3 Twenty Crafts Blog Hop

Hello, and we are on the final stretch of Year 2013. Over at 3 Twenty Crafts there is a year end Blog Hop going on to get ready to celebrate the coming 2014 with our DT members, and we hope you'll join in for a bit of year-end fun.

Here's my card using some of the 3 Twenty Crafts stamps that were released in November.

 

- The 3 Twenty Crafts sets used on this card were: Tags and Trimmings (ribbon swirls & top & bottom flourishes); Happy Harvest (glasses).

-Die cut with S/B Labels 2, edged with Delicata gold, then overlined with the Sakura Clear Star gel pen for more glitz.

- Paper Studio vanilla c/s from a postcard pack was stamped with the 3 Twenty Crafts elements in Versa Mark, then embossed with Silver Pearl EP;  die cut and colored in with copics. On this vanilla c/s, the colors looked much too flat so I used Spica pens to enhance the ribbons, flourishes - liked the effect much better..

- used the negative of the vanilla die cut as a cover over the card base. Lined the aperture with a patterned dark brown, popped up the die cut focal piece. Used the same paper to punch out the bottom border trims from MS & Recollection punches.

- Snippet of green glitter paper to die cut the year with Memory Box letter die. Tried using the dark brown, but the green seemed better to my eye.

So please join along with us over at Jo's Scrap Shack in the blog hop and have some fun.

Happy New Year, and thanks for joining me and visiting throughout the year. Your visits & comments make my day! Hugs.

Family, Dogs & Boats

Welcome to my world on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I am here with just the granddogs, as the family  deserted me. DH decided he was bored with watching football & went for a long walk. DD & SIL went off to do some errands. I didn't feel like getting gussied up to go out in public, and was finishing up some laundry, so here I am - dogsitting.

I would like to say a warm welcome to 2 new followers: Debbie of Life Refreshed and Princess Judy Palmer of Blog This. Whooee, just a few more new followers to reach my next goal level of 200 followers, and there's gonna be BLOG CANDY! When I get home, I'll take some pictures & post as some added enticements.  Thanks for joining me here, and I hope you'll like what I babble on about. Let me encourage my other visitors to check out each of these blogs...not only some beautiful work to feast yer peepers on, but get a few good giggles too.

Since I haven't any cards to share, I thought I would share a couple of photos of the family..those I could get to cooperate with the camera & me. SIL refuses to join in when I'm taking pictures, and the one I finally captured of DH & DD is not all that great. But still, will give you an idea of what they look like in 'at home attire'. (I can already hear both of them saying "You DIDN'T really POST that, did you?"



DH-DD-Breakfast_12-25-13  

Ossie_Charlie_12-28-13
 

Ossie is the oldest of the 3 greys (13 yrs), and he's lived here since he was about 4 & retired from racing. He is the 3rd grey that DD adopted. She lost the 1st two dogs to cancer, and Ossie has survived the longest. He has arthritis, and is being helped with acupuncture. He has lovely manners, is definitely the daughter's child - if she is around - and only suffers the rest of us if he has to.

Dallas(standing)-Reilly(relaxing)-12-28-13
 



Dallas was adopted as a 3-4mo old puppy. When she was 2 yrs, DD discovered the folks who had adopted her sister, Reilly, didn't want the dog. So you can guess what happened next. Reilly is the one I'm allergic to, and I have difficulty in telling them apart. I don't pet either one because of that. I only pet Ossie if the other 2 are not where they can see it. (Yes, it does hurt their feelings!). Dallas was extremely rambunctious at first; she loved to chew toes. Now that she's 7, she is better behaved. Reilly basically follows her sister's lead and whatever Dallas is doing, Reilly does too. When you see one, you know the other is right behind.





Optimist Charlie-12-28-13

Charles joined the group about 2 months ago. This is his face when he is absolutely positive that he's going to join you for whatever it is that you may be eating. Doesn't matter, he wants some of it. He has diabetes, so treats are forbidden and he has to eat special food. He much prefers to sneak in & gobble up the greys' food & really snarfs it down. He's also quite a Hoover when food & crumbs are dropped from your plate. He doesn't beg, he just sits at your feet, looking up with this very hopeful expression. 

 

 

The last picture is of a PT boat that we saw pass by on Christmas morning. This is the first of these boats we've seen on the water. These boats were used in WWII, just in case you didn't already know this!  Hope that you've enjoyed the pictures and seeing a bit of my family. Hugs & come again soon.

 

Merry Christmas Each and Every One

I pray that this day finds you safe, warm & happy with those that you love. I feel so blessed that we are able to be with our daughter & son-in-law & the 4 granddogs (3 are greyhounds, and a tiny dachshund that belonged to our SIL's Dad has come to live with our kids. Sadly, his Master is no longer able to care for him due to dementia problems. Charlie is a real sweetie & seems to have adapted quite well to his new home. He's definitely a people 'person' & is so optimistic at meal times. He has diabetes so table treats are forbidden and he only gets his own special type of treats on occasion).

 

We have been fortunate to have had some lovely days of warm sunshine and some relaxation. One day we drove about 2 hours up the road to the SIL's Dad's place to do some cleaning out. Not a happy occasion, but we were glad to be able to help just a little. Also had some nice lunches & usually had leftovers for dinner. Tonight we had a Christmas Eve meal from Chinese take-out. Yummm.

 

I took a couple pictures of the DD's Christmas tree, and the tree skirt that I made for her long ago, in another hobby-lifetime. I hope you'll like seeing them, as I have no card to share. I did get out an image to color this afternoon, but didn't make a lot of progress. Then it was time to pick up supplies to get ready for dinner. Too hard to drag out, put away and keep my motivation steady. I've really enjoyed Netflix & Acorn TV while I've been here. Lazy is me.

 

If you look closely at the clear ornament to the left of the "V" shape, it is the poinsettia Ritz glitter ornament I made last year. I loved this tree skirt, and the center diamond of each diamond has some machine embroidery - which also was a long ago hobby. I only made one of these skirts...I always wished I'd made one for our tree. Alas, I never did! Probably never shall at this late date. So it gladdens my heart that DD always uses it.

I  want to wish all who visit & have visited here, a wonderful Merry Christmas, filled with all the things that give you joy & happiness. I am so appreciative of all who have visited, left comments & encouragement over the past year. It has meant so very much to me, and has been such a wonderful adventure that I certainly never expected to have. See you soon with some cards in the New Year. God Bless, and many warm hugs.



Miscellaneous

Good evening, and we only have 4 more days until the Jolly Fat Man shows up. (actually since it's evening, we really only have 3 more days...if I'm being strictly accurate). Thank you to all who sent us wishes for a safe drive south. Much appreciated, and it was a fairly quiet, easy drive (well, I sleep so of course it was easy for me! But if the pickup has to swerve, that wakes me up right fast). We had good weather leaving after having a breakfast locally, returning to our house to put away the garbage dumpster and then getting on the road. It was in the low 40's when we left home, and at each stop, we shed a layer of clothing. Finally had to turn on the a/c once we crossed the Florida State Line. Yesterday & today we've had mid 70 to mid 80's sunshine weather, and it's been lovely.

Last night we had a luscious full golden moon shining a lovely path across the water so I tried to capture it. Used a night setting and here's what I ended up with:

I took #2 first, then used the zoom to get #1 shown here. I was hoping the lights across the water would show up better, but ...it is what it is. At least I got the golden path on the water. So very beautiful to see it.

Christmas with Friends

Scheduled Post Alert!!! Back again to share another lovely card we've received & my photo does not do this marvelous one layer card justice. It has so much dimension that you really have to take a second look to realize it is just one layer.

Asha's Card (http://sunnysummercrafts.blogspot)

Asha lives in Portugal, and I've never had any mail from Portugal...how very exciting, and thank you so much, Asha. This is an absolutely stunning card.

Again, have a blessed day, and I hope that your seasonal activities are leaving you a bit of time to relax and think about what the holiday is truly celebrating. Most of our hurry is done, and we'll be relaxing a lot while away, dogsitting with the granddogs while the DD is at work. Hugs from me to you and thanks for stopping to visit today.

Christmas with Friends

Hi and I'm back with a scheduled post to share 2 more lovely cards we've received from blogging friends. I trust you will enjoy these as much as DH & I did. Again, we were very humbled to receive these beautiful cards from such talented card makers.

Loll's Card (http://www.stampingwithloll.com/)

Lynn's Card (http://creativecraftsbylynn.blogspot.com/ )



It occurred to me as I did this post, that I should add the links for these talented crafters' blogs. Sorry I didn't think to do that when I shared in earlier posts. Live & learn.

As you read this, we will be traveling south, so have a blessed day. I hope you can enjoy whatever it is that your day is bringing your way. Hugs & Merry Christmas

Christmas Truck

Good morning and we're counting down to the Big Day...7 more to go. My blog followers pictures had disappeared from its location for several days, and it appeared again yesterday. Did anyone else have the same problem? Also got some sort of error message as I opened up the New Post feature this morning, don't know what that was about!

Here's the card I did for Mr. DH and it's pretty simple. It's a cling red rubber stamp purchased at the September stamp show, colored with copics (airbrushed background) and die cut with S/B label 28. Impression Obsession popped up tree.

Papers are from some VOS Paper Studio packs, with an MS border punch covering the join. Several snippety pieces on the background & embellies, but time won't permit me to play in Pixie's Playground today (DH just wandered by and said "You need to get up from that computer and get busy". Hmmmm). However - if you have a few extra minutes, I'd invite you to pop over, have some roasted chestnuts & enjoy some lovely cards that the Playground Elves are sharing.

This is one of the simpler cards I've ever made for DH, but as he is a truck person, I think he'll like it. He's never had a blue pickup (we've had dark green and the last 2 were shades of gray- the current one being a very pretty silver gray). Thought this blue would show up prettier on a card. Shaded the IO popup tree with DI Pine Needles.

OK, that's it for me today. We're hoping to head to DD's house in Florida for the holidays, so got lots to get done today. I'll have a scheduled post tomorrow with some more of the lovely handmade cards we've received (at least that's the current plan).

So enjoy your day and thanks for your visit. We have sunshine - which made it hard to photograph without getting shadows. But that's ok, I'm loving having the sunshine. You have a lovely Wednesday, thanks for joining me, and many Hugs coming to you from me. I'm going to start saying Merry Christmas as a closing...just 'cause I love to say it.

Christmas with Friends

Hi and welcome. I'm back with 2 more of the pretty handmade cards DH & I have enjoyed receiving. Hope you'll like seeing them too.

Charlene's card

Julie's card

Two very gorgeous cards. Thank you to the senders. We loved receiving them.

Have a pleasant afternoon. Hope your Seasonal Scurry has slowed down just a bit, and you can relax and enjoy the meaning of this time of year. Today is last minute errands day for me. Many hugs.

Christmas with Friends

Hello and happy Monday. We have another day of pretty sunshine for which I am most thankful. I thought I'd share a few of the lovely handmade cards we've received. I didn't have a card ready to post, as we are trying to get things lined up so that we can leave to go to our DD's to spend the holidays. So I'll share a couple of cards with you each day, and hope you'll enjoy them as much as DH & I did. I'm awestruck at the skill & very humbled that these bloggers took time to think of us at such a busy time of the year.

Diane's card

 



Bonnie's card

 

 

Aren't these just 2 of the most gorgeous things you've seen? I'll post a few more tomorrow. Ladies, thank you so very much for sharing your talent with DH & me. And anyone else who comes into our home to see these cards displayed. We love them!

 

OK, I'm off to get some of my pre-trip "To-Do" list done. Ya'll have a wonderful afternoon, and thanks for popping in for a little visit. Hugs & hope the weather is not dreadful where you may be today. 

Christmas Club Get Your Skates On

Good afternoon, and after Saturday's constant rain throughout the day, we have sunshine again today. So very welcome to see. I worked on a card last night using PB Hedgies...I think these are among the most delightful of the Penny Black images. Here's my card:

- Used a Sizzix rectangle die to cut out the copic colored image, then used a stylus to emboss around the edges. The scarves have Spica pen & Wink of Stella glitz over the colors. The metal on the skates was done with a Gelly Roll Clear Star Silver pen and Glossy Accents on the ice.

- Memory Box snowflake corner trim, glammed up with some icy blue rhinestones. Background paper is from the stash, but probably is a Paper Studio brand.

This can be a Christmas card with an added sentiment, but could also serve for a winter birthday card, which I have need of 2 for January.

Hope you're having a pleasant Sunday afternoon, and if it's ice & snow where you may be, that you can stay cozy & warm inside. Thanks for joining me this afternoon, and as always, Hugs from me to you.

Chickadee Sticker

Whew, this is the last of some scheduled posts I did after my Sunday evening card making marathon. Now I have to stop and get some of those Northwood bird stamps I bought stamped and colored for my Sweeties. So this is another sticker from the VOS I've had in the stash.

- Stickers were in a ?K & Co pack? from years ago. The frilly mat is a trim out from the Decorative Label 8 snippet on the Gold & Silver Baubles card, in an earlier post. I positioned the larger die to cut the frame, placing a smaller one from the same set inside to create this mat piece. Embossed it to enhance the intricate design since I intended to use it as a mat for Mr. Chickadee. The round date sticker was from the same package. These stickers are on dimensional tape.

- plaid paper from a 4.5 x 6.5 Paper Studio Vintage Christmas pack that I bought ?last year. Hobby Lobby still has this available in the postcard size and the 12x12 pack - at least last time I was in the store. Thought it went well with the plaid trim on the sticker.

- MS deep edge border punch from my travels, from a current year 6x6 Christmas pack.

Called it done. Now need to do some inserts (which I would love to decorate like some of the wonderful cards I see on blogs...but doubt I'll have the time to do more than stamp a verse). I need to get some labels made up and printed out for the envelopes; that's just about as decorated as I get with the envelopes. Some of the ones I've enjoyed, were nearly as pretty as the cards inside. I'd have a hard time trying to preserve the envelope if I received one that gorgeous.

Come again when you can. Hugs.

Friday Fun Day Challenge #30

Good afternoon & big welcome. Since it's Friday (Errgh - the 13th!), you know that's it Friday Fun Day at Jo's Scrap Shack . So pull up a chair by the fire, have a cup of something hot, and let's visit for a little while, if you've got time.

Our theme for this Friday was selected by fellow DT member Amanda who chose the theme Winter. Our sponsor was Stamp Art Design by Kathryne and I chose this little guy (Snow Mail). Isn't he adorable? Colored up very easily too, after printing on Copic Xpress paper, and I used copic markers with some spica glitter pens.

Here he is:

- Outlined one Snowmail image with a Sakura silver star gel pen after airbrushing the sky with B0000. Colored a second copy with copics, fussy cut Snowy & Mailbird, which were popped over the silvery outline. The little touch of silver that shows underneath the arms, adds to the frosty feel.  Sparkle n Sprinkle Cloud 9 added along the ground for some snowy texture. S/B Deckled Rectangle die cut the focal image, and thin black mat cut with Perfect Layers Rulers, which I'm trying to learn to use properly.

-  Dylusions Blues created the background on 90# water color paper. Some sprays were pure color, some diluted, some mixed with white linen. I spritzed the paper first so that the sprays would run. Added some pearly spray & a spritz of gold after the colors had started to 'set', but not yet dried, so that I could tilt the paper & get some color spreading. Sometimes I blot with a paper towel - which I did on this one - sometimes just allow to air dry. Air drying gives a more marble look I think. Thought this piece created the illusion of falling snow.

- Impression Obsession die cut trees (DIE084-V) out of a white textured snippet, popped up with tape, added stickles on the branches for glittering snow.

- MS drippy goo border punch using a glossy paper snippet which made great icycles, added some stickles just cause I was in the stickles mood! :-). This border is for Halloween I think, but it made some good icycles too.

- Winter sentiment is from the 3 Twenty Crafts Winter Wonderland set, stamped on a white snippet inked with Memento Bahama Blue ink.

We'd love to see what you create using the Winter theme, so please pop over to Jo's Scrap Shack for the simple rules, link up and play along with us for FFC 30 this week. Do check out what the fellow DT members have created for your inspiration today.

In the meantime, have a wonderful Friday, get ready to enjoy the weekend. As always, thanks for visiting & come again when you have time to chat! Hugs

Die-Namite Poinsettia





Good morning. Twelve more days to the Big Day. I'm hoping all of you have been Good Little Bloggers so Santa won't have to bring you a rock for your sock. I think I've been pretty nice this year. I helped Santa out when I was visiting the shops on our trip to Florida, so I've told him he can give me a pass this holiday. We'll see if he listens. All I want for Christmas is to be with those I love best in the world. Good Health for my loved ones would be a bonus gift. Oh yes, World Peace & Kindness would be a marvelous gift too, but with the world leaders as they seem to be -  and all the meanness that goes on, I don't see that happening. But...we live in Hope!



 



Here's today's card:

 

-Die-Namites Curly Poinsettia as the focal point. Diecut with red c/s, then a green glitter paper. Carefully glued the red over the green diecut, then snipped away the red curliques (see this great video here...)  Pam shows how to do this technique. I saw a simply stunning card done by the fabulous Loll using the Memory Box Glowing Candle die and Loll kindly provided the video link. I want to try this technique with the candle die, as I love that die. In the meantime though, I had the Die-namite die out on the desk and thought the technique would work well on this. I didn't fuss with putting the inside bits back in the outline as did Loll & Pam. Give this video a peek, I think you'll enjoy it.

- SU Square Lattice EF on the raised textured panel.

- Sentiment stickers colored with Copics in various shades of G & YG to compliment the green glitter curliques. The sentiment was silver before coloring.

Hope you enjoyed this one...I like it.

Will be back later this afternoon with a post for the Friday Fun Day Challenge, so I hope you can pop back for a 2nd visit today.

Off to the salt mines.. (an old American expression meaning 'get your duff in gear and do some work'!). Come again when you have time for some hot chocolate. It's the weather for it. Hugs.

Santa's Sleigh

Hello again. Welcome.

Here's today's card:

- Impression Obsession Santa & Reindeer die from pearlized paper, spritzed with Tattered Angels gold sprays. Adhered with Dimensional tape.

- Memory Box tree die from a snippet of silver, embossed with the TH poinsettia EF. Also on dimensional tape, and added more 'snow' after the trees were stuck down.

- American Crafts glitter paper with stars for sky

- torn white paper, using Sparkle n Sprinkle Cloud 9 for the snow drifts. (This Cloud 9 looks more like a glittered flocking than EP and I can't remember what Margaret at SnS explained to me about this product. It does look like snow though. I was pleased with it, and happy that I bought 2 small jars!)

- Elizabeth Craft sentiment sticker, colored with copics to pick up the blue of the sky.

Hope you like this one. I went downstairs early Sunday evening and worked like a little beaver trying to finish up some cards that I had in progress. I still have to get 4 images stamped and colored for the Loved Family VIP's - to take along with me to Florida. So that's one reason I'm trying to hurry with the cards I need to get in the mail. Thanks for visiting today, and many hugs.

Joy to the World

Howdy & thanks for the visit this morning, on another scheduled post. Are you scurrying 'round as I am, trying to accomplish chores, and the faster you go, the further behind things seem to be getting? We really aren't doing that much decorating, since we'll be at our DD's for the holiday, so I'm not sure why I'm feeling a bit pressured. Guess it's just the time of the year, perhaps.

Here's today's card:

Found some stickers (VOS = Very Old Stuff) from years ago. Decided using some of these stickers would make for some quick cards. Think this was from a K & Co. package, from Michael's. A few years back some of my stamp group buddies were making beautiful & fast cards using stickers like these, so you know me: Miss Copy if I can person. Didn't get very many made that year though...came in handy for this one however.

the papers are from more VOS - Paper Studio Christmas packs. The red stripe-y backing on the dimensional sticker is from a new 6x6 Christmas pack. Don't know which one, as I have a bunch of these piled on the desk, and I just flip through several trying to find a sheet that looks good on each project. I did hunt up the VOS packs though, because I wanted some 'shiny' papers for the trimming. Even the card base cover is a textured piece from the pack.

Memory Box die sentiment cut from a snippet of gold mesh texture Paper Studio, and now that I look at this for a bit, I think a red might have been a better color choice. Alas, it's stuck down now, and I'm not going to try to pull it up. Thought about trying to adhere red lettering over it, but....I think it's gonna go in the mail as it is.

Hope you like this one. It was a pretty fast card for me, other than hunting up the papers. Thanks for the visit, enjoy your day. Big hugs from me to you.

Gold & Silver Baubles

Good morning, and this will be the first of several scheduled posts as I try to finish up Christmas cards and get them ready to mail. And keep up with the other chores & things that are being carried on at this time of the year. So without further ado, here's the card I'm sharing today:

I saw this card done by Carol, and thought it was just gorgeous. I want to try making one very similar, but in the meantime, here's the one I came up with. Thanks, Carol for the inspiration shared on your beautiful card. I was using up snippets, and the green glitter piece was a leftover(snippet) from trimming out behind a layered card. The Decorative Labels 8 framing was another c/s snippet that was almost not the right size. Finagling some creative positioning, I was able to use the c/s. I had previously punched a few MS punches out of an 8x8 sheet of this metallic matte paper. The gold ornament (snippet from this card), embossed with a Holly EF. The silver ornament was punched with an MS punch. This was from a piece of packaging in... (dare I say...some new underwear). I thought the silver card the items were wrapped around, would be good salvage. (channeling Mrs. A on this one).  So I guess that could be called a snippet - well if I stretch the term snippet just a bit. Added some rhinestones & pearls because the gold & silver looked a bit plain once I adhered to the front. The ornament chains were just a sliver of the same gold used for the ornament, because I couldn't find the gold cord thread I intended to use as a hanger.

The ornament dp is from a 6x6 Christmas pack and the red card base cover is from a Colorbok 8x8 print pack - and was a bit of snippet too, just larger than the others I've used. But it WAS left from another card project!

Thanks for popping in to visit today. When this post goes live, I may dash back over to the Snippets Playground with it. There's still time for you to come & play with us, and the Head Pixie is offering the absolute cutest Penny Black stamp as a prize. She even has a card to show how it can be used. Hope to see you there, just bring along your snippety card & that's the ticket to join in for some fun and a chance to win this cute stamp. Hugs

Edit: Today we have SUNSHINE!!! As previously promised, this post is live on 12/10 (Tuesday), so now I can jump over to the Snippets Playground as I do have many snippets here as a ticket to play. This is my 3rd entry for Week 102, since I had to miss the Big 100 Anniversary. There's a very cute PBlack hedgie & duck stamp as the prize this week, so why not join in? Hope that you have a bit of sunshine where you are, and if not, at least that the ice is melting. More Hugs.

Jeweled Memory Box Tree Snippety Bits

Good afternoon and it's still raining in our area. No snow or ice though. Warm thoughts going out to those who do have the cold & ice or snow. Also warm welcomes to 2 new followers as well:
Lisa  of A Mermaids Crafts and Ann of Just for Fun.  Thanks for joining me here, and folks, do please take time to pop over for a visit to these wonderful blogs.

You're going to get very tired of seeing so many Christmas cards here, I expect, but I've got to get some finished. So here we go with today's card:

I'm not going into all the specs as to what company products I used. I found the negative of this Memory Box tree die (from last year) in my snippets box. Decided it would look nice against the mirror green c/s - embossed with a Darice diagonal stripe EF, MS punch trims to the side, and some tiny polka dot paper. The silver star was an MS punch from glitter paper (a snippet) and the punched border trim also snippets. Then just added a bunch of tiny jewels as ornaments. Had saved this negative to use as a mask for spraying, decided it would do for a focal piece instead.

Since I've got snippets, snippets and more snippets, you know I'm headed for the Snippet Playground, week 102. I have been told to wear mittens, and promised some eggnog. Love me some good eggnog! If you care to join in the fun, I'm sure you would be offered a glass of festive 'nog. So com'on along...love to see ya there. All you have to do, is bring a card with a snippet or two on it, and that's the ticket to get into the Playground.

Have a lovely afternoon, stay warm & cozy if it's cold in your part of the world, and Plenty Hugs. Come again when you have time.

Silent Night Christmas

Welcome to my world on a quiet Sunday morning. Hope that the weather where you are is not dreadful, and that you have electrical power. I'm back with another scheduled post.

Here's a card that was fairly easy to make. The idea started with the stamp.

- Inkadinkadoo ornament stamp, inked with Versamark, heat embossed with Ranger Queen's Gold (still my favorite of all the gold EP). Die cut with a S/B circle. This is my 3rd attempt on this embossing, as I kept getting specks of powder that wouldn't brush off without damaging the image (you'll know what I mean if this has ever happened with you). I'd use a brush to flick off the excess, I had used the Embossing Buddy, blown & huffed, then would think "Oh, this will be ok". Used the heat gun, and no, after looking at the result, I'd cut & stamp another one. The c/s is a pearlized white c/s snippet.

- Card base is also pearlized white but a different shade from the ornament snippet. I inked the Sizzix embossing folder with Delicata Gold before running through the Big Shot. Sorry I can't provide the specific name on this folder. When I removed the folders from the packing materials, I embossed a piece of GP white C/S for each folder, writing the mfgr & name on the folder. This piece of C/S is somewhere in the mess on my desk or at the cutting area. The Sizzix name is on the plastic though. I may have to take a black marker & write down all the names on the plastic instead of my white samples that are meant to stay inside the plastic. I keep all the folders in a storage box, trying to have these arranged sort of by subject. I keep the holiday folders in a separate box so I don't have to hunt through these when I want a folder. I need to devise a more accurate filing system too, rather than florals, leaves-trees, etc.

- gold gauze ribbon and a Britannia die sentiment snippet (Joanna Sheen) - Thanks Mrs. A for telling me where to find these dies!

Have a happy Sunday, and I hope you're doing something relaxing & enjoyable today. Hugs from me to you, and come again soon.

Edit: This was a scheduled post, but now that's it has gone 'live', I'm going to zip right over to the Pixie's Crafty Snippet Playground for week 102 to link up. I really missed playing in the 100th week anniversary so I want to try to make up for that. My snippets were the ornament paper & the gold sentiment which came from the Mbossibility Reindeer card on the previous post. So off I go, and my plan for today, will be visiting some lovely blogs and trying to get a couple more cards done. Yesterday we did some much needed house chores. Still haven't done any Christmas decorating to speak of. We'll be away, but I do like to have some festive things about, especially our nativity, which is as old as our daughter. Hugs again.

Mbossibility Reindeer Christmas

Hello, and welcome to you this morning. Also a big welcome to another follower, Lisa of A Mermaids Crafts. Please take a few moments and check out Lisa's great work.

My thoughts & prayers are going out to all in the Midwest who are suffering the effects of this monster ice storm moving across the country, with the extreme cold. DH talked to a friend from Oklahoma Friday afternoon, and he is expecting minus temps overnight, and had ice and snow. Fortunately he heats with a wood stove, and had just gotten a load of wood. Some areas had already lost power, and for those having health problems (and truly anyone--) the lack of heat can be a very serious problem.

This is another scheduled post, as I'm trying to get some chores done and some posts scheduled. Here is my card, and very hard to photograph it was; (we've had the drearies so not great light..but honestly, even if there had been good lighting, I doubt I could have taken a better photo! LOL)

- Mbossibility Reindeer folder, on mirror gold c/s.

- sticker from a K&Co pack (VOS = Very Old Stuff, not sure when I bought this pkg, but some years ago!)

- Elizabeth Craft sentiment sticker (which is probably a bit too small, but the next size I had was too large, so there you go! And I didn't want to use a die to cut out the sentiment and obscure the lovely swirls & furls on the embossing). That's it folks. Easy card.

The hardest part about this card was
(1) getting that Mboss folder through my Big Shot. I had broken an old style C/B a while ago, using an Mboss folder. Strictly my own fault as it appeared to go through just fine. As it was at the last of the plates, though, I heard a crack - Ooomph, no more tension on the C/B rollers. So I'm very careful when I use these thicker folders. Read the sandwich instructions when using the Mbossibilities, and then proceed carefully. I ended up taking out the B/Shot base plate after I had tried with all the tab pieces removed. Still felt too 'thick' to pass through with no problems. I used the 2 clear plates, and added a stack of chipboard shims until I felt enough tension to emboss the gold c/s. This was thick c/s that has a 'backing', which contributed to the ultimate sandwich thickness

(2) taking a photograph since the c/s was so shiny. The picture does not really do the pretty c/stock justice as it really gleams. I was pleased with this one, and it will be designated for a VIP on my card list.

Also used a little wooden easel I bought on my travels.

Thanks for joining me this morning. Be safe & warm if you are in this ice belt, and Hugs from me to you.

Friday Fun Day Challenge #29 at Jo's Scrap Shack

Hello and since it's Friday, you know it's time for Friday Fun Day Challenge #29 over at Jo's Scrap Shack. I hope you'll play along with us; the rules are posted on Jo's blog, and are very easy to follow. This week we are following a sketch, and our sponsors are Bugaboo and The Paper Nest .

Here's my card using a Bugaboo digi stamp since Bugaboo is the sponsor of my Team A.

- Bugaboo Christmas Bells printed on Xpress paper, die cut with a S/B circle & colored with Copics. Used a clear Wink of Stella pen for some shine on the bells and ribbon. IRL this gives a nice shine, especially on the bells, creating a look of real metal. Used a circle scallop S/B die as a mask to shade BG0000 shading around the bells.

- SU Top Note die for the green tree Kringle & Co. design paper, highlighting the stitching with a white gel pen. The reason I purchased this die was because I can't do a decent faux stitch, and a friend pointed out the stitching lines in this die.

- card base is from a 12x12 Colorbok pad picked up at Walmart ($5.99!) and the paper has sort of a metallic shine to it. Embossed with Brenda Walton Starry Night Flourish (658753-Sizzix - 2pk set).

- the scallop trim was a snippet from this card, using the 3 Twenty Crafts Background Builders. I used the dot border from the Builders set, inked in Memento Black Tuxedo, then punched with a Fiskars scallop border. You have to look very hard to see the dots, but they are there!

Haven't decided where the sentiment will go, but I'm thinking a small one popped up in the top left corner.

Thanks for visiting today, and please be sure to check out what my team mates have done for today's sketch challenge over at Jo's Scrap Shack and if you have time, play along with us. We'd love to see your interpretation of the sketch, which you will see over at Jo's.

Hugs & have a lovely Friday.

Friends Cards & Make n Take

Good morning - Happy Friday. I'm scheduling this post because I really need to get busy & get more Christmas cards ready. First I need to clean off my stamp desk so I have a place to work!!! I'll be back later this afternoon with a Fun Day Friday Challenge post, so please do drop back again.

I wanted to share 2 lovely cards made by some friends

Brenda's Card

This lovely card was in our mail when we returned from Fla. It's from my blog buddy, Brenda.
It is just so very pretty...the leaf is done with alchol inks, has the trunk sort of die cut into the leaf. Very unusual, and we just loved the layout, with all the gorgeous shimmering papers. Brenda & her family are dealing with a tough health issue at the moment, and I was so humbled that she took time to think of me and send this beautiful card. Thank you Brenda.

Edit: Brenda sent me a link to the leaf card above...you can find the how-to here.

Next a card from another blog buddy, Candee.

Candee's card - front view

Candee's card - center view

Candee's card - fully open

Northwoods Christmas Joy

Good afternoon, and welcome. Sorry that I've been MIA, but after getting home Sunday evening, somehow I've just not been motivated to do anything but just idle around. We got things unpacked on Monday, had some bills & phone calls to handle..and the week has been very gray & dreary. Raining or misting off & on, and weather like that really affects my mood. I'm one of those people who need sunshine. I can do ok with a day or 2, but I was already a bit blue about saying goodbye to the DD. So I counted my blessings, gave me a pep talk, and tried to snap out of my funk.

OK...things are better, and last night I did work on some cards. (Next I need to work on updating my die database, and CLEANING MY STAMP AREA!). Whoo Hoo...Santa ain't coming to see me cause he'd take one look and think he'd break his neck to venture in that room.

I wanted to say Thank You to some new followers:

Lorraine   Welcome to My Little World of Craft

Starcyl  (I'm sorry I don't have a blog link for Starcyl, so if you see this post, please contact me, so I can post your link.) 

Wynn  Sunshine Cards and Crafts

Donna  Creative Smiles

Shona  Shona's Stamping Stage

Please do yourself a huge favor and check out these blogs. I can promise you're in for a lovely visit to some extremely talented card makers. Thanks Bloggers for joining this blog. You're helping me reach my next goal of 200 followers, and I didn't expect to have ANY followers except a few local friends, when I started this blog in March of 2012. (THINK BLOG CANDY!)

Here's today's card: