Class Holiday Card...

Since I'm not going to be able to be at my son's class holiday party tomorrow, I was volunteered to make the card for his teacher from the kids. To keep it pretty holiday neutral, I chose a snowman and winter theme. My "go-to" snowman are drawn by Zlatoena- you can tell I love them because I have so many of them:))

I used paper from My Mind's Eye "The Merry Days of Christmas" set for the background layers and to paper piece his scarf- I've been hoarding the last few sheets forever, but decided it was time to break them out for this card! The last bits were colored with Copics and some snow and a sparkly snowflake give him a little sparkle. A added a greeting from Verve's "Glad Tidings" set- need to break that one out more often!

I was under the gun to get this card delivered to the class mom who is taking care of the gift and party, so no pictures of the inside. I adhered white card stock on both the upper and lower panels of the inside so there would be plenty of room for 22-3rd grade (i.e. not so small) signatures:)) and added the greeting "Happy Holidays from all of us" which says it all!

Hope you're having a good day- as the days are marching down, I'm just trying to remember to breathe!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Fluffy Snowman (Zlatina), Glad Tidings- Verve
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: "The Merry Days of Christmas"-MME, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestability dies, MS snowflake punch, Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Rhinestone Brads, dimesionals, MS tinsel glitter

Beautiful Season...

The days are dwindling fast toward Christmas and I am definitely WAY behind! I extracted my Christmas decorations and outdoor lights from our storage unit (may need a chiropractor after this episode!) and decorated all the bushes in front of the rental house we are in. I would be SO much more enthusiastic if I were decorating my own house, but my kids expect Mrs. Santa to make wherever we are "festive"!



I tend to be more of the Santa Claus, snowman and jingle bells kind of Christmas card maker, but this set, Beautiful Season, from Stampin' Up really appealed to me when I saw it. The main image was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, heat set then colored with Copic markers. An embossed rectangle border was created with a Nestability rectangle die using a Sizzix Big Shot. I left the die in place and sponged the background with Sahara Sand ink. A little leftover paper from Basic Grey Figgy Pudding, a double bow using Artichoke Seam Binding ribbon and some antique brads finish off this CAS card.

The inside was finished with a repeat of the patterned paper, seam binding ribbon and a die cut greeting from the set. This was so fast and pretty- I will definitely make several of these to mail out to friends and family!

Today is the day to tackle the tree- we'll see who wins:))

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Beautiful Season
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Sahara Sand
Paper: Figgy Pudding, Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot, Nestabilty dies, antique brass brads, Artichoke Seam binding ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Frosty Day

 Good morning! I don't know about you, but today is definitely a TGIF kinda day for me- what a crazy week! I'm capping it off as the "math volunteer" in my son's 3rd grade class this morning, which I was really looking forward to, until my son told me there would be a substitute teacher today- bring on the Advil-lol!

Now back to posting the card I started with yesterday. I just received a huge box of Stampin' Up goodies last weekend and haven't even sorted them out before I began to dig around for this adorable set called "Polar Party"from the Idea Book & Catalog. I love the fact that you can create a whole scene with the clear mount stamps on the block before stamping it- then it's guaranteed to line up on the paper!

The scene was colored with Stampin' Up markers, most from the new 2011-2013 In-Colors set (LOVE those shades!). I added a little snow on the ground and around the edges and some glitter overlay to the tree ornament.  I opened up digital paper from the "Frosty Day II" set, resized it for 6x6 to make the pattern appropriately sized for a card, then printed the pages on my Canon printer. The layers were stitched together on my sewing machine. A little ribbon bow made with the Melon Mambo Scallop dots ribbon and some rhinestones complete the card.

The inside was finished with the leftover paper I printed out, a strip of Melon Mambo punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch (it makes it look just like ribbon!), some stitching and a layered die-cut greeting. I like the alternate Christmas colors, especially the turquoise and pinks!

This weekend will be a blur of decorating, shopping and planning for Christmas, but I'm planning to sneak some good stamping time in, so stop back by!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Polar Party
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Frosty Day II (Digital), Early Espresso, Pool Party, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine, nestability dies, Melon Mambo Scallop dots ribbon, basic rhinestones, snow glitter, dimensionals, Tombow liquid glue

Frosty {Sneak Peek}

It was certainly a frosty morning here in Atlanta- 29 degrees-brr! I had to scrape ice off the windshield of my car for the first time in 12 years- luckily a little elf bought me a scraper and left it in my car (thanks honey:))

Speaking of frosty, here's a sneak peek at a card I finished last night...

Forgot to upload pictures of the inside, so stop around tomorrow to see the rest! Check out all the wonderful Christmas sets in the Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalog and the Holiday Mini (links to the left). Stampin' Up has some great deals in their online store, including the digital set "Frosty Day" which I used to make this card- check it out by hitting the "Shop Now" link!

You Warm My Heart

I thought I was on cruise control this morning when I had completed three round trips to the swim club to shuttle kids to and from practice and picked up our Christmas tree, when I got the call that the tree removal guys had hit the water main in front of new house-dooh! Instant derailment. Our neighbors must hate us now because they had to shut off water to the entire street while they get it fixed-yikes! I will have to make some special Christmas cookies to make up for this!

OK, finally onto my card for the day~ This card may look like a repost of the one from yesterday, but it is actually a MIM (More is More) version of that cure little bear. After I made the first one, I realized what things I would change/add, so I decided to make a more embellished version and put it out to you all to vote which one you like better.

Changes: the plaid pattern was sized well for his shirt, but it was too small for the base of the card, so I sized the digital paper to 6x6; layers were stitched together; bear was cut out and layered onto light plaid oval for additional layer; added multilayer snowflake with chunky glitter, rhinestones and sparkly ribbon; changed greeting.

Some more stitching and Glimmer Brads were added to the inside as well as a different greeting. These cards just show how a little "more" makes a big difference!

Have a great day!

Countdown to Christmas!

Good morning! It's a chilly 28 degrees here in Atlanta this morning and there is a thick layer of glistening frost on the lawn, bushes and rooftops. My poor little southern children thought it has snowed-lol! This cool weather has finally gotten me back in the mood for stamping and creating- it's been a long time since my craft room has seen any action!

I am challenging myself this holiday season to make (and post!) at least one project every day from now until Christmas- that's going to be a bit of a hat trick for me since I will be working in the NICU the last two weeks of December, but I'm going to give it a shot!

The first card of the season is a true hybrid of digital and real elements. It starts with this adorable digital image from Birdie Brown (Torico). The bear was printed twice- once on Whisper White and once on paper from SU's Frostwood Lodge digital collection. I opened the plaid "paper" in Photoshop, re-sized the paper from 12x12 to 4x6 (which made the print smaller and more appropriately sized for the bear's shirt). The shirt and hat were paper pieced onto the white image after he was colored with Copics. Rule of thumb: color before gluing! I used some white flocking powder to give the edges of his hat some fluff:)

The rest of the card went together pretty simply- the Garden Green background was embossed using the Houndstooth textured impressions folder, the snowflake edge done by a MS punch and the layers cut with Nestability dies. Spoiler alert: Stampin' Up has finally joined the nested die world and will be coming out with some great dies in January in the Occasions Mini- stay tuned! A few Glimmer Brads in the corners and a some fluffy tinsel over the Real Red satin ribbon and it's done!

 

 The inside was finished with a computer generated greeting and another strip of the Frostwood Lodge paper sized for 6x6. I was going to keep this card on my desk as a start to the holiday mood, but a colleague at work really needed that bear hug yesterday, so it's on her desk instead:))

Come back around tomorrow- I'll have this card as a "More Is More" version- super sparkly and cozy!

Have a great day!

 




Supplies:
Stamps: Bear with Cocoa- Birdie Brown (Torico)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge DP (digital)
Ink: Canon MX850 printer
Accessories: Houndstooth embossing folder, Sizzix Big Shot die cut machine,Nestability dies, Real Red satin ribbon, white flocking powder, dimensionals, liquid glue, snowflake edge punch