unofficial challenge

One of the scrapping groups I am a part of on FB tries to have monthly challenges to keep us all on our toes as well as keeping those creative juices flowing and not drying up. For some months there have been a few going on which is always fun. 

However, around Christmas time we discussed possibly doing a Christmas card monthly challenge. Many ladies thought that might put a few of us under too much stress/ pressure/ cardiac arrest. So we have an unofficial monthly Christmas card challenge. Make four Christmas cards every month if you are able. If you cannot, no biggie. If you can at least you will have that many cards done before the Christmas season hits again! Sounds good to me. And since I was done with my valentines, I had a couple hours to play.

I dug out an older holiday slab that I have had for a bit and grabbed a couple of patterns out. I like the blues and greens on these papers. I also did a gate fold card (I think that is what it is called) to test it out. I think I like it a lot. I cut the banner with my Cuttlebug using my Spellbinders dies. Heat embossed the sentiment with silver powder and added some silver pearls to the corner.

Inside I heat embossed in silver the sentiment. Still lots of room for a picture or a special holiday message.

Not too shabby and they didn't take too much time. I need to whip up a couple of adult valentines and some birthday cards. Off I go....

card order

Another card order from my card party that is complete! So very happy for that. I totally love making these cards but it feels so darn good when they are complete and I can get them to their new owners. Love that!!

These papers were from a Holiday stack I picked up a couple years back. Then Sybill got to cut out the Noel. A little sewing and bling and Merry Christmas to you!!

I love the springy-ness of this card and better still... I got to use some of my twill stash from eons ago!

A couple of criss cross thank you cards. I used my Cuttlebug for the present stamp and added some of my newly purchased bakers twine from K. Andrews website. It is lovely but feel I might have to hit up the Twinery for some other colors that she doesn't carry. I need a couple of pinks, a dark blue, light orange, brown and maybe a dark green. :)

Same card different color grouping.

May you always find the correct sentiment for your day!

sigh

Major terri sigh.

Another one.

Heck I will even throw in another one for good measure.

I am getting good at the sigh thing. Kira is perfecting them on us on a daily basis. Loving the tween drama...

NOT!!

What has got me in my funk? I shall tell you. I worked on these great Christmas cards for one of my orders and this morning they are not at all looking good. I used the wrong color paper so the accent piece gets lost. Even with a boatload of stickles, I could not save these cards. Such a shame.

Off I go to work on another set in the hopes that I can get my act together and use the right color papers this time around. Hey you never know... it could happen.

May your colors match perfectly today.

non traditional Christmas colors

This is a set of cards I created for terri's treasures. I love the non traditional colors. Breaks up all those greens and reds.

It was an amazingly fun time at the card party. So many ladies hanging out and enjoying each others company. I sold a bunch of my samples and even have a few orders to keep me out of trouble for a week or so. Hoping to do it again closer to Christmas and sell some card sets with boxes for gifts.

So if you are looking for some Christmas cards... I have twelve ready for you. :)

Have a lovely non traditional kind of day!

christmas card sketch challenge

I am getting this sketch challenge done for the month since I know that I am going to be busy busy busy once school starts next week.

Here is the sketch I got to use for this card. Pretty neat, don't you think???

And here is my take on it.

I used paper from a DCWV Christmas stack from years ago. I pop dotted the image paper since the paper ribbon was a little bulkier than I had planned. I also heat embossed the image. I like the green of it. I also made four of this card to increase my stash of Christmas cards! Go me!!

Hope all your days are merry and bright!!

july/ august card sketch challenge

Back again for another month with this great group of ladies who are slowly working on our Christmas cards... one month at a time. This month I only made four of them because I ran out of the background paper but I think I will have enough cards come November.

This is the sketch we had to work with. I really like this one.

And this is my take on this.

A little back story on this card. In my office (crafting pit at the moment) I have a drafting stool instead of an office chair due to the fact my counters are well... counter height. Regular office chairs leave me stretching to reach the top of my desk. (insert silly short jokes here) We found this great stool at Staples and it has been wonderful for many years.

UNTIL....

Both my sweetest Kira and loving husband standing behind me and pushing down on the chair while I am sitting in it. Busted out the hydraulic lifter on this stool of mine. It will go up when Alex sits down on it, but when I do... I'm down below sea level. Seriously.

To make up the height so I can scrap since we wouldn't want anything to interfere with that now... I am using a pillow chair to give me a lift. I got myself all situated and ready to scrap. Totally forgot to grab any Christmas paper. I mean seriously. Since it is such a pain in the hind to get in and out of this chair now... I leaned over to my 8.5X11 paper holders and found this Mickey paper. Then I could grab at my scrap cardstock and my full sized cardstock without leaving my seat. Totally lazy but seriously.... it is so hard to get into this chair now. The minute I put the pillow on it... it raises up. I have to put myself across the stool and stand on a smaller step stool and throw myself onto the chair. I have had daydreams of me falling flat on my face and trying to explain that to the ambulance crew who shows up.

Go ahead and laugh. I am hoping we can get me a new stool soon. Before I end up on the floor.

Pretty neat backstory for a Christmas card. I am wondering if I should include it with the card itself???

card sketch challenge- june

Christmas in July. But it really is the June sketch challenge. But anyways... I have made another five Christmas cards to add to my stash.

We were given this sketch in our group. Look at all the potential that is there!! I would love to say that my interpretation of this sketch was a worthy one. But alas, I am not feeling the deep down love with the card I created. I think I let the paper take over and got lost somewhere. Here is the sketch....

And here is mine.

Not my favorite by any means. I should have stopped and ditched it but I continued forward. I am thinking maybe a bit of stickles around the sentiment element would help a bit. And maybe some on the blue and green cardstock couldn't hurt.

This did not turn out how I wanted it to at all. I may have to give the sketch another chance to inspire me. I feel I have let that beautiful sketch down. oh the shame.

making some cards

I've spent some time making cards lately. Mostly for gifts but a few for me! Go me. I had a friend in need of some thank you cards so my stash was completely wiped out and I had to make a few more to have on hand. This one I made to start filling up my stash... which I promptly sold. I'll need to work on them again. It was made from scraps on the desk and my embossing folders.

These next two are part of a set I made for the last Teacher's Luncheon at the school for them to raffle off. There are four of each design which I think is a pretty nifty gift. And again... I have given away all my thank you cards!!

This is a sketch that was used for the following two cards for the Christmas card sketch challenge group I am in. Yup... five more Christmas cards have been made! Woohoo!!

Instead of an image, I chose to create this fun pinwheel/ flower that I found in the Creating Keepsakes January/ February 2012 magazine under their Tips and Tricks. Pretty simple and looks lovely. I cut the circles out with my Spellbinders Petite Scallop Circle Large dies. I also used one of my embossing folders. The center flower is from a Doodlebug Christmas embellie pack I have had FOREVER!! I had four of them so I made this card four times. The fifth card is below.

I used the same papers and sketch, but switched it up a little since I ran out of the darker green to cover the card. I also used smaller circles and a bit of bling.

The sentiment on both is a Studio G dollar stamp.

Now I am off to make some birthday party invites since we waited until the last minute to figure out a party for Kira. She turns 11 on Saturday!! oh my word... I cannot believe she is that old already!

christmas card and tea time

Yes it is that time of the month again where I share a wonderful sketch and a completed Christmas card. I am so loving this group I am a part of and all the inspiration they send out via the internet. I am also very happy that I now have 25 Christmas cards already created and ready to head out to family and friends!! Such a wonderful feeling.

Here is this month's sketch. Doesn't it totally rock??

And here is my take on the sketch. I used a holiday stack I picked up at Michaels recently (as in last year recently) I also used two of my new to me Studio G stamps that I bought off of a scrapping friend. Isn't he the cutest?? I colored in his scarf to match the colors in the card. Trying to figure out why that green snowflake looks so out of place in the picture. It really is the same green as the rest of them.

On last Saturday, I had the pleasure of having a tea with my little lady at the towns rec center. Seriously.... they put on this amazing event with all the money raised going to the local hospital and their womens center so that any woman with or without insurance can go in and have a mammogram and a PAP smear. What a wonderful thing to do.

Kira picked out her own outfit and I was so happy to see this one on her as it is one of my all time favorites I bought for her. Daddy took pictures of us before we left. If you look closely, you'll not only see that she is almost as tall as me!! How the heck did that happen?? But my left ankle is quite large. Yup, I twisted it at the school on Thursday. At the same time I fell on my right knee and palms. I'm sure it was pretty graceful.... NOT!! I tried to disguise the ankle brace with a pair of leggings. I don't think it fooled anyone.

Anywho... the tea was so wonderful. They gave us a lesson on drinking tea and had a bunch of vendors for us to look at and shop at. Plus some raffles which I am happy to say we won!! We have a gift certificate to a local bookstore and a new bulletin board!!

After the tea, I took Kira shopping for some new summer clothes as hers are a tad bit on the short side. I don't think she should be running around in daisy dukes so she needed new shorts. There was a nice sale at Justice and we did pretty well. The best part?? The most amazing time with my girl. We had so much fun. Love that little munchkin of mine.

I need to get my Mother's Day pictures off of the other camera and post them. Keep your eyes posted!!

happy leap day and merry christmas

Happy Leap Day to everyone out there! I had a fun idea for my POTD (picture of the day) which was to catch the kids leaping. So out to our retaining wall we went. Love the angle of this one and the kids had fun jumping off the wall. 

In the card challenge group I am in, the card below was our inspiration this month. We could use any part of it (or all of it) to create our Christmas card for this month. I was totally inspired by this card. So many great elements from it that I made five different cards! I was going to create five cards a month anyways so that I'll have a good chunk of my cards made by November, but this month it was easy to have fun and use up my stash for each one.

This is the first one. I have an 8X8 paper 'stack' (it's a very small stack but I love the papers) I also used some of my homemade bakers twine and left over Christmas brads.

This one I took the circle and popped it at the bottom of the card for a new twist. More homemade bakers twine, three clear snow flake ornaments (with the hanger part removed). I popped the middle square so that it wouldn't look funny resting on the twine.

I have had those mini embellies FOREVER!! Really. The tag is a stamped image that I cut out and pop dotted. Yes more homemade bakers twine.

A little Santa love happening here. I think I removed the hat and mittens from a card or kit or swap item since it didn't work with my pictures and have been holding onto them for a bit. Happy they are being used.

Last one. I don't like the snowflake brads in the small squares at all. They are very flimsy and bend when I am trying to open the backs. I'll get over it just not entirely pleased with the way they look.

The snow is starting to fly around here. I hope they are wrong with their prediction of 6-10 inches. I am trying not to worry about it since the weather people around here have been wrong pretty much all season. My luck they will get it right today. It would put a small glitch in our family birthday party for Alex this weekend. We shall see....

christmas card #1

I have joined a lovely group of ladies to help us all create Christmas cards throughout the year so there isn't that "end of the year crazy holiday time and ooops, I need to make some cards" panic this year. Seems like such a good idea.

Another good idea that I had is that I will be making five of each sketch each  month so hopefully if all goes well, I shall have 60 cards by December!! If I really get inspired by a sketch for a month, I may even make a few more. But the goal is five.

Here is January's sketch. Simple and fun.

Here is my take on it. Totally LOVE making these medallion flowers. They are simple to make and add that bit of dimension to the cards/ layouts whatever. The paper is from a holiday stack I picked up at Michaels. Hoping to use up most of it with these monthly challenges. That will give me reason to go shopping!! bwahahahaha...

Oh yeah... The snowman is a stamp I found a few Christmases ago on clearance. He is so cute. Generic silver brads and some lovely bakers twine that my favorite Alien sent to me. (Love that lady!!) 

I inked the edges of the white because I ran out of the dark green cardstock for all five cards and the last one is a plain white background and I didn't want to lose the matting on the card. Then I held the inked piece up to the green card, and really liked the look!! So a-inkin' I went.

Good day with the kiddos. No fights and everyone is playing nicely. Love that. Hoping it continues all week. I have a bunch of stuff I would like to do and if they are good... it shall happen!!

cards i made

These first cards I found the idea on Pinterest and loved them!! I was thinking I could do them for our cards this year, but once I got it all together, it was a tad thicker than I would like. Especially seeing as I made over forty cards. That would be a pretty penny to mail them all.

Instead I made a set of five for the PTA's Turn Off TV Week basket raffle. Along with the cards below this one, a set of six ornaments and the popsicle stick trees I made, will be donated to the raffle in March.

This one I did four more so there will be ten cards total in the basket.

These next cards were requested by my friend Lois. She had finished using up the Thank You cards I had made her previously and wondered if I could come up with some plain cards that she could write the sentiment inside. Well heck yes!! I took a few days and let my papers inspire me. Many of these started as ideas I pinned on Pinterest but never ended up looking like the originals. 

Love the purple of these!! Used my embossing folders, nesties, sewing machine and a butterfly punch. Inked the edges of the butterflies and stickled their bodies. Love these ones.

I had some paper scraps left over from working on Kira's friends ornaments so I used them for the accent papers on these cards. Used the swiss dots embossing folder, a stamp from Scrappy Cat which I punched out, inked the edges and pop dotted.

These ones I did based on Scrapbooks etc's Craft it Forward section from January 2011. Again, doesn't look anything like the original but that's where the idea at least started.

Love punching a circle in a card to place a little something inside the card. I love how these came out. I used my paisley and my circles embossing folder and some miscellaneous flowers.

I had made three of the accordion flowers so figured I could whip one more up and use them on these cards. Love how they came out. I inked the edges, stamped a flower on the pink circle, did a bit of sewing and punched the border. These rock!!

Now Lois and I have to find a time to connect so she can pick them up!! Never easy with two busy moms. I'm sure it will happen before Christmas... I think. LOL

finally!

I found my pictures of the Christmas cards I made this year (okay so really they are technically from last year) All it takes is uploading the cards from the cameras! LOL Here they are... 2010's creations to celebrate Christmas.

I totally cheated and used images from House Mouse. I so wish I was able to one own all of them and two have the talent to color them in as nicely as she does. I did add stickles and puff paint and some snow writer paint. But the talent I must say lies with the original artist. Her work is amazing! Check out the site and buy some stamps!!

I am happy to say my Project Life package came last night during dinner. I resisted the overwhelming urge to tear open that Amazon. com box. In fact it is still packaged up just the way the UPS driver delivered it. Yes it is taking a HUGE amount of effort to not open it. It will be my reward today once I finish folding the laundry and reworking the toys in Alex's room to make the new Christmas toys fit. Figure that should motivate me to step away from the computer and get a ton accomplished. I am happy to say I am still working the picture a day and keeping up with my journaling. Yes small victories since I only started on Sunday! LMBO

I guess I should go through and photograph my Project 365 from 2009 and get that loaded for viewing. Okay... that's added to the to do list. Off to tackle some toys!