2008 New Year's Resolution

Yes .. for 2008 one of my resolutions was to use my Janome sewing machine that I bought for sewing on cards. I bought this sewing machine the day after Thanksgiving 2007 at a sale at Hancock Fabrics for $29.99. Everyone had said how easy it was to use to sew on cards. Even though I had it I have been so intimidated by it. Not sure why. I have sewed a lot of stuff in my day and had my own sewing machine since I was 6 or 7. So before today and 2008 ended, I was bound and determined to pull out my Janome and JUST DO IT!!!

Coincidence maybe, but Gina K. also had a challenge on her blog today to sew on a card. And she has some great tutorials on how to sew on cards using your Janome. I read through all of those again and DID IT!

1st Sewn Card

So I used Doodlebug patterned paper and the Spring Dream set by TAC. I colored the flower with colored pencils and OMS. The sentiment is from the Tag Tidbit set. Obviously I sewed on the card. I then added another piece of thread with the white ribbon. Added hardware. Viola!

Now don't let this fool you ... I had a lot of "tries" before I got one to look this good. I messed around with tension and stitches and finally success!

Now maybe my resolution for 2009 should be to make 2 cards with sewing on them! LOL!

Christmas ATCs

Still in the theme of what kept me busy the last couple of weeks ....

Ho Ho Ho

I had a few ATCs that I needed to make to catch up on swaps. I made these really cute Santa ones. I used the Gift Tag stamp set by TAC. I stamped Santa on Green cardstock and then on White cardstock. I cut them out and then paper pieced them. I colored Santa with Copics. The Merry Christmas and Ho Ho Ho is from a Hero Arts set and stamped with Palette Noir. I added a red grosgrain ribbon and mounted it on black.

Christmas Cards

Of course over the past few weeks I was also busy making Christmas cards....

This was my main card that was sent to the majority of my friends and family. It was simple, quick, and I think it was really cute.

Christmas 2008

This card uses the Homespun Holiday set by TAC. I stamped it in black and then added clear embossing powder to it (made it real shiny). I then colored in the wreath with prismacolor alcohol markers. I matted the image on green and then added the red and white polka dot paper made by American Crafts.

Wanted Magic Hat

I made quite a few of these cards too. The stamp is by Printworks. and was stamped in black. I masked him and then sponged Reflection Blue Palette in the background as sky. I colored the rest of the image with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I matted the image on blue and then added DCWV pattern paper from their Christmas Paper with Glitter Collection.

Ho! Ho! Santa

I had a bunch of this Ho! Ho! paper hanging around and thought it would be perfect for some cards. I used the Santa in the Everyday Events TAC set. I colored him with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. I mounted him on a black scalloped circle and then added some black ribbon. Ho Ho!

Be Merry with Stars

This was a one-of-a-kind Christmas card. I only made 1 of these for Christmas and it went to a very special friend. I liked how the star paper worked with the image. This image is also from the Homespun Holiday set by TAC. I colored the image with colored pencils and OMS and then added Diamond Glaze to the ornaments to make them shiny and 3-D. I matted everything on yellow and added "be merry" from the Tag Tidbits set.

Family Photos

Ok here is another thing that kept me busy over the past couple of weeks!!!

This year for Christmas we decided to give family photos to our parents. My brother Adam had a baby girl in September (Emma) and I thought it would be great to get all of us together and do some family photos. Aside from wedding photos I don't think my brother and I have had family photos done since we were about 9 and 13. I really loved how they all turned out.

All of Us
Tony, Chase, me, Adam, Emma & Irene

Cute Family

My Family
(I love this photo of us)

Cute little Emma sporting the Santa Hat (3 months old)

Chase and his new cousin Emma
(he really preferred the pic of her bawling as she looked at him - LOL)

Neighbor Gifts

We have a lot of great neighbors in our subdivison and we really like hanging out with them and having our kids play with their kids. We always try to give them a little something for the Holiday. This year was no different.

I came up with Sugar Cookies in a jar. I found a recipe and put all of the dry ingredients into a jar. Then provide them with a recipe and they can finish them by adding the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, etc.) themselves. I also included powdered sugar for making frosting, food coloring for the frosting, cookie cutters, and decorations for on top of the cookies.

I decorated the bags and personalized each one with the family's name.

The contents of the bag

I had a lot of fun putting these together and hope they realize how great of neighbors that they truly are!!

Cookie Contest

So as you can see from my blog (or not see) ... I was very busy in the weeks up until Christmas with everything from cards to cookies, to work to parties ... you know ... the hustle and bustle of Christmas. So over the next few days I will share with you what I was up to during that time ....


Now you have to understand that where I work we don't do a lot of "fun" stuff .... sure we go out occasionally after work for a drink or a bit to eat but nothing like this.


So we had to pair up with others in our department or the planning department and make cookies. I was paired up with my co-worker friend Korinne. We made cookies at her house (thanks Korinne - you did have the best and biggest kitchen for this :) ).



We made three kinds:

1. Ho Ho Bars - tasted just like Ho Hos that you would buy at the store but in bar form - Yummy! Even Homer loved them!!

2. Chocolate Brownie Cookies with Mint - I started out with the basic ingredients for these cookies but then didn't know if I wanted to add Heath bar pieces or walnuts or crushed Andes mints. So we made some of each and did a taste test at Korinne's house (for some reason we didn't have any trouble finding volunteer taste testers - Korinne's boys). And the winner was the ones with the Andes Mints in them. We put them on a platter and them hung them on the tree tied up in bows.

3. Mice Cookies - so the contest was for cookie AND PRESENTATION. This next entry was ALL ABOUT the presentation. First we took Oreos and twisted off the tops (do you know how hard this actually is???) Since we couldn't find red or green Oreos we sprinkled them with colored sugar. Then you take a maraschino cherry and dip it in chocolate (if you have maraschino cherries with stems this would be good because then your mice could have tails ... ours had no tails). While the chocolate is still hot stick an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss to it as it's head. Then place 2 slivered almonds as it's ears. Place the entire thing on the Oreo. Later you can go back and add eyes to the Kiss with decorative gel or frosting. And viola!!!

And for presentation purposes I present the Mouse House .... all decorated for Christmas (an actual critter cage)

.... Look at our Trophy!!!
complete with utensils, a hot mitt, and cookie cutters.

Now how do we top this next year??? We kind of set the bar pretty high!!!

Snowman ATC

Let it Snow

I picked up this cute cute snowman stamp in North Carolina at AC Moore while visiting Sherri. I love AC Moore. I sure wish we had these in Illinois.

Stamp is by Inkadinkado. Let it Snow is a Studio G $1 stamp from AC Moore too. I cut image out with my scalloped oval nestability and edged it with metallic rub-ons. Added more rub-ons to the blue base and tied a black and white ribbon on it.

Another Friend turns 40!

Well I know my time is coming soon .... I recently found my old friend Allison on facebook and we reconnected after losing touch for 10 years or so ... we were commiserating about getting old and turning 40. So I had to make one of my "special" cards for her. I had sooo many pics to chose from. These are from our high school year books and she was my maid of honor in my wedding. The main pic is our "cool locker" in high school. We had the best spot centrally located in ETHS (just outside the library). She just got the card in the mail and loved it!!! Happy Birthday Allison!!!

Front of Card

Inside of Card - with Her New Hubby & Baby!!!

Feast of Fabulous Paper

www.theangelcompany.net

Wintery Vintage Sets by TAC

Wonderful Winter Wishes from TAC

Scalloped Card

Frosting the Snowman

I picked up this new Sizzix die on my trip to NC. It makes a scalloped card and scores it down the middle. The stamp is a new one from the Madison Stamp Show. It is by Inky Antics and it was matted on green. I colored it with colored pencils and OMS. I added white dots around the edge with a white gel pen. Added sequin snowflakes with brads and a white ribbon. Viola!

New Type of Cardstock

This past weekend my friend Kim and I went to my favorite stamp show in Madison, WI. One of the neatest and newest things that I found was cardstock that had a "colored" core. Why you ask would this be new and exciting?? Well if you use it with your cuttlebug embossing folders and then sand it with sandpaper, the inner core color is revealed!!! It is a great look.

The paper is by Core'dinations and it comes in black with color, chocolate brown with color, and vintage with color. The inner color is also on the back of the paper which allows you to use both sides for extra accents on your project.

Here are some of my creations that I made with this cardstock (and some of my new stamps):

Cute Lizard

I have seen this guy all over the pace and had to had him. I colored him with colored pencils and OMS (by Gina K - which I stocked up on at the show - her's is the best! - in my opinion). The cardstock was Black Magic with a green inner core. I embossed the cardstock with Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder and then sanded it with sand paper. I used the back of the piece to make the mat and the scalloped circle accent. Added some bling ribbon, some primas, some rhinestones (I bought in a pkg of 200 at the show for $4 - they have adhesive on the back!!!) and viola!

Kitty & Fish

I borrowed this stamp from Kim it's an Eat Cake Graphics. I used the vintage core paper and when you sand it a lighter shade of the color comes through. I used the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder and again sanded it. I paper pieced the water and fish. I stamped the kitty and rock on the white and then colored them with colored pencils and OMS. I then doodled the rest of the grass and edge of the water. Used "hello there" from TAC's Tag Tidbits. I matted the whole thing with the back side of the paper and viola!!!

Thanks Kim for the great weekend and letting me play with you!!!

Do you like Candy??? ... Blog Candy that is!

You should check out this site ... She has gotten so many hits in one week of being up, that she is giving away some good stuff.

http://heartfulstamping.blogspot.com/2008/11/blog-candylets-celebrate.html

Enjoy!

One More Scalloped Card

Hey Chick!

I made another one of these scalloped cards and I must say this might be my favorite. I used the same Scalloped Paisley Nestability and then punched a Giga Scalloped Circle with the Marvvy punch ... fits perfectly don't ya think?? This chicken (reading "the Little Red Hen") is by Eat Cake Graphics and I bought it at La Carte Bella on my NC Trip. "Hey Chick!" is made by Inky Antics. Added ribbon and diamond glaze ro his glasses and viola!!! Total cuteness!!

Cool Use of Nestabilites Die

I saw this technique a few weeks back and just knew I HAD to try it!!!!

Using the Paisley Nestabilities die (the largest one) you weave the die on your paper.

Then you cut the edge using your Big Shot or Cuttlebug.

What you end up with is a great little edge to your card!!

You can then add a sentiment to the bottom/inside of the card and decorate as you wish.

Here are a few of mine that I made at Sherri’s last week:

Naughty or Nice??

This card used a new stamp from Elzybells that I bought in NC. Colored him with pencils and OMS. Then added diamond glaze to the ornament. The sentiment is from a new $1 Studio G clear stamp set. Added a Prima poinsettia and button and viola!

NC Trip

It's been such a busy week .... last week at this time I was having the best time with Sherri and my Shackie friends (Michelle & Ellie). I was in North Carolina and extended my trip a little so that I could "play" a little with them. It was soo much fun. We giggled, shopped, stamped, and ate!!

Here are the pics from last week:





Thanks Sherri for letting me come over and stamp with you - even invading your craft room for supplies!!!! Miss you already!!!

Cute Caddies

On my business travels to North Carolina this week I was able to take an extra day and spend it with some of my Shackie friends. I stayed with Sherri at the Hotel “Sherriton” and then Sherri (flip flops), Ellie, and Michelle (emcee) and I spent Friday shopping, eating and stamping … it was a blast.

I brought each of them a little caddy made out of coasters to sit on their crafting table … it can hold their Copics, pencils, or whatever they desire. It has a place to insert a photo, holds post-its, and has a dry-erase board to make notes (and I included a dry-erase marker).

Cheery Christmas

I recently made this black, white, and red Christmas card for my TAC open house. I really liked it ... new, modern, and different with these colors. Then I decided to try it with the traditional colors ...

Black, White, & Red

For this card I used the Cheery Christmas TAC set. What I love about this tree is that you don't have to use the entire tree (it is really big) ... Just stamp it and use the top as I did here. I stamped it with Palette L'Amour Red ink. Punched it out and adhered it to the red scalloped circle. The black background was embossed with the swirl cuttlebug embossing folder. White sheer ribbon was tied around the card and then the image was pop dotted on top of the ribbon. For the final touch I added crystal stickles for a bit of bling on the swirls in the tree and in the "cheers".

More Traditional

For this card I started out using TAC Amelia papers and the coordinating tag that comes with the paper. I stamped the tree again on a gold card stock this time with Palette Moulin Rouge ink and sponged the edges as well. I mounted it on a burgundy scalloped circle. I added dark yellow eyelets to the holes in the tags. I then added a burgundy satin ribbon from the Amelia ribbon collection and topped it off with the crystal stickles once again.

Two great cards ... two totally different looks ... challenge yourself today ... make a card and then make it again differently by just changing up the colors!

An Udder Birthday

Cute Cow!

I made this card for a soon to be friend ... known this person for a little while but soon I will know her better ... that's all I can say ... she might be reading this! (shhh ... her birthday is very soon). I hope she loves it as much as I do!

I used An Udder Birthday set by TAC. Colored it with colored pencils and OMS. Stamped the cow spots on the bottom piece (also part of that stamp set). Punched the oval scallop and image with punches. Added Paper Posies flowers for a fun touch. Added white dots to the outer edge of the card and the scalloped oval with a white gel pen. Pop dotted the sentiment and added black ribbon.

Bargain

Wire Card Rack

I got an email on Friday night saying that my LSS (local scrapbook store) is closing. They are closing mostly due to the economy which is sad but they are within 1 mile of an Michaels, Joanns, and Hobby Lobby and their prices are ALWAYS higher than any of those 3. I rarely go in there to buy anything.

The email said that she was going to open up today at noon and everything is going to be marked off to sell. So I figured I better try and make it over there at lunch ... and I am so glad that I did.

She was selling all of her paper racks at good deals ($20 - which I would have jumped at but I have a good rack) and then I found this card rack!!! Yep ... $10 ... displays 24 cards and spins around. It's great for craft shows or my TAC parties or just displaying my favorite cards .... I was so excited to find it!!!!

Last Week was Tough!

In this trying time, a lot of companies are going through cut backs and lay-offs. I learned first hand that my company is no different. 167 people were laid off from my little company and it touched basically every department. The worst part of it was that some of my closest friends, that I have worked with day in and day out for the past 5-1/2 years were impacted.

No one was given the opportunity to say goodbye and that was hard. They were just gone and gone quickly.

I made this card for a couple of my co-workers that meant a lot to me.

Guess Whoo Misses You .... Me!

I took the opportunity to use some of my new TAC sets. These are from the new Fall Supplement - Artsy Owls and What a Hoot. I stamped everything with Palette Burnt Umber ink. I then colored the owl and branch with colored pencils and OMS. I also colored in the "guess whoo". I added ribbon and googlie eyes for the finishing touch.

I wrote notes to each of them on how much I enjoyed working with them and that I was here for them if they needed anything including a reference ... I wish them all the best!

Christmas Inchies

Noel - 1" x 1"

I made these for Cindy's Christmas inchie swap over on the Stamp Shack. I took the wreath that Cindy bought me at Smudges/MOA (thanks Cindy) and stamped it with Palette Landscape ink. I colored the ribbon and added holly with Stargazer glitter pens. I added Palette L'Amour ink to the edges with a sponge. "Noel" was stamped with Noir ink using the Tag Tidbits set. I really like how they turned out.

Vintagey Christmas Tag

Last Purse Challenge

This is Theresa's last week of purse challenges. I got in late and only did 2 of the 12 ... but it was fun! Here is this week's purse for inspiration:

I decided to go with a Halloween theme and make a treat bag. I used the purse for my inspiration, but I changed up the colors.

I used black card stock and scored it with my Scorpal. I punched all of the squares out with a 3/4" square punch. The patterned paper is from TAC (retired). I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch holes in the top for the coordinating purple eyelets. I threaded the B&W ribbon through those and then added the "Trick or Treat" from the Trick or Treaters Stamp Set.

If you like my creation please make sure to vote for ME by leaving a comment on Theresa's blog. I am very behind in the votes and could use all that I can get!!! :)