Merry Christmas!

Never a slow moment over the holidays until about 8pm tonight but I wanted to take the time to wish all of you a very merry and blessed Christmas holiday.

Take care all,

washi holiday

Many of you know I have discovered the wonders of washi tape. I am using it everywhere! Here are some holiday cards I made using my holiday washi tape. I lifted the idea  from someone's blog somewhere. I think they used strips of paper. This was so much easier. I was able to crank out about 30 of these reasonably quickly. The snow men- I just love them-mutt and jeff men are from Paper Smooches. The saying is from Paper Smooches too, the Joyful greetings set.

Here are 2 other cards I made using this blueprint.

Yesterday, my cards got mailed out and I went shopping with my niece,  so I am almost done! YEAH!!

Off to work on calendars for my staff, 10 peeps and 12 months- 120 pages of stamping!! YIKES!! I may have spoke to soon!!

Till I am done the calendars-

Peace on Earth

Sorry for not being a good blogger, between my new class, work and trying to make over a 100 holiday cards I haven't had time to blog. My class, work and cards are done till after Christmas so I have no more excuses. I will try to make up for lost time this week.

I saw a card somewhat similar to this and knew the tree die from Impression Obsession would be perfect. The peace is from the Papertreyink wondeful holiday words. I have used them over and over again this season. Click on the picture and you will see the trees are cut from glitter paper.

Here are 2 other versions of the same card.

I hope you are all able to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Peace,

Winter Cabin

Here is another card using the deep scallop snow flake punch by Martha Stewart. As you can see I am really having fun. I wanted to use one of my last stamps I received from Memory Box before I stepped down as a designer. It is part of this year's holiday collection.  I also wanted to participate in a challenge I haven't done that for awhile. So out came Winter Cabin F1871. The challenge over at Less is More is to use red and green in a card. How appropriate for the first weekend in Advent.

I stamped the winter cabin with Distress Ink- festive berries. I think it is the best holiday red around. Pair it with the Distress ink- mowed lawn and you have a winning holiday combo. I added some crystal stickles to the edge of the roof and the tree line. it is perfect since when it dries with a bit of a red glimmer.

I had to try the card in another color to, so out came the blues.

It is more subtle. What do all of you think. The bold red and green or the soft blue?

I hope you are taking time to get started on your holiday projects and that I will inspire you over the next few weeks.

It's the Holiday Season!!

Sorry, I have been such a bad blogger. It isn't as if I haven't been creating. I am on my holiday high, so I am stamping like crazy.  I think it is just I have been creating and not photographing or blogging. I will try to change that as I have a backlog of cards to share.

I went out on black Friday to all the craft stores for some the crafting sales. I got this Martha Stewart punch- 30% off and I just love it!! I have been using on all my cards. It adds that extra special something to the edge of a card. The snow dudes are from a older Paper Smooches set- Swanky Snow dudes. I love the short fat snow dude, he reminds me of me!

On a completely different note, I got a new job. (another reason why the last few weeks have been nutty) I won't be a manager- just a wee indian, so I am hoping to have a life again. After 23 years as an endoscopy nurse, I am moving into the OR as surgical nurse. I am so excited, it has always been a dream of mine to work in the OR and you are never too old to learn a new skill.

Come back for lots more holiday cards to inspire you.

A season of giving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you are able to spend the day with those you love and enjoy the bounty of the season.

Dreams of a Starry Night

I happen to come across this card in my photo files. It was a card I had created for Memory Box's Outside the Box blog but never got to post. I die cut the birch tree twice with white and grey paper to create the tree and the shadow. The stars are pierced with a pokey tool. I raised the panel with foam tape to allow the stars to shine through.

Happy Creating!

Dreaming of Mittens

How many of you are like me and dream about cards and their creation? I dreamed this card last night. needless to say, I had to go right into my studio to make it, before I forgot the idea.

I thought about some nontraditional colors, but decided I really wanted to stick with the obvious. I love how the mittens dangle from holiday. 

I stamped the 6x6 background Nordic Stripes from Impression Obsession with distress ink, mown lawn. I die cut the holiday from the Wonderful Word set from Papertreyink. I stamped the mittens from StampinUp's make a mitten set with mown lawn and distress ink, festive berries. The stamp set has a matching punch to the mittens. The rest I think you crafty stampers can figure out. If you have any questions please let me know.

The holiday crafting season starts for real November 1, so I will be very busy over the next few months.

 

Happy Halloween!

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween from a cute kitty to a scarrrrrrrry kitty.

I hope your Halloween is all treats and no tricks!

Kick Start with the Holiday Card Workshop

With Hurricane Sandy finally leaving the area and having a surprise day off because of her, I have caught up on the new Online card class with Jennifer Maguire and Kristina Werner- Holiday Card Workshop. I love these classes and always learn something new. You can still sign up and enjoy these awesome classes. This card is inspired by the card Jennifer taught us on the first day.  It uses the new set from Paper Smooches called Reflections. In the new issue of Pare Crafts magazine- Holiday Cards and more, there were quite a few cards made with this set. While I have many branch, leaf stamps, I just loved the poinsettia type flower in the set.

I used three shades of distress inks- sun sugar, warm lipstick and festive berries. I added the circle trio in 

Hero Arts green hills and added a bit of glitter to them. The saying is Technique Tuesday's Jingle all the way by Ali Edwards . What a fun card and while I may not be able to mass produce it quite like Jennifer, it is still a doable card. Hey guess what else!!! ONE LAYER!!!

I hope everyone in Sandy's path is safe, secure and maybe able to enjoy a surprise day off like me.

Get your Kraft on!

Stormy weather is perfect for doing several things, cooking, reading, napping and of course krafting! I am using the K instead of the C craft, because that is the challenge theme this week over at CAS-ual Fridays and I just love working on kraft paper. So channeling my best Kristine Warner I made this card for the Krafty challenge.

I hope those in Sandy's path are safe, secure and enjoying some down time.

Halloween Spooks

I have been so caught up in red snowflake Christmas cards, I almost forgot it is Halloween this week.

I always send cards out and since my grand nephew is quite the young man at 11,  I can't send out a cute card. It has to be scary. Enter Tim Holtz's freaky skeleton. I used Julia Stanton's card as an inspiration and I am entering it in the CASE study Challenge #114.  I took some liberties with the horizontal position, but hey isn't that the point. Her card is the jumping off point.

Now I have to showcase my grand niece's card as well. Of course hers is girly, cute and of course PINK! A pink Halloween card, who knew?!!?

The biggest trick we are getting this year, is Hurricane Sandy. It is expected to pummel us tomorrow and Tuesday. I have been to the grocery store, I have my matches, candles, flashlights and water. I guess I am ready as I will be.

It will be good to just hunker down and doing some creating!

If you too are in Sandy's path, be safe!

There's that red snowflake again....

I guess there reaches a point when you begin to beat a dead horse huh? You all probably are thinking that about this red snowflake background. I promise this will be the last card, at least for awhile, but I had to use the piece I cut from yesterdays card. Didn't I? I mean we crafters cannot throw anything away!

I made this card with a white background and just didn't like it and almost chucked the whole thing. Then I happen to notice the chevron background stamp in the front pile of my background stamps and thought hmmmmmm.....

The rest is history and just because I noticed that Just Add it has a chevron challenge, I decided to enter this. I hope they forgive me using that d*****mn red snowflake stamp again!!! Please forgive me guys!

So until next time, I hope you all aren't seeing red over my red.

Red Christmas

Every year I find a color combo that I really like for my holiday cards. This year it is red and white. I especially like the idea of red snowflakes for some reason. I had to use my Impression Obsession snow flake background again and I had to do it in red again. 

I am submitting this card to the "Over the Edge" challenge at Cas-ual Friday.  An element needed to hang over the edge. Out came the PTI set- in the meadow with my sleigh running right off the edge.

I am also submitting it to the CASE study challenge, where an adorable card by Julia Stainton was the inspiration.

Stay with me for the next few months and see how many ways I can use this great background stamp!

Meow- you're it!

It's getting closer, 11 days to Spookymis otherwise known as Halloween. So beware the bad elves, ghosts and black cats. 

This is  my last card in the tag you're it series with my friend Julie. So as many of you know, I had to make this card using Julie's last card sent to me as inspiration. Here is her card and  mine together. Can you see the inspiration? It is a great way to use up scraps and is based on this card by Sally Traidman of Hero Arts. 

Here is another version of the same card, more like the original while loved.

It's time to get your black and orange on and start scaring up some Spookymis cards!!

Holiday Card Workshop Card with updates.

Yesterday my buddies and I traveled to York,  Pa. for the fall Heirloom Convention. We have never been to this particular location. Not sure we will go back, every year the conventions get smaller and smaller, I recognize fewer and fewer folks.

Impression Obsession didn't disappointment though. I waited in line for 25 minutes to check out and it was worth it. I am beginning to see the draw of the big 6x6 background stamps. This particular snowflake background drew my eye and I knew I was going to have to stamp it in red.

I added my new "merry die" from Papertreyink, a few snowflakes and some bling and waa laaa one of my first holiday cards made with all new things.

Over at Just Add Ink the challenge this week is using something new. Well this card is all new so I am submitting it.

Oct. 30, 2012 update. The Holiday card workshop at Online classes with Jennifer Maguire and Kristina Werner is going on right now. You can still sign up and the classes are always excellent with many new techniques to learn and ideas to kick start your creativity. Lisa Spangler used a HA background stamp to create her holiday cards and it reminded me of this card I made a few weeks ago and i wanted to share it with my fellow students.

Take care all and happy creating!

Ghoul Friends

Ya know sometimes the stars, the moon and the world all come into perfect alignment and it is a beautiful thing. That is how I feel about this card. I was answering the challenge over at One Layer Wednesday for one layer Halloween cards. I had this stamp of ghouls from Picture Show Stamps  and then I found the saying from Darcie's Stamps and I created the flames with my eclipse tape. 

Nothing more to say but one layer and I couldn't be happier.

Happy World Card Making Day!

Today is World Card Making Day, so instead of blogging I have been making cards all day!!! What fun!! The perfect holiday for us card makers!

The card above is my response to Julie's card she sent me in our "tag your it" series. Here is Jule's card.

She used washi tape with black and white images and the pop of the red star brads. Mine is a bit more colorful with the pop of the turquoise card stock. I took washi tape and covered a piece of card stock and used that as my back ground. This is rather spring or summer but I still like it, plus these are the first washi tapes  I have purchased. I think I am really gonna like them!

I hope all of you card makers are enjoying the holiday!

Stars

Making male cards is always a bit difficult for me, especially since my husband loves cards like cards with cute teddies and other animals, which most men don't like. I needed to make a card for my director of endoscopy. We are having a birthday party for him tomorrow and among other things, I was elected to make the cards. I chose a star theme. The above card is from me, but the card below is from his team. the inside says " happy birthday from your stars!" There is a start for each person on the team.  

I apologize for not keeping up on my blogging recently, I was at a conference last weekend and and then back to work and school. Today is the first day to myself. Stay tune for the next installment in the Tag Your It series. I just got the most amazing card from Jules yesterday.

Until then stay creative!!

Kick Start and Hallmark Inspiration

I received a sympathy card when my kitty Winkie died. The person who gave it to me was embarrassed by the card. It just didn't say what she felt. I on the other hand loved it and knew I would be copying the design of it.

Here is the card I received.

I loved the shadow of the tree behind the main panel. I had gotten a tree mask from Crafter's Workshop at some point and hadn't used it yet. I think I was saving it for Halloween. I knew the tree template would be perfect for my version.

I started with some white paper and sprayed Mr. Huey's clay spray over the card. I stamped some blotches with pumice stone distress ink. I added my panel of trees colored with distress markers and the sayings. While it was rather similar to the first, it was my jumping off point. Like Jennifer Maguire during the Kick Start class, she often makes several cards when the inspiration is happening.

Here are two more cards made using the same template but different backgrounds. 

I loved how the white spray on the black card stock made it look the mikyway. The last card I used the white spray on kraft paper.

Three different cards from the one inspiration.

Have a great weekend!