Happy New Year!

I have to say that I will be glad to usher this year out and be done with it. It has been one of the worst years for our family and my hope is that things will begin to change for the better. They already have in several ways and I am grateful for that. My wish is that 2012 bring health, happiness, peace, and prosperity to each and every one of us.

Making New Years resolutions is not something I usually do, since I am often too good at setting myself up for failure - lose 30 lbs., get more exercise, eat healthier, read more books, spend less time in front of the computer…..like any of that ever happens. But I have decided that I need to spend more time being creative and journaling on a regular basis, maybe even trying a little art journaling. I am also committed to commenting on more blog posts this year. I am a lurker more than a commenter and I have seen so many wonderful cards and projects but left very few compliments. That’s not fair. It is a bit of work to create blog posts, not to mention the creations which are posted, and at the very least they deserve the few moments it takes to leave an encouraging comment. I am also going to cut down my blog reading list so that I don’t spend all my time blurfing and none of it creating. I have added a few journaling and inspirational blogs to my list. I found some good posts on the New Year and wanted to share a few of the links here, for those of you who might be interested.

Amy Oscar - The Edge of the Year

17 Ways to Be Happier in 2012

How to Craft a Vision You Won’t Give Up On

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

This is one of my favorite blogs - The Warm Milk Journal

My hope for this brand new year is that I can become more hopeful and optimistic, looking for the good in things rather than the not-so-good. I would like to worry less and be happy more. Be grateful for what I have, which is an awful lot, and spend less time wanting more. Spend time with family and friends, both near and far, because that’s what’s most important in life.

I would love to hear your resolutions and hopes for 2012, if you’d like to share them with me. Thank you all for stopping by my blog. There may be some changes this year, I am not sure what kind just yet, so stay tuned.

Love this video!

This is too cute - why can't we all just have fun! You're never too old to do goofy stuff.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Get out and do something unexpected and fun. Go! Enjoy yourself - you only live once!

Poinsettias and trees

Not a lot of sparkle or bling on these last cards, just lots of red and green.

I love this new Layered Poinsettia die from Spellbinders. It is a little difficult to get out of the die after it’s cut and embossed - even if it’s not embossed - but then most of their dies are that way. Why? Does anyone know? Does anyone care? Probably not. Anyway…I sponged the petals with some Fired Brick Distress ink before I pried them loose and I really like the look. The patterned paper is Basic Grey from last year and I only have a few sheets left so I use it sparingly. Why do we feel the need to hoard paper? You do it, too, I know you do. It’s not going to multiply in the drawers, so at some point we will use the last piece. But not today. No siree.

More Tsukineko Delicata gold ink on this card. The edge was punched with a Martha border punch and the layer popped up on foam tape. The wispy ferns are Martha and McGill punches.

I tried to capture the shimmery goodness of this ink and this is the best I could do. If your LSS has some you really should buy it, you will fall in love with it. We need to start a petition to Tsukineko for a silver version. Have you seen that commercial….Can I have a puppy, can I have a puppy, can I have a puppy???? Be persistent. Wear them down, I say.

A closer view of the poinsettia - so much texture, I love it! That’s a big gold pearl in the center of the flower, from one of the $1 packages of bling at AC Moore.

Another CASE of a Tami Hartley card from last year here. I just cut a triangle from some Bazzill paper, stamped a damask design (yep, Hero Arts again) on it, and sponged a little Peeled Pain Distress ink around the edges. Too easy. The hardest part was getting the triangle the right shape. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be. Once I got it right, I saved a template so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time I need another one. I do have a good idea now and again.

This is the last of them, along with my wish for your holidays…..filled with happiness!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope the New Year bring us all peace, happiness, and love.

Party on, people.

That’s All, Folks!

This is the last of the Christmas cards. My room is all clean and straightened up again, Christmas stamps put away till next year, and the cards are in the mail. Whew!

Isn’t he adorable? And so easy to make, too. I found him over on Cindy Lawrence’s blog, complete with instructions, and just had to make a couple of them. I used suede paper rather than card stock, to give his beard, ‘stache, and hat a fuzzy feel, but other than that I followed her instructions. I also made a template for it so I can make it again next year.

This one was inspired by Sharon Harnist. Don’t you just love her work? I didn’t have the poinsettia stamp that she used, so I used an older swirly Hero Arts stamp instead. The stamps are from Gina K Designs and I colored them with Copics (R29 and YG95), and added 3 gems to the center of the ornament. The border was punched using a Martha border punch and I threaded a little green ribbon through it, made a bow on the Bow Easy and attached it with a glue dot. Am I the only one that wished they would make the “legs” on the Bow Easy a little longer, to make it easier to use with wider ribbon?? How hard can that be? I know they have a larger one but it makes larger bows. I want to make the small-ish bows but just use a little wider ribbon sometimes. I know, I’m the difficult one.

Last, but not least, a CAS design. I could have made it a one layer card, but it just didn’t seem substantial enough so I layered it up on some red card stock and then on to the card. The trees are by Penny Black (Snow Dust) and I stamped them using that gorgeous Tsukineko Delicata ink. The shine doesn’t show up here, but it sure is beautiful in person. The sentiment is from PTI, embossed with clear powder for a little more shine.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Winter Solstice…..keep calm and party on. Time to get started on Valentine cards now?

Put a little bling in your Christmas

I do love sparkly things and Christmas cards are the perfect showcase for them, don’t you think? I can’t resist adding a little extra bling and I break out the heat tool for embossing a little more often this time of year, too. It helps keep me warm while I’m crafting on these cold winter nights.

This one is so sparkly, I wish it showed up better in photographs. I love this embossing powder! It’s Stardust from Stampendous and it really shines. The die is from Memory Box, it’s called Country Landscape, and I added a little Stardust Stickles to the edge, trees and house roofs for snow. Is the plural of roof rooves? Hooves is the plural of hoof, right? I give up. Anyway, there’s a pretty stardust-y theme going on with this card! Do you think it needs something? A sentiment across the bottom? I’m no good with white space. I feel the need to fill it up with something. Maybe I better get these mailed quick, before I try to add something.

I found the inspiration for this card on Jenny’s blog, Crafting the in Country. Check this card out, using the same Memory Box die. Gorgeous!! Why didn’t I think of that??

I was trying to get a good angle to capture the sparkly goodness and got lucky with this shot.

More bling and embossing. Hero Arts tree, embossed with gold detail powder and encrusted with jewels. Ok, so they are actually craft store rhinestones. In my world they are jewels. Torn edges adorned with Stardust Stickles for the snow banks and the sentiment is………….wait for it…….Hero Arts! Again! So is the music background, stamped with Memories White ink, as well as the starry background, stamped with Memento Desert sand. I sponged a little ink around the edges, too. SeaShell Sandal, I think. I might have found the inspiration piece on the Hero Arts Flickr group or on Pinterest, I really don’t remember.

A little close up of the precious gems.

Same thing, different stamp. I’m not even going to tell you who makes it, I think you already know.

Are you tired of Christmas cards yet? I hope not, because I have a few more to show you tomorrow. See you then. Shine on, people.

On the second day of Christmas…

more Christmas cards!

I think I first saw this one on Pinterest and went to Lisa’s blog, I’m in Haven, and found many more treasures. It uses the negative space left by the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die and I added holly leaves and some gems. Which, btw, were a PITA to attach to the centers of the flowers. The top layer of the card is popped up on foam tape and the gems in the flower centers didn’t have aggressive enough adhesive on them, so they didn’t stick down very well. I tried a dot of glue and that didn’t work. I ended up using mini Glue Dots on every one, and several of them got away from me before I could get them stuck. Wily little creatures. In the end I prevailed and this is the result. I only made one of these so far and may make a couple more, but I may have to come up with a different center for the flowers.

Another one from I’m in Haven. You really should pop over to her blog and have a look around. There is lots of inspiration there, she is so talented! The branch, leaves and berries are made with a Memory Box die, Twigs and Berries, and the sentiment is, of course, Hero Arts. Can you tell I love their stamps?? I added some veins to the leaves with an embossing stylus for a little texture.

That’s it for today. I better get busy with address labels and stamps. See you tomorrow with a few more cards. I hope you are having a wonderful day!

At last!

Christmas cards!! Done. Now all I have to do is stamp the backs, insert some white card stock on the dark ones, sign them, address and stamp them, and get them to the PO. Whew. I’m tired already.

I cranked up the Silhouette for this one. The trees and “merry” are both cut from designs for the Silhouette. The trees were downloaded from the online Silhouette store and I created “merry” by typing a font and welding the letters together. The background is a Hero Arts stamp, stamped with the awesome Tsukineko Delicata gold ink. No embossing necessary and it actually dries pretty quickly. I love that stuff and I hope they are making a silver version. So far all they have is gold. The “& bright” is embossed in gold and it is a Hero Arts stamp from one of the smaller Sparkle Clear sets from last year, I think. I cut it in half and didn’t use the “Merry” part of it.

Let me just say now that Pinterest is a wonderful place for inspiration and I spend a LOT of time there. That’s where I got the inspiration for this card. I used the PTI zig zag die and Taylored Expressions Trim the Tree die, along with a Hero Arts sentiment. A few gems, a little red Stickles on the tree, tie some twine on the tree trunk and there you go. Christmas card. Done.

I also made some in blue, just because I could. I think I used burgundy Stickles on this tree. I do love that little die set. I will be making more cards with it before I am through this year.

That’s all I have for today, but I will be posting more cards tomorrow and next week, so stay tuned!

No Christmas cards yet...

But can I interest you in a birthday card? The mess on my work table is still there, lots of pieces and parts waiting to be transformed into cards but I had to stop working on Christmas to make a birthday card. One which will arrive late, I'm afraid. I knew the birthday was coming up, it's in my calendar on my computer and it reminds me, but because procrastination is one of my specialties I didn't get around to making it until today (her birthday is tomorrow). I wish I was one of those people who could whip up a card in 10 minutes or less, instead of the 2+ hours it usually takes me. But I'm not. I should have started earlier. By the time I was finished the light was gone and so was the mail carrier. I took the photo anyway but the card won't get in the mail until tomorrow, so it will be late. Boo.

Submitted for your approval...

I used a brand new Just Rite set named Topsy Turvy Cakes. I had to have this one. I heard it calling to me. It kept saying, "Take me home. Ink me up. Make pretty things with me."...over and over and over again. Who could resist that, I ask you. Don't look at me like that, I know stamps have spoken to you before. Don't even try to deny it.

The index is printed in pretty colors, and I am a sucker for pretty colors. I tried several times to color it exactly like the cover photo, but I suspect they used a computer graphics program to color it. I'm sure there are Copic masters who could duplicate it exactly, but I am not one of them. I am, however, quite happy with the way it turned out. I used several different kinds of markers, see the list below. I love my Copics but they really need to work on the purples and pinks. I used Letraset for the purple and a Tria marker for the pink. You can't see it, but I added a little glitter pen to the yellow dots. The photo is a little off color-wise, it's much prettier in person. I can't figure out why my fancy schmancy camera has so much trouble with purple and red/pink. I did do a little color correction but still didn't get it exactly right.

Maybe tomorrow I can jump back on the Christmas card bandwagon with both feet and get them done so I can mail them before Christmas! Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?


Stamps: Topsy Turvy Cakes by JustRite, sentiment is from an unknown small clear set, might be Inkadinkado
Markers: Copic - B04, Y38, Y35; Letraset Orchid and Leaf Green; Tria R8; Copic Spica Sky Blue; Martha Stewart Glitter Pen in gold
Spellbinders Lacy Circles, Ribbon Banners, and Labels 18
Martha Stewart border punch - Scallop Dot
Sizzix Textured Impressions folder
Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass

Another mess

I had a pretty template up here but apparently parts of it disappeared so I'll just go with something plain for now. At least it's Christmasy colors.

I do have some Christmas cards done but I also have another mess on my desk.

 

  

It doesn't look so bad when I photograph it, but it really is a mess. I have been using my Silhouette to cot out some things and I have cheated a little and printed out a few things, now all I have to do is figure out what I want to do with them.

I hope to have some actual cards to post soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me!