Do You Hear What I Hear?

Christmas to me means many things.  I love the smells, the baking, and especially the excitement on my kids faces as we get ready to ring in the holiday season.  As a child, my favourite part of getting ready for Christmas was helping my grandmother put up her manger seen.  She had so many sheep and I literally would spend hours putting them on the fake snow walking towards the stable to see the baby Jesus.  Now that I have my own children, this tradition remains today and my son is the same as I was, and loves to put the sheep in.  He has claimed this as "his job!"

So it was a highlight to make a Christmas card featuring the little shepherd and his sheep asking "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

The cut is from Winter Frolic cricut cartridge.  I used the shepheard and sheep from p. 75 and cut him and all his layers at 3".  I added some flock to our fleecy friend and added some stickles to the star to really make it shine.

The sketch if from Mojo Monday's Sketch #139 (May 17, 2010). This is a great website with many sketch designs.

The card base is 6 1/2" x 5" and is The Paper Company Burgendy Corduroy.  All patterned paper are from K & Company Elizabeth Brownd Visions of Christmas matt stack. 
Mat #1 is cut at 6 1/4" x 4 3/4".  Mat #2 (Ecru) is cut at 5 3/4" x 3 1/2" and is from Recollections Neutrals pack.
The smaller mats are cut at 3 3/4" x 3 1/2" and I used a scrap piece of paper left over from cutting the card base.  The smallest matt is cut at 3 1/2 x 3 1/4 (blue snowflake design)

The Do You Hear sentiment was added by hand and I used the Tim Holtz Ornamental Die Cut to cut out the shape. 
I chalked around all edges of the card to give it a rustic older look.  I added some Jute and a strip of burgendy ribbon to the card plus a button that I had stashed away that actually matched the green perfectly in my Mat 1.
Hope you like it.

I entered this card in the following challenges:
Cardz TV Challenge #96:  Say it was "S" Christmas
Trimmies Craft Challenge:  Unusual Christmas Card
The Two Sisters:  Holiday Theme
Fantabulous Cricut: Create a Holiday Card

Merry Christmas Bulletin Board

My children's amazing sitter (we love you Trudy) is featuring her house in the upcoming Christmas house tours.  She has such a beautiful, welcoming and "homey" feeling in her beautiful country home.  She wanted to do something with her bulletin board for the tour and this is what I volunteered to do.
All cuts are from Joy's of the Season.
I stamped a few snowflakes on the bag with some white ink.  The tags are cut at 3" and using the singular layer.  The patterened paper is from DCWV Tis the Season pack.  The house is cut at 3 1/2 and the snowman is cut at 3".  I cut the Merry Christmas Sentiment at 6".
I wanted the house to resemble hers and to give the whole thing a 3D feel I added pop dots to the snowman.  For the tags, I used the Tim Holtz Ornamental Die and so she could switch the tags easily, I added a little piece of velcro to each one.
Hope you like it!  A neat little way to decorate your bulletin boards for the Holiday Season, or any holiday at all!

Scarecrow Love

I made this card for The Paper Variety challenge  which was to create a card inspired by an image or colors and leaves.  It could lead to anything....color choice, fall, Autumn, Nature, trees, etc....
I got this really cute cricut cartridge today called Simply Charmed and love the cute images in it.  A large variety from Saint Patricks Day to summer!
My card is a 5 x 5 card.  Mat 1 is cut at 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 and mat 2 cut at 4 1/2.
I used the boy and girl scarecrow from page 57 and cut them both at 3".  I tried to get as many colors as the main image had from The Paper Variety.  I really used those colors on the boy scarecrows clothing. I chalked around all edges of the scarecrows and popped them up with some dimensionals.
I cut the tree from the same cartridge on p. 55 (tree 3) also at 3".  The hearts came from the Sweethearts cartridge.
The sentiment is Scarecrow Love.  Hey even scarecrows need some loving after their important job!

Noel Ornaments

Between my daughter being sick, planning a Christmas concert and rehearsing for a show, I finally had time to sit down and make another card for Mojo Monday's current sketch challenge and also Delightful Sketches Current Challenge of using red and Green.  It was a perfect day to get in the Christmas mood as we got a dumping of about 15cm of snow!  Not a fun drive home but my son has been in his glory all day long. 
The challenge was the following sketch and I really love the layout (and the challenge) or figuring out what to create.  My secret pal at work gave me these beautiful Recollections ornament stickers and I just had to use them.  The card base is 5" x 6 1/2" and is cut from white cardstock.  The mat is cut from patterned paper at 4 3/4" x 6 1/4".  I cut a strip of red patterned paper at 2" x 4 1/2" and trimmed it at the bottom.  My 3 strips of green patterened paper were cut at 4 1/2 x 1".
The stamp "Noel" is from Inkadinkado Christmas Silhouettes and was stamped using Stampin' Up Ruby Red ink.  I put a few dimensionals on the back to really make it stand out. The patterned paper is from the 2011 Recollection Christmas Stack called Bright & Jolly and it has 180 sheets of really cute festive paper.  I find some of these paper stacks are a hit and miss with a few nice designs and the rest not knowing what to do with them.  This stack has a huge array of beautiful kid-like and fun festive images and the hard part will be cutting them up!
Hope you like my card.

Nobody Likes "Ruff" Days

I LOVE THIS CARD.  Just saying....
This is one of the cards that my 4 year old son and I made this afternoon.  That's one of the many things I love about the Cricut.  It is so child friendly.
For this card we used Create a Critter.  Denver loves this cartridge, and so do I.  Very cute images that can be made for child and adults alike!
We decided to use the dalmation dog and cut the image and all his accessories at 3".  For his doghouse, we also cut it at 3" but used dimensionals to allow the red front to stand out more. 
The dog dish was cut at 1" and also the layer for it. the dog bone was also cut at 1"
The phrase "Ruff" was cut at 2" using the shift key for it.  We cut 2 in white and 2 in red.  Then glued the red on top of the white but off centered it just a bit to give it a neat effect.
The card is a A2 size card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2") and Mat 1 and 2 come from the Complete Boy paper stack by Minds Eye.  I LOVE this stack.  Has so many beautiful sheets of paper, many that cordinate together as well is you'd like it to.
The inside sentiment reads "Nobody likes Ruff days".  We cut it at 2 1/4 x 2 3/4" and used a scrap of the same coordinating blue from the Minds Eye top mat on the card.  That was cut at 2 1/2" x 3.
I entered this card in the Cardz TV Challenge #1 Just My Style.   If I had to describe my style, it would be simple, yet elegant.  I am always up for something new and LOVE to try new techniques (my latest being Digi Stamps).
Hope you like it as much as Denver and I do and hopefully you are not having a "Ruff" day!
Enjoy!

A Purrfect Happy Birthday

Brrr. What a cold day in Fredericton, NB. My daughter is sick with the cold and so no outside for her today.  My little boy wanted to make some cards with me today and this is one of the ones we decided on.  My best friend's birthday was last week and sheloves her cat!
The cat is from the Create A Critter cricut cartridge.  We used cat 2 and cut her at 3" and all of her accessories.  For her kitty bed, we cut it at 1 3/4".
The card base is a long A2 size card cut lengthwise to measure 4 1/2" x 5 1/2". Mat 1 is cut from a scrap of patterned paper that I had lying around at 4" x 5 1/4".  Mat 2 is cut at 3 3/4" x 5".
I put dimensionals on the cat to giver a 3D look. On her bowtie, we added some Recollections Bling. Lastly, we added some Stickles to her bowtie and edging of her bed.
On the purple card, we added a purple polka-dot bow at the top.  The saying on the inside of the Purple card reads "Hope you have a Purrfect birthday"
I entered these cards in the Birthday Sundaes challenge, the Delightful Sketches Challenge as we used dimension, ribbon and Glitter and the Cardz TV Challenge #1 Just My Style.
Too cute!

You're the Pick of the Patch

I love this card! I made this card for the Whimsical Wednesday's current challenge "Happy Turkey Day". When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of Pumpkin Picking.  We always take our children the day before Thanksgiving to pick our pumpkins for Thanksgiving dinner and later for Halloween.  The kids love it and it always makes for some great "picture" moments.
The card base is cut at 5" x 6 1/2" from white cardstock.  Mat 1 is patterned paper from My Minds Eye All Boy collection and is cut at 4 3/4" x 6 1/4". Mat 2 is cut from a light blue cardstock at 4 1/2" x 6".
For this card I used the following cricut cartridges: Everyday Paper Dolls, Create a Critter and Just Because Cards.
The grass is cut from the Everyday Paper Dolls cricut cartridge.  it is found on p.77 of the manual and was cut at 2 1/2".  The sign is found on p.40 of the same cartridge and was cut 3 times (green, brown, and ecru) for all layers of the sign.  It was cut at 4 1/2". I also cut various sizes of pumpkins (p. 34) from this cartridge at 3 1/2",
2 3/4", 2 1/2" and 2 1/4". I added dimensions to some of the pumpkins to give that 3D effect.
From Create a Critter cartridge, I cut 2 pumpkins (p. 70) using the main pumpkin from a brown carstock and Layer 1 from orange cardstock.  The pumpins were cut at 2" and 1 1/2"
The wagon was cut from Just Because Cards Cartridge and was cut at 4".  I used a white gel pen to add details to the wagon and glossy accents to the wheels.
I chalked around all edges of the cuts (pumpkins, sign, grass) and also added some whisps of clouds with chalking.
I added the phrase "You're the pick of the patch".....

Here Comes Santa Claus challenge card

Hi folks.  I am loving digi stamps.  If you seen my post from yesterday, I had said that it was my first time using them.  Now I don't think I can stop!  I was up all night shading, coloring and have a great time finding some to start with.  Once again I found this image from Free Craft Downloads. I entered this card in the Opus Gluei Challenge 117 What's On Your Head? and he weekly challenge at Delightful Challenges which is a Bingo Challenge this week.  I am really happy how it turned out.
The card base is a regular A2 size card cut lengthwise (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). I used the Tim Holtz Ornamental die cut and used a red scrap of patterned paper I had lying around.  The strip of patterned paper is cut at 2 3/4" x 4 1/4" and is from the Happy Holidays line by Jackie Eckles and is called HH Strips. I used this patterned paper along time ago on a layout for my son's 1st Christmas (over 3 years ago) and had it stored for a "special project".
The picture as mentioned is from Freecraftdownloads and was colored using my Prismacolored pencils.  The image was cut at 3 1/8" x 3 1/8".
I added a scrap strip of Offray Cranberry Grosgrain ribbon and finished it off with an antique brad that I had.
I added a Holly berry sticker to Santa's hat and also a sentiment from the same sticker pack.  I got this sticker pack last year in the scrapbooking section at our local Dollarstore while finding some storm day activities for my son!
Hope you like it!

Mojo Monday sketch Challenge 215: Singing Snowmen

Hey folks! I finally had the time to try my first Digi stamp and seen this pattern at Free Craft Downloads. It's a great site with many free Digi stamps and as a mother, who doesn't love FREE!
I decided to combine it with the current card challenge over at Mojo Monday. If you are not familiar with this site you should definitely check it out. It's full of great ideas, inspiration and for those of us who are "stuck" on a design a sketch is given every week to inspire you! 
Here's my take on the design

 The card base is 5x 7 made from Green Recollections cardstock.  Mat 1 was cut at 1 3/4 x 6 from a red patterned paper I had lying around . Mat #2 was cut at 2 1/2 x 5" from a plaid scrap of paper I had lying around.  The picture is from a Digi stamp I found at Free Craft Downloads and was cut to 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 and then punched around using my Recollections punch. I used my Prismacolor colored pencils to color the design and added some silver based glitter glue to the snowmen to give them that "frosty feel".
Finally, I cut 2 bells with my Joys of the Season Cricut cartridge and cut them at 1 3/4".  The final touches was adding this beautiful red bow to bring out the red in the design and the patterned paper against the green card base.  Hope you like it.                                                   

Wild Card Series #22 Quotes

What a simple yet cute little card.  The envelope, card and both liner, frame and phrase were all cut at 7" using Recollections Soda Pop cardstock. 
The patterned paper is from K & Company, Best of K & Company.

Wild Card Series #21 Doily Card

I made my weekly trip to Michaels today and completely fell in love with their new holiday paper.  I purchased the Naughty or Nice Recollections Signature Paper Pad today.  There are so many beautiful designs, it will be hard to cut into any of them.  So many choices!
For the Doily card, I went with a Christmas theme using the Stampin Up Christmas Cardinal set.

The Doily card, envelope and liner for the envelope were all cut at 4 1/2 ".  I used an 8 1/2 x 11" piece of Recollection's Neutral Line cardstock for the envelope and used the Fit to Page feature.  For the envelope liner and card itself, I used a beautiful piece of paper from Recollections Signature Paper Pad Naughty or Nice series.  I didn't like the liner for the doily itself so I used my George and Basic Shapes cartridge and cut 2 circles, one at 3 3/4 (Burgendy) and the other the same neutral color I used on the envelope cut at 3 1/2".
I stamped the cardinal image on the Neutral circle and colored it in using my Stampin' Up Pastel set and the Stampin' Up Blender pen.

The sentiment for the outside of the card was a stamp I found in the $1 bin at Michaels by Craftsmart.  I stamped it on the Neutral cardstock, chalked the edges and crumpled it slightly with my fingers to give it an "older" worn look. I curled it slightly and placed it on the outside of the card.

I placed a bow with a little bling on the top of the card as I didn't like the traditional bow I had there before.

I am so happy how it turned out.  The hard part is deciding who to give it to...

Fantabulous Cricut Card Challenge

 For the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #84 For the Birds I used the owl from the Create a Critter and the Joys of the Season Cartridge for all the Christmas images.
The outline for this challenge was to create a project with a bird (or anything to do with birds, such as a birdcage) on it. 
The card base is 5 x 6 1/2" from a white cardstock.  Mat 1 is cut at 4 3/4 x 6 1/4" and is cut from a blue cardstock base.  Mat 2 is cut from patterned paper at 4 1/2 x 6".
The owl is from Create a Critter cartridge and is cut at 3" using all layers. I thought purple would be a beautiful contrast against the snowflake patterned paper.  The tree is also cut at 3" but I did not add the leaves as I wanted to be like a silhouette. I cut the phrase from white patterned paper at 1" .  It is meant to be a pun on the popular phrase "ho ho ho".
The stockings and santa hat were cut from the Joys of the Season cartridge at 1".
I added some rhinestones to the blackout "O"s.
Hope you like it!