Some Christmas Cards

First let me just apologize for the sorrier-than-usual photos. We went to a Christmas party and by the time I got to photograph these it was dark. It rained all day today anyway, and tomorrow I have to go to work. My DH is going to take these to this year's card lady at church tomorrow morning, so tonight was the only time I could take pix.

This first card I cased--you can see the original HERE. I used last year's SU Christmas DP. The stamp set is SU's Holy Triptych. I stamed in in Soft Suede and used a blender pen and Champagne Shimmer paint to color the bottles. I sponged the edges of the main panel and the DP with the shimmer paint also. I stamped a scripture from ODBD inside. Card base on the first two cards is Gina K Heavy Base Weight Cream.

On the second card I decided to let the DP do the work for me LOL! It's really hard for me to cover up beautiful paper. The label is from Spellbinders, the sentiment is ODBD, stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink. I sponged the raised areas on the tag ends with CC ink also.

For the last card I embossed an angel from Holy Triptych in silver on vellum CS. Die is from Spellbinders. I embossed the Marina Mist layer with the Textile CB folder. Card base is PTI white.

I made two of each of these designs for her--I sure hope she likes them. Thanks for looking!

Christmas Cards for Girl Scouts

Every year the Girl Scouts do a Festival of Giving. Each service unit is assigned a charity to donate gifts to. This year ours was Mirror, Inc, an addiction rehab outfit. The usual things were on the list, toiletries mostly, but we decided to make Christmas cards as well, so the inpatients can send someone a Christmas card if they want to. I designed these 4 cards to be fairly simple and easy to mail, hence the abundance of baker's twine (from Divine Twine), which I've always resisted buying before. All the CS is SU, as is the DP (retired years ago, it was called Dashing. I loved it so much I bought two packs and hoarded it. Finally I used it!) All the components were pre-cut.

The first card uses PTI's Stocking Prints set. I die cut enough stockings for 12 cards (that's 36 times through the big shot, if anyone wants to know, plus a few extras). I also embossed the pieces so I wouldn't have to lug my big shot along. Of course the girls had never worked with clear stamps before so that was a challenge.

This next card I thought would be fun for them, since it uses Holiday Sampler, a long-retired stamp set that has LOTS of cute little stamps and lets you do some 2-step stamping. I figured they would get a kick out of choosing their own images and they did. There were lots of interesting variations on my design!

This card very nearly turned into a fiasco as I had them use Tombow Mono Multi, a liquid glue. I only had 3 tape runner-type Mono's, and they went to the other three tables. Plus I found it easy to glue the strings down with just a drop of glue. 9-11 year old girls don't get the concept of "less is more" when it comes to glue! The set is Delightful Decorations, and is still in the SU catty (I know, what a surprise!).

This last card uses City of David, an oldie but a goodie. One of the other leaders had been to an estate sale where she picked up a whole box of rice paper, which she gave to me. So I decided to use it on this card. Card base is PTI's white as it is very sturdy. Blue layer is Ballet Blue and the images are stamped with Night of Navy. I decided not to mess with eyelets on the girls' cards, so we just punched holes and tied the silver cord through. These turned out the best of the four designs for the most part.

Well, I hope these cards bring some holiday joy to the inpatients at Mirror Inc. Thanks for looking!

PTI Swap--Sympathy

This card is for Jen's SCS swap, the sympathy category. I often find myself needing sympathy cards, but I rarely make them for some reason. I sold my PTI sympathy set to KJ, who has done some wonderful thing with it, but I still have Out on a Limb, one of my all time fave stamp sets. This card is very basic, but I think it's pretty, calm and soothing. Hopefully it would make someone grieving feel a little better.

Card base is SU's Perfect Plum, DP is PTI. Ink is SU Crumb Cake, PTI's hybrid Plum Pudding and Lavender Moon. I used my Bow Easy from Gina K to make my bow. It turned out very well, I think. Dies are from Spellbinders. Thanks for looking!

Homespun Angel

I have been having so much fun with this angel! To me she looks very folk art-y, and I got the idea to use her with my Quilter's Sampler set (also by PTI). Lining up those quilt blocks is a bear! I finally cut a 3/4" strip and scored it at 3/4" intervals. It's still not completely straight, but it looks okay. I stamped the blocks and angel in Palette Burnt Umber on SU's Crumb Cake. I colored the blocks with a blender pen and reinkers, Old Olive and Real Red (markers were too intense).

Ribbon tag is Spellbinders, felt ribbon is Martha Stewart. I used the original Love Lives Here dies to cut a little red felt heart and punched some pine boughs out of Ripe Avocado with the MS punch. Looking at this now I wish I had embossed the avocado layer--next time! This was really my idea for my PTI swap, but it took me forever to figure out how to line up those blocks decently and I got fed up. After I got the swap done I thought of my MS scoring board--love that thing! Anyway, I like how this turned out---hope you do too!

Warm Winter Wishes

I am ecstatic over the way this card turned out! I used the mitten die from PTI's Love Lives Here: Holidays for the mittens. The doilies are MFT's Dizzy Doilies. Sentiment is from PTI's Stocking Prints. CS, DP, buttons, and ink are PTI. Felt ribbon is last year's (or maybe the year before?) Martha Stewart. Jingle bell is SU and twine (yes, I finally broke down and bought some which means the trend is over!) is from Divine Twine. I needed a huge roll of it to make cards with the Girl Scouts for a charity we are supporting and that was the biggest one--I saw it in PaperCrafts. The sketch was Mojo Monday 199.

The hole in the bell is VERY tiny! I wound up using a single strand of DMC to tie it onto the twine knot, as I could not get the twine itself through the hole. Sheesh! The things I will go through to make a card. Anyway, I LOVE this card. Hope you do too--thanks for looking!

Christmas Angel

A couple of PTI releases ago, I ordered this stamp set, called Love Lives Here: Holidays. Along with the Christmas Labels set, and matching dies. I have the original LLH, and I love it, so had to have this one too! I love this angel image. I die cut her and embossed her in gold on Very Vanilla CS. The card base is Always Artichoke, the layer is Cherry Cobbler. DP is (let's all say it together now!) last year's SU. I pleated a strip of DP and glued the ends together to make the pleated rosette. This is a very bulky card!

Sentiment is from LLH: Holidays, label is from Christmas Labels. Lace is SU. I wasn't sure I liked this card at first but it has grown on me. Hope you like it too! TFL!

Another Christmas Angel

Can you tell I just love this angel? Here I've used last year's Christmas DP from SU, cut with Spellbinders. Card base is Sahara Sand, layers are Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss the green layer and sponged it with SU champagne shimmer paint. Angel is stamped on Very Vanilla with SS ink. Doily is an MFT die which I just got--love it! Very easy to use. I sponged it with the shimmer paint too.

The ribbon is SU. Stamp set and angel die are from PTI (Love Lives Here: Holidays). Stop by for another one tomorrow!

Recipe Card Swap

I joined a Weight Watchers recipe card swap over on SCS. For those of you that don't know, I did weight watchers for about 3 months and lost about 16 pounds! The last month or so I haven't been sticking to it like I should--I need to get back to it before the holidays undo all the good I did!

I signed up for 2 slots, and my recipes are both vegetarian. This first one is for gazpacho, which I love. It is from my Cuisinart instruction book cookbook. I used this SU DP (current! I know!) called Domestic Goddess--the opposite of what I am LOL! I used the Cricut Cartridges Elegant Edges (recipe and mat) and Country Life (utensil jug--cut at 2"). The ribbon is PTI Berry Sorbet.

The next one is for vegetable lasagna and it is to die for! The recipe was too long to get on one card ( and still be in a point size you can read) so I made it double sided and put it in a pocket. This was suggested by one of my fellow swappers. Again, CS and DP are SU, Cricut cart is Country Life. I used a SU embossing folder and some eyelets on the pocket.

I am looking forward to getting these back. I think I am going to make a cookbook for our youth leader at church who is also doing WW. We'll see if I get it done!

Thanks for looking!

PTI Christmas Card Swap

My friend Jen is hosting a swap over on SCS for all the usual PTI addicts. I joined the Christmas card and sympathy card categories. I'm still toying with the stocking stuffer category, but I'm going to have to make a decision soon, and it doesn't lok like it's going to happen. I still have to do the sympathy card. Anyway, here is my entry for the Christmas slot.

I used the new Love Lives Here: Holidays stamp set and dies, and also the Christmas Label set and die. I found THIS neat sketch over on the CAS blog and it was just what I wanted for this card. All CS, ink, and DP are PTI (Ripe Avocado and Pure Poppy). Gold brads and cord are SU. I embossed the angel in gold. That turned out to be a bit of a pain--I don't recommend it. Too many pieces parts to deal with. Angel and label are popped up on foam tape. Sent is also embossed. I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out. I hope the other swappers like it--they are such a talented bunch that the bar is pretty high.

Thanks for dropping in today. Have a good one!

The Last Halloween Hurrah

These are some of the treats I made for Emily's class. Sorry for the crappy pic, it was late when I finished them (?!? LOL) and so no natural light. These were made using my Gypsy and the Mini Monster cartridge. The narrow cello bags, CS, and DP are all SU. I made 23 of these guys!!!

When I saw those narrow cello bags in the SU mini, I thought they would be so cool. They're not. They're TOO narrow--1" x 8". I thought they'd be big enough for mellow creme pumpkins and Hershey kisses, but no. They are big enough for Tootsie rolls though, as I found out on Sun. I will post that project later--it's adorable. But I think in future I will just go with regular small cello bags. Tags are 2.5" square.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek!

Eagle Scout Ceremony

My nephew Tommy had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor on October 9 in Milford KS. He will be graduating this year and aging out of Boy Scouts very shortly. He has been accepted at The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, SC, where his father and two of his uncles went to school. I don't know if non-Scouters know what a huge deal becoming an Eagle Scout is. You have to complete many specific merit badges and plan and execute a service project before your 18th birthday in order to get it. It is a very high honor and a great responsibility, and I'm very proud of Tommy for achieving it. Here he is with his mom and dad (my brother Richard and his wife Lori). It's almost as much work (or more) for the parents of an Eagle Scout, and the ceremony is about honoring them as well.

Here are the cousins with Grandma and Grandpa: Bobby, Tommy's brother, Matt, Emily, Dad, Mom, and Tommy.

And here I am with Richard and Thomas, one of my other brothers. Thomas just retired from the army, hence the handlebar mustache and beard!

Here is the card I made for Tommy. I used the double Z-fold technique which may be found HERE.

The patterned paper I used is some Boy Scout paper with all the ranks listed on it. On the inside I printed the Boy Scout Oath on my computer and stamped congratulations (retired SU). The eagle on the front is from Our Daily Bread Designs.

I tied it closed with ribbon and used star brads on the corners.

I wish Tommy all the best in the next several years--he's got a lot of new experiences ahead of him! Thanks for looking!

Birthday Kitten

This was a card for my card lady's daughter who loves Siamese cats. The card base is cut from the DCWV glitter stack using Cricut cartridge Elegant Edges. The kitten is from Four-Legged Friends. She is cut from Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, and Soft Suede and sponged with SS.

Greeting is PTI Birthday Basics, punch is SU's Modern Label. I added bling to the kitty's collar, corners of the main panel, and ends of the punch. I colored in the eyes and nose with markers.

Thanks for looking--have a creative day!

Baby Banner

A woman I work with had a baby a while back and so I made name banners for her new daughter Kennedy and big sis Zoie. I used Cricut cartridges Birthday Bash for the pennants, Create a Critter for the butterflies, and MS Holiday Cakes for the letters. I just love that font.

Circles and scalloped circles are cut with Nesties.

The dark pink CS is PTI's Raspberry Fizz (that is the last of it except for scraps). Other CS is SU's Pumpkin Pie and Pretty in Pink. DP is also SU. Orange grosgrain is PTI.

Here is my darling son who grudgingly agreed to hold up my project!

And in the background you can see my messy refrigerator and the best dog in the whole world, Lyle!

I used some retired SU felt flowers to jazz it up a bit, with rhinestone brad centers. And of course I had to add some glitter to the butterfly wings!

Thanks for dropping by today!

Teacher Treats

I am on the committee to help provide birthday treats for my son's middle school's PTO. I drew 3 birthdays in October. I bought 3 of those big Symphony bars and dressed them up. All the supplies are SU, and believe it or not, all the DP is in the current SU catty!

I used the lacy trim punch for the female teachers and tore the edge of the layer for the male.

The tag is made by cutting a 3/8" strip and sticking one end in the top of the jewelry tag punch, stamping it, and then sticking the other end in the bottom of the punch. That way you can have a tag as long as you like.

The fronts are a little plain, but I think they get the point across!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Halloween-a-thon: More Home Decor

My house is going to look like the Aadams family lives there, with all the Halloween stuff I'm going to have in it! This is my fourth and final canvas. I hate to cover up any of this wonderful paper from SU so just draped a skeleton over it.

This may be my last Halloween-a-thon post, Since I messed up and didn't get a post up on Thursday, I am probably going to throw in the towel. But you never know....BWAHAHAH!

Halloween-a-thon: Continued

This project is the third in my series of wall canvases. You can see the first two HERE and HERE. This one uses some more of last year's awesome Halloween paper. The BG is a sheet with Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven on it. I remember we had to memorize that poem in the ninth grade and it is long! Luckily it has such a steady rhythm that it is fairly easy to memorize. The top part is cut from another sheet of the paper. This is a very literary piece!

The spider web is cut from the October 31 Cricut cartridge, and the spider trim on the bottom edge is from JoAnn's. Thanks for looking!

Halloween-a-thon: Interrupted part 2

Okay, here are the two pix that wouldn't fit in the last post.

To see the rest of the ornaments and the finished Halloween tree, scroll down. Thanks for looking!

Halloween-a-thon: Interrupted

So, I actually had this project finished and photographed by Wednesday evening, but I had to work late yesterday and didn't feel like blogging it. Still, I can't believe I actually posted 12 days in a row--I think that's a record for me!

Today's post is a project I actually planned since I saw THIS blogger's post last year. Unfortunately, by the time I realized I had to do it, all the MS Glow-in-the-Dark glitter had been snapped up. Luckily they offered it again this year.

What you do is take those glass balls that you can get from Mike's or Hobby Lobby. Take the top off and pour in a little Future Floor Wax (I think it's actually called Pledge with Future now). Swirl it all around the inside of the ball and use a paper funnel to dump in some of the awesome glowing glitter (it really does glow in the dark--my son had to take it into the closet to make sure LOL) and shake it all around until the inside of your ball is coated with glitter.

Then I used my Cricut to cut some Halloween images out of black vinyl.

I painted a cool stick from my back yard black, stuck it in some florist's foam in a black plastic cauldron that I got from the Halloween store. I got some purple LED lights from Wal-mart and wound them around the tree,

The scary critters were all cut from the October 31 cartridge, and the spooky words are cut from Happy Hauntings.

Here is the finished product! Blogger wouldn't let me put all my pix in one post, so the last two are in the next post. I love how this turned out! Thanks for dropping by.

Halloween-a-thon Day 12: Wish shoe a Happy Halloween

So, another Cricut card to show you today! This is from Happy Hauntings, cut at 4". All the DP is last year's SU. The ribbon is from Mike's--it matches much better IRL, I promise you!

I plan to do a computer-generated greeting--"Wish shoe a Happy Halloween!" Have a great day! Thanks for looking!

Halloween-a-thon Day 11: Jack-o-lantern Card

Ha! Bet you thought I gave up on my self-challenge to post every day in October! Truth is, I almost did LOL! But that would be silly when the Cricut makes it sooo easy to create stuff. So here is today's entry--quick-n-easy!

I used the Wrap It Up cartridge, the card feature, cut at 4.25" high. I used my Gypsy to make sure my layers fit. CS is Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive. And I had fun with embossing folders, as you can see!

Here is the inside. Stamp is retired SU. I love how this turned out! Well, off to make some more cards with my Cricut--have a great day!

Halloween-a-thon Day 10: Halloween Cupcakes

Emily had her bestie, Sunnie, over for a sleepover on Friday night, and she had wanted to make Halloween cupcakes.

Here they are mixing the cake batter.

Sunnie getting ready to put her cupcakes in the oven.

I put orange food coloring in the frosting. Unfortunately I bought the "fun-fetti" type, so our jack-o-lantern cupcakes look all pimply and warty!

They used cut-up green gumdrops for the stems and mini chocolate chips for the features. Isn't Emily the cutest little ham ever?

And here is the finished product! Awesome!

Halloween-a-thon Day 9: If Mummy ain't happy, ain't NObody happy

Here is a picture of my DH wearing a Halloween T-shirt I made for him. He, better than anyone, knows the truth of the title of this post! I used my Cricut to cut out the mummy image from freezer paper. Then I ironed the negative image onto the T-shirt as a stencil and used a foam brush to apply glow-in-the-dark fabric paint. I used criss-cross brush strokes to mimic a mummy's bandages.

Freezer paper is great for this sort of thing, and it's cheap!

I think this project turned out pretty cute, and the model's not bad either! Thanks for stopping by today!

Halloween-a-thon Day 8: Candy Bar Pull Up Treats

I made these treats for my co-workers. It's a Hershey bar in a cute little wrap. You can find the tutorial for this HERE. These are very easy to make with SU's Jumbo Wheels. I used Haunting and Spooky Skyline, both retired. The tag frame is from a retired set that goes with the curly label punch--the stamp has a 'thank you " in it, but I just used a marker to get the frame only. The sentiment is from the current set, Wicked Cool. CS colors are So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Wisteria Wonder, and Elegant Eggplant.

I actually made two of each one.

I added highlights to each of these with a Spica pen, but of course you can't tell it in the photo.

I love SU's wheels. They are great for doing stuff in bulk because they are very fast. I'll probably be showing you more projects using wheels this month. Hope you're having a great October so far!