Tree Tops Glisten

Here is my last Christmas project to share. I wanted to get it up sooner but I've been without internet (unplanned) the past few days. My goodness how odd it has felt to be "unplugged"! For this card I die cut the tree from Always Artichoke card stock and stamped the garland image from WPlus9's Heartfelt Mix in Versa Mark across it several times. I embossed it in gold and then ran the tree through my Cuttlebug with the woodgrain impression plate. The rest of the elements I pulled from PTI's In the Meadow set. The snowflakes were stamped in Fine Linen ink and the sentiment at the bottom was also embossed in gold.

That's it from me until the New Year. I wish you all a very merry Christmas with your families and I'll see you again in 2014!!




SUPPLIES
Stamps: In the Meadow (PTI), Heartfelt Mix (WPlus9)
Paper: Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Confetti Cream (SU!)
Ink: Fine Linen (PTI), Versa Mark
Tools: Christmas Tree die, Woodgrain impression plate (PTI)
Embellishments: gold embossing powder

Holly Jolly Christmas

Hello! I have just a few more Christmas themed projects to share over the next few days and then I plan on taking a blogging break until the new year. For this simple card I started out by cutting a double ended banner die from white card stock and stamping the sentiment, which I picked up from the Michael's $1 bin a few years ago. I accented the side with a button and some holly leaves die cut from Kiwi Kiss card stock. The banner was then adhered to a block of Real Red that had been impressed with my Linen & Canvas impression plate. All of that was mounted on a white card base. Easy and mass producible (which I did!).

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!




SUPPLIES
Stamps: Michael's $1 sentiment stamp
Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI), Real Red, Kiwi Kiss (SU!)
Ink: Smokey Shadow (PTI)
Tools: Double Ended Banner die, Holly Jolly die, Linen & Canvas impression plate (PTI)
Embellishments: red button

Holiday Craft Show Recap

After months of planning and preparation, my two holiday craft shows have come and gone. A lot of work, a lot of fun, and a lot of learning went into them. There are definitely things I will do differently if I decide to participate in another one, but they were both valuable experiences and it was wonderful to meet and connect with other local crafters.  I thought I would share some photos from yesterdays show.

Here is my table! I had lots of cards (of course!), gift tags, chalkboard frames, handmade soap, and a few crocheted bracelets. Quite a variety, but you know me, I love to make things!

This is the banner I made with my shop name for my table. The pennants are cut from canvas and I hand lettered the words with fabric paint. The pennants are stitched together with a long length of black bias tape and I made little lace rosettes to go between the words.

I organized my cards in baskets by occasion.  I'm thinking I may need a different way to display them in the future, so that more cards are visible at a time. Any great ideas out there for displaying cards?

Gift tags!

In addition to the packaged sets of tags, I also sold some individually.



And I had handmade soap! I learned how to make cold process soap from my mom and sister and the three of us have been making it together for years. But I live across the country from them now and I have just started making batches of soap on my own. You may be seeing bars of soap make an appearance in my Etsy shop in the new year. Maybe. :)



Lastly, here are my business cards, looking very cute in a wire basket I picked up at the Country Living Fair this year. 

And that as they say is that! I have lots of Christmas projects that I need to photograph and share, so I'll be seeing you again soon!

xoxo

Winterberry Christmas Wreath Card

Happy Monday!

Today I'm back with another Christmas card. I used PTI's Wreath for All Seasons for the focal image. The twig wreath was stamped in chocolate chip ink and the berries were stamped in real red ink on a panel of rustic white card stock. The gorgeous sentiment is from SU's set Hand Penned Holidays. Love! The bottom of the panel was die cut with the Edger's #1 die and also run through my Cuttlebug with the Linen & Canvas impression plate. I tied a bit of baker's twine around the top and mounted it to a real red card base.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving this week!

 


SUPPLIES
Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons (PTI), Hand Penned Holidays (SU!)
Paper: Real Red (SU!), Rustic White (PTI)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red (SU!)
Tools: Linen & Canvas impression plate, Edgers #1 die (PTI)
Embellishments: baker's twine

Reindeer Christmas Gift Tags

Hello! Today I have a few more Christmas gift tag designs to share with you. For these I pulled out an old Stampin' Up! set that I love called Winter Post. I simply stamped the "To: / From:" and the reindeer in Cherry Cobbler ink on a Tag Sale #2 die cut and then strung them with red and white baker's twine. Simple but I love how they turned out.  

I also made a set in kraft. Which set do you like better? Happy crafting!


 

SUPPLIES
Stamps: Winter Post (SU!)
Paper: Rustic White, Kraft (PTI)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU!)
Tools: Tag Sale #2 die (PTI)
Embellishments: baker's twine

Happy Fall

Hello! I'm taking a brief break from holiday projects today to share a fall card with you. The leaves were die cut with my Leaf Prints die and embossed with PTI's wood grain impression plate, then popped up on a panel of rustic cream card stock. I even snuck in some more Wreath for All Seasons with the sentiment. Ha! Everything was mounted to a kraft card base and wrapped with some hemp twine.

Today is the first of my two craft fairs. I am really excited to connect with other crafters and share everything I have busily been creating, but also a little nervous. What if nothing sells?! Either way, it has been fun preparing and creating a cute table display. I'll hopefully have photos to share with you later in the week. :)

I hope you are enjoying your fall!

**I am also linking up to this week's Paper Player's Challenge, to create a clean and simple card with leaves!




SUPPLIES: 
Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons (PTI)
Paper: Kraft, Rustic Cream (PTI), Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Tools: Leaf Prints die, Woodgrain impression plate (PTI)
Embellishments: hemp twine

Woodland Christmas Wreath

Hello! Just popping in to share a new card design I created for my upcoming craft fair. I used my beloved Wreath for All Seasons set again, I never get tired of it! The wreath was stamped onto a Mat Stack #4 die cut, and the sentiment is on a Double Ended Banner die cut. I sponged around the edges of both for a softer look and mounted them to a panel of Cherry Cobbler card stock impressed with a wood grain texture. Both the mat stack and banner are popped up with foam tape. I love how this one turned out and hope others do, too! :)



SUPPLIES
Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons (PTI)
Paper: Rustic White (PTI), Cherry Cobbler (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler (SU!), Antique Linen (Ranger)
Tools: Mat Stack #4 die, Double Ended Banner die, Wood Grain impression plate (PTI)

Fill 'er up!

Happy Monday! I've busily been getting ready for my two upcoming holiday craft fairs, trying to make sure I have enough inventory. I don't want to be that sad little table in the corner with only a few items. Ha!

As previously mentioned, I love making gift tags, so that is what has been coming out of the craft room recently. These tags use an older Stampin' Up! set called Eventful. This cheeky little phrase just cracks me up! The stocking and sentiment are embossed in white for a crisp look against the red and green card stock.

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here!



SUPPLIES
Stamps: Eventful (SU!)
Paper: Real Red, Wild Wasabi (SU!)
Ink: Versa Mark
Tools: Fillable Frames #9 die (PTI)
Embellishments: white embossing powder, baker's twine

Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

Hello! After a bit of a blogging break I am happy to say I am back! To get back in the swing of things I thought I would participate in Papertrey Ink's monthly blog hop. This month's challenge was to create a set of five gift tags.

I love making gift tags, especially this time of year. Dressing up gifts in pretty packaging makes them feel extra special. As a paper crafter it seems almost remiss not to make my own tags! :)



I chose to use one of my favorite PTI sets, Wreath For All Seasons. The wreath and sentiment were stamped on a Tag Sale #2 die cut from Rustic White card stock .

I made a set of eight and strung them with red satin ribbon.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else creates today!

SUPPLIES
Stamps: Wreath for All Seasons (PTI)
Ink: Garden Green, Riding Hood red (SU!)
Paper: Rustic White (PTI)
Tools: Tag Sale #2
Embellishments: red satin ribbon

The Baby Blanket That Almost Wasn't

Late in my pregnancy with my son I decided to crochet a baby blanket for him. I had completed various and sundry other projects for him, like a denim play quilt and a bassinet skirt,  but I suppose I wasn't quite done "nesting" yet.  However, I didn't get it done in time. I blame this partially on the fact that the size of the blanket got away from me and it turned out quite a bit larger than originally intended, thus taking far more time to complete. And partially on the fact that I really should have started sooner.

After our son was born I took a three month hiatus from my crochet project. Being a new mom was all encompassing enough! I eventually picked it up again and worked on it in the evenings after the baby was in bed. It was taking so long, though, I was afraid the poor kid would turn one before I got his "baby" blanket done. But I am happy to report that I finally finished it this week!

I decided to try out a new stitch for the blanket so I pulled out the book Basic Crochet Stitches and flipped through it until I found one that A) made a pretty pattern and B) wasn't too difficult to do. I went with one called the Crunch Stitch, which is basically a half double crochet alternated with a slip stitch.

The reason the blanket turned out so large is that I wasn't working off a baby blanket pattern per se, I just knew I wanted to use a particular stitch. Meaning I estimated how long to make my foundation stitch, and crunch stitched from there. Let's just say my foundation chain was a wee bit too long. Oops.

But it all turned out okay in the end, because the baby is now nearly seven months old (!). So having a blanket that measures roughly 45" x 36" is actually perfect because it is large enough for him to roll around and play on. Glad to be done, but also sort of sad. Maybe I'll need to find another crochet project to keep my hands busy in the evenings. :)


SUPPLIES
Carron Simply Soft Yarn, white
5mm crochet hook

Embossed Oak Tree Stationary

A while back I made a set of stationary featuring this lovely oak tree image on some simple deckle paper.  I loved how they turned out and wanted to explore that theme again.

This time I wanted to see how the image would look embossed in gold. To complement the gold tree I chose to use Chocolate Chip card stock. I love how these turned out! So elegant and simple! These are also a bit larger, a traditional A2 size. 

The inside of each card is lined with a panel of ivory colored card stock. Thanks for taking a look!


SUPPLIES
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree (SU!)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla (SU!)
Ink: Versa Mark
Embellishments: gold embossing powder

Banana Nut Muffins

Recently, while tumbling down the rabbit hole of Pinterest, I came across Jenny Hobick's blog, Everyday Occasions, and promptly proceeded to pin nearly every recipe she had shared. These banana nut muffins are the first I have had the opportunity to try out, but given the delicious results, I have to imagine the others are just as good.

I made the minor adjustments of using an electric mixer (she uses a Kitchen Aid) and baking them in standard sized muffin tins (she used a jumbo tin). Other than that I made these exactly as called for and they were amazing! I am always on the lookout for a good muffin or quick bread recipe, and these will definitely be joining my tried and true file. Enjoy! :)

Banana Nut Muffins from Everyday Occasions

INGREDIENTS
4 overripe bananas
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. nuts, finely chopped (I used walnuts)

PREPARATION
Peel the bananas.  Mash them roughly with a fork, leaving some chunky pieces for texture.  Place half of them in a large mixing bowl.  Set aside the other half of the bananas.

Add sugar to the bananas in mixing bowl, beat them together for 3 minutes with an electric mixer until a frothy mixture forms.  Add butter, eggs and vanilla.  Mix together until combined.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, remaining bananas and nuts.  Stir until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Scoop the batter into a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes until baked through.  Serve with softend butter.

Floral Thank You Note Sets

Today I have more thank you notes to share with you. I wanted to play around with this lovely image from the SU! set Field Flowers. It is so beautiful and elegant! I've been challenging myself to pull out stamp sets that I haven't used in a while and give them some love.

 

The card base is made from Rustic Cream card stock (PTI), which has flecks of fiber in it. I love how that adds to the natural beauty of the cards.

For this first set, I stamped the two-tone flower in Barely Banana and Tangerine Tango ink. The stems are stamped in Always Artichoke.  I played around with lots of color combos to get the look I was going for. I have gotten rather spoiled by using clear stamps lately. In going back to rubber, my stamp-a-ma-jig was my best friend getting everything lined up!

 

The sentiment was stamped three times in Tangerine Tango without re-inking.  Stamping off isn't a technique I use very often, but I like how this sentiment turned out!

Inside, I stamped a flower bud in the same colors. I like to embellish the lower left corner of the inside of my cards, because you usually sign on the right. How do you embellish the inside of your cards?

Here is the same design in purple. This time the flowers were stamped in Lavender Lace and Vintage Violet.

And in pink! This one was done in Pretty in Pink and Rose Red ink.



There are four cards in each color set, all bundled together with raffia.  All three sets are available in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!


SUPPLIES
Stamps: Field Flowers (SU!), Mat Stack 1 Collection (PTI)
Paper: Rustic Cream (PTI)
Ink: Barely Banana, Tangerine Tango, Lavender Lace, Vintage Violet, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Always Artichoke (SU!)
Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig