Makeover!

Hey there! Happy Friday! I'm SO excited the weekend is here--I'm heading to Chicago for some Christmas fun...seeing the Rockettes' Christmas show on Saturday, then heading downtown to check out the Christkindl market, Macy's windows, & the lights. Oh, and a visit to Archiver's on Sunday!

Today I wanted to share with you a quick makeover I whipped up for my secret Santa.

I started with this empty tin I'd been holding onto for the longest time. Seriously, like three years.

I just covered the container with some shimmery scrapbook paper, filled it with chocolates, then added some shiny ribbon to finish it off!

Hoping my secret Santa loves it...hope you like it, too! 

Have a great weekend!

Supplies: empty food container, Making Memories pp, Michaels ribbon

You Light Up My Life

Hi, everyone! Just wanted to share a quick card I made for 365 Cards "Think Cute" challenge. I used the deer from SU's Forest Friends set, added a red pearl to turn him into Rudolph, then used the rays & a sentiment from Lawn Fawn's How Delightful to make him the shining beacon he needs to be on Christmas Eve.

I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! Thank you for lighting up my life with your kind words this year!

Stamps: Forest Friends (SU), How Delightful (Lawn Fawn), Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Paper: Real Red, Aqua Mist, PTI white
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Accessories: Bazzill Basics ribbon, SU edger punch, Kaisercraft pearl

Wee Memories Challenge 36

Hello & welcome to the last Wee Memories challenge of 2010! This week's sponsor is Pink Cat Studio! Our winner will receive 5 digital stamps of their choice!



Our challenge this time around is to use the colors of the season--think Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, winter--whatever colors remind you of this time of year.

Due to the holidays, this challenge will run for TWO weeks, so you'll have until Dec. 31st to play along.

Our design team was fortunate to receive some Pink Cat digis to play with. I chose this adorable image, Birds on a Wire, & I used red, aqua, & white as my colors. I think they work well for Christmas & winter in general. I added some musical notes & the Christmas note sentiment to fit with the cute little birdies, then used this sparkly red trim for the wire.

Are you ready to play along with us? Just link up your finished creation to the Wee Memories blog. You have until midnight PST on Dec. 31st to be eligible for the prize. I can't wait to see what you create!

Stamps: Birds on a Wire (Pink Cat Studio), Signature Christmas (PTI), The Birds & The Bees (W Plus 9)
Paper: Hawaiian Shores, Real Red, PTI white
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Copic markers, Spica clear glitter pen, Making Memories trim

Kind Snowman

Hi, everyone! Hope your week is going well. Can you believe Christmas is in 10 days?! Yikes!

Today's card is for multiple challenges:
Caardvarks monochromatic challenge
Sweet Sunday Sketch 96
Paper Playtime 29--snowmen

I just adore this little snowman from Unity. I paired him with PTI's Melon Berry...not a color I would normally choose, but I thought it'd be fun to go with a non-traditional color. This will be another Christmas thank you card.

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Snowbody Warms My Heart (Unity), Thankful Hearts (Verve)
Paper: Melon Berry, PTI white, PTI pp
Ink: Snow White
Accessories: Nestabilities circles & scalloped circles, SU scallop edge punch, PTI ribbon, Kaisercraft pearls, dimensionals

Christmas Thank You

Hey, all! Happy Tuesday! I wanted to pop in & share another creation I made during my snowy weekend.

I played along with several challenges for this one: PDCC59--bright blue, turquoise, & purple
CPS197
Freshly Brewed 26--sparkle & shine
Glitterbabe's 24--Christmas with no green or red
Totally Gorjuss 60--snow
Order of the Opus Gluei--anything goes
Totally Stampalicious--CAS

I figured I better get going on some Christmas thank you cards...never seem to have enough!

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Signature Christmas (PTI)
Paper: PTI white, PTI pp
Ink: Brilliant Blue
Accessories: SU snowflake punch, Offray ribbon, PTI button, Michaels and Me & My Big Ideas rhinestones

DeNami Tag Blog Hop!

Thanks for joining me for the DeNami gift tag blog hop!

You should be arriving from
Amy's blog,
but if not, you'll want to start at the
DeNami blog
so you don't miss any of the fabulous projects
OR
your chance to win a DeNami shopping spree!

TWO very lucky commenters will win $20 gift certificates!

Are you getting inspired by all the awesome creations on the hop? Hopefully, my little tag will inspire, too!

I used the Snowman Block stamp as the focus of my tag. I added some rhinestones for a little sparkle & a simple to/from sentiment. I finished it off with a jingle bell & some twine from The Twinery.

I bet you're itching to get crafty with us, but don't go just yet! The next stop on the hop is
Annette's blog!

And before you hop away, be sure to leave a comment here to increase your chances of winning one of those shopping sprees!

Thanks for visiting! Happy hopping!

Stamps: Snowman Block (DeNami), Tag Time (SU)
Paper: Real Red, PTI white
Ink: Real Red, Taken with Teal
Accessories: hole punch, jingle bell, The Twinery twine, Kaisercraft rhinestones

Merry Christmas

Hey, all! Is it just me, or is this week moving in slowwwww motion? I am SO ready for the weekend!

I'm back again with a card for multiple challenges:
A Passion for Papertrey--Christmas (using Papertrey products)
A Spoon Full of Sugar--Christmas
The Color Dare--red, olive, & neutral
The Secret Crafter--Christmas
Let's Ink it Up--Christmas bling
ABC Christmas--holly & berries/red & green
The Crafty Pad--anything goes

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Mega Mixed Messages (PTI)
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, PTI white
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories: corner rounder punch, PTI ribbon, Kaisercraft pearls, dimensionals

Silent Night

Hi, all! Hope your week is going well. Mine's not off to a great start, so here's hoping the next few days are better!

Still playing around with the red & white color combo over at The Play Date Cafe. I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:
Tuesday Throwdown #28--CAS
GCA 115--Colors of Christmas
Stamp Something--Christmas colors
Paper Playtime28--snowflakes
Glitterbabe's Challenge 23--buttons
Creative Card Crew--anything goes
Craft Your Passion 35--anything goes

AND this card is also a reminder to play along with the EBTKS texture challenge & the Wee Memories Christmas song challenge!

Stamps: Peace, Joy, Love (Technique Tuesday)
Paper: PTI white
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots, PTI button, SU snowflake punch, Kaisercraft pearl, dimensionals

Jolly Old St. Nick

Happy Monday! Hope your week is off to a good start.

Today is St. Nicholas Day, so to celebrate I made some treat bags for a few friends.

I'm entering this in the red & white challenge over at The Play Date Cafe.






Here's a close-up of the Santa. I added flock to his hat and beard for some fun texture.









And here's a peek at what's inside the bag. Fun, right?

Have a good week!

Stamps: Deer Friends (SU)
Paper: PTI white & pp
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Bazzill Basics ribbon, SU circle & snowflake punches, Nestabilities Labels 4, Fun Flock

Wee Memories Challenge 34

Are you ready for a fun holiday challenge? Then you've got to play along with us this week at Wee Memories! This time we're getting inspiration from holiday songs!



Our awesome sponsor is DeNami Design! Our winner will receive a $25 gift certificate! Cool, right?


DeNami generously provided the DT with some of their amazing stamps. I was lucky to get this adorable snowman & sentiment, which inspired me to make a "Frosty the Snowman" card...complete with a Frosty top hat to hold some sweet goodies.

I stamped the snowman image in black, then outlined the whole thing in black & orange Stickles. It's super sparkly IRL!

Isn't this Frosty hat cute? I filled it with holiday M&M's. I'm hoping this set will put a smile on a friend's face.

So, ready to play along? Choose a holiday song that inspires you, & link up your finished creation to the Wee Memories blog. You have until midnight PST on Fri., Dec. 10 to be eligible for the DeNami prize.

Have FUN! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Stamps: Snowman Block, Whimsical Merry Christmas (DeNami Design)

Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, PTI white, PTI pp
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Accessories: Michaels ribbon & trim, SU scalloped edge & circle punches, Nestabilities circles, Black Diamond & Orange Peel Stickles, dimensionals, clear treat bag, candy

Color, Sketch, AND Product Challenge

Hey, all! Happy Sunday! I've had a busy weekend...just got back from an out-of-state wedding, and I have a TON of grading to do, but I just wanted to pop in & share a card with you.


I played along with two challenges:
Cupcake's Creations Color Challenge
Limelight Sketch & Product--DOTS!

If you haven't heard the news about Limelight, head over here.





I used Lawn Fawn's Winter Bunny stamp--minus the sled--and put him in a winter wonderland, complete with glittery snow and a Stickled cottontail. I'll probably end up using this one as a Christmas card or even a Christmas thank you.

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Winter Bunny (Lawn Fawn), Winter Family (Stampendous), Polka Dot Basics (PTI), glittered cardstock (unknown)
Paper: Real Red, PTI Kraft & white, PTI pp
Ink: Adirondack Espresso, Real Red, Versamark
Accessories: Copic markers, snowflake border punch (EK Success), dimensionals, diamond Stickles

Wee Memories Challenge 33

It's Saturday, so that means it's time for another Wee Memories challenge! This week our challenge is "bowtiful" ribbon. We'd love to see your ribbon creations, especially those bows!




Why bows? Well, our awesome sponsor, Charleston Scrapbook Company, is offering our winner a bow maker!



I wanted my bow to be the focal point of the card, so I went simple with green papers & a sentiment...that beautiful red satin ribbon really pops, don't you think?

We'd love to see YOU playing along with us this week! Link up your ribbon creation to the Wee Memories blog. You have until midnight PST on Fri., Dec. 3 to be eligible for the prize.

I can't wait to see what you create!

Stamps: Signature Christmas (PTI)
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, SU pp
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Offray ribbon, dimensionals

Merry & Bright

Hey, all! I'm back with yet another gift card holder...'tis the season...not to mention that I have several tween/teen nieces who only want gift cards for Christmas!

I played along with A Passion for Papertrey's Scrapalicious challenge. My sentiment & button are both PTI, and the scraps include all three patterned papers and the glittered button thread.

I used Laura's Sketch 66 over at 2 Sketches 4 You for my layout.


And since it's a gc holder, I'm also entering it in the Caardvarks gift card holder challenge.

To all my American buddies, I wish you a VERY happy Thanksgiving!

And to kick off the holiday season, you might want to stop by A Muse. They're offering a 30% on all orders from now 'til Nov. 29. Enter promo code HAPPY30. I already placed my order!

Stamps: Signature Christmas (PTI)
Paper: Pretty in Pink, SU & unknown pp
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: ShortCuts gc holder, SU ribbon & snowflake, PTI button, Kaisercraft rhinestones, glittered button thread (unknown)

Winter Mittens

Hi, everyone! Finally got a chance to take pics of some projects I made over the weekend. It's been dark & rainy, but today the sun is out! Yay!

For my project today, I played along with 3 challenges:
Etsy Inspired 115--Queen of Tarts Cakes--I chose these cookies as inspiration
CardPatterns Sketch 91
Caardvarks gift card holders
I was immediately drawn to the cute mittens, the color combo, and the overall wintry theme.

I used a new stamp from American Crafts (aren't those mittens cute?) and new twine from The Twinery (LOVE that stuff!).

My card is standard sized (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")...

with a surprise inside!

I simply added a piece of patterned paper to the inside with sticky tape, then slid a gift card inside.

Side note: This Target gc smells like peppermint! Mmm!

Hope you like what you see!

Stamps: Wishes (American Crafts Dear Lizzy), Essential Sentiments (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Real Red, PTI white, SU pp
Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Cuttlebug Snowflake, Nestabilities circles & scalloped circles, Michaels ribbon, The Twinery twine, bell, dimensionals

WMC32: It's Blog Hop Time!

Welcome to the Wee Memories blog hop! You should have arrived here from Jinny's blog. If not, don't worry...you can start the hop at the Wee Memories blog so you don't miss a thing!

This week our challenge is to put a little pink in your creation!


Our sponsor this week is Stamps of Life, and our winner will receive a stamp set of her choice!






I needed to get busy on my holiday to-do list, so I chose to create a gift card holder for my niece. She is a lover of pink...hot pink especially...so incorporating it into my project was NO problem!

I pulled out some wintry items from my stash...patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket & a chipboard snowflake from Collage Press...don't you just love it when two lines of product go together so perfectly?

I added a rhinestone and some ribbon to tie the whole thing together.

Here's what it looks like on the inside...more Cosmo Cricket paper...
And some stamps to finish it off!

I hope you loved what you saw here. Head over to Anita's blog next to see what she's created for this week's challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Let It Snow (Hero Arts), Let's Get Together (There She Goes)
Paper: Cosmo Cricket pp
Ink: Raspberry Fizz
Accessories: ShortCuts GC holder folder, PTI ribbon, Collage Press chipboard, Kaisercraft rhinestone

EBTKS Challenge 27

Hi, everyone! It's time for another Everything But the Kitchen Sink challenge!


Our sponsor is our very own Courtney's Practicing Creativity Designs! Our winner will receive the Rejoice stamp set...perfect for your Christmas cards this year!


Since it's the 15th of the month, that means we're doing a sketch challenge.

Winter is our hostess, and she was inspired by this mosaic from her home.









Here's the mosaic translated into a sketch...









And here's my take on it.

So, ready to play along with us? Just link up your interpretation of the sketch to the EBTKS blog. All entries must be received by midnight CST on Wed., Nov. 24 to be eligible for the prize.

I can't wait to see what you create with this fun sketch!

Stamps: Peace, Joy, Love by Ali Edwards (Technique Tuesday)
Paper: Real Red, PTI white, American Crafts pp
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: paper piercer, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Kaisercraft pearls

Caring Hearts Blog Hop AND Wee Memories!

Welcome to a very special Wee Memories challenge! We are supporting our DT member, Vera, in the ♥ CARING HEARTS BLOG HOP ♥!






We are joining other card makers in the ♥ CARING HEARTS CARD DRIVE ♥, an effort to collect Thanksgiving & Christmas/holiday cards for the elderly that live in nursing homes. From now until November 15, you can make and send cards to Vera. PLEASE consider joining us in this effort. Prizes include a $25 gift card to WPlus9 along with 4 Hero Arts stamp sets from Jennifer McGuire. Several hoppers are giving away blog candy, too! You can go here to read all the details.

Now onto the details of our Wee Memories challenge for this week. To coordinate with the blog hop, our theme is "cute holiday."

Our sponsor is Magnolia-licious, and they are offering our winner a $25 gift certificate!


I dug out some well-loved goodies from last Christmas...rub-ons and paper from Cosmo Cricket's Jolly By Golly collection. I paired it with some PTI cardstock and American Crafts ribbon. Who could resist that adorable snowman? I think it will brighten the recipient's day, don't you?

Please consider joining us, not only for the Wee Memories "cute holiday" challenge, but also the Caring Hearts Card Drive. You have until midnight PDT on Fri., Oct. 29 to be eligible for the Magnolia-licious prize. You have until November 15 to send in your card for the Caring Hearts Card Drive.

Next, head over to Jenny Suchins' blog!

Paper: Kraft, Aqua Mist, Cosmo Cricket pp
Accessories: Cosmo Cricket rub-ons, American Crafts ribbon

World Card Making Day

Hey, all! I managed to join in on the World Card Making Day fun...played along with 3 challenges for this one: Jolly Holiday Greetings Challenge at Moxie Fab World, Rae Barthel's WCMD challenge to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colors, and Echo Park Paper's Facebook challenge to use some of their papers on your creation.

I took some paper from Echo Park's Summertime Collection--it reminded me of candy cane stripes--and added some yummy May Arts ribbon, a felt snowflake from my stash, some buttons & bling, and a stamped sentiment.

Hope you like it!

Stamps: Peace, Joy, Love by Ali Edwards (Technique Tuesday)
Paper: PTI white, Echo Park Summertime dp
Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black
Accessories: May Arts ribbon, SU felt snowflake, PTI button, Kaisercraft rhinestones, Michaels silver cording

Christmas Thanks

Hi, everyone! We are so close to Christmas..I'm really getting excited now! Just finishing up some sweets today, then we're heading off to the in-laws tomorrow.

Before I go, I thought I'd share a couple of quick Christmas thank you cards. I used the color combo from the Embellish snowflakes challenges again...it's really starting to grow on me now!

Hope you and your family have a wonderfully merry Christmas! May Santa bring you lots of crafty goodies!

Card #1
Stamps: All Natural (SU)
Paper: Kraft, Bashful Blue, Bazzill white, American Crafts dp
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Fiskars upper crest punch, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Michaels snowflake rhinestones

Card #2
Stamps: Short & Sweet (SU)
Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Aqua Mist, Bazzill white
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Kaisercraft rhinestones, ribbon (unknown), dimensionals

Merry Snowman!

Hi, all! Sorry the blog has been so quiet...just trying to keep my head afloat with the end of the semester fast approaching and Christmas only a couple of weeks away!

Thought I'd share a Christmas card I made for one of my crafty peeps. My family & friends usually get very simple cards (some of them don't appreciate the work that goes into handmade stuff), and my crafty friends get more elaborate cards, so this one will be heading out the door soon! I used some yummy American Crafts glittered paper...and how cute is that adorable snowman flair?

Thank goodness tomorrow's Friday--hope you've got something fun planned! Have a good one!

Stamps: Best Yet (SU)
Paper: Aqua Mist, white, American Crafts dp
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: American Crafts flair, The Dollar Tree ribbon, Kaisercraft rhinestones, Nestabilities ovals, EK Success border punch