Catch-up Post #3 - November 2017

This is the last of three catch-up posts I'm making today to cover the second half of 2017. These five cards are a bit fresher in my mind than the ones in the previous two posts, so I'll be able to provide a bit more info on them.

1. Splitcoaststampers Sketch challenge SC671 - This interesting sketch turned into one of my more favorite Christmas cards of this year:

I used my beloved Year of Cheer metallic DSP from Stampin' Up for this card as well as silver foil and Whisper White cardstock. The Joyce die cut is from last year's Candy Cane Lane Stamp of Approval, as is one of the die cut snowflakes. The other two snowflakes are from My Favorite Things. The snowflake behind the Joy was stamped with silver Delicata ink.

2. Peaceful Deer Scene - When I started my nature scene card for WCMD, I got off to a false start because I didn't realize at first that I would need to make a horizontal (landscape) card. For this card I began with the vertical (portrait) sky I initially watercolored and built from there. The tree and deer die cuts are from a Stampin' Up stamp set called Carols of Christmas along with its coordinating Card Front Builders thinlits die set. The card base is a piece of my precious Mint to Be, a long-retired SU color that I carefully hoard but for special occasions like this.

3. MFT Challenge - Card 1  This is the very first card I made with my early surprise Christmas present, a Brother ScanNCut. To say I'm in love with this machine doesn't even begin to express how I feel, and I'm sure I don't know the half of what it can do yet! All I can say is I have an extremely generous friend who must like me an awful lot!! (Massive thanks to you-know-who-you-are!)

4. MFT Challenge - Card 2   Because I had the stamps and paper out, I figured I'd see how quickly I could make a second card similar to the one above. Would you believe this took me under 20 minutes? It helped a great deal that the ScanNCut could cut out the cat and flower in seconds flat! This machine is going to be a real game-changer for me - not only in terms of cutting speed, but now I no longer have to spend a small fortune on coordinating ("cookie cutter") dies for stamp sets that might require some fussy cutting. I'm already looking at my old stamps differently now knowing that I can do so much more so much more easily. I haven't been this emotional about a tool since I got my Big Shot!

5. Thank You Berry Much - I needed a break from working on my Christmas cards and wanted to do something using my new ScanNCut... but what? My muse suggested I just reach into my bin of stamps I have at my feet (don't ask) and make something with whatever set I randomly grab. The winner was a Catherine Pooler Designs set called I Pick You, a fruit-themed set. I pretty much knew right away what I wanted to do:

I used the ScanNCut to cut out a bunch of the small strawberries and then raised them up with Stampin' Dimensionals to give the card front a 3-D look:

The inside:

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Whew! I have now posted all my finished cards from the second half of 2017. I really need to remember to post as I go so I don't have to do these massive catch-up posts.

Coming up next: I should be finishing my mass-produced Christmas cards pretty soon (since they need to get to the post office!), and I am also working on a chicken card. :) (More on that later!)

There's about 14 days til Christmas and holiday madness seems to be in full swing in most places judging from what I hear from my friends and see/read in the news and on social media. Just a reminder, if you're one of those people who are trying to move faster than the speed of sound: It's okay to stop, get one less thing done, and just savor the moment. Enjoy a cuppa hot chocolate or coffee, kick back and relax for a bit... YOU are worth more than anything you DO, so take care of YOU! Besides, we'll all be better off if you're better off.

Peaceful smiles,
Joyce Spear a.k.a. StamperJoyce