Happy Thanksgiving

 To all of my family and friends, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

Thankful For Friends

A couple of weeks ago I received the cute Thanksgiving card on the left made by Kathy Z.  And yesterday I received the adorable card on the right made by Nancy.  I appreciate the cards and the friendships.  Thank you Kathy and Nancy   Both are special!

Today will be a busy day at my house.  My favorite helper will be here this afternoon so that means I will get busy this morning so Sydney and I can play a little later today.  Have a great day and don't get blown away today!

Christmas Night

Today's card is a simple but meaningful Christmas card.  I liked WPlus 9's Little Drummer Boy stamp set when it first came out a few years ago but I refrained from purchasing it as I have so many Christmas sets. Earlier this year the stamp set and coordinating dies were on clearance for $5.  I did purchase them and this is the first card of many I will be making.  Have a great day!

Christmas Dragon

Over the weekend I went down to clean my scrap room and needless to say, that did not go well.  But I was able to make a few Christmas cards.  Today's post is a card I made for a cute 2 -1/2 year old boy.  His dad is into playing Dungeons and Dragons, so he will appreciate it for sure! The dragon is from MFT Stamps' set, Magical Dragons.  The hat is worn by one of the little sea creatures in Lawn Fawn's Christmas Fishes.  It was the right size so I stamped the image and fussy cut the hat for the Dragon.  The tree and present are from MFT's Happy Pawlidays set.  The sentiment was created combining words from two different MFT stamp sets.  Fun card to make and the glitter adhesive dots from Stampin' Up are great little tree decorations.  Have a great day!

DIY Signs

A couple of weeks ago Matt invited me to join him and a couple of his friends for a DIY sign painting evening.  Of course, I said I would join them,  The place I went to with Dawn a few weeks ago, Board and Brush, was a brick and mortar business.  The tables and everything were made for the purpose of painting.  There were samples of projects hanging all around.  There were sample boards of stain and paint colors.

The event I went to with Matt was a "travel class".  We picked the sign we wanted to paint and last night we went to the class.  This was held in a room located in the Crystal Lake Brewing building and was put on by Creative Expressions Galena.  Since it was a "travel" event, they sanded, stained and distressed the wood. There were no hanging samples of different projects or paint samples.  When we arrived the sign and stencils were on the tables. We then went to work.  I am pleased with our projects and projects made by Matt's friends.  They all turned out really cute. 

This place offers "travel classes" all around the area.  For example, there is an event at a business in Elgin on December 1st.  There are private parties, too.  Both businesses charged the same amount for a project.  The Creative Expression is a more low cost business.  That being said, both were fun and learning experiences.  Can you figure out which sign is mine and which is Matt's?  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Sew Suite

The shadow box in today's post was created by my friend, Nancy.  She used a combination of Stampin' Up retired products for this gift for her sister.  The majority of stamped images are from SU's Sew Suite stamp set from a couple of years ago.  The dress and dress form were die cut using SU's retired Dress Up framelits.  Not sure about the scissors or the sentiment, but they are perfect for Nancy's shadow box.  The buttons on the "button card" are adorable.  Thanks for sharing, Nancy.  If I knew a seamstress or someone who likes to sew, I would be borrowing your idea, stamps and framelits!  Have a great day!

Peacock Colors

My friend, Nancy, has a birthday coming up.  I needed a pretty card for her.  As I liked the card I posted a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would use the same layout but different colors.  I used Elegant Eggplant, Mossy Meadow and Island Indigo.  The leaves are from Lawn Fawn's Stitched Leaves die set and the off white layer was cut with a die from Stampin' Up's  Stitched Seasons die set.  As it turns out, I had SU's Noble Peacock Rhinestones and they were perfect for the colors on Nancy's card.  Have a great day!

Copper Foil

When my friend, Paula, was here a couple of weeks ago, she brought Stampin' Up's Copper Foil and the Tin Tile embossing folder.  I embossed a piece of the Copper Foil with the folder and it has been sitting on my counter waiting for the right card.  While looking at cards on Pinterest, I found the right card on which the embossed foil would be perfect.  I also found some SU copper cardstock from many years ago in my stash. The image is from Basket of Wishes colored with alcohol markers.  The sentiment is from an old Amuse stamp set.  (When I purchased the set years ago, I knew I would use it.  I didn't know how much!)  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Acetate Box Liners

Last week I watched a video that my Stampin' Up demonstrator, Kim, created using her Scan N Cut to make liners for SU's 2x2 acetate boxes.  (Kim has many videos using her Scan N Cut on her blog at www.thepaperedchef.com).  The one minus to the SNC for me is that instead of a score line, it cuts dashes.  When you fold it works fine.  I prefer an actual scored line.  So I decided to use my Cricut.  Using Kim's measurements, I was able to create the liners on my pretty light pink Cricut Explore.  I even decided to see if I could make liners for the 1-1/2" acetate boxes I purchased from Clear Bags.  After a number of adjustments, I was successful.  The acetate boxes shown today were my test boxes and they turned out pretty good.  Have a great day!

Christmas Bookmarks or Gift Tags

Last week the children from across the street came over to make cards.  Connor held up something he was working on and said, "This could be a bookmark."  So I decided to make a few that they could create the next time they come over.  The bookmarks with the plaid and checked ribbons were created using retired SU Designer Series Paper.  I cut out all of the images on my Scan N Cut and adhered them to the bookmarks.  The green bookmark was made with  DSP paper that is in Stampin' Up's Holiday catalog.  The little bird is from the Birds of A Feather stamp set.  As you can see, the bookmarks are of various lengths.  The Scallop Tag punch makes it quite easy to do so~~as long as the cardstock/paper is no wider than 2 inches, they can be any length.  These would be cute little surprises for anyone any age.  They would be really cute in Christmas stockings or as gift tags.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Nature's Beauty

The monochromatic color scheme on this card was inspired from a card I saw on Pinterest posted by Samira's Kreative Welt.  Actually, it wasn't only the color scheme that caught my attention!  I also liked the layout on the card for which Stampin' Up's Nature's Beauty stamp set was used.  So I just about copied the card.  I used Early Espresso cardstock and ink and sponged the edges of both the white top layer and the sentiment.  What did we do before Pinterest?  Went to the Splitcoast Stampers Gallery for ideas.  Have a great day!

Thanksgiving Favors

I have almost finished our Thanksgiving favors for the adults.  I have a few more to make and the favors for the children.  Sydney is 15 now, so she is pretty much beyond kids' favors, but she will get one anyway.  That is because I am sure one of the adults will give her theirs!  I used Lawn Fawn's Fancy Box die for the box.  The sentiment was stamped and then die cut with a die from the same set.  The leaves are from Lawn Fawn's Stitched Leaves die sets.  Inside are Hershey Nuggets, each wrapped in Fall paper.  These favors are pretty easy to make and can be used as name place cards if you wanted to write names instead of stamp a word.  Have a great day!

Santa Bird

Over the weekend I worked on a little bit of many things.  I had stamped and cut the bird and turkey images from Stampin' Up's Birds of A Feather stamp set and then started coloring.  I now have some images ready
for cards I need to make for both Christmas and Thanksgiving.  Today's card includes a pretty little Santa Bird.  I used retired SU paper, a retired set for the sentiment and their Layering Ovals framelits.  It is very non-traditional in colors. But it is perfect for a young girl I know.  Nipper approves, too!  I was going to take a picture of the card, when Nipper waddled over to check it out!  One card down 60 to go!  Have a great day!

Veteran's Day

. . .to all those who served and serve now in the United States military.  Also to all of their families that gave much during their loved one's time in the Service.

Poppy Parade

Poppy Parade is a fun shade of red and when SU reintroduced it, I pulled out my saved Poppy Parade Designer Series Paper and cardstock.  While going through scrapes of red, I decided to use Poppy Parade for a quick card.  The checked paper and the black and white polka dot paper are both retired DSP.  The sentiment was written on my Cricut and both oval layers were cut using oval framelits from Stampin' Up.  Have a great weekend and keep warm! 

Autumn Yellows

Today's card was created using Gina K's Always Autumn stamp set.  The leaves were stamped directly on the white cardstock layer.  The flowers were cut on my Scan N Cut.  All stamped images  were stamped in Versamark ink and then heat embossed using clear embossing powder.  Spectrum Noir markers brought the stamped images to life.  I purchased the pretty gold thread at Joann's.  It is very glittery compared to SU's gold thread.  The flower/leaf layout needed a little something more so I added two Early Espresso cardstock leaves.  Keep warm and have a great day!

New Cricut

Over the weekend I purchased a Cricut Explore Air 2.  At the same time, I gave away my Original, Expression and Explore Cricuts.  After linking all of my cartridges to Cricut Access, I gave those away, too.  So now I have a pretty light pink Cricut sitting on my counter.  I have been playing with it a lot.  A couple of days ago, I found a tropical split design SVG.  I downloaded it to my computer, added our last name and yesterday I cut and weeded it.  For a trial project, it turned out really good, so it is hanging in my kitchen.  Now what will I create next?  Have a great day!

Fall Wreath

The leaves have fallen off the colorful trees in my front yard.  But as I walked down the driveway the color on the ground was still pretty.  When I went to my scrap room to make a card for today, those colors inspired me.  For the leaves and flowers I used various cardstock scraps together with my Stampin' Up smaller daisy punch and Lawn Fawn's Stitched Leaves framelits.  The wreath was created using SU's Braided Linen Trim which I adhered to the cardstock with double-sided tape.  The leaves, flowers and sentiment covered those areas.  Speaking of sentiment, I do like SU's Timeless Label Punch.  It fits a variety of sentiments.  I will be using it often and I need to see about making a layer for the punched shape on my Scan N Cut.  Have a great day!

Pumpkin Pie

A few weeks ago I wanted to make favors that looked like pumpkin pie.  What I found in Cricut Access looked more like cake than pie.  It was cute but not what I was wanting.  Yesterday I purchased a slice of pie design that is in Cricut Access for $1.99 and when it was cut and assembled, it did look like pie.  But I still wasn't happy with it.  So I added  a little white scalloped edge as whip cream on top of the pie and added a piece on the back that I cut with a Lawn Fawn framelit for the crust.  Now it looked like pumpkin pie!   Have a great day!

Happy Thoughts

I woke up this morning with my Mom on my mind.  It has been five years since she died and I still miss her.

I know she wants us all to be happy today instead of sad.  So today's card is a pretty card with a happy sentiment.  I used Stampin' Up's Ornamental Frames dies and their retired Friendly Phrases stamp set.  The Pink Pirouette cardstock was embossed with a Darice embossing folder.  Have a great weekend and keep warm!