Pure Elegance Wrapped Up in a Tiny Package!

Hi friends!  I hope you had an amazing time with your family over the Thanksgiving holiday.  For the first time ever our kids had the entire week off so I didn't spend much time on the 'puter or blogging.  We had a wonderful time with extended family though!

I love small, pretty things.  I especially love small, pretty things that are super quick to make!  Even though it was a busy week, I did get a little creating done and it hardly took me any time at all!  The directions are posted on the Spellbinders™ Blog.

All I needed to make this gorgeous lil' gift box was Spellbinders Square Bracket Edge Box and Layered Poinsettia, Best Creation Inc, Glitter Paper Cardstock, Scor-Pal® Scor-Tape™ and

SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVE BY 3L™.  

I am thrilled to also let you know that I will be teaching a card class at Paper Mermaids this Saturday!  We will be creating 5 Christmas cards and there will be some fun give-aways as well!  Hope to see some of you locals there!  (And anyone who wants to fly out for a visit.  he he)  

Enjoy your Monday and thanks so much for taking a peek at my creation!  

Have you heard the news?

Well, two things actually!  First off, sweet Avery came into the world yesterday morning and greeted her new family! (see post below!) I can't wait to meet her!!  Huge Congrats to the family.

Second of all, Crafters Home and Spellbinders™ Paper Arts are releasing three new die templates this week!!  And it get's better!  We are doing a blog hop so you have some great ideas and chances to win!  

You find out all the information on the Spellbinders Blog. Yesterday, Wavy Rectangles was released and I created this Christmas Bag and Tag set.

Supplies: S4-341 Wavy Rectangles' E8-004 Classic Ric Rac, E8-002 Classic Bracket, S4-293 Lacey Circles, LF-132 Grand Rectangles: Jillibean Soup Christmas Eve Chowder Pattern Paper and stickers; Kraft Tag; My Mind's Eye™ Holly Jolly Pattern Paper; Collage Press Pattern Paper; Lost and Found Trim; SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ 3D Foam Squares; Scor-Pal® Scor Tape; Sparkle N' Sprinkle Golden Silver Glitter; Maya Road Trim; May Arts Ribbon 

This post is not a part of the hop but I wanted to make sure you knew about it.  I'd still love to hear what you think!  Isn't this a fun new shape?  Wait until you see what was released today!!  I've been waiting a long time for that one!

Thanks for stopping by and have a super, fabulous day!

Does it get any cuter than that?

Hi friends!  Today I have some photos of an adorable family that I got to do a photo shoot with a few weeks ago. I love this family so much and they are genuinely beautiful on the inside and out.  Mama is about to have her baby any day!!

Does it get any more adorable than that???  I know, right?  I guess we'll find out when baby number three makes her debut!  I can't wait to take some newborn photos!

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend!  Thanks for poppin' in for the visit!

JustRite Christmas Link Party

JustRite Stampers is have a Link Party to get us all inspired to start creating our handmade Christmas Cards.  There is already lots of cards to be inspired by and you can see them on the JustRite Blog.

I have a lot of favorite JustRite Christmas stamps but I particularly like this set called Deck the Halls because  they coordinate with the Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornaments AND the 2011 Heirloom Ornaments.

Supplies:  Stamps - JustRite Deck the Halls, Lace Borders; Die templates - Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornaments, Labels Twenty-Two; Cardstock - WorldWin; Pattern paper - My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly, Melissa Frances; Twine - The Twinery; Trim - Melissa Philips; Markers - Copic; Glitter - Sprinkle N Sparkle


After stamping my ornament, I cut/embossed it with  2011 Heirloom Ornaments and then stamped my sentiment in the center.  I love that there is a spot to switch up your choice of sentiment!  Then I used my Copic markers to add just a bit of color to go with soft palette of the paper.  Lastly, I added a bit of glitter because I love to add a bit of sparkle especially on Christmas projects!

Do you make your own Christmas cards?  Have you started yet?  I only have a few done.  I have enjoyed the warm fire with the cold, crisp days.  It's like we went from summer straight to winter here on the coast!

Hope your day is blessed!

Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Handmade Holidays Blog Hop!!



Calling all crafters! We've gathered designers from some of our favorite manufacturers to show you ways to create something from the heart this holiday season.

This 3 day Hop includes over 60 stops with inspiration brimming from every corner. Explore all thoughtful and frugal handmade gifts you could make for the holidays, all in one place on this Hop!


The Goods ---------}  To sweeten the Hop, we’re offering a gift for you! For every comment you leave on the blogs in the Hop, you’ll be entered to win a prize pack from one of the participating manufacturer sponsors!

This is the package that Spellbinders is giving away:  Four Die Template Sets!!!

The Details-----------}  Visit the list of blogs below and leave a comment on each by Nov 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST. Each day we will be sharing a brand new list of blogs with brand new projects for you to explore, be inspired by, and create from!


The Designers--------}

Clearsnap

Spellbinders

Hampton Art

Zutter

Graphic 45

Donna Salazar Designs

The Twinery

Authentique Paper

Jan Hennings

Kim Sonksen

Jamie Harper

Jenny Suchins

Heather Conklin

Gloria Stengel

Christine Emberson

Julie Overby

Mary Dawn Quirindongo

Lea Sanders

Tara Orr

Pattie Milazzo

Emily Lanham

Jessy Christopher

The Supplies------------}

Spellbinders Supplies: S4-340  Create A Flake Three, S5-056 Holly Accents, S4-346 Labels Twenty-Two, S4-114 Standard Circles LG; S4-338 Holiday Tags

Additional Supplies:  Ink – Clearsnap Colorbox Pigment Ink (Silver, Black); Stamps – JustRite What’s Cookin’ Set, StampingScrapping; Cardstock – Bazzill Kraft, WorldWin Black, Jillibean Soup; Bling – Want2Scrap; twine; fabric

Christmas time is a time of giving and I think most people really appreciate handmade gifts, especially when it involves sweets!  I love to decorate jars with yummy ingredients to give away.

The Tutorial---------------}

Reverse Inking:  To create the jar topper , I used Create A Flake Three die templates and placed them on scrap paper.  Then I took my Clearsnap Silver Pigment Ink and covered the surface of the ‘cut side’ of the die templates.  I carefully placed them on my A Base plate and placed white cardstock and Kraft paper on top.  Then I used my Spellbinders Grand Calibur to cut and emboss them. 
(See a Reverse Inking Tutorial Video on this post here.)

I used Standard Circles LG to cut a circle out of craft paper that already had white dots on it. Snow!

After cutting/embossing the circle, I used my Color Box Stylus to ink the inside of the die template.  This stenciling creates a border on the die cut once the template has been removed.

After filling the jar with ingredients, I cut some fabric for the top, tied twine around it then used foam squares to adhere the Kraft circle.  I also used foam squares to layer my snowflake and apply to the top to give it some dimension.

Next I cut/embossed a Holiday Tags out of Kraft paper and stenciled the inside with silver ink before removing the die template.  This die template already has a hole punched in the top so it’s ready to add to the twine bow!

To create the Label on the front of the jar, I I cut/embossed Labels Twenty-Two out of black cardstock. Then I took next two sizes down and taped them on to Kraft Paper. Cutting/embossing them together creates a frame which I adhered on to my black label.

The Design Tip ---------------}

When inking a partial area of a stamp, place tape over the sections that you don’t want to show up.

I love this JustRite stamp but only the sentiment would fit in the center of my die template so I simply taped off the border before applying ink.  After stamping on white cardstock, I cut/embossed it using Holly Accents.  I didn’t want to include the Holly’s on this die cut so I snipped them off and was left with a cool label to go inside my Labels Twenty-Two. 

I created my card using all the same steps.  I layered my cardstock and before adhering my labels and snowflake, I cut/embossed Holly Accents and trimmed it so that I had just the pieces I wanted showing out the side.  Then I stamped my sentiment and added the layers of labels and snowflake.  I added a small bit of bling in the center to embellish it.

I hope you have some new ideas and techniques and have been inspired to make some Handmade Holiday gifts.

Enjoy the hop and Merry Christmas!

Thanks for Everything

I didn’t want any of my blog readers to miss out on a most fantastic and HUGE hop with many different companies!  My projects will be in the hop tomorrow but it’s starts today!  Check out the Spellbinders Blog for details!

Cardstock – Papertrey Ink; Pattern Paper – My Mind’s Eye (Lush); Die Template – Spellbinders (Labels Eighteen); Stamp – Gina K Designs (Springtime Silhouettes); Trim – Prima Marketing; Pearls – Want2Scrap

This card arrived in the mail along with this special issue….

If you haven’t got a chance to pick up a copy and peek at it, you are in for a treat when you do!  Sooooo much inspiration!  I’m thinking the Paper Crafts Magazine Blog will also be having some more sneak peeks!

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back tomorrow to see what I created for the big Holiday Hop!

Photos on Canvas and a wee Lil’ French

 

Supplies: Cardstock – Bazzill; Pattern Paper – Lily Bee Designs (Vintage Poppy); Spellbinders Die Templates – s4-293 Lacey Circles, S5-043 Fleur de Lis Doily Motifs; S4-290 Labels Fourteen; Trim – Prima Marketing; Chipboard – Maya Road'; Glimmer Mist – Tattered Angles; Pearls – Queen and Co.

I do have a lil’ French me.  I am Canadian after all!  LOL  This was a fun card for me to put together because I love the Lily Bee Designs paper and the rolled roses.  I’m excited to say that Northridge Media published it in their September CARDS issue!

Have you fallen in love with Pinterest yet?  Oh my.  I love.  Never have I found so much inspiration!  There was a great pin about DIY canvas but the person who really inspired me to try this was Kazan!  She has instructions posted on her blog.

It’s hard to tell from the photo but this is a Canvas and I applied the photo.  The texture on it is fantastic and so very cool!  This photo is from when I was doing Senior pictures of Lexi and Aaron was just driving by and found us!  So, I made him jump in for a few of the photos.  I have some great wedding photos of this happy couple too.  They are so sweet! 

Off to teach my daughter’s class.  Gotta love that! 

Have a blessed day!