My little cutie pie...

It's snowing outside and I have the day off work and I am going to spend it in my craft room watching Christmas movies, gazing at the snow outside once in a while, and creating all day long.

I adore the holidays. I'm a little sad that they are almost over. I love the excuse to spend time with family, decorate the house and get all sentimental.

Speaking of sentimental, I found this photo of my darling little niece. She spent Christmas Eve at our house making gingerbread houses. Only she is now 8! So I took a minute to remember her when she was not 8. Time flies.

I used the December Stamp of the Month, Cutie Pie, to create a cute matte for the frame. And when I'm ready to change photos, I'll slip this one out and add it to a scrapbook page. And just a little reminder, this stamp set is only available until December 31st. That's only 3 days away. Time really does fly.

Happy Holidays to all. Enjoy the rest of your holiday week!

Merry Christmas to all!

From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas VW!

And the VW Bug is back and all dressed up for Christmas! You didn't think I had retired him after the last batch of VW cards, did you?

I started out with Kraft paper which I spritzed with very watered down white paint to give the effect of snow. I stamped the tree from Make it Merry (I think this is my favorite Christmas stamp set this year) and added some twine to tie it to the top of the car. Because it's Christmas, I used some silver glitter paper to bling up my Ruby red VW.

This card makes me happy.

Merry Christmas!

PS Look what I found from my college days! It wasn't a VW Bug but it was a VW Kharmann Ghia. I can't believe my ex boyfriend (at the time), who would end up being my husband two Christmases later (it's a long story), let me borrow his car to go buy a Christmas tree with my roommate. Good times!

Tis the Season-Christmas Cards, 3

And here is card #3 that will be going out this Christmas season from me!

One of my favorite Christmas songs is Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Of course, it must be sung by Judy Garland (if you haven't before, you really should watch the movie Meet Me in St. Louis). So I had to use this stamp on a Christmas card this year.

I used my Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to cut some trees. You could use almost any background stamp to stamp the tree. I used In the Background. (Don't forget, you can get this stamp set for just $10 this month with a qualifying purchase. See here for details). I added a little twine and some sequins for bling.

I love that this one is simple and a little old fashioned. All Christmases should have something simple and old-fashioned. 

Merry Christmas!

December Stamp of the Month--Cutie Pie

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Holiday proceedings to bring you the December Stamp of the Month, Cutie Pie!

It may not be sugar plums and gingerbread but these cupcakes are pretty yummy!

I need to play with this one some more--I was experimenting with watercolors which I have zero experience with (other than watercolor coloring books as a child). But I still think this stamp set is adorable! And besides, it's only $5.00 with a qualifying $50 purchase ($17.95 without). And that qualifying purchase also makes you eligible for the Deal of the Decade--C and D size stamp sets at just $10 each!  And it's only available in December so get it while you can!

Happy Stamping and Merry Christmas!

Tis the Season--Christmas Cards, 2

Card #2 for my Christmas cards this year. This one was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.

I love the way dry embossing the white cardstock for the presents makes them stand out without the need for color. 

Merry Christmas!

Quick holiday wrap!

I love beautifully wrapped gifts. I believe that part of the magic of a gift is how it is presented. However, sometimes when you are running a little behind, there may not be time to wrap a gift in the way that you would like it to be presented. 

So here's a quick wrapping solution for a small gift, my Designer Creations Paper Bags. I popped the gift inside a bag, folded down and punched the top and tied with some ribbon bits, used my Cricut Artbooking cartridge to quickly cut the cranberry and white shapes and stamped Make it Merry in Cranberry ink. Darling wrapped gift in less than 5 minutes. 

These bags come in multiple colors. Keep a few stashed for those quick gifts. They are the perfect size for Base and Bling jewelry. And they are darling for party favors, cookies, and other such wonderfulness.

Christmas gifts--Base and Bling

Every year I struggle to find a meaningful, inexpensive gift. But Close to My Heart came out with a fabulous base and bling line of jewelry. It's quick, easy and inexpensive and you can say you made it yourself.

This is one of my favorite necklaces, given to me by the corporate office. The necklaces come in antique gold or silver and a variety of shapes.

You can add charms as shown on the necklace on the right or no charms. They are darling either way. And you can choose what image you want to go inside.

Close to My Heart has wonderful images that you can get to customize your necklaces but I wanted something Christmasy so I found this Santa image.  There is a little bubble on his beard--not noticeable from a distance. This is a result of my hurry to put together this necklace with the help of a three year old. I used this adhesive which works fabulously (liquid glass works as well) but you must make sure you rub it down well to remove any bubbles such as this. As I said, I was being assisted by a very cute but impatient three year old.

Here's another fun holiday image.

And yes, there are bracelets as well.

A pendant, a glass, a chain, an image and one charm are less than $10 (before shipping and handling). You could make multiple pendants and just switch out chains and charms. The bracelet is less than $5.50 for bracelet and image. Either way, this is a beautiful, inexpensive, personalized gift for a loved one (or yourself).

Merry Christmas!

Totes Adorbs! Just in time for Christmas!

Look what came in stock just in time to order for Christmas!

These are pretty fabulous. Check out more about these fabulous new rolling totes and the coordinating shoulder bag in the video.

You can order the rolling tote on my website or directly from me. I know I'll be asking Santa for one!

Tis the Season-Christmas Cards

Last year, I had a wonderful Christmas holiday but must admit, I was a bit of a "Bah, Humbug" when it came to Christmas cards. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas cards! I have been sending them since my college days. But last year, I got a little more caught up in crafting and memory keeping and my Christmas cards fell by the wayside--I only got a handful sent out. 

So this year, I am repenting and I am back on track. I started my Christmas cards early. However, since I tend to get a little bored making many of the same card, I'm doing a few different ones this year. Which one will you get if you are on my list? Check back during the next couple of weeks to see them all. Here is the first.

I love the look of this stamp embossed. Whether you use white, as I did, or gold or silver, it's beautiful. 

This was actually a quick and simple card. Emboss the angel in white, stamp Hark the Herald Angels... in black (be careful to dab off the black ink that gets on the white embossed area so it won't smear), sponge around the angel in crystal blue ink and then layer it all on either black glitter paper, black shimmer trim (as I did which is a bit more time consuming) or even black cardstock and then layer that on top of crystal blue cardstock and the white card base. 

I love how it turned out. And I love having a card that reflects the true reason for the season as well.

Merry Christmas!

Simply Inspired Blog Hop: Seasonal Expressions 1

I am so excited! It's the Holidays. And there is a new Seasonal Expressions full of fun new stuff. And because of that, we are blog hopping again. Time to share some great ideas with new product that will inspire you!

You should be arriving here from the lovely and talented Michelle Snyder's blog. Should you get lost along the way, simply go here to find your way. And now on to it!

Valentine's is right around the corner and I don't know about you, but my house always seems a little bare after Christmas and I don't have that many Valentine decorations. The Seasonal Expressions is full of great Valentine's stuff so I dove right in to make some Valentine decor.

I started with the Heartstrings Paper Packet and the Forever in My Heart stamp set. I've been experimenting a little bit with mixed media lately so I grabbed a canvas and started getting messy.

  

I embossed this little cherub in white and sponged around him. He didn't pop as much as I hoped so I shaded around him a bit and added a cute little puffie bow. 

I love the way this heart turned out embossed. And yes, the multi-medium made the black ink on Love Struck bleed just a little but I don't care. This is supposed to be messy, right? And I love the arrow badge from the Heartstrings Assortment. I loved these badges so much I used two.

More puffies (these are so stinking cute) and a few stickers from the Heartstrings complements...

  

And ta da! A finished canvas. This was so much fun. I used the Heart embossing folder and some Whisper cardstock to add a little more texture. I almost can't wait for Christmas to be over so I can display this (I said almost). 

I hope I've inspired you. And now on to the wonderful Lisa Stenz's blog. Happy Blog Hopping!