A quilted Christmas...

Just a quick post today as we barrel through the last few days before Christmas. I had a quilted square (unbranded die) in my "card parts" box from last year. I pulled it out and decided to use it on a card.  I had the patterned paper lying on my desk, too, and it just happened to have the same shades of green on it as my quilted square.

My poinsettia was made with a Cheery Lynn Holly Leaves die, and I added some teeny, tiny metal gems in the center.

After taking the photo, I realized my sentiment was a bit off kilter. Oh well. It happens. I didn't bother to fix it. Too many other more important things to do. I'm hoping the person who received this card isn't too picky!!

On the inside of my card I used a scalloped piece of the patterned paper and a stamped sentiment.

With my quilted square all made up and ready to go, this card was finished in about 10 minutes.

We are heading to my daughter's home tomorrow. It will be so much fun to spend holiday time with her and her family.

I hope your holiday plans are coming together and that you're looking forward to time with loved ones.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!!

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

Cheryl

Oh, Christmas tree...

I'm sharing a couple more Christmas cards today that feature that wavy sentiment and die set (unbranded) that I purchased not long ago. I've definitely gotten some good use out of it this year.

I kept the cards very simple with some pretty Stampin' Up paper and a small tree die-cut (also unbranded). I added some glitter here and there on the tree and a tiny sparkly blue star.

On the inside of this card, I added a wavy die-cut of one of the papers used on the front and added three more sparkly stars, along with my stamped sentiment.

I wasn't sure if this embellishment worked, so I'd love to know what you think of it.

For my second card I used a dark green card base (because it was sitting on my work bench begging to be used!) and two more coordinating Stampin' Up papers.

I cut my green tree out of the same green cardstock as the base, again added some glitter here and there and topped it with a sparkly white star.

On the inside of this card I stamped some green snowflakes and added some sparkle to them with a glitter pen.


















Today it will be 45 degrees (7.2 Celsius) and sunny in the Twin Cities. That is downright balmy for this time of year in the Northland!! I do plan to get outside a bit, but I'll be running errands, so it will mostly be walking from the car into the store. I promise to park on the far side of the lot, though! LOL

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

Bringing home the Christmas tree...

I am most often inspired by other papercrafters, and one person who inspires me regularly is Hannelie, or "Desert Diva" as she is known in blogland. She made a card very similar to the above cards some weeks ago, and I couldn't help but CASE it.

You'll find Hannelie's card here. The card design came from LoveSVG, and if you'd like to give it a try, you'll find it here. It's a free SVG file and so much fun to put together. I cut out all the pieces, including the snowy frames, with my Silhouette. The paper for the frames is from Stampin' Up.

The sparkly snowflakes that you see near the car and tree were punched out with a Recollections punch. I did add some vellum behind the car windows, but it was totally unnecessary, because you really can't even see it. Not even IRL!!

The big bow was cut from some shimmery gold paper, and then I added a shimmery enamel dot at the center.

My "Merriest Wishes" stamp is from a Momenta set.

I decorated the inside of my card with a couple strips of the snowflake patterned paper and two more of those glittery punched snowflakes.

The sentiment here is from the same Momenta stamp set I used on the front.











I am finishing up my cookie baking today. When I started getting out the supplies I needed, I found I only had two colored sugars--red and green--for my cut-out cookies. I could have gone with just the two colors, but I decided that was a little dull, so I quickly made my own yellow and blue sugars.

To make my colored sugar, I put 1/4 cup of white sugar into a small jelly jar (see it in the photo above?) and added 10 drops of food coloring, scattering them over the sugar. I covered and then shook the jar until the color was evenly distributed. Finally, I spread the sugar out on a plate to dry, stirring occasionally to make sure no lumps formed. It only took about an hour to dry, and--voila!!--perfect colored sugar.

The finished cookies are nothing fancy, but they do add some color and variety to my Christmas cookie platters. I have 10 different kinds of cookies to serve (I'm SO tired of baking), plus some sugared almonds. Closer to Christmas I'll bake some banana bread and a couple of pies. Then I will definitely quit my kitchen duty. We're going to my daughter's for Christmas day, so she'll be in charge of the kitchen then. Yay!

I hope all your Christmas preparations are going smoothly. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Your 60s have expired!...

Rather than posting a Christmas card, I am sharing a quick birthday card for a male friend who turns 70 today.

I created the sentiment with my computer. I think I used the "Chiller" font. I kept this card pretty CAS since it was for a male.

My two red strips of cardstock were embossed with a dotted line, using one of those border embossing folders.

The inside was also pretty plain, but I'm hoping he enjoys the sentiment.

While I was at it, I made a second copy of the outside and inside sentiments so that I can make another card like this and have it in my stash. My stash is VERY low at the moment, as I have been too busy making Christmas cards to replenish it.

Today, I am sending off the last of my Christmas packages in the mail. It will feel good to have that done! I still have to wrap those that will be hand-delivered, though.

Last night I actually mixed up a batch of Christmas cookies. I will bake them later today. And then mix up another batch or two to bake tomorrow. Progress!

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

Tags, tags, tags...

I thought I would share a few of the gift tags I have made this year.

I like to make tags that are like little cards. I put the "to" and "from" on the inside, which I generally line with white cardstock, and then I add some double-sided tape to the back side for adhering them to the package.

The die-cuts that you see on the tags above are all unbranded.

This group of tags features two that have strings attached and can be tied to the ribbon on a gift package. I've used red Nuvo drops to create the berries on the stamped holly. The little poinsettia is from Marianne Creatables, but all the rest of the die-cuts were made with unbranded dies.

I made multiples of some of these tags. I'm not sure how many I made altogether, but I would guess about 40 or so. I love making them as they are quick and use up some of those scraps of paper we are all plagued with.

We had a fun night tonight. We took my brother to a musical play as a belated birthday gift. The play was called Rosetta and Marie and the music was fantastic!! If you click on the link, you will see that the review says it is "musically magnificent," and it truly is! It is the first play I have attended where the entire audience jumped to its feet en masse to give a standing ovation at the end. My brother loved it, too, which was an added bonus. It is fun to give a gift that is enjoyed so much. Especially when we get to enjoy it with him! If you live in the Twin Cities area, I definitely recommend going.

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

Let it snow...

I had a very limited amount of the snowflake paper used on the card at left, so I thought I'd give some polka-dotted paper a try. No sure I like the result! The snowflake paper looks so much better. I just wish I had more of it. It's by Stampin' Up, but I don't think they make it anymore.

My little tree was cut with an unbranded die, I believe. I have taken all my Christmas-themed dies and put them in two containers. Many of them have lost their packaging, so I'm not quite sure who made them.

My stitched landscape was also created with an unbranded die.

My cute little snowman was cut from the Doodlecharms cartridge with my Cricut. I had actually cut and assembled several of these little guys last year and hadn't used them.

 The only part of my snowman that wasn't part of the Cricut cut was his little holly necktie. This was cut with an unbranded die. It happened to be lying on my work desk while I was making this card. I looked at it and thought, "I think that would just fit around my snowman's neck!" I cut it out, and "voila!"--it fit. I added three red flat-backed pearls to finish it off.

On the inside of my card, I used a red mat, a stamped sentiment and a single blue stamped snowflake.

This card was really fun to put together--partly because I had those little snowmen ready to go! And the cards turned out pretty much as I had pictured them in my head.

My holiday preparations are coming along. I have written our Christmas letter and created the annual calendar. Friday will be my "printing day," when I will print 85 copies of the letter and 10-12 copies of the calendar. The weekend will be spent signing, stuffing and mailing cards and binding the calendars and getting them ready to mail or give to family members. This good progress has significantly reduced my stress level!!

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

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