Jessica's Kitten

For the past couple of days I have been working on my thank you cards.  I am posting two of them, created using Your Next Stamp's, Jessica's Kitten. stamp set.  I thought the kitten images were very cute the minute I saw them.  I watercolored a bit of the background on each card.  After stamping the cat and presents using black Versafine ink, I heat embossed the images using clear embossing powder.  For these cards I used my Copic markers and I used Stampin' Up's Whisper White cardstock.  Made a note to myself that when using the Copic markers, I should stick with Copic cardstock.  It seems that the coating on the Whisper White keeps the colors from blending as well as when I use the Spectrum Noir or Copic cardstock.  Enjoy the last week of 2017 and ringing in the New Year.

Last 2017 Christmas Card

A few weeks ago, I posted a card made by my friend, Paula.  Since then, she came over and shared exactly how she made her card.  Today I am posting my version.  I think it is nice, but Paula's card was more vibrant and gave the illusion that there was movement in the sky. Both the die and the trees are from Penny Black.  The background was created using Stampin' Up reinkers, water and a paint brush.  When the card was dry, I added white gel pen dots to mimic snowflakes.  Thank you Paula for the lesson!  It sure is nice to have talented friends who share their ideas and their supplies!  Have a great day and stay warm.

Everly Ornament

Today I am posting pics of the ornament I made for Sydney's bird, Everly.   She is a lineolated  parakeet and as sweet as can be.   I used my Cricut Explore to cut the name, little bird and musical notes.  Once the vinyl was weeded, the transfer tape made it quite easy to add all of the vinyl pieces to the ornament.  I made one for Dexter ( their Eclectus parrot), but it did not turn out as cute as Everly's.  Next year I will make him a much better one.  Have a great day and keep warm!

Maddie

I was going to post one more Christmas card today, but instead is a photo of our grandpuppy, Maddie.  On Christmas Eve morning, Maddie was struggling a bit.  Jen and Sydney took her to the emergency vet and the sweet little puppy passed away.   We have many  beautiful memories from the past 15 years.   Maddie was such a good girl.   Jen was so proud of Maddie when she brought her home as a little 8 week old puppy.   She was a cute puppy and she knew Jen was her new best friend.  A couple of years later, I remember the day Jen and Mark brought Sydney home from the hospital as a newborn.  Maddie investigated the little thing in the car seat and from that day on, Syd and Maddie were inseparable.  Jen and Sydney were with Maddie as she passed over the Rainbow Bridge.  (Poor Mark did not get there in time.)  We are all heartbroken.  Maddie was a blessing to all of us in so many ways. She will be missed and in our hearts always.

Happy Pawlidays

Today's card was especially created for Matthew using My Favorite Things' Happy Pawlidays stamp set and dies.  He has three dogs all of which are rescues and one is sweeter than the other.  One is brown, one is gray and one is gray and white.  The gray dog on this card really is like his Irma.  She is so happy to be with you that she lays as close to you or on you as possible, often with a toy in her mouth.  Molly, the brown dog, is the most mature of the three.  She would sit nice just waiting for a little pet or two from you.  And Duval, the gray and white dog, truly is the dog that would get all wound up in the string of lights.  He is the silly one!  I made a variety of cards using this stamp set. If you have a dog, you more than likely received a Happy Pawlidays card.  I was enjoying the time when I was using this stamp set and coloring in each little puppy.  Actually, I enjoyed making all of this year's Christmas cards.  Have a wonderful weekend and a very Merry Christmas!

Cute Little Snowgirl

Not sure there is even such a thing as a snowgirl, but she looks like a little snowgirl to me!  She was cut using the  Sweet Holly Snowman     die from Frantic Stamper.  I colored the hat, scarf and holly using alcohol markers, adding a little dimension by adding white polka dots using a white gel pen.  The "peace" was die cut using a retired Stampin' Up framelit set while the snowflakes are from Lawn Fawn and Stampin' Up. Today I will spend some time cleaning up my scrap room and then taking inventory on what I still need for Christmas.   Have a great day!

December Birthdays

I finally finished Christmas cards and my scrap room is a disaster area!  I also made the birthday cards I am posting today.  I used the Sunny Studio stamp set and dies, Mug Hugs.  My mother-in-law is celebrating her 96th birthday on the 23rd and we truly are sending her hugs and good wishes.  Our son-n-law celebrated his birthday on the 13th.  Since he enjoys his coffee, this stamp set was perfect.   The sentiment on the band is from Lawn Fawn.  I thoroughly enjoyed making cards.  I did a lot of coloring with Spectrum Noir markers and I will be showing some of those cards tomorrow.  Have a great day!

Candles

I have been busy working on Christmas cards and until they are all sent, I can't post photos.  So today
I am posting a photo of candles I made using my Cricut Explore.  I have had the candles in a closet downstairs for years and was going to give them to Goodwill.  But once I started playing with my Cricut, I decided to play with the candles and the Cricut.  I typed "peace" in Design Space.  Once the word "peace" was cut out of vinyl,  I used transfer tape to get it onto the candle.  It was an easy process.  On one of the candles I added snowflakes and pearls (not showing) and tied both with ribbon.  Today I will finish up Christmas cards and then on to gift wrapping.  Have a great day!

Flying Home

I truly do not need another bird/birdhouse stamp set, but the Flying Home stamp set in the upcoming Occasions catalog called my name~~loudly!  I should be working on my Christmas cards but I took a break and quickly made today's card.  I colored the image using alcohol markers after stamping and heat embossing the image.  I used the Layering Circle framelits, layering the image onto a Melon Mambo scallop circle.  Retired Tangerine Tango DSP was a cheerful choice for the background.  Cute stamp set and one I see myself using often.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Santa's Sleigh

Another day and another post from one of my talented friends!  Today's card is from my friend, Paula.  I love this card as it is so not me (bolder colors) and yet when I opened the envelope it was a WOW!  Not exactly sure what she used to create the sky background but it has a lot of movement~~as if Santa and his sleigh are causing the sky to swirl.  The sled is from Penny Black's Santa's Sleigh die.  The trees are from Penny Black's Woodland Beauty.  I will be seeing Paula over the weekend, so I will get more details and make some cards like this, too!  Have a great day!

Winter Shaker Card

Today I am sharing the cutest Christmas card!  My friend, Cherie, made this for me.  I can only imagine how much time she spent.  Cherie used My Favorite Things' Die-namics Snow Globe Kit. Each piece of this shaker card was die cut and assembled and some of those items are very small.  I know for a fact that with my shaky hands I would not be able to put those windows together.    And once again, I have to say that I have been blessed with the best friends and I appreciate each of you. Thank you, Cherie!!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Weekend Continued

 Continuing with our weekend of crafting, the Merry shadow box was something Syd made for her Mom and Dad.  As always, she put her little heart into making this~~and did an excellent job, too.  For the last coupe of years, I have had the shadow box with the jingle bells in my scrap room.  I was always going to finish it, but never did!  So I decided adding the words to it would be a great way to introduce Sydney to weeding vinyl after cutting it on the Explore.  I adhered the words on the glass so if it got messed up, it would be on me~~LOL!  And again~~Sydney did a great job!  She is my sweetheart!!   Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Sydney & Grandma Weekend

Syd and I had a great weekend!  We baked many cookies and spent hours down in the scrap room.  We made the usual~~cut out cookies and cookie press cookies  After all the years of doing this together, we finally have it down to a science as to how to make the least mess!  And then we went downstairs to work on lip balm holders for Syd's friends.   The photo shows a few of the papers and ribbon we used.  The one in the middle is for her friend~~who does not celebrate Christmas~~but Syd wanted to give her a gift.   In between that, Syd worked on other projects.  By the time Jen came for her on Sunday after lunch, both Syd and I were ready for naps!!!  Have a great day!

O Holy Night

A few weeks ago when we were all busy working at our Cricut Sunday get-together, Nancy made a pretty O Holy Night glass block.  I thought it would be a nice Christmas present for my mom-in-law.  I just wasn't sure about mailing it to Arizona and then if it would be too heavy for her to handle.  So, I purchased the SVG file for my Cricut Explore Design Space and made a framed version.  I used a 10 x 10 frame, adhering the vinyl to a piece of Stampin' Up Shimmery White cardstock which was layered on a piece of black cardstock.  The "Oh Holy Night" is slightly uneven, but not too badly.  Regardless, I am sure John's Mom will like it.  Have a great weekend!

Occasions 2018 Sneak Peek

When I had a chance to preorder from the Occasions Catalog coming out in January, there were only a few things I really wanted.  One of those things I ordered I had to use as soon as it hit my scraproom~~the Friendship's Sweetest Thoughts stamp set.  Both the image and the sentiment on today's card are from the set.  After embossing the image with Black Versafine ink and clear embossing powder, I colored the cute flower cart with Spectrum Noir markers.  Avery Elle's Wonky Framelit goes perfectly with the feel of the flower cart.  The sequins complete this happy card.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!  

Elegant Christmas

I wanted to use this snowflake paper from Stampin' Up's Merry Little Christmas DSP collection.  The pretty sentiment is from Penny Black's Yuletide Wishes stamp set.  After stamping the sentiment, I used a retired oval framelit and a stitched framelit for the black oval layer.  There are little rhinestones in the center of the larger snowflakes, but they do not show up well in this photo.  And the ribbon is Stampin' Up~~just don't remember from when!!!!  Have a great day!

Yappy Christmas

Continuing with the puppy Christmas cards, this is another I created using My Favorite Things' Happy Pawlidays.  I embossed the smaller square using my scoring board and layered that onto pink cardstock.  The next layer was embossed using a retired SU embossing folder.  The score lines on the large white cardstock layer were created using the scoring tool again.  After coloring the puppy, I used a die to cut him out and a foam layer under him.  The sentiment and the ornaments are also from the Happy Pawlidays stamp set. Have a great day and stay warm!

Cricut Reindeer

Happy Monday! Today's card was created by my friend, Dawn.  She cut out all of the pieces on her Cricut~~and there were a few pieces just to create the deer.  Then I watched her tie the twine on each balloon and I was like "that is a lot of work"!  As you can tell by the sentiment, this card was made for someone who shared their birthday with Christmas.  I like the mixing up of the sentiment phrases, too.  Have a great day and enjoy today's 60 degrees!