Due to work requirements, my sister-in-law will be unable to join us for the Holidays this year, so I’m sending a few little goodies her way: 

I used the Joy, Ho Ho Ho, and  Merry Christmas to All stamps sized to 1 inch along with some glitter CS from DCWV Holiday Glitter Mat Stack and ribbon from my stash. Here’s a closer peak and a bit more detail:  

This pillow box is from K&Company’s Christmas Cheer Gift Boxes and Tags set – super easy just punch, fold, fill and adhere.  I wrapped it in red organdy ribbon and added the Joy tag matted with glitter CS.  My Nestabilites were a life-saver here!  The outline and edging were created in Photoshop using a SuperBladePro preset from Meadows Studio.  I added color to the text, stars and holly using a glitter style from Bannerwoman – too bad she has retired! For added sparkle, you could go over the image with a Spica clear glitter marker or Sakura Gelly pen. This pillow box, also from the K&Company Christmas Cheer set, is a bit smaller – perfect for a Gift Card (which is what I snuck inside it).  I wrapped this one in narrow gold grosgrain ribbon before adding the Ho Ho Ho stamp and red glitter CS mat.  The outline and edging were created in Photoshop using SuperBladePro presets from Meadows Studio and the Blading Basket.  I colored Santa’s Hat using a glitter style from Bannerwoman and a pink and peach gradient fill for his skin! For extra dimension, you could highlight Santa’s hat with Stickles, Flock, or FlowerSoft and perhaps add some Smooch to his beard (mine’s not here yet, but I’m waiting patiently – my first order from “The Studio” has already shipped – thanks Bunny!).  For this set of yummy hand creams from one of my all-time favorite places (Bath & Body Works), I wrapped wired ribbon around the box and then added the Merry Christmas to All stamp and scallop mat with pop-up glue dots. The outline and text fill were created in Photoshop using SuperBladePro presets from Meadows Studio and the Blading Basket.  I colored the holly berry and leaves using a glitter style from Bannerwoman (are you seeing a trend here?!?). For shimmer and sparkle, you could use Stickles, a Spica marker, or Sakura pen on the berries, leaves, or both.  Since I’m mailing this and needed to get it out first thing, I didn’t want anything that would smear, so I left it as you see on your screen – I LOVE digital glitter – bling with no mess!

If you didn’t arrive here from Lindsay’s blog, be sure to visit her! She has tons of fabulous projects to inspire you and plenty of awesome freebies too! The rest of the DT links will be on her blog too – lots of eye candy just waiting for you!  Lindsay is still having her Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale through the 23rd – so what are YOU waiting for?!? Today is the last day of swimming lessons for the year – so Nadya is pretty excited about that.  She’ll have one more lesson in January and then we’ll move on to Gymnastics/Tumbling.  She really loves her swimming lessons but I think a change of pace will be good for her – and though her skill level is high enough, I don’t think her attention span is where it needs to be for me to allow her in or around the pool without me (despite the best assurances of the swim coaches)!  She loves to climb, so she’ll enjoy tumbling and we’ll revisit swimming a little later.  Have a fabulous Holiday season!  I’ll be back with more fabulous Lindsay goodies after the first of the year – I’m going to be devoting my time to family and celebrating after this weekend.

Merry Christmas!

In amongst laundry and last minute creative ventures, I have a little goodie for you. I used these:  to create this: Our family Christmas card for 2009.  Now, I’m hoping ArtsCow and the USPS have them delivered in time for me to mail them out!   I altered the background of our photo using Jodiann’s Snow Styles – as it was rather plain before.  I love how “festive” everything looks! The lovely Kristine of Designs by Kristine has graciously allowed me to offer the 4×8 card as a free goodie for her aptly titled Festive Kit.  So, you get a 4×8 300 DPI PNG like the card above – minus the photo of my cute lil one and handsome hubby! You can get your download here – and leave me comment if you do – I love reading them.

Have a fabulous Wednesday and don’t forget to visit Kristine’s blog if you didn’t arrive here from there, I have it on good authority that there’s a little something there in celebration of her daughter’s birthday (Happy Birthday Julez!!!)

But, before we get to the details, I wanted to let everyone know that Lindsay is having a phenomenal sale – buy any 2 kits get a 3rd one of your choice FREE! How awesome is that?!?! That means this is the perfect time to grab her Warm Winter and  Winter Printables kits – and get a third one free (perhaps her new Calendar and Scrapbook Page Toppers?)! Woohoo! Now, for my cards! I created the 5×7 card base in Photoshop! The base layer is filled with dark green followed by having one of Jodiann’s  fabulous Snow Styles applied. The center mat is light blue with the same style applied to it.  Then a burgundy mat was added behind the blue one.  Both mats have small frames added using SuperBladePro filters and presets from Meadows Studio. Once I had created the card, I added the snow people and sentiment from Lindsay’s Warm Winter set. I “pieced” and colored them in Photoshop (I used Di’s new Miscellaneous Textures on the “girl snow person’s” beret and scarf before printing.  After printing, I added Glossy Accents (Ranger) to their eyes, mouths and buttons and Polar White Flower Soft to create snow along the bottom edge.  Here’s a close-up: Now for the next card:I created the card base using the same process as above – with different colors of course!  The fabulous cocoa mug and sentiment are also from Lindsay’s Warm Winter set.  I pieced the mug using an awesome paper from Lindsay’s Winter Printables set  and extended the candy can and marshmallows beyond the frame to added dimension; then printed my card (with an extra set of marshmallows and candy cane).  I cut the candy cane and marshmallows out and adhered them with pop dots for extra dimension and then coated them with Glossy Accents for shine.  The marshmallow bubbles in the mug were created with pearlescent fabric paint while I’m waiting for my Smooch to arrive! Here’s a close-up:Now for your treat – I have zipped the card bases for you and am offering them for free – please enjoy and leave a comment if you download!

Don’t forget to visit Lindsay’s blog if you didn’t come from there – she has a new freebie and the links to the rest of the DT blogs!

Happy crafting and stay warm!

Speaking of busy, Kristine has a fabulous WordArt freebie on her blog – it coordinates with her Nightfall kit (also a past freebie). Then, the girls over at Digiscrap Vault are having a Saturday Sale – and as you know ALL of the products at the Vault are CU friendly and Quality Checked!

Ok – have a fabulous day – I’m off to spend time with my family.

Be sure to stop by Lindsay’s blog for a fabulous FREEBIE and a quick tutorial on recoloring your digi-stamps. While you’re there check for another FREEBIE from her redesigned Babies and Bows kit – which is on sale in celebration of the arrival of Lindsay’s nephew, Mason.

I created a couple of cards using both Leaf Prints and Babies and Bows – the sets are a breeze to work with.  I just open them in Photoshop, resize to fit my project, print, color and viola – I’m done! This is a Sympathy card for one of Yasha’s coworker’s family – he passed away suddenly over the weekend.  I used Lindsay’s Leaf Prints and Lovely as a Tree by Stampin’ Up.  I used Flower Soft on the trees and shimmer chalks to add sky and ground cover.  Since Polly, the owner of my LSS, was out of the Autumn Mix, I purchased red, yellow, and brown pots from her and mixed my own blend.  I think it turned out well – and she’s saving a bottle of the Autumn Mix for me when it arrives. Hooray!  I wrote the verse (Ecclesiastes 3:1) in by hand. For the inside, I thought Lindsay’s swirl frame and sentiment were perfect so I printed them on Confetti Vanilla CS and then colored with my Spica markers for a little shine and depth. The base card is from DCWV Indian Summer Fall Box of Cards. I added a sheer organdy ribbon for texture. For my 2nd project, I used Lindsay’s Babies and Bows set. I created the card front in Photoshop using a Metal style from Jodiann Cates on the frame, recoloring the text, and printing on White CS.  I colored the images with my Copics and Spica Markers and layered them onto Barely Banana CS and a textured card base from DCWV Summer Stack.  I added sheer pink organdy ribbon to frame the card.

I’d better close for now – I’ll be back in a bit with more goodies to show you! Have a fabulous Thursday!

Her DT created some fabulous inspiration, so I decided to join in too. The color combination was inspired and selected by my little one – who at 2 is already developing her sense of fashion and color!  I tried to match her hair to the fairy’s, but didn’t quite make it!

I printed the cute little fairy on Georgia Pacific White CS and colored her with Copics.  Victoria designed this digital stamp freebie for Erin – who has been organizing a card drive for Paige – the young girl whose arm was amputated due to injury from a boating accident. To add a bit of dimension, I added Memory Box Daffodil pearls for her bracelet and Gelly Roll Clear Glaze for her eyes.  The flowers and her wings are accented with Spica markers and her shoes are dotted with a Zebra silver pen. To create clouds, I dabbed light blue shimmer chalk over the background.  She’s layered onto a Bazzill Basics textured mat (I trimmed both with my small corner rounder).  Here’s a close-up of my fairy girl:

I used my Nestabilities to cut the scallop circle and rectangle from DCWV mat stacks.  The white DP is an inverted scrap from cutting the Fiskars DP to size – for added texture I embossed it with my Cuttlebug Birds n Swirls folder. All of that was layered onto Fiskars DP.  I created the flowers using a sheet of American Crafts Vellum from my stash (it had 2 colors per sheet) and the Birds and Blossoms die set from SU/Sizzix.  I used silver brads to hold the layers together and then spritzed the flowers with Vanilla Breeze Glimmer Mist. After they dried, I attached them to the card and then used a bit of glue and  Sugar Coating Bumblebee Glitter over the brads to create the flower centers.  As a final touch, I added pale yellow bauble drops from my friend Suzanne’s store. The card base is Regal Rose.  This is a large card – 8.5×5.5 – but I think it will be perfect as a birthday card for my Nana – she’ll be celebrating her 79th birthday next month – and since she’ll be visiting my Mom, we’ll get to celebrate with her!

Ingredients: 
Pattern Paper: American Crafts Visions Vellum (from stash), Fiskars Shimmer Glow Orchid, DCWV Spring Mat Glitter Stack
Cardstock: SU Regal Rose, Georgia Pacific White, Bazzill Textured Purple, DCWV Nana’s Nursery
Stamps: Victoria Case Erin Fairy
Markers: Copic Markers (C01, E02, YR00,Y21, YR24, V09, V15, V17, E00, G07, G09, YR04, RV11, RV14, V12,YG03, R02) and Spica Glitter Pens (Pink, Purple, Yellow, Clear), Zebra Silver pen, Gelly Roll Glaze Gloss Pen
Other: Nestabilities Long Rectangles and Classic Scallop Circles Large,  Memory Box Daffodil Pearls, Light Yellow Bauble Drops, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Vanilla Breeze, Small Corner Rounder Punch, SU Birds and Blossoms Die, Cuttlebug Birds & Swirls, and Pebbles Shimmer Chalks

While we’re on the topic of challenges, have you seen what’s going on at DSO?Complete Kim’s Colour Challenge and earn this stunning beauty: Charlie is offering a template to get you started on her Desktop Challenge and a lovely mini for completing it: Loucee’s Animal Kingdom challenge is a little on the wild side: Need some inspiration? Di’s Scraplift challenge is sure to do the trick!

Misty is encouraging our inner Globe Trotter with her Ad challenge – and offering this for completing it: And Andrea is offering coordinating minis for completing her Quote and Font Challenges:

I guess that’s all from me! Have a fabulous Tuesday evening and Wednesday!

Although, not part of Grab Bag Week, Renee has an awesome CU Bag out as well – lots of fabulous Overlays for only $5!!! Like all DSO products, these have been quality-checked, so you can buy with confidence!

That’s all from me for now – lots to do and lots to post, but that will have to wait for a bit. Have a fabulous fabulous Friday!

Here’s a little peak at my creative ventures this week:

The image is Pansy corner from Serendipity stamps that I stamped onto Whisper White CS (SU) with Memento Tuxedo  Black ink.  Instead of markers, I used my Prismacolor pencils (note to self – need the 12 new colors too) to color the flowers and then stippled Vintage Violet (SU) onto the CS and used a fantastix bullet tip to add the ink to the edges.  Then I trimmed with my large rectangle and scallop nestabilities and mounted onto Elegant Eggplant (SU) CS. I used a piece of shimmer patterned vellum from my stash and drew the border on it with a dark. purple sharpie marker.  The lace is from my stash, but I’m pretty sure it’s from JoAnn’s.  I then layered and adhered everything onto a 5×7 card made from Whisper White CS. I stamped the sentiment (SU) in Vintage Violet.

For the inside of the card, I layered the remaining piece of vellum onto an an Elegant Eggplant  mat.  I printed the verse (found on the internet) onto shimmer CS and then trimmed with my Top Note die (SU).  I made a coordinating envelope – white on the outside with a purple liner.

For this card, my husband asked that I keep it simple, so I stamped the tree (Lovely as a Tree, SU) in Always Artichoke onto Naturals Ivory CS (SU).  I trimmed the image with my long rectangle nestabilities. I inked the edges with Always Artichoke and another fantastix applicator and mounted onto Old Olive CS (SU) that I scalloped.  I used my SU 1/4” circle punch and tied a piece of ivory grosgrain craft ribbon (Hobby Lobby) through the hole.  I ran my Naturals Ivory card base through my Big Shot with my SU Flourish texture plate and stippled Always Artichoke lightly across it.  I added a bit of of Gold Magic Mesh before adhering the tree.

I layered old Olive Panels on each side of the inside and printed the verse (again, found on the internet) onto Naturals Ivory CS (SU).  I trimmed it with my labels nestabilities and inked the edges.  I repeated the process with another piece of Naturals Ivory CS, but instead of printing, I stamped the Sentiment (SU) in Always Artichoke.

For my last bit of creativity, this is one of the cards for my swap submission.  The guidelines were that I had to use blue as the predominant color and that the card had to be a 4×4 square.  So, this little cutie (and an attempt at working with a hybrid approach) was born.  She’s a digi-stamp from Inky Impressions (they gave her away as a blog freebie and they’re also having a Design Team Call).  I printed her onto white Georgia Pacific CS (Sam’s) – I made the sky background paper myself in Photoshop (thanks Bunny – I loved the overlay) and the grass is a digi-paper from Garden Greens by Kim Broedelet.  She’s colored with a mixture of mediums, including Copics (E00, E02, E33, RV11, G09), Spica pens (Clear, Black, and Blue), and SU Markers (Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Green Galore, and Close to Cocoa). The little flowers are Prima with Silver Stickles centers.  The blue bauble is from Suzanne at the Crafting Connection (soon to have her own store).  I trimmed and mounted her onto blue gingham DP from The Paper Studio The Basics 12×12 pad (Hobby Lobby). The base CS is DCWV The Spring Cardstock Stack.

Whew – I told you I’d been busy! I still have a couple more in the works, but that’s be another post! So, I’ve covered the’ “cards” part, now let’s move to the candy!  La-La Land is opening a new store, having a Design Team Call and giving away some fabulous animal-themed candy including the SU punches and 3 new Magnolia stamps from the Summer kit (deadline is August 5)!!! 

Now, for the and more…lots of new stuffies in the DSO store, and tomorrow all of the new challenges will be up!  Hooray!  Just look at what the team has been up to (and keeping the QA team on their toes)! 

Ok – I’m heading out! I found a Dell Studio laptop for an absolute steal at Staples, so I snagged it for my little brother (it’s a surprise for college and he doesn’t know about it yet).  I ordered MS Office Pro 2007 for him and need to get it and his new printer (another surprise – there goes my crafting budget) drivers installed.  Have a fabulous weekend and give someone you love a hug!

The card base is from Bazzill – I loved the color and that it was already textured for me; the mat is from DCWV Spring Glitter Mat Stack (some Joann’s stores may have them on clearance).  I printed Dustin’s digi-stamp on CS from Georgia-Pacific (I got it at Sam’s).   I drug out my Copics (G02, G07, G21, RV14, V12, Y21) and Spica pens (Clear, Blue, Green, Pink and Yellow) and enjoyed coloring this cute lil guy (or girl). I used my Stampin’ Up Small Corner Rounder Punch too.  The sentiment is written with my Pink Passion Stampin’ Write marker.  I added the pink, green, and blue flowers from Prima’s Got Flowers Mini-Petals (I snagged them as part of a bundle at Overstock.com) and used Ranger’s Crystal Stickles to create the flower centers.  The inside of the card has the same theme and reads “To Wish You a VERY Happy Birthday”.

Products I Used:

Spica (On-Sale for 20% off right now)

Ranger and Prima

Stampin’ Up

I guess that’s all from me – Nadya has had a horrible cough all week (and NO she’s not contagious). Two trips to the DR and she finally got a steroid shot and is still doing breathing treatments.  Apparently when she was so sick in January, she had some strain of RSV and it scarred her little lungs.  We’re just hoping that the damage isn’t permanent and that she won’t develop full-scale asthma later.  I have it and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone!  So, it’s time for another treatment and maybe a nap! Have a fabulous weekend!

This is truly a wonderful cause and program.  I thank God every day that my little one is healthy and my heart goes out to every family facing health challenges or the loss of a precious one.

Lauren and Heather are also offering a chance for some fabulous blog candy and/or Pink Cat Gift Certificates if you purchase these digital stamps and create a card with them.  I think I may make a few cards for our local cancer center to give to patients receiving treatments. Let’s brighten someone’s day shall we?