A Hop Is In Store For Some Christmas Decor

Good morning ladies and gents!  It's time once again to hop around in cyber space to get the creativity percolating!  Today we're starting off with Creations with Becka.  So if you just started your journey with me today, feel free to go back to the beginning and see what all of the other talented folks have done.  Be sure to leave comments on all of our blogs so that you can be eligible to win the grand prize that Becka is giving away.  I too will be giving away some blog candy to one lucky commenter.  You must follow my blog in order to win.  ;)

So the holidays are officially here and it's time to get those festive decorations out of storage.  Or better yet------let's make some new ones!!!  Making your own decorations gives a sense of pride and warmth you just can't get from a store bought trinket.  Plus you've just gotta love when you have a darn good reason to be trapped in your scrapping haven all day.

Today I made a simple yet fun wall decoration.  My intent is to hang it in our front window, but I haven't taken the time to move it from the livingroom wall just yet.  I've been enjoying having it up and know that I won't see it anymore once the rest of our neighborhood is able to enjoy it through our front window.

Here's how it all came together:
I took three 12x12 sheets of cardstock and simply rounded the corners.  On top of that I attached 11" sunbursts that were cut on my Imagine from the Fancy Frames cartridge.  The next layer is my new favorite thing to do---rosettes.  There are three different sizes to add a little visual interest.  HERE you will find a good video by Splitcoast Stampers if you need help with making your rosettes.  Finally I layered some Cricut cuts from the Christmas Cheer cartridge.  Each of them was cut at 3" height.

Becka - START HERE

Oma Gloira

Julie K

Beckie Woodall

Jamie Larson

Lisa Grave

Anna Bee

Crystal Kovach - YOU ARE HERE

Susan
Tonya Morgan
Dana Tarchala

Don't forget to leave a comment and follow my blog for the chance at a Cricut cartridge!

No Christmas Blues For This Gal

This time of year is by far my favorite.  The stores are complete chaos, work is crazy trying to fit everything into the short weeks, and kids are antsy as can be for the big day.  But there's just something about all of that excitement buzzing around the cold winter air.  And by no means will I let all of the stress of things bring me down into the Christmas blues.  But I DID let it play a role in my card today.  Most of my cards for the season are full of vivid greens and reds for a traditional Christmas feel.  But today I was inspired to use a lovely bluish green monochromatic color scheme.  I feel like it really adds a cheerful frosty feeling to this adorable Lily Snowflake Fairy by Pink Cat Studio.  She was colored with about 20 Copics in the BG family and topped off with a little glitter stickles.

Wishing you all enough time to accomplish everything on your list and still have extra time for loved ones.

Please stop back tomorrow for our super fantastic Winter Decor Blog Hop!

Wishing You More Treats Than Tricks!!!!!

Time to announce the winner of the candy from the blog hop last week.  I've used random.org to choose the winner.

Drum roll please...............................and the winner is..............

Congrats Dana!  I've emailed you for your address.

Now on to a Halloween Treat Bag.

These treat bags were made to send to some of my son's cousins.  The bat was cut from Hello Kitty Greetings.  I used colored pencils to shade his ears and belly.  Since these are going to small children, I didn't even attempt to shade well.  I then used Viva Decor Pearl Pens to make the eyes and nose.

On a side note:  I love these pens over Stickles b/c they come in solid colors, dry WAAAAAY faster, and end up just as three-dimensional as they look when wet.

Finally I used a white Uniball pen to make his fangs.

The trim at the top is just a strip of black paper that has been punched with Martha Stewart Iron Gate Punch Around The Page.  I layered it overtop white paper to make the detail stand out a bit.  Then I used some super cute batty paper.

Time For A Halloween Blog Hop Boys and Ghouls!

Welcome to our frighteningly awesome Halloween blog hop.  If you've gotten here from Lori @ Got 2 B Crafting, then you're in the right spot and you're almost done!

As my mind swirls with each day's tasks, chores to be done, and appointments to keep, I don't see it happen often where crafting ideas are as plentiful as the fall leaves on the ground.  But for some reason Halloween really gets me motivated.  I think it's because to me it marks the beginning of the "holiday season".  Yeah, I'm one of those people that starts getting excited for Christmas three months in advance.  (Though I think one of the biggest reasons I am that way is the fact that I need that much time to finish Christmas cards.)  So when I started thinking of creations for this blog hop, I had several different options.  The first was a cute wreath with bats and witches and jack-o-lanterns.  Next came a concept for a sweet as can be banner using candy corn as the base (it's my favorite candy this time of year).  But here's what I ended up with-------a lamp shade!  While zipping through Target trying to get the creative juices going----I spotted a pure white lamp shade for around $10.  It's something that I figured most people already had lying around their house and could easily decorate for each season.  So starts my ritual of decorating my lamp shade for each holiday!

Cricut Cuts From Holiday Cakes:

Haunted House - Cut at 5.8" tall

Moon (circle)  - Cut at 5.25" 

Cricut Cut From Bloom:

Bare Tree - Cut at 4" tall

Cricut Cut From Mini Monsters:

Spider Web (two welded together) - Cut at 2.5" tall

Cricut Cuts From Happy Hauntings:

Witch - Cut at 2" tall
Ghosts - Cut at 2.5" and 1.65" tall

All of the images were cut and then adhered to a clear acetate sheet.  HINT:  use the cover to your old non-sticky Cricut mat!  The sheet was then attached to the shade by punching four small holes in the corners and using large brads to hold it in place.

Kim @ Kimberli's Creations

Chris @ Get Inspired With Chatterscene

Tracy @ My Scrap Escape

Maria @ Creative By Design

Susan @ Cricut & Grasshopper

Renee @ I Came, I Saw, I Created

Dana @ Paper Memories 4 U

Lori @ Got 2 B Crafting

YOU ARE HERE-Crystal @ Creations By Crystal

THE FINAL STOP-Sis @ Paper, Craft, and Scissors

And as a little treat for stopping by today, I will be giving away the Winter Lace cartridge to one lucky person.  Just follow my blog and leave a comment on this post.  I will choose the winner using random.org on Sunday.

Wishing you a Spooktacular Halloween!

I will be using this in the following challenges:
Cricut Blog - Halloween Home Decor

A "Fairy" Beautiful Triple Layered Easel Card

I don't know that I've ever actually stated that one of my cards is my "favorite", but I will go out on a limb and claim that this one is!!!!  It's my first attempt at a triple layered easel card (or any type of easel card for that matter), and it turned out fantastic!

We'll work back to front for this card.

For the back layer I used some Grand Nestabilities Scallop Circles.  I didn't want to have too much empty space at the top of the card, so I made sure to use the larger circles and trim the bottoms to fit.  It's not necessarily pretty this way, but it isn't seen when the card is standing up.  The leaves and branch are cut using my Cricut and then shading was done with Copic markers.  I also paper pieced three of the flowers and popped them up with dimensional foam.

The middle layer has a lot more detail to it.  The strawberry was cut using my Cricut, blinged up with Stickles, and layered on top of a pinwheel I made out of fabric.  Then to the right is my sweet little sitting fairy.  I'll have to do some googling to find who makes the stamp because I can't for the life of me remember.  Maybe someday I'll be one of those über organized individuals that stores everything by vendor, but for right now I'm lucky if I can even remember how to get to my scrapping room.  Finally I added a little more pizazz with some beads I found in the floral department.  A little TIP:  I bought these beads in white and use my Copics to color them to match the project I'm working on.

Finally we get to the smallest bottom layer.  The ribbon was sewn onto the base to act as a stopper/prop.  The cute label on this layer was also cut with my Cricut and then stamped with a Stampin Up verse.

I still find it very difficult to mail out many of the cards I make.  As I'm branching out into different embellisments, the cards just keep getting bigger and bulkier.  Luckily this type of card folds down quite nicely in order to fit in an envelope.

TGIF People!!!!!!!!

Wow---what a week!  I am so thankful that it's Friday today and that I only need to stay at work for five hours in order to get my full 40 for the week.  Hopefully I'll find time to go home and craft or nap instead of doing dishes or laundry.

Today I'm posting a card for the challenge over at TGF Farm Fresh Challenge Blog.  The challenge is to use a scallop somewhere on your card.  I decided to turn the whole thing into a big scallop.  I used my Gypsy to weld two scallop circles together and create the card base.

This little guy was colored with the following Copic markers:

Shirt:  YG63, YG67

Pants:  B21, B23, B26

Hair:  E13, E15, E17, E18

This is by far one of my favorite lines of stamps.  All of the characters are so cute and fun to color up.  This image is Oh Boy! Ian and is perfect for my birthday card to a little boy.

Already Time For Christmas?

Every year I wonder why fall spends less and less time on our calendar.  It seems like it arrives on a Thursday and winter starts the following Saturday.  I suppose part of that could be the fact that it's only October 6th and I'm already posting a Christmas card.  Now normally I am not the type of gal to be early (pretty much for anything).  But this year I MUST get Christmas cards out in a timely fashion.  In years past I have most certainly not been the crafter that creates 200 stunningly ornate Christmas cards and drops them lovingly in the mail by December 1st.  It's typically December 15th that I decide I should start to make my cards.  Then when the 20th rolls around, I give in and buy a couple of boxes from Target.

This year I have been inspired by My Pink Stamper to get my holly jolly on early!  She has asked everyone to join in on her Christmas Card Challenge.  With any luck I'll be a big winner and get my first set of her Christmas stamps.

 

I created this card with a Penny Black Stamp and some simple sewing around the edges.  The holly is from the Cricut cartridge Christmas Cheer.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

For more than 20 years, the observance of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month each October has provided a time to reflect on loved ones who have won and lost the battle against breast cancer. It's also an opportunity to raise awareness toward finding a cure, including encouraging women to get a regular mammography screening.

A very good friend of mine (and probably the funniest woman I know) found out on the 13th of September that she has breast cancer.  She is scheduled for a double mastectomy on Thursday.  Instead of being sad and dwelling on the negative----she has decided to be optimistic and celebrate her strength to fight this battle.  I made this card for her and hope she knows I keep her in my thoughts constantly.

Image is by Kenny K
Flourish is Sizzix Swirl
Copics Used:
BG11, 34, 45, 49, 09
V12, 17, 09
E00, 31, 34

I will be entering this card into the following challenge:
Paper Makeup Stamps Blog - Digi Makeover Challenge 5 (A Color Challenge)

Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place Like Home

What an amazing feeling to have a place to call home.

Home can be different things to different people.  Regardless of the actual "address", home means feeling safe, secure, and accepted as you are.  A scrapping friend of mine just closed on her first house with her fiance and is finally feeling those comforts.  In the midst of planning a wedding, finding and buying a house seemed quite luminous to her and I'm certain she's breathing a huge sigh of relief.  But even more important than that----she has a place to start building the family and memories she's wanted her whole life.

I wanted to send her a card of congratulations to make her reflect even more on her cozy new home.  I chose to create my project with the foresight of the Cricut Circle challenge specifying a window theme.

Cricut Cartridges Used:
Cindy Loo:  Bird
French Manor:  Window
Jubilee:  Bush

One Sexy Little Number

Welcome to the delightful world of KennyK!  If you're looking for the sexiest digital stamps out there, you have to check this site out.  I purchased the digital stamp on this card because a close friend of mine is getting married in less than a month.  I wanted to make a special card for her bridal shower.  Granted------an image this sexy should have waited for the bachelorette, but I just couldn't help myself.  I colored my naughty bride with colors that match that of my girlfriend's wedding and matched her hair and eyes to the bride as well.  It was such a fun card that I decided to throw it up in my online store (click on the link at the top right to shop).  What better way to congratulate someone on their upcoming wedding than to have a handmade card that is customized to their wedding!

The Rainbows In Life

These days it's easy to get caught up in the "rain and clouds" of life.  Every day we each try to fit 40 hours worth of stuff into our 24 hour day.  Needless to say, the leftover 16 hours just get tacked onto tomorrow.....and so on......and so forth......  I don't know about you, but this easily comprises 90% of the stress in my life!  But one thing I've noticed is that if you take time in life to really see what makes up your world----you'll always find a rainbow behind those clouds.  Many times these rainbows are cute phrases uttered from the mouth of a three year old child or the thoughtfulness of a friend that knows you too well.  Other times these rainbows show themselves as a delicious piping hot bowl of chili on a cool autumn (yes I said autum people!) day.  One of my rainbows in life is a wonderful friend/mother/wife/scrapbooker/general organizer of life that I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like.  This woman (you know who you are) seems to have everything all figured out and has a solid grip on juggling all of life's responsibilities.  But every once in a while she shares with me that it's not ever as easy as it looks.  Though I feel that she just says this to make me feel better----it's nice hearing that it's not always sunshine!  So I created this card to send to a "rainbow" in my life.

We may not get to see rainbows very often in life, but I sure do appreciate its beauty when I do see one!

Wedding Invite Design #2

Good morning all!  I wanted to do a quick post showing another invite I did up for someone.  They were looking for a wedding invite for a fall wedding with browns and creams.  I created one mock up for them and hit it out of the park!  Wahoo!!!!!

FRONT

FRONT-CLOSE

BACK

RETURN ENVELOPE

I'd also like to share some feedback I received from the red invites I did a couple of weeks ago.  I am very proud of the work I do----and am so happy that others enjoy it!

This was one of the response cards that the bride received back.  She was sweet enough to share a pic with me.  Apparently she received quite a few back that had comments about the beautiful invites.  (blushing).

Personalized Wedding Invitations

I've had a passion for papercrafting for many years now.  And it just dawned on me in the last couple of weeks that I should be sharing this passion with other people who want to have awesome wedding invites but no time to create them.  Sooooo.....I've posted my first auction on Ebay for custom wedding invites.  This all came about because last couple of weeks I finished doing 100 invites for a girlfriend of mine that is getting married.  She received SOOOO many compliments on the invites and it really got me to think about doing this for others.

So feel free to spread the word!