Holiday Thank You Cards

Hey everyone - hope you had a wonderful Christmas if you were celebrating it! I had a great time with my Mom & Dad at their house, along with my brother & his wife. My two sisters wisely stayed in Arizona, rather than brave the below zero temps in Minnesota - can't blame them! I made a lovely ham dinner - did the ham in a crockpot using a Betty Crocker online recipe. Marinade was 1/2 cup each of Dijon Mustard, maple syrup, & brown sugar - yum!

Came home yesterday and got busy making thank you cards for holiday gifts from friends and family. Even though we don't really exchange gifts among our family anymore, I still got a couple of ornaments. I got a lot of snacks from friends which I really appreciate, even if my waistline doesn't!! I made 16 thank you cards, mostly variations of those in the top photo.

Supplies: Paper - Michael's Christmas red cards (3.5x5"); Stampin' Up Lost Lagoon; Hero Arts Daffodil, Pop-tone Black Licorice and Sour Apple, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, BoBunny Tis the Season & Altitude Collections 6x6
Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired) & Thank You Circle Frame; Impression Obsessions DIE024-X Snowflakes Die Set & DIE241-Z Snowflakes Cutout; Lawn Fawn Stitched Snowflakes; Poppystamps Spectacular Thank You
Stamps - Hero Arts CL368 Create Your Own Snowman - retired (holly)
Other - Copic Markers, foam tape, Icy Stickles, DCWV gems, Doodlebug enamel dots, Stick-It

I applied Stick-It to a full sheet of green card and die cut the circle frames. I used 3x3 chunks of card and after die cutting, decided the negative looked good enough to use. That way I didn't waste the Stick-It! I was, however, too lazy to find the teeny bits of the letters that had fallen all over the floor....

Today I finished them up, wrote notes inside and mailed them - whew! That was a marathon! Now, if we had a challenge blog like Merry Monday for Christmas thank you cards, maybe I'd have been in better shape - LOL. Thanks for stopping and, speaking of Merry Monday, be sure to stop back on New Year's Day to kick off a new year of  challenges!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating! No cards to share today and Merry Monday is off this week but we'll be back on January 1st with a new challenge.

People ask me to post my Christmas trees so that's what I'll do today. This year I was busy with a chorus show, playing in a church orchestra, helping my parents, etc. so I only had two this year. First - a 7.5' slim tree in my family room and second - a mini wood frame tree I got at Hallmark this year.

Oops - cut the topper off my slim tree when I took the photo but it's a paper maiche angel a friend gave me years ago. Since I was in a bit of a hurry with my decorating, I put the first topper that came out of the storage closet. Of course I had to put my musical ornaments on the tree - hippo that plays "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" , a jolly Santa in a sombrero playing "Feliz Navidad", Snoopy's dog house that plays a Charlie Brown Christmas song, bell that plays "Carol of the Bells", among others. I think I've mentioned in the past that I go around the tree often during the day, hitting all the play buttons! I'm easy to entertain!!

The wood frame tree (about 14" tall) has mostly 2017 minis but I added a few from earlier years. I have an 18" mini tree that I usually put up but it's a lot of work and I didn't get it done this year. Same with my wreath with several sets of Christmas mice ornaments that I collected from Hallmark years ago. Oh well, we do what we can.... I think the wood tree would look nice with a backing so I'll work on that for next year.

Hope you have a wonderful day like I'll enjoy with family and friends! Thanks for stopping!!

Christmas-y Birthday

Hey everyone - Happy Christmas Eve! Special day for many and especially my friend Jan who has a birthday today. She was the bass in my prior quartet Chord Company (retired in 2010) and we still sing together in the City of Lakes Chorus. Anyway, given a 12/24 birthday, I couldn't resist making her a Christmas-y card using two Art Impressions stamp sets I got at Michael's 70% off!! Practically free so I had to have them, especially after seeing this cute card by Felicita, a sister guest designer at Merry Monday. But a quartet needs 4 people so I masked in an extra lady from the other stamp set. Here's the card:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A7 card; Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Doodlebug Christmas (plaid); 

Poptone black and Michael's green

Stamps - Art Impressions Ugly Sweater and Merriest

Dies - label from Penny Black's Gift Card Pocket 51-191

Other - Copic Markers; enamel dots by unknown

Do you get to open a present on Christmas Eve? Hope it's the best gift ever! And stop by tomorrow if you care to see my Christmas trees.... That's it for today. Thanks for stopping!

Merry Monday #270 - Tic Tac Toe!

Hi everyone - time for what would've been my last post as a Merry Monday Guest Designer. This past four months went so quickly and I thank the Merry Monday Team for the opportunity! I enjoyed it sooooo much!! So much that I jumped at the invitation to continue as a Guest Designer with the other fabulous guests! You will see me in 2018 after the Merry Monday team takes a one-week break for Christmas - yay!!

For Challenge #270, the last one of 2017, Kelly has a fun Tic Tac Toe for us to play:

I found it hard to pick which line to choose - all the options are such fun! Ended up doing the upper left to lower right diagonal: Stamping - Ribbon or Twine - Buttons or Brads. I employ stamping quite a bit on my cards so that was a no-brainer. It seems like ages since I've used buttons on a card - they were all the rage a few years ago and I have plenty laying around!! Decided they needed some love so that meant ribbon had to make an appearance. Plenty of that around here too! Here's what I created:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A2 card; Poptone Sno-cone; Basic Grey 25th & Pine; Paper Studio glitter
Other - Copic Marker BG01, Hero Arts red nail heads & pool gems, various buttons; Icy Stickles;
Memento Tuxedo Black ink; brown Crayola pencil; Michaels Christmas ribbon; foam tape; white gel pen
Stamp - Hero Arts G5804 Shari's Tree No.2 (retired)
Dies - Hero Arts DI337 Nesting Oval Infinity Dies

When I decided on buttons, I went looking for the darling woodblock stamp you see in the photo. The amazing Shari Carroll designed it (and two other trees) for Hero Arts back in 2013 when she still worked there. I bought all three but hadn't used this one yet. Simon Says Stamp still carries Tree No.1, if you want to take a look, but not the other two. I'd seen #2 done with buttons years ago, including this beauty by the talented Rosemary, but hadn't tried it myself. Just had to give it a go for Kelly's challenge!

After stamping the tree and coloring the trunk, I spent a lot of time playing with buttons. I didn't have teeny ones so added gems, including some extras, and then added a few nail heads to tie in with the glittery frame. Since the patterned paper says Season's Greetings, I didn't add a sentiment. I stamped and fussy cut an extra star to pop up with foam tape - added some icy Stickles to it for some shine.

Hope you have a chance to check out all the fabulous cards by the Merry Monday Design Team and I thank them again for the past four months and the extension! Having been a part of the team, I've seen firsthand how hard they work to offer these fun challenges and bring inspiration each week. Thank you, thank you! Wouldn't get my Christmas cards done without Merry Monday - truly!!

Remember - Merry Monday will be off next week for Christmas but look for us on January 1st - you can get a start on next year's stash right on New Year's Day!! Thanks for stopping and happy holidays to you and yours!

Merry Monday #269 - Colors!

Hi all - Yikes - only 2 weeks till Christmas! But there's still time to crank out those last few Christmas cards or get ahead on next year's stash. This week at Merry Monday, Debbie hosts Challenge #269 - a fun color challenge! Just choose three of the six colors shown in the inspiration photo below:

I leaned toward the combo of green, chartreuse & pink and liked how this turned out in real life, even though the photo is a bit wonky due to the glitter paper. Some day I'll have to figure out how to photograph it!

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Ms Sparkle green A2 card, Paper Studio glitter paper; Michael's green and pink
Stamps - Hero Arts CM100 Christmas Messages; retired cling music stamp
Dies - Spellbinders S5-218 Divine Eloquence & S4-433 Holiday (retired)
Other - Hero Arts snowflake gem; Michaels gems; Twisted Citron & Lucky Clover Distress Inks

I decided to show some love to a couple Spellbinders dies, cutting the base layer from green glitter and the label layer from plain chartreuse cardstock stamped with a fun holiday music background (couldn't find the name of it - long retired by Hero Arts). My pink snowflake looked a little plain so I jazzed it up with a Hero Arts snowflake gem, replacing the center clear crystal with a pink one. Stamped the JOY sentiment - done!

Please be sure to check out all the fabulous creations by the Merry Monday Design Team and I hope you get a chance to play along with us this week! Remember, you need crafty time amid all the rushing around to prepare for the holidays!! Thanks for stopping!

Merry Monday #268 - Santa Hat

Hey everyone - there's still time to get a few more Christmas cards made for your stash so join us at Merry Monday! This week, Deanne would like to see a Santa Hat on your card for Challenge #268.

I found a fun digi cut in the Silhouette store - a large sentiment with a Santa hat on it by Erin Doran. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - American Crafts Christmas (plaid); Michael's green and red, 

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Digi cut - Silhouette Design ID #65244 "Season's Greetings"

Stamp - Hero Arts CL368 Create Your Own Snowman (holly) - retired

Other - 3M foam tape & glitter washi, Copic Markers, Glossy Accents, Stickles

I cut the sentiment and and an offset mat, making them so large I had to make this an A7 card! The plaid paper was only 6x6 so I added a strip of 1/2 inch washi on both sides to frame the sentiment and add some more sparkle. This would be an easy card to mass produce; in fact, I already have a pile of holly stamped, cut and colored - just need to cut some more sentiments, mats and hats.

Be sure to check this week's Merry Monday post for more inspiration from the fabulous Design Team and I hope you get a chance to play along with us!! Thanks for stopping!

Merry Monday #267 - Green, Blue & White/Silver/Vellum

Hey everyone - hope all my US readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! I got out my Christmas tree but am nowhere near finished decorating it!! Now, let's get to the business of the day - another Merry Monday challenge!

For challenge #267 Colleen would like us to use the colors green & blue plus with white, silver or vellum. Fantastic color combo!! Here's what I created:

Supplies: Paper - Poptone Snow Cone; Lawn Fawn Let's Bokeh in the Snow; 

American Crafts Christmas; Neenah Brights & Solar White

Stamp & Cut - Hero Arts DC166 Merry & Bright Tag Set by Lia (retired)

Additional Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20 (retired);

Hero Arts DI199 Circle Infinity Dies

Ink - Lucky Clover & Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks

Other - foam tape; DCWV gem stickers; 3M glitter tape; May Arts ribbon

I just love the tag Stamp & Cut sets from Hero Arts! They don't sell them on their site anymore but luckily Simon Says Stamp still has some of them (unfortunately this one's out of stock). I have them all and wish Hero Arts would make more styles! I've made quite a few cards with the snowflake tag (see one here) so decided to show some love to one of the other tags. My pale blue card washed out a bit in the photo but it's the same color as the tag. I backed the tag with a circle of glitter paper, then layered it with white and green for contrast against the bokeh background. I had embossed a tag with a silver sentiment but didn't like it - instead went with plain blue ink. I couldn't resist a strip of silver tape to anchor my tag, despite having used white for a layer and the bow.

Hope you have time to play along with us this week! And be sure to check out all the inspiration from the wonderful Design Team members at Merry Monday. Thanks for stopping!!

Merry Monday #266 Santa

The jolly old man himself gets featured in Sue's fun challenge #266 at Merry Monday this week.

Photo Source

This summer I bought CC Design's "Making a List" Santa image and had to give it a go. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and Black Licorice; Pop-tone Snow Cone

Stamps - CC Designs JD1074 Making a List; Penny Black 40-164 Christmas Story

Hero Arts CM100 Christmas Messages (ho, ho, ho); Impression Obsession CC177 Wooden Plank

Die - My Favorite Things Die-namics Blueprints 13

Inks - Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa; Tumbled Glass & Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink

Other - Copic Markers; gold gel pen

I stamped the image in black and colored with Copic markers. I then used a black Copic calligraphy pen to emphasize some of the lines and shadows already part of the image. I used a gold gel pen on Santa's glasses; it went a bit wonky but, oh well....I masked the image and stamped the wood plank for a floor. I cut the panel with a stitched rectangle and matted it with black, then adhered to a top fold A2 card stamped with text. I kept it simple with no other embellishments and a quick stamped sentiment.

Please check out Merry Monday for the Santa cards created by the rest of the Design Team and I hope you can join us this week! Thanks for stopping by and for all the kind comments!!

Merry Monday #265 - Outdoor Winter Activity

Time for Nina's challenge #265 at Merry Monday to showcase a winter activity on your Christmas card.

I went for a new-to-me Pure Innocence set from My Favorite Things. Don't know what it is about this little girl that draws me to her. I've seen some darling cards featuring various versions her and decided to order a couple. Here's my card featuring the sledding girl.

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Snow Cone,

scrap of Authentique for banner - not sure which collection...

Stamps - My Favorite Things Dashing By; Simon Say Stamp Falling Snow

Dies - MFT Dashing By; Lawn Fawn Hillside Borders; Hero Arts flag banner (retired)

Other - Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder, Hero Arts White Puff Embossing Powder, Copic Markers, 

foam tape, Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Embossing Ink,
Lawn Fawn snowflake sequins

I stamped and colored the image with Copic markers, then stamped the sentiment on a banner. I formed a horizontal top-fold A2 card and embossed falling snow using a cool puffy white powder, then I added a few snowflake sequins - too much?? I couldn't resist! I dry embossed a snowy hill for her downhill run. Done!

I remember many a fun winter day as a child, sledding down various hills at a family friend's farm. We lived in town and they had the best hills out in the country! Then we had yummy hot cocoa to help us warm up. Any fun memories you want to share? I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for stopping and I hope you visit Merry Monday to enjoy all the wonderful creations of the other Design Team members! Please play along in Nina's fun challenge if you have the time this week.

Merry Monday #264 Red & Kraft

Merry Monday to all! This week Marcia hosts challenge #264 to use the colors red and kraft on your Christmas card.

Photo source

What a gorgeous wreath on her inspiration photo!! And I love kraft with just about every color but especially  with red! Here's my take:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Ms Sparkle A2 card; dotted kraft by unknown; 
Basic Grey Bowties (red for label); scrap of kraft for holly;

Simple Stories Handmade Holiday 12x12 pad

Stamp - Hero Arts DC115 Frame Stamp & Cut (retired)

Dies - Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Greens Mini 661597; 
My Favorite Things Pierced Rectangle Frames (retired)

Inks - Festive Berries & Gathered Twigs Distress Ink

Other - foam tape; Mark Richards Nailheads

I started with a red card and added an embossed dot panel trimmed off another A2 card (can't remember the manufacturer). I found some yummy textured kraft paper in a Simple Stories pad and decided it would be great for a frame. Stamped and trimmed the sentiment label and added it to the frame with some embossed holly in a medium shade of kraft. Added some red nailheads for the berries. Could've made a shaker but was too lazy, I guess.... Well, too lazy to look for my acetate which wasn't in its proper place!!

Hard to believe Christmas is only seven weeks from today - yikes! So lucky to have enough cards for my list already - the rest will go to charities. How are you doing on your holiday card stash? Join us at Merry Monday to keep on track!!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the wonderful creations by the rest of the Design Team!

Merry Monday #263 - Photo Inspiration

Merry Monday everyone!! 

Lori has a gorgeous photo inspiration this week for challenge #263.

My eyes went right to the wooden shutters with the red sign against the crisp white plank walls behind. I also loved the pines, plus the poinsettias beneath the cabinet. So, here's my take on it:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White; Michael's green; Basic Grey Bowties;

My Mind's Eye Necessities Wood; Core'dinations neutral A2 card

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Joy, Blueprints 20 (retired) & Bold Stripes Cover-up;

Hero Arts label (from an old stamp & cut set - retired); Impression Obsession Pine Branch

Stamps - Hero Arts CL796 Peace Poinsettias (retired)

Other - Copic Markers, foam tape

To get the white plank background, I first tried an embossing folder - no good; mine have vertical stripes and weren't wide enough for me to do the paper sideways. Then I remembered a My Favorite Things die I purchased recently. I've seen bunches of tutorials on using dies for embossing so I decided to try it - worked like a charm!! My wood plank paper looks greyish in the photo but it's really brown (although not the shade of the inspiration photo....). I stamped the poinsettia multiple times & cut one down to layer. I hand drew the veins in the petals and colored with Copics. In keeping with the rustic feel, I staged the photograph with a wood slice - they sell them in the craft section at Target (my home away from home - LOL).

Can't wait to see what elements you pull from the inspiration photo! Be sure to check out all the wonderful cards from the Merry Monday Design Team this week. My Guest Designer tenure is half over - sure is going fast! Thanks for visiting and for your kind comments!!

Merry Monday #262 - Gifts

Hey all - who doesn't love loads of presents for Christmas?!! Well, check out Linda's challenge #262 at Merry Monday to add a gift to your Christmas card.

Here's my take on the challenge:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Penny Black Holiday Trimmings 6x6

Lawn Fawn Knit Picky 6x6, Pop-tone Snow Cone, Authentique Summer Seasons 6x6

Stamps - Hero Arts DC217 Christmas List Stamp & Cut, CL343 Holiday Sayings
and CL644 Bring on the Merry

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 13 & 20 (retired)
Hero Arts DC217 Christmas List (scroll)

Other - Copic markers, Distress Makers, Fired Brick Distress Oxide Ink, foam tape

I recently ordered another new Hero Arts Stamp & Cut set (love them - have too many? - never!). Immediately after opening the package and cutting apart the dies, I cut the cute scroll. Then I stamped it with the header Nice List. At the time, I was playing with some non-Christmas Authentique papers and one of the pages had a bunch of little rectangles with printed sayings. One of them had a check list that fit perfectly on my scroll - yay! I figured the soft blue color would work for a Christmas card. I hand wrote names of sisters and friends and checked them all off as being nice, even though they can be naughty sometimes!! The scroll laid around for a while, waiting for a home. When I spotted Linda's challenge, I knew it would look great with a pile of presents.

I used 2 presents from the stamp & cut set, then added 2 from other sets. I started by stamping the large present from the Bring on the Merry set, then masked it off and stamped it twice more. Masked those three and stamped 2 from the stamp and cut set. Colored and fussy cut the entire thing. So - five presents and eight names on the list - hmmmm, didn't add up. I stamped 4 more presents since I wanted an odd number, colored them and tucked them around the masked presents. Then I played around with some papers to pull out the present colors but not overwhelm them. Finally stamped the sentiment Ho, Ho, Ho which I thought worked well with a Santa list.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you'll make Santa's nice list this year! Be sure to check out all the inspiration from the Merry Monday Design Team; I'm really enjoying my Guest Designer slot!!

Merry Monday #261 - Ornament

Welcome! Time for another Merry Monday - Challenge #261. This week Kelly asks for an ornament on your Christmas card.

I went for a holiday set from Hero Arts that I bought back in August. I just love their Stamp & Cut sets which come with stamps and dies to match some of the images. This set has two ornaments, a branch, a bow and a hanger (with dies to match all), plus some sentiments. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Core'dinations kraft A2 card, BoBunny Christmas Collage 6x6,

American Crafts Christmas 6x6

Dies - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 20 & 21 (both retired)

Hero Arts DI198 Nesting Rectangles Infinity Dies

Stamps - Hero Arts DC215 Holiday Ornaments Stamp & Cut & K5242 Big Pine Bough (retired)

Other - Pine Needles, Hickory Smoke, and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink,

Fired Brick Distress Oxide Ink, Michael's gems, foam tape, Marvy silver pen, Wink of Stella

Instead of the branch that came with the Holiday Ornaments set, I used an old wood mounted fave from 2009 - Big Pine Bough, stamped a couple of times and filled in a bit with a colored pencil in a lighter shade. At the edge of the snowflake paper where the lines didn't connect onto the note paper, I just filled in with a marker. Do you recognize the snowflake paper from last week's card? I had cut two rectangles of different sizes when planning that card. Decided to use the second one for today's card since it worked well with the music paper. After stamping the ornament onto the matching diecut, I trimmed it down so there wasn't as wide a border. The areas on the ornament that appear darker are due to the addition of Wink of Stella - gives a nice shine in real life!

That's it for today. Be sure to stop by Merry Monday and check out the rest of the fabulous inspiration from the Design Team. Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind comments!!

Merry Monday #260 - Sketch Challenge

Hi all - at Merry Monday this week, Debbie created a sketch for Challenge #260. Yay - I love sketches and had loads of fun with Debbie's! With all the layers, I enjoyed finding the perfect combination of papers!!

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts PS572 Earth Mix Folded Cards (Latte shade), 

patterns by My Mind's Eye "All is Bright" & American Crafts "Christmas"
Michael's brown, scrap of Neenah Solar White
Dies - Hero Arts DI198 Nesting Rectangles Infinity Dies
My Favorite Things Die-Namics Blueprints 21 (retired)
Gingerbread by former Lifestyle Craft's QuicKutz
Stamps - Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings and CL644 Bring on the Merry (both retired)
Other - Fired Brick Distress Oxide Ink, Gathered Twigs Distress Ink,
Clear Embossing powder, Marvy white gel pen, Copic Markers, foam tape

Instead of the stars I changed the shapes to a pair of gingerbread people, in keeping with my resolution to show love to my stash of never-before-used-stuff (NBUS). Hey - the die's only 5 years old - give me a break LOL... For the bow on the gingerbread girl, I stamped just the bow portion of the candy cane from the Bring on the Merry set, then fussy cut it to remove the tails. I played around with different media for putting "frosting" on the gingerbread people - a bunch of them would never have made the cookie plate, that's for sure! I tried some copper Nuvo drops my friend Betty sent me but I couldn't get my dots small enough, despite several attempts. The white gel pen gave me the best results. I'll save the Nuvo for another project - thanks again, Betty!

Please visit Merry Monday for more Christmas inspiration with this sketch from the wonderful Design Team. Thanks to Debbie for creating a fabulous sketch and thanks to all of you for stopping by!!

Another Christmas Tree

Hey everyone - back with another Christmas card! This week at Merry Monday, Deanne challenges us to make a card with a Christmas tree. For my Design Team member card I used some supplies I found during a crafty clean-up. Today I spotted another pile of stuff including a stamped car with a tree atop and couldn't resist making another card.

Supplies: Paper - Poptone Snow Cone; white watercolor paper, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Stamps - Hero Arts car with tree (retired); Lawn Fawn Winter Scripty Sayings, 
Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow

Dies - Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders

Inks - Tumbled Glass Distress Ink; Memento Tuxedo Black

Other - Distress Markers, Marvy white gel pen, Icy Stickles

I colored and fussy cut the car image, adding glossy accents to the windows & headlight and white gel pen & Stickles to the tree. While digging through my box of Christmas stamps for sentiments, I found a fun Lawn Fawn set that I can't remember using before. I thought one of the scripty messages would be fun as car exhaust. To keep the background simple, I stamped falling snow on the card base, tone on tone, then colored in the dots of snow with a white gel pen. Done - another Christmas card ready for the stash!

Yesterday's MM post was written long before I heard about the horrific events in Las Vegas. My heart goes out to all the victims & their families and to all the kind & sane people in this world who would never dream of inflicting such horror on innocent people! Many of my Sweet Adeline friends are headed to Vegas next week for our International convention & competition and I pray for a wonderful experience for them there, while still grieving the tragic events of Sunday! I'm grateful for all the lovely people I've met singing and card making - those activities bring joy rather than pain to the world!!

Thanks for stopping and thanks for the kind comments! Hope to see your Christmas tree card in the gallery over at Merry Monday!!
 

Merry Monday #259 - Christmas Tree

Hi everyone! Deanne brings us Merry Monday Challenge #259 to add a Christmas Tree to your card.

Wow - love all the lights on the inspiration tree! Here's my take:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV Ms Sparkle A2 green card, Authentique Festive 6x6, 

My Mind's Eye Merry Little Christmas 6x6, scrap of Simon Says Stamp 12/2015 card kit paper

Sticker - Doodlebug Designs 3051 O'Christmas Tree Doodle-pop

Brad - Doodlebug Designs 2039 Gift Wrapped Braddies

Dies - Spellbinders S4-295 Lacy Squares

My Favorite Things Die-namics Blueprints 21 (retired)

I've been determined to use up some of my accumulated crafty stash! This brought me to a Doodlebug Designs scrapbooking kit I've had for ages (copyright 2011 according to the package). Besides some gorgeous papers (12x12 so I'm saving those), the kit contained bunches of yummy stickers and brads. Huh - I can't remember the last time I used a brad! You? Anyway, a cute Doodle-pop Christmas Tree sticker and a present brad became the focal points of my card. The kit's Doodle-pop had gems on it - others I've seen are plain. I spotted a bedazzled tree in a Doodlebug kit at Simon Says Stamp if you want to see it - online stores I checked didn't seem to have single trees in stock.

I decided to show some love to an old set of Spellbinders and cut two lacy squares to layer beneath the tree & present. A stitched rectangle & strip of snowflake paper on a green card, plus a leftover sentiment strip from last week's Merry Monday card - done!

Be sure to check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the Merry Monday Design Team and I hope you have a chance to play along this week! I'd love to hear how you're coming on your Christmas card production - playing at Merry Monday will definitely help you along!!

Thanks for stopping and have a crafty week!

Merry Monday #258 - Penguins!

Merry Monday everyone - it's time for a new challenge! This week Colleen asks for a penguin on your Christmas card! Woo Hoo - love penguins!!

I'm still trying to use some lovely supplies that have never seen any playtime. I found this sweet penguin at a craft expo years ago and couldn't resist him - made by a Minnesota company too - bonus!! Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and Bright Blue, Heidi Swapp Marquee Love glitter,

Pop-tone Black Licorice & Snow Cone, Stamp-on-it Iridescent vellum,
Lawn Fawn Winter Perfectly Plaid 6x6, December 2015 Simon Says Stamp card kit (red text)
Stamps - Stamps by Judith & Heather F-284-HK Sm Fat Penguin
Hero Arts DC165 Polar Set by Lia (ice floe) and CL368 Create Your Own Snowman (cap - retired)
Dies - Hero Arts DI337 Nesting Oval Infinity Dies;
Lawn Fawn Forest Border and Stitched Hillside Borders (part that didn't get the stitching)
Other - colored pencils, Copic Marker (BG0000), washi by unknown, foam tape

I started by stamping & coloring the darling penguin. He sat there for awhile then I decided to add a winter cap. I actually cut & colored several different ones so there was a bit of a fashion show - LOL. Then I remembered a stamp set with an ice floe - perfect! In my crafty clean up I found this yummy iridescent vellum in the stash (another stamp expo find) - it coordinates much better with the card base in real life. I knew it would make a perfect pond. I created the background and then cut it into an oval and layered onto a black oval mat, then added the blue frame cut from 2 oval dies. I decided to anchor the oval on the side with a paper strip - the hunt was on! I wanted something red and white and I tried many, many different ones before finding an unopened pack of paper. It had no label but I recognized a reindeer on one of the pages and remember making a card with a puffy sticker. Sure enough - found the card made for a 2015 Merry Monday challenge and learned it was paper included in the 12/2015 SSS kit. Oh well, at least it didn't sit around for 2 whole years! A strip of narrow black houndstooth washi finished the right edge of the red & white paper. When thinking about a sentiment, I decided to try a bit of the patterned paper - it cuts perfectly into little sentiments & I tried a few of those too, before picking Happy Holidays. Just love this font!!

Be sure to stop by and check out the rest of the Merry Makers' cards for even more Christmas inspiration! How are you doing on cards for your Christmas list?? I'm totally done and will have plenty of cards to donate to charity - yay!!

Thanks for stopping and thanks for the kind comments! I'm enjoying my stint as Guest Designer at Merry Monday!!

Halloween set - Cards for Hospitalized Kids

Hi all - I've mentioned Cards for Hospitalized Kids in the past - a worthy charity bringing joy to hospitalized kids by sharing handmade cards. Today I have a set of Halloween cards to send this charity. I ordered the Simon Says Stamp Limited Edition Halloween kit (sold-out) and it came in yesterday's mail - Yay!!

*** Warning - photo-heavy post ahead ***

Photo from Simon Says Stamp's site

The kit came with the following:

Exclusive Simon Says Stamp 4x6 Clear stamp set "Creepy Cute"

Exclusive Simon Says Stamp Wafer thin Die "Witch Cat"

Exclusive Seed Beads "Fright Night"

Phrases and Stickers "Bootiful Night"

3 sheets of 6x6 Cardstock in Doublesided Patterns

2 Jars Tonic Mini Glow Drops: Banana Split and Apple Sour

WOW Glow in the dark Embossing Powder

30 Mini Googly Eyes

Doodlebug Tricky Treat Braddies

My Mind's Eye "Trick or Treat" Puffy Stickers

3 zipper close Kraft Stand up Treat pouch goody bags

Large Treat Box with Window

Simon Says Stamp Cardstock in White and Black

1 Package Tim Holtz Halloween Trimmings

12 Thick Tim Holtz Halloween Kraft Papers 8x8

1 Ranger Foil Tape Sheet

What fun I had playing with this wonderful kit today, creating cards for a great cause! I made 20 quick cards using many of the kit's stickers and papers, plus some additions from Michael's & Target's bargain bins. I still have plenty of papers left and haven't even touched half the stuff in the kit! Here are the cards:

Just need to add messages to the insides but I consider this quite an accomplishment for 3 hours work! It helped to use DCWV A2 cards (neutrals) and I die cut the same stitched rectangle from My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (retired) twice from 10 different papers.The kit's papers were from Tim Holtz's Halloween 8x8 paper pad (black or brown & orange papers on one side/kraft on reverse). The only other background paper I used was from a Michael's Halloween 6x6 pad (the spider web paper), plus some orange & black DCWV card stock. Here and there I also used some black Tim Holtz washi I had in my stash. The puffy pumpkin stickers came from Michael's and the Target $ bin had the fun enamel stars and spiders. I also used Hero Arts DC197 Halloween Trimmings Stamp & Cut for the Happy Halloween on some of the cards.

Although the kit is sold out, many of the items are available singly at Simon Says Stamp so check it out if interested! Thanks for stopping and if you have a spare moment, visit Cards for Hospitalized Kids. You may find yourself sending them cards as I and some of my friends have been doing.

Hope to see you back tomorrow for my latest Merry Monday Guest Designer card. Can you believe it'll be week 4 already?!

Merry Monday #257 - Decorated Tag using texture, bling and die cuts

Merry Monday everyone - it's week 3 of my Guest Designer slot and time for Sue's Challenge #257 to include a decorated tag using texture, bling, and die cuts on your Christmas card.

Oh my - what a fun challenge! I have lots of different tag dies but I combined a couple for my card. I found the perfect paper pad for the tag and background. Then I spotted a fun polar bear Silhouette image I had cut a while back - still stuck to the mat!

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Black Licorice,

Studio Calico Magical Collection 6x6, scrap of Basic Grey Juniper & BoBunny dotted

Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 2 and 13; Hero Arts DI054 Phrase Bubbles,

My Monthly Hero Kit July 2016 (sold out) - luggage tag (cut in half), and

DI197 Tag Infinity Dies (for the tag's tab & reinforcer)

Silhouette Design ID 69566 A2 Polar Bear Card (just cut the bear with scarf)

Stamps - Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings (retired)

Embossing Folder - Darice Snowflake Swirl

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Hickory Smoke Distress Ink

Other - Michael's gems, 3M glitter washi, Copic Markers, scrap of ribbon

I had one last piece of this blue patterned paper and I embossed it for some texture - actually, it's debossed for the most part - they printed the label on the wrong side so I didn't get the normal raised effect. Since it was my last piece of this paper, I used it anyway! Glittery washi adds both texture and bling to the tag and some gems to my sentiment finish it off nicely.

Funny story - I photographed the card and uploaded it, then when I went to check the Silhouette ID for the polar bear, I realized I'd left off his front legs and scarf - oh no!! So I added them and took a new photo, sigh.... Do you ever do crazy stuff like that? Tell me, please! Here's the card with the front legs & scarf missing - have a good laugh, I actually didn't notice anything was missing until I looked in my Silhouette library!!

Thanks for stopping and be sure to check out all the inspiration from my Merry Monday teamies! Have a crafty week!!

Wish Big

Hi all - I'm here today sharing a birthday card for my baby sister who loves elephants. She celebrated yesterday and texted me a picture of my card sitting in her kitchen window - she loved it!

Supplies:  Paper - Neenah white, yellow & brown; Pop-tone Blu-raspberry; scrap of a kraft envelope

Dies - Hero Arts June 2017 My Monthly Hero kit & DI399 Thorn Tree and Grasses Fancy Die

Stamps - Hero Arts June 2017 My Monthly Hero kit & CL674 Circles (retired)

The September 2017 My Monthly Hero kit from Hero Arts released on Tuesday 9/4 (already sold out) and I'm hoping to play with mine (it arrived in yesterday's mail). Meanwhile, I'm way behind on using earlier kits so I put the June 2017 kit to use for this card. The kit (sold out) has an African wildlife theme and included an elephant silhouette (along with many other animal images). One of the birthday sentiments from the Circles clear set worked perfectly with my elephant scene.

When I first received the kit back in June, I did my usual process of cutting apart the dies and making a negative for popping diecuts in to stamp. With a full set of diecuts ready, it was easy to stamp an elephant. I think I had a fiber on the stamp because I ended up with an unstamped line. Of course I noticed after the stamp was cleaned and put away so I ran a Distress Marker over it. Doesn't look perfect but we'll just say my elephant has some skin issues - LOL. The kit came with a small thorn tree stamp & matching die but I used a larger die that paired with the grasses as an add-on.

That's it for today - thanks for the visit! Hope you have a crafty week!!

Merry Monday #256 Favorite Holiday Movie

Merry Monday everyone - time to go to the movies with Nina this week for Challenge 256. Woo Hoo!!

As a young child I always watched Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer on television every Christmas season - it remains a favorite to this day. I remember hiding my face when the nasty Abominable Snow Monster came on screen - yikes! Then he turned into a sweetie at the end and Rudolph with his red nose saved the day by leading Santa's sleigh. A classic!! I found a darling & ridiculously cheap Rudolph stamp set at Michael's after Christmas last year - perfect for this challenge! Here's my movie inspired card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Teresa Collins Sweet Afternoon (blue pattern)
Basic Grey Juniper Berry (black pattern)
Stamps - Inkadinkado Rudolph, Impression Obsession Wooden Plank

Silhouette Design ID 112156 Santa's Workshop A7 card 
Dies - Lawn Fawn Hillside Borders & Impression Obsession Snowflakes Cutout
Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Hickory Smoke, Lucky Clover, Pine Needles, & Black Soot
Other - Stickles, Copic Markers, foam tape, Sizzix plaid embossing folder

The set has 5 of the movie's characters - Rudolph, Sam the Snowman, Hermey the elf who wants to be a dentist, the Abominable Snow Monster, & prospector Yukon Cornelius, plus a snow covered tree and 3 snowflakes. I decided to feature just three of the characters - of course, one of them had to be Rudolph! I stamped all three, colored with Copics & fussy cut. I stamped the tree image three times using two shades of green ink and fussy cut. I thought Hermey would be cute looking out a workshop window at Rudolph & Sam so I went searching for a Silhouette Santa's Workshop design. Found a cute one that includes an A7 card but I just folded my own card stock to A7 size. I selected some of design's pieces and cut them in white, coloring them as necessary with Copics. I embossed the walls and roof for some texture and stamped the shutters with a wood plank background. I added Icy Stickles to the icicle layer of the Silhouette design. The design came with a heart for above the window but I chose a snowflake as the finishing touch. Oops - forgot I was going to hand write DENTISTRY on Hermey's book - just like in the movie. Oh well, I'll add it later.

Thanks for stopping and be sure to check out all the fabulous cards of my Merry Monday team mates! I'm having a blast on my Guest Designer tenure!!

Another retirement card!

Wow - a third person retired from my old workplace! I attended a party back in July and there were two in August - had to miss both of those parties due to other commitments but I sent cards. I didn't blog the July card because it was similar to the cat birthday card from May. The first retiree loooooves cats! Only difference was a butterfly instead of the balloon and a congrats sentiment. I posted the first August retirement card here and today I'm sharing the final card - for my friend Jim:

Supplies: Paper - DCWV A7 card, Poptone Black Licorce, 

Neenah Solar White, & a scrap of Basic Grey grid

Stamps - Hero Arts CG279 Musical Clef, Impression Obsession MC185 Fore Retirement

Silhouette files - Design ID60862 Acoustic Guitar & 

Design ID37683 Music Flats Etc, plus text of a B and two 2s

Jim has played the guitar for years - in fact, we used to sing duets back in the day during our on-the-job training after college. Our group lived in an apartment complex during the 3 month training - we called it "Compound W" (real name Westwood Village) because the buildings reminded us of Army barracks!! As recent grads we didn't have a lot of money so we spent time gathered in each other's apartments drinking cheap wine and enjoying Jim's guitar playing. He's a huge Bob Dylan fan and we even got to see Mr. Dylan in concert! Jim & I ended up in different Wisconsin offices but our paths crossed again a few years ago, both working in St Paul MN. I'm sure he got a kick out of the card when he received it on Wednesday.

I've used the sentiment from a golfing retirement set before - it says "Best Wishes Fore Your Retirement" - I just cut the "Fore" out and used a teeny "on" from another set. The guitar Silhouette design comes with a lot of layers - I tried a version making a kraft colored layered guitar but didn't like it. I found the simple black silhouette worked best for my puny "Too sharp to be flat"!

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll be back on Monday for the next Merry Monday challenge - my second week as a Guest Designer and my card is ready to go!

Congrats

Hi everyone - back today with a congrats card I made for a former coworker's retirement.

Supplies: Paper - Hero Arts pool A2 card, Heidi Swapp Marquee Love glitter, Pop-tone Black

Pre-fab Die cuts - David Tutera Celebrate Lace Grid

Silhouette die cut - Design ID 207545 Welcome to the Farm

Die - Hero Arts DC149 Congrats Stamp & Cut

Jodie retired to pursue the hobby farm she's had for some time with her husband. I used to recycle my egg cartons by donating them to Jodie for her hens' fresh eggs. I wanted to do something that reflected the farm theme and found a fun Silhouette image. Sometimes the simplest idea turns out best!

Just four pieces to this card and done!! I adhered the lace grid to an A2 card, used foam tape to add the Silhouette image and finally applied the Congrats to the cow. Jodie loved the card - her party was last week but I didn't have time to blog the card until now.

Thanks for stopping and I hope you're having a crafty week!!

Merry Monday #255 JOY!

Merry Monday everyone!! The Merry Makers return from summer break today and, guess what?!, I've joined them as a Guest Designer for the next four months! I've been playing at Merry Monday since January 19th, 2015 and have really enjoyed the challenges. Thanks to Lori & Lesley for giving me this opportunity and I'm delighted to join the rest of their amazing team!!

The fabulous Marcia offers Challenge 255 this week - use the word JOY on your Christmas card.

Photo Source: Pinterest

When I saw this week's challenge, I ran for a new die from Poppystamps - Spectacular Joy. I ordered all three of their new Spectacular word dies and JOY was the first one to see some play. I love the three layers, plus I added a fourth for a bit of black shadow, using the layer 3 die to cut it.

Supplies: DCWV A2 green card, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Pop-tone Black, 

the Paper Studio glitter, Bazzill green, red for rectangle by unknown

Dies - Poppystamps Spectacular Joy, My Favorite Things Blueprints 13, 

Cuttlebug Snowflake Solo (retired)

Background Stamp - Hero Arts CG324 Holiday Background (retired)

Other - foam tape, Michael's gems, Candied Apple Distress Ink

Once I had the layered word built, what to do with it?? I tried putting it over a wreath - didn't work, the wreath was too small. Then I remembered a large snowflake die I found during a recent crafty clean-up. I cut it in white and embossed it within the die - perfect! I cut a stitched rectangle, stamped it with some holiday text, and layered it onto an A2 card. After adding the snowflake, I popped the JOY with foam tape and added some gems - done!

A great thing about Merry Monday is the flexibility on products - no specific brands, no recent releases required. Use what you have, as long as you meet the challenge theme for the week - yay! That's it for today but be sure to check out the wonderful creations by the rest of the Design Team by visiting Merry Monday. I thank them again for including me as a Guest Designer for these next four months!

Thanks for stopping by and have a joyful week!!