A Retro Sketch for Christmas

This afternoon as I was waiting in line at Joanne Fabrics, I spotted a box of Christmas cards-it was clearly a photoshopped picture, but beautiful none the less.  The scene was of a silent snowy path into a forest of jet black trees with a wintry gray sky for a backdrop.  Every tree branch was perfectly laiden with snow.  I new I had to try to recreate that card.  When I got home and checked the new sketch at Retrosketches, this is what I found-

Well, it didn't get more perfect than that!  Here is the card I made based on my Joanne Fabrics inspiration and the sketch at Retrosketches-

 

  Gray Peaceful Christmas

I am amazed at how many ways you can stamp a tree!  This set has been used countless times.  To make this card I used-
CS-Whisper White
Stamps-Lovely as a Tree,  Greetings of the Season
Ink-Craft Black, Versamark, Real Red, Basic Gray
Other-sponge, clear ep, Dazzling Details, Dimensionals

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!  Have a blessed week!

Lee Ann :)
*EDIT*********
 There have been some inquiries about the making of this card.  All products are from Stampin' Up and can be purchased online from Stampinup.com  You can view the catalog by clicking on the catalog icon near the top of my blog on the right hand side.   The stamp set, Lovely as a Tree, is on page 84.  If you go to stampinup.com to purchase the set, I would very much appreciate if you put my name-Lee Ann Barrett-in as your demonstrator. :)
I used the masking technique to create this "forest" of trees and to eliminate the grassy areas on the stamp as I did not want grass dirtying up my snow!
Lastly, most all stamps from Stampin' Up will be 15% off on Monday, October 29th ONLY!  This includes the Lovely as a Tree set, so now would be a perfect time to take advantage of a sale!

Thanks so much for your stopping by and for all of your kind words!

Lee Ann

Schooled Thanks!

Oops!!!  Did I forget Boss' Day??  This week has been a busy one at school, lots of field trips, a blood drive to run and kids getting their hearing checked tomorrow.  But I cannot forget my principal, who is an amazing boss.  This week's Freshly Made Sketch is perfect for a masculine card.  

Here is my take on this sketch complete with a bit of a school theme-

I love the orangy tones with gray so paired Cajun Craze with Basic Gray dsp from the Storytime dsp pack.  I die cut Soft suede with an Apothecary die and made a banner in Whisper White, adding a sentiment from Trendy Trees.  The leaves are from Lovely as a Tree, stamped in Stazon Brown and watercolored with an aquapainter.  I created a tone on tone background on the top third of the card using strips of Cajun Craze paper.  The leaves are popped up on dimensionals.  I love dimensionals!

Here's to hoping my principal likes this card!  I hope you like it as well!
Have a wonderful week,

Lee Ann  :)

Virtual Stamp Night (or day)

Today I decided to participate in Splitcoast Stamper's Virtual Stamp Night. I have not done this before-probably because it typically takes me hours to make 1 card!  But today I am trying to keep up with the 45 minute time limit.  Whew!  Not easy to do!

This challenge was to try a new  (at least to me) technique, the Glitter Window.  This card uses 3 stamp sets-Lovely as a Tree, Tiny Tags and Peaceful Wishes (retired).  The card base and ribbon are Cherry Cobbler.  Other paper used is Whisper White, Very Vanilla, River Rock, Chocolate Chip and the newest Christmas dsp, Candlelight Christmas. The evergreen is stamped in Wild Wasabi and the window that frames it is made with the SU apothecary framelit. I clear embossed and hand cut the pinecones.  There is also Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, a Vintage Faceted button and a tag punched with the jewelry tag punch.  Believe it or not, there is also clear packing tape and Crystal Snow glitter. 

This was a fun technique to try-why not hop on over to Splitcoast Stampers and check out the tutorial?
Thanks for stopping by,

Lee Ann
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Back again with a little MOJO-the  MOJO Monday sketch that is-

 What a fun and versatile sketch!  I wanted to use warm, fall colors as well as one of my new stamp sets from Stampin' Up, Trust God.

Paper used is Very Vanilla, Patio Party dsp, Candlelight Christmas dsp, and SU Salebration dsp.  The sentiment is framed with the Stampin' Up embossing frame.  Embellishments include a new SU faux wood button with linen thread and leaves from Lovely as a Tree stamped on Naturals Ivory paper, colored with reinkers and aqua painter and hand cut.  I used the Simply Scored tool to score around the edge of the card base.
Oranges, golden yellows and browns-I am now ready for fall!

Thank you for visiting my blog;
have a blessed weekend!

Lee Ann

This and That

Hello Everyone- I hope you are all staying cool!  These hot summer days are sure great excuses to stay inside and craft!  Today I am posting a few cards that I have made over the last few days and, as I am determined to have a good selection of Christmas cards this year, two of these are just that, Christmas cards.

This card was made with the good old dependable, Lovely as a Tree set and is stamped in Cameo Coral (sadly, retired) and then overstamped and slightly offset with Versamark and clear embossing powder, plus a little white embossing powder sprinkled here and there.  The card base and panels are all Naturals White and are scored with the Simply Scored.  Pearls and ribbon finish off the card.

Green Christmas was made for a Featured Stamper challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  I used the retired Tag Time set (tree) and Tiny Tags for this card.  Papers are Very Vanilla, Gumball Green and Crumb Cake. There is a bit of Newsprint dsp on the edge of the raised panel.  A small flourish is stamped in versamark behind the tree and nicely mimics the flourished embossing folder (Victorian folder by Stampin' Up).

This Thank You was made for a Clean and Simple Color challenge at Splitcoast Stampers.  The design is timeless and yet the card is simple enough that I think I will mass produce this.  I never seem to have a Thank You card when I need it!  The flourishes are from Elements of Style and are stamped in old Olive.  The die cut is from the Apothecary Framelits and is in Night of Navy with a banner stamped with a Curly Cute sentiment in Basic Gray on top of it.  The raised panel is scored with the Simply Scored tool.

Lastly, I made this for a friend, just as a Thinking of You card.  I used a new stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs and brayered Vintage Violet, Marigold Morning, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron and True Thyme on it.  My brayer work is a little rusty!  The oval frame is embossed with Polka Dots and raised up on dimensionals.
This card is for Stampin' Sisters in Christ card challenge this week-the challenge is to use something new-which in this case, is the stamp as well as the Our Daily Bread Designs challenge which is  "Anything Goes" as long as you use an ODBD stamp.   

Thanks so much for visiting my blog.  I hope your week is fantastic!

Lee Ann

Another go at the Brayer!

Well, now I have to keep trying to perfect the elusive brayer!  I am loving working with it and am trying to achieve the "perfect" background.  This one got a little dark, so instead of a sunset, it is more like dusk.

I have used Stampin' Up's Lovely as a Tree; I masked the snowy ground and brayered the sky in  Marigold Morning, Apricot Appeal, Calypso Coral, Vintage Violet and Night of Navy.  The image is mounted on Wisteria Wonder.  Both tree images are stamped in black and have clear glitter on them.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is punched out with the Word Window punch.  An organza bow in white finishes off this card.