Here's the picture of this week's give-away, the winner of which will be randomly picked from someone who adds a comment below. It is a 3-pack of the Basic Grey paper ornaments (so that is 18 total, as I believe there are six per pack.) So get some friends together to make them, do them with your kids, or make one huge garland...also, there is some Martha Stewart glitter, two different greens , to add to the ornaments. And now, on to this week's question. It was fun to read about everyone's fantasy job last week...we had artists, poets, actresses, animal caregivers, wine tasters, archeologists, designers, Cinderella at DisneyWorld, and even a lunch lady! Here's to dreams coming true!For this week, let's think about the holidays, in a nice and easy way. What are your "go to" colors for holiday cards and projects...do you stick with the basic red & green??...or go off the beaten path a bit???...and let's throw in your favorite embellishment, too. Here's my take--I definitely go with the basic red and green, as these are my favorite colors, but I do like a bit of distress ink to make it all look vintage...and my favorite embellishment is definitely glitter, the more the merrier! Now, let's hear from you...first-timers are very welcome to join in.
(Preview--next week-sweet treat recipes!!!)
Also, try to remember that we will be doing the trunk show for the "Beads For Life" program, at the end of December. I will post the exact date in the newsletter as soon as I know.
I do a lot of red and white cards, but I also like to do wintery blue and white designs with snowmen and/or snowflakes. My favorite embellishments for holiday cards (OK, for any card) are Stickles/glitter, brads (often for tree toppers), and ribbon.
ReplyDeleteWell, I do Chanukah cards in white/silver/blue/gold; and for my non-Jewish friends I tend to go with gold/red/white. Stickles and Stewart Gill Byzantia paints. New to the shop/site and the blog; looking forward to my first field trip....
ReplyDeleteI've been using vintage Christmas card images in a shabby chic style with faded or muted reds, greens, and creams on kraft cards and I've been embellishing the cards with creamy ribbon, tea-stained lace, and bits of old jewelry that belonged to the mother and grandmother of one of my friends. I've had great fun repurposing clip-on earrings, rhinestone pins, and other baubles. Anne, yourmainestamper
ReplyDeleteThis year I am using more of a lighter shade of green with red and cream. I like the muted shades. Embellishment is stickles platinum !! I think I am addicted to it. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the traditional red and green, but like to add a bit of pink to change it up a bit. I also love glitter and stickles...gotta have some bling !!!
ReplyDeleteI vary with my color choices, I go traditional, blues, browns for the vintage, I guess it depends on the stamps I choose. Now if I can only choose a stamp set.......
ReplyDeleteI love designing and making my Christmas cards every year! I like a really vibrant red, used in small doses so it really pops & catches the eye, and either a very pale green (think lichen or glow-in-the-dark-green) or a bright lime green. I also like a deep jewel-like blue (think a clear winter sky lit up with stars.) Some of my favorite motifs are stars and white snowflakes -- Hero Arts has a cylinder of tiny snowflake stamps that I LOVE! Some embellishments I have really enjoyed using in past seasons: small doilies painted over with gesso to highlight the bumpy texture, and distressed with small amounts of blue and green paint to look like a snowy "planet Earth". Shimmery blue & green sheer organza ribbon. Colored staples. A hand-carved stamp of a peace dove. Old sheet music of Christmas carols. Thin gold Japanese cord....For this year's card I am thinking of "going green" by recycling old Christmas cards I have received in past years and cutting them into very thin strips to make sort of a mosaic background, then using my son's (he's 2) handprint over the background in green paint and making the handprint into a Christmas tree. I'll use gold ink, or maybe foil? for the ornaments and brads for the tree toppers.
ReplyDeleteI like red and green, but more muted - the kind that goes well with off white, if that makes sense. As far as embellishments, I really do not use much, I like to pop up certain sections and use glitter pens - I like snowflakes this time of the year ...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fun! Sandra
Jeanne Kelly said...
ReplyDeleteI like copper! This is the second year in a row that I am making my holiday cards and it seems that copper will again be the color of choice. Last year I used T!m's metallic copper alcohol ink and this year I am using copper glitter around the outside of some beautiful playing cards with vintage angel drawings - so cool! I'm looking forward to visting AE again over the Holidays when I am back in MA - Thanks for having such a great store!
I too love the traditional red and green. I like to use a dark red and a light green. I love to use snowflakes any way possible!! I have snowflake brads and stamps and die cuts lol!!
ReplyDeleteI also love using red and gold and silver, or green and silver. So many ways to use the colors, it's hard to choose!!
I am also a big stickles fan! And I love to use buttons!
~Lindsay~
I try to do something a little different each year - this year it started in August at the Wednesday crop when I had a bunch of tags in my bag, some Distress Ink and Twinkling H2Os - and I found two great stamps and started from there. After painting them up, I picked out light blue and light green as my colors.
ReplyDeleteBlue, purple. silver!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love maroon and darkish green, victorian red and green as I call it!! With gold...if I am stamping I love to use gold embossing powder and glitter accents....and ribbons, I like ribbons.
ReplyDeleteI love the maroon and forest green tones, plus lots of gold and silver. Going non-traditonal with some winter blues and black/white accents is fun too.
ReplyDeleteI love more mraoon and deep forest greens--- blue is also a favvorite of mine. I love glitter--the more the merrier!!! With glitter more on the sliver side-- not a glitzy gold person.
ReplyDeletei like blue/silver/white with sparkling snowflakes although all my decorations are red and green around the house!
ReplyDeleteI do like red or green, but my favorite is when I can find the perfect shade of a deep maroon. Sometimes, I have done blues, think full moon on glistening on fresh snow blue!.... For me, after more than 10 years of making holiday cards, it's creating a new design each year, that I love about the challenge of stamping/crafting! Jenny B
ReplyDeleteI love pink, cranberry, and green (maybe more of a subtle lime green)....so pretty together...embellies: poinsettia silk flowers...yum!
ReplyDeleteteri
Christmas to me means red and green. I love those colors on our tree especially with some gold and silver. I love shiny. When it comes to holiday cards I'm all over the place. I've done red and green, burgundy and cream, light blue and silver and even some brown and gold. It all depends on the design and my mood!
ReplyDeleteI love many combination of colors but this year I went with lime green, hot pink with a little bit of blue. Really fun and cute!
ReplyDeleteTraditional red and green with a punch of lime and hot pink. Love the contrast, steppin out of the box a bit...
ReplyDeleteBling...however you can, wherever you can. No such thing as to much bling. Rhinestones, stickles, brads, jewelry, ribbon....
Mel
aka Craftdiva
I LOVE colors...so they predominate my cards...For Christmas I love red, white, green and gold. Having said that, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the look of white on white cards. They look so elegant! and the white lends itself for Christmas beautifully- like the look of snow and snowflakes - with layers of CB embossing and different layered spellbinder's die cut outs with some white bling...the outcome is simple and amazing!
ReplyDeleteFavorite embellishment....hard to name just one...but I, of course, love bling - rhinestones & pearls...can't do just one - and I love the addition of ribbon! and actually so much more - like spellbinders die cuts and borders...and so much more to add a festive look!
I usually stick to the basic Christmas colors for my cards...red, green, gold. This year, I'm using a lighter green, brown and basic white for my cards. I like the different look...just might have to break out of the box again next year!
ReplyDeleteI use Basic Grey exclusively when I do my Christmas Card cigar boxes. The colors of the christmas series are perfect together. I bought out everything from stores and hunted online ebay sources for the earlier ones, the Prancer, Blitzen and Figgy Pudding etc and cover the entire used cigar boxes with these great papers. I have found that I need to use white book tape or white duct tape (that you can color with alcohol inks lightly or leave white and distress with chalky ink to remove the shine) to hold the top to the box because painting it before putting on the paper weakens that seam and you need the tape to keept it together. Put it on first after primeing the box and then put the papers over it. I have made 3 and like them too much to give them away. I do not like to spray them afterwards as I like the feel of the paper itself. There are great jel stickers with the Christmas saying and holly and berry motifs that look great across the front. Last year , I used the Basic Grey to cover discount wooden frames and then just distressed the edges and put on some sticker cardstock icicles to finish it off. Christmas is a great time of year for artsy endeavors.
ReplyDeleteStevenie T.