It’s that time again! Time to GET CRACKING ON CHRISTMAS! What a FUN monthly opportunity that began 5 years ago when Jenn Shurkus was inspired to get a jump on making Christmas and Holiday cards way ahead of time! By doing a few cards each month by the time December flips up on the calendar you have a group of cards ready to go! Join in the fun!
Jenn will be offering a YouTube LIVE each month sharing how she created her card. Join www.youtube.com/jennshurkus to watch!
Sending you my own very “WARM” wishes from still a very “COLD” place! Living in Anchorage gives me lots of inspiration for Wintery cards. Lately, I’ve been inspired by that beautiful baby blue and pink combination of a winter sky.
Colorado Craft Company’s Nordic Snowflakes and Wishes Snowflake make up my first card for January’s GET CRACKING ON CHRISTMAS!
Warm Winter Wishes
Stamped the Nordic Snowflakes 110# white card stock using Distress dye inks in pink and a blue palette. Trimmed piece 5 1/4″ x 5 1/4″.
2. Stamped and die cut the Wishes Snowflake in the same inks also on 110# card stock
3. Prepared a 5.5 square card base in Lawn Fawn Mermaid card stock
4. Adhered background Nordic Snowflakes to foam and mounted on card base, mounted Wishes Snowflake on base.
5. Using same color palette in Distress Oxide inks I embossed my sentiment with clear embossing powder, die cut with coordinating die and using foam squares off set my sentiment. Embellished with Lawn Fawn Prisma glitter and Trinity Stamps Bubble Blow Out embellishment drops.
Thank You SO much for all your very kind comments about my cards for the 3C’s Christmas Release of Anita Jeram Stamps and Dies!
TODAY IS FREE SHIPPING DAY WITH CODE: FREESHIPPINGDH
Free shipping to US locations and a credit toward shipping for those outside of the USA. So now is the time to just “Get it All,” because each one is just sooo cute! Free Shipping ends Tuesday so shop FAST!
And be sure to follow my Instagram account and comment under my instagram post for the GIVEAWAY!
Here’s a little inspiration from the Getting Ready set!
Getting Ready with Stocking Mini
Using a stencil to mask off my background I created an ink blended wintery scene. Inked and stamped my Getting Ready image and carefully aligned my “Stocking Mini” stamp to fill out the little tree, adding another sweet little bird. That little mouse with it’s stocking is too cute to leave off so I die cut him out and used dimensionals to pop him up a bit. A simple sentiment completes my Copic Marker & colored pencil card.
Sharing the BLOG HOP links again incase you missed all the inspiration!
When you shop the links provided I do receive a small compensation at no additional cost to you! I love bringing inspiration and sharing content with you. Your smiles and sweet comments make my day!
Happy Thanksgiving and HOLD ON because BLACK FRIDAY and CYBER MONDAY are coming!
More fun, WHIMSICAL designs from the illustrations of Anita Jeram brought to us by Colorado Craft Company! Four NEW matching STAMP and DIE sets all with Christmas and Winter Holiday designs! Such adorable images that are perfect for cards, tags or even cute table decor!
STOCKINGS MINI
Santa Bunny with a bedful of snuggling bunnies nearby made up this first card.
Santa Bunny
Love how Santa Bunny is holding his finger up as in “Shhh…” as he tiptoes past the snuggling bunnies. The one very “awake” bunny matches the sentiment “But I can’t sleep. I’m too excited for Christmas!” Also included in the set are other perfect sentiments like Have a Holly Jolly Christmas! You’re on the NICE LIST, Here Comes Santa Claus, Here Comes Santa Claus! and “Shhh…”
Using the Sizzix 3D Texture Fades embossing folder “Brickwork” creates a house likeness and a rectangle die and frame makes my window. Sleeping bunnies inside were “masked” off so that wallpaper could be created using 3C’s “Stripes and Dots” stamp set. Sakura Jelly Roll pen in gold highlights the stripe on the wall paper giving it a little bling. Copic markers enhanced with colored pencils colored in my images and a snowy path from Lawn Fawn Pixie Dust Sparkle paper finishes the card. Sentiments are white embossed on brown card stock.
GIVEAWAY: COLORADO CRAFT COMPANY is always SO generous in their giveaways! I will be giving away one Hanging Stockings Mini Stamp set! My giveaway ends on November 23rd at Midnight Mountain Time. I will announce the Winner on my blog and on the 3C’s Blog on the 25th of November. Qualify by following Colorado Craft Company @coloradocraftcompany for INSTAGRAM and by following my INSTAGRAM account @donnahitz
Check out the Colorado Craft Company BLOG HOP here for more great inspiration!
This next card couldn’t be more perfect for THIS year! Encouraged by ALL to shop early this little bunny is right on track and now is “Hiding” his present in the hollow of this tree. The sentiment, “…I Just Hope I Remember Where I Hid It All!” is VERY close to the truth! Haha!
Hiding Presents
A clean and simple design using Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Birch Trees embossing folder makes up my background. Images colored with Copic Markers and die cut with the matching die. Colored pencil enhances my marker coloring and both little images are popped up on dimensional adhesive. Card stock base is Lawn Fawn “Paper Bag” card stock but, any Kraft card stock that is close to your tree color will look nice. I dearly love the wise old mouse image with his walking stick!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Something for everyone and for “All the FALL” season! I love a whimsical style card, the Sitting Witch #LL565 stamp set had me with their WICKED HALLOWEEN font! This clever set features a sophisticated, sitting witch playing with her spider and four (4) other individual sentiments that work together or mixed up with the Wicked Halloween. My card, below, features those sentiments and the Broom from the Witches Broom #BB569 set.
Colorado Craft Company – Sitting Witch & Witches Broom
Witches Broom set has so many GREAT Halloween sentiments along with the awesome broom image! I used a sentiment from that set on my this card, here.
Halloween Greetings
Both cards were colored using Copic Markers enhanced with colored pencil and sentiments embossed. The Wicked card is 9 x 8″ (Slimline 9×4″) using Lawn Fawn Slimline dies and a bubble stencil for the whimsical dot background The Halloween Greetings card is standard A2 size card using a Sizzix 3D embossing folder for the wall the witch is sitting on. Don’t you LOVE her shoes? They are all glittered up, of course!
Never have I seen such beautiful THANKSGIVING sets! I worked with all three (3) different Fall themed, Thanksgiving sets. Mighty Acorn is from the Big and Bold collection and was perfect for the alcohol ink background. After stamping my image on my background I heat embossed it using a detail black embossing powder. Another gorgeous set “Gratitude Slimline” has the cutest little acorn that I used as an accent for my sentiment which is also included in this Savvy Sentiments set.
Gratitude In All Things…
Creating a softer look with this last card by using a Rectangle mask by Taylored Expressions and the little acorn from the Gratitude Slimline set. Using the remaining ink on my blue blending brush to put hard edges on my rectangle, the little acorn was stamped randomly using Tim Holtz Distress ink in Crackling Campfire, Fozzilized Amber, Rustic Wilderness and Gathered Twigs. Wanting to keep this a fairly clean and simple look, I chose a sentiment from the Thanksgiving Prayer set. The hardest part was choosing this sentiment out of the 7 included in this set. The tricky bit was foiling the sentiment! Borrowing an idea from Jennifer McGuire (God bless her!) Loading my sentiment and 40lb Vellum, cut to size, in my Misti, I used FlitterGlu in a small puddle, soaked some up on the foam of an ink blending tool and dabbed it on my sentiment sufficient to cover. Using good pressure, to make sure I was getting a good impression (remember you are using glue) I then covered the barely visible sentiment with a rose gold colored foil, the type you would use with a laminator, NOT a foil machine. Quickly, I pressed the foil down firmly and creased back and forth over the foil with my teflon bone folder. At this point I left immediately to wash the glue off my stamp! I would recommend having a dish to IMMEDIATELY rinse the glue off your stamp. No stamp was damaged in this process but, immediately is the key.
Colorado Craft Company is always SO generous and is having a Giveaway–They are giving away one of each of the new stamp sets to randomly chosen winners, 9 total. Please leave a comment here on my blog and/or if you follow me on Instagram you may also leave a comment on my Release post there.
I genuinely love the products I use on the cards and projects I make! Affiliate links are posted for your convenience although I am to receive a small compensation if you shop my links, at NO cost to you! Enjoy the release!
A beautiful release of stamps for the Fall season! Something for everyone! And, offering the sentiment from the Thanksgiving Prayer set:
May your hearts, your home, and your family feel HIS love this Thanksgiving.
You GOTTA have FUN! So many NEW stamp and die sets from Colorado Craft Company featuring the adorable art by Anita Jeram. I simply LOVE every set she designs. From pups to kitty’s, hedgehogs to so many cute critters and NOW…a CONGO line! Who could imagine Congo line of critters? Maybe they are Guinea Pigs, or Hamsters. They are the cutest! And a mouse carrying a gigantic load of presents! So many cute images, you will love them all!
So get ready for some days of fun creations from all the fabulous designers of Colorado Craft Company!
First up is my Slimline card featuring BIG LOVE #AJ543 and coordinating DIE set. This whimsical illustration of Anita Jeram’s little Mouse is doing a balancing act with all the gifts for the one he loves! The set also includes 6 sentiments along with 5 tiny sentiments that fit a tiny little gift tag to adorn the presents! So cute!
BIG LOVE
Those little tags, one of the images in the set with sentiments to match have given me swooning! My friend Heather, from my A Muse days once said, “always buy the tiny.” She is right, these are the cutest! I used Copic Markers for my coloring in some of my favorite colors and Lawn Fawn holds me captive with great background papers and dies.
And because there are so many cute sets in this release, I couldn’t stop at just one! Another favorite is KEEP GROWING #AJ545. This all occasion set is perfect for sending a cheerful card “just because.” This set includes 4 encouraging sentiments and 6 images featuring kitties!
KEEP GROWING
All images colored with Copic Markers, enhanced with colored pencils, added dimension with Scrapbook adhesive foam squares on a background of 3C’s Stripes and Dots set and a piece of Ellen Hutson’s Woodgrain Embossed paper with ink blending in Distress Inks for the floor.
And had to end with the cutest little critters getting their dance party on with a CONGA LINE! Here they are in their party hats with a confetti stencil background.
The GOOD news today is FREE SHIPPING & if you are International customers, a credit toward your shipping costs today and tomorrow! In other GOOD news, Colorado Crafts has eight (8) fun new stamp sets and a GIVEAWAY for a chance at having a FREE stamp set from their new REVEAL by commenting on the BLOGS in the HOP.
The “Uh, oh!” news? Well, it’s OK to have a BAD day…tomorrow will be here before you know it! Like this:
I like to call them “bumps in my road” and you just climb over them! But, when you are in the midst it’s not fun! I love this great set from Colorado Craft Company because it’s such a great image for an encouragement card! I would have LOVED a card like this today because all things computer were a big fail for me! Haha! Thankfully, tomorrow is that new day!
This was a quick and easy card by coloring with Copic markers and enhancing with colored pencils. Love these denims and wish I could order them! Teehee! Check out her leopard shoes! Easy peasy by using a dark cool color marker (dots) and going over that with a YR marker and back over with a cool dark marker again. Had to glitter up her ice cream plop. The sentiments were stamped in versa fine black ink and clear heat embossed. Ran them both through the same stitched rectangle die so they match up with the edges of the card. Both sentiments are popped up on dimensional squares. The image is foam backed and mounted on a Blue Jay card stock base.
And, wait…there’s MORE!
HATS OFF TO YOU “OLD CHAP!”
I love a good GRAPHIC look! Especially for masculine cards! What you don’t see is all the GLITTER! I used my favorite “Quickie Glue Pen” and glittered up each hat. Such a great masculine birthday set in this OLD CHAP BIRTHDAY set! Six images from mustaches to eyeglasses to tie images and sentiments to match! The sentiments play off of the images like ” (SPEC)tacular and FAN {tache}TIC Birthday! Adorable!
Be sure to take advantage of FREE SHIPPING day by using my Colorado Craft Company discount code: FREESHIPPINGDH Domestic USA customers receive free shipping and International customers receive a discount toward their shipping charges.
Also, be sure to comment on all the blogs for a chance to win a free stamp set!
Your comments always make my day better! Thank you so much for stopping by! If you shop the links below I do receive a small commission that help offset blog costs (at no extra cost to you).
WoW! Such versatility in these sets and so exciting to share them with you today! There are (8) eight lovely new sets in todays release! The Savvy Sentiments sets are so classic and fun with different font styles that work with whimsical, classic and graphic looks! Have a peek at all of them.
So many choices but, chose the “General Greetings” set from the Savvy Sentiments collection!
This set has six (6) all occasion sentiments from Happy Birthday, Forever Friends, Happy Anniversary, Thank you, Precious Baby, to Always & Forever. A sentiment for every occasion!
This was a fairly quick & easy card using a Lawn Fawn stitched die to create the circle opening. Cutting a 4.25 x 4.25″ of Ballet Slipper card stock, placing it in my Misti along with my card, I positioned the Precious Baby sentiment to it fit where I wanted it. Removing the outer card, I embossed my sentiment using Versamark embossing ink and white heat embossed my greeting. Adding a little accent with the coordinating circle sentiment of “too cute” I stamped, fussy cut and mounted it on a circle die cut of pink card stock. I grabbed the cute little bunny from one of Anita Jeram’s images “Bunnies & Robin” from Colorado Craft Company. The bunny was colored using Copic Markers and a glittery tail. (Who doesn’t like a glittery tail?) Teehee. I love dimensionals and used them to “pop up” the bunny and accent greeting.
Another from Colorado Craft Company’s new release is from the “Lovely Legs” collection. Summertime Birthday is celebrating tan legs and SUMMER! The main image is a pool side scene and (8) sentiments. I had fun creating this one!
Summertime Birthday
After stamping my focal image on Neenah cardstock, I masked the image and ink blended the background with Lawn Fawn inks in blues and yellow. My main image was colored with Copic Markers and highlighted with colored pencils. The beach ball is “Paper Pieced” using Lawn Fawn’s Watercolor Wishes 6×6 Petite Paper Pack in Lucky Penny, Shooting Star and Wishing Well. My sentiment is stamped on a Lawn Fawn Stitched Circle and lifted up using dimensional foam squares. Finished my card by mounting it on Lawn Fawn’s Paper Bag Card Stock.
Thank you for stopping by! Shopping links listed below are for your convenience, substitutions are sometimes listed. Shopping my links does provide some compensation at no additional cost to you.
Lets get Hopping and leave a comment on each blog below for a chance to win one of (8) eight giveaways from Colorado Craft Company!
It’s the most WONDERFUL time of the month! Thankful to Jenn Shurkus for helping us ALL get started on our Christmas, Holiday cards BEFORE the season begins by making a few cards each month so by December we have some cards ready to go! She will be doing a LIVE tonight www.youtube.com/jennshurkus showing how she made her card. Tune in 8:00 pm EST!
Catherine Pooler is my GET CRACKING feature this month with two cards using her NICE LIST stamp and die set.
Nice List
Going rogue (you know these Alaskan’s) and choosing some Non-Traditional colors for my cards! Paired up these adorable stamps with Catherine Pooler’s absolutely “FUN” papers in the “Holiday Whimsy” pattern.
I’ve always enjoyed appliqué and making things with fabric but, paper is FASTER! So, I had fun appliquéing with paper and basically stamped and fussy cut the elf slippers, socks and hats out of that gorgeous paper collection.
These Elf feet are definitely Holly Jolly!
I love these cheerful more “Retro” style cards. Quite different from my “normal” style but, so fun to change things up!
Holly Jolly Christmas
Wishing you a Holly Jolly Christmas in June and unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere hoping you have sunny days and ice cream!
Get Cracking and join in the fun by using the hashtag #GETCRACKINGONCHRISTMAS and upload to Instagram or onto Jenn’s blog at Shurkus.com
P.S. Next month there may be presents. A Giveaway! SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM!
Shopping my links below do allow a little compensation (at NO cost to you) and do help offset my blog costs. I ALWAYS appreciate your comments and follows!
Sharing another couple images from Colorado Craft Company’s June Release of Anita Jeram illustrations! The Art Is set set has (7)seven images and one sentiment and dies to match. The Easel is left blank so you can create what you wish! Three of the smaller images are sized to fit the Easel as well!
Love the Rabbit’s cute little student bunnies! The carrot is free hand sketched and the image is colored with Copic markers, and enhanced with colored pencil. I mounted my die cut image on white card stock with dimensional foam squares and offset that on a background of 3C’s “Stripes and Dots.”
Another set “Play Time” includes two adorable images of Anita Jeram’s little mice and 4 sentiments. One of images has 4 little mice playing with a tea set, making tea and another image of 2 little mice playing with make up.
How cute are little mice applying eyelashes to their heads?
Another Copic colored image enhanced with colored pencil and then fussy cut. After trimming out my image I mounted it on a stitched rectangle base die backed with fun foam and mounted on a card base that was covered in a stripe pattern from Lawn Fawn’s “Let it Shine” 6×6 decorative paper. The sentiment was stamped on a smaller rectangle from the same die set. Both die cuts were lightly ink blended with Lawn Fawn’s bubble gum ink.
Comment on all the blogs listed on my previous blog post for a chance to win a free stamp set from the new release! Be sure to comment on all the blogs listed on the hop.
Today is the LAST DAY for FREE SHIPPING! Use the code: FREESHIPPINGDH
Thank you SO much for all your kind comments, follows and likes!
Its another EXCITING whimsical reveal of Anita Jeram images by Colorado Craft Company! There are SO many cute sets in this months release you will want them ALL!
June is a glorious WEDDING MONTH and HAPPILY EVER AFTER is the perfect wedding set. I truly can’t think of a wedding stamp set I love more! Let me show you!!
Happily Ever After
This large 6×8″ set includes (11) eleven images and (6)six sentiments and matching dies. I used some of the dies for the wedding couple, flower girl and present in my peek a boo style card that gives such a fun look into the wedding festivities!
The main image is stamped onto 110# Neenah Solar White card stock 5.5 x 8.5″ (which becomes your card base) with alcohol friendly ink. After coloring the wedding party in Copic markers, I used colored pencil to lightly enhance the color, filling in all the “nooks and crannies” as Kathy at the dailymarker.com would tell you. I love enhancing my Copic Marker coloring with colored pencil, it seems like it makes the images come alive.
Then using the largest die in the Lawn Fawn Den die set, I cut the opening out of 4.25 x 5.5″ card stock making sure it lines up perfectly with the card base. Pop that up on “doubled”dimensionals (foam tape or fun foam) and you have your little party scene in the background! Stamp, color and die cut the wedding couple, present, and flower girl and back them with doubled foam tape and place on the outline of the Den cut out to make your little scene even more life like!
Just because the 3C’s Anita Jeram images are so much fun to watercolor, I did up the Happily Ever After set in watercolor. And, a word about color. Listed in the links below are some of my “Go to” Copic markers. I never know exactly which I may end up with. You don’t need a huge collection. Use what you have and add to your collection slowly 🙂 Watercolors are Daniel Smith and as with Copic Markers, add your favorite colors to your collection.
Colorado Craft Company is generously having a drawing for one of the new sets. To be included in the drawing for one set of the new stamps going to 8 individuals you will need to leave a comment on each blog. You can enter your comments until midnight eastern time on the 16th and winners will be announced by Colorado Stamp Company blog on June 17th.
You may have arrived here from the fabulous Melissa Andrew and your next stop will be onto the amazingly talented Nichol Spohr
Thank you as always for all your sweet comments and for shopping my links! I do receive a small compensation when you shop my links at no extra charge to you. I’ve linked below products that I used or substitutes that may be available. In the case of dimensionals for the wedding peek a boo card, I used 2 layers of fun foam. I listed other products that will substitute.
