Christmas 2011

Well, Christmas 2011 has come and gone...and I guess the most honest assesment of it is that it wasn't the total pits, but it sure was a somber time as this was the first Christmas without my Dad. 

Most of my family was in Tennessee with my Mom, which I am thankful for...I really didn't want her to be alone.  I stayed in Florida with my 2nd oldest sister and her family.  We have spent quite a bit of time in TN since my Dad's passing and getting more time off from work for Christmas just wasn't going to happen this year.

I was also on call the week of Christmas for work, so that is never a fun thing.

I really tried to be happy with my sister's kids, but honestly, outside of that, I would have been perfectly happy to sleep it all away.  I'm relieved it's over and we survived it.  How's that for Christmas cheer?

I guess that's all I have for now.  I'm looking forward to getting back to my craft room for some card making that has nothing to do with Christmas...I guess a few weeks of anything goes cards might be what's in store. 

I'm ready to say goodbye to 2011...how about you?

Christmas Card #5

I realize there is more than one card here...but the sketch was the same, so I'm just showing you all 3 versions of the sketch that I created.  All the paper is from the Mistletoe collection, now retired, by CTMH.  The stamps are also CTMH and retired.  I used a kraft card base (kraft paper from Papertrey Ink).  It's hard to tell in the pictures, but on the "Joy" stamp, I used a green pearl in the middle and surrounded it with itty bitty sparkles, and on the "Noel" card, there is an itty bitty sparkle in the middle of the bow on the gift.  I cut all the circles and ovals on my cricut...which makes for a fairly fast assembly.  The colors on these cards are Cranberry and New England Ivy.

Christmas Card #4

This card was a breeze to make.  I used a red card base and then some ornament paper from DCWV.  There is glitter embedded in the paper.  I then cut an ornament and a shadow on my cricut and layered them.  I used some adhesive foam on the alternating swirls in teh ornament to give it some texture/movement and then tied a bow at the top.  Easy peasy!



Christmas Card #3

Today's cards are variations of ones I first made for Operation Write Home (the 2nd card is a copy of it).  On my cards, I used some glitter glue on the trees for just a little sparkle.  The tree stamps are from Close To My Heart and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  I love how the paper (from DCWV) has non traditional Christmas colors of pink, burgundy and lime green in it.  I used CTMH Pear ink for the trees.  Fun &fast to recreate!  (There are also some itty bitty sparkles the tops of the trees in the 2nd card!)

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Christmas Card #2

Yes, I realize this is more than one card, but the layout is the same.  I used papers from Hobby Lobby (not sure of the company brand, but I think the snowmen paper is from The Paper Company) and these cute felt embellishments they had in the Christmas craft section.

I used a sketch from Operation Write Home (#83).  It is a super easy design and I will share a few more cards I made using it tomorrow!  Enjoy!

Christmas Card #1

I have been making Christmas cards for a few years now, but this is the first year I won't be sending any store bought at all...it's homemade or nothing! :)  I typically make a few cards of several different designs so I don't get bored and then I have a variety of styles/colors/sentiments I can pick from when I'm chosing a card for a specific individual.  Here is the first card I'm going to share this year:

This card is CASED from Vicki Wizniuk, a fellow CTMH consultant.  It features the paper from "Believe" which has Holiday Red, Sweet Leaf, Sky and White Daisy in it.  I used a stamp from Papertrey Ink for the sentiment in Black (some say Season's Greetings and some say Merry & Bright).  The snowflake is a Marvy punch and then I used a white snowflake brad in the center I purchased at JoAnn's.  I didn't glue the snowflake down, it's attached with the brad, which allows for it to spin if you want to.  The scallop border across the bottom is a Fiskars border punch. 

The assembly of a group of these is fairly easy and the end result is a nice not too bulky card that is easy to mail.  I made 6 of these for Operation Write Home back in November and 4 for my own use.  Hope you like it!



David's Visit

So far, David has had a pretty exciting visit!  Last Wednesday, he spent the afternoon at my office and was given a special ID badge with the title of "Chief Volunteer"...made his day!

Then on Friday, he helped me set up my Christmas tree...but this was all we accomplished:

Then on Saturday, he visited with Erica and Grace to work on some Christmas projects (I can not get into detail about this because it's a surprise!)

Here he is teasing Grace, who is not pictured.

Here he is working diligently on his artwork.

December Is Here!

Ok, so I wasn't very good with keeping up with blogging in November.  It's been a crazy month and I feel bad I did not continue posting about what I'm thankful for through the month, but that in no way means I wasn't thankful for SO much and I continue to be thankful every day for the blessings God has given me in my life. 

My mom was visiting for about 10 days this month and then my brother David flew down for a month long visit on the 17th.  Lots of family time and a little crafting time this past weekend too!  I know, I know...I need to post some pictures!  Let me see what I can do today. :)