Friday, December 27, 2013

Something to Crow About

My cousin is 3 months, 10 days younger than me and ever since we have been old enough to wish we were younger, he has never let me forget it. : )  So, I thought this sentiment was just perfect for him.

Challenges:
Whimsy Stamps #66--party time
Seize the Sketch #10--sketch
The Paper Girls Challenge #46--use holiday products on a non-holiday project (the striped paper is from a Christmas pack I just picked up on clearance yesterday)
Raisin Boat #18--something new (just got the stamp set about two weeks ago.  It's the first time I've inked it up)
Tuesday Morning sketches #130--anything goes (no sketch this time)
Sweet Stamps #149--anything goes
The Stamping Chef #10--anything goes

Supplies:
Stamps: There She Goes "Farm Fresh" (no longer available)
Dies: Verve "Pennant Trim Die"

Oh, baby!

Here's a sweet card for my cousin's baby shower next week.  Her first baby and as you can see, a boy!  I went to Marshall's yesterday and as I was walking through the checkout line, I saw these gorgeous American Craft Christmas paper packs that were only $1.50 due to being after Christmas!!  Can you beat that?  Nope!  So, I snatched up 3 different packs.  And now, I am wishing that I had grabbed the other 3 or 4 packs, 'cause I love the patterns.  So, these two patterned papers are actually for Christmas, but I think they were fabulous for a baby card.

Challenges:
Viva La Verve December week 3--sketch

Sarah Hurley #85--create your own background (I stamped the brown panel with the Oh, Boy! stamp over and over to create a fun background)
Whimsy Stamps #66--party time! (baby shower party that is!)
Paper girls #96--use holiday products on non-holiday projects (Christmas paper on a baby card)
Crafty Creations #253--anything goes
Raisin Boat #18--something new (brand new paper)
Sister Act Card Challenge #38--anything goes
Twisted Tuesday #66--something new with the theme of New or beginning (new paper for a card for a new baby)
Inkspirational Challenge #46--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #239--New Year/New Beginning/ New Baby
Desert Island Craft Challenge #68--choose at least three of the following: (I used #2, 3, 10)
1.  snowflakes
2. dies cuts
3. 2 or more papers
4. ribbon/twine
5. bells/charms
6. lace
7. flowers
8. bling
9. make it a gift
10. red/green

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "To the Moon"
Dies/punches: Sizzix star dies; Fiskars apron border punch
Paper: American Crafts Christmas pack


Elegance

Wow!  I'm back again after the Christmas holiday rush!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  My parents' anniversary was yesterday and I'm late again, of course.  But it's the thought that counts, right?  Yeah, I'll just keep telling myself that.  It was a bit hard to get a good picture of this beauty.  I used perfect pearls on top of versamark ink to create the Damask background and shimmer just doesn't photograph very well.  On top of that, I stamped an image on the vellum panel of the window.  Now that you know, I bet you can just see it.  Anyway, there are a bunch of photos that hopefully let you see it all.

 Here is the inside.  I created a frame to match the front to use to cover up the  vellum
 Sorry for the finger in the picture, but I couldn't get the card front to stay down and you can't see the pink damask image very well, unless it is flat against the back.

Challenges:
Viva La Verve December week 2--sketch (I adjusted the sketch a bit, but I think it is still evident in my card)

Sarah Hurley #87--create your own background
Loves Rubberstamps #83--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--Wrap it up/New--double challenge (I went with the New challenge; I'm celebrating my newest die: "Resplendid Rectangles"--sooooo elegant)
Digi Stamps 4 Joy #82--anything goes
Delightful Challenges--Celebrate (celebrating my parents' 37th wedding anniversary)
Raisin Boat #18--something new (my new spellbinders rectangle dies)
Make it Monday #145--pick your technique from the past year (I went with #133 perfect pearls)
Sister Act Card Challenge #38--anything goes
Timeless Tuesday #251--use vellum
Word Art Wednesday #112--anything goes

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Damask Designs"
Dies: spellbinders resplendid rectangles, circles large; Sweet n' Sassy heart dies



Wednesday, December 11, 2013

For You

I think I may have mentioned before that I don't usually make tags for Christmas gifts.  It's never really appealed to me before.  But there have been so many challenges to create tags this year and I've seen so many fabulous ones that I have actually made quite a few this year.  Perhaps it will become a new thing. : )  I made this tag for my niece.  She's the only one so far, and is, therefore, the favorite.  So, of course she needed something cute for her gift and as it is going to be a rather large one, it needed a larger tag that will stick right underneath the bow (hence why I have not added any ribbon to it.)

Challenges:
V's Sweet Ideas #18--Holiday theme
One Crazy Stamper--winter/holiday
Raisin Boat #17--Christmas
Your Next Stamp--inspiration photo or sketch or both (I went with the sketch, the snow theme and the green of the tree)
      
Meljen's--Christmas tags #189 (also hosting a guest dt call for which I am now applying)
Get Inky #19--Christmas
Holly Jolly--anything Christmas goes
Cuttlebug Mania--anything goes: Christmas
Sweet Stamps #147--simple Christmas
Loves Rubberstamps #82--anything goes: Christmas

Supplies:
Stamps: Meljen's Designs "Christmas Star Snowman"; Verve sentiment
Dies: Verve "Charming Ovals" die

Joy to the World

Today is my last post for the year for the Lollipop Ladies!  I can't believe how fast time has flown by and now it is almost Christmas!!  Right now the Lollipop Ladies are running two challenges and you have until the end of December to play in one or both (as many times as you want).  The inspiration picture for the second challenge is:
with the additional challenge of ribbon.
Here is my project:
 There was so much inspiration in the photo it was hard to know where to start!  I loved the colors: red, white and green, but not a traditional green--a nice soft pale green.  So, I started there, I also have a Christmas tree and stars and the word "Joy".  And as one of my teammates pointed out earlier this week, there are lots of layers in the photo.  So I also added lots of layers to my card.
 For a little fun twist, it is a gatefold card with the entire front panel being the left hand "gate".  And as you can see, I finished off the inside with a matching star and the remainder of the sentiment from the front.
Hop on over to the Lollipop Ladies' Blog to get all the details and then come on and play along.  We'd love to see how you interpret this challenge.

Challenges:
Viva La Verve December week 1--sketch
The Squirrel and the Fox--summer or winter (I went with winter)
V's Sweet Ideas #18--Holiday theme
One Crazy Stamper--winter/holiday
Raisin Boat #17--Christmas
Cards Galore--Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #110--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
The Stamping Chef--anything goes
Delightful Challenges--You're a gem
C.R.A.F.T. #236--Christmas
DRS Designs #99--glitter it up (I glittered the green star)
Art Impressions #124--Merry and Bright
My Heart Pieces--sparkle
Crafty Catz #210--use at least 2 dies
Pattie's Creations #81--Christmas card
Verve's December Diva Dare--playing favorites (used my favorite die from Verve AND based this card off of my favorite card I made this year using Verve stamps/dies: see the card below)
{Pin}spirational Challenges #87--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the word ribbon and all the ribbon on the spools and that bright green ribbon right on the top that really grabs your eye!)
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/141581982009147557/
Our Daily Bread Designs #182--alternate fold or 3D item (I used a gate fold)
Tuesday Throwdown #176--What Christmas means to you (while I love everything about Christmas: the tree, the decorations, the presents . . . the most important thing is exactly what my sentiment on the inside says "the Lord has come".  Jesus came, that's why we celebrate Christmas and without that, there wouldn't be any reason to celebrate.)

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Star of Wonder"
Dies: Sizzix star die; Verve "Classy Label" die--love the shape on this one
Papers: DCWV Christmas



Friday, November 29, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi!  I hope everyone had a very blessed Thanksgiving.  We sure did.  My mother-in-law cooked for about 17 of us.  I decided we needed place cards for each plate and after seeing these little cutties on Pinterest, I knew I had to make them as take home favors, too.
And since I have all these paper crafting supplies, I had to dress them up, right?

 Luckily, I had these little treat bags that were just the perfect size.  I tied them up with ribbon.  Almost all of it was recycled from other projects.  Bonus for that!  Then I die cut leaves and little tags.  I stamped a sentiment on the little tags and wrote everyone's name on their leaf in gold pen.  I inked the edges of the leaves with red, which doesn't show in the photo, but it added some nice depth to each leaf.

Challenges:
{Pin}spirational Challenge #85--inspiration photo (I was inspired, by the fall theme, the orange and brown, and the Thankful theme
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/141581982009113247/
Cuttlebug--Thank you for Thanksgiving: use orange, yellow and brown--a little stretch but all my chocolate pieces are brown
Loves Rubber Stamps #80--Give thanks
Creative Inspirations #242--anything goes
Inkspirational Challenges #44--anything goes
DRS Designs #98--Happy Thanksgiving
Crafty Ribbons #72--anything goes
Milk & Coffee Challenge--Thanksgiving
Di's Digis Challenge--Thanks/thanksgiving, harvest
Delightful Challenges--Favorite Things; use your favorite embellishment or technique (my fav. embellishment is definitely ribbon and my all-time favorite thing to use paper crafting is my die cutting machine and dies)

Supplies:
Dies: PTI leaf die; Spellbinders mini tag
Stamps: Verve "Tall Oaks" sentiment

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Reindeer in a pocket

It's my turn again to post a project for the current Lollipop Ladies' challenge.  This challenge is a super cute one:
Reindeer cupcakes
with the optional challenge of grids
Aren't they adorable???  Here is my take on the challenge:
I just love this super cute reindeer from Bugaboo Stamps and I think the pocket is perfect for paper piecing.  As you can tell, my "grid" is paper.  I think it is technically plaid, but it is still a grid.  Now it's time to hop off to the Lollipop Ladies blog for all the details.  We have two challenges running simultaneously and you can enter either or both.  We'd love to finish off the year with a record number of entries.

Challenges:
Cards Galore--animals
Frosted Designs--use at least 1 of the following 11 items (I used #1, 2, 7)
1. tags
2. paper layering
3. washi
4. flags/banners
5. patchwork
6. circles
7. stitching
8. stars
9. flowers
10. buttons
11. arrows
Lacy Sunshine--anything goes
Sentimental Sundays #182--winter wonderland
Eureka Stamps #67--Santa is on his way: Christmas (Santa has to use reindeer to be on his way)
Get Inky #18--Onward, and upward . . . skyward bound (he is on the ground at the moment, but reindeer do fly)
Sweet Stamps #145--The Holidays
Fab n' Funky #195--cute critters
Crafting by Designs--Christmas/winter
Crafter's Cafe #39--anything goes
Divas By Design--use some red

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Reindeer Pocket"; Verve "Ornamental Christmas" sentiment
Papers: DCWV
Punches/dies: Martha Stewart snowflake punch; spellbinders ovals and scalloped ovals, large

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Thanksgiving

I found a tutorial for these really adorable pumpkins and thought they would make perfect place card holders for Thanksgiving.
(Super cute, huh?)
And they would have, except I needed to start way before yesterday to be able to make enough for all the people that will be eating Thanksgiving dinner with us.  I always have awesome ideas, just the follow through is not always so good. : )  So, now what to do with this super cute pumpkin?  Ah, yes, make a card to go with it and bring it to Thanksgiving dinner as a small hostess gift for my mother-in-law.  Yep, genius!
So, there's the card.  And here are the two of them together: a perfect pair.

Challenges:
Sarah Hurley--Bonfire Brights (the orange is super bright and reminds me of the flames of a bonfire and the little curly wires are kind of like fireworks spiraling off into the air)
V's Sweet Ideas #17--use some or all of the following colors: red, brown, sage, golden yellow (I have sage green and a bit of brown in the ribbon and the pumpkin stem)
One Sweet Challenge --It's a Feast: focus on one thing (I used 3 images of pumpkins and made a pumpkin)
Technique Tuesday--faux frame technique
Crafter's Cafe #38--Heavy metal (I  used metal wire for the curly q's)
Southern Girls--Round, round, baby round: use circles (the pumpkin is made up of 6 circle rosettes and a punched circle on the top)
Milk & Coffee--Thanksgiving/thankful/thank you
Stamping with Dragon--Autumn colors
Brown Sugar #69--anything goes
The Paper Girls #44--It's Time to Give Thanks
Pattie's Creations #80--Giving Thanks/thank you
Desert Island Craft Challenge #66--use at least 3 of the following (I used #1, 2, 6{ faux frame}, 10)
1.  Autumn/Fall Color Scheme (reds, browns, oranges, yellows)
2.  Be Thankful
3.  Use a charm
4.  Include a turkey
5.  Use banners or bunting
6.  Add a frame
7.  Make it an easel card
8.  3 or more designer/patterned papers
9.  Use washi tape
10.  Pumpkins or gourds

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "Tall Oaks" pumpkins and sentiment
Dies: Spellbinders "Labels 4" and mini tags; PTI "Turning a new leaf" die
Papers: DCWV




Friday, November 22, 2013

It's a Party!

Wow!  Friday again!!  I'm going to warn you up front that this is going to be a long post.  Lots of info and lots of photos.  So, if you aren't interested in prizes, you might just want to jump down to the bottom.
It is our last  Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Challenge of the year AND we are hosting a BIG party to celebrate!!!  
We are switching it up a bit for our last challenge,  normally the design team's creations are posted on the CSAYL blog for inspiration.  
This week, we are hosting a challenge and a blog hop! 
Check out each of the design team member's blogs and leave a comment, 3 random commenters will win a prize.  Then go back to the CSAYL blog  and play along with this week's challenge, there will be 7 random winners drawn from the participants this week.   That means there are 10 chances to win if you hop and participate in the challenge - we said this party was BIG!!!

THE CHALLENGE:
Create a Christmas gift set with 3 coordinating pieces...such as a card set; card, bag and altered gift combo; gift box, tag and card.  Mix and match, just make sure there are 3 coordinating pieces to your Christmas gift set!

THE HOP:
Click on each link below, visit each design team member's CSAYL blog post and leave a comment.

CSAYL 2013 Blog Hop
1. Fabiola  
2. Heather--You are here.  
3. Jenny  
4. Patty  
5. Julie  


(Collection closed)
Link tool by inlinkz.com

OUR SPONSORS:
There have been so many wonderful sponsors this year.  A huge THANK YOU you to all!!!
This week's hop and challenge has 8 sponsors!!!

Creations by AR!!! One participant from this week's challenge will win
 2 template of their choice from Creations by AR!!!
 
Bearly Mine Designs!!! One random winner from this week's challenge will win a £10 gift voucher to Bearly Mine Designs!!!
Broken Box Stock!!! One random participant from this week's challenge will win their "Holiday Toodles Mega-Pack". Digi stamps from Broken Box Stock!!!
  
Limited Runs Digis!!! One random participant will win 3 digis of their choice from Limited Runs Digis!!!
QKR Stampede!!! One random participant will win 5 Digital Images from QKR Stampede!!!
QKR
Fred She Said!!!  One random participant this week will win a $10.00 gift certificate to the Fred She Said store!


Emma Canning!!!  3 winners from this week's challenge will each win 2 digis from the Emma Canningstore.
Bugaboo!!! One lucky participant will win 7 digis of their choice from Bugaboo!! 


Remember, this week's challenge is to create a Christmas gift set with at least 3 coordinating pieces.  We have had so much fun visiting each of your blogs throughout the year!  Thank you for crafting with us and good luck!


Ok, now that we have all the details out of the way . . . here are my projects.  I created 2 different sets for this challenge because I wanted to use images/products from EACH of our fabulous sponsors.  Are you ready??  Here is set #1:
 For this set, I made a card, decorated a matching gift bag and finished it off with a faux "chalkboard" tag.  My papers are from Bearly Mine, the church image is from Emma Canning, the sentiment on the tag is from QKR Stampede and tying them all together is the pinecone image from Fred She Said.

 On both the card and the gift bag, I sponged on some snow hills around the church and added some silver stickles for snow sparkle, sponged in some sky and added a soft glow to the windows with a colored pencil.  Also on both, I colored the pinecone, added a little bit of sparkle with a glitter pen and fussy cut it out and popped it up on pop dots.  I tied the card and tag together, by adding this "faux" chalkboard sentiment "Jesus" which is continued on the inside( I totally forgot to take a picture!) with "is the reason for the season".
 See how it coordinates with the tag?  And notice the pinecone on the tag, too?
Here is set #2:  For this set, I made a card, a gift box, and a little ornament to go in the box.  I used papers from Bearly Mine, a box template from Creations by AR, the cafe scene from Broken Box Stock, a snowman from Limited Runs and a snowman from Bugaboo.  Phew!!  All the sponsors covered!  That was a challenge in itself!

 I really, really, really, love this paper from Bearly Mine, unfortunately, my design covered up most of it.  This cafe scene is a freebie from Broken Box stock.  Can you believe it's free!!??  See that little snowman on the right?  I printed out a second image and cut out only the snowman and . . .
 added him onto the box with his new friend from Limited Runs.  Aren't they cute together?  I sponged some snowhills in the background and outlined them with glitter pen for a bit of sparkle.
 Here is my cute little snowman ornament inside the gift box.  Perfect!  Just as if I had planned it. : )  Does this little guy look familiar?  How 'bout now?
Mine is not quite as chubby, but he's just as cute!  I printed out the image and used it as a pattern to created the ornament.  I cut each of the pieces out of the proper color felt and then stitched them all together using embroidery floss.  I cut out two main body pieces and before completely sewing them together, I stuff him with a bit of fiberfill.  Goes to show that you don't have to use digital images on paper only.
Wow!!  You made it to the end!  Pat yourself on the back and then hop on over to the CSAYL blog to link up and play along.  We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Challenges:
Card #1:
Christmas Cards All Year Round--winter wonderland
Sweet Stamps #144--anything goes
Scrap Creations--Make it sparkle (stickles, glitter pen and jeweled brads)
Charisma Cardz #46--Christmas

Gift Bag:
Whimsy Stamps #65--anything goes
Fab 'n' Funky #194--anything goes

Flat Friends #14--Christmas Card

Tag:
Suzy Bees Bloomin' Challenge #3--shaped card/project

Gift Box:
Timeless Tuesday #247--Winter Scenes
Delightful Challenges--anything but a card


Card #2:
Your Next Stamp #6--sketch or inspiration photo (I went with the sketch)
There She Goes #234--winter fun
Word Art Wednesday #107--anything goes
Raisin Boat #17--Christmas
C.R.A.F.T. #234--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the snow on the trees)

Ornament:
Crafty Creations #243--ready for the holidays

Supplies:
Card #1:
Papers: Bearly Mine Designs "Winter Dreams"
Stamps: Emma Canning "Church" digi; Fred She Said "Pinecone spray" digi; Verve "Richly Blessed" sentiment; PTI "Hands of Time" flourish on sentiment
SU! jeweled square brads
Gift Bag:
Papers: Bearly Mine Designs "Winter Dreams"
Stamps: Emma Canning "Church" digi; Fred She Said "Pinecone spray" digi;
Gift Tag:
Stamps: "Fred She Said "Pinecone spray" digi; QKR Stampede sentiment; PTI "Mat Stack 2" brackets
Card #2:
Papers: Stamps: Emma Canning "Church" digi; Fred She Said "Pinecone spray" digi;
Stamps: Broken Box Stock "Cafe Winter" freebie; Flourishes "Country Time Christmas" sentiment
Punches: Martha Stewart snowflake punch
Gift Box:
Template: Creations by AR "Gift Card Combo"
Papers: Stamps: Emma Canning "Church" digi; Fred She Said "Pinecone spray" digi;
Stamps: Limited Runs "Snowman #2" digi; Broken Box Stock "Cafe Winter" freebie; Flourishes "Country Time Christmas" sentiment
Ribbon: PTI "Ocean Tides" dotted ribbon
Ornament: 
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Chubby snowman scarf" digi
Felt/embroidery floss