Monday, November 16, 2015

Holiday Food and Drinks challenge at Jingle Belles

be jolly   *   be merry   *   spread cheer


I have a sheet of SRM Stickers that has 12 Gingerbread men, 12 "Holiday Cheer!" sentiments, and 12 "be jolly * be merry * spread cheer" sentiments.  When I saw this challenge theme at Jingle Belles, I knew I had to try to make a set of 12 cards using the entire sheet of SRM stickers.  (I am just now starting to make Christmas cards…yikes.  New Year's resolution:  keep up with Jingle Belles challenges in 2016!)

I perused my papers and found that these Doodlebug papers went nicely with the gingerbread man's scarf.

Happy Monday!

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Thanksgiving gift, 6x6/12x12 Organizational Tips, Teacher Treats, and a Crooked Stamper Sketch challenge


My Big Shot broke again, and my wonderful dhDH (dear husband Doug Houck) fixed it for the fourth time.  He gave me permission to buy a new one if it happens again.  Meanwhile, I decided it was time to re-organize some of my 12x12 and 6x6 collections.  After all, there is no way one can live without a Big Shot, right?  I had to find something creative to do...

Organizational tip:  (6x6 papers sorted by color)
I took my really thin 12x12 collections (some actually had no 12x12, some had maybe two sheets) and cut them down to 6x6.  I also took some of my really thin 6x6 pads and threw away the front and back covers of the pads and re-organized all of these papers by color with the cut down 12x12.  I also sorted 6x6 papers from retired card kits in there too.  Many of my 6x6 were double-sided; I had to decide which side I liked best and filed it that way.  In a couple of cases where I loved both sides, I filed each piece under two different colors.  Make sense?
I created dividers with colored card stock cut to 6x7; red, pink, green, yellow, blue, orange, black, grey, kraft, and beige.  I made a decision to put all aqua papers in the blue section.
I also chose to make a few other categories:  text, gingham, multi-colored stripes/dots/chevrons, music, scenic (e.g. hot air balloons, clouds, bikes, maps), colorful florals, and school/office (e.g. grid/graph papers, typewriters, numbers).

This was a lot of work, but I wasn't really using those paper scraps and old collections anyway.  I am anxious to see if it was worth the hours I spent organizing.

I have thought of doing this for about 5 years now, and I fought it because I enjoy working within a collection since the patterns are already color-coordinated.
I wanted to play along with Leslie's sketch, and I gotta say I threw this pie card together in less than 30 minutes.  My pie and cutting board die cuts and sentiment came from the November Simon Says Stamp card kit.  I knew I wanted red gingham paper, so I went right to my newly organized 6x6 to the gingham section.  Score!  The new system is working already…of course I had a great sketch as motivation.  I added some MME burlap ribbon and frayed both ends a bit.  Done.

Every year right before Thanksgiving our realtor gives us a gift certificate for a pie at a local pie shop.  This card is for her.  Perfect, right?

I came across some ancient 12x12 in autumnal colors, so I decided to make some "Happy Thanksgiving" teacher treats with peppermint patties.
 Here is the front and the back:
I am probably the only parent that does little treats throughout the school year, but I am sure other parents help in other ways.  This is what I choose to do.  I like to let them know they are appreciated and I love using my stash.

Happy Sunday!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

A Christmas Colour challenge

The Challenge is having a Christmas color challenge this week.  Last year I made ornaments for my sister for Christmas using some of these MME chipboard houses (Winter Wonderland collection.)  I had three left over, so I wanted to use them up.  I created a trio of 3x3 cards to pair with neighbor gifts.
I thought that burlap paper with the white polka dots looked like snow.  I fringed the edges a bit for additional texture.  The metal charms are Making Memories.

 The houses also have green, aqua, or a bit of yellow, so if this disqualifies me, I totally understand!

Thanks to The Challenge for the inspiration to use my stash.

Happy Saturday!

Hello…is it me you're looking for?

 I used my Simon Says Stamp "hello" die and these pretty MME papers with difficult-to-photograph gold for the current challenge at Cut It Up:  Inspired by a book, movie or song.  Lionel Richie is singing "Hello" in my head…and now yours too, right?  You're welcome!
This one says, "dream imagine create."  I'm hearing John Lennon's "Imagine" in my head…card design inspired by Lucy Abrams.

Below are even more cards that I created using my October card kit from Simon Says Stamp (not necessarily inspired by a book, movie, or song):


 Inspired by Nichol Magourik.
 Inspired by Wanda Guess.
 Inspired by Sarah Moerman.
 Inspired by Sarah Moerman.

Insired by Yana Smakula.

Only nine cards out of this kit so far, but I need to move on and play with my November Simon Says Stamp card kit.  Thank you, Cut It Up for the inspiration!

Happy Saturday!

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Echo Park stickers + papers = quick cards

My baby girl card stash is low, so I pulled out my Echo Park "Bundle of Joy" 12x12 collection in search of stickers and coordinating papers to create a couple of quick cards.  For the owl card I added machine stitching, and the card below I added sequins.  Quick and easy!

I hope you find these cards inspiring.

Happy Wednesday!