Snow!

And more snow. And more snow. It's starting to feel much more Christmas-y today with our first major snowfall of the season. Wet, heavy snow. Lots of it. Between me, my sister and our downstairs neighbors, our sidewalk was shoveled three times today. (And the house is on a corner lot, so there is no shortage of sidewalk.) My arms are about done in.

The snow is still falling, too, although it seems to be letting up a little bit, thank goodness. By the time I finished shoveling earlier today, there was already a half inch of snow covering the sidewalk that I had shoveled first. Not the most encouraging sight.

I'll admit the snow doesn't have quite the appeal it did when I was a child. Now it makes me worry about the hassle of walking to work on snowy, icy sidewalks or wonder if the buses will be running on schedule. You know, all that boring grown-up stuff. But it is still a beautiful, amazing sight. I love the snow layered on the tree branches and the sense of peacefulness that seems to envelope everything. I'll try to remember that feeling come March when I have decided for the fifty-third time that I should move to a tropical island.

Thanks for stopping by!

Quick kid cards

I have a couple of young cousins who are celebrating their birthdays this month, but I discovered yesterday that I didn't have any kid-themed birthday cards on hand. So yesterday after work I sat down with two of my 8" x 8" printed card stock stacks and spent a few hours making some quick and easy kid birthday cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Perfect Party
Card stock: The Glitter Stack (DCWV), Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point
Accessories: Merry Minis punch pack, 1/8" hole punch, Island Indigo baker's twine, Dimensionals

To make this 3" x 6" card I trimmed one sheet of the printed card stock to 6" x 6" and folded it in half. I used a coordinating pattern from the pack to add a layer along the left side of the card, and I punched a 1/8" hole along the fold so I could wrap baker's twine around the card front. I discovered that the star punch from the Merry Minis punch pack from Stampin' Up! was exactly the same shape as the stars in this paper -- just a little larger -- so I punched out a few stars (I used the strips I trimmed from the card base) to add as embellishment. It's hard to see in the photo, but this patterned card stock has glitter accents on it, so this card has a fun sparkle to it.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Birthday Greetings
Card stock: The Glitter Stack (DCWV), Whisper White
Ink: Lavender Lace
Accessories: Spring green grosgrain ribbon, 2-3/8" scallop circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Mini Glue Dots, Dimensionals

This is another 3" x 6" card using two coordinating patterns of printed glitter card stock, but this card has a girly feel. Again, I love that one of Stampin' Up!'s mini punches worked perfectly with the printed images (the flower shapes aren't exactly the same, but you can't tell unless you really look closely). I used three pieces of ribbon to make the embellishment: one long piece adhered across the card front, one smaller piece with one end adhered over the other to form a circle, and one very small piece wrapped around the circle, creating two loops.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Party Hearty
Card stock: The Glitter Stack (DCWV), Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: 1-3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, 2-3/8" circle punch, Melon Mambo pom pom trim, Dimensionals

These two cards, which are 3-1/2" square, aren't really limited to being kid cards; they would be great for sisters, girlfriends, moms, etc. Did you notice that for the center of each focal point I added a circle of the printed card stock used for the other card? These are cards that will probably be hand-delivered (or tucked into a gift), because I don't have the right size envelopes on hand, and the pom pom trim is just a little bulky.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: On Your Birthday
Card stock: Safari Kids stack (DCWV), River Rock, Night of Navy
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Postage stamp punch, hemp twine, Dimensionals

For this card I cut a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of patterned card stock and adhered it to the front of an A2-size Night of Navy card base (4-1/4" x 5-1/2"). I used the postage stamp punch to punch out three animals from a coordinating print and one square of River Rock card stock. I stamped the card stock with a sentiment (I'll write in the age with a marker before I send the card) and then adhered the squares to the card with Dimensionals. I added hemp twine around the bottom of the card for a little safari-appropriate embellishment.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes
Card stock: Safari Kids stack (DCWV), Gumball Green, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: 1-3/4" circle punch, 2-3/8" scallop circle punch, mini pearls - baby boy assortment (Doodlebug Design, Inc.), Dimensionals

This card uses three different coordinating papers: the background strip, the main panel and the scalloped circle. It's the only card of the bunch that didn't have glitter accents in the paper, so I added a green mini pearl in three of the corners of the brown layer. In addition to using the scallop circle punch to make the focal point, I also used it to cut off the top right corner of the card. Those hungry alligators must have been in my card-making supplies again!



Thanks for stopping by!

Sparkle and scallops

Today I'm going to share what will probably be my last two Christmas cards this year. ( I could be wrong, of course. It's been known to happen.) At first these cards seemed totally unrelated to each other. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, at least not to most people. But I have this strange need to have some sort of theme among the cards that I include together in a blog post. (What can I say, it's one of the ways I can make my left brain happy while I'm being all creative with my right brain.) So I wasn't sure how I was going to approach a blog post with these two random Christmas cards. Then I looked at the cards again and realized that they do have a couple of things in common: they both have rhinestones and scalloped layers. Whew! It's a bit of a stretch, but I'll go with it. Crisis averted.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Dasher
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede, Old Olive card stock; Natural Composition Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Small and Large Classic Scalloped Ovals Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders), 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, rhinestones, Dimensionals

I wanted this card to have a slightly rustic feel to it, so I used earth tones: a Soft Suede card base, Old Olive ribbon and layers of Old Olive and Naturals Ivory card stock. The piece of Natural Composition Specialty DSP on the bottom of the card does double duty: the woodgrain pattern enhances the natural feel of the card, and the glossy print brings just a bit of texture and glam. I added a little more glitz by placing a few rhinestones around the reindeer's antlers and along the bottom right edge of the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Wonderful Winterland, Jolly Bingo Bits
Card stock: Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green, Baja Breeze
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Real Red, Garden Green, Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Soft Suede, Basic Gray
Accessories: Candy Cane Christmas designer fabric, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Tasteful Trim die, rhinestones, circle punches (1" and 1-3/8"), scallop circle punches (1-1/4" and 1-3/4"), Dimensionals

I always seem to forget about fabric when it comes to making cards, even though I've seen many cute samples and ideas incorporating fabric. But when I noticed the stripes on the hat and scarf of the ice skater in the Wonderful Winterland stamp set, I thought it would be fun to coordinate them with the stripes in the Candy Cane Christmas fabric.

I used the Tasteful Trim die to cut a double-scalloped strip of fabric, and I adhered the strip to the card just above the layer of embossed Whisper White card stock. I punched out the stamped images with circle punches, layered each one on a coordinating scalloped circle and adhered them to the top half of the card with Dimensionals. I added some randomly placed rhinestones to mimic the look of falling snow.

I hope you liked this bit of sparkle and scallops. Thanks for stopping by!

Snowflakes in three styles

Since every snowflake is different, today I am going to share three snowflake-themed cards that are all different styles.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Bold Snowflake, More Merry Messages
Paper: Very Vanilla, Island Indigo card stock; Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Island Indigo
Accessories: Blossom punch, corner rounder, rhinestones, Dimensionals

I used two sheets of the Festival of Prints DSP to make three cards of this design. I cut one sheet in approximately thirds to make the light blue panel for each card (I adjusted the size a little so I didn't cut through the circles in the pattern). I rounded the corners of the panel (as well as the card base) and adhered it to the card. For the second sheet of DSP, I cut along the lines in the chevron pattern to make six strips, two for each card. I trimmed along the lines of the chevrons to make the V ends of the pennants and then adhered them over the left side of the blue pattern at different lengths. I stamped and punched the snowflake, adhered it to the card with Dimensionals and added a rhinestone in the middle.

I had pieces of the chevron strips left from the pennants, and I didn't want to just throw them away. So I trimmed the leftover strips and added them to a Very Vanilla panel inside the card. Sentiments stamped on the front and inside panel finish off the card.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: More Merry Messages
Card stock: Whisper White
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Northern Flurry embossing folder, rhinestones, gold embossing powder, gold organdy ribbon (unknown), Dimensionals

This card uses very limited supplies, but I think it's stunning in its simplicity. I embossed a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock with the Northern Flurry embossing folder and added a rhinestone in the middle of each snowflake. I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark ink and embossed it with gold embossing powder. For another touch of color I tied a piece of gold organdy ribbon around the bottom of the panel. (This ribbon was originally wrapped around a box of Christmas ornaments; I often save those "found" ribbons to use on cards or other projects.) Using Dimensionals, I attached the panel to a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" Whisper White card base. I didn't take a picture of it, but I also embossed the inside sentiment with gold embossing powder to coordinate with the card front.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Season of Friendship
Card stock: Whisper White, Bordering Blue, textured Chocolate Chip
Ink: Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon, corner rounder, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Mini Glue Dots

This was a fun and easy card to make. I randomly stamped snowflakes on a 3-5/8" x 4-7/8" piece of Whisper White card stock with Bordering Blue ink (one of my favorite retired colors). Then I stamped the tree in Chocolate Chip ink in the middle. I stamped the bird in Cherry Cobbler ink on a scratch piece of card stock, cut it out and adhered it on a tree branch with a Mini Glue Dot. I wanted to add a little bit of sparkle, so I used a 2-Way Glue Pen to add glue to the tops of the branches and then sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the glue. (It's hard to see in the photo, but it adds a fun shimmer in person.) I rounded the corners of the white card stock and matted it on a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of textured Chocolate Chip card stock. To finish the card, I tied a piece of Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon around the layered panel and adhered it to a Bordering Blue card base.

I think I'm almost done making my Christmas cards. I have a couple more designs to share tomorrow, which should make fifty-two cards, plus I know I have some left over from previous years. I just need to make my card list to be sure I have enough. Then I'll have to start sending my cards and making a few little gifts for work and neighbors. How is there only twenty-three days left until Christmas?

Thanks for stopping by!

A blooming Christmas

I have had a Christmas cactus -- the same Christmas cactus -- for at least ten years, and it has bloomed a grand total of one time, in January 2004. Yep, after Christmas and only a few little blossoms.

I know a Christmas cactus needs cooler temperatures to start the flowering process, but that was hard to achieve in our old apartment, short of opening a window in the middle of winter, which, no thanks. But this fall, my sister had the idea to put the Christmas cactus on our unheated three-season porch for a few weeks. It's not quite as cold as being outside because it's enclosed, but it's definitely cooler than the rest of the house. Success! Buds started to appear, and we have been watching them turn into beautiful, big pink flowers.

Shot 1: You can just see the white buds
on the ends of some of the leaves.

Shot 2: The buds are larger and just starting to turn pink.

Shot 3: Darker pink buds.

Shot 4: The flowers are starting to open.

Shot 5: More flowers.

Shot 6: Full of blooms (and still more to open)!

Aren't those flowers amazing? I just love the bright color.

Of course, while the Christmas cactus has been busy blooming, we've been busy decorating the house for Christmas. We have more space this year so we've been able to put out things that we just didn't have room for in previous years.

We still have too many ornaments for our
little tree, but I think I'd have that
problem no matter how big the tree was.

I made this paper chain last year with some retired Designer
Series Paper and card stock from Stampin' Up!®. It was so
long I had to loop it along the windows twice.

Mielle loves to sleep on pillows on the radiator, and the
garland did not deter her. As long as she doesn't play with
the ornaments, we're good.

Enjoy the holiday season, and thanks for stopping by!