Focus on the Baby

Very inspired by a blog challenge site called "Christmas Card Challenges," I decided to join in the fun and try to create a Christmas card each week this year.  That way, when Christmas rolls around, my Cards are basically done.

After Christmas, Michaels dumped their prices on Christmas goodies.  I was able to pick up the My Mind's Eye Christmas paper pack for just $1.79.  (This may seem silly, but getting such a good deal on a paper pack I'd had my eye on really made my day.)  :-)


Here's the card I made using Close To My Heart and My Mind's Eye products:

I used a sketch from the "Wishes" card pattern book.  And the two stamps came from CTMH's "Glory to God" and "Art Philosophy" stamp sets.


The card is actually Ruby red and mounted on a white and black mat.


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
Blessings,
Brenda

Christmas Triangle Treat Box

I needed a little something for a neat group of ladies, so I took the triangle treat box idea I had used before and made it "Christmasy."  To see my Triangle Treat Box Tutorial, please click here.

A few of the ladies are diabetic.  To be considerate, instead of candy, I gave everyone packets of fruity herbal tea.

I used Olive, Cocoa, Colonial White, and Ruby cardstocks and inks from CTMH to create this triangular box.  The patterned paper is nothing more than a small star inked in Cocoa, a tiny star inked in Olive, and a "." inked in Olive for dots.  (All are from CTMH---------"Tiny Typewriter Alphabet" and "Tag the Occasion"--although any tiny stamps you have for the theme would work.  :-)

The tree stamp was from "Jubilation" and was inked in Olive on Colonial White cardstock.  Then I gave the ornaments a little sparkle with coordinating MS Glitter Glue.

The polka dot "ribon" is simply Cocoa cardstock cut 3/8" and I ran all the pieces for all the treat boxes in one "Swiss Polka Dot" Cuttlebug folder.  Then I quickly swiped each piece with fine sandpaper, cut each 4" strip in half, glued them together, notched the ends, and stuck them to the back of the scalloped circle.


I'm a girl on a budget and I'm happy to report I was able to make ten of these treat boxes (each with three packets of various fruity herbal tea pouches) for just $3.98!  All supplies, including ribbon remnants, were something I'd had handy in my craft room.  (If you've been following along with this blog, you might remember I'm having an Operation U.U.S. (that's Use Up Scraps) kind of Christmas.


I hope this inspires you to spread joy using things you already have in your craft room.
Thanks for taking time to stop by this blog.  Merry Christmas!
Blessings,
Brenda

Merry Christmas in light blue

 

This year I didn't get any new stamp sets for the Christmas season.  I had several that I needed to break out and use again.  The CTMH sets that I used for this card are,  Snowflakes,  Adorn-able,  and Holiday Wishes.  I used silver embossing on this card,  with the color sky in ink and cardstock.  I also did sponging around the outside edge with versamark and embossed it.  Gave it a little different look.

 

Have a wonderfully day,  Joanie

Snow Flourishes

I used cream cardstock for the base and main image for this card.  The CTMH stamp sets Cherished Flourishes,  Snowflakes,  and Christmas Love were all used to complete the front and inside to this card.  I wet embossed all images on the front with gold embossing powder.  The scrap paper was from the packet Mistletoe.  I also added a little bling to the center of the snowflakes and the flourish.

Thank you for checking in on us,  have a good day.......Joanie

Artiste Christmas Card is THE ONE

I finally, finally, finally settled on the one card I could make in bunches for Christmas this year.  If you've followed along this season, you'll know I'm quite determined not to spend any money, use scraps whenever possible, and use what I've already got in my craft room.

Here's what I came up with:  (a standard-sized card that will fit in an A-2 envelope).

Notice the elegant Christmas tree shape?  Not the usual-----and I LOVE it.  :-)

The shape is actually a layer that is found using the 3D Object button.  It was originally intended to  coordinate with a triangular gift box from the CTMH "Artiste" Cricut cartridge.  I cut mine out at 7 1/2".  Please note:  that doesn't mean it is actually 7 1/2" long.  The size that ends up being cut goes with the 7 1/2" triangular gift box.  :-)

Next stop for the "tree" is the Cuttlebug.  I used D'vine Swirl and then swiped sandpaper over the top to reveal the cardstock's white inner core.  (Note: Only cardstock with a white inner core--like that from CTMH--will achieve this look in this particular way.)

After a trip through the Cuttlebug folder, each tree was paper pierced to make way for all the brads.  Here you can see I sped up the process by making a template and then stacking three trees underneath.  Then, I simply pierced through the existing holes of the top tree to get exact results at great speed.

Some time ago I found Colonial White embellishment packs on clearance with CTMH.  So, I purchased a dozen or so to use for Cards of Caring at church and for fun.  What I found, however, was that I hadn't used the metal tags yet.  Hooray for me!  This was the day.  Each square was cut to be 11/16" wide to fit neatly into the metal frame.  I glued them with some sort of Liquid Glass-type stuff I picked up at a CK convention this past year.

The "TO:" comes from CTMH's "Tag the Occasion" stamp set and the "YOU" comes from "Card Word Puzzle."

The tiny golden gift underneath the tree was first stamped in Chocolate and then I used a metalic gold pen over the top.  (I'd given my gold ink away so that's the way I made do.  Remember: I only want to use what I have this year.)  :-)

The Bible verse in the background is from "Everlasting Life."  I made the card the way I did because I really wanted the gift to represent God's Great Love for us through the gift of His Son.

Finally, I cannot forget to mention the olive ribbon to go with the Olive, Chocolate, Ruby, and Colonial White cardstocks.  I first saw this ribbon over the summer at Michaels--but I could only find one roll.  So, each time I went, I tried to remember to go look and see if they had more in stock.  Finally, they did--and I bought three more rolls.  Hooray!

Now all I need to do is finish making the rest of the cards.  Hopefully I'll get done tonight.........


Thank you so much for stopping by to take a look.  :-)

I appreciate you!
Blessings,
Brenda

Jingle Bell Jar Christmas Card using Scraps

It's a "use what I have" Christmas cardmaking year at my house.  Here's a little jar from Judith stamps that I added jingle bells to.

What do you think?

 

 

Supplies used:
- CTMH Twilight and Tulip cardstock
- Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" folder
- Hobby Lobby yellow twine
- CTMH "Holiday Wishes" stamp set
- Judith jingle bell and jar stamps
- My Minds Eye patterned paper
- CTMH coordinating inks
- Foam squares for mounting the jar up off the page and ATG tape
- Colored pencils from Michaels
- Martha Stewart Glitter Glue


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Blessings,
Brenda

A Boy Christmas Card using Scraps

It's been a weird kind of year for me.  I haven't felt inspired to mass produce one or two card styles for all the Christmas cards I'll be sending this year.  And it's actually turning out okay.  It gives me an opportunity to work towards my goal: to use only what I already have in my craft room to create all the Christmas cards for this year.

Here's a card I made using Mojo Monday sketch 318.

I used CTMH patterned paper (Tommy and Later Skater) along with the "Glory to God" stamp set inked in Slate and Outdoor Denim.  I tried to keep the card pretty simple so I just gave it a pop with a little red.

The card sketch was fun to try.  I didn't see too many boy cards being submitted to the challenge so I thought it would be fun to try a card with non-Christmas/boy paper.


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
Blessings,
Brenda

Christmas Card with Scraps

My goal?  Use only what I already have at home in my craft room to create all my Christmas cards this year.

Here's one I made using bits of patterned paper from My Minds Eye--which always works so nicely with the great ink and cardstock from Close To My Heart.

Non-traditional Christmas colors worked nicely with Twilight and Cocoa paper and ink from CTMH.

Odds and ends of brads--mixed in with a little Martha Stewart Glitter Glue--decorated the festive tree.

The blue star was something I had from ages ago.  Now, I realize blue isn't the color one would expect for the top of the tree, but it actually works!

The rectangular paper pieces are 1/2" tall and decrease by 1/2" in length as you go up the tree.


This idea actually came to me while doing some preschool lesson-planning.  I rather liked the imperfection of it all and thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and put it on a card.


Thanks for stopping by to take a look.
Hoping to inspire you to U. U. S. (Use Up Scraps),
Brenda

It's Going to Be a "Use What You Have" Christmas Card Year

I'm going to see if I can make all my Christmas cards using materials already in my craft room.  Not only that, I'm going to try extra hard to U.U.S. (Use Up Scraps).

Here's a card I made for Color My Heart's Color Dare Challenge #62 using Olive and Sweet Leaf:

 

 

I had a length of Olive Green cardstock that was 4 1/2" x 7".  So, I simply folded it in half to create this 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" card.

 

Colonial White and Cocoa cardstocks and embellishments act as neutrals and help balance the two greens on the card.

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of the "ticket."  Instead of cutting the image out on the Cricut, I simply used the scissors along the straight edges and sides.  Then, I took my small hole punch and punched the scallops to make it look more like a ticket.  (This made the picky side of me oh-so-happy as the curves punched out much better than I could have ever dreamed of cutting them by hand.)  :-)

 

 

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

 

I hope this inspires you to begin your Christmas cards--if you haven't already started.  :-)

 

Blessings,

Brenda

Operation U.U.S. Continues with Twiggy Christmas Tree Card

Operation U.U. S. (that's Use Up Scraps) is still underway at my home.  If you're anything like me, you've certainly collected your share of crafting supplies over the years.  Some of them might even be scraps or leftover buttons from another project.  Here's a sweet card I made using an old Judith twiggy tree (rubber stamp) and some CTMH products.

A 6 1/2" x 5" Kraft card base started the whole creative process this morning.  I decided to pull out some Cocoa paper...........which led to a balance with Colonial White peeking behind Olive cardstock.  A length of washi tape from a craft store worked well with the DMC thread I used on the hodge podge of buttons.

 

A close-up shows the gentle shading on the flower pot with colored pencil.  (I stamped the flower pot in Cocoa ink on Kraft paper and cut it out before shading.)

And the "lights" on the tree are simply dots from a white gel pen.  (A "must have" tool in my craft carousel.)

And did you notice the two sentiments?  One is from CTMH's "Holiday Wishes" stamp set and the other is from one of CTMH's Art Philisophy stamp sets.

I've entered this card in the weekly Christmas Card Challenge (#44).  It's a neat group of ladies who encourage you to do a card each week throughout the year so life doesn't seem overwhelming when the next Christmas season gets here.  :-)  You can visit this great sight by clicking here. 


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
I enjoy getting to share my crafting journey with you.  :-)

Blessings,
Brenda

There Will Be Three Stockings this Christmas...

There will be three stockings at my brother's home this Christmas.  This card is for his family.

I used portions of two different CTMH sentiments for the "Merry" and "Christmas" in the bottom right corner.  The stockings are also from CTMH--as is almost everything on this card.

The stockings were zapped with some Martha Stewart glitter glue and Liquid Applique.

Special thanks to my mom for allowing me complete access to her stamps and supplies while I was there visiting.


And, thank you all very much for taking the time to stop by this blog.  :-)
We appreciate you!

Blessings,
Brenda

Frosted Paper Packet

This card design was created using the pattern in the CTMH card book called (Originals), page 62.  I also used the CTMH paper ( Frosted).  This card was really very quick to put together.  I hand cut out the elements on the bottom half of the card, other than that it worked up easily.  The sentiment was in the stamp set (To you and yours), also CTMH.

Thank you for stopping by our blog today,  have a good one, smiles, Joanie

Christmas Card That Uses Up Odds and Ends

Do you have scraps of patterned paper from Christmas projects past?  What about random sticker embellishments and bits of ribbon?

Maybe this is your year to embrace what you have and start using it up.  :-)  That's what we're trying to do.  Mom had her stash of Christmas paper out on her work desk, and I couldn't help but pull a scrap of CTMH Mistletoe paper and set to work.

Here's the Christmas card I came up with using one of the patterns from the "Originals" cardmaking book from CTMH:

 

 

After Christmas last year, Mom and I had the opportunity to shop together and found a bunch of K&Company stickers on clearance at Joanns.  It fit perfectly with the Cocoa and cream cardstocks--don't you think?  And the ribbon was something from Michaels.  It has an adhesive backing, but I just left the tape protector on the back and tied a knot.

 

The sentiment is part of a "Merry Christmas" and was from a CTMH stamp set my mom has.

 

 

Have you started you Christmas cards yet?  :-)

Brenda

 

PS  Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

A Candle-Shaped Christmas Card

Christmas card-making in May?  Yes, I say.  And here's a blog challenge with people who agree: Christmas Card Challenges.


The challenge was to create a Christmas card with a "candle" theme.  Here's what I came up with:

I folded some Colonial White (Ecru) cardstock and trimmed away with scissors until I had a candle shape.

Then I cut out holly leaves with the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and stamped the dot pattern in Olive ink using a dotted tree stamp (you'd never guess, right?) over the top of each leaf.  After sponging with a sponge dauber around each leaf, I mounted some on the front of the card and some on the back to create a sort of wreath for the candle to sit in.

Finally, I threaded three buttons and attached them with Liquid Glass as the holly berries.  A little "joy" tag finished off the front of the card.

Here's a close-up of the flame from the inside of the card.  I added Martha Stewart glitter glue in yellow and sugar cube to the flame--after I had shaded it with colored pencils.

Well?  How did I do?  Did I meet the challenge?  You decide.  :-)


Thanks for stopping by to take a look!
Blessings,
Brenda

Silver Glitter Ornament

Again I used my Cricut to cut out my main image.  The ornament is from the Cartridge Joys of the Season, page 69 of the booklet.  The Spellbinders Nestabilities, Lacey Ovals was used behind the ornament.  The paper was a find from Michael's, Recollections was the brand.  I also used some crochet thread for the little red bow on top of the ornament.  Rhinestones were used for the holly berries and an accent on the oval.  Allot of glitter on this card although the picture didn't capture that very well.  The sentiment is on the inside from the stamp set Card Chatter - Christmas, (CTMH).

Thanks for coming by........happy stamping......Joanie   

Shimmering Blue Snowflake

Hello, this little Christmas Card was made using my Cricut for the large snowflake found in the AP Cartridge on page 27.  The small snowflake and sentiment were from the stamp set Winter, (CTMH).
I also used the ink color Moonstruck, (CTMH).  The paper was a find at the local Michael's.  It has a very pretty shimmer to it and worked well on this project.  Some rhinestones and silver half pearls were also used to make it sparkle.  On the inside I used a Merry Christmas stamp and a couple snowflakes.

Thanks for checking in..........have a great day........smiles........Joanie

Christmas Card

I am having fun with the AP Cricut Cartridge from CTMH.  This ornament is found on page 33 of the booklet.  The cuddlebug was used for the dry embossing.  The folder was called Candy Cane Stripe.  A MS punch was also used.  The paper is a great find that I purchased at Michael's.

Thanks for taking the time to come visit today....Hope all is well......Joanie

Christmas Card Using a Cuddlebug Folder

I used a Cuddlebug folder for this Christmas tree.  First I embossed the paper,  then masked it off in the shape of a tree and then applied Olive ink (CTMH) color.  Cut it out and added bling.  The background paper was from the Mistletoe packet. (CTMH).  The sentiment was something I had bought from the dollar bin at Michael's.  I used a bling roll by Recollections, cutting it apart as needed.  I was able to get more bang for my buck doing it this way.

Thanks for your visit....have a good week.....sending a smile.....Joanie  

Christmas Card

Hi there,  I used the stamp set Holiday Wishes for this card, (CTMH).  The stamp set coordinates with the shape found on page 33 of the AP Cricut Cartridge, (CTMH).   I also used CTMH embossing powder for this project.  Really a very good detail embossing powder.

Thanks for your visit today.....have a wonderful day.....Joanie

Triple Time Stamping Technique Directions

Here are three examples of cards using the Triple Time Stamping Technique:

 



 

 

 

This first one is a great card for Christmas.  It is also the one made in the directions below.

 



 

 

 

 

Of course, you can always use birthday cards.  This technique will allow you to make any style for any person.  Simply swap out the colors and images to fit your theme!  :-)

 

 

 

 

This third example is a sympathy card.  Comforting in it's beauty, don't you think?  :-)

 

 

And now, for the directions:

 

 

 

The white paper is the area you will place your images, and the dark blue will be your mat and card base.

Starting with the smallest first cut your paper at:
2"  x 3 1/4"........mat will be 2 1/4" x 3 1/2"
 3" x 4 1/4"........mat will be 3 1/4" x 4 1/2"
4" x 5 1/4".........base card is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

I have changed the color of the card from white to these pastels so you could see how to mount them together.  Using just a small amount of adhesive and using your finger  over it a couple of times to lessen the sticking power so when finished stamping you will be separating them easily.

You can now stamp your images.  I started with a flourish and then added the snowflakes.

This is what your project looks like before you mat them.

And this is what they will look like after you mat them.

Mounting the first two top sections together you can now trim with ribbon or string etc.

 

 

Yep we made it !!!  Hope this has helped.  You really need to give this card a try. It is a lot of fun to do.  Have fun, and if you need that video help just go to (dostampingwithdawn) you tube .

Thanks for stopping by.....smiles.....Joanie