Kimono Kids thank you

You can never have enough thank you cards on hand, especially after the holiday. I have a stamp that says Arigato on it and it would have been perfect for this design but I was unable to locate it. Time for a New Year's clean up and organization of the old stamp area, I guess. The paper "lanterns" were made from origami, a circle punch , and a paper crimper, added some borders of Champagne glitter paper and gold cording for garland. Used the Stampin' Up! Kimono Kids girl and colored her to match, added thank you sentiment from Postage Due. Both sets are retired but keepers!

Merry Christmas!

Best wishes for a Merry and beautiful Christmas! Hope Santa brings you lots of crafting goodies :)

I made this first Christmas Collage card for the mixability challenge #204 called the Shibori wrap. Pretty easy using Riding Hood Red and Garden Green inks on folded paper. Embossed the collage in gold and added a poinsettia spray from Bells & Boughs.

I needed some extra gift tags, and these were super simple using the Cookie Cutter Christmas set. I think this was my favorite SU set of the holiday season, so much fun to work with!

Virtual Stamp Weekend

It was Virtual Stamp Night (Weekend) over at Splitcoast, I found out about it a bit late so I didn't get to do all of the challenges. Here are the few that I did manage, adding some more to my holiday stash!

Dove of Peace

I really love this Dove of Peace stamp from Stampin' Up!, it's a timeless beauty with a perfect scripture for Christmas time. I just discovered the mixed media challenges over at Splitcoast and am starting from the beginning of those challenges. I am about 200 behind so it may take a while to bring me up to speed here. This first Mix challenge called for the use of a shiny and a matte medium. I used acrylic gesso over the sheet music paper (I think this was Graphic45) for the matte portion. Stamped the dove in Versamark and embossed with Espresso powder for the shiny part. Colored with Stampin' Up! markers in pastel shades. Added a little Soft Sky and Sage Shadow ink to edges. Adhered to a Confetti White base. Nice and flat for easy mailing.

Peace On Earth

Stampin' Up!'s World Map embossing folder was the base for this card design, embossed on Glossy White card stock. Colored with watercolor paints, spritzed with some water and dabbed with paper towels to blend. Mounted to Whisper White A2 card base. For the rosette I used an old map, scallop circle die, SU glimmer paper, and the Peace sentiment from Greetings of the Season. Added silver cording and attached to card with a removable pop up adhesive square.

Celebrating One Million visits!

I am so thrilled that my Sleepy in Seattle card making blog has just hit one million views! Thank you for stopping by to visit me, it means a lot to me if I can inspire or motivate you in some small way to go and create something. It always brings me peace and joy to work on any kind of craft, and has ever since I was a kid. I would say it is cheaper than any therapy but if you could see my craft room you would know that is not true! So, go and make something pretty today. Especially if you have children at home that can craft by your side, you are also making memories that will last a lifetime.

Snow Mojo

For this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge I used a mix of Stampin' Up! supplies with this unmarked rubber only snowman stamp that I had in my holiday supply bin. The card stock colors were Tempting Turquoise, Cool Caribbean, and Whisper White, embossed with SU's snowflake folder. Added some glitter paper and a white organdy ribbon to embellish, colored with Derwent Inktense pencils. The jury is still out for me on whether I prefer these or the Prismacolors. They are both great for coloring and blending so I'll try them on various papers for further comparison.

Snow Globe Village

I really love this new Tim Holtz Sizzix snow globe thinlits die cuts set. The pieces are a little small to work with, especially if you are sponging the edges. Be prepared for inky fingers! I pretty much copied the sample on the package for colors and placement, adding a few touches of my own. The background was done on glossy white card stock used the salted watercolor technique to make the winter sky. Added some Stampin' Up! snowflakes since it is a snow globe, after all. The fancy embossed paper was on sale at Hobby Lobby. May have to go back and get more of this, it is even prettier in real life and adds a little touch of elegance to a card.

Die Cut Wreath 3 ways

You can use any of the new swirl or wreath die cuts here, Stampin' Up! has some really pretty ones that would work perfectly. I have always been a "one and done" kind of stamper. As soon as I get a new stamp set, die cut, or embossing folder I make one card and then move on to the next thing. Lately I've been trying to make at least two or three things before I move on so I don't feel so guilty about not getting enough value and use out of each purchase. I've always loved to see how I can make a seasonal product work for other occasions as well.

This pretty wreath is from Darice. The first uses Stampin' Up! glimmer paper. I cut one from this and added two more of lightweight cardboard to give it more stability and just added a little hook at the top to hang from the tree. Catches the light so nicely!

The second card uses SU Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, and Whisper White card stocks, little rhinestones to embellish and a holiday greeting from my general craft stash.

Not sure who made the designer paper on the third project (you could even use sheet music for this), Garden Green and Riding Hood red card stocks, mini pearls and sentiment from unknown. Sponged the edges in Tim Holtz "Old Paper" distress ink.