winter wishes

The holidays and my house have kept me from my blog, but the occasion of Make It Monday #100 has me typing away.

My sister-in-law fell two times and ended up in the hospital for Christmas. She is slowly healing and is now in a rehab facility for daily physical and occupational therapies treatments. To help keep her spirits up, I am sending her a card a couple of times a week. Some of those cards have been pulled from my stash and others have been made with Marsha in mind. This card with its glittery snowflakes falls into the latter category and incorporates three challenges:  Two Peas CHA Challenge#1 to use one color, Studio Calico Sunday Sketch, and Papertrey Ink MIM#100.

The card’s embellishments do not extend past the edge, but the layers are thick and cannot be squeezed into my standard card envelope. I used a larger envelope and added some stamping in the corner. The blue snowflake that is laying on the envelope will be used as a seal.

With warm winter wishes.

nancy

supplies: (I’ll try to get back and update.)

cookie baking memories

Friday night, Brianna and I joined friends of all ages for some Christmas cookie baking. The mix of music and lighthearted conversation along with the actual cookie making brought back loving memories of my favorite Christmas tradition. I wanted to send a card to Brenda and her cookie baking elves and thought that the current Make It Monday #96, using patchwork die cuts, and the Two Peas Finally Friday challenge, making a shaker card, would work well together.

This card has some fun personalized details, which is the beauty of handmade. The background for the shaker is a calendar block with the 21^st, the date of our get together, circled in red. It is filled with gingerbread men confetti, which is the shape of a couple of the cookie cutters used. Rolling pins and spatulas, two tools in great demand, are stamped along the bottom of the panel. And the star is multi-colored and layered, which is how a few of the cookies looked.

It was so much fun to be part of a large boisterous group of Christmas cookie bakers once again.

nancy

mim#95: layered glitter shapes

I had one last feminine birthday card to make and decided to incorporate Heather’s layered glitter shapes technique after watching Make It Monday #95.

Because my Xyron machine uses 1½-inch tape, I knew that the die I glittered would need to be small. The larger circle shape of Lovely Layers worked perfectly. One more glittered layer was needed, so I had to nestle two pieces of red-backed tape for the larger die cut rather than using the Xyron. It worked, but the Xyron method is definitely quicker.

Now I can start on my Christmas cards. Maybe I shouldn’t admit that.

nancy

supplies:

paper:  rustic white c/s (PTI); ancestry collection (K&Co)

stamps:  2011 Birthday Tags (PTI)

ink:  rich cocoa dye (Memento)

dies and impression plates:  lovely layers, heart and filigree borders, and tin types IP (PTI)

extras:  crystal fine glitter (MSC); gem stickers (Paper Source)

glittered

Lauren, my classroom aide, is a freshman in high school, so I knew that an iTunes gift card would be the perfect little thank you for helping with religious ed each Sunday. Several layers of paper from the Blue Christmas collection came together for a sweet gift card holder. By the way, the 6x6 Christmas paper pads by Recollections are of surprisingly nice quality.

Some diamond Stickles around the edges of the scalloped layer added a frost-nipped feel to the project. With the addition of that detailed glitter, this envelope is being entered in Make It Monday #94.

Since Sunday was the last regular religious ed session prior to Christmas (We have standardized testing next week. Ugh.), Pam and I joined our classes together for a lesson based on The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg. We read the story and the girls made bracelets that included objects from the Nativity. Of course, candy canes were distributed so that the girls could recall the candy’s symbolism.

Paper crafters cannot seem to let anything go out “naked,” so each candy cane was adorned with a tag, bell and glittered ornament. I think I’ll be finding the glitter used on the ornaments sprinkled throughout my house until next December! It’s oh so worth it, though.

nancy

supplies for gift card holder:

paper:  Blue Christmas collection (Recollections); doily (Ellen Hutson)

stamps:  tiny tags (PTI)

ink:  teal zeal dye (Memento)

dies and punches:  seed packet, limitless layers and tiny tags (PTI); Himalayan snowflake (MS); standard circles large (Spellbinders)

extras:  diamond Stickles (Rangers); pearl gem stickers (K&Co); Caribbean twine (Twinery)

celebrate

There are a number of December birthdays in my family, so I decided to take advantage of the current Make It Monday to direct my approach of at least one card. This pocket card by Danielle Flanders was my inspiration. My version does not have as much oomph since it is being mailed and I am being frugal with postage.

My favorite stamp by My Mind’s Eye found its way onto the front of the pocket and was a perfect place to add some detailed glitter for MIM#94.

It’s been gray and rainy here, so I hope the bright colors add a little cheer to my SIL’s birthday celebration. FYI, a note and signature went on the back of the insert.

Thanks for stopping by.

nancy

supplies:

paper:  vellum (Paper Source); scraps from stash (Amy Tangerine, October Afternoon, AMuse)

stamps:  Think Big Favorites #13 and Heart-2-Heart #2 (PTI); Be Amazing (MME)

ink:  tuxedo black dye (Memento)

dies and punches:  balloon (MS); Swiss cheese (EK Success)

extras:  onyx glitter (MS)

funky greetings

When I saw the Moxie Fab World alphabet stickers challenge a few weeks ago, an idea began to develop, but I was having trouble bringing all of the pieces together. A timely visit to Laurie’s blog on Saturday provided that uniting factor, retrosketches #38:

The card is going to my sister Patti, on the other coast, and I’m so grateful that she can handle a little bit of funkiness. With Brianna having graduated and living back at home, I’ve lost my most adventurous card recipient. I knew that I could send almost any experimental card to Brianna and she would appreciate it. She was just the right combination of a video artist who understood the need for experimentation and a student who was grateful for any mail from home. But, I digress…

The card base, a chevron pattern from Amy Tan’s Sketchbook collection, was layered with a partial sheet of alpha stickers. Acrylic ink was used with a damask stencil over the chevron and stickers layers and to color a white rectangle of cardstock. The die cut and stamped sentiments combined to make just the right greeting to let Patti know that I’ve been thinking of her.

So, do you have a person you can send any card without hesitation?

nancy

supplies:

paper:  white c/s (Staples); Sketchbook collection (Amy Tangerine)

stamps:  Flower Fusion #1 (PTI); Be Amazing (MME)

ink:  tuxedo black dye (Memento)

dies and punches:  block alphabet (PTI)

extras:  tiny alpha stickers (making memories); quinacridone magenta ink (Liquitex); serendipity stencil (momenta)

for the boys

I needed some more masculine birthday cards, so I decided to use the Moxie Fab World alphabet stickers challenge to direct the approach of the card’s design.

Using mask paper and alphabet dies to cut out the word “birthday,” I stuck the letters on a collage of paper strips and misted over them. After the paper dried, I found that I preferred the look of the letters that received a heavier misting of color (card with the cupcake) because the word stands out a little bit more. (The photographs aren't true depictions due to my limited skills.)

Since it takes me so long to make one card, I usually make two while all of my supplies are out. (I craft in my dining room.) The picture that follows is the second card in the duo, which is actually the first card made and my test run. I do like the way this misting over patterned paper looks and will probably use this technique again.

There’s still time for you to try your hand at this challenge. Submissions close on the 19^th.

nancy

supplies:

paper:  rustic white c/s (PTI); fine and dandy collection (MME)

stamps:  tag-its #10 and 2011 Birthday Tags (PTI); Cupcakes (HA)

ink: rich cocoa dye (Memento); celadon pigment (ColorBox); pumpkin pigment (MS)

dies and punches:  block alphabet, heart border, and star border (PTI)

extras:  mask tape; bluegrass Mister Huey’s color mist (SC); diamond stickles (Ranger); Tiny Type stickers (Cosmo Cricket); vintage cream and melon berry felt (PTI); stick pin