Get cracking on Christmas - June 2022

Hi Everyone,

How have you all been? I know that I have been missing in action (again!), but we've had loads on our plates recently, and there is more to come yet! We finally managed to get the house sale and purchase sorted (only took 13 months!), and - all going well, we'll be moving in July. There are tonnes of renovations ahead of us, so probably a 1-2 year long project (before we're at least mostly done), but I sincerely hope that I will manage to find a temporary corner somewhere for my crafting time, and that my mojo is back at some point, too! Truth be told, the house situation has been really stressful, and I just needed a break from pretty much everything for a while, so hopefully now, bit by bit, I'll go back to my old beloved habits! :o)

This year, just like last year, I am joining Jenn Shurkus in her "Get cracking on Christmas" initiative - we will be encouraging each other, and our readers/followers, to create something Christmassy every month. It can be a card, a tag, a decoration... whatever you really want to! It saved me two years in a row now, with having enough cards in my stash for posting out in late November/early December. No stress, no drama - love it!

Do you want to join in? You can read all about it on Jenn's blog here.

Today's card is rather simple, as the long break from crafting has made me quite rusty, but I am still very proud of it, given the circumstances. I used the super cute Mama Elephant stamp set called Gingerbread Cookies, and I already have a few more ideas for this set, so maybe one day I'll manage to use it again, LOL! Where have the times gone when I could craft for hours each week?! 

I coloured the cute images with Copic markers & fussy cut them - thankfully, the shapes are relatively easy, so no major issues there (plus, I actually really love fussy cutting, as you know!). To add a bit of "glam" to the cookies, I made their buttons golden. But I think it would be really fun to use white gel pen, to imitate icing, too.

By the time I was done with my images, however, I was running out of crafty time and so I took a bit of a shortcut for the background - it's actually a washi tape, the whole thing! It adds the whole card a bit of a whimsical feel, which I really love. But a more traditional Christmassy background would absolutely have worked, too!

With just a bit of adhesive and matting, the card came together relatively quickly in the end, and there is a fun surprise inside, too! 

I hope to join in next month again (I have been doing rather poorly with building up my stash this year, I'm actually sending more cards than I'm making - but every little bit helps!), and we all might even have a surprise for you in July - stay tuned and make sure to come back! :0)

Stay safe and crafty,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

Washi tape: Rainbow with splatters by PinkFresh Studio (discontinued)

Metallic Gelly Roll (I used gold): Simon Says Stamp here (sorry, there is no photo!)

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3D embossing folders - what is the fuss about? :-)

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's to hoping for a great 2022!

Lots of companies have recently been releasing 3D embossing folders, and I was wondering what the fuss was about. Most of us would have had embossing folders in our stashes for a while now, and - if you're like me - you probably don't use them too often nowadays, do you? I used to be obsessed with the embossed texture, but I do tend to forget about my folders nowadays... Therefore, I was not hugely interested in the new hype... Until I tried one out, of of curiosity, that is!

I must tell you, these 3D folders are a whole new experience! The dimension is amazing, and they somehow seem to be much kinder on the paper also (I used to get lots of cracks in the past, but maybe that was just lack of experience and using different, paper, not sure?), which is great!

Now, don't get me wrong, I will definitely not be using these on every single card, but when I do want some additional interest to the background, I will be remembering about my 3D folders for sure! These backgrounds are also fantastic for CAS designs, as the designs are so interesting that just a small sentiment, a bit of bling, or a small image will totally be enough! 

Here's one of my most recent cards, with an Altenew folder & image. The white Neenah cardstock was covered with some gilding polish (another item in my stash that I love, and that I constantly forget about, but you can read more about it here), and then embossed - and it took it beautifully! I am so in love! 

Have you used any of the new embossing folders yourself? Share your thoughts! :o)

Stay safe and crafty,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

FROM ALTENEW:

Best Mom stamp set

Diamond stars 3D embossing folder 

Pocketful of sunshine enamel dots

FROM CRAFT STASH (UK)
(they ship worldwide) 
Note that if it's your first order from Craft Stash, you can get 20% off your order of the Polishes

Metallic Gilding Polish at Craft Stash
Citrus Green Metallic Gilding Polish at Craft Stash

FROM SCRAPBOOK.COM

Metallic Gilding Polish at Scrapbook.com (all colours)

FROM SIMON SAYS STAMP

Gilding Polish (all colours, although they don't seem to carry the Citrus Green at the moment)

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Card and tag combo with Trinity Stamps

Hi Everyone,

It's my turn to share some inspiration over at the Trinity Stamps Blog again today, and for this post I tried something new for me - I made a card with a matching tag. I adore such sets when I see them on social media, but I somehow never make tags myself. This time, I had leftover coloured and die-cut images, and instead of keeping them for future projects or putting them inside the card, like I would normally do, I decided to make a matching tag.  

I think it was the right decision - what's your opinion?

As usual, you can find more info about how I created these on the Trinity Stamps blog.

Big hugs and stay safe,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

FROM TRINITY STAMPS SHOP:

Puddle Jumpers stamp set

Sunflower Bouquet Builder stamp set

Sunflower Bouquet Builder die set

Circle stencil set

Boiled Sugar Jelly Drop Hearts

Blending Buddy

FROM SIMON SAYS STAMP:

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