for someone
Nutcrafters - Christmas 
Paper Shelter Challenge - tag
Shopping Our Stash - Wooden It Be Nice

Thank you for visiting,