Nativity

 I managed to finish up my Christmas cards for the month, two of each of these designs.  I made four backgrounds, one of them I didn't like at all so I ended up using a piece of patterned paper that I had. The card on the left is my background the card on the right is patterned paper that had silver foiling in it already.

• Taylors Expressions - Bethlehem Border die
• Nuvo Shimmer powder - Blue Blitz and Violet Brocade
• Hero Arts - Merry Christmas message stamp set
• Star die from Hobby Lobby, cut w/silver foil cardstock
• Silver pen

I took a glue pen and put little dots all over the background then laid foil over them, rubbed for a little bit and let set for a few seconds then lifted up and that gave me the starry sky.

The card on the left was done with distress inks and the one on the left with more powders like the above set of cards but I took a paint brush to it, didn't like how that turned out as well.

• Taylors Expressions - Bethlehem Border die
• Distress inks - Faded Jeans, Broken China for background
• Star die from Hobby lobby
• Glue and foil for stars in background

I made it just in time but I got my Christmas cards done for the month of January :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

Ornament Swag

 I am once again going to try and make Christmas cards every month so I am not overwhelmed at the end of the year. In my stamp group we are doing challenges every month again and this months challenge was to use our dies.  

I did not use this die last year so I thought I would break it out this year once again.

• Frantic stamper - Ornamental Swag die
• Spellbinders - Candlewick Rectangles and Holiday sentiment dies
• Recollections - Christmas plaid and Christmas embossed papers
• Sequins

• Frantic stamper - Ornamental Swag die
• Spellbinders - Wreath and Holiday sentiment dies
• Lilybee designs - Jingle paper
• Nuvo - Golden sunset glitter drops

• Frantic stamper - Ornamental Swag die
• PPD - Wavy stitched rectangle set die
• Cardmaking & papercraft - sentiment tag
• My Mind's eye - Snowed in winter papers

I have a few more that I want to do by the end of this month so we will see.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Tea Stained

 I decided to try my hand at tea staining my paper.  After making my tea I took my used bags and squeezed the water out of them and then smooshed my paper into the mixture and let it set to dry.  I used one of the tea bags to cut out my doily die to go behind the stamped flowers.  

I used the same ink that I used to stamp the flower and added a little water to it and used that to splatter the background.  I distressed the edges of my tea stained background and then added some walnut stain distress ink to go around the edges. I don't know if you can see them but I used little gold glitter stickers on the background too.

• Deep Red - Wildflower bunch stamp
• Distress ink - Faded Jeans and Walnut stain
• Tea stained background w/ faded jeans ink splatters
• Prima - 8 point doily die, cut from used tea bags
• Starform - Glitter gold stickers
• Simon Says birthday sentiment

I am sharing my card today with the Sisterhood of Crafters challenge which is make your own background.

We managed to get close to 3 inches of snow, and it stayed cold so we still have it, and looks like it may be around for a little while as our temps barely get above freezing tomorrow.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, 

Connie

Enjoy the ride

 When I saw this packet of ephemera, I just loved them all so I just had to pick it up, I used the bike and the butterfly out of the set.  I thought this paper pack went great with it.  I added washi tape for the bike to ride along on. I stamped the sentiment on a piece of scrap that I had from the pack.

• Stamperia - House of Roses, die cuts (bike and butterfly)
• 49 and market - Coral Mini Collection paper
• Tim Holtz - Rose washi tape
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny words Birthday stamp

Doesn't this little scene have you all excited for spring to come. I know I am ready!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and say Hi,

Connie

Best day ever

 Back in October when I did a guest spot for Birgit, you can see the post HERE I also had in the kit this sweet little fawn, although at the time I couldn't find a way to use it, I kept it in the back of my mind and thought it would be so cute with the wood slices die that I got.  I last shared the ornaments I made with the wood slices HERE. 

The green leaves were cut from an Alcohol inked background I had and the other one was cut from patterned paper. Sorry don't know the maker of the brad, I didn't keep the info with it. For the fawn I did a little inking on him and then used my white gel pen for the spots. added a little black marker on the nose and eye.

• The Greetery - wood slices dies
• Cottage Cutz - Resting fawn dies
• Tim Holtz, Sizzix - Funky Floral #3 die
• Hot off the press - Sarabooks Ivory paper and tag
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny words birthday stamp
• Brad

Hope you have a good start to your week, ours is very soggy, but thankful it has been rain all night and not snow, he said if this rain would have been snow we could have had close to 12 inches of snow, no thank you.

Thanks so much for taking the time out to stop by and say Hi,

Connie

Twofer

 The challenge over at the Twofer Card challenge blog is to use flowers. You are supposed to use the same stamp, die or stencil, on two different cards, but you must use them on two different design of card.

I went for using the whole flower on a birthday card and just partial of the flower on my thinking of you card.

On my thinking of you card I stamped on watercolor paper and used my Zig clean markers to color the flowers.

• Stampendous - Zinnia stamp on watercolor paper, colored with Zig clean markers
• Simon says stamps - You matter stamp and you die

On my birthday card I colored with my Spectrum noir alcohol markers.

• Stampendous - Zinnia stamp, color w/markers
• Spellbinders - A2 Devine Eloquence die
• Papercraft Inspiration - Greetings stamp
• Sequins

There is a couple days left to join the challenge.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, and have a wonderful weekend!

Connie

Gratitude

 I am using a pre printed sentiment today for another thank you card I needed.  Cut it out with my die, adding a bit of inking around the edges and added some flowers I die cut then shaped with my foam pad and stylus.

• Hot off the press - Cardmakers Card Quotes
• Spellbinders - Captivating Squares and Rose Creation dies
• Basic Grey - Periphery paper
• Paper Studio - Gems

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today and say Hi,

Connie

Zoom Creations

 Our stamp group got together again for another Zoom meeting to create a different style card.

We first added some hand sanitizer to our glossy cardstock and rubbed it over the background, then we dropped 3 different colors of alcohol inks to the background, then rub the inks together.  Let this dry and once dry run it through an embossing folder.  While you are waiting for it to dry, take your base cardstock, which is 8.5 x 5.5 inches, score at 4.25 to make your card the normal 4.25 5.5 inches, now on the long side cut off 1.25 inches off, you will use that piece for your closure.  Score that piece at an inch and you will glue that inch piece to your base.  Now take your white cardstock that you will have on the inside of your card and stamp along the border. This you will see when you have the card closed.  The square that you stamp your greeting will be 2x2 inches. Mat with the same color as your base.  You can cut off the strip so that you will glue your greeting to it wherever you would like it to land on your card front.

I hope all that made sense.

Here is the first card I made while in the zoom meeting.

• Cuttlebug - Leafy branch embossing folder with Alcohol ink background
• Alcohol inks - Adirondack - Steam, sunshine yellow and lettuce smeared
• Honbay - leaf stamp
• Studio G - You're on my mind stamp, colored with markers

Now this next alcohol ink background I did before she told us to smear it and it was already dried, so I went ahead and made the same style card out of the background.

• Cuttlebug - Victoria embossing folder w/alcohol inks background
• Honbay - stamps
• Bobunny - sentiment stamp

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

Lizard

 I was stuck what to make for my great nephews card when I started flipping through the images in my coloring calendar and came across this and thought he might think it was cool.

The challenge over at Simon Says Wednesday challenge is to use layers, and did I use them, each of the mountain ranges were cut from different cardstock.

I am also adding this to the Dies R us Challenge which is any die they sell in their store.

• Coloring for calm calendar image - colored w/markers
• Poppystamps - Stitched Landscape die
• Impression Obsession - Mountain Landscape Layers and small grass dies

I used pattern paper for the sand and the sky.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and I hope that your week is off to a great start!!

We have sunshine this morning, so that makes this girl happy :)

Connie

Happy Day

 My great niece is turning 12 and I thought these two might bring a smile to her face.

I used the colors in the papers to determine how I colored in the stamps. I used a needle and thread to tie the ribbon and button on the tag. A little inking around the die that I used to cut the kitties out with.

• Inky Antics - Balloon kitties stamp, colored w/markers
• Spellbinders - Peony and Back to basics tag dies
• My Mind's eye - Quite Contrary paper
• Button and Ribbon

I hope your weekend is as much fun as these two are having.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!

Connie

Hey Sweetie

 Sharing some more goodies I bought for myself for Christmas.  I have been eyeing these bird dies for awhile and wondered did I need more bird dies but I finally said yep I want them for Christmas :)

I used a bit of patterned paper with my brown cardstock to give him a touch of blue.  My background is one I did with my stamp group awhile ago but can't remember what technique we used with the stencil.  I decided to keep the blue theme by making my leaves blue too.  When I showed hubby he said, "Blue Leaves"  I said yep putting a bit of artistic feel to it and going off the usual, since he is an artist himself he said well done :)

• Stenciled background from my stash
• Tim Holtz - Feathered Friends and Crochet dies
• Memory Box - Botanical stem die
• Fiskars - Essential Sayings sentiment

I  just really love the details in this set, there is another bird I will have to use soon :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

Thanks

 I have a couple of thank you cards to share today, I meant to post one yesterday but the day just seemed to have so many things come up that it never got done, so now I will post them both together.

The first I went with a die that I don't think I have used yet, I think my hubby bought it and I never was sure how I would use it but I thought why not frame it.

I cut it from white cardstock, then did a little bit of paper piecing for the bigger flowers and colored in the purple flowers with markers and then added a few stickles.  All papers I have used on this is from the same paper pack including the die cut frame.

• Spellbinders - Flower Bursts die
• Hero Arts - Wood Frame die
• Basic Grey - Periphery paper
• Fiskars - Essential sayings sentiment
• Stickles - Yellow and stormy night

My second card I used Hunkydory  papers, images, sentiment and borders.

 I liked the way they did the flower background with two different patterns so I tried to mimic that by using two different patterns for my card background.  All that I added that wasn't in the card kit was some enamel dots.

• Hunkydory - Flutterbye wishes card kit, images, paper, border and sentiment
• Stampin up - enamel shapes

We had sunshine yesterday and with warmer temperatures, I so enjoyed getting out for a walk and soaking it up, we have another sunshine day today, so bummed that a portion of that will be running around getting errands done but will be nice when I am outside walking from building to car :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!

Connie

Winter Wreath

 This is the first time using this stamp, I bought it awhile back when Spellbinders was having one of it's sells. I decided to go for a watercolor feel to it. Stamped and then painted in with watered down distress inks.  I meant it to look more wintery but it ended up having an Autumn feel to it.  I splattered with some gold paint too!

• Spellbinders - Floral Wreath stamp, colored w/distress ink
• Simon Says stamps - Tiny words birthday stamp
• Gold Paint Splatters

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today, and I hope your week ahead is a good one!!

Connie

Winter Sleighs

 I think it was back in October when we went to Target I saw these sleds in the front of the store and immediately thought they would make some neat presents for my friends. I even had an idea for how to decorate them.  

The first is for my friend that always hopes for snow, she loves it and figures if it is going to be cold it might as well snow.  I cut the let it snow image with my Silhouette cameo. Used dies for the pine boughs, I cut those from sheets that I had dipped in Distressed inks that I had watered down and dried between layers.  I used some of the Flora craft brand Diamond Dust to look like snow in the Boughs. The big and little snowflakes at the top are from Gemini dies.

I don't know if this will work or not so let me know if you can view it or not but I tried to take a video of the shimmer that the Diamond Dust gives, you can only appreciate it in person.

My next one I went with a different image also cut on my silhouette, this time I used berries with the pines and went with a white bow.

My other girlfriend ended up moving away shortly after I bought these so I made the last one for myself. This one had two deer in it, I have it hanging by my front door.  

I had fun making these and I haven't cut with my silhouette in a long time, I was pretty thrilled that these turned out so well.  I tried cutting more things for cards and they didn't turn out so well so I just quit, maybe another day.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by, cross your fingers we may see the sun peeking out tomorrow, I may have to run out and soak as much of it up as I can, LOL!

Connie

Wishing You

 This is a sentiment stamp and die set I bought for myself for Christmas.  There are too different styles of You stamps in the set along with other sentiments to go with them, I also purchased the You die to go with it and I used that on this card. Bird was cut with my Silhouette cameo machine, the tag and the stars were cut from this paper pack.

• Simon says stamps - You Matter stamp set and You die
• Silhouette Cameo - Bird
• Recollections - Awesome Boy paper

Two days ow of cloudy and cold and it feels like it has been a week, hopefully we will see some sun soon.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!!

Connie

Winter Birds

 We have cardinals all year long here, but I decided to make a winter looking card with this guy.  The Happy Birthday was cut from a piece of dark brown cardstock but of course it looks black in the picture. This background is some paper that my sister gave me this past fall and I just thought it looked like a cool crisp winter sky.

This is a mini slim line card, I had come across these envelopes that a friend gave me years ago, they were among some bigger size envelopes and I didn't realize it, so I will be making more of these until I run out of those envelopes :)

• Cheery Lynn Designs - Feathered Friends die
• Memory Box - Happy Birthday Garland
• Tim Holtz - Funky Floral #3 dies
• Hot off the press - Great backgrounds paper
• Stickles - Burgandy and Frosted Lace
• Enamel accents - black

We really need to pray for our country, what happened yesterday at the capital was just crazy and should have never been even considered to happen.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,

Connie

New Friend

 I love how our blogs can bring us new friends all the time. Jill came to my blog in early November and then I visited her blog and between our comments and reading of each others posts and then emailing back and forth we found out that we have a lot in common.  One thing is how we have bought quite a few card making magazines over the years.  She asked would we like to exchange Christmas cards, I had just bought a Card making magazine prior to that with Christmas stamps so I knew just what I would use for my card, I shared that card on Christmas.

When Jill sent her Christmas card to me she also gave me most of the supplies to make some cards myself using the same supplies she use in her card.

This is the card Jill sent to me. Such a pretty shaker card isn't it.  I like the way that she used the fabric holly on the card too and that silver paper with the snow falling.

Here is the first card I made using the same things except I had my shaker on top of my base paper, and put a black background so I could add my own falling snow with a white gel pen, along with the fun sequins she sent to put inside for the falling snow.  As you can see I forgot to remove the stickiness to the foam tape so some of my sequins stuck to the sides.

Yes you are seeing my camera and my hands taking the picture against the acetate, I have already sent this card out, I needed a few more cards, so I can't get another picture. I backed my houses with some yellow cardstock.  

After I was all finished and looking at it I saw laying on my desk a piece of the holly fabric she sent me to use, I tried every which way to get it to work and it just didn't look right, so I went with making another card, LOL!

This time I decided not to make it a shaker card, and I colored one of the stamps she also sent, added a few more of the sequins, glitter for snow and then added the holly fabric on top! All the goodies she sent was from a Magazine which had the stamps, and dies, I recognized the stamps because I had used them in my 2019 card making, so I went and checked and yep I had the same magazine, so I cut out my base of the globe with silver paper, so I cheated a little bit with that part.

Thanks Jill for dropping by my blog that day and starting off another friendship.  

Thanks so much to all of you too for your friendships over the years, and for stopping by my blog :)

Connie

Thinking of you today

 A friend from church lost his brother to Covid19.  He fought for a month but didn't make it. So hard to see the toll this virus has had on people and how the families have to ask that people just wear their masks.  I don't think it hits home until you lose someone from this.

• Heartfelt Creations - Woodsy Wonderland collection, papers, sentiment and images
• Spellbinders - A2 matting basics A & B and A2 distressed edges die

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope the week ahead is a good one,

Connie

Birthday Surprise

 One of my fellow cardmakers asked our group if we could send her sister that is in a nursing home a birthday card since she will not have a party.  It is quickly approaching so I went with some flowers I had already stamped out ahead of time which made bringing this together much quicker.  I was going through my sentiments and I found this sticker and I am hoping that she was at least given a piece a cake by the home to celebrate her day :)

This is another one of those cards that turned out much brighter than I imagined but I am thinking of being cooped up and not having visitors it might be nice to have some brightness!

• Simply cards & Papercrafts - Layered Peonies stamps
• Altenew - Vintage Roses stamps
• Spellbinders - Labels three die
• My Mind's eye - Quite Contrary papers
• SRM - Happy Birthday sentiment sticker

Wishing you a fun and creative weekend!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

Connie

Ornament

 Normally each year when we go on vacation we come across an ornament that is a great reminder of our trip and we buy it for that year's ornament and so when we put them on the tree we can remember back to the past years and where we went.  Well this year all we really did was go home to Michigan in October for our sibling get together and on the way home stopped at a state park in Indiana.  At the time we were not going into stores that we didn't need to so there was no visiting of the park store to see if they had any ornaments, so I decided to make my own from dies I bought myself for Christmas this year :)

I love this new die that looks like a slice of wood, there are two sizes that come in  the set one is smaller than this one.  

• The Greetery - Wood slices die
• Tim Holtz, Sizzix - Large Funky Festive dies
• Glitter ribbon

I thought I would share how it looks on my tree.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today and all the days throughout the year!!!!

 Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy Year to come!!!

Connie