My Top Ten Cards

Saw this fun blog hop that's happening at The Manic World of Mrs Weyremaster
and thought I'd join along.  Here are my top ten twelve cards (click on the picture to be taken to the original post)

Dog, CAS, Eat Cake Graphics, Waltzingmouse, Polka Dots, Embossing

Dog, Eat Cake Graphics, Embossing

Dog, Eat Cake Graphics, Rubber Romance, Polka Dots, Embossing, for DH

Pig, CAS, Polka Dot, Embossing

Dog, Eat Cake Graphics, Polka Dots, Dare To Get Dirty (DTGD) Challenge

CAS, One-Layer Wonder Challenge, Embossing, for DH

Dog, PTI, Polka Dots, Glossy Effects, Embossing

WPlus9, Flowers, Pretty, Embossing

SU, Pretty, Embossing, for DH

SU, CAS, Pretty, Embossing, Virtual Stamp Night Challenge

Dog, Glossy Effects, for DH

PTI, CAS, Polka Dots, Glossy Effects

TOTALS:

Embosssing and/or Glossy Effects: 12

Dog: 6

Polka Dots: 6

CAS: 5

Eat Cake Graphics: 4

for DH: 4

PTI:2

SU: 2

Rubber Romance: 1

WPlus9: 1

Waltzingmouse: 1

Judging from these totals, my next cards should involve an embossed polka dotted dog!  :) Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Ok, one last Christmas card!

Now this card did make me see the genius of having a computerized cutting machine, because, yes, I cut all the letters out by hand.  I created the card in Word using WordArt, which makes it handy to play with the layout by moving, resizing, and rotating each word.  The font is Gill Sans.  I printed it directly onto the Echo Park patterned paper in a light grey and cut out using a craft knife and glass mat. I adhered it to another sheet of Echo Park paper using a glue stick.  Hint: an old magazine is great for this-just throw away the page after it gets all gluey!  The heart was punched out and popped up. And then the awesome part...

wait for it....


wait for it....


wait for it....

Heck yeah!!!!  (I couldn't resist adding some festive Picnik lights).  I did the same thing as above: printed, cut out, and adhered.  The corgi is from Eat Cake Graphics, stamped on a piece of felted paper.  Another hint: don't use copics on felted paper!  Pencils work much better.  The hat is from The Cat's Pajama's, stamped on red felted paper with some snow-writer accents (have I mentioned my hatred of the snow writer recently?  It is evil, but looks good).  Another hint: line the back of your felted paper with some clear packing tape before cutting out to make it a bit sturdier.  Here's a corgi close-up:

Merry Christmas to all of you....I hope you get everything you want for Christmas!

(except the corgi is all mine!!)

Harumph.

Is there anything funnier than a disapproving bunny?  Well, perhaps a disapproving cat.

Yup, "Marmie Decides to Leave" from Eat Cake Graphics cracks me up every time!  And such a quick and easy card...stamp Marmie and color with copics.  Stamp ornament from PTI's Tiny Treats: Christmas.  Stamp again on scrap paper, color ornament, cut out and adhere.  Spell out "paw humbug" using The Cat's Pajamas Coolvetica alphabet set (bonus: the "n" can be a "u" so you can stamp the whole phrase at once).  Giggle to yourself the whole time.

And more news to giggle over....we may have a white Christmas here in Alabama!  Wouldn't that be exciting!

Santa's Farm

So I have a certain fondness for farm animals.  Especially farm animals that are doing everything they can to help celebrate Christmas.  Case in point: these guys.

My goodness, I could totally write a post on how many attempts it took to get this card from idea to finished card.  Let's just say I have enough of each animal cut out to make at least two more cards.

The stamp is "All the Animals Stacked Up" from Eat Cake Graphics, stamped on October Afternoon and Stampin' Up patterned paper and heat embossed with black (makes it a bit easier to see on the patterned paper and to cut out).  I stamped the entire image onto Papertrey Ink Ripe Avocado and cut it out, leaving a small border.  Almost all of the animals could fit through the small Xyron adhesive runner, which I love to use to adhere paper pieced things.  To get Miss Bessie Cow through, I took out the cartridge from the X and it gave me enough room so she just fit.

I stamped the message (also from ECG) onto some kraft and tried out my new distress ink (fun!).  Then the whole stack was popped up with dimensionals onto some Echo Park Christmas paper (yes, more distress ink practice the edges), bordered with Ripe Avocado and kraft.

I'm just sayin' that the recipient of this card better love it or I'm asking for it back.

Hellllooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

My apologies for such an extended blog break!  You know how the holidays are!  But I finally got some cards made this weekend, so I have lots to show you over the next few days.  First up:

Making a doggie christmas card with new stamps + watching Survivor finale = vacation happiness!

I started with Eat Cake Graphic's A Scarf for Ferguson.  I took some SU Pumpkin Pie paper and crumpled it until it was soft enough to pull apart into two layers.  I then rolled this felted paper through the cuttlebug with just an embossing mat and cardboard shims to flatten out some of the "extra-felted" portions.  I stamped Ferguson on two sheets, and cut out his ear so it would fold up on one.  I layered the second one underneath so you wouldn't see polka dotted paper, and used a small piece of dimensional tape to prop the ear a little.  The scarf I stamped and cut out from some Echo Park paper-I also stamped and cut it out twice so I could have the pattern going opposite ways for a more realistic look.  I fringed the ends and also popped them up on small dimensionals.

The window is from Waltzingmouse's Twas the Night Before Christmas, embossed and cut out from SU Chocolate Chip.  The shutters and sentiment are stamped onto Close to Cocoa and Santa is stamped onto Not Quite Navy, with some stars added with a stardust pen.

The background paper is also Echo Park.  It's a big card--8 1/2 by 5 1/2--but I think Fergie deserves a nice big card, don't you agree?

I hope all your holiday plans are going well...I just sent off gift packages and cards today so all I have left to do is wrap DH's gifts!  It's nice to have almost a whole week to enjoy the tree and lights without present-buying-and-wrapping stress, and hopefully that means some more stamping time, too!  Stay tuned!

Tags, tags, and (you guessed it) tags!

First of all, a much belated thank you to Angela of Paper Cupboard for this ultra-fabulous Thanksgiving card:

I love how Angela has no fear of mixing papers and always comes up with the most creative accents!  I love the little fabric trim, the stickles in the middle of the eyelet border, and the wonderful shimmery glittery accents she added to the wreath berries.  You can read all about it on her blog here.

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted a card!  You know how it is around the holidays (and the end of the semester).  I've been hard at work this week making gifts for my fellow teachers...a set of holiday gift tags.

I try to have fun making the tags, remembering that the point is that they are handmade and each one does not have to be perfect!  I also try to make an eclectic mix, and this year was no different:

Clockwise from top left (you can always click on the pic above to get a bigger view):
Joyeux Noel: Oooh, I love this fun retro look.  The sentiment is from Waltzingmouse, and the snowflakes are from all sorts of different sets (I arrange the stamps, then stick a block over all of them so I can stamp them all at once), embossed with some Zing embossing powder.
Merry Kiss-mas: Used PTI's Tiny Treats: Christmas and Mat Stack 1 die.  I added some white gel pen to the mistletoe.
Deck the Halls: Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels 4 combined with PTI's Tiny Treats.  If you plan cleverly, you can get 13 of these labels from one sheet of paper.
Oh, deer: PTI's Fillable Frames 9 plus Tiny Treats.  I didn't buy the die for this frame, but they were pretty easy to cut out and you can get 24 tags from a sheet!
Merry Christmas: Waltzingmouse stamp, love the vintagey look of PTI's Fine Linen
Is it too late: The Cat's Pajama's stamp, added some white gel pen and stickles accents.
Warm Wishes: Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels 4 combined with PTI's Tiny Treats.
Let it Snow:  PTI's Fillable Frames 9 plus Tiny Treats.  I love the icy look of the Brilliance ink.
Be Merry and Bright: Ah, my absolute favorite and so easy!  Waltzingmouse stamp and sentiment, heat embossed with silver.

I stamped the "to/from" from Fillable Frames 9 on the back of each tag.  Also, in case you were wondering, I used Versafine Satin Red for all of the red ink on the tags--it is such a wonderful red, and I don't know why I always forget about it!

Whew!  Glad that project is checked off!  Now I need to make a few more cards and then start wrapping some presents.  Oh, and I guess make some tags for me to use!  :)

How are you coming along on your Christmas to-do list?

I May Have Addiction Issues.

So, I'm not sure if you've heard but I'm a BIG fan of picnik for playing around with photos (LOVE thier new winterize effect!).  I may have gotten so addicted that I'm actually-gasp!-going to send out photo Christmas cards this year. I know, I know, it's like I've crossed over to the dark side.  But, let me explain:
1) That Addison is a cutie patootie.
2) Especially when you picnik her photo
3) With only about 2 weeks left before I have to mail out cards, and having only about 10 done, there's no way I could get enough done to send out, even if I went completely clean and simple.
4) With the card I picked out from Shutterfly, we will totally win the "best photo card" contest of any mantel!
5) Shutterfly is offering 50 free photo cards in return for blogging about said photo cards.  It's the last day to sign up for the promotion, check it out here.

Plus it's been a while since I sent out photo cards-we sent one out with our engagement photos the December before we got married, and then sent out one with wedding photos the next December.  Both times we ordered from Shutterfly and got so many compliments.  We've been slackers the past couple of years for no real reason, and then I go to check them out this year and-wowza-they have really stepped up their game!

I mean, how cool is this top ten list?

Or I do always love a monogram!

This last one was a very close second to the one I finally chose. I love the aqua mist and red color scheme:

Which one did I choose?  Well, you'll just have to wait and see what shows up in the mailbox!

(ps--I'm in the middle of a tag-making frenzy right now, but I hope to have some new cards to post soon!  Thanks for keeping tuned in!)