Craziness Continues

Sometimes you just have to laugh!  So that's what we did today.  Amidst the craziness in our lives right now, we are having to deal with snow and ice - lots of ice.  We live in a pocket that apparently is the coldest spot in the county.  So while everyone else has seen the last of the snow and 46 degrees,  we still have white yard, porch, etc., ice and 31 degrees.  And now everything, including my car, is covered in an inch of ice.  It has been "raining" for a day with freezing rain so all the trees and bushes are covered and coated with ice. LOTS of damage.  We continue to see our trees breaking.  Now add a power outage.  Oh, yes, so no phone or internet this morning.  As I was using my cell phone to call a brother, my minutes ran out.  Like I said, sometimes you just have to laugh.
We have power now.  I have added minutes to the phone.  I am not even thinking about going outside.  So what's a girl to do?  Make some cards!

I was intrigued by the sketch at MFT:

I used a stamp set that I have probably used only one time before but now with the Misti, it is much easier.
The sentiment is stamped on a hexagon and popped up with a piece of dimensional tape.  As long as I was using the beehive set, I thought I would turn it into a Valentine card.
Oh, oh!  The lights just flickered.  I better hurry and finish this up!

P.S. The power did go out before I finished.  So I am now finishing this 21 hours later.

Challenges:
MFT - sketch
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration CAS

CardzTV - anything

December Birthday

Short post today.  Love theses beautiful Elizabeth Craft Design dies - Poinsettias and Holly Flourish.

 Sentiment is Gina K Designs

Challenges:
Die Cut Divas - winter theme
Crop Stop - anythnig
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Simon Wednesday - anything
All Sorts Challenge - seasonal flowers
Scrapy Land - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Cardz TV - anything

Semblance of Normalcy

Hospital, nursing home, broken water pipes, housing and entertaining family members, snow and ice.  It has been difficult to have a semblance of normalcy these past three weeks.  But some of the above list is coming to an end (unfortunately not the broken water pipes under the house!) so maybe we can get back to a routine again. 
Christmas was different for us but we still celebrated the birth of Christ and enjoyed each others' company.  Several of our kids and family could not be with us but  21 of us were able to get together. No family pic this year - hopefully we will get one in July.
Here are some gift cards I made for my teen grandchildren.  Photos aren't the best but I had to take them on a dark day (when I could snatch some time) before I put them in envelopes.

Here is a view of the inside:

Hopefully you can see the half circle.  The gift card is tucked into that part.  For each card I wrote a note, narrow enough so it did not show when the card was closed.
All the shapes were made on the Silhouette.  The sparkle is Stickles.

Challenges:
Scor-pal - Christmas
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Double D - cold outside
Die Cut Divas - winter
Joy Clair - anything
Words 2 Craft By - Christmas all year
Crop Stop - anything
Power Poppy - inspired by Stacy's gift card
Cardz TV - anything

Clever Packaging

Here is one more idea I found while I was preparing for a gift wrapping demo.  Tosh Leyendekker made the prettiest bag topper.  I just had to try this great idea.
Here is my take - not half as pretty as Tosh's but it was fun and surprisingly easy.

The top and sides (which I punched with a Recollection punch) is one piece, scored, and folded to fit around the top of the bag.  Slits are cut for the handles to poke through.
The holly strip is from an old scrapbook kit.  Red glitter strip is ribbon.
I made this tag with three fabulous Elizabeth Kraft Design dies - tag dies, poinsettia dies, and holly die.
I really love this idea and will definitely do it again.
Challenges:
Simon Monday - Christmas
Scrapyland - anything
Cuttlebug Mania - anything Christmas
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Scor pal - Christmas and more than one fold
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration - tags

Power Poppy - CASE 12 days of Christmas ideas
CardzTV - anything

Fullness of Joy

After spending the majority of the last three days at the hospital with my mom (she is 94 and had a heart attack Monday), I needed some down time.  Of course that means making a card or at least coloring.  I had this digital cup (Verve) and sentiment printed out so I took a few minutes to color it and turn it into a card.

As I was coloring it and adding Stickles to the snowflake, I thought about what it said.  The first phrase reminds me of Psalms 23:5 "...my cup overflows".    Oh, the goodness of God and His blessings.  My cup is not just full but overflowing.  And the second phrase makes me think of  Psalms 16:11 " You, Lord, will make known to me the path of life.  In Your presence there is fullness of joy.  In Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore. "  Those verses turn this sentiment into more than just a sweet wish, they are a prayer for the recipient.

The background is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  The cup and heart colored with Copics.
A simple, CAS card.  I didn't want to spend to much energy on it.  In stead just wanted to relax.
I used a loose interpretation of the MFT sketch:

Off to bed.  Will post this for tomorrow morning (when you will be reading it) before heading out to the hospital.  Today we make arrangements for mom to go to a rehab facility for awhile.

Challenges:
Stamploration CAS

Cuttlebug Mania - Christmas Time
Word Art Wednesday - anything 
MFT card sketch
Coffee Lovers Blog Hop 
All Sorts - snowflakes
Crop Stop - anything
Words 2 Craft By - I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year
 

Tiny Tags

I have a few small packages and maybe some homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup to give as gifts this year.  These little tags are perfect.

The tags are from Kraft Outlet.  They are only 1.5 x 2.75 inches but the coffee cup die by Latina Crafters fits perfectly.  I cut the Kraft sleeve by hand and wrote the "to" on.
Fun and easy!

Challenges:
Simon Monday - Christmas
Simon Wednesday - gifts and gift tags
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration Tags

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - winter
Cuttlebug Mania - anything Christmas 

Caffeinated Laughs

It's the Coffee Lovers Winter Blog Hop time.  I love these hops and all the fun ideas.  Not sure how many cards I will get made but I did make this one with a digital stamp by Tlc Creations.   I have no idea who I will give it too but it makes me laugh and it was fun to make.

The speech bubble is empty so I stamped "I love you" on it with a Verve stamp.
I wanted a busy background so I dug around in the scraps of Christmas design papers and came up with this holly - good colors for the sepia print. (It does have a fold mark in the middle but only noticeable in the photo, not IRL).  I used my new Elizabeth Crafts Design Holly die and added red pearls for the berries.  The sentiment is cut with a Spellbinder oval tag die.
Just a smile for the day (along with your coffee!!)

Challenges:
Simon Monday - Christmas/ winter holidays
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Dies R Us - Christmas Carols - The Holly and the Ivy
Die Cut Divas - winter theme
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Coffee Lovers Winter Bloghop
Joy Clair - inspiration photo
CardzTV - anything

New Idea for a Christmas Bag

Last week I was preparing to give a demo on gift wrapping.  I saw some really cute ideas on different blogs so I Incorporated several into/onto this bag.

I used Scoretape to put the lace on but it is hard to get anything to stick onto the Kraft bags so I will get the sewing machine out and stitch it on.
Instead of using an old Christmas card on the front, I printed out a digital image by Tlc Creations, distressed the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink and a distresser tool.  Then I cut a piece of cardstock larger than the "card", scored it with double score lines and embossed the edges with gold (Versamark direct to paper and gold embossing powder).  I also embossed the photo corners, changing them from black to gold. Here is another photo - hopefully you can see the score lines and the tag a bit better.

The tag is from the Kraft Outlet, already tea dyed.  I added more distress ink.  The stamp is by Great Impressions which I colored with Copics.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - Christmas
Simon Wednesday - gifts, gift tags
CardzTV - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration Sketch and Theme - stamps and gold
Stamploration - tags

7 Kids College Funds - anything

How About Some Snow Fun

This is the last of the cards for a bundle going to Send A Smile 4 Kids.

The image and sentiment are by Doodle Pantry (no longer in business).  I love so many digital stamps from that store and am privileged to own many as a perk from being on the design team for a few years. They make for cute cards for kids.
The image is cut and bordered with several dies from the Die-namics Circle Stax.  Snow flakes on the sentiment piece are cut with a Cuttlebug die.
The sketch is Die Cuttin Divas:

Challenges:
Die Cut Divas - winter theme
Simon Monday - icy
Cuttlebug Mania - snow
Dies R Us - Christmas songs - Winter Wonderland ("We'll frolic and play the Eskimo way")
Die Cuttin Divas - sketch
Cardz TV - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything

Silver and Gold

Do you remember Burl Ives singing Silver and Gold in the animated movie Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer?  Such a pretty tune.  Good thing too because it was stuck in my mind while I was making these Christmas cards.

  Isn't this a beautiful die cut.  It is a one piece die by Birch Press.   After making the cut on the 4 X 5 1/4 piece of cardstock, I backed the negative cuts with silver, gold, and bronze metallic paper, adhering the pieces with Tombow Mono Multipurpose Glue and Tape Runner.  Last step - adhere it to the card base with dimensional tape.
Just a few more cards to make and send.  Yay!

Challenges:
Die Cut Divas - winter theme
Crop Stop - anything
Joy Clair - inspirational photo
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Dies R Us - Christmas Carols
Cardz TV - anything 

Christmas Tree with Meaning

Hello Friends.  It has been awhile since my last post.  That's because I am still not making very many cards due to the injured hand.  It is difficult to cut, color, glue, etc. with a brace.  But I did get some made and sent to a few friends who live out of the area.  Here is one of them:

I love these two stamps by Our Daily Bread Designs.  I masked the area for the tree then stamped the musical score stamp with brown.  After removing the mask, I could stamp the tree with Artichoke.
In my collection of dies, I have several with different size stars.  I was able to find all the sizes I needed to cover up each of the stars on the stamp. (Cuttlebug, Verve, and a punch) The paper for the stars is a gold metallic paper.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - stars
Simon Wednesday - anything
Cardz TV - anything
Cut It Up - Christmas song
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Dies R Us - Christmas carol
Joy Clair - Christmas photo
Stamploration Theme - stamps and gold

Expressing Thanks

Even though I have become a very grateful person and preach about having an attitude of gratitude,  I still fall short expressing thanks and gratitude to individuals.  It is so nice to have someone say "thank you".  It helps debunk some of those insecure feelings, gives me a shot of reality that someone noticed me and some of my behind the scenes work, that I really do have some significance.  I know that others must feel the same.  So,  I am getting better about sending thank you cards.  Here is one I made to let a person know how much I appreciate her unselfish acts of kindness.

I used the sketch at Stamplorations:

I used my new Stamploration stencil.
After inking a portion of the stencil with Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks, I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment. Everything good so far and then a smudge from the dark pigment embossing powder - ugh.  Thus the splatters. I thought that was a better option than starting over. 

Challenges:
Stamploration theme and/or sketch 
Stamploration CAS 

Stamploration Anything Goes

 Stamploration  Giving Thanks Blog Hop

A Five Year Anniversary

Not my wedding anniversary ( that will be 50 years in March)  but five years ago today that I had open heart surgery.   I've shared before and I'm sure I will share again how grateful I am that the Lord not only spared my life but how He showed His love and His amazing Sovereignty that week.  I was sent next door to the hospital after a consultation with a Cardiologist that Monday morning and scheduled for the first surgery the next morning.  I was very upset.  I didn't know how we would pay for the angiogram let alone an open heart surgery.  I cried to the Lord, not understanding why He would not prevent this for 10 more days when we would have full insurance coverage.  You know from previous posts that Psalms 34 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Example November 8 post. 
But some of the other verses in that Psalm are verses 17 and 18 "The righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."  Well my (physical) heart was definitely broken and I was very discouraged.
But after tears and prayer and more tears, I finally gave it up to the Lord.  "Lord, even if it means that we have to sell our house to pay for this, You know and You will take care of us.  'I will praise You no matter what happens and I will constantly speak of Your glories and Your grace.' "
After my surgery, my husband went home to pick up the mail and feed the dogs.  In the mail was a letter explaining Cobra Insurance.  Bottom line is we could self pay our back 3 months of insurance (Sept, Oct., November) even though it was November 20.  Our insurance covered over $150,000.00 of my surgery and hospital stay !   God knew all along.  Why do I doubt His goodness ever?
I know some of you don't believe in God, our Creator and Sovereign Lord.  I know some of you have big questions like why He does wonders for some and not for others.  I don't know all the answers but I do know that He loves each one of you. 

Ironic

Isn't it funny that we draw and use so many drawings of mice when most of us hate the little critters in real life. (my apologies to those of you who have pet mice) They are dirty, disease ridden little rodents that do thousands of dollars worth of damage to our homes and cars.  But we continue to draw them and use them and love them on our cards.  This drawing is a great example - so cute.

Sketch used:

The digital stamp is by DigiDesigns.  You've got to admit, they are cute.  They are colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.  Rectangle is a Die-namics Stitched Rectangle.
Snowflake is cut with my Silhouette.
Sentiment banner is hand cut.
Card base and backing to sentiment is Stampin Up Blue Bayou (sorry it looks black in photo)

Challenges:
MFT - sketch
Crop Stop - anything
2 Critter Crazies - anything with a critter
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Simon Wednesday - furry friends (?)
Dies R Us - anything with snow
Cardz TV - anything

Poinsettia and Pain

It is that time of year when I am torn between Thanksgiving cards and Christmas cards. But both need to be made so today I am posting a Christmas card.
I love poinsettias.  I have one plant that is 5 years old and has bloomed twice - just not close to Christmas.  Oh well, I'm excited each time it does.
The Elizabeth Crafts Design Poinsettia dies are some of my favorite.  I really enjoy working with each petal and creating this dimensional flower but with the chronic pain in my thumb, by the time I was done making it, I was not enjoying it so much.  (I do love how it turned out though)

I used the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketch:

As if I was not uncomfortable enough after making the flower, I punched out the green border (ouch!) then made the unwise decision to do some piercing in the corner (ouch again!)
I iced my hand several time yesterday evening so at least I am able to type this morning.  I think the next card I made better be CAS, maybe one layer!

Challenges:
Tuesday Morning Sketches
Scrapyland - anything with dies
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Crop Stop - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything

Thanksgiving Card

Thanksgiving Day is just a week away.  I realized that yesterday evening so I made a card that I want to send to our best friends.  It should get there by next week. (crossing fingers)
I really liked the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketch so that is what I used to make this.

The cluster of leaves are Spellbinder dies that I cut, embossed, and inked.  The fern like cuts are Elizabeth Craft Design dies.
Stamped leaf in upper right corner is Stampin' Up.
Border cut is an ek punch.

Challenges:
Die Cuttin Divas - thanks
Tuesday Morning Sketch
All Sorts - colors of Autumn
Scrapyland - anything
Die Cut Divas - thankful
Crop Stop - anything
Joy Clair - photo inspiration
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Words 2 Craft By - abundance
I am also entering this card in the Stamploration Thanksgiving Blop Hop and Wish List Linky Party 
Here is my wish list

Poinsettia Christmas Tag

Glitter is my least favorite craft medium.  If I ever use it, then I find it on my clothes, on my skin, in my food, on my carpets. During this past weekend some of the grands and I put together some boxes for Operation Christmas Child  then made Christmas tree ornaments and cut out cookies.  You guessed it - some of the glitter for the ornaments found its way into our cookies!
So with my dislike of glitter, I was quite upset that some beautiful sparkly ribbon I just purchased had the same evil habit as that of loose glitter. It looks so pretty and innocent until you touch it.  This may be the only tag I use the ribbon on!

I love the Elizabeth Crafts Designs Poinsettia die set and wanted to make a few more tags with it.  Erum Tasneem's tag for the 25 Days of Christmas Tags inspired me to add some sequins and unfortunately (!) some sparkly ribbon.

BTW - here is a pic of one of the Christmas Ornaments we made.   Fun and easy.

Scrapyland - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything
25 Days of Christmas Tags

Snow People

With all the political correctness and the new thinking about gender, do we have to say Snow People instead of Snowmen?  I sure hope not.   I, for one, will not cave -  these are snowmen! 

Musical embossing folder is by Darice.  Musical note is a die cut using a Cuttlebug die.  The snowflakes on the Copic colored digital stamped image are cut with a Birch Press die.  Circles - Die-namics Circle Stax.
Sketch is MFT:

 Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - snow
Word Art Wednesday - anything
7 Kids College Fund - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Send a Smile 4 Kids - holidays
Cardz TV - anything

Continual Thanks

The definition of bless: express or feel gratitude to; thank
The definition of praise: the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation; laudation. the offering of grateful homage in words or song, as an act of worship.
I am so excited to use my new stamp from Stamploration.  I was one of the winners last month and knew which stamp I would choose if I won - one of the new Typografia in Faith stamps, Bless The Lord.
This verse from Psalms 34 is a favorite of mine. The whole psalm helped me get through some difficult times in my life (more than once). I memorized it in a modern translation: "I will bless the Lord no matter what happens.  I will constantly speak of His glories and grace."

Even though our weather turned cold, I gave this card an Autumn background and die cuts. (Autumn is my favorite time and I am NOT willing to give up on it yet!)

After choosing the background paper, I stamped the verse in brown then stamped 'at all times' again in Rust so I could fussy cut it and adhere it over the original brown.
The oval cuts are Spellbinder.  The silhouette cuts are Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix.
Bow is brown twine.   Card base is the same Dark Chocolate cardstock by Gina K that I used to cut out the silhouette shapes.
I'm not willing to send this card to anyone just yet.  Right now I have it on an easel on my desk -  a visual reminder to be grateful, to be constantly aware of God's goodness.

Challenges:
Simon Monday - thankful
Scrapyland - anything
Cut It Up - thank you
7 Kids - anything
Double D - feeling fallish
Dies R Us - Fall
Die Cut Divas - thankful
Joy Clair - photo inspiration
Stamploration Never ending challenge

Snow Family

Snow on the ground and 40 mph winds - yep, it feels like winter!

Another cute digi stamp by Dearie Dolls colored with Copics and bordered with a frame cut out with a Spellbinder Labels One die. Snow flake is Cuttlebug.

MFT sketch:

Other Challenges:
Crop Stop - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
7 Kids - anything
CardzTV - anything 

Early Winter?

When I posted my winter card yesterday, I really thought I was working out of season but we had snow and 50 mph Northeast winds yesterday afternoon.  How can the temperature go from 68 at 4pm on Monday to 34 at 4pm on Thursday?  I AM NOT READY FOR WINTER!
As long as we are talking about snow (way too early for this part of the nation), here is a gift tag with a snow flake.

I love these beautiful snowflakes by Birch Press.  The sentiment is Verve. My tag is similar to Carol Mayne's tag with the scallop edge; mine being cut with decorative scissors (although I love her tag die cut.)

Challenges:
25 Days of Christmas Tags 
Simon Wednesday - gift tag
CardzTV - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything

Littlest Tree

It is a good thing I took photos when I did because after a few days of rain and wind, some of the trees are bare.  Because I love Autumn so much and because Thanksgiving is in three weeks, I will make a few more Autumn cards but because I am trying to get a package of cards ready for the Caring Hearts Card drive, I have been focused on Christmas the past few days.
Here is one made with a Dearie Doll digital stamp and the MFT sketch for this week.

The image is colored with Copics.  Red frame and sentiment (Stampin'Up) is cut with MFT Stitched Rectangle Stax dies.  The mitten designer paper is Echo Park.

Challenges:
MFT sketch
Scrapyland - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
7 Kids - anything
Joy Clair - anything
Cardz TV - anything

For Your Enjoyment

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are enjoying one of our gorgeous Autumns, one of the warmest, driest, most colorful ones I can remember.  So I have been out with my camera, snapping away. (An injury to my thumb joint is keeping me from much crafting - UGH!)  I drove around the county but sometimes it is difficult to pull over to take a good photo.  It ended up that some of my favorite photos were taken in my own backyard.  Once again I am in awe of the creativity and artistry of God.  So here are a few photos.  I hope you enjoy.

My Backyard

Looking North - Canadian Mountains

Looking East - Mt Baker

A few Miles East

"For You, O Lord have made me glad by what You have done.  I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.  How great are Your works, O Lord!"   Psalm 92:4-5a