Blue Bird Christmas

I cut this bird with snowflakes out while at our Group Gathering in June. The outline of the bird and the snowflakes are separate from the background. I colored the thin lines with a Copic marker and placed it back into the outline of the bird. The patterned cardstock is from a matstack by Recollections. The sentiment is also from Recollections.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Left-Over Foil - Part 2

This card was made from the left-over foil piece from this card. It's rose gold foil. I used double-sided sticky paper for it. I placed the foil right onto the sticky paper, which was stuck to white cardstock. However, it was really hard to remove the foil from the snowflakes areas. I used ultra-fine glitter over the entire piece - to add sparkle to the snowflakes and to also cover the sticky. The sentiment (from Papertrey Ink) was stamped with Versamark on vellum and embossed with "Winter Wonderland" embossing powder - a white powder with glitter in it.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Left-Over Foil - Part 1

After making this card and yesterday's card, I was left with the "negative" foil pieces. I tried a couple things that sounded like really good ideas in my "being awake at 4:00 a.m. but laying in bed" state. Neither of them worked very well, but I thought I would use them anyway.

For this first card, I placed Scor-Tape on white cardstock. The foil stuck nicely to the tape, but where the foil was missing from the foil sheet, the backing sheet was hard to remove from the tape. The snowflakes were sticky and I added ultra-fine glitter to them. (The foil is pewter.) The sentiment is stamped in black and is from a new-to-me set from Recollections.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

More Foiled Snowflakes

Using the same snowflakes - with a few additions and changes - as my friend and I used a few days back, I made another foiled card. This time I used pewter foil. But, this time I printed the snowflakes on vellum. I placed the vellum on white cardstock and matted with black. I mounted the panel on foam squares. I added several pink gems among the snowflakes and also by the sentiment. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and I embossed it with pewter embossing powder. Very shiny in real life, but not so much in the picture:)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Another Reindeer

Even though my Christmas cards for this year went out a while ago, I'm still making them!! I have die-cuts and other pieces on my table, and I'm trying to get it cleaned off again. A never-ending stuggle! :)

In my pile was this reindeer, complete with green scarf. Before Thanksgiving, I made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby. About the only thing there I ever have interest in is paper. And, I need NO more paper! However, sometimes I succumb. The patterned paper on this card is one of those purchases. It's from The Paper Studio. The sentiment is a rub-on that was also on my table. Sometimes I find things, leave them out to use soon, and let them sit. I put the sentiment on vellum, because this scrap was also on my table. Come to think of it, everything that I used for this card was already out and ready to use. I've got more foiled creations coming up, too. I think that I have fourteen cards done for next Christmas.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Birthday Deer

I broke down and ordered a few (six, I think) unbranded dies. Sometimes I just can't help myself. When I hear or see others using them, sometimes I check them out and then end up ordering. Oh well. This one arrived today, so I used it already to make these two cards.  For this first one, I used vellum to cut the die out of. I placed it on light blue cardstock. The sentiment is embossed in silver. The stamp is from Papertrey Ink. I added a couple scored lines using my Scor-Pal. For adhering vellum, this is what I use. It pretty much doesn't show through the vellum.

For this second card, I started with a 12 x 5.5 inch piece of blue textured cardstock. I folded it at 4 and 8 inches - into thirds. I die cut the center of it and glued the front to the middle. I also used foam squares under the trees and deer. The sentiment is again from Papertrey and I embossed it with detail gold embossing powder.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Curses - Foiled Again! :-)

Here is my second foiled card - but no cursing! LOL. A friend came over on Sunday and we were playing in my stamping room. I showed her my foil and asked her what she would like to make. She wanted snowflakes, so we went online and found some clipart snowflakes. She arranged them the way she wanted and this is the result. We used Rose Gold foil. We matted with a matching metallic card stock. I haven't had much time to play in my stamping room, but I'll share again when I have something new. I hope holiday preparations are going well for everyone.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Thanksgiving??

Wow, a Thanksgiving card for today - in December! :) I finally broke down and bought a (cheap) laser printer, a laminator and some foil. I have seen this technique and I think it's really cool. This image was up on my computer because I had been looking for Thanksgiving images for a friend, and I decided to use it for my first foiling sample. And then, of course, I couldn't toss it. So, here is the card. The foil I used is gold. The patterned paper is from Recollections and the sentiment is from Stampendous. The matting is shimmery gold cardstock, and the image is mounted on foam squares.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Definitely NOT a Christmas Card!

As I often do - when I'm working on my calendar pages, I end up with some "card parts." This is one of them. I just made it into a card right away. The stamps are all from a mini Papertrey Ink set. I matted the image panel with black and mounted on foam squares. The background paper came from a large matstack from a few years ago from Michael's. A nice sunshine-y card for December:)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Happy Hanukkah

This isn't really a Hanukkah card, but it's the one I made for this year. I had these snowflakes on my table and put them all on one card. I used silver embossing powder for the sentiment, which is from Lawn Fawn. I matted with shimmery silver paper.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

December Calendar Page

And now we have arrived at December!! Here is my calendar page for this month.

I used just part of a Darice embossing folder for the image. I matted with red. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

There are links on the "Calendar" page of my blog, which you can reach by clicking the tab under my blog title. I have now uploaded the files for 2020. I would love to hear from you if you use the files!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

One Last Christmas Card

Gosh, the picture does not do this card justice. :( Oh well. Please use your imagination:) The background is shimmery dark green. The die cut was embossed with sparkly embossing powder and then two coats of thick embossing powder. The sentiment is embossed with white and is from Lawn Fawn.

A lot of our cards went out in the mail today. The rest will go out on Friday or Saturday. We ran out of printer ink for the Christmas letter, and we're not getting new until Friday. I'll get those last thirty letters printed, folded and stuffed and then the cards will be totally done. We're not decorating a lot this year, but what we're doing is done. The shopping is mostly done - just filling in with gift cards. I'll finish wrapping the gifts that we have and then wrap the others as they arrive. Whew! I don't do any holiday baking. So, we're just about ready to sit back, relax, and enjoy the holiday season.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sparkly Holly and Snowflake

For this card, I used silver sparkly cardstock for the background. I also used a strip of it to mat the sentiment. The sentiment is from My Favorite Things. This MIGHT be my last sparkly, die-cut card for this year. We'll see:) They have been so fun to make.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Die-Cut Window Snowflakes

OK - back to die-cuts and glitter paper:) Two more pieces that I cut last summer - both simply finished. The sentiment on this card is from Recollections.

This one is slightly different, but not much. I used a patterned paper with a little sparkle for the background. The sentiment is from the same Recollections set. I stamped it with green and then Versamark and added sparkly embossing powder to it.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Simple Retirement

Surprise - not a Christmas card today! :) I still have more to share, though.

A friend retired a few weeks ago, and there was a party for him on Friday. I realized I hadn't made him a card yet, so this is the card I made. It was easy because it's such a classic layout and I've used it before. The patterned paper is from a stack by 7 Gypsies. The sentiment is die-cut. The card base and plain cardstock is ivory.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Glitter Paper and Die-Cut Trees Christmas

Two more die-cut, glitter paper-backed Christmas cards. Same sentiment for each card, just made slightly differently. I added a gem for the dot in "joy" on this one. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

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More Christmas Dies and Glitter Paper

Another glittery die-cut Christmas. Again the sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

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Die and Glitter Christmas

The next few days will be bringing similar cards - just cut with different dies and different sentiments, mostly. The die-cutting was all done at our Group Gathering in June. It's nice to be getting them made into cards, even though I don't think I need any more Christmas cards for this year. I guess I'm getting a head start on next year! :)

I matted the die-cut panel with shimmery cardstock. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Three-Panel Birthday

The images on this card are from an Inkadinkado set. The sentiment is from Papertrey. I colored with Copic markers. I used a sketch for this card and I'm entering it in the "Let's Craft and Create" challenge - anything goes, with the option of using a sketch.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Simple Flower Birthday

The flowers on these cards are from the same Stampin' Up! set that I used on Sunday's card. I colored them with Copics. The sentiment on this first card is from Papertrey Ink. I matted the image panel with black.

The sentiment on this card is from the SU! set that has the flowers. I matted with matching cardstock, which I embossed with a Darice embossing folder.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Berry Birthday Wishes

I borrowed this Stampin' Up! set from a friend. I stamped the image twice and colored with Copic markers. The sentiment is from the same set. I matted with black, and then a layer of green. I added Diamond Glaze to the berries.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Purple Flowers Birthday

I still had this image stamped from June, so I thought I would just color it up and put it on a card. I didn't feel like fancily coloring the flowers, so I just simply colored them. I also added some Wink of Stella to them. I matted the image layer and then die cut the sentiment out of matching cardstock and black. I offset the layers for a shadow effect.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Santa's Sleigh

The stamps I used for this card are from Inkadinkado. I stamped on the blue with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. I stamped the NOEL with blue to match the cardstock.

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Christmas Holly

More die-cuts from our Group Gathering. I colored the pieces with Copics and added Diamond Glaze to the berries. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. That's it:) Edited to add: Oh, I forgot! I also drew the lines on the leaves. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Die-Cut Snowflakes

I die-cut these pieces when I was in Des Moines in June. I don't know who makes the die. The piece I cut and used on this first card is white. I matted it with shimmery silver paper. The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn and is embossed with detail silver embossing powder.

This die-cut piece was cut out of shiny silver cardstock. The blue is textured cardstock. The sentiment is also from Lawn Fawn and is also embossed in silver.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

JOY

Well, it's about time that I have a post. Life has been keeping us busy! Who knew retirement would have such a full calendar. :)

Here are three versions of the same card - in different colors. I did the die-cutting at our Group Gathering in June, but I don't know who makes the dies. I used the same embossing folder from Darice for each card. For these cards with colored background, I used textured cardstock and sanded down the design after embossing.

I made six of these cards. I think I have all the cards made that I need for this year. It's possible I need a few more, but I'm not stressed about them. I still have to do the insides. Also, as of just two or three weeks ago, I had only finished three months of next year's calendars. Now THAT was stressing me out a bit. However, I buckled down and now only have October and November left. Whew! I borrowed some stamps from a friend, so I have some idea of what I may do.

A big thing we've been trying to decide about is Medicare. What a huge decision! I turn 65 in December, so we have to figure it out soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

November Calendar Page

Here is my November calendar page. I used QuicKutz dies for the pumpkin. The leafy stamp and the sentiment are from Inkadinkado. I also sponged some brownish ink around the pieces of the pumpkin before assembling it.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Speedy Recovery, Wyatt!

Our grandson, Wyatt, had surgery on Tuesday to try to correct his lazy eye. This is the card that I made for him.

The turtles are soft, puffy stickers from Sandylion. The letters are chipboard which I colored with Copic markers. I colored the matting cardstock, too, with the same markers. I mounted the matted layer on foam squares. Here is what I put on the inside, printed with my computer.

Wishing you

a speedy recovery …

much faster than

these turtles!!!

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Pink Flowery Birthday

While going through my books of stamps, I came across this set from Sheena that I got from a friend a few years ago. I stamped it on vellum and colored on the back side. I placed a panel of ivory behind it to showcase it more. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, is matted with pink, and mounted on foam squares.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Stampin' Up! Flowers

I went to a "crafty" garage sale a couple weeks ago and bought this Stampin' Up! set and five new Kaleidacolor ink pads. I wanted to make sure and use the stamp set right away, so I made these two cards. For this first one, the stamps I used are the flower, the stem and the leaves. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. I also used one of the Kaleidacolor pads for the flower. The green layer was embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. The black layer was cut with an unbranded die.

For this second one, I used the flower stamp and the sentiment stamp. I used a Sizzix folder for the orange layer and Copic markers for the coloring. On both cards, the image panel is mounted on foam squares.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Wildflower Birthday Wishes

I stamped this image at our Group Gathering anytime in the last several years. It was hard for me to do, but I "sloppy" colored it. I added a small enamel dot (or nail head) to the yellow flower. The sentiment is from a new-to-me Stampin' Up! set that I bought at a garage sale. The stitched frame was done with an unbranded die.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Crafty Secrets Birthday

I've had this Crafty Secrets stamp set for many years, and I'm not sure I've ever used it. So, here are two cards using stamps from the same set. I really wanted to combine the stamps, but I wasn't able to do it to my satisfaction.

The first stamp I used was this ferny stamp. I stamped with green and matted with matching cardstock. I added a strip of vellum with the sentiment (from Impression Obsession) stamped on it and embossed with black embossing powder.

For this card, I used the flowery stamp. (Come to think of it, I may have used this stamp previously.) I stamped it in dark purple (Vintage Violet) on vellum. I placed the stamped vellum over patterned paper. The sentiment is done with an unbranded die and is layered for dimension. The cardbase on both cards is ivory.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Blue Poppy Birthday

A simple card that happened because of the small matted rectangle:) I had this tiny matted piece on my table. I found a sentiment (from Papertrey Ink) that fit nicely. I also had the tiny strip of black laying around. All I had to do was figure out how to use them both. I stamped the poppy image - from Penny Black - on a piece of ivory cardstock and colored with Copics and put the card together. My table is now (almost completely) void of card parts! Doesn't mean I don't have many, many more to use, but they are tucked away neatly in a box:)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Simple Birthday

I got this pretty quarter-sheet of patterned paper from a friend in June at our Group Gathering - and another like it to be used later. I just really liked it! :) I didn't want to cover it up, so this is how I decided to use it. I cut a stitched circle out of the patterned paper, and also out of the pale yellow "mottled" paper. I stamped the sentiment (from Papertrey Ink) and then I embossed with a Darice folder. I cut one of the flowers out of the discarded circle. I matted with the same yellow and popped it up with foam squares, and also added a couple thin strips to highlight the sentiment.

Edited to add: I'm linking this card up to the Let's Craft and Create challenge. The challenge is anything goes, with the option of using paper strips instead of ribbon.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Another "Freebie" Sticker

I recently posted another card I made with a similar sticker and matting. The stickers came from a mailing from Habitat for Humanity, and I just couldn't throw them away. I still have several more to use, though! I used an unbranded die to cut the window for the matted sticker. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Water-Colored Flower

I had a few things laying around my stamping room and decided to take care of them. Some of the items were from the watercolor class I took in July. So, before I cleaned up, I used them:) I ended up painting this flower. After painting, I added the black lines with a thin black marker. I matted with matching pink and popped up on foam squares. The sentiment is a sticker from Mrs. Grossman's. The cardbase is ivory.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Watercolored Christmas

Another Christmas card for today. I've had this stamped (along with fourteen more!) for a couple years. The image and sentiment are from Penny Black. I watercolored the image and added some hand-doodling around the edges and matted with green.

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October Calendar Page

Another month is here - amazing how time flies! The stamps on this month's page are all from Paper Studio House Mouse. I colored with Copics. Happy October!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!