Another Reindeer card and a snow couple

Hi all - I was excited to come home from a meeting last night to find new goodies from Taylored Expressions in my mailbox! They had a new release last week and I ordered the Exercise Grumplings set - so perfect for those who struggle with exercise. I'm planning a birthday card for a friend who likes grumpy quips - I'll start it later today.

So... after last week's Merry Monday challenge to include a Scandinavian element, I looked at Taylored Expressions line for that theme and found a fun cutting plate and an embossing folder to include with my Exercise Grumplings order. I received them too late for that challenge but the embossing folder has reindeer on it - perfect for this week's challenge!! This is my second entry - I'm well on my way to building this year's Christmas stash. Yay!!

Supplies: Stamps - Inkadinkado 60-31349 Home for Christmas, Hero Arts CL997 Color Layering Snowy Tree (reindeer)
Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20, Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes, Hero Arts DI310 Color Layering Snowy Tree Frame Cuts (die to match the stamped reindeer)
Embossing Folder - Taylored Expressions Nordic Holiday
Paper - Neenah Solar White and Red, Hero Arts Punch; Ink - Fired Brick Distress Ink, Ranger Archival Watering Can

How cute is that embossing folder?! Just love it! Next, I have a card I sent to my aunt and uncle - their wedding anniversary was Sunday. I thought it would be fun to create a snow couple for them, using a darling retired Hero Arts clear set from 2009 - still in excellent shape due to their awesome quality!

Supplies: Stamps - Hero Arts CL368 Create Your Own Snowman & CL342 Everyday Sayings
Dies - My Favorite Things Blueprints 21, Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders
Paper - Neenah Solar White; Hero Arts Sea Mix Layering Paper
Other - Copic markers, Scraps of pattern and glitter paper

Thanks for stopping by and remember to check out all the creativity at Merry Monday. Have a wonderful day!

On Dasher, on Dancer, etc.

Merry Monday everyone! Yes, time for another Merry Monday challenge - this week, Colleen asks us to use a reindeer on our Christmas card. I have several stamp sets with reindeer but I went for one I just received before the holidays from My Favorite Things. I couldn't resist the sweet Santa in the set but there's also a trio of darling reindeer - perfect for this challenge!

Supplies: Stamps - My Favorite Things Merry Everything CS-151; Inkadinkado Rudolph 60-31358
Hero Arts Polar Set by Lia DC165 & Blizzard Bold Prints CG697

Dies - Simon Says Stamp Bundle of Stitched Shapes (rectangle); Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders, 
MFT matching dies to Merry Everything
Inks - Distress Inks Tumbled Glass, Lucky Clover, Pine Needles; Memento Rich Cocoa
Paper - Neenah Solar White and Hero Arts Punch; Other - Copic Markers, foam tape

I'm not happy with all the shading on my reindeer - oh well... I used the heavier weight Neenah - don't know if that made the difference. Anyway, I started by stamping, die-cutting, and coloring the reindeer. Then I decided to make a scene backed with the blizzard and stitched hill. I stamped and fussy cut the seven trees from the Rudolph set - that way I could place them wherever I wanted. Fun card to make but it took several hours with all the stamping, coloring and cutting.

Well, I'd better cut this post short since I have some music to practice for chorus. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all the lovely creations at Merry Monday. The Design Team outdid themselves with their reindeer goodness!

January My Monthly Hero Kit

Hi all - can you believe it, a non-Merry Monday post? I was excited to come home from car shopping (more on that later) to find the Hero Arts January 2017 My Monthly Hero kit in my mailbox! It was just announced on Monday and was to start shipping on Friday so I was thrilled to get it so quickly!! The kit includes:

• Color Layering Flower Heart clear set (large 6x8″ size)
• A set of 18 coordinating metal Frame Cuts dies
• Tide Pool ink cube
• Mint Julep ink cube
• Soft Pink ink cube
• Bubble Gum ink cube
• Strawberry ink cube
• 4 woodgrain envelopes (2 A1 and 2 A2 sized)
• 4 woodgrain cardstock (half sheets)
• Red wax cord (8 yards)
• Pool envelopes (2 each of 3 different shades)

What a great value at only $34.99 and, of course, I couldn't resist some of the add-ons. As of this moment, the kit is still available but once it sells out, it's gone. Loving Valentine's Day as I do, I couldn't resist adding this kit to my stash and I just love everything in it!! Here are the first cards I made with it:

 

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White, woodgrain cardstock from kit, American Crafts (Target bin)
Stamps/Dies - January 2017 My Monthly Hero (flower heart bouquet and matching dies); 
thanks banner from an old Hero Arts set # unknown
Other - Copic Markers, foam tape, Reflections gems

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White, American Crafts (Target bin) glitter paper, Basic Grey True Love (2012) pink
Stamps - January 2017 My Monthly Hero kit (sentiment); CG690 Confetti Bold Prints
Dies - DI348 Heart Confetti Fancy Die; Sizzix Heart Die
 Other - puffy stickers from American Crafts (Target bin); recycled fairy from a card Hero Arts put in with previous kits

The thanks card is for my friend Connie and her husband. They had me over for brunch yesterday and then took me car shopping. We had spinach quiche and blueberry muffins - yum! Then we visited a few car dealerships to look at vehicles. Connie and Doug served as riders to test the comforts for passengers in front and back; they both got new cars last year so are more familiar with the process. I was glad of their assistance and for the delicious brunch! And no, I didn't buy anything yet - I'm just starting to look.

The valentine is the first of cards I'm making for the Cards for Hospitalized Kids project. I hadn't heard of it until recently but it's been around for 5 years. A woman mentioned it on the Hero Arts Flickr Group and mentioned they need Valentine cards for this year. Here are four more cards I made for the project; I'm planning to send a package of 10 and already have 7 made (I made duplicates of some of these).

Supplies include Target bin and Doodlebug papers, Hero Arts rocket set (#unk);
Xcut doily die (thanks Heather!), Sizzix Lori Whitlock gatefold lace kit.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're having a great weekend!!

Scandinavian Noel

Hi all - typical - I'm seeming only to post for Merry Monday these days! Marcia offers a fun challenge this week to use the word Noel with an optional Scandinavian element. Really made me regret not ordering this darling Lia Griffiith set from Hero Arts when it was released!! I'll probably end up ordering it next time! I decided to google Scandinavian Christmas decor to see what might inspire me. I found these cute Scandinavian Gnome Tomte and immediately went with the grey/red/white combo. I wanted to use a large NOEL stamp so went searching through the stash to find one. Ta da - found one in a fun Tim Holtz set. While the font isn't what I'd consider Scandinavian, I went with it anyway. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White, American Crafts Target Hot Spot Christmas 2016 pad (red foil)

Die - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (stitched rectangle)

Stamps - Stampers Anonymous - Winter Wonder CMS 033; DoCrafts Tall Urban Stamps - Craft Christmas

Inks - Ranger Archival Watering Can by Wendy Vecchi, Fired Brick Distress Ink, Candied Apple Distress Marker

Other - Copics C1, C3 & R22, Marvy white pen

I absolutely love the border stamps I used at the bottom - thanks again to my friend Heather who sent me this set! This was the third card I made of this design. On card one I used foam tape and got the panel on wonky. Tried to fix it and the panel got wrinkled. Tried to iron it - no luck so I trashed it. Second one - the row of x's went a teeny bit crooked; I think it will be usable but I still decided to try another one. Third one looked the best so I didn't press my luck - LOL.

Thanks to Marcia for a fun challenge and be sure to check out the inspiration at Merry Monday! I have had plenty of Christmas cards for the past couple years due to playing along all year.

Angels Sing

Hi all - Happy New Year and hope you had wonderful holidays! I'm back from 3 weeks in Arizona to subzero temps in Minnesota - ugh! It's supposed to warm up this weekend and I can't wait!! Anyway, Merry Monday is back after their holiday break and we have Sue's challenge to use an angel on a Christmas card. It's fun to be blogging again after my holidays!

I just love angels and made a card before the holidays using a Silhouette angel file by Hero Arts. For this week's angel card I decided to use an old favorite Hero Arts stamp set.

Supplies: Neenah Solar White paper; Hero Arts pool card; DCWV Linen Closet Matstack; scraps of patterned paper
Stamps - Hero Arts CL354 Let the Angels Sing
Dies - Spellbinders Classic Ovals & Elegant Ovals
Ink - Ranger Archival Watering Can by Wendy Vecchi
Other - Copic Markers, Stickles (gold and icy), washi tape; Marvy white pen; foam tape

I started by stamping the angel on thick white paper and trimming it. Then I paper-pieced her. The head to the collar, hands with white robe trim, and feet were stamped on white and colored with Copics; I stamped the robe on a scrap of patterned paper. I trimmed the pieces and glued to the solid white angel, then stickled the wings and halo. The sentiment comes as one horizontal line but I had cut it into four pieces long ago so I could stack the words. This time I decided to stamp the words in a curve - so easy using the MISTI. The piano keyboard washi tape came from my friend Heather (with a bunch of other goodies) - thanks again, Heather!! In a "make it work" moment, I dotted the card with white pen to cover up a tiny ink spot and decided to keep dotting!

Be sure to stop by Merry Monday for inspiration and impetus to get your Christmas cards done before the holidays. This is my third year of playing in their challenges and just love them! Thanks for stopping and have a crafty week!

Winter fun

Well, we have plenty of snow after a winter storm this weekend. So it's fitting that Lori's challenge on Merry Monday is to showcase winter fun on your Christmas card.

Photo credit

I couldn't wait to use a darling ice skating penguin for my card. I've mentioned in the past that my dad used to flood the backyard when we were small so we could ice skate. Of course we outgrew that rink after a few years and ended up at the city park's rink. It had an old wooden shack for a warming house and we always had the best time. Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White, BoBunny Altitude, DCWV foil
Stamps - Whimsy Stamps Penguin Fun
Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Salty Ocean, Black Soot, Festive Berries)
Embossing folder - Darice Snowflakes and Flourishes
Dies - Whimsy Stamps Penguin Fun, My Favorite Things Blueprints 13, 20 & 21 and Oval Shadows

Well, all my Christmas cards are mailed except one to Aunt Dorothy who moved. I still haven't managed to track down her address so will wait until I get something from her with a return address. How's everyone else doing on their cards?

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

Candy canes!

I love a good candy cane around the holidays but even better - Lindt peppermint flavored chocolate truffles - yum!! I went to the Mall of America on Sunday and bought a big bag of their Lindor balls. This week Merry Monday brings a challenge from Linda to include a candy cane on your Christmas card - I started right away Monday morning on my card but got a bit sidetracked and didn't finish until today - more on that later...

Photo Credit

Last year Kristie, a former Merry Monday Design Team member, enabled me to buy some Whimsy Stamps. One of the cling images I ordered was this darling penguin quartet - yay, the sign they're holding is lettered with candy canes - perfect! Here's my card:

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White, American Crafts Christmas from Target Hot Spot

Stamp - Whimsy Stamp's Penguin Joy; Die - My Favorite Things Blueprints 20 (stitched rectangle)

Other - Copic Markers, Hickory Smoke Distress Marker, foam tape; Ink - Ranger Archival "Watering Can"

Below is a card I made while being sidetracked from Merry Monday. I was looking through my overwhelming stash of stuff for something for my sister. Instead I found a little decorated Christmas box containing a bunch of dies and an old Sizzix metal emboss & cut folder. I didn't remember owning this item and don't think I had ever used until now! No surprise... I included the folder in the photo - it's black metal on the outside and silver on the inside - such a fun item and I'm sure they don't make them anymore! Do any of you have one? I couldn't resist making a card with it. After embossing, I ran an ink cube over the raised paper - black on the deer and silver on the frame. A bunch of us from chorus were heading to sing at a couple senior living centers; one is where a long-time member Jean lives. So I took this card to give to her. She arranged a holiday song we sing "Straw Carol". We had a great time singing and Jean loved hearing her arrangement!

I'm doing well on my goal of writing out 5 Christmas cards per day for mailing. Will be done soon - yay - but like Bonnie points out, there's nothing wrong with getting some cards made for next year! Thanks for stopping by and have a crafty week!!