Here's to 2008!

HAPPY

NEW

YEAR!!!

Wishing you all a safe and happy new year! I hope 2008 brings all good things to you and yours. I stayed in tonight because I'm a bit under the weather, as are the folks I normally spend New Year's Eve with. Fortunately Lindsey (Jacksonbelle on SCS) is hosting a party in her member company forum on SCS. She's posting stamping challenges and trivia contests for cool stuff from her Ebay store, Jacksonbelle Embellishments. The first challenge was to make a party hat, and mine is pictured above. Lindsey provided us with a link to a template, which I printed on brushed gold cardstock then cut out. I stamped the stars from SU's retired Stars and Swirls in Versamark and embossed the big ones in sparkly black EP and the small ones in silver EP. I then added the sparkly black fibers along the bottom and coming out the top. Also out of the top are some gold and silver star garland pieces from my gift wrapping stash. What a fun challenge! Thanks Lindsey!

Caribbean Christmas

I'm still sharing Christmas projects, since I've only managed to make one card since I got back from my holiday trip! But I plan to be stamping tomorrow and New Year's in hopes of getting back in the groove. The connection between these two projects is the dominant Caribbean blue color in both! The first is a CD case - I picked it up on clearance at Kohl's for like $2 - that I gave to my niece Alison (or Ali for short!). It had a slot for a photo, so I stamped her name in some spectrum-style ink in shades of blue on shimmery white paper, punched it out with my SU scallop punch and adhered it to some turquoise and Caribbean paper. I added a pair of Primas and a shimmery white Making Memories brad. I added an I-tunes gift card and she was thrilled!
This card was inspired by the Tiffany jewelry advertisements that were running on the LA Times Web site before the holidays. They had white snowflakes on the signature blue background, with the Tiffany name in black. I started with a white card base, a narrow black layer, then the cool Caribbean main image. I stamped the snowflakes from SU's retired Lace Snowflakes set in white craft ink and embossed them with white EP. The sentiment is from a Paper Salon tailored tin and is stamped in black Stazon. I finished the card with some white organdy ribbon.

How come nobody told me?

How come nobody told me how fun and easy Cuttlebugging really is? I've been wanting a Cuttlebug for the last year, just because I love the idea of embossing my papers. Santa was kind and brought me one for Christmas, and my sister got me a couple of embossing folders and dies to get me started. Then I had to haul it home from Oregon on the airplane. How do you explain to the TSA officials at security what a Cuttlebug is? When it was going through the scanner, he asked me, and I said "It's a craft thing." That was the best I could come up with. He said, "It looks kind of like a sewing machine," to which I responded, "You put paper through it." Thankfully he let it through and I got it home in one piece!
Yesterday I went on a little shopping spree at CreativeXpress, where CB stuff was half off. I should get it in a few days. But today I finally had a chance to play with the things I already have. The CB is so quick and easy! I used the D'vine swirl embossing folder on this card, which was inspired by the weekly inspiration challenge piece at SCS. The inspiration piece was a purple and gold party dress. My card base is so saffron. After embossing the eggplant, I lightly sponged galaxy gold Brilliance ink over the raised parts, then attached that piece to some brushed gold CS, then wrapped gold SU cardstock around it and attached it to the base. The sentiment panel is saffron, with the sentiment stamped in eggplant. The flourishes from CTMH's Free Spirit set are stamped in Versamark and embossed with SU gold EP. I pulled some Primas out of my stash and spritzed them with Iridescent gold Glimmer Mist (love that technique) and dried them with a heat gun before attaching with gold brads. It's a really gold and shimmery card in person. I can't wait to try more stuff with my CB!!!!

Snowburst package decorations

I made several of these tag punch snowburst ornaments to decorate my holiday packages! They were a ton of fun to make, and were well received by the recipients. The first one was for my mom, who has a purple and gold tree. I didn't have any gold snowflake brads, so I went with purple and silver. The shimmery purple paper was purchased from Paper Zone; the lavender mulberry paper is from my stash. I added some silver SU cord as a hanger. I'm still not sure why SU retired it!
The second one was for a friend of mine who uses traditional Christmas colors in her home. I used shimmery white paper from Paper Zone and red mulberry paper from my stash.
The final ornament was for my sister, who loves teals and greens. I used more shimmery cardstock from Paper Zone and more mulberry paper from my stash; this brad is a pretty teal color. On this one, I alternated the reverse layer so it was opposite the front layer. I kind of like this look! The instructions for these tag snow/sunburst ornaments designed by Donna/Shadow Mill are available on SCS!

Card tins

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I had a great visit with my family in Oregon, where we actually had snow on Christmas Day while we were opening our packages. It was the first snow to fall on Christmas Day in my town since 1990! It didn't stick, but that didn't matter; my sister and I still ran outside to dance around in it! Anyway, now that all the gifts have been given, I can share some of the things I've been working on all December long. Today I'll start with card tins! I made two card tins; the first one was for my mom. I filled hers with a dozen cards for different occasions to get her started. The patterned paper is Karen Foster (if I remember correctly); I also used shimmery white, so saffron and retired vintage violet for the sentiment on the front. I also used my yummy SU pomegranate satin ribbon that I got on the buy one get one free special. I added a few miscellaneous ribbons to the handle and finished the tin off with some primas and rhinestone brads. I spritzed the primas with some glimmer mist before attaching them - a great idea I got from Splitcoast that adds a lot of shimmer. I made a matching set of tabbed dividers for the inside using my SU round tab punch.
The second tin was for my sister; she's a stamper too so I didn't include cards for her, just dividers for the different occasions. I used stamps from Happy Everything, Noteworthy and Short and Sweet to make the labels on the dividers. Her patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye's Costco collection. I also used blue bayou, certainly celery and shimmery white. I added a wide grosgrain ribbon from Jody Morrow's ribbon shares and other miscellaneous ribbons to the handles. I finished this tin with primas and sparkly brads. These were a big hit and really didn't take a lot of time!

Happy Holidays!

Eliot and I would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday! I'll be taking a blog break for the next week while I head home to celebrate Christmas with my family. In the meantime, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and your stockings are filled with lots of fun papercrafting goodies!

The last one, really!

I discovered one more Christmas card I hadn't shared yet - another one using the Cuttlebug backgrounds sent to me by my friend Joni. This was such a fast and easy card to put together, and I'm happy with the result! The card base is a non-SU textured blue, very similar to soft sky. I layered white and the CB snowflake background. All three layers are corner-punched with a CM punch. The snowflake bg is CTMH teal, which has a white core, so I lightly sanded the snowflakes to reveal the white. The main image strip is SU white over a strip of soft sky with the edges distressed. The sentiment from SU's Happy Winter is stamped in taken with teal, and then I added the snowmen, punched in soft sky using the retired SU snowman punch. I finished the card with a piece of white organdy ribbon.

Sunday morning stamping

It's been a long weekend! I seem to have caught a cold bug, so Friday night and Saturday I was not feeling well at all, which was a problem since I have so much holiday stuff still left to do. I had a schedule in my mind of what I needed to get done each day, between now and Thursday, when I leave to go home for the holidays. Spending half the day on the couch yesterday did not do well for this schedule. So I did as another blogger advised recently and crossed something off my list. The matchbook albums I'd hoped to put together are not going to happen. It's a small thing, but it felt good to cross it off, and it's OK that I did! Is there something you can cross off your list?
I was worried I might have to cross this paint can off my list, too, but it came together so quickly, I charged forward with it anyhow. It's my last challenge for the December mini VSN on SCS. The deadline to upload projects for the VSN is Wednesday night. But this weekend was my last chance. The challenge was to alter a paint can, preferably one that could be used for pampering. Well, my paint can is going to be used for pampering a stamper. It's getting sent to a fellow stamper after the New Year, and I plan to fill it with some fun stamping goodies before I stick it in the mail.
The My Mind's Eye Magnolia collection was the basis for this card; I used a sheet of the paper from the Costco pack and some coordinating rub-ons I found at Paper Zone on clearance. The tag was inspired by Tim Holtz' 12 tags of Christmas and by BadSherry's demo on distressing she posted on her blog yesterday. I sponged basic brown and pretty in pink all around the tag after it was all completed. The primas are layered on top and held together with a big brad from Karen Foster.
Other supply details:
Stamps: fabulous flowers (SU)
Ink: turquoise, pink passion, pixie pink, basic brown, pretty in pink
Accessories: MME rub-ons, tag, SU chocolate satin ribbon, primas, brad

Holiday tag

My friend and brand-new blogger Kimme (check her out at The Life of a Princess!) tagged me with the 7 Random Things tag. I've done this one a couple of times before, so I thought this time I would share seven of my favorite things about the holidays! I'd love to hear some of your holiday favorites, too! So here goes:

1) Decorating the tree. My ornament collection consists almost entirely of ornaments I've made, been given, or collected from all over the world over the years. I have very few store-bought ornaments. I love pulling them out each year; it's like looking at a scrapbook. It's also fun to look at the ornaments I've made. Even before I got serious about card-making, I was kind of crafty. The picture above is one of the first ornaments I made as an adult crafter. I lived in an area where pine cones were plentiful, so I gathered a bunch up, painted them with acrylic paint, and got to gluing. I attached one to each of the holiday packages I gave out that year, and a few others to friends and coworkers. It was fun! This year I made paper pine cone balls and tag snowbursts, but I don't think I'll have enough for me to keep any.

2) Mint M&Ms. I love chocolate, that's no secret. But chocolate and mint is not my favorite combination, unless it's a Starbucks peppermint mocha or mint M&Ms at the holidays! I love those red, white and green candies and have to buy a bag every year. They do not last long! I'm not even sure why I put them in the candy dish.

3) White Christmas. This is my favorite Christmas movie ever. I just love the music, the dancing, the romance, and the cheesiness! I watch it at least a couple of times each holiday season. It was also the first Christmas movie I ever bought to own.

4) The scent of the holidays. I love the smells of Christmas - the vanilla, cinnamon and cloves from baking; the citrus from the oranges and other fruits that are finally in season, the smell of fresh evergreen bows. One way I get into the Christmas spirit when I'm decorating or crafting for the holidays is to fill a saucepan with some cut-up apple or orange, a couple of whole cinnamon sticks, a handful of cloves and water to cover. I simmer it on very low heat and the steam filters through the house making everything smell yummy!

5) Real Christmas trees. Now that I live in California, I can't afford a real Christmas tree -something that wasn't even a question when I was growing up in Oregon. Besides the cost, Christmas trees in California don't last very long because of the warm, dry air. And since I'm usually gone for at least part of the holidays, it doesn't make sense to get a real tree. But I still miss them, and long for the day when I can once again have a real tree! Douglas firs are my favorite type.

6) Ginger ale. The only times I ever drink ginger ale are when I fly on planes and at Christmas time. I love it with a twist of lime, or mixed with cranberry juice. It's a fun, festive beverage and it always puts me in the holiday spirit.

7) Christmas music. I only listen to Christmas music (no other kinds) from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas. I have 30 or 40 CDs of holiday music, and put some in the car and some next to the stereo. My favorite albums include the James Taylor Hallmark album, Garth Brooks' Beyond the Season, John Denver and the Muppets (don't laugh until you've heard it!), and Kenny Loggins' December. Some of my favorite songs are Dido's Christmas Day, Sarah McLachlan's Winter Song, Do They Know It's Christmastime (remember Band-Aid? I'm such an 80s girl!), Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney, and the Christmas songs from the Love Actually soundtrack.

Thanks for indulging me! If you'd like to share seven of your Christmas favorites, or seven other random things, please do, and post a link back here. I won't tag anyone else specifically.

Holiday Happy Mail

I feel so lucky to have stamping friends! My mailbox has been brightened this holiday season with some beautiful handmade cards from all over the country, and Canada too! Here are a couple of the cards I've received. The first is from Alison at Stampin When I Can. She has an awesome blog that links you to all the blog candy, card sketches, challenges and hosts of new bloggers. I visit every day! Isn't that moose darling? I love the bright colors of the image, especially the sky. Thanks Allison!
The second card is from my friend Patty of PaperPatty. She and I met as hostesses during the "My Favorite Things" VSN nearly a year ago and have stayed in touch ever since. She used the lyrics from the song on this beautiful wintry pink card! The card has lots of shimmer, shine and sparkly, especially the glittery burgundy strip on the left side. What a beauty. Thanks Patty!

Sketched girly girl

The next couple of days are going to be long ones - tomorrow I'm reading names at the tree-lighting for our hospice, and Wednesday night is book club. So I thought I better get a little crafting in yesterday and today. I made a few more holiday goodies and this card for the December mini VSN sketch challenge by Kimme (MelenaPrincess). The mini VSN challenges run through Dec. 19, so there's still time to play!
I wanted to use a series of designer papers for the card, and the prints papers make it easy! I used three patterns from the rose red collection, paired them with this cute Inky Antics Girly Girls image, and voila! Thanks for a fun sketch, Kimme!
Details:
Stamps: Inky Antics Girly Girls
Paper: rose red prints dp, pretty in pink, rose red, basic black, shimmery white
Ink: Stazon black, rose red, pretty in pink
Accessories: rhinestone gem, diamond Stickles, ribbon, horizontal slot punch, ticket corner punch, dimensionals

Fabulous inspiration!

My friend Karen hostes the weekly inspiration challenge on Splitcoast. She always comes up with fun pieces to inspire us, and this week was no different! The inspiration piece was a bedding ensemble from Target, in bright girly colors with lots of stripes and flowers. I used the colors, the flowers, and the stripes as my inspiration for this card. I actually had another piece of patterned paper in mind for the card, but while I was digging through my scraps, I stumbled on this sheet from American Crafts and thought it would be perfect. I layered the paper on taken with teal and a soft sky card base and tied the polka dot ribbon (Miss Elizabeth's from Dollar Tree) around the first layer. Then I stamped the flowers from Fabulous flowers in pretty in pink, rose red, taken with teal and soft sky, layered them on pink and rose, and rounded all the corners with my SU corner rounder. I finished the card with a sentiment from Short and Sweet, punched out with my Word Window punch and set with an eyelet into a giant sequin flower from Queen and Co. Thanks for a fun challenge, Karen!

Feeling pretty!

This is another card for the December mini VSN challenges. For the "I feel pretty" challenge, Chanteuse provided a photo of a beautiful dress for us to use as inspiration for our cards. I worked with the color scheme, the beading, and the design. My card base is night of navy; on top of the that is barely banana stamped with the swirl from CTMH's Free Spirit. The main image also is from the Free Spirit set, the birds are stamped in navy and the sentiment (from SU's Short and Sweet) and heart are in bordering blue. The cardstock is shimmery white layered on bordering blue and night of navy. All of the layers are ticket corner-punched. I also punched a horizontal slot for the gray organdy ribbon to tie through, and finished the card off with a "Do-jiggie" beaded ornament I got on clearance at Borders awhile back. I think this would make a great wedding card.

December mini VSN

Yesterday on SCS, four more mini VSN challenges were posted! The December mini VSN runs through Dec. 19, so there is plenty of time to play! You can find out all about VSN and the challenges HERE. I've only managed one card so far, but I'll keep plugging away at the challenges over the next few days until I get them all done. The challenge for this card was to use a word or sentiment stamp as a background on your card. I used the sentiment stamp from the Good Things Simply Sent kit (retired) and stamped it repeatedly in rose red ink on white cardstock. I then stamped the heart in rose romance (retired) and a little flower from the same set in ballet blue. I layered the image on a piece of textured Bazzil cardstock in a color similar to ballet blue, distressed and curled one edge and tied some Michael's $1 ribbon along the side. I then layered that on rose red cardstock. The base is ballet blue, with the bottom half stamped with the flower image from Good Things. I added a strip of rose romance, with three flowers stamped along one side. I added tiny gems to the centers of all the flowers for a touch of sparkle.

Final Peace

This is one of the cards from my last "batch" of holiday cards. I made 1o of these from a retired Simply Sent card kit from last year called Good Things. It was a great way to use the kit supplies as well as get a bunch of cards made, since I didn't have to do much cutting! All of the pieces, including the card bases and the gingham ribbon, came in the kit with the exception of the vanilla top layer. I had to cut larger pieces for my image, since it was bigger than the stamp images that come with the kit. The image is from Peace to the World, stamped in stazon black and colored with blender pens and ink from the pad lids. I used mustard, olive, real red and bordering blue. Cardstock is vanilla, olive, real red, mustard and kraft. Now that the cards are all done, I'm starting on the envelope addressing! I hope to get them all to the post office on Friday, since I have the day off. Wish me luck!

First Peace

I've been a busy little bee this weekend, getting ready for the holidays. The tree is up, partially decorated, and all the rest of the holiday decor is up. I've completed another Christmas project, too. Sorry, though, I can't share it until after the holidays! To help me get into the spirit of the season, I've been playing my favorite Christmas music. Some of my favorites include Garth Brooks' Beyond the Season; Trisha Yearwood's The Sweetest Gift, Kenny Loggins' December; James Taylor, and of course, the Billboard Greatest Hits, and of course, the best Christmas CD ever - John Denver and the Muppets! If you haven't heard it, you must at least listen to a clip sometime. It's hilarious! I'll be sharing other holiday favorites in the coming days, and I hope my readers (I know there are at least a few of you ;) ) will share some of your holiday favorites, too!
Now on to the card. I made this one several weeks ago. It was my first attempt with Peace to the World. In my head, before I ordered the set, I envisioned a card with kraft, hunter and either burgundy or ruby red, something sort of country or barn feeling. But as I colored, it just didn't seem to be working. I made two of this one and wasn't really happy with either one - they just don't feel Christmassy enough. The fold is a Z-fold, learned from Beate. The image is stamped in Stazon timber brown on shimmery vanilla and watercolored with pumpkin pie, summer sun, bordering blue, hunter and gray, if I remember right. The layers are hunter and ruby red. I finished the card with some vanilla stitched May Arts ribbon and a snippet of chocolate satin My Mind's Eye ribbon.

More CB Christmas

I thought tonight I'd share a couple more of the Christmas cards I made using Cuttlebug backgrounds my friend Joni sent me! The first one is another Frosty BG on amethyst paper, which I layered on whisper white and bashful blue. All the edges are ticket corner-punched. I used some more organdy ribbon and silver cord (tell me again why SU discontinued this cord?) then layered the sentiment over the knot. The sentiment is from Happy Winter; I used my CM circle cutters to cut it and the first layer out, then layered those on a scallop punch. I finished the card with a snowflake charm from Making Memories.
Same cardstock and colors for the second card; this one uses the snowflake embossing folder. I stamped the snowmen and sentiment from Happy Winter in Stazon black, then colored details with my blender pens. They are again cut out with my CM circle cutters and layered on organdy ribbon and silver cord. I attached some silver snowflake brads to the background, too.