Here I go.....

Hello everyone: Here is my very first Christmas card of 2018, I hope it will be a great year for creating and learning, sharing and making new friends.

This card is made with one of my favorite Christmas Power Poppy sets called Spice it Up, I can almost smell the delicious aroma of cloves and oranges.

I'm linking this card to a few challenges at the end of this post.

I stamped this image on a panel of Blick Studio Drawing Paper with Versamark ink and heat embossed it in gold. My granddaughter gave me this huge pad of this paper and I really love it.  It is great to color with Prismacolor pencils and, to my amazement, it also can take heat embossing and water, it's very smooth and the colors blend beautifully.  I used SU markers and an aqua painter to color this image.

The ribbon is from my stash.

********************************************************************

Finishing the inside of all my cards has saved me lots of time when I mail them, it might take a bit extra time to do it but, in the end, the cards look beautifully finished.

The sentiment is from the "Spice it Up" set and the little mug from another Power Poppy set called Merry Littles, this is my "go to" set to add a little extra image to the inside of the cards.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Merry Monday

Freshly Made Sketches

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #273 "Holiday"

Christmas at Sweet Stamping "Anything Christmas Goes"

The Merry Christmas Challenge #1 "Anything Goes Christmas"

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express. 

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Warm Inspiration from Merry Monday.....

Hello everyone: The cozy season is here and with it comes warm sweaters and mittens, hot and delicious coffee and cocoa, with all kinds of goodies on top.

This card really warms me up, I have a hot mug of strong coffee with a bit of almond creamer to sweeten it up.

The images are from a very old Cornish Heritage Farms set called "The Cafe", I love all the images of tea pots, coffee percolators, mugs, cake, muffins, etc. 

I stamped the images with Stazon black ink on a piece of Arches watercolor paper that my granddaughter gave me to try, the texture is not as smooth as my other papers but I love it, perfect for water coloring. I colored the images with SU markers and an aqua painter. The pattern paper and the ribbon are from my stash, the sentiment is from a retired SU set called "Snow Day", super cute snow man in this set.

*****************************************************************

I always finish the inside of my cards, this saves me a lot of time when I mail them.

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Ponsettia and the little mug from another Power Poppy set called Merry Littles.

I'm playing along with the following challenges.

Merry Monday

Tuesday Morning Sketches

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #18 "Anything Christmas Goes"

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #367 "Watercolor"

Christmas at Sweet Stamping "Anything Christmas Goes"

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.

Christmas Teddy and Train.....

Hello everybody: In a continuous effort to have a good stash of Christmas cards for the Holidays, I made this one using a super sweet, retired set from Stampin' Up!, images like this are timeless.

I like to combine stamp sets, both old and new, to achieve a certain look on my cards, I have a good stash of vintage, beautiful and retired sets from all over the place, here I combined two old and one new to create this card.

The sweet, fluffy Teddy and the adorable little Train are from a retired Stampin' Up! set called "Teddy and Train", this set is perfect for baby cards but, like in this case, also for a cute Christmas card.  The pile of beautifully wrapped gifts the Teddy is leaning on is from a retired Flourishes set called "All Wrapped Up!".  The sentiment here is from a new Power Poppy set called Wreaths Plain and Fancy.  I die cut the oval from Spellbinders Decorative Elements Floral Ovals.

****************************************************************

Here is a picture of the finished inside of my card.

The sentiment is from a Power Poppy set called Poinsettia, the little gift from Merry Littles.

I'm linking this card to the following challenges.

Merry Monday

                             Christmas at Sweet Stamping June Challenge "Anything Goes for Christmas"                                     Crafting By Design "Animals" Hope my little Teddy Bear counts.

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #128, "Any Holiday"

ModSquad Challenge Use lots of colors on your creation.

Thank you for stopping by, I always read every single comment you so kindly leave on my posts, I want you to know I appreciate them more than words can express.

Until next time, happy stamping.

Hugs from Maria.