Blog Candy from Laurel

You have to pop over to Laurel's blog. She is a fabulous artist, and you will love her work!  Something I love about Laurel is the attention she gives to detail.  She is giving away some blog candy, and in order to win, you've got to create with an image she has given us.  Be inspired and have a ball creating!

Christmas Cards to Share

I am determined to have my Christmas cards out this weekend, so I am still busy creating them.  I suppose in the end it would be easier to make a bulk card, but I am really enjoying making each one as unique as a snowflake!  And speaking of snowflakes, I have been using them a lot on my cards!  This first one is based on a sketch from CPS that you can find here.

I just can't get enough of Bo Bunny's Midnight Frost.  Such gorgeous and peaceful paper!  I've used two Slice cards - FaLaLa for the snowflakes and Words and Expressions Holiday Words for "peace."  The stamp is one of Unity's Itty Bitty stamps.  I put glitter on the tree and star.  The gems are from Recollections.

For the next card, I used a sketch from Card Patterns.

I used some of Echo Park's Merry Christmas on this one.  Although there is green and a little bit of red, this card very non-traditional for me.  Of course, wouldn't we all like snowflakes to fall in chocolate!  The edge is Martha's double loop punch, and the snowflakes are from the Slice FaLaLa card.  Ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon, and the buttons/waxy flax are CTMH.  That wonderful sentiment is from Penny Black.

I finally have my house decorated!  It took some time this year to get everything up.  The tree is not decorated yet, but we are doing that as a family tomorrow evening when everyone is home.  I hope you are all enjoying these marvelous December days before Christmas!

Table Decor

Time for a new challenge over at Sarah Hurley Challenges!  This week our guest designer Paula wanted us to make Christmas decor.  I found these jars at Michael's and thought they were so cute!  I decided to make place cards from them for the Christmas table.

I kept them quite simple so that  they wouldn't take up much room on the table.  I filled them with chocolate peppermint.

What piece of Christmas decor can you come up with?  I would love to see it!  Remember there's also still time to enter the Christmas gift bag challenge!

Peace

I am one day late in posting a Sassy Lil Sketches design reveal.  Even though it's not my turn to do a page, I am always anxious to show you Cherie's great sketches!  Have you joined the forum yet on the new website?  You are able to load your work right there on the gallery, and I think you'll have a great time getting to know others!

This is what I with this sketch using one larger photo:

This tree is one of the first that I look at when we've had snow.  It is right at the base of our deck, and it's just so beautiful!  The snow was particularly heavy about a week ago, and the snow clung to the branches for a couple of days.

I've used all MME Lost & Found Portobello Road paper for this layout.  Slice cards used are Words & Expressions Holiday Words and FaLaLa.  The crocheted lace is from my stash, and the gems are CTMH.

Why don't you give it a try at Sassy Lil Sketches?  The sponsors this month are jsut fabulous!  Lawn Fawn has donated a great alpha stamps set, and Stamping Dragon Designs has donated digi images for another winner!

This and That

I wanted to sit down and write a "this and that" post.  There is just so much going on right now!

First, I have to tell you that it was Shane's first day of school.  We are so proud of him!  Here, I have to show you his class kit:

Can you believe it?  These are the materials he needs to learn how to make women beautiful and men handsome.  I am waiting for the maincures, pedicures, and to have my hair cut by someone other than me. (Yes, I do cut my own hair!)  I am so excited for Shane because I just know how good he is going to be at this.  A mother knows, you know!

I have been working like a mad woman.  Retail is so much fun this time of the year!  I have seen a lot of people in the last few weeks, and I have seen very few cranky people.  I truly do think that people love to give.  There are so many people coming in with lists off of church trees for people in need or for the Salvation Army Angel Tree.  I love helping people shop for those gifts!  I've also learned how much I love to help a mother buy a suit for her son.  It's almost as if you see a boy turn into a man the minute he puts on that jacket and tie!  I didn't know what I would think about the men's department, but I sure do like it there.  I should find out this week if my position will go beyond the seasonal position to permanent.  Keep your fingers crossed for me - it would be great to stay on!

I have some days off soon, and then I will finally put my tree up.  When I haven't been working, I've been crafting, so my house is really suffering, too.  I have a day off tomorrow, but I have to force myself to stay away from my paper, embellishments, and stamps.  I need to clean, wash clothes, and get going on the rest of my Christmas "to-do's."  I still have cards to finish, more cookies to bake, and all my shopping.  Look at the Christmas ticker on my left sidebar.  Not much time left - LOL!!  These next couple of weeks are going to be a blast!

Well, I just wanted to catch up.  I haven't been able to comment as much as I'd like, but I am reading your blogs.  You are all so creative, and I love that we are all so connected through blog land!! 

xoxo, Brenda

Guest Designer at Christmas Card Challenges

Stephanie, the DT coordinator at Christmas Card Challenges, contacted me some time ago to be a guest designer for the month of December.  Well, how could I say no?!  I love this blog and the whole idea of getting cards done all year long.  If you haven't been there, you'll have to stop by and check it out!  Each Sunday in December I'll be one of the designers bringing you a new card for the current challenge.  I hope I see lots of you playing along!

All rightie, the first challenge for the month of December is monochromatic.  This was easy for me, and right away I pulled out my greens.

I have to tell you something honestly.  Every time I pull out Close To My Heart cardstocks and inks, I fall in love all over with paper crafting.  I used New England Ivy, Olive, and Garden Green to make this card.  The tree stamp is CTMH Evergreen, and the sentiment is a CTMH alpha set.  Sanding the edges of the layers gave me the appearance of snow.  This card has many layers, so it will be a good, sturdy card to mail.

Pop over and visit the Christmas Card Challenge blog.  Even if ou are done for this year, you can get a head start on next year!  So, what colors will you be choosing for this challenge?  I can't wait to see!

Monochromatic is the final challenge for Caardvarks, so I am also entering this card in that challenge.

Birthday Wishes and Some News to Share!

I saw this sketch on Sketches in Thyme, and I wanted to give it a whirl today.

I decided to veer off from making Christmas cards and create a birthday card for the Party Time Tuesdays challenge.

Items used: Recollections kraft paper and gems; Crate Restoration paper stickers; CTMH New England Ivy cardstock; Slice Think Pink card; Prima flower; Raindrop Echo sentiment

Now I have some good news to share with you!  I am so honored and excited to be a part of the new Scrap Tiffany Design Team!

I will start in January, and I am going to be on the card-making team.  I am so looking forward to sharing all the new and fresh ideas with you!!

DT Call and New Forum for Sassy Lil Sketches!

Sassy Lil Sketches is having a design team call.  Here is the link - Sassy Lil Sketches Design Team Call.  As a current desing team member, I have to tell you that this is a great bunch of people!  You would absolutely love working with Cherie and Katie!

Also, they have a new forum to join!  Hop on over there to check it out - you'll be glad you did!!

Featured Artist at Ideas for Scrapbookers

I am SO excited to let you know that I am the Featured Artist today at Ideas for Scrapbookers!  Have you been to their blog?  You should visit because there are so many inspiring posts.  If you are stuck or lost a little mojo, it's the perfect place to go and grab some ideas!

I have been scrapbooking for about 20 years. I started back when there was not much product and you had to use a lot of imagination! If I had to describe my style, I would say that I am a clean line and simple scrapbooker. When you look at my pages, the very first thing I want you to see is the picture. But that doesn't mean I don't use embellishment! I love pretty things on my pages, and that's what I want to show you today.

There are so many die-cut machines on the market, and everyone finds their favorite. I use the Slice, and I would say I use it almost every time I craft. But I think I would become bored with my machine if I just cut images from cardstock all the time. I am going to show you how to create a little more flair with a few simple ideas. Perhaps what I show you will be a spring board for you, and you'll think of loads of amazing things to take your diecut images to the next level!

We are getting heaps of snow already in Minnesota, and I love to take pictures of the yard. One of my favorite things to do with my title when scrapping snow is to add that little bit of glisten to my letters. You just need a few supplies - adhesive, glitter, and your diecut letters.

Simply put some adhesive on the bottom of your letters and sprinkle prisma glitter. As you can see, there is no need to be perfect. I like my glitter on the bottom so that it appears as if the letters are sitting in a snow bank. But you could put it on the top or do the whole letter as if you were showing a blizzard. Other items that work nicely for snow are Icicle Stickles and liquid applique.

Diecut flowers are also fun to work with. In the next example, I've cut two flowers - one 4" and one 2-1/2". I grabbed a brad and a couple flowers from my stash along with some paint.

I like to paint my flowers with clear rock candy distress paint. A thin layer doesn't take long to dry, and it toughens up the diecut so that it can be bent and crinkled. After painting, all I did was stack the diecuts with flowers. Such a pretty embellishment that is just so much more!

I absolutely leaf and vine diecuts. When you need that "little something" on your page, they are usually perfect for what you are doing. This delicate leaf is one of my favorites. Again, just a few supplies - the diecut, sanding block, and bone folder.

For this technique, white core paper works best (my favorite is CMTH). I've simply given each leaf a crease and then sanded. Doesn't that simple step help that leaf come alive? By the time it's done, it almost looks real!

Possibilties are endless with diecuts, and I could go on and on. As you noticed with my flower, I used printed paper. Sometimes just using printed paper alone is enough to add interest to your page. There are several other things you can do with your die-cuts, too. Stamp on them, use them as a journaling spot, layer them, rub-on images, emboss, paint, and ink. Next time you cut an image, see what kind of flair you can add! If you do, please post your link in the comments. I would love to vist your blog or gallery and see what you've done!

Sarah Hurley Gift Bag Challenge

It's Thursday and time for another Sarah Hurley challenge!  It was my turn to pick the challenge, and this week I thought it would be nice to inspire you to make some gift bags.  We are in the season when we are going to need them!  Be sure to check out the challenge blog so that you can see what the other DT members did.  Very beautiful bags!

I used the December Daily/Christmas Journaling kit to complete my bag:

What a fun paper and embellishment set to use to make a Santa bag!  It's not a requirement of the challenge to use Sarah's images - you can use your stash to play.  I hope to see some of you join in!!

Fall Frolic

The other day I told you about the sketch at Sassy Lil Sketches.  I, of course, had to give it a try as I found the perfect pictures!  This is Lily Bee's Catching Fall paper:

I really like these types of pictures of Jerry and Chanel.  Remembering back to that day, it was really peaceful, and we had a marvelous walk in the woods.  Now, I have to leave you with a picture from the backyard again.  Today the sky is blue, but the snow is still hanging on the trees.  I grabbed my camera, and Chanel and I went for a walk in our backyard.  So fresh and pretty!