Viva Winter Wishes

So, since I had the Echo Park papers out already, I decided to tackle the final November Viva la Verve challenge....just look at all those layers.

I cut all the elements out with my Silhouette, love that machine! The sentiment is from Verve's Merry Wishes. I accented with some shiny silver pearls and some peridot gems.

More Tags

I opted to make a few more tags (a set of 6) this past weekend; I need quite a few. I'll be getting the ingredients together soon to make some quick breads for the folks at work for Christmas; it'll be a mostly handmade/ homebaked holiday this year. I picked up a Wilton mini loaf pan from Wal-Mart this weekend as well.

This is my take on some tags I spotted on the MFT store home page.

I started with a kraft base; the paper is in one of those packs from Hobby Lobby. The paper is quite thin, but it works ok for these tags since so much is added to them. I, however, prefer a thicker cardstock and simply won't make the mistake of getting those packs again.

The kraft tags was embossed with either a woodgrain or damask folder for a touch of texture. I then cut the frame shape with my Silhouette from the lovely Echo Park paper. I also cut the mint and numbers out of some textured red cardstock.

I wrapped the candy in a cello bag that I cut in half, then tied closed with twine. The candy and numbers were adhered with boosters and sticky glue dots. The sentiment is from Paper Makeup Stamps; it was stamped, punched with an oval punch, then mounted in the center of the frame.

Lastly, I added some ribbon tied with more twine and a sweet little button.

Tags, Glorious Tags

I recently did a photo tutorial for the Paper Makeup Stamps newsletter; timed perfectly for the upcoming gift season. It's all about tags, glorious tags.

The above picture is my set of 6 tags; some will go on the bread I'm making for gifts and others will hold a gift card on the back.

I used several cut elements- the doilies, banner flags, and the accordion flowers. The sentiments are from the new Handmade Set and those were punched out and adhered to the accordion flower.

Thinking of You

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week's My Time Made Easy sketch, MTMEPPS37, frightened me. But, I came up with an idea that works, I hope.

The sentiment from My Time Made Easy's A Spot of Tea was perfectly sized to fit into the center of the leaf wreath. The scallop circle was embellished some some shiny silver pearls.

Be sure to stop by the My Time Made Easy blog to see this sketch as well as inspiration from the design team....they really rock!

Thank You VLV

I needed a cute thank you card for a friend and thought the Viva la Verve sketch looked like a winner.

The papers are PTI, I'm down to just a few sheets of it. Grateful to be using it up finally, seems like I've had it forever. Anyway, all the elements were cut with my Silhouette- except for the horizontal border and the felt loopy flower.

The sentiment is from Verve, I love the font found in this set.

Well, hopefully later today I will be starting on the prep work for Thanksgiving dinner.....this'll be after I take the boy ice skating. I can't wait to sit down with my family and enjoy the day.

Thanksgiving 2011 Placecards

This year I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner; just the three of us and my parents. I thought it would be nice to have placecards on the plates when we get to the dinner table. Hopefully, it sets the mood for the feast I am preparing.

I cut each placecard and acorn with my Silhouette; the acorn bottoms were stamped with various stamps from PTI's Bitty Background Blocks.

True Friend Mojo

The Mojo Monday sketch last week, MOJO215, was calling out to me. I knew I wanted a big flower for the corner and decided on this dandelion bloom from the Silhouette Store; the leaves are from Kerri Bradford and were stamped with a small flower from Springtime Solids. I like how sunny and bright the card feels.

I love this sentiment from When There's Nothing Left to Say; and most often, it's those around us that can read between the lines and help us through some of our darkest times. That flower really helps bring in a ray of sunshine.

Made of Snow MTME

This week's sketch from My Time Made Easy, MTMEPPS36, is a good one, perfect for those quick cards that are especially useful this time of year.

I used the cute l'il snowman from Made of Snow for my card, utilizing some stickles for sparkle. The snowflakes and scallop background were cut with my Silhouette- being able to size them perfectly for the card is such a great feature.
I accented the snowflakes with some silver pearls and tiny pink gems from Pizzazzaplenty. I was so happy to have maintained a very soft look; I tend to overdo it when it comes to color.

Head on over to the My Time Made Easy blog to see this super sketch as well as endless inspiration from the rest of the design team.

Dream Big

My niece has a birthday coming up at the end of December, she'll be 23. *SIGH* Where does the time go and how did I get so old?!

This week's Viva la Verve sketch was perfect for the card I wanted to send her. It needs to be bright and colorful; they live in Illinois so the weather can get a little dreary in the winter. Plus, their house burned down on Halloween and I am sure they can appreciate a little color and thoughts of big dreams coming their way.

The sentiment is from Verve's Great Friend and the flower was stamped with the Graph Paper Plain Jane for a touch of subtle pattern.

All Things Work Together

This week's sketch from the Sweet Stop, SSS134, was pretty straightforward and I was jumping at the chance to use my new MFT Die-Namics...the loopy flower. They are everywhere and I am thrilled to be able to make them with felt instead of only paper. Sure wish the Silhouette cut felt.

Anyhoo, the sentiment is from Paper Makeup Stamps and it's available in rubber and digi; glad it's offered both ways. Here, I used the rubber version.

I cut the image panel/mat, some leaves, and the border with my Silhouette, love that machine! The paper is from Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather, from last year or later.

Mojo Winter Wishes

I had some time on Saturday to sit and make a card fro this week's Mojo Monday sketch, MOJO214. I used some Christmas-y looking papers from MME Lost and Found: Union Square.

All the elements were cut with my Silhouette; the poinsettia, the banner flag, the rosette, the leaves and the image panel. I used Verve's Merry Wishes set for the sentiment and the faux misteltoe.

I added little bits of stickles to the poinsettia tips and some pearls for the centers.

PMS November Release, Review Day 2

Well, here we are again, reviewing the latest release from Paper Makeup Stamps. I just adore the new Handmade set; it's just perfect for all the little things we crafters gift throughout the year.

I bought a package of 6 lip glosses last year after Christmas and have re-packaged them into this cute little box. I could NOT wait to use this clever little sentiment for the outside of it.

The rosette was topped with some circle punches and then I topped the box with a portion of a doily accented with pearls.

You can see even more inspiration on the PMS blog; this release has been really fun for all of us!

PMS November Release, Review Day 1

Today we are reviewing the latest release from Paper Makeup Stamps. Lots of fun new stamps have been added to the store, this one being among them. She's one of the new additions to the Color Kids line; Color Kids: Gift Wrapper.

I paired the image with the November SFYTT and some lovely Echo Park papers. The image was colored to match the papers in the bottom strip...but it got a little covered up. *whoops* I added some silver pearls to the image panel and a few gems act as buttons for her sweater.

You'll wanna head over to the PMS blog to see even more inspiration using images from this fabulous new release!

Glossy Ornament

This week's sketch from My Time Made Easy, MTMEPPS35, scared me alot! I wasn't sure what to do with the 2 circle elements at all. I finally decided on a doily and a snowflake made of vellum. I accented the vellum with some stickles for a little sparkle, it had also been embossed.

I really love this paper pattern from Mrs. Candy Claus; totally reminds me of Christmas candy canes. The ornament, cut from Beautiful Baubles, was covered with crystal effects; I stamped the band with Puckered Up Patterns. The ornament topper was covered with stickles.

Some final touches include red gems on the doily and gold cording for the ornament hook.

Now, head on over to the My Time Made Easy blog to see this sketch for yourself and to be inspired at how the other gals used it. WOW!

Verve-y Winter Wishes

Another fun sketch from the Verve Forum, VLVNOV2011, for the first week of November. I chose to use some My Mind's Eye Lush papers I picked up recently.

The giant snowflake was cut with my Silhouette as were the circles for the image panel. The snowflake was embellished with shiny silver pearls from Pizzazzaplenty.

The image is from Winter Mittens and I just used the heart to embellish each mitten and then fastened a button with some twine to a small snowflake to act as the mitten string anchor. Loving the little pop of red.

Hugs and Smiles

The 5th October Viva la Verve sketch was another goodie, I love the 3 panels behind the image. I used up some of the Lost & Found papers (My Mind's Eye) that I have been using for most of the VLV sketches. This one is going to my younger sister for her birthday.

All the shapes were cut on my Silhouette. I tell ya, that machine is coming in handy these days. I am slowly learning to rely on it more as a valuable tool.

I embossed the leaves with a woodgrain embossing folder for just a touch more texture. It almost looks like corrugated cardboard. The loopy flower is awesome! It was pretty easy to make too; after all the Silhouette did the cutting. All I did was roll it and then glue it together. Easy!

The sentiment from Kind Words was accented with some pearls.

Here is a close up of the loopy flower. You can see how full it is; although I wish I had fluffed each of the loops up a bit more. Can't wait to make more of these.

PMS November Release Blog Hop

Woot! It's Release Day! As always, we celebrate the new releases with a blog hop. If you started at the PMS blog and have hopped in order, You should have arrived from Anita's blog. You have just a few more stops to make.

I used Color It: Winter Tags for my card today. I combined 2 of the images from the set- the stocking and the bit of holly.

The image was colored to match my very colorful papers and then accented with stickles. I stamped the sentiment in white, it's hard to see at this angle.

Now, hop on over to see Jackie. You are going to swoon over her project using one of the new Color Kids.

Don't forget! The Release Party is tonight. We start it at about 9:00 pm EST in the Paper Makeup Stamps Forum. Hope we see you there.

PMS November Release Sneak Peeks, Day 1

We have an exciting release this month. Lots of wonderful additions to your collection, especially helpful during the holiday season.

Today we are featuring all the singles being released on November 7th.

I get to show you Hayden; she's a precious fairy blowing a sweet wintry kiss and she comes with a sentiment as well (not shown here).

Here I colored her to match the background paper from Echo Park. The shapes were cut with my Silhouette. While the colors are a little non-traditional for Christmas, I decided to go with red and green for her outfit.

I added flock to her boots, mittens, and collar; stickles to her wings, and a glitter pen on the swirlies.

Head on over to the PMS blog to see samples for the other images we are releasing this month. As always, the DT knocks it outta the park.

Now, the Release Party is scheduled for November 7th starting at 9:00 pm in the Paper Makeup Stamps Forum. If you haven't signed up for an account yet, do it soon. We hope to see you there!

Frost Bitten MTMEPPS34

This week's sketch from My Time Made Easy, MTMEPPS34 is another simple one, perfect for a quick card. I used lots of pink for this one!

I chose to use the Mrs. Candy Claus paper pack, it has lots of fun patterns and pretty colors. Then I cut the Frost Bitten mittens with my Silhouette, embossing after they were assembled. Then, I just hung them on twine with a large brad.

Be sure to visit the My Time Made Easy blog to see the sketch for yourself and to look at the inspiration the Design Team has for you.

Where Flowers Bloom

This was for the 4th Viva la Verve sketch in October. I loved its simplicity and made yet another subdued card using My Mind's Eye Lost & Found papers. While the patterns here are somewhat masculine, a few feminine touches brings it right around.

The shapes were cut on my Silhouette, I love that I can make them whatever size I want. Plus, you can design it right on the work area so that you get everything the right size.

The sentiment is from Verve.

Fall Wreath

I picked up some silk leaves at the Dollar Tree a month or so ago with the intent to do something with them. I ended up with this grapevine wreath and just hot glued them onto it. Once they were in place, I added a touch of stickles to the leaves for a bit of glam.

The banner and letters were cut with the Silhouette machine and then strung on with some twine. Each letter has some glitter on it as well.