Angel Christmas Ornament

I have a Christmas ornament to share with you today.  I used the small version of Butterfly Kiss by The Stampsmith.  I found these cute charms recently and I hand crimped additional extender rings to them and attached them to the Shapabilities diecut by Spellbinders. I used three diecuts, one rotated green layer sandwiched between two cream layers.  I added some pearl embellies to go with the pearl charms and tied a matching green ribbon to the top for hanging.

I know I've been really absent over the past year.  My health has not been good and I haven't been up to crafting, but I hope to be on here more in the coming months, let's hope a new year brings good health!  :)

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A Few Christmas Cards

I have several Christmas cards to share with you today...that I finally took the time to photograph.  I've become quite addicted to Pinterest lately...I think there's a reason why I waited so long to sign up with it, since I knew this would likely happen!  So many great ideas, so little time!  lol  :)  Can you believe Christmas is only days away?   Wow, I really need to get myself in gear and finish my shopping!  Anyway, I'm trying to get some Christmas cards ready to send out and I saw the first three cards Pinterest and gathered inspiration from them to create ones of my own  The above card was inspired by this card.
 

 This little button Christmas tree was inspired by this card.

 This doily card was inspired by this card.

 These last two cards are my design, using up some scraps.  Isn't this red ribbon delish?  :)

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TSC37: A Handmade Holiday - Framed Home Decor

It's challenge time again over at The Stampsmith Challenge and this time around we're challenging you to create something using 'A Handmade Holiday' theme.  This can be a Christmas Tree Ornament or a piece of home decor...the sky's the limit!  I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

I decided to make a piece of Holiday home decor, using a three picture frames.  The large one is stained using a cherry finish and the other two are little chocolate ornate frames, which I used to frame my stamped images, Holly and Grace by The Stampsmith.

I embossed the poinsettia using ivory embossing powder onto wine cardstock and cut out all the layers, finishing the flower with a pearl brad for the centre.

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Teal Christmas Wishes

I'm sharing a Christmas card with you today using the beautiful Holly Christmas photostamp by The Stampsmith.  I opted to use teal, a non-traditional Christmas colour, even using it on my poinsettias, just for fun.

I sponged on black soot distress ink to highlight the embossed pieces.  I think it adds elegance to the project and I finished off the poinsettias with a little pearl embellie for the flower centers.
 
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TSC31 Christmas in July

It's challenge time again over at The Stampsmith Challenge.  This time around we're doing Christmas in July for a bit of fun.   As a summer twist, you can use summer colours in your Christmas creation.
For my creation, I used Grace by The Stampsmith.  

I hope you decide to join in on the fun for a chance to win a gift certificate from The Stampsmith Store (value $21.)
 
I look forward to seeing all your creations! 

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TSC25: Shimmer, Sparkle & Shine

It's challenge time again over at The Stampsmith Challenge blog and for my DT sample, I decided to go with a Christmas frame to showcase the Shimmer, Sparkle & Shine theme. Both the photostamps I've used are from the Christmas Cards Sheet 1 stamp plate. The sentiment border is made up of several stamps from the Christmas Greetings Sheet both by The Stampsmith. My frame measures 10" x 17" and the photo openings measure 3.5" x 5.5".

Here's a closeup of the left side panel of Santa with his sack of toys postcard.

I created this decorative piece using patterned paper pieces and used a punch to do the snowflake centrepiece.

Here's a closeup of the right side panel of a sprig of holly postcard.

I hope you decide to play along in the fun with us! I look forward to seeing how your project shimmers, sparkles and shines!

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TSC21: Use a Faux technique

I have a Christmas card to share with you that features the lovely, Grace by The Stampsmith. Grace is so lovely and can be purchased as a single photostamp.

For the current challenge over at The Stampsmith Challenge, we'd like you to use a faux technique of your choice. For my sample card, I played with some 'alcohol inks' and created the background for Grace. My apologies for the blurry picture. My camera is dead and I can't seem to find my charging cable. So, I had to use my scanner and it wouldn't seem to pick up the detail from the alcohol ink technique.

For this challenge, although we'd love you to show us creations using stamps from The Stampsmith, you're free to use to stamps from any company to play along. The random winner will be announced on September 15th and will be awarded a gift certificate to The Stampsmith store to grow your collection. I hope you decide to play along in the fun! I look forward to seeing all the different techniques everyone chooses...

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Christmas in July Wall Hanging

I'm rather late completing my Christmas in July project...it was supposed to be done for our last Stampsmith Challenge, but I didn't have a chance to get it done, life just gets in the way sometimes...even when we'd rather be crafting! So, I made this for our crafty group swap that we're having tonight. I used a stamp from the Christmas Cards Sheet 1 from The Stampsmith. These are nice vintage looking stamps that would cover nearly your whole A2 style card. I chose to make my project into a little wall hanging, that measures 6" x 6." I did a bit of distressing and finished it off with some pewter embellishments.

This is the full stamp sheet

Tonight, we're working on a paper bag Step Book, led by Louise. You can see Louise's project here. She always shares the most amazing projects with us. It's got lots of tags and pockets - looks like a fun project. I'll post mine for you soon. Stay tuned...

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Vintage Santa

I made this little wall hanging tonight to take to my Father-in-Law tomorrow. For the main Santa image, I used a photostamp from the Christmas Cards Sheet 1 by The Stampsmith. In keeping with the vintage look, I used some patterned paper called Hollywood Vogue & Wonderfall from Webster's Pages.

Here's a close up of Santa.
I hope this finds everyone having a wonderful Christmas holiday and all the best to you all for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Handcrafted Prima Shoe

This stunning creation is from my friend, Val Wilson. I can't tell you how much I love this gorgeous little prima shoe! Now, I need to find a special place for it. My youngest daughter (7 years old) wanted to try it on, she thought it was so pretty! I had to explain to her that this is a special little shoe, just for Mum's enjoyment, not for her to wear! lol :)

She tucked a cute little card inside the shoe along with some yummy Quality Street chocolates, yup, you guessed it, as soon as I took the picture I ate the chocolates! lol :)

Here's a side view.

Val also created this gorgeous Christmas tree star ornament. Thanks so much, Val, for both of these. I'll treasure them for years.
If you look in the picture above, to the left of Val's star ornament, is a sweet little angel in a pink dress. This was given to me on my first Christmas by a friend of my parents. So, it's 36 years old.

Also, the dark pink ornament in the bottom right belonged to my grandmother. It's about 70 years old. I love the old ornaments with all their detail. My tree is adorned with a mix of old and new and lots of treasured handmade ornaments. I'm gonna miss the tree in another week when we take it down for another year.

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Christmas Card from Mum

My Mum surprised me this year with this gorgeous Christmas card that she made. She's been a scrapbooker for years, but has just recently been recruited into the world of card making. I've been trying to get her into it for years and she's recently started taking a few classes with a friend and made this card at one of the classes. I love it! The ornament stamp is gorgeous and I love the way she added bling to it to make it look festive.

If Blanca is reading this, thanks so much for finally getting my Mum into card making after all my efforts! lol :) The cards she made at your class were gorgeous!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Christmas Cards from Friends

I've received some gorgeous handmade Christmas cards this year that I'd like to share with you. This first one came from my friend, Tracy Houghton in Calgary, AB. Thanks so much, Tracy, I love the easel style.

The funny thing is that I received the next card the same day, another easel card from my friend, Yvonne Balmer who used to live here, but has recently moved to Houston, TX. Thanks so much for brightening up my day with this sweet creation, Yvonne. Miss you!

OK, this is like an easel parade, as this card came from another wonderful friend, Kim Prince. I feel like I'm behind the times as I still haven't made one of these cards. I'll have to try one for the one of the next cards that I make.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Xmas Wreaths

My daughters each made a sweet little wreath at their after school day care program. I thought they turned out really cute and a neat idea to use up old scraps of material and a bit of raffia.

The one above is the one that Alexandria made. The one below is the one that Natalia made.

For the base of the wreath, they used a 4 inch metal ring, like what you would use to hold cue cards together with. You can get these at any office supply store. Each strip of material is about 1 1/2 inches wide by about 6 inches long. You can trim the pieces after you tie them onto the ring, if they're a bit too long. It's just easier to tie them on if the material is a little longer.

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TSC5 - Christmas

Our current theme over on The Stampsmith Challenge is The Holiday Season. Create a card or project with this theme in mind and post a link to your creation for a chance to build your stamp collection from The Stampsmith. For this 1st challenge of the month, although we'd love to see you use your stamps from The Stampsmith, remember this challenge is open to all stamps. One lucky winner will be chosen and posted on the blog on Dec. 15th and will receive a gift certificate to The Stampsmith Shop.

Here's a close up of The Stampsmith sentiment that I used. It's from the Christmas Greetings Sheet. (Please note the reindeer is not part of The Stampsmith stamp.)

This will be our final challenge for 2010, after taking a little break for the holiday season and we'll return again on Jan. 15th. Now, please pop on over to The Stampsmith Challenge blog for some more eye candy from the rest of the Design Team!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Crafty Fun with Val

I had a wonderful night last night. My friend, Val Wilson, came over to have a crafty night with me. Val is such a great friend and she's such a hoot to be around. Full of some much fun and laughter, it's contagious! Just wish I wasn't so tired last night. I was up til 3 AM the night before finishing up Teacher's Xmas gifts and then had to get up yesterday morning to go in the office a bit early, so I was pretty sleepy all day. Just 2 1/2 more working days left for me, though and then I'm off work til Jan 4th, 2010. Still seems weird to write 2010 doesn't it? I can remember watching movies when I was a kid about all the space suits the general public would be wearing around on a daily basis, while driving their flying cars...don't think we're any where close to that yet, but the years seem to mysteriously keep creeping closer and closer to that date...

Val spent her night making beautiful little lumiere's. She was commissioned to make several for a co-worker for Xmas gifts and she made me this stunning black and white one sown above. I love it! Thanks so much, Val! :)

Here's a pic to show you when it's lit. They're so pretty! :)

OK, on to crafty projects. The card above is a sympathy card that I made last night for a friend that I work with who sadly lost her husband yesterday. So sad to lose someone anytime, but for it to be a week before Christmas makes it that much more difficult, I think. My prayers go out to her and her family during this time.

This is a card that Val showed me how to make last night. Such a neat idea and cool use of the Martha Stewart branch punch. It's a bit time consuming as you need to punch out about 50 branches, but it makes for a cool effect when you attach them all to the double sided tape that you've added to the triangle shaped tree in the background. Thanks for showing me this technique, Val!
Here's a close up of the branches to show you the dimension.
OK, I've gotta go do some housework and then brave the line ups at the mall to finish my Xmas shopping. I'll be back soon!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)