My 1st KWerner Challenge!

I have been reading Kristina Werner's blog religiously for about a year now. I am participating in Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge for the very first time today. Okay, here's what the inspiration picture looks like:

I also combined Kristina's Challenge with today's sketch challenge at Splitcoast. I am so very pleased with how this card turned out. Today was the first day in a while that I have thoroughly enjoyed creating. What a great way to start out the new year.

And here's a close-up:

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We have an overnight babysitter (my parents) and we will be playing Rock Band all night with friends.

PS. You will notice that my colors are not exact, and that's okay with Kristina. Anything close will suit just fine.

{So Glad We're Friends}

Stamps: Best Yet, Pocket Silhouettes (Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Kiwi Kiss Designer Series Paper Patterns (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Whisper White, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: White Brads (Making Memories), Edge Distresser (Heidi Swapp), Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!)

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Look what I got for Christmas...

Hey guys! It has been a very relaxing past few days. I absolutely love the time between Christmas and New Year's Day. We haven't done very much and that's been wonderful. It gave us all time to play with all of our new toys- me included. The above picture is a few scrap related things I received. When I had a Stampin' Up party in November, my Mom, my Mother-in-law, and my Aunt bought me some goodies for Christmas. What is not in the picture is another stamp set, Say it with Scallops and two dies, Top Note and Birds and Blooms. The card below uses the Birds and Blooms dies. So fun!

I also wanted to mention my very favorite Christmas gift, which was given to me in November. My husband and I gave each other a Kindle. I absolutely love it! I'm a reading nut anyway, but now I'm able to read more than ever and I'm no longer on my library's waiting list for new releases. The books I've been reading have only been about $5-$6 each!!! The Kindle is a bit pricey, but you will save money in the long run. I'm currently reading the Twilight series, which is surprisingly good.

What us really great about the dies are that you can use a lot of your scraps. This card uses three sizes of flowers and one leaf size. After the flowers were cut, I bent the petals for a 3D effect. I used the bird from "Season of Friendship" and Kind Thanks from "Thank You Kindly".

Hope you all are able to relax this week. It's been fun playing with my new toys!

{Kind Thanks}

Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Season of Friendship (Stampin' Up)
Card Stock: Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Real Red, Close to Cocoa (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Birds and Blooms (Sizzlits Set by Stampin' Up), Cuttlebug (Provo Craft), White Mini Brads (Making Memories), Edge Distresser (Heidi Swapp)

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More gift card holders!!!

Hey there! This time of year is stressful for everyone. Add to that selling your house and building a new one and there you have my situation. I'm so thankful I had some time for 'scrap therapy' last night. Halle and I made these three gift card holders together. You can see the tutorial here. Since these three are for men, I went with the 'less is more' theory.

Here is the inside:

Here is a close-up of one:

I am planning on having a few cards to post tomorrow, but if LIFE gets in the way... I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!!

{Merry Christmas Gift Card Holders}

*All supplies are Stampin' Up!*

Stamps: Cute & Curly

Card Stock: Kraft

Patterned Paper: Kiwi Kiss Patterns Pack
Ink: Whisper White

Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Coluzzle, Dimensionals, Curly Label Punch

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A very cute video...

I don't have anything to share today. Been busy with the kids holiday parties and getting my Christmas cards ready to mail. This video is so cute! The song is very catchy too. If you have a minute, pop over to her etsy site. If you need some cute and cheap gifts, this is a great option.

Take care and have a lovely weekend!

Dana

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Christmas Gift Card Holders

Good morning! Here are two gift card holders I made for our cousin gift exchange. I still have a few more holders to make. I give a lot of gift cards! These two are for men, so I went pretty simple with my embellishments. I've had these brads for months now and am just now getting to using them. The sentiments are rub-ons from Stampin' Up's chit chat collection. If you would like to make gift card holders for your loved ones, click here for a tutorial I posted a few months ago. Please note that the finished size of these two cards are 4.25"x3" .

Here are some close-ups of the inside.

I hope you all are having a great day! We had someone walk through our house last night and it went really well. Keeping my fingers crossed they make an offer! It would be a Christmas miracle!!! LOL!

Dana

{Christmas Gift Card Holders}

Card Stock: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss (Stampin' Up)
Patterned Paper: Kiwi Kiss patterns pack (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Coluzzle, Screw Brads (Michaels), Chit Chat Rub-ons (Stampin' Up)

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My official 2008 Christmas Card

We have been beyond busy at our house this week. We've decided to build a new house! So, we've been touring model homes and FINALLY agreed on a floorplan we LOVED! One of the awesome features of this house is that I will have my very own crafting room/office. I'm sure it won't be anything fancy. I don't need much. Just a room with a door and a table. I can't wait to leave all my stuff out and just shut the door. Now comes the down side. We have to sell our house. We have a few buyer prospects and are hoping we won't even need to put our house on the market. I am the fovever optimist.

Anyway, now that the baby shower invitations are finished (see post below this one), I am scrambling to get my Christmas cards done. This is a non-traditional card in the sense that it doesn't open the normal way. The center panel opens up to reveal a picture of the kids and a sentiment. I was able to save some cardstock doing it this way. This card is a CASE from Andrea Walford. I saw this card last year and have had all the supplies to make it since February. I can't believe I'm just now getting around to finishing them.

Off to make 50+ more!

Dana

{2008 Christmas Card}

Stamps: Peaceful Wishes (Stampin' Up)
Card Stock: Naturals Ivory, Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss (Stampin Up)
Ink: Close to Cocoa- craft, Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Slit punch (SU), Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Stampin' Sponges (SU), Versamark, Gold and Clear Embossing Powder (SU), 1/8" hole punch

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Finally Finished Baby Shower Cards!

I am finally done making the 26 baby shower cards for my SIL's baby shower. They turned out really cute, but boy were they tedious! Making them took a large chunk out of the last three days. I despise making the same card over and over. Oh well, in the end it was worth it. I know my SIL will love these.

Here is my genius tip. I knew I would be wasting a lot of blue paper since I was just using it to cut out circles. I didn't want to waste card stock, so I bought a pack of post-it notes! They were the perfect size, only cost me $2.50, and I have two other pads leftover to use for myself!

Here are some more pictures. This is the inside. That oval fit just perfectly. My Coluzzle sure did get a workout this week. This blue paper is actually blue copy paper I swiped from my Mom's house.


Here is the little stamp on the back. I did put my initials in the heart before I mailed them out. I love how it looks like the stamp is on his tushy!

And here's what 26 of them look like!

Now that I'm finished, it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. That is, until I start thinking about the 50+ Christmas cards that still aren't done! Have a wonderful weekend!

Dana

{Baby Shower Invitation for Boy}

Stamps: So Many Scallops (Stampin' Up!), All Occasions (Inkadinkado)
Card Stock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise Marker, Yo Yo Yellow Marker, Brilliant Blue (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: White Mini Brads (Making Memories), Blue Post-it Notes (3M), Coluzzle, printer

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Adorable Pirate Birthday Invitation

Hello! I'm in the middle of making baby shower cards, so I don't have a card of my own to share today. However, I received this birthday invitation in the mail and just had to share it with you. My sister-in-law Carrie made these for her son's first birthday party. Aren't these just the cutest? I know Carrie won't mind me showing these off. I believe the stamp set she used is called "Ahoy Matey" from Stampin' Up. The back of the invitation is adorable as well. Full of pirate lingo and a cool font. I especially love the distressing. It makes it really look like a treasure map. Can't wait for the party!

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Onesie Baby Card

Hello ladies! I have sooo many sets of cards to make and such a short amount of time. I need to finish 50 Holiday Cards, 25 Baby Shower invitations, and 25 Thank You cards. The picture above is the 'practice' baby shower invitation I made. I just needed a mock-up so I could start cutting everything. I'm still a little up in the air on what stamped image to use. I have a cute acrylic stamp that is an envelope marked 'special delivery'. I got the idea for this card from Lauren Meader. Here is her post with a tutorial. I used my Coluzzle instead of the circle punch. It worked out a lot better since I cut a size larger for the green cuffs.

{Onesie Baby Card for Boy}

Stamps: Very Punny (Stampin' Up)
Card Stock: Kraft, Garden Green (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Garden Green (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Buttons, Coluzzle

Now, here are some pictures from the Breakfast with Santa we attended at Halle's school over the weekend.


Halle writing her letter to Santa.

Halle and Colin on Santa's lap. I hope the picture the school took turned out better!

Take care and see you tomorrow!

*Dana*

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Super Simple Holiday Card

If you are thinking this card looks a little familiar, you would be right. I used the same layout as this card from a few weeks ago. I love how these cards put the embossing on display. This card was made using the 'rules' for today's limited supply challenge. You needed to make a card using only snowflake images. Only patterned paper or embossing with snowflakes, and only snowflake stamps. Your card needed to be monochromatic. I obviously chose red. Your sentiment could only be one word and you must include some type of bling (anything sparkly). I think I was able to stick to the rules!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

{Super Simple Holiday Card}

Stamps: The Snowflake Spot (Stampin' Up)
Card Stock: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Real Red (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: Snowflake Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Rhinestones (Me & My Big Ideas), Cranberry Crisp Ribbon (Stampin' Up- retired), 3D Dots (EK Success)

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Best Wishes Card

Hello! I'm back today with this card for Sketch Challenge #205. I think I've used Kraft paper on my last 10 cards or so. I love it! It goes with everything! I'm really liking all the organic elements in this card with the twill tape and the Kraft paper. The edges are distressed on all the red papers. The distressing leaves a white frayed edge. Love that added texture.

On a personal note, we have decided we are going to move. We don't know where or when, but it's in the works. I'm both excited and nervous. One of the must-haves for our next house is a scrapping/office area. I really need a place to put my stuff where I can leave it out. I can't wait! We are looking at a few houses this weekend. Wish us luck!

{Best Wishes Card}

Stamps: Cute & Curly (Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock: Kraft (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Real Red Patterns Pack (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Real Red (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Curly Label Punch (Stampin Up!), Twill Tape (Stampin' Up!), Flower (Danica), Edge Distresser (Heidi Swapp), 3D Dots (EK Success)

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Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn Gifts

Hello ladies! I hope you all had a relaxing long weekend like we did. It was great, but I am glad the kids had school today. Well, tonight I'm going out to dinner with my girlfriends from high school. I made these partially homemade gifts to give them tonight. The bags are from PaperTrey Ink and they are called Frosted Tin Tie Bags. Inside the bags are toffee popcorn drizzled with milk chocolate. Here's where the 'partially' comes in. I bought the toffee popcorn and then drizzled it with chocolate myself. I put the popcorn in ziploc bags and then put them in the coffee bags to ensure freshness.

Here's a close-up of the label. The "A Very Merry Christmas to You" is gold embossed.

Here's the popcorn on my counter right after I drizzled it with chocolate. I cropped out Halle's hand reaching for a bite. After the chocolate dried, I broke up the popcorn with my hands and put them into ziploc bags.
This was such an easy gift to make and I know my friends will really enjoy it. Have a wonderful day!
Dana

{Chocolate Drizzled Popcorn Bags}

Stamps: Best Yet (Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Kraft (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Kiwi Kiss Paper Patterns (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Gold Embossing Powder, Cranberry Crisp Ribbon (Stampin' Up!- retired), Coluzzle, Frosted Tin Tie Bags (PaperTrey Ink)

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Happy Thanksgiving & an Award!

Yay! I've been given this award from Gina. Gina leaves me such wonderful comments and it really makes my day. If you get a minute, pop on over to Gina's blog and check out her wonderful papercrafts. I am so thankful to all my readers. I never would have imagined that anyone would check my blog regularly or even subscribe to it. I know I am a better person because of all of you. I know I'm definitely a better mother when I've made some time for myself to get creative. It makes all the difference in the world.

Here are the rules for the award:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person that sent the award.
3. Nominate 5 other blogs.
4. Put a link to their blog on your blog.
5. Leave a message for the people you nominate.

I don't have very much time to blog surf everyday. But when I do, these are the ladies I'm checking out (or stalking):
- Dawn McVey at My Favorite Things
- Kristina Werner at KWerner Design Blog
- Sarah Green at My Scrapbook Table (she has not updated in a while, but take a look at her archives)
- Nichole Heady at {Capture the Moment}
- Taylor VanBruggen at Taylored Expressions

Thanks Gina for this award! It was a real treat to wake up this morning and see this on your blog. Thanks for your support! Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!
Dana

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Blog Hop Night!

ETA: The blog hop was last night! I've been rushing around for the last hour and a half to get this card done and posted AND IT WAS LAST NIGHT!!! ARGGGG....

If you read my post earlier today, I didn't mention that tonight is PaperTrey Ink's blog hop. That's because I totally forgot! I had to wait until the kids went to bed, but I did manage to pull this off. The challenge this month was to build your own floral embellishment for a card. The card I made uses a technique called the Dahlia Fold. I've made this flower only once before. You can find the tutorial I used here.

This card uses Kiwi Kiss Patterned Paper. One side is polka dots and the other is a floral print. The flower is anchored with a white brad. The base of the card is Stamper's Select White with Old Olive sponged on the edges. I used a square of Riding Hood Red behind the flower. The tag and ribbon are Kiwi Kiss and stamped sentiment is from PTI's Mixed Messages.

Her is a close up the Dahlia Fold Flower. Thanks for stopping by tonight! Enjoy the hop!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dana

PS. If you have never heard of the blog hop and have no idea what I'm talking about, details are here. You can view the projects of other blog participants by clicking here.

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Merry Christmas Gift Tag

As you can see, I'm having a great time with my new stamps and supplies. These two cards were made using this sketch from today's sketch challenge on SCS. I don't have any bigger size stamps for the focal point panel, so I decided to make my card smaller so I could use a smaller stamp. Make sense? They are small so I made two. Very easy too. The final size is 2.75" x 4.25". You can't tell from the picture, but the "Merry Christmas" oval is popped up on dimensionals and curly punch is popped up on 3D foam dots. This is a great size card to put on a gift.

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving and relaxing long weekend!



{Merry Christmas Dear Friend}

Stamps: Cute & Curly (Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock: Kraft, Riding Hood Red, Naturals Ivory (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Old Olive, Ruby Red (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon (SU!), Curly Label Punch (SU!), Dimensionals (SU!), 3D Dots (EK Success)

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I'm so glad to be back scrapping today! I received my SU! order on Friday and today is the first day I had a chance to play. Everything I used on this card is new except the ink! So fun! I fell in love with this set the minute I first saw it. I know you'll be seeing me use it a lot.

About the cookies yesterday. They didn't look very good in the end, but at least they taste good! I'm sure the kindergarten-ers won't notice!

Take care!

{Pocket of Thanks}

Stamps: Pocket Silhouttes (Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock: Kraft, Lavendar Lace, Perfect Plum (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Kiwi Kiss Paper Patterns (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Curly Label Punch (SU), Edge Distresser (Heidi Swapp), Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon (SU), Dimesnionals (SU), Paper Piercer, White Pen (Gelly Roll)

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Why I don't have time to blog today:

We are trying to bake and decorate 4 dozen of these cookies for Halle's un-traditional Thanksgiving feast tomorrow at school. Hoping to break out all my SU! goodies tomorrow.

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It's a Chocolate Challenge!

I must have Cuttlebug Fever today! I used three CB elements on this card today. First, let me tell you about the challenge. Friday is the limited supply challenge at SCS. Today's challenge was to use chocolate in your card. You could use anything from the color chocolate to candy stamps. I chose to incorporate Chocolate Chip card stock and a chocolate cupcake. My ribbon is also very similar to SU's Close to Cocoa.

Here are the CB elements I used. Both of these came with my Cuttlebug. One is a die and the other is a small embossing folder. I also used a Swiss Dots embossing folder that is not pictured.

I also want to mention that this card measures 3.5" x 3.5". It's the perfect size to go along with a gift. In case you are wondering, I colored my cupcake with Crayola Crayons! Halle left a tin of crayons and markers right by my workspace, so I thought "what the heck!". I think it turned out pretty good. The icing on the cupcake looks more fuschia real life. You would not believe how many ways I tried to spell 'Fuschia' before looking it up on Google!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Take care!

{Chocolate Challenge Card}

Stamps: Mixed Messages (PaperTrey Ink)
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Naturals Ivory (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Cupcake & Swiss Dots Embossing Folders (Cuttlebug), Stamp Shape Die (Cuttlebug), Ribbon (Dashes, Dots, & Checks- Michaels), Crayons, Cuttlebug (Provo Craft), Stickles, 3D Dots & Dimensionals

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Thank you card with pearls:

I wish all cards were this easy to make. As soon as I saw that the ways to use it challenge today was to use pearls, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a 'dainty' card and I knew exactly what ribbon, papers, and pearls I wanted to use. If only I could be hit with this sort of inspiration everyday, life would be so much easier. Thanks for looking!

{Pearly Thank You}

Stamps: Noteworthy (Stampin' Up!)
Card Stock: Pirouette Pink, Naturals Ivory (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Anna Griffin
Ink: Pixie Pink (Offray)
Accessories: Ribbon (Offray), pearls

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SC203, Bumble Bee Inspired Card

This card was made using today's sketch challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. I really like this color combo. I thought adding a sentiment would be a little 'too much', so I guess this will be an all occasion card. You can't have too many of those! I pulled out my Papertrey Ink Guidelines stamp set. I love how the yellow flower mimics the stamp. Believe me, I did not plan it that way! If I could do this card over, I would have stamped the base card all over with a yellow pattern instead of just the one stamp. Live and learn!

See you all tomorrow! Thanks for dropping by!

{Bumble Bee Inspired Card}

Stamps: Guidelines (PaperTrey Ink)
Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Yo Yo Yellow (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Yo Yo Yellow, Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: 3D Dots (EK Success), Flowers (Prima), Black Brad (Making Memories)

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