Dude!

Today's card is a birthday card that I made for my husband's nephew. By the way, it's important that you use a smarmy Leisure-suit Larry-type voice when you read the sentiment.

I just love the 70's feel of the Basic Grey patterned paper matched with this image from Just Inklined. I can totally imagine this guy sitting in a bar somewhere thinking he is just so "all that". Of course, my husband's nephew doesn't act like that at all, but I knew he would get a chuckle out of the image.

This was a very quick and easy card to pull together. Aside from cutting the papers and colouring the digital stamp with Copic markers, the only embellishment is the addition of some Liquid Pearls to the shoes to give them that whiter-than-white look that is just oh-so cool.

Challenges:

Creative Card Crew - birthdays

Moving Along With the Times - birthdays and use circles

In time out over the holidays

Probably my most important Christmas project this year was the creation of some special cards for my kids' teachers and daycare staff. These men & women work so hard that I really wanted their cards to be extra special. With that in mind, I chose a set of images that I purchased from Mo's Digital Pencil Too and an idea that I scrap-lifted from one of Mo's faithful followers (whose name I unfortunately can't find so I can't give her credit).

I took all four images from Mo's Time Out set and merged them in Adobe Photoshop. This made for a long card so I ended up hand-making the envelopes as well. Both teachers are at the same school so I although the colouring of the images are similar, the cards themselves are very different in colour and paper. As usual all my colouring is done with Copics (including the brown ribbon on the first card - it started out as white) and the papers are from Basic Grey.

For the daycare I made a more elaborate card since it was being shared among a group of people. Instead of merging the images, I printed them off separately and made an accordian card with one image per panel. I decided to add one line of the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on each panel because the words really go well with the "Time Out" images.

In making this card I was absolutely thrilled to find a metal slider/buckle with the words "Time Out" engraved (you can see it on the first panel). How perfect! Otherwise the embellishments are made with scrap paper, a bit of cord and ribbon.

Well, that's it for today. Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas break.

Challenges:

All Sorts Challenge - anything goes

By the Cute and Girly - children

Christmas Cards All Year - Santa image or word (see final panel of last card)

Digital Tuesday - anything goes

Papertake Weekly - be thankful (thanks for hard work of teachers & daycare)

Crafts and Me - anything goes

Creative Belli Challenge - Christmas

Winter Wonderland - thank you (thanks for hard work of teachers & daycare)

Stamping Vacation - embellish with a buckle or slider

Top Tip Tuesday - get embellishing

Little Red Wagon - leftovers (the buckle/slider is leftover from an old embellishment pack; the borders on card #3 are all scraps)

Anything Goes Challenge - "C" is for "Christmas" and "Children"

Not a creature was stirring

Christmas is over yet I'm still making Christmas cards. I really shouldn't have bought/downloaded so many Christmas images as I'll end up making nothing but holiday cards all year in order to use them up. Having said that, this card is a favourite and will definitely be used next year.

The image is the latest free colouring page from Elizabeth O. Dulemba. If you aren't already a follower of Ms Dulemba's you really should be as she posts a new colouring page each week. Her focus is on providing pages for children (and the libraries they go to) but I frequently find myself downloading the images for cards.

I coloured this image using Copics in non-traditional Christmas colours and then matted it on a scrap of paper containing Christmas'y sentiments (not that you can read them). I really wanted to use this ribbon because the circles mirrored the pattern on the little mouse's nightdress but the ribbon was white/silver. No problem - that's one of the great advantages of Copic markers; I simply re-coloured the ribbon using the same colour as the nightdress. In order to keep the silver bright & shiny, I coloured the ribbon from the back (otherwise the colour would have gone over the silver too). If you are ever in need of a coloured embellishment just remember that Copics will colour just about anything including fabric, metal, plastic and wood. I've gotten into the habit now of only purchasing white or clear embellishments since it is so easy to colour them for individual projects.

PS - Thanks to scrapperjulia for letting me know about The Fuzzy Wuzzy Challenges. I love that this challenge site focuses on projects with animals at their centre! I've submitted this card for this month's Christmas challenge.

Challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday - get embellishing

Papertake Weekly - anything goes

Simon Says Stamps - anything goes

By the Cute and Girly - children

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Santa

Midnight Madness - sketch 

And now for something completely different

Usually my cards tend toward the sweet and cute but every once in awhile I need to do something just a bit startling. I think you'll all agree that this card is definitely "startling".

The image is from Just Inklined and I just couldn't pass it up when I first saw it. It is quite horrendous, huh? Like something out of a bad nightmare. This isn't the "best" card I've ever made from a technical or artistic perspective but I still decided that it had to be shared just to give everyone a laugh.

I chose a very traditional Santa paper to contrast with the non-traditional image. The sentiment inside the card reads "Come on Santa ... jingle these bells". This is, of course, referring to the bells that are hanging from the ribbon ... I'm sure that's what you were thinking too (LOL).

Challenges:

Truly Scrumptious - sketch

My Time to Craft - Santa Baby

Stamping Vacation - inspired by the song "Jingle Bells"

Christmas Cards All Year Round - featuring Santa

Alphabet Challenge - "H" is for hats

Mittens

I had a couple of very last-minute cards to make so I went with this super simple design. I made my own mitten card template, added a layer of embossed red paper (using the Cuttlebug snowflake folder) and a couple of scraps of patterned paper and ribbons.

Very simple, very festive, and actually pretty fun.

Challenges:

I used mitten shapes for CCEE Stampers and kept it simple for ABC Challenge

Visions of sugar plumps

I've been waiting to share this card - the image is just so amusing - but had to wait until my BFF received it. Couldn't have her see it on my blog first!

The image is from Just Inklined - if you haven't checked them out, then you are really missing out. They have funny images like this one as well as more traditional images of birds, sceneries, etc.

In making this card, I used all Basic Grey patterned papers. Every layer is popped up although you can't tell in the photo.

Challenges:

I used non-traditional colours for Corrosive Challenge
Christmas card - Critter Sketch, Paper Playtime, Stampin' for the Weekend
This card was created for someone very special (my BFF Jacqui) - Totally Gorjuss
I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday

Mice in the house

The house is over-run with mice ... or is it just over-run with House Mouse? I decided to use House Mouse stamps for the bulk of my Christmas cards this year. I had such fun experimenting with different Copic colours, as well as trying to improve my shading techniques. I'm quite pleased with how the bows turned out (card #1).

Anyway, this is just a quick post as I don't have much time before running out to my son's Christmas concert. I just love this time of year!!!



Challenges:
Winter Wonderland - Christmas baubles

Midnight Madness - sketch (card #2 uses MMSC83; card #3 uses MMSC84)
Crafty Ho's - red & green (card #3)
Stamping Vacation - no no: no punches (card #1)
Paper Sundaes - no square or rectangle (card #2)
Top Tip Tuesday - Christmas inspired
Creative Inspirations - anything goes Christmas

A bad attitude?

What is it about Christmas that brings out the bad attitudes? Anytime I have to enter a store during December I end up leaving in a very bad mood. Perhaps I'm not quite as cranky as Bugaboo's Gus, but sometimes it's pretty darned close. This is a super quick post because, really, Gus says it all, doesn't he?

Challenges:

One Stop Craft Challenge - sassy Christmas

Sketch Saturday - sketch

Moving Along With The Times - lots of spots

Cards for Men - Christmas

The Crazy Challenge - use at least 3 patterned papers

Stamping Vacation - use paper with Christmas trees on it

Green Christmas tags

I meant to share these earlier but got hung up with the kids and fighting a cold. So, finally, here are some very simple Christmas tags that I made using a somewhat unusual material.

Can you guess what the embossed silver is? It's the underside of the foil lids for Pringles potato chips! We were supposed to give out Pringles at Halloween but somehow almost all the cans were leftover and so the kids and dear hubby have been eating them. I've saved all the cannisters too although I haven't made anything with them quite yet.

For the tags, I first cut the foil into circles and then embossed using a couple of different Cuttlebug folders. This stuff embossed very easily - it didn't even have to go through the machine. I wanted to keep the tags very simple so I just glued the foil circles onto a scalloped circle of cardstock. Then a scrap of ribbon attached with a brad, and I was pretty much done. I decided that the holly embossed tags looked a bit too plain though so I used Copic markers to add a shadow of colour to the embossed images. I think the addition of the colour really makes those tags pop.
Super simple, and practically free. I just love repurposing in my crafts! I also love that the tags could be hung on the tree too - the silver foil really reflects the lights (in fact, I had a terrible time getting pictures that were clear because of the reflections).

Challenges:
Dutch Dare - Christmas tag or ornament
Fussy and Fancy - anything but a card
Crafty Cardmakers - tags
Critter Sketch - no patterned paper
Cooking it up with Katie - favourite technique (dry embossing), ribbon & brads
Copic Creations - sparkle
Simon Says Stamps - silver, white & blue
Pile it on - gift wrapping & tags

Christmas Robins

Today's Christmas card was created using a digi image from Just Inklined. This company has the greatest mix of images - both traditional (like these robins) and humourous. And they offer freebies on a regular basis so there are lots of opportunities to try thier images for free.

For these cards I coloured the images using Copic markers and then added some Glossy Accents to the berries. I used a gel pen to dot the eyes so that they have a bit of shine too. I also tried adding a soft blue mist around the image to give the impression of a wintery blue sky - I'm not sure how I feel about the result but it's a new technique for me so I'll just have to keep practicing at it.

The die used is a new Spellbinders that I've been longing for ever since it first came out. I kept talking myself out of it so I was absolutely thrilled when my BFF Jacqui gave it to me for my last birthday. The top card is for an elderly relative and I wanted to make it very special which is why I used pearls around the frame rather than embossing it. The bottom card is cut & then embossed which makes for a simpler, yet still lovely frame. The patterned paper (above) is Basic Grey while the bottom is scraps from the paper bin.

I'll have a set of gift tags to show you later - they are made using reclaimed packaging!

Challenges:

Lil Red Wagon - use a die cut

Top Tip Tuesday - use ribbon

Stamp Something - something digital (the image)

Creative Inspirations - anything goes Christmas

The Crafty Pad - embossing

Stamps R Us - anything goes

Lost at the mall

I'm feeling the pressure - it's December 7th and I still have Christmas cards to finish making. Yikes! I may actually have to resort to mass production or ... horror of horrors ... buying some. But before that happens, I have 2 one-of-a-kind cards to share. Both cards feature Bugaboo digital stamp images, Create with TLC digital sentiments and Basic Grey patterned papers. If you aren't already a follower of Bugaboo and Create with TLC, then what are you waiting for? There are lots of freebies to try at both sites and so many wonderful images & sentiments to purchase (at very reasonable prices).

Card #1 is a clean & simple design featuring a great snowman that Bugaboo offered a week or two ago as a freebie. I coloured him with Copic markers and then added Glossy Accents to the hat, carrot nose, coal buttons and bells. There is also a bit of Stickles glitter glue added to the snowflakes and snow on the ground. The sentiment was also a freebie, this time from Create with TLC. I coloured "Snowman"in green and then added Glossy Accents for shine & dimension. Both are matted on leftover red cardstock. The background paper is from Basic Grey - I think the snowman theme works really well. Lastly, I added the strip of red rick-rack ribbon.

Challenges:

Creative Belli - use your "R" embellishments (I used "r"ickrack)

CCEE Stampers - snowman

Catch the Bug - anything goes (using Bugaboo)

Digital Tuesday - baby, it's cold outside
A Spoonfull of Sugar - Christmas
Stamps R Us - Holiday cards
Dutch Dare Card Challenges - Christmas

Card #2 is actually a gift card. As you'll see in the first picture, the front flap opens to show that there is a gift card tucked inside. This is another clean & simple card with little embellishment. The image is again from Bugaboo and the sentiment is from Create with TLC. I couldn't resist the idea of matching this shopping sentiment with a gift card! I kept the card very simple with only a scalloped border punched edge and a single turquoise ribbon. The background paper (from Basic Grey) and the colours I used for the image are so bold that I didn't think anything more was needed.

Challenges:

Crafty Creations - gift card holder

Our Creative Corner - Christmas using light pink/dark pink/turquoise/kraft (I know it's hard to see but the first layer of the card is kraft)

Catch the Bug - anything goes with Bugaboo

Papertake Weekly - red or green must not be see

Creative Card Crew - anything goes

Tuesday Throwdown - clean & simple (both cards actually apply)

Disney advent calendar

My sister-in-law always (generously) has my family over for Christmas dinner and I try to take her something to add to her collection of Christmas items. This year I decided to go a bit further and make her gift. I decided to create an advent box based on Disney characters since she has an extensive Disney collection.

The basic advent cube was pretty simple to make using the Quickutz Matchbox die set. Aside from a sore arm from cutting 48 pieces in the Cuttlebug, it came together quite quickly. In past attempts, I've made the cubes by stacking all 6 drawers to one side but this time I decided to stagger them 3 & 3. This decision came about mainly because I couldn't find any appropriate images that were tall enough. Strangely, Disney images seem to veer toward being square or wide.

For the images, I printed off a mix of clip-art and colouring page images. I coloured, embellished and trimmed over a dozen images and then picked my favourite 8. For the embellishments, I used mostly Stickles glitter glue and Glossy Accents.

The images are adhered (using pop-dots) to an embossed rectangle and then matted again onto a flat card. The stickers decorating the backs of the drawers come from a sheet of sticker leftovers.

To make the drawer pulls, I tucked ribbon through each eyelet and then used the Cropodile to attach the eyelets (thereby catching the ribbon ends in the eyelet). It was very exciting to find a use for the red Mickey eyelets as I've had them in my stash for years.

The final step was colouring (using Copics) and glitzing (using frost shimmer mist) an Ezee Pzee snowflake to make a handle for the calendar. After attached the snowflake, I added a rhinestone to each side.

Hard to believe how long this took me to do - it just doesn't photograph well. Trust me, it looks much better in real life! 

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day! 

Challenges:

Top Tip Tuesday - anything goes

Challenge Up Your Life - Christmas

Fussy & Fancy - anything but a card

Paper Sundaes - "gift it" (this is a gift)

Stamping Vacation - Christmas morning (the whole point of an advent calendar is reaching Christmas morning)

Christmas elves

Included in my recent Dezign Team box from Ezee Pzee was a pair of absolutely adorable Christmas elves. I've been holding off on using them because, frankly, they are so darned cute I've been afraid of ruining them. Well, I finally got up the courage and used them for 2 different projects.

The first project is a scrapbook layout that I plan to use for the boys' picture with Santa this year.

I coloured the toy-toting chipboard elf using Copic markers and then added some white fun flock to the pom pom of the hat. At first, I had the toy bag letters done in silver glitter but this was one of those rare cases where glitter just didn't work. I ended up pulling out the letters and then adhering plain cream paper behind the openings. I think it ends up pulling the page together more since I've used the same cream paper for the matting of the photo (which is still to come). A scrap of ribbon to "tie" the bag shut and all that was left was the face. I glued on google eyes and then used a tiny button for the nose. I'm not sure about the nose yet - does it look festive? or does it look porcine (piglike)? What do you think ...

The background paper is extremely busy so I made the matte & frame for the photo extra large. I used a minimum of other embellishments, just a couple of cardstock stickers (the tree and the brown corner) and a coloured cord to hold sticker letters to form the banner heading.

Project #2 is a goody bag. I thought about decorating the bag itself with stamps but I think you'll agree that the present-holding elf is adorable enough to embellish this plain brown bag perfectly on his own.

Again, I started by colouring the chipboard elf with Copic markers. The chipboard shape was so detailed that it made the colouring quite straightforward - I didn't have to mess around with drawing in details or wondering where parts left off. This time I chose gold Stickles for the end of his hat (see, I can't stay away from glitter for too long). For the gift, I cut scrap paper to ft and then attached it to the chipboard. I coloured the top and right edge with a toner grey marker to give a 3-D feel. I cut off the little guy's hands (he was so brave - lol) and then re-attached them to the front of the paper-covered gift so that it looks like he is really holding it. Again, I added google eyes and a button nose.

I filled the bag with Hershey Kisses and then sealed it with a white ribbon that matches the ribbon on the gift box. At first I just used the ribbon but it was too plain so I added a couple of border-punched strips. I love this project except (there is always an "except" or "but' with me) that I wonder if the white ribbon is too thin for the bag top. I wonder if I should replace it with a thicker ribbon prior to giving this away. I'd love your votes!

Well, it's nearing the end of the first week of December and Christmas is rushing nearer. Yikes!

Challenges - Project #1:
Totally Gorjuss - include a tree (the sticker tree)
Pollycraft Monday - chipboard
Creative Card Crew - not a card (both projects apply)
Stamping Vacation - embellish it: use a corner (see the cardstock sticker I've used on project #1)
Raise the Bar - trees (again, see the sticker tree )

Challenges - Project #2
Totally Papercrafts - use your Christmas punches
Fussy & Fancy - anything but a card (both projects apply)

Lil Red Wagon - tag or bag

Creative Inspirations - a Christmas gift
Creative Card Crew - not a card

More House Mouse Christmas

A couple more House Mouse Christmas cards based on the card kit I picked up at Photo Express on the weekend. I had such fun colouring these two images, especially the bows on the first card. I am so pleased with how well the shading worked on the bows (card #1) and the robe (card #2).

The images were pre-stamped and all papers were pre-cut in the kit so all I had to do was colour the images (with Copics), ink and distress the papers and then put it all together. I swapped the papers around a bit but otherwise followed the kit layouts pretty closely.

So, how are you doing with your Christmas cards? Getting close to being finished? I'm about 3/4 finished (yippee!!!) so will quickly be at the addressing & sending out stage. I have to admit, my least favourite part of the process is writing in each card so I'm dreading it. Might have to uncork some wine this weekend to make it happen.

Challenges:

Colour Create - robin's egg blue, seafoam green, cream (see card #2)

Digital Tuesday Challenge - animals at Christmas

Top Tip Tuesday - anything goes

Creative Inspirations - Christmas gifts (see card #1; I would love to get one of these cute mice for Christmas)

ABC Christmas Challenge - "Y" is for "yuletide"; include holly & berries (see card #2)