Well I do not have a thing to share this week. I have been working on Christmas cards - only the end of August and I already have 48 done. I need to made another 24 and I should be good to go for my personal mailing list. Last year I was scrambling and making cards at the very last minute.

My first order from the new catty arrived as did my new Cuttlebug folders and some nestabilities that I had ordered. Too much all at once - I just don't know where to start. I have all these ideas, but can't seem to get them to work out.

I did play with my new cuttlebug folders - Lace Tree, Snow Dots, Ice Crystal (Cut and Emboss) and some of the new border folders. As soon as I take some photos I will post them. I also used the Top Note Die from Stampin Up. Not as a feature on the front of a card, but to print the sentiment for the inside of some of my Christmas cards.

Still wavering about whether I should get the Big Shot or not. I love my cuttlebug and everything I am reading says that I should be able to use even the BIGZXL cutting dies in the CB. Just need to use a little creativity with the plates. I have 3 sets of B plates, so I think I may have to use my 40% Michael's coupon to get another A plate.

I may be back in a day or two with some photos.

Marjorie

Christmas on my Mind

This week I have been making some Christmas cards. I always try to get them done in plenty of time, but this is the first year that I am almost finished all of my cards before the end of August. I am usually finishing them up as I address the envelopes. I have also been playing around with ideas for little give aways or stocking stuffers.

I love this little bookmark. I used Deer Friends Stamp Set (Level 2 Hostess set); Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Whisper White CS; Chocolate Chip Ink; Real Red Marker; Real Red Ribbon; Signo Gel Pen; Scallop Punch, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 circle punches; crystal effects and a giant paper clip from Staples. Oh and the little google eyes! I coloured his nose with the real red marker and then put on some crystal effects for dimension.

For this card I assembled the medallion as above, except I used Riding Hood Red CS instead of Real Red. The base card is Riding Hood Red and the DSP is from the Bella Rosa pack. The greeting is from Flaky Friends (retired).

I participated in an ESwap initiated by Josée Smuck. This is my copy of Josée's card. The pine tree from Lovely as a Tree is stamped in White Craft on Night of Navy CS. The sentiment is from Wonderful Words and is stamped on Whisper white using Night of Navy ink. The white CS is torn, mounted to the card and then the torn edge is enhanced with glitter (I used chunky glitter for this card).You can go to Josée's blog to see the rest of the cards submitted. http://stampingjo.com/christmas-card-ideas-hohoho/

This next card is CASED from Andrea Walford. I used Kraft CS and sponged the edges with Whisper White craft ink. The tree was stamped with WW craft ink on Kraft. I mounted this image onto chocolate chip and then onto the main card (Andrea used a layer of Old Olive). I used my 2 way glue pen to adhere glitter to the tree and to the edge of the smaller Kraft panel.

You can see Andrea's original card at http://andreawalford.com - see her August 15 post.

Here is a version of the ever popular bag in a box. I followed the instructions given by Paula Goff on her blog - http://inkingaddict.blogspot.com. I did not use the round tab punch - I used the horizontal slot punch to slide the ribbon through. I used Bali Breeze DSP and Felt Fusion flowers to decorate. I also used my 5 petal punch and Taken with Teal CS to make the middle flower. Non SU brads were used for the flower centres.

I was just playing around and decided to try to duplicate the reindeer displayed at convention. I made a small triangle using Chocolate chip CS and cut 2 of the sides using my Fiskars scallop scissors. The sides all measure 2 inches. I made the antlers from Caramel CS using my Cuttlebug and the vintage die set and attached it to my triangle. I then glued on the silly eyes and the red pom pom. I think with a bit of modification he will make a really cute gift tag!

Thanks for looking

Marjorie

Anniversary Card

My parents celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary last weekend. This is the card I made for them. I used the Cuttlebug Butterfly Die and Embossing folder. I cut two butterflies from Pink Pirouette and two from vellum cardstock. I embossed each of the vellum butterflies and highlighted the embossing using my Sakura Gel Pen (Stardust). I also used some silver stickles for the body and antenna. The designer paper is from the Bella Rosa pack. I used the new scallop border punch and a few very pale pink dew drops. All mounted on Whisper White cardstock.

The greeting is from the set Heard from the Heart and is stamped with Pink Pirouette ink. I traced over it with the Sakura Gel Pen (Stardust).

Looks better in real life. Very pretty, but understated.

Happy Holidays Card

This is another of the cards I have done to send to the troops. The stamp set is Big on Christmas. Stamped on Whisper White with black stazon. I used Stampin Up! markers and then added some bling using stickles. Although you can't see it in the photo, I used my Sakura Gelly Roll pen to trace over the word holidays - it just gives it a very subtle sparkle.



Thanks for looking.

Marjorie

Bad Blogger

Well, I admit it - I am a bad blogger. Time just seems to get away from me and updating my blog just does not get done. There has been a lot going on. My friend Judy and I have embarked on a pretty major project. I may have mentioned previously that we were making cards for the troops. We have over a hundred general occasion cards made and ready, but we have now started on getting some Christmas cards ready as well. Over the past week or so, I have made quite a few cards - we had determined that we would keep them very simple - no layers, no embellishments, no adhesives. That in itself was a challenge, but we did not want to risk adhesives coming loose in who knows what weather conditions.

Here are pictures of the cards I have made during this past week (while watching or should I say listening to the Olympics). All of the completed cards will be packaged, with a mailing envelope, in a clear plastic envelope (the ones from SU are wonderful) for protection. We will then package up all of the cards and send them to a contact who with a friend (both military wives) initiated a program where cards are sent to our troops so that they have a selection to choose from to send to their loved ones back home. More information can be found on their site at http://acardforhome.com/

This card uses the SU set Jolliest Time of the Year. I did not have a stamp with a french sentiment so I used my computer for the text. I coloured it in using SU markers. For a little bit of sparkle I used my Sakura Gelly Roll Stardust Pen. I used it on the 'fur' trim on Santa's coat and hat as well as for the snowflurries around him. I also used the gold zig painty for the belt buckle.

I used Lovely as a Tree - one of my favourite sets - for this card. I love it's versatility. I stamped the tree using Old Olive and again added sparkle with the Gelly Roll Pen. I also used my computer for the greeting. The stamps used on this card are not Stampin Up! I have had this Santa for a very long time - it is one of the first stamps I ever bought and I could not bear to part with it. The company name is Stamps Happen. The sentiment was bought at Michael's in their $1.50 bin last year and is stamped using Real Red. Coloured in with SU Markers. The bell on his hat is enhanced with gold stickles. This is another non SU stamp set. The company name is Denami Designs. I bought it 3 or 4 years ago. I stamped the ornament and the sentiment using Gold Encore. Added a bit of stickles and threaded in a bit of gold ribbon.

This card is made with a Stampin Up! set - Wishing You Cheer. Again, coloured in with SU Markers. Used gold stickles for some sparkle. Used Real Red to stamp the sentiment (part of the set). This is made using Big on Christmas. Coloured in with SU Markers and then covered with stickles for the glitz. Used a large corner rounder to add a bit of interest. I have also made cards with the other two stamps in the Big on Christmas set (Let it Snow and Happy Holidays). Don't have photos right now.

The cards are stamped on Whisper White cardstock.

I received the new Fall Winter Idea Book & Catalogue last week (had to keep it very quiet as not all demonstrators got theirs at the same time). My wish list is so long. I will have to do some editing. All of the NEW stamp sets are die cut and when the Spring-Summer book is released ALL of the stamps will be die cut. There are lots of new stamp sets, accessories, DSP and of course the new In Colours.

Well, I think that is it for today. Until the next time, thanks for looking.

Marjorie