Why not have a yellow tree

I love using a color combination challenge to create with.

 Here I used the Colour Q combo to create a Christmas card.  It really made for a fun out-of-the-box card.

 I used a tree stamp from Tim Holtz.  The stamp has four trees on it.  I inked the stamp with different colors of Distress Stain, stamped that on a piece of watercolor paper that was spritzed with water first.  This always gives a watercolor look to the stamped image.  I just stamped that stamp a few times.  I added color and pattern to the corners with a dot stencil.  The sentiment is from a stamp set by Simon Says Stamp. 

Here is the Colour Q challenge with a super cute imspiration piece.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

The AAA Cards challenge and Christmas plaid

 Swoon, plaid just seems to go with a Christmas theme. So glad it is part of the AAA Cards challenge for the next two weeks. 

 I pulled out a piece of red plaid patterned paper and the rest was simple.  The square frames were cut with my new My Favorite Things dies.  Love the "Merry" die by Simon Says Stamp cut from red glitter cardstock.

That neat snowflake stamp is by Tim Holtz.  I embossed it with white on black cardstock.  The square it is one is added with foam tape for dimension although that is a little bit hard to see here.

Hope you can play along at AAA Cards.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

O Christmas Tree

Another Christmas card to share...

 I am trying to put a big focus right now of creating Christmas cards.  I am going with different designs rather then mass producing lots of the same thing. More fun creating that way.  For this one, my main piece is a black tree. Not your usual color but it ends up as a fun combination. 

 The tree is from Wplus9 Designs  The little heart is part of the stamp, I stamped an additonal one, cut that out, colored it with red and added some Glossy Accents.  The background to the entire card is some red Distress ink blended over a dot stencil. Such a fun way to create a simple background. I added some sprays of Pewter Distress Stain, an amazing silver spray and my mat on the card is silver paper. 

This fits with the Paper Players Black Tie challenge.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Shiny Gold and Vintage Santas

I am having so much fun creating cards for Christmas.

 For this card I pulled out an older stamp I have had for awhile. It is by Paula Best, I always enjoyed her style.  The sentiment is a die from Simon Says Stamp.

 I went a little unusual for my coloring.  I added color with Copic Markers and then added shine with some Distress Spray in Pewter.  That dot background was created with a dot stencil and some gold Embossing paste. I love how this embossing paste looks.  I took this photo at an angle to try to show off the shine of the gold dots. 

 I used the Inkspirational challenge to use Gold.

And the Addicted to CAS challenge to use DOTS.

And the Wednesday Simon Says challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Merry Snow People

Of course, a Christmas card should have some snow people.

 For this card, I went to a Stampendous set of little snow people to create the accents to my card.  That great striped background is created with a stencil. I sprayed red ink on it, I liked the way the stripes are irregular.  

 This set includes parts of snow people so it is fun to play with these pieces.  I used two of the heads with their cute hats and scarfs.  Placing them on the tag was a fun foundation.  My card goes along with the Simon Says Stamp challenge. The tag is a die cut from Reverse Confetti.

Here is the Simon Says Stamp challenge.
Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Merry, Red and Snowflakes

All good things for a Christmas card.

 I used the retro sketch for my inspiration and a great Tim Holtz stamp for the main image.  I had colored a piece of cardstock with some red Distress Ink and then stamped the snowflake over that with black ink and embossed that with clear embossing powder.  That really neat die cut word is from Winnie & Walter.  

 I added some white with a white colored pencil.  I liked how subtle the colored pencil white was for adding some interest.  

 Here is the retro sketch.
And for a photo...

It's chilly outside

At least that is what my card looks like - here in Southern California we really are not all that cold even with a little bit of welcome rain.

 I used one of my newest Tim Holtz stamps for the main image on my card.  A snowman doesn't usually take a whole lot of coloring so that is good.  The most fun part of my card is the background.  I blended on color with a few shades of Distress Ink.  That was then splattered with a little bit of water and some dots using a stencil and some Soft Gesso. 

 I cut the snowman out and added him with foam tape for dimension.  His black hat was given a coat of Glossy Accents so it was shiny.  

I used the wonderful colors from Color Throwdown for my inspiration.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)