CIC65 Clearly Inspired Thank You

December brings such a busy holiday season as well as the end of another year. Looking back over the year I realize I've received so many blessings from the Lord, from friends and family, and from others I hardly know. I'm also aware of the fact that I don't express gratitude nearly enough to those dispensers of blessings.  Today's challenge at Clearly Inspired Challenge gave me the opportunity to make a thank you card using one of our digital stamp sets and this challenge sketch.

CIC65 -- Sketch -- Here is a sketch we would love to see you utilize. Flip it or keep it just as is. Add an image or no image at all. We just want to see you be creative while still maintaining the integrity of the sketch.

I love the Clean and Simple look (great when you're busy) that this design offers and the way the bright papers coordinate with the the letters. I added embossing on the middle of the card and made my striped piece just a little longer so that I could wrap my baker's twine around it instead of the card base. These bright cheery papers and images are part of December's featured digi designed by Lisa Lara. You can find this set with many more cool images at Clear Dollar Stamps. It's called "Say Thank You."

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #105 - Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Crafters - Embossing
Through the Craftroom Door #47- Anything Goes


 

PSC58 - Let It Snow!

I typed the title of this week's challenge at The Perfect Sentiment and knew I was a liar. I really don't want it to snow, ever! It's beautiful, makes great photos in the way it changes the landscape, but it's too cold for me. Yet I remember having a great time in the snow as a kid. As a retired teacher who used to drive 30 miles one way in the stuff, what I like best about it now is staying in a warm house crafting all day!

So here's the challenge Jennipher designed for this week:

Use a sentiment for the occasion of your choice with this twist - incorporate some form of snow on your card: die-cut or punched snowflakes, snowflake embossing folder, snowmen or women

We are being sponsored by MelJen's Designs. She's providing 4 free digis to one lucky winner.

My card is says "A Merry Christmas." I used a vintage image from Magic Moonlight Free Images again. I also used the lovely Mojo Monday sketch again with this one, but this time I rotated it.

The snowflake paper is from Close To My Heart (blue and the ponderosa cardstock) and the sorbet piece is My Mind's Eye Lost and Found. I cut the snowflake with a Spellbinder's die that I've had for ages, then I added sparkles. The sparkle flourish and ribbon are from CTMH, also. I added the flourish in a way that I hoped would convey snow blowing.

I hope you can enjoy the beauty of snow this winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) without the problems it can create. As for me, I'll stay home with a pot of hot tea and enjoy the beauty from inside. I  hope you'll join in our challenge fun and create your own snowy creation.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Mojo Monday 270 - sketch
Ribbon Carousel Challenge #75 - Holiday Spirit (with ribbon or twine)
Shopping Our Stash Weekly #80 - Winter Holiday/snow
 

Mojo Monday 270 - Angelic Christmas

Ever since my oldest daughter was a young girl, she's liked images of angels at Christmas. I always try to give her a card with angels each year. They did play an amazing role at the birth of our Saviour. How surprised the shepherds must have been to hear the announcement of where to find the Christ child and to witness their heavenly presence. Scripture says, "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.' " Angels rarely make a physical appearance to men, but I'm a firm believer that they surround us unseen, watching over us. I'be been reassured of that fact so many times when I've almost had an accident on the highway or watched a dying family member.

I chose the image for this card from Magic Moonlight Free Images.  I used this sketch from Mojo Monday 270 as my guide.

I combined the silver bling with the Kraft cardstock and star for a more vintage look to go with the elegance of angels singing in an older, vintage picture.

May you be blessed with the assurance that God and His angels are actively involved in your life to lead and guide you, to protect and care for your well-being that you, too, might glorify Him in all you do, just as the angels did that night.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
ABC Challenge #7 - Christmas Cards with Bling (my silver ribbon and silver mesh)
Alphabet Challenge - V= Vintage
Crafty Mess #23 - Vintage  Christmas
Mojo Monday #270 - sketch
Unstampabelles #18 - Christmas (no stamps)

Mojo Monday 269 Neutral Christmas

I was inspired by the circles and neutral palette at The Shabby Tea Room to make this Christmas card using the Mojo Monday sketch for this week. Here's their inspiration.

My card uses a Kraft cardstock scalloped square cut with Cricut Art Philosophy. I used two different bamboo colored patterned papers from CTMH Mistletoe for the background. I stuck with Colonial White, Bamboo, Desert Sand and Cocoa papers (scissor distressed), ink and embellishments.   I loved the shine of the glass and pewter plates in the inspiration photo, so I used shiny gold ribbon, sparkle flourish, a pearl surrounded by silver, and a silver glitter snowflake that I created.

I made my own snowflake using silver glitter glue squeezed onto cardstock with a vertical line crossed with an "x." Then I added an extra dot near the tips. After it dried I fussy cut it to remove most of the white paper. I attached it to a Prima flower on a small doily by Little Yellow Bicycle.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
Mojo Monday 269 - sketch
The Shabby Tea Room - circle, shine, neutral colors plus ribbon
2 Sisters #19 - Christmas sparkle
 

12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style #5

Here's my fifth post today for the great tag challenge at The Funky Junkie blog, the Funkie Junkie Twelve Tags of Christmas. Most people started in September. Linda introduces a new tag each week for us to CASE. The challenge runs until December 17th.It's being sponsored by her store, The Funkie Junkie Boutique. She'll have a drawing for great prizes for several who enter all twelve tag challenges.

Here is Linda's inspiration tag that I "CASEd."

 I loved the Noel theme of this tag and copied the hymn from a vintage hymnal that I'd been lucky to find in a thrift store. I chose Kraft cardstock to go with this theme, Cricut cut the Noel title and the flower. Here's my take on this challenge:

I wanted the music to be the focus, so I scanned it and reduced the size to fit on my tag. It was a little dark, so the title didn't show up well and needed to be matted separately on the banner.  I stamped "Noel" with a large script background stamp.l

Tags are a great place for large flowers that would be smashed in an envelope or scrapbook. My Cricut flower was fun to make. I inked the edges with a sponge and Ruby ink, rolled it, used Liquid glass to adhere the bottom edges to the circular bottom, added a small CTMH flower that was inked to the bottom, then added 3 black pearls.  The CTMH leaves were actually yellow, but I inked them with Olive ink to match "Noel." The flower gave my tag a feminine feel so I added a large bow out of seam binding and tied more cream colored fibers at the top.

I'm sharing this tag with the following challenges:
Anything Goes Challenge #81 - Tags
The Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas - #5
Through the Craftroom Door #46 - Anything Goes
Crafts and Me #112 - ribbons or trim

12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style #4

Here's my fourth post for the great tag challenge at The Funky Junkie blog, the Funkie Junkie Twelve Tags of Christmas. Most people started in September. Linda introduces a new tag each week for us to CASE. The challenge runs until December 17th.It's being sponsored by her store, The Funkie Junkie Boutique. She'll have a drawing for great prizes for several who enter all twelve tag challenges.

Here is Linda's inspiration tag that I "CASEd."

Her checked background inspired me to use a barn red houndstooth check paper from CTMH. I embossed a barn red panel, added "stamps" where she had newsprint, a postal cancelation where she had the words "Post Card" green pine instead of holly, a corrugated star with different words.  Here's my result:

I really liked the shape of this tag that I cut on Cricut Artiste. The papers, stamp, ink, star, red glitter glue, flower and brown pearl are from CTMH. The stamps were cut from The Paper Studio paper.

I'm sharing this tag with the following challenges:
Anything Goes Challenge #81 - Tags
That Craft Place - No Squares Allowed
The Funkie Junkie Challenge - Tag #4
The Paper Girls #20 - Christmas theme







 

12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style #3

Here's my third post for the great tag challenge at The Funky Junkie blog, the Funkie Junkie Twelve Tags of Christmas. Most people started in September. Linda introduces a new tag each week for us to CASE. The challenge runs until December 17th.It's being sponsored by her store, The Funkie Junkie Boutique. She'll have a drawing for great prizes for several who enter all twelve tag challenges.

Here is Linda's inspiration tag that I "CASEd."

I CASEd her color blue, the snowman, snowflake, heart, grid and tiny gold or silver element.

The night before I made these I had colored several of these snowman images for cards and fussy cut all of them. So this was a quick pick for this tag. I used glittered snowflake paper which shows up better in the next photo. I used a felt snowflake and put a gold and silver "star"??? thing on the center. I especially chose this sentiment which goes with this set of snowmen who have hearts. My grid was a type of rough woven fiber that looks like a grid. The fiber, felt snowflake, and snowman stamp I've had for many years. They are definitely oldies but still goodies.

Here's how shiny the embossed snowflakes are:

 

I'm sharing this tag with the following challenges:

Oldie But Goodie - Snow

 Stampin' Royalty #152 - Tags

The Funkie Junkie - Tag 3