Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 in Review: July through December

It's New Years Eve, time to say goodbye to 2014 and welcome in 2015. I do hope that if you are out celebrating that you do not drink and drive....it's not worth the drinks you had if something awful should happen so please be safe and smart.

To finish out the year here are my favorites out of cards I made July through December.



July:

This set just really appeals to me and I really like how this card came together. 



August:

I think this is probably my favorite card of the entire year. I love the papers, the colors, the layout (a sketch from Create with Connie and Mary).....everything about this card is just perfect to/for me.


September:

I love the soft colors that give this card an elegant feel.



October:

Another card that is so me. I made it for a friends son and was just thrilled with how it turned out.


November:

This Ugly Sweater set from Simon Says Stamp is right up my alley and I just had so much fun making this card. I smile every time I look at it.



December:

To me this is a fun Christmas card. Traditional colors, a fun scene, snow falling :) Great way to close out the year!


Thank you to those who visited my blog over the course of the year, to those who left comments, to those who provide great challenges for the rest of us to try out, I appreciate it all!


Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Moosing You

It's my last week of vacation and I finally had some time to stamp and play along with challenges, woooohooo! Hopefully 2015 brings me even more crafting time (fingers crossed).

I had visitors in my yard Sunday and these 2 inspired me. I was really surprised to see them as once again Alaska is having a crappy winter with above normal temps and below normal snowfall. Usually when we don't have much snow the moose stay further up in the hills. I was very glad to see this mama and her calf and I must have stayed outside for over an hour taking photos and just watching them. Mama wasn't bothered by my presence but baby was very curious and at one point I had to retreat back towards the house because baby was headed straight for me. I have no desire to get mama mad at me! One must always keep a safe distance from the wildlife (which many tourists don't seem to understand, but that's a whole other post!).

Mama Moose snacking

Mama and baby
 Baby checking me out with mama's ears visible above the fence


The sketch is from Freshly Made Sketches. Instead of the circle I popped up my moose in that spot and then I added some sequins because the white space to the right of the moose was really bugging me.

SugarPea Designs is having an "anything goes" challenge so this sweet moose and his winter greeting of "moosing you" was perfect for the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

*I'm playing along with the Let's Get The Party Started linky party at Paper Issues* (celebrating love, has heart on it).



Stamps: SugarPea Designs Merry Christmoose
Paper: Coastal Cabana (SU), Whisper White (SU)
Ink: SU Blendabilities: Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana(SU), Real Red (SU)
Accessories: Sequins, sponge, dimensionals


Monday, December 29, 2014

2014 in Review: January through June

It's hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. 2014 has been full of many changes for my family, both good and bad, and will definitely be a year to remember. I'm looking forward to 2015 and what it may bring.

Here is a look at my favorite cards I made in 2014:

January:

I like the colors and layout of this card, it just makes me smile!

February:

This card is nice and simple and I really like that.

March:

I made this for my cousins wedding and it came together perfectly. I didn't fly in for the wedding until 2 days before it happened so I tried to pick colors as close to the wedding as I could and I can't lie, I nailed it and my cousin loved it LOL

April:

I love patriotic cards and supporting those who serve this country. Everything about this card just makes me happy.

May:

This card got one of the biggest responses I've ever had on this blog. I was proud of myself for making it because I'm usually not good at making projects with lots of little details.

June:

I adore this set from SU and am just so pleased with how this card came out.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Merry Christmas!

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with love and laughter! 

It's a lovely Christmas Eve here in southcentral Alaska...the snow is falling, the Christmas lights are twinkling and Santa is on his way!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!




Thursday, December 18, 2014

Grungy Layer for Friday Mashup

It's Friday once again and it's a good one around here, my daughter flew in from AZ last night to spend Christmas at home! She moved to the Lower 48 in August and we've missed her terribly, so having her home for the holidays is very nice!

Holly is our hostess this week at The Friday Mashup and she has a great sketch for us, plus she'd like to see a grungy element on our project.

I'm working on some cards for a friend here in Alaska so I grabbed the Walk in the Wild set to use this beautiful moose. Our lack of good snow has been keeping all the moose higher up in the hills so I haven't had any in my yard yet this season (that I've seen!), which is such a bummer. Hopefully we get some snow soon and they move on down this way.

My grungy element is one of the stamps from the Gorgeous Grunge set stamped behind my image and across the card. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I hope you'll head over to The Friday Mashup and play along with us. The challenge will run 2 weeks this time due to the holidays, giving everyone plenty of time to play along!

This week's Mashup Challenge is:
  • Create a project using the "Sketch". 
  • Create a "2 Layer card with a grungy element in the background". 
  • or Mash it Up! and create a project "using the sketch that's 2 layers only".



Stamps: Walk in the Wild, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, White Craft
Accessories: Sponge, dimensionals

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Jeweled Snowflakes for 'Tis The Season

It's our last challenge of the year over at 'Tis The Season! I love making Christmas cards the entire year and this challenge helped me get my pile nice and big, which meant I was all prepared when it came time to mail out cards. I love it when that happens!

This week we have an inspiration photo. I was inspired by the snowflakes, as I love snow, but we're having another crappy winter here in Alaska with warm temps and very little snow. Needless to say this does not make me happy. Anyway, I grabbed the Endless Wishes set and stamped some snowflakes in Versamark on a Smoky Slate card base and then used Smoky Slate and Lost Lagoon to stamp snowflakes on a Whisper White panel. The sentiment was stamped in Lost Lagoon.

My layout came from last weeks sketch at Freshly Made Sketches. 

I hope you'll come by 'Tis The Season and play along with us. In order to let folks enjoy the holidays the challenge will run for 3 weeks instead of 2!


Stamps: Endless Wishes
Paper: Smoky Slate, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White
Ink: Smoky Slate, Lost Lagoon, Versamark
Accessories: Silver Stretch Cord, Banners Framelits, Big Shot

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Gray and Silver for Friday Mashup

Happy Friday! Can you believe that Christmas is just around the corner? Where does the time go? I go on vacation starting Dec 20 until just after the new year and I can't wait. Lots of time to spend with hubby and the kids, and hopefully also get some stamping in!

This week Cindy is our hostess at The Friday Mashup and she wants to see the colors Basic Gray or Smoky Slate along with some silver! She'd also like us to add some embossing, heat or dry.

I admit I was stumped for a bit but I saw the sketch at Sunday Stamps and combined the 2 challnges for my card. 

I used Smoky Slate for my card base and embossed it with the Lucky Stars TIEF. I took All is Calm and Winter Frost DSP and cut it into banners and layered them. For a final touch I added some silver stretch cord tied in a bow at the top. The sentiment is from an older retired set called Small Script.

Head over to The Friday Mashup blog to see all the great projects from the rest of the DT and then play along with us! The Sunday Stamps sketch is open until 6pm EST Dec.12!
  • Create a project using "Basic Grey or Smoky Slate & Silver". 
  • Create a project using "Dry or Heat Embossing". 
  • or Mash it Up! and create a project "using the colors Silver & Grey with some Embossing".



Stamps: Small Script(retired)
Paper: Smoky Slate, All is Calm DSP, Winter Frost DSP
Ink: Smoky Slate
Accessories: Big Shot, Lucky Stars TIEF, Silver Stretch Cord, sponge

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Merry Christmoose with SugarPea Designs

Recently my friend Rita, over at Rita's Creations, introduced me to an adorable moose set at SugarPea Designs. Being the moose lover that I am I had to have the set and I finally inked it up yesterday! How adorable is this guy? I haven't had any moose in my yard recently so this little guy will have to take care of my moose fix for now :)

SugarPea Designs has a challenge blog and so I played along with their current sketch. It's a nice simple sketch with fun shapes! I have 2 other SugarPea sets but I knew that I wanted to make the moose work for this sketch somehow, and it was actually quite easy (I thought he might be too big).

My card base is Chocolate Chip from SU and then my decorative papers are from Lawn Fawn's Snow Day collection. Love these papers and colors! I changed up the tag shape a bit, as I'm not very fond of tags and don't have any dies or punches in that shape. I just cut a square panel and rounded the corners. I colored in the moose and then fussy cut him and adhered him to the white panel. I then stamped the sentiment to the left of him. In place of the heart element on the sketch I scattered some sequins from Pretty Pink Posh in 2 corners. The white panel is popped up with dimensionals and I sponged the edges of the circle and red banner to get a bit more contrast between layers.

Head over to the SugarPea blog to check out the sketch, and then go check out their super cute products!


Stamps: Merry Christmoose (SugarPea Designs)
Paper: Chocolate Chip (SU), Whisper White (SU), Lawn Fawn Snow Day collection
Ink; Real Red (SU), Garden Green (SU), SU Blendabilities (Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cale, Skin Tones)
Accessories: Big Shit, Nestabilities Circles. Round Corner Punch (SU), Pretty Pink Posh Sequins (Classic Christmas Mix), dimensionals, sponge

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Silver Star for Friday Mashup

I just realized I never posted my Friday Mashup card, ooops!

This week the mashup is to use silver or gold on a project, create a Christmas project or make a Christmas project that uses silver and gold.

I decided to go with a silver theme. I had originally intended to emboss it but just didn't have time so I used the Encore Silver Metallic pad to stamp my star and also the dots behind it. The sketch from Freshly Made Sketches is where I got my inspiration for the layout, what a fun sketch it is!

Head over to The Friday Mashup to see what the rest of the design team and play along with us! There is also still some time to play along with the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches!

This week's Mashup Challenge is:
  • Create a project using "Silver or Gold". 
  • Create a "Christmas Project". 
  • or Mash it Up! and create a "Christmas-themed Project with Silver or Gold".



Stamps: Bright and Beautiful, More Merry Messages, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Naturals White, Vellum
Ink: Encore Silver Metallic
Accessories: Big Shot, Stars Framelits, sequins, sponge, dimensionals

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Tags for 'Tis The Season

It's time for another challenge at 'Tis The Season and this week we have a great sketch for you! You'll see that I turned the sketch around and omitted the tag portion. I'm not a huge fan of tags so I just changed it up a bit to suit what I like. I kept the bow though as a finishing touch. 

How cute is this polar bear image? I just love him, he is so adorable! It's a goal of mine to head up to the north slope of Alaska to see polar bears someday, even though they wont be as cuddly as this guy :)

Head over to 'Tis The Season to check out all the great projects from the rest of the DT and then play along with us!


Stamps: Bearing Gifts
Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Garden Green, Trim the Tree DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Pistachio Pudding, Old Olive, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Dimensionals, non SU twine

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Christmas Trees for Paper Players

I had a bit of time yesterday afternoon to stamp so I grabbed my November kit from Simon Says Stamp and sat down with The Paper Players current sketch for inspiration.

The kit came with Lawn Fawn Snow Day papers, I just love these papers, they are adorable! I used one of the papers that reminds me of big fat snowflakes as my main square and then added a banner of red and a scallop border, both from the same paper.

I stamped the trees in SU Garden Green and arranged them where the circle in the sketch is. I grabbed a retired SU Real Red button and some bakers twine and adhered that to the banner. On the white cardstock I added falling snow in Pool Party and the sentiment is stamped in Real Red.


Stamps: Be Joyful (SSS)
Paper: Lawn Fawn
Ink: Real Red(SU), Garden Green (SU), Pool Party (SU)
Accessories: SU Button, Bakers Twine, Scallop Edge Border Punch


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Baby its cold outside for Friday Mashup

Ok, well, it seems to be cold everywhere BUT Alaska. The stupid jet stream sent the cold weather soaring to the Lower 48 and left Alaska with record high temps and in my area we're still waiting for our first snowfall! If this holds out until the end of the month this would be the least-snowy November for Anchorage, and the first November in recorded history that we have never seen measurable snowfall. That just depresses me!

My snow fixation was perfect for this weeks Friday Mashup brought to us by Avery.....a card inspired by weather and include a metal embellishment. I started daydreaming about our beautiful winter nights when everything is covered in snow and the light from the moon illuminates everything and it's just so magical and still. I'm really hoping we get some snow soon so I can enjoy those type of nights again!

Now, I think I stretched the metal embellishment a bit by using silver sequins....it kin of looks like metal right? :0)

Head over to The Friday Mashup and check out all the great weather inspired cards by the rest of the DT and then play along with us!

This week's Mashup Challenge is:
  • Create a project using "a Metal Embellishment (Staple, Brad, Grommet etc.)". 
  • Create a project using "Weather as your Inspiration" think Storms, Winter, Clouds, Rain, Sun, Warm Sandy Beaches. 
  • or Mash it Up! and create a "Weather inspired project with a Metal Embellishment".


Stamps: White Christmas
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White Craft Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Garden Green
Accessories: Big Shot, Window Framelits, CB Swiss Dots EF, White Gel Pen, Frosted Sequins, Dazzling Diamonds

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

A Peacock Christmas for TTS

It's time for another TTS challenge! I'm really trying to stay upbeat and positive about my Christmas cards and Christmas in general but right now its hard for me because we still have NO SNOW in southcentral Alaska! Parts of the Lower 48 are getting hammered with snow (oh Buffalo NY, this is the only time I've ever wished I lived there) and today I'm getting rain. In November. In Alaska. This makes me very cranky!

To help combat the crankiness I'm trying to stay busy with Christmas crafts and that includes my card for this weeks TTS color challenge...Tempting Turquoise, Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo. If you don't have these exact colors that's OK, use something similar!

I was a bit stuck on a layout so if it looks familiar to anyone that's because its based on a card from the holiday catalog, page 24. I changed up the embossing and accessories used but the backbone of the sketch is the same.

The banners behind the tree are cut from Island Indigo and Sweet Taffy DSP (which is supposed to be the Tempting Turquoise). The tree is from Festival of Trees and was stamped in Lucky Limeade and the ornaments colored in with a Tempting Turquoise marker. Silver sequins and a bow from silver stretch cord finish it off. The card base is Whisper White embossed with the Lucky Stars TIEF.

I hope you'll come by 'Tis The Season and play along with us!


Stamps: Festival of Trees
Paper: Whisper White, Island Indigo, Sweet Taffy DSP
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Big Shot, Lucky Stars TIEF, Frosted Sequins, Silver Stretch Cord

 

Monday, November 17, 2014

Christmas Curled Paper Wreath

Last year my friend Holly mentioned to me that she wanted to make a curled paper wreath. I wasn't very familiar with them so I googled it and thought what the heck, I'll give it a try! I bought all the supplies and was ready to go for it and then life happened and it never got made.

The bag of supplies has been sitting in a corner of my bedroom so I looked at it and said no time like the present! I brought the supplies with me to work and last week on my breaks/lunches I began to work on the wreath, cutting the strips of DSP and curling them. Because I work nights during the week I keep that schedule on the weekend, which means I'm the only one at my house awake into the wee hours. That gave me the perfect excuse to sit at the kitchen table last night and get the wreath put together!

I used a 12" green Styrofoam floral wreath and the DSP is from the retired Holly Berry Bouquet. While some people prefer to use a glue gun to position their curled strips I used pins. It's just easier for me and I like being able to re-position if I need too. The ribbon I used for the bow is from Walmart, we actually used it to wrap around the San Francisco 49er themed tree we put up on Friday. It's a very pretty design and went perfectly with the paper I used for the wreath. The box is the only thing I hot glued on the wreath.

I'm really pleased with how this came out and will definitely be making more!





Thursday, November 13, 2014

Lovely as a Tree Sketch

Happy Friday! This week at The Friday Mashup Tara is hostess and she has a great sketch for us, plus she wants us to use something on our card that one wouldn't expect to see.

If you look at my card you'll notice I didn't add anything. I sat and thought and tried to figure out what I could use on my card and I drew a total blank. Looking at? The creativity just wasnt there for me :(

I used a tree from the Lovely as a Tree set for my card. I used a stamp from Kinda Eclectic down the left hand side, stamping it in Versamark. The sentiment is from the retired set Full of Blessings.

The edges of the panels and of the card are all sponged with Crumb Cake.

Head over to The Friday Mashup blog to see all the great projects from the rest of the design team and then play along with us, we'd love to see what you create!

This week's Mashup Challenge is:
  • Create a project using the "Sketch". 
  • Create a project using a "surprise element, something you wouldn't expect to see on a card/or an unexpected embellishment". 
  • or Mash it Up! and create a project "using the Sketch and a unexpected Embellishment".


Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Kinda Eclectic, Full of Blessings (retired)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Versamark
Accessories: Sponge

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Diamond Dust Christmas for Friday Mashup

This week at The Friday Mashup Sara is our hostess and she has a color challenge for us as well as a technique. The colors we are to use are Island Indigo, Garden Green and Rich Razzleberry. The technique is the Diamond Dust technique.

I haven't done this technique in a long time but I love it because it is so sparkly and pretty and what better technique to use for a Christmas card! I also love these dark, rich colors so I had no problem converting them into something for the holiday season. I used the Endless Wishes set and stamped snowflakes in the challenge colors. I then covered the image panel with Versamark, put some heat and stick powder over it, used the heat tool to heat it up and then added the Dazzling Diamonds. 

My layout came from the current sketch challenge over at Sunday Stamps. The film die was a bit bigger than I remembered and it covered up the strips underneath a bit more than I would have liked but overall I am still happy with how it came out!

I hope you'll come by The Friday Mashup and check out all the great projects from the rest of the design team, and then play along with us!

This week's Mashup Challenge is:
  • Create a project using the "Diamond Dust Technique" Tutorial Here
  • Create a project using the colors "Island Indigo, Garden Green & Rich Razzleberry (or similar colors if you don't have these exact colors). 
  • or Mash it Up! and create a project "using the colors above and the Diamond Dust Technique".

Stamps: Endless Wishes
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo, Whisper White, Garden Green DSP, Rich Razzleberry DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Garden Green, Island Indigo, Versamark
Accessories: Big Shot, On Film Framelits, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Island Indigo Bakers Twine, Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat Tool, sponge, dimensionals

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Getting Ugly for TTS29

Wait, did I say ugly? That's right and by ugly I mean a good ol' ugly Christmas sweater! 

When I saw the Ugly Sweater set from Simon Says Stamp I had to have it. Ugly Christmas sweaters make me smile and this set is no different. There are so many great images in this set that I know I'll have fun with it for a long time to come.

This week we have a sketch at 'Tis The Season and an ugly Christmas sweater was the first thing that came to mind, the circle spot is perfect for it. I started with paper from Lawn Fawn, it is from their Snow Day collection. The crisp lines are a great way to highlight the sentiment and to also let the sweater take center stage.

Instead of a bow I just did a strip of ribbon across the middle along with a scalloped border of Garden Green. Red and green sequins scattered across the front completed the card for me.

I hope you'll come by 'Tis The Season and play along with us! Only 48 days until Christmas!


Stamps: Ugly Sweater, Sweater Words and Appliques (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, Snow Day Collection (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Big Shot, Sweaters Die (Simon Says Stamp), Sequins, Ribbon, Scalloped Edge Border Punch, Paper Piercer, dimensionals