Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Wishing my 

friends, family and fellow crafters 

a very 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 and a very 

HEALTHY, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome Little One

Just a quick post to share this card and Kathy's latest sketch. I hope you will use the sketch and join us at Kathy's Sketch File. I'm off to work!
 

Seeing Red

It's time for our December sketch at The Sketch File.
Kathy's got a fun sketch to inspire you. She's calling her sketch "Nice and Easy Does It" and you'll see why. It's one of those sketches that is inspiring and easy to imagine lots of create ideas. I've created this card with lots of red snowflakes and red stripes. It came together very quickly. I can't wait to see what you come up with for this incredible sketch. Please link up a project or two over at The Sketch File.

Candy Cane Candle Holder

Can you believe it? I've created yet another Christmas card. Last night my family and I selected the cards that we will be mailing to friends and family in the next few weeks and set them aside. We had around 130 to choose from this year! Since I have a huge pile remaining, we've decided that the remaining cards will be donated.  Of course, this means that I can start creating more cards for next year! Yippee!

Today's card was inspired by the clever challenge at Jingle Belles.  Steph and Lauren from Jingle Belles are challenging us to use a Christmas food item in our creations. I decided to keep this card simple and reached for some red and white paper clips. I cut them apart to create two candy canes and then used the canes to create a holder for a candle. I hand-cut the candle from red cardstock and adhered it with dimensional tape and added layers of cardstock beneath it. My husband has already decided that this card is one we will keep. He likes that it is clean and simple.

Wishing 

everyone a very 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  

Christmas Ornament

It's time to share another card for the November sketch at The Sketch File. I really love the sketch and found myself dreaming up all kinds of creative ways to use it. This time I am sharing another Christmas card. I have to admit that I really don't need any more Christmas cards for this year. I already have about 130...but, I do love to create them, so what's one more. I used the ornaments for a focal point. I created them with a newly purchased die. I stopped in at the local scrapbook store and saw it on display and just had to have it. I hope to get a lot of use out of it. The one thing that I should point out is that the card base is really a light cream color and not white. For some reason I couldn't get a photo that showed the correct colors and I couldn't seem to adjust it in photo shop.  I hope you find time to use Kathy's sketch and then link up your project with us over at The Sketch File. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

November Sketch

It's time to share another card for our November Sketch at The Sketch File. With Christmas just around the corner, I decided to use Kathy's sketch to create yet another Christmas card. I hope you'll use the sketch and link up your project with us. Here's the sketch:

Santa Card

I've created yet another Christmas card. If you follow my blog regularly, you know that I create a lot of Christmas cards. I love to make them! Each year my family sends out around sixty cards. Of course, I have way more then 60 created, but there's always next year and the year after that...so I just keep on creating them.

This card is my version of a Santa suit. I embossed white cardstock and then cut it into the shape of a beard. I layered it over red cardstock and used more white cardstock to represent the fir that lines Santa's suit.  I added a black belt and a gold buckle to finish the suit. I tried to make the belt look more realistic by punching holes in it. When I began creating it, I had intended on using black eyelets, but I didn't have enough. Instead I used black embossing powder and heat embossed them. I am sharing a close-up of the belt so you can see the detail. It's hard to see it in the larger photo.

The Great Outdoors

This week we had several inches of snow fall here. Although I am not ready to face winter yet, I do have to admit it was beautiful. That freshly fallen snow and the current  Great Outdoors challenge at Jingle Belles had me in my craft studio, trying to create a peaceful, snowy scene.

For this card, I began by layering torn white cardstock onto a dark blue cardstock base.  I added glittery stars with Ranger's Star Dust Stickles and adhered a white circle to represent the moon. I used brown ink to add a bit of dimension and texture to the die cut deer before adhering them to the snowfield.  The final touch was the computer generated sentiment.

In a Flap

Our fearless leader, Kathy, at The Sketch File has done it again! She has created a phenomenal sketch to inspire us all. There are just soooooo many possibilities for this sketch. I've created this birthday card. It was the first idea to pop into my head when Kathy shared the sketch with our DT. I hope you will be inspired and share your creation with us. Please post your creation at The Sketch File.

Penguin Fun

Doesn't this penguin look like it is having fun?  The penguin is actually a sticker,  (which I rarely use). It was given to me by the woman who owns the local scrapbooking store. She always adds a sticker to the shopping bag when a purchase is made. I usually just add the sticker to a collection that I've accumulated and forget about them, but this weekend I was reorganizing a few things in my studio and it fluttered to the ground as I was moving the sticker container. I knew immediately that I would have to use it for the current challenge at Jingle Belles . Steph and Lauren want us to include creatures in our holiday cards. I figured a penguin ought to do the trick. So I punched a circle, then punched snowflakes in it and added a bit of polyfil snow for the penguin to play in. I tried to adhere the penguin so it would look like it was jumping into the snow. To add a bit more visual interest, I added a strip of cardstock that I cut with decorative scissors and used a snowflake embossed mat.

October Hole in One Sketch

 I was sooooo busy last week that I failed to post my card for The Sketch File (my apologies to the other designers!) The good news is that now you will have two cards to view on this post instead of one. If you want to really be inspired, I suggest you visit The Sketch File and see what Kathy created. She's so very clever and I find her cards so inspiring. Both my cards are created based on Kathy's sketch. Since fall is in the air,  my cards include fall colors.  We'd love to see what clever ideas you come up with for this sketch. Just head on over to The Sketch File to post them.

PINK Snowflakes

This is my fourth card for the latest challenge over at Jingle Belles. Stephanie and Lauren from Jingle Belles are asking us to create with pink! They will EACH generously donate $2.00 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every card we link up that has a bit of pink on it!

For this card, I used three pink striped snowflakes, layered on top of a snowflake embossed cardbase.  The pink and yellow polka dotted ribbon on the left edge looks like it "glows" but it really doesn't. Fortunately, it's much more subtle in real life.

Since it's a gorgeous fall day here, I'm setting aside the crafting for a few hours. I am going to head outside for a long walk. The leaves on the deciduous trees are beautiful and I just have to get out there and enjoy the fresh air and spectacular views.

Pink Christmas Revisited

We still have time to play along with the latest challenge over at Jingle Belles.    Stephanie and Lauren from Jingle Belles are asking us to create with pink and they will EACH generously donate $2.00 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every card we link up that has a bit of pink on it!  This is my third card. I used a pink mat, added patterned snowflake paper (it even has pink snowflakes) and a computer generated sentiment.

Pink Christmas

This is my second card for the pink challenge at Jingle Belles. Stephanie and Lauren from Jingle Belles are asking us to create with pink and they will EACH generously donate $2.00 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every card we link up that has a bit of pink on it!

I reached for very colorful background paper for this card. It's actually from a collection called Nana's Kids. I have been creating many baby albums lately and remembered this collection had cardstock with pink on it. I cut the cardstock into three pieces, punched snowflakes in the narrow strips and added a pair of skates that I created with my Fiskars Shape Boss. I fussy cut around them, used black and silver markers to add color and embroidery string for laces.  Inside the sentiment reads: Enjoy the Season

Think Pink

It's October and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Stephanie and Lauren from Jingle Belles are asking us to create with pink and they will each generously donate $2.00 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for every card we link up that has a bit of pink on it!

My first card needs little explanation. I reached for a pad of Christmas paper (from Oriental Trading) and found this lovely pink striped paper. I punched a few snow flakes, trimmed one edge to create an interesting shape and added a tag. Now, I'm off to think about more pink creations!

October Sketch

It's time for a new sketch at The Sketch File. Kathy has inspired us with a fun sketch that has an off-set circular hole, with a smaller circle inside which creates an excellent focal point. The shape can actually be any shape, so I chose to use a leaf shape. I guess I was also inspired by the fall colors surrounding us here in Wyoming. They aren't the same glorious colors I grew up with in the north eastern part of the USA, but they are still quite beautiful.
I added a bit of texture to the mats with two different embossing folders and used a small leaf punch to carry the leaf theme throughout the card. I also kept the color scheme similar to that of the leaf.
You might be wondering why I am sharing two similar sketches.  Kathy usually designs the sketches using both a square and rectangular shape to offer even more inspiration. We hope you will play along with us and link up a project or two over at The Sketch File . If nothing else, you should hop on over just to take a peak at Kathy's card. It will knock your socks off!

Blueberry Patch

For many years now, my sister has generously provided us with lodging each time we travel across the country to visit with our extended families.  During our visit this August, we enjoyed freshly picked blueberries from her blueberry patch. She had such an abundant blueberry crop that she ended up selling some of them to people who were eager to pick their own. To thank her for her hospitality, I decided to surprise her and create a hand painted sign. Next year she can use it to replace the temporary signage that she used this year. It's been awhile since I painted anything like this, but it was great to pull out the paints and brushes and paint again. The sign turned out a bit rustic and each side is slightly different from the other,  but I don't think she'll mind. I shipped it off this morning and it should arrive at her home next week. I hope she will get a lot of use out of it.

Circle Sketch

It's mid-September (already) and The Sketch File DT is still playing with the September "Just a Simple Circle"sketch that Kathy created for us. We hope you will be inspired and play along with us.

For my card, I kept the same layout and same orientation but created a stamped flower to represent the circle. I fussy cut around it and adhered it over layers of pink cardstock, separated by  a white ribbon. I dry embossed the pink layer on the right with a floral pattern. I also punched holes around the flower centerh and backed the flower with black cardstock so they would pop. To finish I added a white gel pen border on the left side of the card as well as the sentiment.

If you'd like to use the sketch to create a project, remember you can twist or turn it to change the orientation. We're looking forward to seeing what you create with this wonderful sketch. See you at The Sketch File!

Braided Gold Ribbon Wreath

I created one last card for the GOLD challenge at Jingle Belles. This one has a braided GOLD wreath. I have included braiding steps below in case you are interested. It's a fun technique and rather addicting. 

I didn't cut the second end of my ribbon because I will probably make this ribbon wreath a little bigger. I just wanted to show the last step.

I've just found a youtube video that shares this technique. Check it out:
Ribbon Weaving

Dangling Circle

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This week at The Sketch File, Kathy released a new sketch. Our DT hopes you'll use the sketch to put together a card, a scrapbook page or any project you can. I have to admit that when I saw the card that Kathy created based on the sketch, I couldn't resist trying a similar style card. Take a peek at Kathy's card and you'll see how she inspired my card. If you check out her personal blog (HERE), she describes how she made her card. I modified her idea and cut my circle completely out of the the card base and adhered a smaller circle inside the circle frame. I adhered a piece of embroidery thread between the two circles and attached it to the card base. To keep the thread in place I layered a second piece of cardstock over the thread and circle opening on the folded section of the card. 

Hope you are inspired and will post your creation with us!

September Sketch File

We've got our September sketch up at The Sketch File and we hope it will inspire you. It's "Just a Simple Circle" sketch and has endless possibilities. We hope you'll join us. It doesn't matter what you create with it. It could be a card, a scrapbook page...anything! We'd love to see it! Just hop on over to The Sketch File and link up your project. While you are there, take a look at the incredibly fabulous card created by Kathy. It's brilliant and so inspiring!

Kathy's sketch inspired me to create this music themed card. Recently I purchased some new dies and the violin/viola die was among the purchases. My son plays the viola, so, I created this card with his music in mind. I simply layered my die cut viola images onto a circle and framed it with another circle with a decorative edge. I adhered the circles to a green and white embossed background separated by washi tape.

Have fun with the new sketch! It will be up all month and you can create and link up as many projects as you'd like. See you at The Sketch File.

Going for the Gold

I'm back again with another card for the GOLD challenge at Jingle Belles. Thanks to Lisa Hausmann of Reckinghausen Musings who suggested this challenge. This time I am using the same ribbon that I used in one of my previous cards. I simply adhered gold ribbon (in the shape of a tree) to snowflake embossed cardstock, then added a gold outer border. I used a handwritten gold sentiment and attached it with two gold brads.

Thanks for the great challenge

Lisa Hausmann and Jingle Belles.

More Gold!

This is yet another card created for the GOLD theme at Jingle Belles. Lisa Hausmann of Reckinghausen Musings is a special guest at Jingle Belles and has suggested GOLD as a theme. I created this card with three different gold products. First, I used some gold bling on a roll. It came in a single strand so I cut various lengths and adhered them in the shape of a tree. Then I wrapped a piece of white cardstock with gold embroidery thread, attached the tree and layered this onto green cardstock, then gold paper.  To finish I added a gold border around the outer edge of the card.