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I'm sharing some MISTI Stencil Magic at the Technique Junkies Blog today ... come check it out. And remember, there's a chance to win $25 to shop at the store if you link-up a Holiday Tag for the current Technique Junkies Challenge.
and remember ... always use my discount code TJ10Stephanie at Checkout.
There's also a great sale at the MISTI Blog ... if you use My Link to shop, I do get an affiliate bonus.
Let's see ... what do I need to make tonight ... big surprise ... MORE Masculine Birthday cards ... need always exceeds my inventory.
I started with this week's Wednesday Sketch Challenge at My Favorite Things.
I flipped it on it's side, so I could use my new CELEBRATE Speech Bubble Die-Namics ... which I placed on a tag for the Tag You're It! Challenge at Little Red Wagon.
I also used these happy hues from the MFT Color Challenge. I'm also linking-up at Helen's Anything Goes Masculine Challenge at the Water Cooler Wednesday Challenge.
Love that how you can use the letters and the negative of that fun Celebrate Speech Bubble Die-Namics ... I have a feeling you'll be seeing it quite a bit.
STAMPlorations is hosting the AAA Cards Challenge where the theme is Die Cuts ONLY.
STAMPlorations has lots of fun CUTplorations dies ... I used three different dies in my design.
I started with die cutting my tag from Tag O'Coffee CUTplorations from a scrap of watercolor paper ... then the Mug (also from Tag O'Coffee) & Hug In a Mug CUTplorations Sentiment were die cut from a scrap of Gel Press Print with layers of Red Paint and a bit of blue.
I assembled my Tag and used foam tape to attach it to my light blue card base.
Of course, the final Tag in the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist was the hardest for me ... Interactive ... not in my wheelhouse.
My interactive is pretty basic, but I think it passes the test. I created a pocket that holds a gift card tag. There is an image and sentiment on the front from Essentials by Ellen 'Tis the Season. I used a scalloped circle punch and an Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brad at the top of my tag.
For my tag, I made a small fold at the bottom and wrapped it with Eyelet Outlet Cardinal Washi Tape to make a pocket for my Gift Card.
I'm guessing for the nieces and nephews, an interactive card that involves money to spend would be the best kind of interaction.
I'm also linking-up at the Muse Christmas Visions Challenge.
Another fun December of tag making in the books.
My schedule & my mojo have not been cooperating this week to finish up the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist. I was struggling a bit with an idea for the Color Challenge for Tag number eleven.
They even provided a lovely picture for inspiration.
I ultimately took my somewhat literal inspiration from Carolyn Peeler's tag on the front of her card.
I started by picking my four ink colors (I only used one shade of mint).
I started with the Mint, followed by Mauve, Taupe and Grey inking portions of the My Favorite Things Typewriter Text Background stamp. I also sprayed some water after inking to add a bit more blending to the colors. I didn't want to overlap too much and end-up with mud. (And yes, you close observers, I did stamp my image upside down ... thankfully in this case it didn't matter since I was going to die cut from the ivory cardstock).
I die cut Ellen Hutson's Concertina Tag from my stamped background and then again from Taupe (aka light kraft) cardstock. I die cut a third time from Mint cardstock to cap the top of my tag.
I finished with Grey Sequins, Mauve Gems and Mint Holly leaves together with my die cut sentiment.
I'm also joining the Christmas Time Challenge at My Time to Craft It's also Let's Play Tag at Shopping Our Stash.
The 10th Tag of Christmas with a Feminine Twist is Rainbow Bright - to create a holiday tag featuring bright colors.
They provided this picture as inspiration.
I used the tree and the round bauble wreath as my primary inspiration. I started by covering my tag with bright blue glitter paste stars using a star stencil.
Next I die cut Memory Box Winterland Tree from Pink Cardstock ... and then used the die cut outline to hand-cut my bright pink background. I used bright pink, blue & purple glitter enamel dots from Eyelet Outlet to decorated my tree (like the baubles on the wreath).
I think it looks a bit more like this Rainbow Bright, but at least I tried.
I finished with bright pink ribbon & a sticker sentiment.
The 9th Tag of Christmas with a Feminine Twist is another holiday color challenge.
I'm not sure if I have ever used Iced Spruce Distress Ink; I used direct-to-paper and water sprays to ink a piece of Watercolor paper and die cut my holly leaves from Essentials by Ellen Modern Christmas. Then I stamped the cross-hatch leave on top with the same Iced Spruce Ink.
I die cut my three berries from a piece of yuzo colored with red alcohol ink. I finished with a bright red sentiment from Essentials by Ellen No Peeking and some Wintergreen Twill.
I ended my day by playing with my new Hero Arts Irreverent Elf Messages (from Ellen Hutson) and the 8th Tag of Christmas with a Feminine Twist, which is a sketch.
For my background, I decided to use Emerald Isle Infusions Dye Stain on Ivory cardstock.
I attached to a kraft tag and wrapped the top and bottom with kraft twine. I used a journaling card for my focal circle and finished with an Irreverent Elf Message. I love the green monochromatic design.
I got some fun new Hero Arts Stamps in the mail today from Ellen Hutson (she seriously has the fastest shipping of any online store), so I had to in-on-up for the 7th Tag of Christmas with a Feminine Twist - another awesome color combination.
I decided to use designer papers for my colors to go with my snarky sentiment from Hero Arts Offbeat Holiday Messages stamped & embossed in detail gold on ivory cardstock.
I finished with a sticker to go with my Offbeat sentiment, a row of gold gems from Eyelet Outlet, and a golden ribbon.
I used a sketch from Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C390) for my Tag layout.
For the 6th Tag of Christmas Ellen Hutson gave to me ... an awesome color combination.
She also provided a color swatch for those colors, but I realized when I wandered away from my computer to make my card, I used slightly brighter versions of the color families.
I started by inking my Impression Obsession Background with three colors of Catherine Pooler Purple ink and Grey ink to combine those two colors. My MISTI is perfect for ink blending backgrounds ... just use your finger to smudge a bit between stamping the colors to get a nice blend.
When I went looking for a green, I found some awesome limey designer paper that I used to die cut my Impression Obsession Patchwork Tree. The theme at Impression Obsession this week is Last Minute Christmas Cards & Gifts, so this fits perfectly.
Finally I decorated my tree with a silver sparkly star (a version of grey in my opinion) and did some surgery on a lone grey pearl bling swirl from Eyelet Outlet to decorate my tree. I used lime twine instead of ribbon for my tag, to coordinate with my tree.
