Welcome Home

Now that I have had a time to catch my breath, I wanted to share with you a card and gift that I received from fellow crafter and friend Laura at scrapaddict4life.blogspot.com .

She sent this to me just prior to Thanksgiving and I wanted to wait and post it when I had time to give it justice. Don't you just love this card? Laura has appeared as guest designer on the websites and blogs of a lot of companies and you can see why.

As you may know I moved over the summer and Laura made this sweet mini for me. Don't know what paper she used--she will let me know and I will post it here (the Echo Park Life is Good collection--love me some EP Paper!!!).

The cover is acrylic and she expertly covered it with this luscious paper line.

These are two of the inside pages.

I love the great detail work that she put into the pages.

The color combinations are fantastic and again that attention to detail .

I thought this paper was fabulous especially with the numbers and then the journaling to go with it. Again, FABULOUS!!!!

 These are the final two pages of this sweet mini album.

I love how she incorporated the twine. The color is just perfect.

And this is the back of the house mini. 

I cannot say thank you enough to Laura. She is a very talented crafter and extremely creative. Thank you Laura for thinking of me and creating this spectacular mini to commemorate my new home.

Until then.

Christmas Lights

Well, on Christmas Eve I found myself out running errands late into the evening. On one of my shortcuts through the neighborhood, I came across this magnificently decorated home.

This is what I saw as I drove up to the stop sign. This home sits on the corner. As I drove past I was able to get a view of the side.

 All I had was my camera phone and I got busy snapping photos, attempting to drive and avoid other cars. We were all being looky loos. I went to the cul de sac turned around came back and was able to see the decked out deck and backyard. 

 

Can we all say professionally done? I don't think I would have attempted to put up lights were I one of their neighbors. Many of the houses were beautifully adorned, but the white and clearness of this home just caught my eye.

This is the final view I got as we drove away.

Absolutely love that blue sky and it is the one I tried to capture on my Christmas cards. There is nothing like the real thing.

Here's to a happy and prosperous New Year!!!

Until then.

2011 Christmas Card Reveal

Teasing Time is OVER!!! It is finally here--- the 2011 Christmas Card Reveal. It took a bit of doing but I was able to pull it off and get them into the mail in a timely manner.

 

This is just a small sample of the outside of the cards. As you can see each panel is a bit different. I initially wanted the panels to cover the entire front. Since this is a 6x6 card it was going to be increments of 1/4 inches. So I took what was left over and used it on the other cards but adjusted them so that they sat towards the bottom of the card leaving room for those gorgeous pearls on top. Therefore, not a lot of scraps. I used them . lol Here is another one.

Ok, now I get to admit to my error. On a couple of my musical ones, I glued the insides so that it was upside down. I used the "It's Christmas Time" to cover the print. tee-hee. I think it is more noticeable on this one. Will most likely try to do the same by covering the 'fine'. I was able to lift up the middle piece but I used the Scotch quick dry adhesive on the side panels and once down it was down. So had to improvise.

Hey, we can't all be perfect and I am first in that line. lol. So ready for the inside? Well, here it is. All of my inking punching and paper piecing came out to be this.

 

Can we say labor of love? That is certainly what this one was. I will use all of that valuable real estate on the back of the card to write and mat my handwritten message. 

I think they turned out well and will definitely do something super simple for next year. Every now and again I do love to go with the flow. 

Terri asked what punches I used. Here is a pic. 

They are all MS border punches: gingerbread, holly and ivy, pine needles, skyland snowflake, and presents.

Ok. So I snapped a few pictures. Here is another view.

When you untie the ribbon and open the card the steps move forward and sits beautifully. Every side is decorated. Now that I have had a chance to see T!m's Lamppost die, I definitely want it. This one is an Inkadinkado stamp colored in with Sakura glaze gel pens.

Oh, the ribbon is Anna Griffin...gorgeous.

Thanks for coming back to have a final peek at my 2011 Cards.

Until then.

2011 Christmas Cards Teaser 4

It's almost time to begin the ten day countdown to Christmas. Hope you are ready!!! Could not resist one more teaser before the final reveal. I am sure you will be able to put two and two together to come up with the finished project. So, here goes. This is the stamp set that I used to create santa, his sleigh, and his reindeer. I stamped him over the moon into the darkened sky. 

I added some snow dots and some of the Martha Stewart chunky glitter for a snowy effect to the base of the house.

These are my completed paper pieced friends. They are from the Joys of the Season's Cart--the Carolers and the Girl with Presents. Again, paper piecing is not my thing, but I think they turned out pretty well. What do you think?

 

This will be the outside of card. I decided to use as little ornamentation as possible. 

 

Now, just trying to decide on what to put on the cover and how to close the card. Have a couple of options up my sleeve.

 

Someone asked about left over scraps that I have. As you can see, I maximize all of my paper to the fullest. If it means altering the design a bit, that is what I do so that I don't end up with a lot of scraps. 

Come back in a day or so and I should have the finished card posted. Thanks for stopping by and always remember to get inky in the Name of Love.

Until then.

2011 Christmas Cards Teaser 3

Have you cried, 'Uncle"? I know enough with the teasing already. Wanted to pop in and quickly give you something to drool over. This cute little house almost drove me to the nut house. I mean how many can you put together before you go batty? I am still counting but the wings are getting in the way. lol

I must admit that these cards are a labor of love. I am only making 12 of them. Yup, anymore than that, I would be having a miserable Christmas season. The card just kept morphing and taking on a mind of its own. I kept trying to follow my muse, but finally had to stuff him in a closet until I regained my sanity. Maybe one more teaser before the final card.

Check back to see. Ummm...did I mention this house is only 3.50 inches? Yeah. Until then.

2011 Christmas Cards Teaser 2

Just cannot resist teasing you a bit more. So what did the white piece of paper turn into? This lovely backdrop for my cards. The yellow sticky was punched from a one inch circle.

I used Adirondack Stonewashed and Distress Ink Chipped Sapphire to get the color depth. Kinda like it. Used some stickles for my drops of precipitation. lol. The layers are punched, embossed and inked using the Ballerina paper pad.
 
This one was my original and thought the sky much too light to be night time thus the addition of the Chipped Sapphire. Huge difference. 

Also nixed the glitter snow. Too chunky. Hope I can find my flower soft to sprinkle some on my bottom step and the ...ooops. About to give away too much. Check back later for that. lol


 

This cute little guy is part of a pair (Joys of the Season) and will occupy a step on this stepper card. Off to do some more paper piecing. Let me just say that PP is not my forte. Aaarrggghhh. 

 
Getting my fingers inky...is. Until then.

2011 Christmas Card Teaser

Hello everyone and welcome to the wonderful, mind boggling, giddy season known as Christmas. I have been busily working on my Christmas cards and neglecting my poor blog. What do you think of these colors? They are from the Recollections Ballerina paper pad.

Wanted to let you know that I am still active and creating. So, to whet your appetite I will post some of the papers and items made for my Christmas Cards this year.  

Keep checking back to note my progress and give shoves as needed. Tee-hee. Mmmm. Wonder what this is going to turn into? While I am steadily getting my fingers inky, I hope you are too. Until then.