Out with the Old . . .

As a confessed paper hoarder I've started to wish I could use up MUCH of my older papers before I start getting the newest CTMH (and other brand) papers. Today was my feeble attempt to use up one of my old packs. The bright cheery colors of CTMH "Blossom" from Summer 2015 caught my eye. Although I played with it all afternoon, I still have a long way to go before it's gone.

I started with a stamp set I had gotten to go with the paper.

Then I decided to change it up a bit with my new Petaloo flowers:

Next I made a set of encouragement cards using a Verve scripture stamp which only allowed the background to peek around the edges. I used an embossing diffuser to leave a center space for stamping when I used the CTMH floral embossing folder.(It's marked down in price from $8.95 to $3.15 - an unbelievable price for a 5" x 7" embossing folder!)

I also made a matching box to put them in but didn't take photos of that.

Last I saw a challenge at  Challenge Up Your Life #56 and decided to play with vellum and some butterflies cut on the Cricut.

The word "BIRTHDAY" is embossed with black and "Blessings" is cut using my newest "Christmas Blessings" die set from Simon Says Stamp.

After several hours I decided I may be on an eternal quest to use up paper, but what's more fulfilling for papercrafters than to make lovely things to show others how much they care!

Thank you for visiting. May you look back on 2016 and count your blessings!

Tomorrow begins a new year, a new stamp of the month blog hop, and lots of new papers! I hope you'll visit tomorrow to see what's new!

Quick Florence Birthday Card

I love giving cards and writing personal messages to let people know how much I care. November and December decimated my card supply so as the weather turns colder I plan to start rebuilding my "stash" before January birthdays and anniversaries decimate it again!

I was inspired by the Cut It Up Challenge that is so perfect for the old and new years- Out with the Old and In with the New. I REALLY need to use up some old supplies!

OLD:  This week I enjoyed getting some great half-price buys at the CTMH Boxing Day Sale. I noticed they were still selling Florence Sequins and Complements at half price one day and I had to re-order. It inspired me to get out my leftover scraps of Florence papers, complements, and sequins from last year. I loved the copper foiled chipboard diecuts and sequins which I used to make two identical birthday cards:

The black "Happy" is a "Happy Easter" Cricut cut from the newest CTMH Flower Market Cartridge. I love using acrylic stamps. I can bend them a little to match the curve of my design. The stamp here is ten years old (C1257 Happy Birthday from 2007 )!

NEW: My Spellbinders die cut the curvy scalloped edge. The glittery blue ribbon is also brand new from Michaels and added the finishing touch to emphasize a birthday is something to CELEBRATE!

Thank you for visiting!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks #331 - anything goes
Cut It Up Challenge #112 - Out with the old, in with the new
DL Art Thankful Thursday #195 - anything goes
Southern Girls #150 - anything goes

God Bless You at Christmas

Cricut Christmas Cards

I played a little with the CTMH Cricut cartridge "City Sidewalks." The banner cut with Fa La La La La was my original inspiration. Then I added the diagonal striped background and the holly (on the second card), all from the cartridge.

 The first one has some non-traditional elements like the colors pink and brown and the alphabet embossing inspired by the letters of Fa La La La La.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless your crafting and bless the recipients!

I'm sharing these cards with the following challenges:
Crafting When We Can #134 - It's Christmas
Crafty Cardmakers #179 - Christmas with a non-traditional twist
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #312 - cute or anything Christmas
Dream Valley #146 - Christmas

Merry Christmas with City Sidewalks

Here's another  quick Christmas card using the pocket cards that come with CTMH City Sidewalks:

City Sidewalks Pocket Cards

I love to use some of the cut-apart cards that come with CTMH paper packs for pocket scrapbooking. Here is a card made with one of the 6" x 4" cards that comes with the City Sidewalks paper pack.

The pocket card has a white space in the center -  perfect for sentiments or embellishments. I cut a fishtail banners from a smaller red striped pocket card and Willow green cardstock.  The black sentiment panel was white embossed using the bold sentiment from the Happy Holidays Cardmaking Kit. The right side was punched with a Martha Stewart punch and a small strip of Willow patterned paper from the City Sidewalks paper peaks out. My favorite part is the black button with glittered edges, threaded with silver twine holding the red ribbon bow.

I hope this gives someone new ideas for using the leftover pocket card pieces from each paper pack. I thought it was a great way to make a few cards faster. I'll have another one tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting. May God bless your cardmaking and the recipients of your creations!

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges:

Cards und More #174 - Christmas
Christmas Card Challenge - Pick a previous challenge May Stash-punches (and or dies)
Craft-Dee BowZ December Challenge - anything with a bow
Dream Valley #146 - Christmas
HeARTful Stamping Challenge - anything stamped
Holly Jolly Christmas #86 - Christmas Card (or anything but a card)
Inky Chicks #76 - Christmas cards in traditional colors

Jolly Christmas Cards

When I was a teacher, every classroom had a steady crescendo of noise and excitement in the month of December until Christmas vacation arrived. I'm not sure who was happier to see the vacation, the kids or the teachers. This year four of my grandkids have been out of school since last Friday the 16th. Christmas generates an excitement unmatched by any other holiday. 
I loved this inspiration photo of kids singing at Sparkle Creations Christmas Card Challenge #2  and interpreted it with this first card of kids possibly singing as they danced around the Christmas tree.

 The image came from my oldest, long hoarded Graphic 45 Christmas paper collection, Christmas Emporium.

 To make several other cards quickly I used a similar design with other tags and images from Graphic 45, a strip across the top with fiber, and a few sequins.

 Thanks for visiting. May this season of God's love and joy spill over from your heart to all those around you.

I'm sharing the first card with the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create #192 - anything goes with option Holiday Happiness
Alphabet Challenge - U for Use something red (card base, background, ribbon)
Christmas Card Challenge #2 - picture inspiration
Come and Get It - Christmas Challenge #2
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #312 - cute or anything Christmas
Dream Valley Challenge #146 - Christmas
Pile It On #123 - Celebrations any holiday
The Ribbon Girl- December Challenge - any image
Use Your Stuff - Merry Christmas