Christmas Mini-Album

Hi ya friends,
First of all, Ah geeez! I want to apologize for spilling the beans about The Walking Dead! OMGoodness what a zombie head I am sometimes! I guess I got caught up in the excitement :) but thanks Emily for letting me know ;) I promise there are no spoilers today! I won't even say anything about Dexter. LOL!

 I wanted to share an album I got to complete last week during Thanksgiving break.
Here's the cover:

 This is such a beautifully designed album with shaped pages. Wait 'til you see how chock full of yummy details it has :) Yes, that's my Viva Pen all along the edges ;) I had to ;)

These are the first two pages, a star & a stocking:
 Each page has mats ready for pics.

Here are the next 2 pages:
In between them, you see 2 double-sided tag inserts.

Here's the other side of the ornament tag & the page behind it, (a gift).

Here are the last 2 pages with one more tag insert.

This album is a little piece of heaven let me tell ya! I picked it up last year from Julie at Paisleys & Polka Dots so it is no longer available :(  I luuuuv her kits cuz they are very detail oriented & loaded with embellies! As you can see, we share the same design philosophy of "more is more" :) and yet, I add a little more! Hee! Hee! Even though this particular album is not available, Julie has a new release on the first of December. She also offers coordinating 12 x 12 scrapbook layouts that are just as beautifully detailed. 

Thanks so much for peeking today! I will enjoy adding our family pics to complete it :)
Adios for now!

From Our House to Yours

Hello there friends,
Do you watch AMC's The Walking Dead? I luuuv that show! I would describe it as "Lost... with zombies" :) Hee Hee :) The mid-season finale yesterday was intense!

SPOILER ALERT!!! (Soooooo Sorry Emily! I wasn't even thinking :(  Aaaack!

Poor Sophia was in the barn- soooo didn't see that coming. Now the wait til February to finish the season, ughhh :(

Anyhoo, here's the last of the cards I made with the Homespun Birdhouse set.
Here it is:

 I used this paper for my cards last year so I turned to what I had left for this card. I really like the fun, non-traditional winter colors :)
Here's a closer peek of the birdhouses:

 I used the glitter liner to make glitter dots along the wings & birdhouse perch and my Viva pen around the rest. The roof & perch were cut out on felt. I added some evergreen springs to the sides.

I've had so much fun playing with this die :) I will definitely be playing with it some more. I'm off to watch "The Talking Dead". If you watch the show you should definitely watch The Talking Dead. I like how they break things down. That would have been super helpful with "Lost".

Thanks so much for peeking!
Gotta Go!

If you've got it, stamp it!

Hola friends,
It's been so great having a few extra days off. I've got to check some things off my to-do list that I've been wanting to do for a while, I've cleaned up the house (and since my two biggest mess-makers are up north) it's stayed clean! and of course I've got a bit of craft time in there :)

Here's a card I made with some new (to me) techniques:

 This week, the Make-it-Monday technique at PTI was Layered Backgrounds with Sentiment Stamps. Betsy Veldman is hosting the challenge this week. She makes some amazing, creative cards & after seeing her beautiful card, I was inspired to the try the technique. I think the trick is to stamp the background in a different color from the main image (which I didn't do).  I stamped both in black so there isn't as much contrast. Another technique I gave a go was the spotlight technique which is pretty neat. The stamp set is YOF: Sweet Peas from PTI (which is finally seeing some ink, me thinks) colored with Copics. The cs is Melon Berry & Kraft.
I used the current sketch from my friends at Cardabilities:

 

I'm also playing along at the following challenges:
Card Makin Mamas: Sentiments
Papercraft Star: Anything Goes

Ok, that's it for now. Hope you have some lovely crafternoons this weekend!
Gotta Go!

Miss You

Hello there friends,
The holiday season is off & running and many people begin by running to the stores at 3 a.m. to get their bargain shopping on. Well, you won't have to knock me over with your cart cuz I don't wake up early unless I have to. I mean HAVE to---> fire, earthquakes, maybe work on most days, but never for shopping!
Anyhoo, I thought I'd share a card I made in thinking of a student whose mom is in the army overseas.
Here it is:

I used the MFT Homespun Birdhouse die & cut it on camouflage paper. I cut the tag on my Cricut & stamped "Miss You" & heat embossed it. I added a little yellow ribbon & my beloved Viva pen.
To me, this little bird is looking out waiting for Mama bird to come home- hope that's very soon.

Thanks so much for peeking! Oh, & thank you for your well wishes. I am on the mend, especially after my grammy made her special ginger hot tea for me. I swear she should bottle that! It's a total miracle cure :)
Enjoy black Friday :)
Gotta Go!

Thankful for You

Hi friends,
Happy Thanksgiving to those of us here in the states. I luuuv Thanksgiving cuz it's a time to get together with family & friends, eat, drink caramel apple cider, eat, relax, and EAT! Turkey leftovers are the BEST! My grammy makes her world famous pan con pavo (kinda like turkey sandwiches, but a million times better!!!)  I make turkey enchiladas & turkey autumn soup. I don't make these any other time of the year so my boys look forward to leftovers too :)

Today, I have a card I'm dedicating to all the sweet people who take a minute to take a peek at my blog---> that would be YOU! I'm thankful for your kind words, for your cyber hugs, for making the blog experience such a treat!
Here's my card for ya:

I used lots of MFT toys here! 5 of their products to be exact! Starting with my newest favorite set called Homespun Birdhouse--- luv! (you'll be seeing a few more cards with this set ;) Then, I also used the woodgrain picket fence die, the mini-rosette die (cut from felt), the mini-banner day set, and the Sheltering tree (for the branch). I wanted my birdcage to hang but I was too lazy to pull out my Cricut to cut out a branch. This worked OK, me thinks :)
 Here's a closer peek:

 See a touch of the Viva Pen in gold? Bit of Cream along the edges...Happy sigh... :)

Here's a peek of the innies:

I usually decorate the innies of my cards even if just a bit.

Thanks for peeking!
Gobble til you Wobble!

Spoon & Fork Included

Hi ya friends,
I'm afraid the flu bug bit me & I've been under the weather & under the covers :( but thankfully I did have a chance to make a few cards before I went down. Today's card uses a couple of things I picked up from Heartfelt Creations. It is the invitation I created for those who are attending Thanksgiving at my house this year.
Here it is:

 I only made 2 Hee! Hee! This year, the family is headed up north for Thanksgiving. My oldest son has basketball tournaments so I'm staying behind with him. So our only invitees are my brother & grammy :)

 Here's a peek from the side:

Those are appetizer spoons & forks I found a while back at Ralphs (in the aisle where they have plastic ware & plates) & I thought they were so cute!!! I bought them cuz I figured I'd use them for something crafty & it turns out, my hoarding paid off. They're miniature, silver plastic ware- perfect for my card, don't ya think?  I used the Open Falling Leaves stamp set (embossed in gold) along with the coordinating dies. The doily is PTI, the pattern papers are MME Lost & Found Sunshine, and glammed it up with my Viva Pen in gold.

Here's a peek of the innies too:
 simple...

Thanksgiving = Good eats 'round these parts. Yummy! Can't wait!

I'll be greatfully playing along in the following challenges:
The Pink Elephant: Giving Thanks
Our Creative Corner: Photo Inspiration(the golds & creams- ready to eat!)
There's Magic in the Air: Giving Thanks plus brown, Orange, Yellow
Craft your Passion: Photo Inspiration
Corrosive Challenge: Give Thanks
Card Makin Mamas: Thanks
Inspire Me Fridays: Anything Goes
Our Craft Lounge: Thankful

Thanks so much for peeking!
Here I come Nyquil...

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Hello friends,
Yes it's me!!! I know, I can't believe it either, but I told you I got a wee bit of extra craft time last weekend so I have one more card to share.
Here it is:

 I used the same paper as the other 2 previous cards- MME Lost & Found Christmas. That beautiful birdcage & birdie is a Spellbinder's die called Bird Sanctuary. I cut it out on some gold cs. I used my fav poinsettia die again, this time cutting it out of felt. The chain is the chain border punch from EK Success. The little sprigs is a MS punch.

Here's a closer peek:

Did you notice my beloved Viva pen??? Little touches here & there on the cage... happy sigh... :)

Here's a peek at the dimension of the birdcage (and a peek of the innies.)

 Thanks so much for peeking today friends :) I have a few Christmas cards in my stash and now I've gotta get started on my Thanksgiving stuff- yikes! That's around the corner!

Gotta Go!

Fun with Toys

Hello friends,
I have another Christmas card to share using one of my new toys :)
Here it is:

 I paired the cross stamp from Heartfelt Creations with the Spellbinders Cross Collection. I heat embossed it in gold and trimmed around it.

Here's a closer peek:

The papers are MME Lost & Found Christmas and of course I added some Viva pearls to the swirls. The gold cardstock is from SU and the sentiment is an outline sticker.

I used this week's Sweet Stop Sketch (luuuv their sketches :) turned to the side:

My card will be playing along with the following challenges:
Hooked on Crafts: Die cuts or punches
Make it Monday: Anything Goes
Dutch Dare Card Challenges: Die cuts
Paper Crafting Journey: Embossing
Papertake Weekly: Christmas
the Sweet Stop Sketches: Sketch 134

Thanks for peeking today!
Have a great week :)

Candlelight and Grammy

Hi ya friends,
I surely enjoyed having Friday off. I did a WHOLE LOT---> of nuthin' !!! ahhh, sometimes you just have to have those days :) but Saturday, I went with my grammy to a Stamp in the Hand Stamp Convention. We had fun & definitely helped boost the economy! Well, I bought stuff & grammy bought me more stuff :) Grammys are the best :) :) :) So many new fun toys!
Today, I have one I made with one of the sets I picked up from Heartfelt Creations.
Here it is:

 This is the Holiday Poinsettia Candle set. I think it's really lovely :) I stamped it on Cranberry Crisp cs (yes, I'm finally letting go of my hoarding ways- cuz you SU peeps know how old that cs is!) I heat embossed it on cream cs, cranberry crisp cs, cut them out, & popped up the poinsettia with foam tape.
Here's a closer peek:

 To give it that melted candle wax look, I smeared some Viva Pen over it. (See, there's more to do with that little guy than just pearls ;) and the flickering flame was colored with Copics & got a bit of Stickles. The holly leaves also were colored with Copics. The pattern paper is MME Lost& Found Christmas- so luuuv it :)

I'm so happy to get started on my Christmas cards. I know some of you start in July, but I just can't. My mind is on BBQ & watermelon! My blog pal, Kathy C, does 1 Magnolia Christmas cards per month. That would be great for me, but I haven't gotten it together like that. Buuuut, I did get to create this card using Kathy's fab sketch for Tuesday Morning Sketches:

Woo hoo! Great job on the sketch, Kathy! It was great fun to work with :)

I'm also playing along with:
Christmas Card Challenges: Holly or Wreath
Paper Crafting Journey: Embossing
Papertake Weekly: Christmas
Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch #119

Thanks for peeking today!
Wishing you lovely crafternoons :)

A Cautionary Tale

Hi friends,
Hope you've been getting used to the changes in the air as we move into winter. We definitely can feel it's Novem-burr here in So Cal! If it drops below 65 degrees, I'm all over my Snuggie! :)
I FINALLY had a bit of time to get some crafting in since (I feel like) it has been forever since I've gotten a chance to craft. So I whipped up a little diddy with this week's Mojo sketch. I have to admit that I really was liking where my card was going until I grabbed the most dangerous tool in my craft arsenal ---> my Viva pen :(
Take a looksie:

Have you seen those shows "When Good Pets Go Bad" or "When Animals Attack"? They should totally do that with paper crafting and call it "When Good Crafts go Bad" See what happens when I am kept away so long from my Viva pen??? I go insano with it :( yes, more than usual ;) ah well... but i do luuuuv that Spellbinders Poinsettia die! be-a-u-ti-ful!!! So let this serve to remind you to play with your toys often, or else... Good Crafts Go Bad!!!!

Here's the fab Mojo sketch

I reeeeeeaaally luv this sketch!

Thanks for Peeking today :)
Hope to be back soon!
Gotta Go!