The little things that make me happy here on Bliss Road~~Emily Keaton

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Nutcracker Postage

This card was a blast to make this morning! I was surprised by how easily it went together even though I had a packed morning--a trip to the post office, a stop at the eye doctor's office to pick up my new glasses, a house call from the chimney repair folks, and another repair house call for our dishwasher. (The bad news is that we will be without a functioning dishwasher for at least another week while waiting for the required parts. Boo hoo.) But I managed to play with paper (and give myself a dose of happy!) around all of that and still had plenty of time this afternoon to do my freelance work for the day. Yay!

This card gives you a sneak peek of a new Mark's Finest Papers clear stamp set that will be released next week--Christmas Postage Due. This is a very cool set with lots of holiday postage-y images and sayings. The inside of my card reads "Sending you the Joy of the Season." Perfect, right?

I desperately wanted to play along with the ColourQ challenge this week which featured cherry cobbler, cajun craze, more mustard, taken with teal, and vanilla. I actually have none of those SU colors but was able to substitute pretty nicely for all of them. I just bought last year's SU In-Color markers and card stock at a huge discount (about 75% off), and I was thrilled to find that bermuda breeze, dusty durango, and crushed curry were great subs. So I got to use my new goodies right away!! This is my first attempt at coloring a stamped image with SU markers. It was a little trickier than I thought and it shows. Please be gentle in your comments!! I'm going to need lots of practice.

I also got to use some great new Christmas DP that I got with a gift certificate that I won recently. I used some October Afternoon Very Merry DP (the red poinsettia print) and some Echo Park Everyone Loves Christmas DP(the teal snowflakes print). I am loving both of these, I just wish I'd ordered extra sheets of that Echo Park stuff.

OK, enough prattle about my card! (Oh, except to say that this is a 4.25" x 4.25" square card.) Here are the challenges I incorporated, and then I'll sign off:
Thanks for stopping by today!!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Christmas Postage Due
Paper: SU bermuda bay CS, The Paper Company CS, MFP Snow Storm ultra smooth finish CS, October Afternoon Very Merry DP, Echo Park Everyone Loves Christmas DP
Ink: Palette noir black, Stamp 'n Write markers
Accessories: SU 1" circle punch, foam tape, baker's twine, silver brads

27 comments:

Kristy Smith said...

Emily that card is AMAZING! I absolutely LOVE this stamp and I'm really excited for this new set to be released! My Mother in Law is a dancer and so she has a special spot for the Nutcracker! I just might have to purchase this right away!!! =)

Also, I'm always amazed at how many challenges you can fit into one card! Kudos on that, it always amazes me! =)

Fiona said...

lovely card and fab DP. THanks for joining us at Paper Sundaes this week.

Fi

Emily (stampingout on SCS) said...

Love your nutcracker card, Em! :)

Benzi said...

What a wonderful nutcracker card. My oldest son loves nutcrackers and would think this is a very cool card. Good job with the Copics...I've tried them a little myself and decided I would need a few lessons if I want to invest in them. In the meantime, I stick to my little brush and Tombows. LOL

Vicki Dutcher said...

Excellent coloring what are you talking about! This sketch is awesome I might have to head on over~~ Thanks for playing with Speedy's Friends!

Silke Ledlow said...

Super cute nutcracker card Emily!!! You rocked the challenges GF!!! Hugs ~S~

Bonnie said...

Great card Emily and you did a fine job of painting! I don't see any squiggly thingies hanging out there!

marsha said...

Just fabulous! I love your images and your colors are fabulous! Thanks for playing along with the Crafty Critters this week and we hope you will join us again next week!
Hugs,
Marsha
CSCB-DT

Stacy Morgan said...

Wonderful! Your image is perfect for the sketch and I just like that twine... oh yea...

Mary Marsh said...

this is a great christmas card emily-the colors are so pretty and love that bakers twine-I really like nutcrackers and have quite a collection that will be coming out soon for the holidays

Tenia Nelson said...

Love this card!!!!

Sylvia said...

Hi, Emily! Thanks for participating in the ColourQ Challenge each week. Your card is so festive. Have a good weekend.

Gloria Stengel said...

I love the papers you used! Very nice! (Sorry about your dishwasher...we just had ours die...not fun!) Thanks for playing at Paper Sundaes this week.

Sue Lelli said...

Wow! You were able to combine so many challenges to make one FAB card! I LOVE the nutcracker stamp! Super!

Colleen Dietrich said...

You had such a busy day! I can't believe you still had time to fit in a card. You're right about subbing those 'old' In Colors for the new ones. I can't tell the difference! I also can't see where you need practice on your SU marker coloring!

Marisa said...

This little nutcracker is fabulous! Reminds me of my time in Germany :) Great use of the ColorQ colours too. Great card :)

Lynn McAuley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lynn McAuley said...

I messed that one up so I'll try again!

I am just drooling on these yummy colors and fabulous papers, Emily!! Awesome work!!

What a fabulous addition to the Friends of Speedy the Cat's holiday card challenge!! Thank you for playing along and sharing your wonderful work with us!

Anita said...

I love how you colored the nutcracker...he's fantastic. Also love those papers and the little colored twine is so pretty.

Meg said...

Ooooh, I never would have thought of this combo for Christmas but it looks so regal with the nutcracker! Looks like a fun postage stamp set, too.

And congrats on your moxie fab win! Woohoo!

Joanne (jojot) said...

this color combo totally rocks....and love the image as well......thanks for playing with Speedy's Friends

Anonymous said...

gorgeous! love how you coloured him and i love the colours and designs of the DP.

Angie said...

Hi what a fab card love the colours thanks for joining us at papertake weekly.
Hugs Angie

Colleen said...

Such a neat layout and beautiful paper choices! Thanks for joining us at Critter Sketch Challenges this week!

Moira said...

Ooohh Pretty!

Thanks so much for joining us at the Critter Sketch Challenge Blog! Hope to see you again next week!!

Colleen Dietrich said...

Congratulations on winning as Courtier over at ColourQ today with this cute card! And I am your Queen, can you believe it?? Bonnie Klass is another Courtier. Off to congratulate her, as well!

Bonnie said...

Congratulations to you Emily for being chosen ColorQ Courtier. Great job!