Happy Birthday x3

Hello, Blogland! I have been practically non-existent this month. I hope to remedy that :) If you have followed me for more than a year, you probably know that I love it when I create a card from nothing but scraps or when I use stash (old or new, I feel rejuvenated to use up stash).

For these three cards I used scraps of K&Co. 8.5"x8.5" Birthday Scrap Kit items (papers and 3D cupcake stickers and die cut cupcake), scraps from my Bazzill scraps (small Nesties Labels 1), my last 3 American Crafts "happy birthday" rub-ons and ribbon scraps!

Here is a quick tutorial:
1. Cut white card stock at 5" x 3 3/4"; xyron.
2. Punch 12 squares at 1 1/4" of designer papers (I only used two coordinating papers for these, but my personal preference is to use 3 or 4 coordinating papers like this one.)
3. Adhere squares left to right, starting at the top left corner.
4. Die cut with SU top note die. Embellish as desired.

Enjoy your last week of 2009!

Masculine Christmas card

I had a customer request for a masculine Christmas card, no cute; e.g. she did not want "to a deer friend" or "merry chrismoose". So this is my card. I used Memory Box paper, scraps of Bazzill card stock (purplish burgundy color and white bling), SU sage shadow and plum markers, ribbon scraps, 3 MM snaps and my Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder. I wasn't quite happy with it, but the customer loved it. To quote my friend, Roberta, "Done is better than perfect."

How long has it been since I've entered my craft room? The remaining coaster calendars, despite the best of intentions, are still untouched (I have 18 to go...see previous post). We have all been taking turns being sick. Kathryn finally joined in last week with fever and congestion. Now I have her cold, minus the fever. This one is really mild compared to the one I had before T'giving. Nothing to really complain about, thankfully! I worked really hard the past two days trying to re-prioritize my "to do" list in preparing for the holidays. I still have ~5 gifts to make/purchase, package and send. Then I can finish up dh & our girls, then start on thank you notes. The teacher coaster calendars will have to be New Year gifts :) Eventually I will get to visit all of my favorite blogs. It has been too long! Please be patient with me :)

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Cuttlebug Style!

On the first day of Christmas...
For the next twelve days Cuttlebug Challenge blog will have some yummy eye candy in the theme of the song. You may be wondering what mini desk calendars made out of coasters have to do with "a partridge in a pear tree." Think "tree" => "recycle"...I re-purposed the coasters into teacher gifts for Christmas. To see my tutorial and detailed supply list, click here.

I purchased the self-stick calendars from www.vippies.com. Click here to order. I chose medium size; it fits perfectly in the ProvoCraft Cuttlebug Flourished Frame embossing folder!

I plan to make these for teacher gifts. The top one is for my daughters' delightful teacher, Mrs. Jacobs. The second one is for a co-teacher (and equally wonderful), Mr. Neach. I plan to make one for each teacher and teacher assistant, the secretaries, therapists, and bus driver & bus driver assistant. 2 down, 18 to go...

Mass-production would be the smartest way to go, but I do not have enough of any one designer paper to make that happen. Not to mention, I wanted Mr. Neach's calendar to be masculine. The rest of the recipients are all female, so I can do a little mass-production for the remainder of the gifts. I decided to start with papers I have the least amount of to use them up. I had just enough of the blue/brown SU papers and felt flowers to make two, but not enough felt flowers. I have a bit more of the green/sage stripe paper, but this one will also be one-of-a-kind. I have a little SU Raspberry Tart...I think I can eke out 6 calendars from it. I'll keep you posted on my progress :) Actually the 12 days of Christmas does not end until January 5th, so if I don't finish before winter break, I will give these to the teachers when school resumes in January.

To put you in the Christmas spirit, listen to John Denver & the Muppets sing their version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Miss Piggy really gets into it ~3:00-3:03! Just fast forward to that point if you are in a hurry :)

Hey, Cupcake!

I hope you can see the shimmer in the pearlized swirl paper and the glittery K&Co. 3D sticker.
The papers are all from K&Co. 8.5x8.5 Birthday Scrapbook kit, except for the pearlized paper, DCWV base card and the Martha border punch. The yummy ribbon is a scrap from blog friend Leslie :)

Thank you, my friends, for wondering where I am and if I am okay. I had a nasty stomach virus last week and I've had some dental work done this week. I'm not sure if it is the pain or the Novocaine or both that makes me grumpy and irritable. I have been absent from blogging and crafting completely. I finally made this card today because I am out of birthday cards. I was inspired by Julee's Mojo Monday sketch, but I could not work in the other circles or the bow. I hope some mojo comes my way!

Let's Hear it for the Boy!

Last week my mom asked me if I wanted her scraps of BasicGrey Hang 10 collection. I traded her with a collection of equally old K&Co. papers and coordinating 3D stickers, acetate, and chipboard pieces. Last month my BF, Kaye, gave me the MFT stamp set Let's Hear it for the Boy for my birthday. I like these BG Hang 10 papers because they are great for masculine or autumn cards. I used my MFT set! First I colored with copic markers, but no matter how much I layered colors, I could not coordinate with the BG paper. I ended up paper piecing over my coloring for his jacket, chair, and area rug. It also bothers me that there is no distinction between the wall and the floor. I'll work on that the next time I use this set, but I am happy to hear your suggestions :)

I added some SU chocolate chip felt ribbon and dimensionals. Done is good enough today.
Here is our Thanksgiving meal. We had planned to go to see my parents and grandparents for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, but Wednesday night our dd, Julia, was sick all night. My cute little bug could not even keep down water. Wegmans grocery store to the rescue! I drove over to Wegmans and purchased mashed potatoes, herb stuffing, cranberry relish (quite good; like my own recipe!), honey brine roasted turkey breast and apple pie. We still enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving, even though we were not able to see my parents and grandparents. We will see them next weekend :)

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!

Be Inspired # 59 - Add Glitter or Bling Challenge

Cuttlebug Challenge blog is giving away four, (yes, 4) Oh My Crafts! Christmas embossing folders this week. Want a chance to win? Link your sparkly card here...and you have TWO weeks to do so! I love the look of embossing, and I especially love Core'dinations card stock when it is embossed. The white wash collection reminds me of shining snow. I used the Candy Cane embossing folder and lightly sanded. I punched 6 squares @ 1 1/4" of white wash and 6 squares of BasicGrey Eskimo Kisses (I really only needed 5, since my image covers one up; oh well!) I also used SU pink pirouette and old olive card stock, copic markers, BasicGrey buttons, Nesties, and ribbon from my stash. I purchased that adorable snowman (Inkadinkado) at JoAnn online.

Thank you, Grandma!

When I purchased my 6x6 pad of BasicGrey Nook & Pantry, I knew I wanted to use it to make cards for my grandmothers. Last Friday two twin size quilts arrived in the mail for Julia and Kathryn. My grandma has made each of her grandchildren (12 total) a quilt when we each married and then a baby quilt for each of her great-grandchildren (10), then a quilt for each great-grandchild. Here are J&Ks second quilts! I still have my twin size quilt her mother made for me ("Mamaw") out of squares from old draperies and clothing. It is one of my most prized possessions.

I needed to make a thank you note for Grandma, and out came the BG paper :) I am still battling this cold or whatever, so I needed some serious mojo. I found it here at dougnat diaries.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new card for Cuttlebug Challenges!