Tag: Christmas in July

Art Inspiration, Cards, Classes, Scrapbook & Cards Today

Christmas in July Merry Wishes

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I’ve still been busy sorting, purging & organizing. I do plan to get a bit more creating done in August and I’m squeaking in just under the wire with a Christmas in July post. I signed up for Scrapbook and Cards Today’s Merry Wishes event this past weekend.

So far I have only completed the 1st class.

I pretty much stayed to the design with just a couple of additions or changes here or there. These were fun to create and I can’t wait to complete the other classes. All 3 classes use the same products and the variations are all beautiful.

I hope everyone is staying cool during this hot summer. It’s definitely a good time to hide out inside & create, or sort in my case.

I’m challenging myself to get more posts done in August and get back in the art groove.

Have a Fabulous Week!

Art Inspiration, Cards, Concord & 9th, Penny Black, Taylored Expressions

Christmas in July – Beautiful Backgrounds

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I am very much enjoying the tutorials from the Card Makers Success Summit. Today’s cards just took my ink blending up a notch.

These came out just gorgeous with rich beautiful color.

For the top card I used Distress Inks in Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire & Black Soot just like in the instructions. The only big city stencil I have is from Inkylicioius. This card uses a total of 4 stencils.

For the bottom card I used Distress Oxides in Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers & Mermaid Lagoon. The snowflake background is Penny Black’s Snowflake Pattern and the Joy is from Concord & 9th’s Full of Joy Trifold Die. The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips – Christmas set.

Tomorrow I will spend all day in the studio sorting & working on some more cards. Yay!

Art Inspiration, Cards, My Favorite Things, Taylored Expressions

Christmas in July – Peaceful Sprig

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I have you’ve had a fun and relaxed weekend! Summer just seems like the best time to combine fun in the sun with some time to chill out & relax.

I got the studio tidied up for a week of creating ahead. I’m taking a class, designing a class & still enjoying the techniques from the Card Makers Success Summit – Christmas in July. I got the VIP pass so will be able to work my way through the techniques & videos at my own pace. Tonight’s card is from one of the tutorials.

This was a fun stencil masking class from Laurie Wilson. She is the creative inspiration behind Taylored Expressions great masking stencil line. I think my favorite part of this technique was the shadowing overlay of the striped stencil. I used Taylored Expressions Masking Rectangle stencil & Seasonal Sprig stamp & layering stencil set and for the stripes I used My Favorite Things Candy Stripes stencil. I also used Candied Apple & Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide Inks for all the coloring with a touch of Nuvo Glitter Gloss for the berries.

Blessings for a great week ahead!

Art Inspiration, Cards, My Favorite Things

Christmas in July – Pawliday Party

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I finished the cards I had started with the splotchy kind of imperfect coloring additions. A bit of a challenge today since I have also been entertaining my granddaughters for a sleepover at Grammy & Papa’s.

I added in the one from yesterday so you can see them all together. They make a great set.

They all have Distress Oxide backgrounds, were colored with alcohol ink markers and feature all the pups from My Favorite Things Stamps Happy Pawlidays set.

I hope your weekend is fun & relaxing!

Art Inspiration, Cards, My Favorite Things

Happy Pawlidays

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I signed up for the Card Maker Success Summit – Christmas in July event & have been watching videos. Today I tried something a little different.

I tried some “storybook” coloring today & it’s a bit of a stretch for me and that’s perfectly okay because getting outside of your comfort zone often enhances the creative process.

Coloring in a splotchy tree & rug plus coloring imperfectly is hard when you’re not used to coloring that way. I did get the suggestion of a tree & rug into my picture. I have 3 more pups to practice on from My Favorite Things Happy Pawlidays set so let see if I improve over the next couple of days.

Have a Fabulous Weekend!

Art Inspiration, Cards

Christmas in July – Mistletoe Bauble

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

After planting 108 Dwarf Mondo Grass plants in the yard yesterday, I was much too tired to create anything. I did get a fun package in the mail. I ordered Notable Ink’s very first stamp set bundle and tonight I created this card with the Nature Baubles set.

I used one of my marbled backgrounds and added some color with a couple of Tombow markers, Pewter shimmer watercolor for the ornament & some Gelly Roll glitter accents.

My official 1st Christmas card is done, YAY! I signed up for the VIP pass for Card Maker Success Summit Christmas Card Making in July event & have already watched a couple of the videos with some great ideas so stay tuned for more Christmas in July fun!

Cards, Kindness matters

Polished Poinsettia

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I think after posting most of this month and getting into the habit of posting again, it’s time to work on mixing it up a bit. I have noticed a significant drop in Facebook views on my page on FB because they just don’t like to share the limelight. But that’s okay, I’m not much of a crowd follower anyway.

A fairly simple card tonight using the Tim Holtz Poinsettia 3D embossing folder. I played with a little bit of Creative Expressions Blossom Gilding Polish. The polish comes with a fairly large application sponge in the cap & it was hard to control so I switched to an old school finger dauber. It gave me much better results. Of course back in the day we just used our fingers to apply metallic paste.

The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Christmas set. I do 2 or 3 sets in black & white, die cut & then have a stack on hand for quick cards.

Have you had the opportunity to share some kindness this week? It can be as simple as telling your mail lady thank-you for bringing your packages to the door. I wait until she is on the way back to her truck & open the door to say thank-you. Helps with the whole social distancing thing. Think of 3-5 ways you might be able to spread a little kindness & make it a goal to accomplish them over the weekend.

Thanks for popping by!

Cards

Classic Christmas Plaid

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

It’s another fast card tonight. Busy day cleaning & prepping the next batch of troop cards to mail. There are 945 everyday cards heading out tomorrow to our unit. Yay!

I grabbed my new Paper Rose Merry & Bright die, some leftover holiday plaid from another project and tonight’s card was classic & quick. I can see using this die in a variety of holiday colors. Plus it comes with the matching solid outline for more versatility.

This will make a great troop card since I didn’t add any sparkle & it’s fairly flat making it easier to travel through the mail.

I hope you have a fantastic week! Don’t forget to share some extra kindness & encouragement!

Cards

Fun Christmas Trees

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

I love working in non-traditional Christmas colors as much as traditional colors. For tonight’s fast card I grabbed a background from my stash.

I am working on being a bit more selective in my purchases since I have so much to work with already, so I was looking for something a little different. This JOFY 84 set by Paper Artsy is a great addition to my Christmas collection. I added a sentiment from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Christmas and instant card. The picture doesn’t show the Nuvo Glitter Gloss accents I added but there is a subtle shimmer.

Thanks for popping by!

Have a Fabulous Day!

Cards, Challenges

Snowy Town

Ruth Cooper

Hi Angels!

There are days I can be the queen of fast, simple, & elegant.

I am going to be working hard the next couple of weeks to get a better schedule in place. It was nice to have a breather from the faster pace of life but I’ve been moseying along a little too long I think. Plus with my guys working at home, I need a new routine that works for me without disturbing their work days.

Tonight’s card is another red, white & blue Holiday in July Extravaganza Card for the Troops. I have a couple of town or house border dies but I picked up the Little House Border by Paper Rose recently & decided it would make a great quick card.

I think the most work on this card was splattering the blue background with white paint. I die cut the border die, layered it on the card, stamped the sentiment & completed in about 15 minutes. Clean, simple & elegant.

I have always loved clean & simple design. I am just not an over the top person. I can do lots of layers, 3-D & fussy but simple & elegant is my signature style.

Do you have a signature style you prefer?

Thanks for popping in!