Magnolia Galore

Here are the CAS Magnolia cards that I sent out this year.  I think every one of their nose-less faces are lopsided, but they were fun to color all the same. 

For Mary G.:

For Ina G.:

For Mary H.:

For Niamh O.:

For Anne D.:

For Brenda P.:

For Claudia P.:

For Theresa G.:

Embossed Holidays

Embossed Christmas Wishes:

For Trina W:

For Meaghan H.:

For Cindy P, Petra C. and Ali E. :

 

Christmas Cats and Bears

All the following stamps are from Stampavie, I believe.  They are colored with my trusty Copics.

For Bridget:

The same image with a simpler card design:

Again:

A Stampavie teddy for Maria R.:

And a different Stampavie teddy for Mary Smith (this picture is really bad...):

Carson's Christmas Cards

My grandson dug into my stash of stamped Christmas images to make a couple Christmas cards.   Here's what he came up with:

Gotta love 'em!!

You've Got Mail

Recent "just because" cards:

The same LOTV that I used for Amelia's birthday, became a Kindred Spirit card for Maria R.:

I like this little duck, but I did find him a bit hard to color with the limited Copic yellows that I have available.  He went out to Mel W. in Florida.

The doctor insisted that my son was going to be a girl, so naturally everyone bought him pink sleepers before he was born.  Fortunately, he looked good in pink!  Maybe that was my subconscious inspiration for coloring this PM boy in pink PJ's?  It went out to Claudia P.:

A happy Sassy Cheryl bear for Josie in Canada:

A Sassy Cheryl for Niamh O.:

                                            I hope YOU have received some happy mail!!

Happy Birthday

Here are some of the B-day cards that I have sent recently.

For Amelia, because this little LOTV girl could be her twin:

                                                          Happy Birthday everyone!

Fall 2013

Here are a few more simple, simple, simple fall cards using Sassy Cheryl digis.

For Monique:

For Cathy R.:

For Jill A.:

 

The leaves are almost all down, here now.  Here's hoping that I get them raked up before the snow flies!  LOL   Hope you are enjoying some beautiful weather where ever you may be!

Simply Fall

  As the air turns cooler and the leaves start to change, I think about all the people I would like to send cards and wish that I could make the time to actually sit down at my crafting table and try my hand at making the cards that I would like to make for them.  But, lack of time is my main issue.  So, the question becomes, how can I make a card quicker and still be satisfied with the result.   What is my favorite part of the card making process?  The coloring of the image -- hands down, my favorite part (although, I do not claim to be good at it, I do try!), so I want coloring to be part of the cards.  That I decided would be my card style -- just a colored image.  Then I had to decide how large the images should be printed...

Big:

Bigger:

Biggest:

 

No preference, really.  But I did decide they really needed the matting.  And when possible a caption.  So here are the rest of my extremely simple fall cards (all are 4 1/4  X  5 1/2):

Hope YOU are finding the time to make some cards, too!!

 

A Belated Birthday

Here's the card that I made for Karen's birthday with lots of Prima roses and pearls from the bridal aisle.

Give Me A Nose

O.k, I admit it.  I've always been a "face snob."   No nose, and I didn't want to use the image -- no matter how cute it was otherwise.  Over the years, my crafting friends have sent me samples of images for me to try, convinced that if I just colored one I would be hooked.  But I remained true to my snobbery -- until now.  Mary G. had a birthday to celebrate and I finally took the plunge and dug into that giant stack of faceless images to find a cute one for her card.  I'm happy to report that my crafting buddies were right -- I'm hooked.  No nose, doesn't necessarily interpret into a bad image.  Here's to many nose-less creations to come!

Supplies used were:  

Magnolia Image, 

DCWV burlap paper, 

Spare Parts flowers, 

Martha Stewart leaf punch, 

and metal embellishments, 

and teal colored card stock.

   

Pom Pom Lambs

 

I took a bit of a break from card making to spend some time with the grandkids making Christmas ornaments for them to give to their family and friends this holiday season.  The first ornament that we decided to try our hand at making is this simple pom-pom lamb.  We got the idea for these from a pin at Pinterest (I'm not posting the link, because I don't know the original poster, but I'm sure you could find her lambs on Pinterest if you are interested).

We used the two smallest sizes in the Yarnology Pom Pom maker set for the lamb's body and head. 

Note:  Waxed thread works great for tying pom poms together.  I started out using simple dental floss, but the kids wanted to make so many lambs that I soon up-graded to a thicker waxed bead thread, because the dental floss was cutting into my hands.  

Then we added 4 bought craft store pom poms for the legs and one for the face. 

Note:  The size pre-made pom poms that are needed for this are different with each type yarn that you use for the heads and bodies.

We glued them all together using Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue. 

We broke out the paper crafting supplies next and used the Cuttlebug with a Spellbinders oval die to cut out ears for the lambs from black felt.

We used fuzzy felt for the tails.  We free handed these with scissors. 

Next we added ribbon around their necks and googly eyes to their faces. 

Our lambs needed a way to hang from the Christmas tree, so we used a large needle and threaded a ribbon through the body.  And presto -- easy lamb Christmas ornaments. 

I liked the shaggy cream colored yarn for winter Christmas lambs, but my granddaughter pointed out (rightly so), that lambs are white.  So, we made some white lambs using the some technique, but with thick white wool yarn for the head and body.

Sheep also can be gray, so we made a few gray ones using just plain generic gray yarn.  (This one looks like he could use a bit of shearing to even him out in spots.)

All in all, we made a whole box of Christmas lambs.  30+ total.   Fortunately, my granddaughter didn't see that there was pink and lavender yarn in my stash or we probably would have had lamb's in colors that the good Lord never intended.  LOL. 

I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but we made some larger lambs too -- using the bigger pom pom makers -- for the kids to set in their rooms. 

Hopefully, the kids friends and family will all like their Christmas lamb ornaments. 

Have you started on your holiday crafts yet?

Readin' an 'Ritin' an 'Rithmatic

    School has started again for another season and I'm hoping my grandchildren are not "talkin' to the tune of a hickory stick."  Even my little 3 year old, granddaughter is starting pre-school this year and she is pretty thrilled about that!  So, of-course cards had to go out to them to mark the occasion.

A Sassy Cheryl for little Amelia:

And for Carson (who wasn't near as thrilled about school starting as his sister), another Sassy Cheryl:

This Bridge

                                  by Shel Silverstein

 This bridge will only take you halfway there

To those mysterious lands you long to see:

Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs

And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.

So come and walk awhile with me and share

The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.

But this bridge will only take you halfway there --

The last few steps you'll have to take alone.

Happy School Days Everyone!