Coffee with Friends, and The Rest of My Holiday Tags

Lucky me--I was able to meet up in person with two gals that I met on the internet, and have been fortunate enough to get to know, in real life and on line.  Cathy, Marybeth, and I now have a Christmas tradition to get together in Irvine for coffee right before Christmas break--but while my girls are still in school.  Yay--I have a Christmas tradition, finally.

We sat and drank coffee and talked and laughed all morning.  What a great time we had.  Cathy was brave enough to ask a very scary looking, but actually quite nice, young man (tattoo guy) to take our picture, so we could tell all our bloggy fans what we were up to.

If there are paper crafters involved, then you know that there will be cool gifts.  Cathy made this awesome candy bar holder--I think I need to get that template from her.  Isn't that adorable, and she also told me her bow tying secrets.

If you are wondering what this is, it is a gift from Marybeth, and it is the worlds largest roll of foam tape.  Isn't that a riot.  I think it will take me from now until next December to use it up.  I will certainly try.

And, lastly, something crafty from me--here are the rest of my holiday tags for the year.


These tags were made with PTI Holiday Lights stamps, and I added Glossy Accents to the light bulbs.  They are pretty much exactly the same as some tags I made last  year.

These tags are made with the cutest Washi tape from Michaels.  I was inspired by Tracey's tags here, and I used sentiments from Peace, Love & Joy and Happiest of Holidays, both from PTI

These tags use Winter Snow Globe from PTI.

These tags use images from 2012 Holiday Tags and a sentiment from Holiday Lights.

And, finally, a tag for my daughters' bus driver, using snowflakes from one of the many sets that were lying around, and PTI Boy Basics Truckin It.

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December Avery Elle Challenge

I am playing in the first Avery Elle challenge--and I may even be the very first player.  How exciting.  The challenge is to create a project that 'sums up your personal paper crafting style'.  Wow, that is a tall order.  I'm not sure that I achieved all that, but here is what I did.  I incorporated some of the things that seem to characterize most of my cards:

• CAS
• Lots of White Space
• Bold, Bright, or Dark Colors  (hardly ever pastels)
• Texture
• Dimension

I used my two favorite (and only) Avery Elle stamp sets for this card.

I think it looks like me.  What do you think?  

It is no fun to party alone.  Please join me in this challenge....


Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Avery Elle To the Point, Framed Fonts
Paper:  PTI White
Ink:  PTI:  Enchanted Evening, Ocean Tides, Ripe Avocado, Canyon Clay
Other:  PTI Picnic Plaid Impression Plate, dimensional adhesive

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Paper Smooches Designer Drafts and CAS(E) This Sketch #9

I am posting with a heavy heart today, grieving for the victims and their families in Connecticut.  It is a hard thing to understand, and even harder to explain to my children.  I spent much of today crafting in the company of my oldest daughter, seeming to need to be at her side all day.  My youngest is off this weekend at a soccer tournament with her father, and they seem to be checking in more frequently than usual.  

I do have some happy cards to share today.  The first one is for this week's Paper Smooches Designer Drafts challenge.   Here is the sketch:

I had to break out my newest PS set, Woofers and Tweeters.  These dogs sure are cute. I've got the smallest dog in the pack precariously perched atop a pile of hearts to give his best pal a bone. 

Now, on to this week's CAS(E) this Sketch CTS#9.

As soon as I saw this sketch, I knew I wanted to use this hanging snowflake stamp from PTI Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers.  The scale was too small, so I masked a bit to get the hanging parts longer, and I used a smaller panel for my focal point.

Last of all, here are some more tags for my holiday treats:

Supplies Used:
Best Pals
Stamps:  Paper Smooches Woofers and Tweeters, Alpha Dots
Paper:  PTI White, EP Winter Wishes
Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa, Grey Flannel
Other:  PTI Bead Die, Copics, Glossy Accents

Let it Snow
Stamps:  PTI Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers
Paper:  PTI White, Simply Chartreuse, Enchanted Evening
Ink:  Enchanted Evening, Simply Chartreuse
Other:  Rhinestones, Copic marker

Tags:
Stamps:  PTI 2012 Holiday Tags
Paper:  White, Pure Poppy, Kraft, Rustic Cream
Ink:  VersaMark, SU Real Red, Memento Rich Cocoa
Other:  Tag Sale Dies, Limitless Layers Ovals, jingle bells from Michaels

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Washi Note Card Set

We are almost at the end of Chanukah, and my girls know what that means---Thank You Note time!  I am proud of the fact that my daughters are very diligent about writing thank you notes to the people who are kind enough to send them gifts.  All of our family live far away, so that means lots of parcels flying to and fro during the holidays.

Thank you notes are more fun to write when you have something cute to write on.  I made this set of note cards yesterday using some washi tape and Rustic Cream card stock and envelopes.  They were so quick to make--I didn't actually time myself, but I know I would have been able to enter this into the 10 Minute Craft Dash with no problems.

I made 6 cards exactly the same.  They are one layer--4 cards out of a single sheet of card stock.  The top is two rows of Washi Tapes that I picked up at Michaels.  Then I rounded the corners, attached a sentiment from PTI On the Farm stamped on the Lil Inkers Stitched Sentiment Flag, and flipped the card over and stamped a single snowflake from WPlus9 Folk Art Flurries.  Super quick.

Here is a front and back view.

I put a little Washi Tape and another snowflake on the matching envelopes.

My daughter really loved this set, and I do too.  It looks like it took way more work than it did.

I think I'll make some more of these, using different Washi Tapes.  It's a great way to use up some of my Washi Tape collection, and I think it would make a great gift, packaged up with a belly band or some ribbon.

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Just for Fun

I made a card for my daughter--just for fun, not for a challenge.  I have been seeing such fun cards made with speech bubbles, and I decided to try one of my own.  I was inspired by this card here.  I used Lawn Fawn's Winter Owl and A Birdie Told me, along with my American Crafts Merriment paper pad.

I have been making tags to use with some holiday treats I will be giving to some of the teachers at my daughters' school.  Aren't these Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer just too cute?

And, here they are again, standing guard over my homemade English toffee.

I have been asked to post my toffee recipe.  Here is a link to the recipe my toffee is based on.  I always tweak things a little bit, but this is my starting point.

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Make it Monday #95

I made a card today for this week's Make it Monday #95:  Layered Glitter Shapes.   I'm still not sure what I think of the card I made--I do like a bit of glitter, but there is a LOT of glitter on this card.  Well, here is the card, and you can decide what you think:

This technique requires a Xyron machine, and mine is pretty small.  I had to find a die that was smaller than 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and that was a recognizable shape without being stamped.  I decided on these hot air balloons from Up Up and Away, and just cut each balloon out separately.  I used the Loop de Loop and Star die for the borders on the bigger balloons.  I used my pinking shears to make a tiny scaled chevron for the smallest balloon.

Since everything in sight was covered with glitter anyway, I decided to try this technique with scor tape, too.   I decorated the inside of the birthday card that I made for CASology yesterday, to give to a friend from spinning who told me it was her 50th birthday today. 

I made stripes of glitter to mimic the stripes on the card base.  I'm going to enter this card inside into the MIM as well.

Card from Yesterday

Supplies Used (PTI):
Hot Air Balloons
Stamps:  Up Up and Away
Paper:  White, Limeade Ice
Ink:  Soft Stone, Versifine Onyx Black
Other:  Xyron, MS Glitter, Twine, Loop de Loop, Star Border Dies, Pinking Shears, Canvas & Linen Impression Plate

Inside Birthday Card
Stamps:  Big Birthday Wishes, Big & Bold Wishes
Paper:  White
Ink:  Royal Velvet, Winter Wisteria
Other:  Numbers Dies, MS Glitter, Scor-Tape

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CASology #23 and CASual Fridays #81

I've got a card for this week's CASology #23, where the cue word is Gift.  I immediately thought of a wooden stamp that I got 2 years ago, when I first discovered stamping.

The entire row of presents is on one long border stamp.  Makes it a snap to line up.  I stamped two of the gifts onto scrap paper, and fussy cut them, and popped them up with dimensional adhesive.  It's hard to see, but I used lots of stickles, too.  I used Background Basics Super Stripes to create the striped background on my card base.  I used my stamp press, which has grid lines, which made those stripes easy to space.

I am also entering this card into this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge to use a knot.


Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Gift Border by Carolee Jones, PTI Mixed Messages, PTI Background Basics Super Stripes
Paper:  PTI White, Royal Velvet
Ink:  PTI Royal Velvet, Winter Wisteria
Other:  Tiny Tags Die, Canvas & Linen Impression Plate, Winter Wisteria Saddle Stitch Ribbon

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Serendipity Stamps Challenge #1

I am excited to participate in the first ever Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog.  It is Challenge #1.  I have never participated in the first challenge of any of the challenges I follow, so this is a first for me, too.  I must admit to feeling a little intimidated by the first assignment, which was to create a project that contains a honeycomb element.  But, it's just a fancy name for taking a bunch of die cut shapes, folding them, and sticking them together.  After I figured that out, my project came together very quickly and easily.

I used the Serendipity Butterfly Die, which was a gift from my friend Jeanne, and cut 6 of them out of Aqua Mist card stock.  After creating my butterfly honeycomb element, I completely doused it in Perfect Pearls Mist, which gave it a very pretty shimmer.  I decided to make a tag, since I couldn't see getting that creation into an envelope.  The dimension is great for a tag, which I can hang on the handle of a gift bag.  Here is a tutorial on making a honeycomb.

There is still time to play along with this challenge.  Click here for more information. There is a prize, too.  I hope you play along.

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Cloud9 December Blog Hop and Lawnscaping #47

I'm back today with another card for this month's Cloud9 December Blog Hop.  I am still using the same inspiration picture, but this time I used it to make something with my new Quilt Cuts Dies.

I keyed off the red snowflakes and the kraft color of the chairs, as well as the warm and caring feeling to the room.  As I have run out of sympathy cards, that is what I made for this challenge entry.

I also have a card for Lawnscaping Challenge #47, which is a color challenge featuring turquoise (Hawaiian Shores), Kraft and Red.

I used my new Lawn Fawn Sweet Christmas set to make a happy little winter scene.

This card will be sent to a sweet little boy named Sebastian, who is battling some major medical issues, that I just read about this morning.  When I made this card yesterday, I didn't quite know what I would do with it.  Well, after reading about Sebastian, I decided to send this card to him.  If you would like to participate in this card drive, please click here to get to Amy Tsurata's blog or here for Ginger's blog to learn more.


Supplies Used:
With Sympathy
Stamps:  PTI Peaceful Garden
Paper:  Kraft, Pure Poppy, White
Ink:  SU Real Red
Other:  WPlus9 Quilt Cuts 2 Die, Spellbinders Lacy Square Die, PTI Linen and Canvas Impression Plate

Sweet Holiday
Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Sweet Christmas
Paper:  PTI White, Kraft, Hawaiian Shores
Ink:  Colorbox Frost White, SU Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black
Other:  White Embossing Powder, Copics, Tim Holtz Snowflake Embossing Folder, PTI In the Meadow Dies

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Cloud WPlus9 December Blog Hop

I bought some WPlus9 stamps during their Cyber Monday sale, and really wanted to use them for this month's December Blog Hop.  Luckily, they fit one of the beautiful inspiration photos perfectly.  Even if they didn't, I would have found some way to use them today.

I stamped a background pattern from Folk Art Flurries in SU Real Read ink.  I am so glad I bought this set.  It has so many beautiful and detailed snowflake images.  My sentiment is from WPlus9 Winter Wishes, and the paper is PTI.  I added a few clear rhinestones from my stash.

The hop is open for three days, so stop by and play along if you can.

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