Still working on Christmas cards...

I found some "card parts" from last year and decided to use them this year, rather than letting them to languish for yet another year.

My first card features this sentiment, which was actually cut from a purchased card that I received last year. I dressed it up the tiniest bit by die-cutting a tiny star from glitter cardstock and popping it up on the outlined star that was already there. I thought about adding a little more glitter to some of the words, but ended up leaving it as is.

After Christmas, I always go through my cards looking for parts that can be used the following year. Sometimes I use these parts as I have done here, but more often, I use them to make gift tags. If I receive handmade cards, I always save those. I have a box of them that I look through from time to time for inspiration.

This snowman was a die-cut that I had made with an unbranded die set. The eyes and buttons were made with Nuvo drops.

The inside of this card is pretty simple with a stamped sentiment and a strip of patterned paper added for a little interest.

For my second card, I cut this chalkboard sentiment from a piece of patterned cardstock that was filled with different sentiments and images. This was the only one that was the right size and could be cleanly cut from the page. I added some sparkle to the snowflake with a glitter pen and three dark pink enamel dots as berries on the holly.

I matted my rectangle in pink to give it a more finished look.

I have a die set (unbranded) that makes these little layered flags. I used some of the same pink cardstock as the mat for the top layer with black CS underneath.

The inside of this card is very simple, with just a stamped bit of holly with pink berries.

I always feel really good when I can use up some of my "card parts"--especially those that have been hanging around for a year or more!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Thinking pink...

I'm not sure why it is, but I love Christmas cards that feature the color pink. I had a few scraps of these pretty papers--most of them leftovers from last year's card-making frenzy--so I decided to use them for this year's cards, too.''

These papers came with a magazine last year. They have such soft, pretty colors and are perfectly coordinated. My little pink poinsettia was made with a Marianne Creatables die set. Instead of using the tiny die that cuts the center stamens, I opted to put a little yellow gem there instead.

My wavy, scalloped die and sentiment is unbranded.

My card interior is pretty plain. Just a couple of pink strips along each side of my sentiment panel.

The sentiment stamp is from an unbranded Christmas set.

The paper with the children playing in the snow is one of the last pieces of this particular pattern from a 6" X 6" paper stack. I don't recall who makes the paper stack, but it's old and most likely no longer available anyway.  The pink paper is from Stampin' Up.

My little mittens were stamped and cut with a Sizzix stamp and die set.

I matted my inside sentiment with the same turquoise cardstock that I had used on the front. To add a little interest, I also stamped a pretty snowflake and added some sparkle to it with a glitter pen (even though you can't see it!).

It's been fun creating Christmas cards (I make 85 of them), but I will--once again--resolve to get more of them done ahead of time in 2019. I feel stressed when December nears and I don't have enough of them in my card box.

I also make my own gift tags, write and print a Christmas letter and create a 2019 calendar with family photos and all the birthdays and anniversaries included on it. Once the calendar is created and printed, I bind 10 of them with my Zutter Bind-It-All.

All of that is just to say, I seem to do a LOT of creating at Christmas time, and it gets a little overwhelming at times.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Christmas poinsettia...

I made this card in very traditional Christmas colors. There's nothing spectacular about it, but I think it will do for a simple Christmas greeting. The scalloped, wavy sentiment banner is an unbranded stamp and die set. There are quite a few sentiments that came with the die, so I think it will be very useful for all manner of cards.

My poinsettia was made with a Cheery Lynn die that cuts out the individual leaves. I think they're actually holly leaves, but they work great for a poinsettia, too.

The leaves can be cut in three different sizes, although here I've only used two. I glue them onto a small circle of cardstock after shaping them a bit with a shaping tool.

Once that was done, I added a few tiny metal flat-backed "gems" for my flower center and three sequins and my card was nearly finished.

On the inside of my card I stamped a sentiment and also a little sprig of holly. I also added strips of red cardstock to the top and bottom of my sentiment panel to give it some definition.

We had a lovely dinner at my daughter's house on Thanksgiving.  They did a wonderful job of brining and roasting the turkey and cooking all the side dishes. It was delicious!!

If you celebrated Thanksgiving (or not), I hope your day was as nice as ours.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

"Winter Window" from Get Silvered...

I follow the blog Get Silvered and love the fun SVG files she creates and shares. I used "Winter Window" for some of my Christmas cards, and I really like how they turned out.

It was another gray, dreary day when I took these photos, so they're a little dark. So sorry!

I truly CASEd Pam's card on the Get Silvered site, cutting both the window frame and the cat out of white cardstock with my Silhouette. I considered coloring my cat gray, but decided I liked the white.

I added a few snowflakes behind the window frame. They were made with a Martha Stewart punch.

The banner was cut with an unbranded die and I heat-embossed the sentiment.

The top of the window frame and the bottom "ledge" are both popped up a bit with foam tape. The cat is likewise popped up.

I matted my inside panel and stamped the sentiment with blue ink.

This was actually a fairly quick card to make. The Silhouette did most of the work! I was able to cut several of them at a time and put them together, so that helped in building up the contents of my Christmas card box.

Thanksgiving will be here soon. What I am so thankful for at this moment is that I don't have to cook the whole meal! My daughter will be doing that, and I am only bringing lefse, dinner rolls, cranberry relish and pie for dessert.

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful day with your loved ones. And if you don't, I hope you have a fantastic Thursday!
Cheryl

It's time for another Twofer Challenge...

I love the Twofer Challenge Blog, and a new challenge has recently been posted:

I decided to create a card for each of the upcoming celebrations at our house for this challenge.

I have a pretty oval wreath die (unbranded), and wanted to use it for both cards.

For my Thanksgiving card, I simply inked the leaves on the wreath a bit and colored in the "twiggy" part with a brown marker. Then I added some copper colored sequins, and voila!, I had a lovely fall wreath. The "thankful' die-cut and the terra cotta-colored edging were made with unbranded dies and my patterned paper is by Stampin' Up.

I did some stamping (really old wood stamps - not sure of brand) and also inked around the edges of my panel.

To add a little interest, I added a terra cotta-colored strip and a sprig of leaves on the inside.

For my Christmas card, I once again cut the oval wreath out of dark green paper and then added some pine tree sprigs (Martha Stewart punch), as well as a whole bunch of tiny red pearls. Since it's a Christmas card, I decided a little bow was in order, but I thought it needed to be placed at a jaunty angle. I'm not so sure about that decision after looking at the photo.

"Merry Christmas" is an unbranded die-cut, glued to a little fishtail banner. I thought the banner needed a tiny bit of inking with Tea Dye Distress ink around the edges so that it showed up a little better against my busy patterned paper (Stampin' Up).

Because the front of my card is so busy, I decided to give the recipient's eyes a rest with a CAS interior. I think my stamped sentiment is by Penny Black.

This challenge is a lot of fun, so I hope you'll give it a try, too.

As I type this, I am watching the weather on TV. They say it's going to warm up to 40ᵒ (4.5ᵒ Celsius). Since it's been getting down close to 0ᵒ (-18ᵒ Celsius). at night, 40ᵒ is going to feel downright balmy!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Thanksgiving is right around the corner...

...so I've been busy making some cards for the occasion. I didn't make many--just a few for close family members. Here are two examples:

I'm sorry that this photo is slightly blurry, but I think you still get the essence of the card. It was a dark and dreary day, so I didn't have enough light to see clearly whether or not I was focusing the camera properly.

The leafy rectangle and the pumpkins are both unbranded dies. I used the pumpkin dies in a previous card that you can see here. I cut the leafy rectangle out of green paper and then colored in all the stems with a brown marker. It was adhered to the front of the card with spray adhesive. I can see in the photo that I got this one a bit askew. It was a little tricky to get it all stuck down properly!

This is the inside sentiment for this card. It was computer-generated.

Here's my second card, made with cream/yellow/gray patterned cardstock and embellishments. The dies I used are all unbranded on this one, too. The sentiment was heat-embossed with silver embossing powder.

The die I used for the leaves was actually a "sprig" with multiple leaves on it. I just had to cut it apart to get what I wanted.

Here's the inside of this card, showing more shadows from the lack of sunshine. I should just be patient and wait for a sunny day to take photos, but patience isn't one of my strong suits!










Starting last year, we began celebrating Thanksgiving at my daughter's home. She lives only blocks away, so it's easy to get back and forth. It's so nice to have someone else take charge of the meal! We generally have a turkey with all the fixings, and I expect that is what we'll have this year, too. And I'm pretty sure I'll be in charge of the pies again. I usually make pumpkin, apple and cherry.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Polka-dotted cards...

I was asked by a fellow thrift store volunteer to make some cards for her that she could use in her other volunteer work with a local police force. She needed some congratulations cards to give to officers who received awards or promotions and some blank cards for other purposes.

The thrift store had given me some polka-dotted card blanks, so I used those to make a few cards for her.

These cards were quick to make because the layout is so simple, and I think they'll work for both male and female officers.  "Congratulations" was cut out of white cardstock with a die, but I have no idea anymore who makes it. I know there are a lot of similar dies out there, though.

These feather cards had no sentiment, so they could be used for any occasion. In looking at the photo, I think I should have done a bit of inking on the pink and blue feathers.

All of these cards had just a white liner inside to make it easier to write and read a personal note.

Finally, I needed some thank you notes for my own personal use, so a few of the white polka-dotted card blanks worked perfectly to make those.

The doily die is by Hero Arts. Isn't it pretty? It is one that I got at the thrift store. I think I'll get lots of use out of it. I heat embossed "Thank You" with gold embossing powder, and then popped my banner up on foam tape.

It is cold here today--we had some light snow during the night. I guess winter has more or less arrived, and there'll be no more jacketless days until Spring. The only good thing about that is we'll be able to enjoy some nice fires in the fireplace.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #143: USE YOUR FAVORITE SKETCH or Anything Goes Option...

If this is November, that means that next month is December. Wow, 2018 is flying by! And since it is November, that also means it's time for another Let's Craft and Create Challenge.

This month, we're asking all participants to make a card using your favorite sketch. Now, I hadn't really been using sketches until a few months ago, when I printed out a bunch of them from the Cardz TV blog. Since then, I've found them to be incredibly useful. If you haven't been using sketches, I encourage you to give it a try (and join in on the LCC Challenge at the same time).

In the photo above you can see that I've cut out the sketches that I downloaded and put them into an inexpensive soft-covered little photo album. That way, it's easy to flip through the pages for some inspiration.

Here's the card I made using this sketch idea. I first heat embossed the word "Gratitude on my polka-dotted mat, adhered it to my card base and then added the three strips of DSP. Once that was done, I cut out my pumpkins (unbranded dies) and popped them up with foam tape.

I didn't think it looked quite finished, so I took a strip of the brown polka-dot paper and made a border with a Fiskars scalloped punch. I really liked the way that finished off my card front.

I stamped the inside of my card with an old wooden stamp that I got at the thrift store. I thought it was a nice Thanksgiving message, although it doesn't stamp as clearly as I'd like it to. I think it's been well loved by its former owner.

One more scalloped border, and my card was done!







Besides Cardz TV, you can also find lots of sketches on other blogsites or on Pinterest. I highly recommend printing them out (I just copied and pasted them, four to a page, in Word) and storing them in a small album. You'll be glad you did!

I hope you'll give this challenge a try and post your creation at Let's Craft and Create. See you there!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl