Cheers to a Happy New Year!!!

Gosh, I've really taken a vacation from posting! It's been wonderful to spend time with family though. We were back in Canada with family over Christmas and managed to get in three days of skiing so that was a nice bonus! I can't say I love winter but it sure is much more fun if you embrace it and get involved in winter sports. On that note, we're off to the Winter Classic hockey game at Fenway on New Year's Day. I'm SO excited about that...gonna wear my warmest down parka.  :)

Tonight though I'm behaving like Winobella (and I'm dressed exactly like her...wink!) enjoying some fab wine with appies and dinner. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, MTSC54, for the layout. I dug deep into my stash of Basic Grey 6x6 pads again for this card...these papers are from Lily Kate. It doesn't show in the photo but I added clear Glaze pen to the glasses and the bottle.

I have a funny story about this card. I was on the phone with Dana and it's been about a week since we last chatted. I said something about my Winobella image for the card I'm posting and she said she was also using Winobella. Then I told her I was using Mercy's sketch and she is too! Then she told me she was using purple and green, and I had purple and green out too, but then I switched the green to Kraft instead. We consulted on the border punches though so those shouldn't be the same. Weird, eh! Talk about being on the same wave length!!!! LOL! I can't wait to see how her card turns out!

Whatever you're doing tonight, have a safe and happy New Year and all the best in 2010!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Balloon

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC50. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday. It always seems to go by so quickly, but it sure is a lot of fun!!! Only 363 days til next Christmas...LOL!

I thought I'd move onto birthdays for today's sketch. The start of the year is always a big birthday time in my family so it's never too early to get going on cards. I have this card earmarked for my niece. I used the sweet My Balloon set from the Pure Innocence line at MFT. These little girls are soooooo adorable! I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and coloured her with copics. I paper pieced her jumper though and added a little shine to the heart with my clear Glaze pen. The image is cut out with square Nestabilties. All the papers and ribbon are from my Spa Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions.

I added a little piercing around the image to jazz it up and ran the blue cardstock through my Apron Lace punch before adhering it to the card. The base is 5.25 inches square. I tied the perfect little bow using my Bow Easy tool then just attached it with a glue dot.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation to Karen's blog using the Mr. Linky tool. Now let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers created with this week's sketch.
Jen Tapler
Laura Fredrickson
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Quick Holiday Packaging

I have a quick packaging project to share with you today. I had some Peppermint Bark that I was giving to my chiropractor and her secretary and I wanted a cute package to put it in because they know I'm a crafty gal.

I started with clear pails that I picked up at Taylored Expressions then I quickly embellished them with patterned papers from my stash. I jazzed them up with my apron lace punch and added a couple layered of ribbon. Then I used my Bow Easy to tie the green bows and attached a button to each with linen thread. The paper decoration is about 1.75 inches high...I wanted to leave quite a bit of the pail uncovered so the yummy bark would show through.

For the top I punched a red circle with my Giga Marvy circle punch, then layered the patterned paper, punched with my Mega Marvy circle punch. I coloured the chipboard snowflake with a green copic before running it through my Sticker Maker to coat it with adhesive. Then I covered it with green glitter and tied on another button. Fun, quick and easy!!!

They loved the containers (and the contents) and best of all, they can reuse them for gifting another small item or a gift card.   :)

Wishing you a VERY happy holiday season!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Holiday Thank You

This past Saturday we attended our neighbourhood Christmas party and it was a ton of fun! I made this card as a thank you to the hosts for throwing such a fabulous party.

I have to tell you though, I was feeling a little pressure while creating this card, and here's why. While I was at the party on Saturday night I noticed that the thank you card I made them last year was on display on the kitchen window sill! Seriously!!! I can't tell you how pleased I was that she not only kept the card, but it's still on display after a year! Talk about being appreciated!!! So I knew I had to make this one just as good.  :)

I chose AddyTude Loves Her 'Tinis from Stamping Bella...seems like a fitting image for a party! The layout is Mercy's Sketch Challenge, MTSC43. For the card I started by stamping AddyTude with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then I cut her out with circle Nestabilities. Everything is coloured with copics and I added a little yellow shimmer to the flower centers with my yellow Spica glitter pen. I wanted the martinis to have a red hue but not be completely opaque so I used my R11 copic to pick up colour from my R37, then I coloured the drinks with R11. This technique only deposits a little of the dark colour at a time. I really like the effect and it doesn't ruin your markers either! I added shine with my clear Glaze pen to her glasses, shoes and the drinks.

I had to dig deep into my stack of Basic Grey 6x6 pads to find this one, Stella Ruby. It's an old one but it's sooooo pretty! I ran the striped piece through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder before stitching around it so it would have a little dimension, but I left the floral panels flat. I had a difficult time deciding on flower embellishments for this card, but once I landed on the ghost flower for the base I knew it needed a little sparkle so I outlined the edges with Fruit Punch Stickles. I tinted my linen thread with a R35 before tying it to the button. A length of ribbon and two Glitter Dots finish it nicely.

I can't wait to drop it in her mailbox!   :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Little Stamping Time

Three more sleeps til Christmas...wooo hoooooo!!!! This is my absolute favourite holiday of the year!!! I've managed to squeak out a little stamping time during the busy time leading up to Christmas. So in honour of my stamping time I reached for Crafty Cuppie for today's card. The layout is SC259 from Splitcoast.

I absolutely LOVE the colours in the December 20th Key Ingredients...they're so me! So that's what I reached for to create this card. Every single supply I used on this card (except the sewing) is in the December 20th Key Ingredients.

I started by stamping Cuppie with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then I cut it out with rectangle Nestabilities. I coloured the image with copics, paper pieced Cuppie's apron, and went over the jar of glitter with my clear Glaze pen. I pierced around the edges with my Tim Holtz ruler (LOVE that thing!) to make the image pop a little then layered in onto a scallop rectangle of Prism Baby Pink Medium.

The rest of the card is just layers of paper from the December 20th Key Ingredients with a little stitching thrown in for whimsy. Oh, and my beloved Apron Lace punch too! The pink Candy dots add another fun touch...I keep wanting to eat one they look so yummy! LOL! I used the smallest size in my Labels Trio to cut out the sentiment...it's the perfect size for tucking just about anywhere on a card.

Ok...time's up...I'm off to do more pre-Christmas running around. That's not to say I have a bunch of errands and shopping to do, but I consider all the house stuff running around too!

Thanks for taking a minute out of your busy day to stop by!
Karen

December 20th Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions

It's time for the December 2oth Key Ingredients release from Taylored Expressions! With it being so close to Christmas (it's only 5 days away!!!), Taylor challenged us to create gift packaging ideas. Well that's a perfect challenge for me because I needed to 'wrap up' some gift cards.

I saw some adorable gift card holder stockings on Denise's blog last week and I couldn't resist making some of my own. Claire was kind enough to post the template here on Splitcoast. I put my own little spin on the stocking template though, adding a coin envelope to house the gift card and attaching Basic Grey magnets to keep the stocking closed. I needed to make one masculine stocking for my mail man...can you guess which one is for him?!?  :)

I wanted to include a little something homemade with each gift card though so I whipped up a batch of Seasoned Nuts (recipe is at the end of this post) that my friend Sylvie made for me a couple of times...YUM! I did some simple packaging for the nuts by creating a coordinating bag topper for each Stocking. I used my Labels Nine Nestabilities to cut out the toppers and added some ribbon from the December 20th Key Ingredients. Then I cut out a tag using Tags 5  and stamped Warmest Wishes from A Year Of Sweet Sentiments onto Choice Buttercream then attached it to the tag.

The December 20th Key Ingredients includes patterned papers from My Mind's Eye Ooh La La line...definitely not a specific Christmas pattern but the colour combo, papers, and accessories still work beautifully for non-traditional packaging!!!

Taylored Expressions offers a monthly charge program for the Key Ingredients subscriptions so you aren't out of pocket for future kits. And subscribers receive their kits at a discounted price for both the 3 month and 6 month subscriptions. There are plenty more benefits to being a Key Ingredients subscriber too, like a store discount, early kit shipping, free storage box and much more!

Now let's go see what the rest of the Baker's Dozen gals have cooked up with the December 20th Key Ingredients.
Dawn Easton
Jackie Pedro
Laurie Schmidlin
Sankari Wegman
and Taylor VanBruggen


Seasoned Nuts

For every 1 1/2 cups of raw nuts (I used peanuts, cashews, pecans, almonds and brazil nuts).
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Make a paste with the Worcestershire sauce and spices. Add nuts and toss to coat. Spread nuts onto cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before packaging.


Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Innocence

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC49. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I knew this would be a perfect sketch to showcase one of my Pure Innocence girls from MFT...this one is called Merry Kissmas. How sweet is she!?!

I started by stamping her with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Choice Snow White cardstock then I coloured her with copics. I pulled out my Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses 6x6 pad so I could paper piece her coat and hat. I must admit, I haven't really been enamoured with this patterned paper...I find it difficult to work with papers containing actual images instead of more obscure designs. But I do like how this turned out, although I notice now that I didn't use any of the 'image papers'...oh well! I added green Sparkly Fluff to the pompoms on her hat then I gave both hats a little puffy trim with white Liquid Appliquee. But, I wanted her hat to be a little different so I sprinkled on a little glitter before I puffed the appliquee.

If you're a regular reader you know how much I {heart} my ghost snowflakes. Well, I decided to give this one a little personality and covered each 'arm' of the snowflake with some heart gemstones. In the center is a small Glitter dot to tie in the blue.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link up your creation via the Mr. Linky on Karen's blog. But now let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers created with this week's sketch.
Jen Tapler
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Happy Bellarific Birthday Dana!!!

Today is my BFF Dana's birthday and a few of us are doing a little blog hop, sending her BIG cyber Birthday Wishes!!! But, it's also Friday so that means it's Bellarific Friday! What a perfect combination for my Bella Babe friend!

The Bellarific challenge this week was "Faux or Sew"...add a little stitching to your project for some handmade charm. Sewing...NO problem...I LOVE sewing on my cards!!! Actually, I think I'm kinda addicted to it! I used last week's Splitcoast sketch, SC258, for the layout.

I started by stamping Triple Decker Presents from Stamping Bella with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper. Then I coloured it with copics and cut it out. I added some sparkle and shine with my clear Glaze pen and a green Spica glitter pen. I pulled out my Bloom and Grow paper...I can't believe how much of this I have left...good thing I still like it! I stitched the dark patterned paper to some Pumpkin Pie (that's Dana's fave colour so I just had to incorporate it!) before adhering it to the white card base. Then I pulled together a couple more patterned papers, mixed in more pumpkin and added plenty of stitching for the focal panel. The scallop border was done with my beloved apron lace punch. The image is mounted on foam tape and I added a scattering of Glitter dots for a little more bling.

For more birthday wishes please stop by the blogs of these talented ladies: Janet, Wendy, Nancy, Charlene, Michelle and Joanne. Dana will have her Bellarific card posted today too so pop over and wish her a big Happy Birthday!

And, don't forget to stop by Bloggabella to see all the "Faux or Sew" creations from the Sistahood. While you're there, leave some love...your comment could win you $10 Bella Bucks!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Brick Wall Flowers

Well, I finally got some stamping done today. This cold has really zapped my energy, but I think I'm on the mend now. I made this card today but I also made some super fun things that I can't wait to show you on Dec 20th, for the Taylored Expressions monthly Key Ingredients!!!   :)

I've been dying to try the Brick Wall tutorial from Splitcoast and the large flower image from Discover Your Wings seemed like the perfect image, so I gave it a whirl! I'm a numbers girl...I love measuring and lining things up so this technique is right up my alley. The layout is this week's Mojo sketch, Mojo117. I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto kraft and followed the tutorial for the brick effect. I adhered the bricks onto Choice Buttercream then cut out the image with circle Nestabilities. I layered it onto more Buttercream then a scalloped circle of black. I didn't introduce any other colours because I didn't want to detract from the focal image. I layered up some more Buttercream, kraft and black then tied a pretty bow. I decided not to add a sentiment so I can use this card for just about any occasion.

Don't forget that Discover Your Wings is the current TE Giving Tree Charitable Set. A portion of the proceeds of each set sold will benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. This is a wonderful set to purchase for yourself or as a gift and you still have time to order for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Three Trees

Here's a card I made for this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge, WSC110. I came across my Let It Snow sentiment today...poor wee thing had been tucked away and needed some lovin'. So I pulled out my Three Little Trees image and wondered how they'd look embossed in white on dark cardstock. Voila! This is the result of all my thoughts colliding!  :)

I started by stamping the Three Little Trees with versamark onto Night of Navy and Garden Green. Then I embossed them with white powder and cut them out. The green tree was popped for dimension. I popped all three trees onto some Baja Blue which I cut out with my Labels Four nesties then ran through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.

The pretty SEI Glitzma paper was the inspiration for this colour combo. I just love the sparkly swirl that runs through the paper. I added a scalloped edge with my apron lace punch. The sentiment is also embossed with white powder. I added a little snowflake accent, punched with my MS snowflake punch and topped with a platinum Glitter Dot. Two more glitter dots in the top corner complete the details. I had intended to glitter up the green tree but once the card was all put together I decided against it. I like the graphic white lines on the trees so I left them as is.

This week is the last Bellarific Friday Challenge until the new year so I hope you'll play along. The theme is "Faux or Sew". You can add real stitching to your project either by hand or with a machine, or fake it with a paper piercer and marker. You could win $20 Bella Bucks just for playing along this week! Email your creations to Em by Thursday night!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Birthday

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC48. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I decided to flip the sketch to work with my Wrapped in Love set from MFT. See, my BFF Dana's birthday is later this week and I wanted to use this set for her card. Don't look Dana!!! I chose to work with patterned papers from the My Mind's Eye Ooh La La collection because they contain pink and pumpkin...our fave colours! I know...I'm a nerd, but we always make each other's cards in "our" colours!  :)

I did some paper piecing on this card because Dana loves paper piecing. The dress and the present are paper pieced and the present is also popped for dimension. Then I popped the ribbon for even more dimension and added a little shimmer to it with my orange Spica pen. Oh, and I added a little texture to the present with my swiss dots Cuttlebug folder.

The sentiment is absolutely perfect for my BFF!!! I jazzed it up with a pumpkin Prima and added a few Glittered Garnish Adornments, one clear on for the flower center and three pink ones in the top corner.


I hope you'll play along with this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, but now let's pop over to the other Sweet Sunday Stampers for more inspiration!
Jen Tapler
Laura Fredrickson
Lynn Put
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sketchy JOY

When I saw this week's sketch challenge on Taylored Expressions, TESC94, I immediately thought of the JOY image from Wings of Joy.

I don't need any more Christmas cards until next year, but I squeaked by with none to spare this year so I know I need to make a few more for next year. And, there's no time like the present to get started, eh, especially since I'm in the Christmas spirit!

To keep this card relatively quick and simple I reached for my Christmas Key Ingredients. Looks like this KI is sold out but you can pick up the Prism cardstock collection here if you already own the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly patterned paper. I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then coloured it with copics. I cut it out with rectangle Nestabilities then I used square Nestabilities to cut out the Vibrant Pink layer. I discovered that by layering a rectangle inside a square it gave me the perfect space below the image to use one of my border punches. I added some shine to the image with my clear Glaze pen.

The longest part of this card was waiting for the chipboard snowflake to dry after I'd coloured it with my BG75 copic then covered it with Diamond Stickles. Isn't it so pretty and sparkly though! I tied it to the satin ribbon with a button from my Rhonna Christmas pack. I ran the backgound piece through my snowflakes Cuttlebug folder before stitching it to some Island Mist Dark.

So how are you doing with your Holiday cards? Are they all done? Are they in the mail? Are you still stressing over them? My best advice...try to make at least one a week all year long...it'll take the stress out of Christmas card making next year...I'm speaking from experience on this one!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Blingy Bellarific Friday

This week's Bellarific Friday challenge was to bling it out and make is shine. Well, that's not a problem for me...I love bling and shine!!! Unfortunately a picture doesn't do this card justice...there's way more bling than I could capture on camera.

I decided to use my Snowman Circle image from Stamping Bella for this card. In light of all the snow and cold weather we've had this week it's an appropriate choice. I'll be stashing this card away for next year's Christmas cards though.  :)

I stamped the Snowman Circle with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Cream Paper, twice. I coloured the images with copics then punched one out with my 2" Marvy circle punch (which all the circle stamps from Stamping Bella are designed to fit) and cut out the snowman, bird, and present from the other image. I covered the circle image with Glamour Dust glitter then popped the bird, snowman and present for dimension. I was going for the look of a winter snow storm with all the glitter in the background.

I layered the image onto Prism Frosted Teal then onto a scallop circle of Blush Red Dark. The patterned papers are Imaginisce Polar Expressions and some of the little light bulbs and polka dots are all sparkly, so it's perfect paper for this challenge. I just had to tuck one of my beloved ghost snowflakes onto my card then I finished the bling with three aqua Bonbons.

Don't forget to check out all the submissions on Bloggabella, and leave some love while you're there because your comment could win you $10 Bella Bucks!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

What is up with me?!?

Another completely "no stamping" card! I did actually stamp a card last night but I'm saving that for Sunday...I'm so proud that I actually worked ahead and got my Sweet Sunday Sketch card done super early! Today though was another story. I attempted to stamp several times with the results ending up in the trash each time. I was in a funk...could've been the crazy snow/freezing rain/rain we've gotten all day, but more likely I think I'm coming down with a cold. But, during my daily chat with my BFF Dana this afternoon we talked through some ideas and the result is this card! Thanks Dana!!!

This card was super quick to make, thanks to the American Crafts Thickers letters, and the colours are right off this week's Tuesday Trigger on the Moxie Fab blog. The layout is Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge, TESC93. The snowflake paper is Imaginisce Polar Expressions and the ribbon is from my stash (I have a feeling it's old SU). If you're looking for a 10 minute card, this is it!

Well, I have to stamp tomorrow because I haven't done my Bellarific card for this week's Bling it Out challenge yet. Have you?   :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Pretty Poinsettia

I've done something completely out of the norm...I didn't use ANY stamps on this card! Gasp!!!! AND...I pulled out and dusted off my paper crimper...double Gasp!!!! I don't know what got into me, except that I've had these Spellbinders Nested Poinsettia dies for a while now and I was determined to use them before Christmas. Then, when I saw this week's Mojo sketch, Mojo116, I knew I'd found the perfect layout.

You'd think I'd be able to whip this up in no time flat without any stamping or colouring...not!!! It still took me a long time to make this card because I kept fussing with all the pieces. I do love how it turned out though! The patterned papers are Cosmo Cricket More Jolly by Golly. I used two of the patterns to cut out the flower then ran the middle layer of petals through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. I added a line of gold Stickles around that same layer of petals for a little definition then added a big green gem to the center. I bent and rolled the petals to give them a little dimension. The leaves were super easy to make but aren't they cool! I folded a piece of Prism Spring Willow Medium in half and cut out the leaf shapes (the fold makes the spine of the leaf). Then, while they were still folded, I ran them through my crimper. Easy peasy!!!  I tied the sweet bow using my Bow Easy.

Who knows where my creativity will lead me tomorrow, but if I was a betting girl, I'd say likely back to using stamps.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen