Merry Christmas Elf Shoes

Happy Feet!

I had to make a few final Christmas cards and I wanted to try something different.  After making 30 of the same card- I was ready for a change! I've seen many of these cute Elf Shoes on Splitcoast.  They are so adorable! I used Tim Holtz's banner die for my "Happiest of Holiday" tag.    I found great instructions for the card here-


http://stampandscrapwithmaureen.blogspot.com/2011/11/sneak-peek-at-stampnation.html


I am sure I won't post before Christmas so I wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Vintage Christmas Cards

2011 Christmas Cards


I am still making our Christmas cards to send out before Christmas!  I love the vintage look of this card! I bought an old, old beaten up hymnal a year ago and have just started using it for my cards.  I used Tim Holtz's Rock candy glaze to preserve the old hymnal paper and add some texture.  The poinsettia die from Spellbinder's adds just the right pop of color to the card.  I also used the faux porcelain technique on my Merry Christmas tag on the front of the card.  I embossed the tag 2X to really give it a porcelain feel! 
Here are a few more pics!

Magic Christmas boxes

Finally, I am able to use a computer again!  We had internet connection issues that turned out to be our modem.   Before we figured that out- our computer just crashed!  We now have a brand new computer!  I love it but I really hate change.  I know it's cause I am old but I really loved that old computer.  I knew where everything was and it knew me too!  Ah well, if I have learned anything, it's that nothing ever stays the same.  

But I have been working in my studio.  We did go to Disney with my family just before Thanksgiving.  I may upload some beautiful pictures of our trip later on.  But I am hard at work on my Christmas cards and making Christmas boxes.  I found wonderful instructions on how to make the above boxes.  They are sooooo easy to make.  You can find the instructions here-
http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/2008/01/30/magic-boxes-a-life-as-lou-online-class/

Here is another picture of the inside of the box.  I am going to fill it full of candy for the lucky recipients.

Computer issues!

My computer is having some major issues! We have purchased a new one that we hope to set up today. But first we have to have a repair person come and check our modem. We keep losing the connection to our server. Rats...I hope to be able to upload soon!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Turkey Placecard Tutorial

I taped another video to demonstrate how to make a Turkey placecard from a Pyramid card.  Does anyone remember the Seinfeld episode of "Close Talker"?  Well, after viewing this video it reminded me of it.  I was experimenting on getting the camer closer.... not so good.  But in the interest of time- for some reason this took forever to upload on Youtube- I have not retaped it.  Oh- Also, I ran out of time again, and had to finish it on Part II.  I will never be an expert!  Happy Thanksgiving!



I forgot the instruction for the first part of the Turkey's tail. I used the Circle Spellbinder's that measures 3.5". You would cut a slit to just the center of the circle. Then fold back the edges to allow enough space to glue it to the Pyramid. Sorry for the omission!

Pyramid card Tutorial

Santa Pyramid Cards

I was inspired by NWilliams6's Santa Candy Holders that she made over on Splitcoast Stampers!  They are adorable!  I am making some to take to a Holiday Shopping Sale tomorrow.  Since I love Pyramid cards- I decided to make it into a Pyramid Santa!

Check NWilliams gallery here-

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/2071872?&si=santa candy holders

Here are a few more shots of my Punch art work -

The beard is SU's ornament punch, the moustache is from SU's Bird punch-It was really easy to put Santa's face together!

Santa's hat is Spellbinder's Paisley Nestabilities!  That is also the die I used to make Santa's toy bag.



Side View!



The other side!

It should be a fun day tomorrow with everyone shopping for Christmas!  It is hard to believe that Christmas is not that far away! 

UPDATE:  Check out Sharon's blog for instructions on  how to make the "Pyramid" of the Pyramid card. I do use a  3 - 4 inch squares to make my Pyramid- and of course, no ribbon.

Wicked easy!

http://createdbyu.blogspot.com/2011/08/super-saturday-blog-hop-3d-pyramid-card.html

Easter Baskets with a New look!

I made this style of basket for my Easter baskets.  But they make great baskets for other occasions as well.  Take a look at the baskets I made for Christmas & Halloween!  The directions for these basket can be found on Stamp TV!

http://stamptv.ning.com/video/gift-basket-part-1



Close up!



Side View

 I  used Spellbinder's beautiful Poinsetta die.  I just got this die and I really love it!  The ends of the basket have the JustRite stamps used with the Spellbinders die cut.  The center is a stamp I got from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. I used Distress Ink to give it and aged look.  I made the handle using one of Martha Stewart's punches.

Same basket- different look!  I used JustRite stamps again for the side sentiment.  The bat is a Sizzix die.  Again, the handle is from an Edger punch from Martha Stewart.   I picked up the beading at a recent sale.  This style of basket is sooo easy and fun to make.  Now, I all have to do is add goodies! 






Side view with Creepy passenger!



One Stop Holiday Shopping!

My sisters and I are participating in our friend, Cindy's One Stop Holiday Shopping  on October 23rd!  We will be there along with others that will be displaying their items for sale.  It is at Cindy's house in Berwick, Maine!  I think it should be fun!  I have been working on some Halloween boxes that are shown below.  But we are working on Christmas and Thanksgiving as well! 

Halloween Witch tutorial

I had fun making this tutorial for my Halloween Witch! I made a couple of boo boos though- One the die I used to make my two handle boxes is by Sizzix. The second boo boo was the ink I used to "age" my Witch boxes and the Witch's hat is not Gray ink but Silver ink. Lastly, it's not a butterfly punch used for the nose ...but a Dragonfly !! Let me know if you have any questions!




Here are a few more pictures of the finished boxes!

Sister's Anniversary

I purchased Valieta's beautiful Well- Dressed  Card instructions! I think it makes it an adorable card for a wedding or an anniversary.  Today is the 6th anniversary of my twin sister, Connie, to her sweet husband Russ.   Now, for some reason, I thought it was her 5th anniversary... oops.  I had to fix it on my card when I discovered my error.  Do you think they will notice?

Here is the link to Valita's instructions-

http://valitasfreshfolds.blogspot.com/

And more pictures of this card !  Have a fabulous day!



Side profile



Inside...oops!



Halloween Box!

I used the Sizzix die that makes the box with 2 handles for my Halloween box.  I was really getting into the Halloween thing when I started this box tonight.  I have seen so many cute Halloween ideas over at Splitcoast Stampers and I love making Halloween cards.  The only problem is that it is hot and muggy tonight!  I was sweating by the time I finished this box!  Not Halloween weather here on the Coast of Maine tonight!!  My friends, Mr. & Mrs. Skeleton are from the Dollar store.  I think I got about 6 of them for $1.00.  Cool deal! You might find one popping out of a Coffin!!!    eeekkkkk....

More pictures of this Halloween Box-



Side view




Back view



I think I am ready for Fall weather!!

Downeast Village Birthday!

I saw this lovely scene on a calendar recently and just loved it!  Our daughter, Emily, was married a year ago in Yarmouth and it  reminded me of the same setting.  I used SU 's tag punch to create the village.  I also used Flower Soft for the grass and trees.  Tim Holtz's stamps completed my card. Here are some more pictures!

Angry Birds Birthday!

I cased Sewingstamper's Angry bird card over at Splitcoast Stampers.  You can find her card here-

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1961869?&si=angry birds

It is my Grandson's birthday and he loves to play Angry Birds! It is amazing to me that one so young can figure out how to work that game!!  I have tried it and it is beyond me!  Apparently, I have no game skills.  But I love to watch Ezra play it!  We won't make his birthday this year, but I am headed to the island this weekend and will bring this card with me along with the Lightning McQueen box that I made.  You can scroll down to see that project. This is the inside of my Angry Birds birthday card.

Here is a link to Carol's blog, Extreme Cards and Papercrafting, for the instructions to make this Pop up Angry Bird.  Her instructions made it very easy!

http://extremecards.blogspot.com/2011/04/angry-birds-pop-up-card-tutorial.html

I found the sentiment on line and it's from Dr. Suess.  Love Dr. Suess!! You can click on the above photos to make them larger.

Flea Market Ladder

I paid $15.00 for the old rickety ladder from the local indoor flea market.  I love it!  Today, I added  mums to all the pots and a few bird houses- and Voila!  A Flea Market Styled flower planter!  My sister, Connie gave me the wagon wheel to top it off!  I have a little Cherub hidden on the bottom rung.  Here is the before picture-

I can't wait until next year when I can put some Spring flowers that hang down the rungs!  I better stop wishing for next Spring now- it will surely be a long Winter!!

Lightning McQueen!

My Grandson's birthday is coming in September and I wanted to do something special for him!  He adores Lightning McQueen from the movie, CARS.  So when I saw Lynn Pratt's tutorial for this race car box - I had to try it!  Now it is not as nice as Lynn's but what fun I had making it! I think with a little more practice I can improve.  It didn't help that we had a hurricane coming through this weekend!  The wind and the rain were terrific!  We had high humidity and that does not help when you are using glue in your studio! Nothing would stick!!  Then, of course, we lost our electricity for a few hours.  All in all we were lucky the hurricane was more of a tropical storm. Below are a few more pictures- check out Lynn's blog for the instructions.  I ordered some Stampin Up products and selected this tutorial for free!

http://stampndesignstore.blogspot.com/2011/04/lightning-race-car-box.html

I just love the eyes!  They really bring the car to life!  I think I will put some sweets in the box! I hope he likes it!

Flea Market Finds!

I have spent the last few weekends of summer scouring our local outdoor flea market, Montsweag Flea Market!  What fun!  I am loving just finding old stuff that I remember as a kid.  My husband laughed at me but guess who bought that glass container full of marbles!  Ha!  I think it was because he remembered playing marbles as a kid.  Didn't we all?  I have always loved roosters for whatever reason so I couldn't resist this one!  I actually found this at an indoor flea market in Scarborough called Cliff's. 

These vintage Mason jars are so pretty!  I think the really old ones are purple and hard to find.  But who can resist these pretty blues ones!  I love them! I know they can be found with a zinc lid but these are the ones I remember my Mom using when we were kids.  Nice memories!

The fish, the fish!  He was black wrought iron when I found him!  But in keeping with my nautical bedroom theme- I spray painted him green and blue.  I think he fits in perfectly!

Napkin Fold Card

I loved making these Napkin Fold Cards!  These are perfect to make for two co-workers who are leaving us soon!  I wanted to make a photo album so they will have the pictures to remember us.   I watched Gingerbeary8's wonderful Youtube video and she made it look so easy!  Check out her instructions here-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPPHvrCg05w

I used Martha Stewart's Double Loop punch around the page for this album.  I don't think I would use it again.  It is so pretty but very delicate.  I am not sure it will stand the test of time.  I used SU paper and My Mind's Eye paper.  My favorite!

I love the look of these albums before they are fully open.  All the geometric shapes are really cool!



The inside pictures!



I lov the colors of this one too!



Dragonfly Birthday

This card was  made for my sister, Andrea.  Her birthday is in August too!  I used the Spellbinder's die for the Sunflower.  The dragonflies are from a Martha Stewart punch.  I colored them with Ranger's black lacquer and the wings with Ranger's pink glitter.  The froggie is punch art- an oval punch for the body, his legs from a heart punched out and cut in half.  His hands and feet are from Martha  Stewart's crown punch. I used my Copic markers to make the green lines around his body and shaded it a bit with Green Distress Ink. The paper is from Mind's Eye.  You can't see it but I have used Tim Holtz's easel die to let the card stand on it's own.  I hope Andrea likes her card.  I love the sentiment on this card- I found it on the internet.  Today, we will celebrate both sister's birthday. My sister's really are a joy to me! I hope these cards show it! 

Sister Birthday Funky Fold Card

I love this bright cheerful birthday card that I made for my sister, Rochelle's birthday! The flower is made from Sizzix's Daisy die cut.  The center is a covered brad from Stampin Up.  The bird is made from a combination of Stampin Up's bird punch- the wing and the head  from SU's Blossom Petal punch.  The body is from Marianne Design die- I don't have a clue what they call it?  But I love the tail on the bird! My butterflies are from Martha Stewart's punch.

Shutter Headboard

I have been scouring flea markets for shutters!  I bought these assorted sized shutters for about $2.50 a piece.  I stripped them and spray painted them with the help of my husband.   He put up with me messing up his work shop area in the garage.  This really has been a fun project.  My hubby also put the shutters together for me to form the headboard.

He used two boards screwed in at the back to keep them together.  I used blue spray paint and a little green spray paint to cover these well worn shutters. I want to make the guest room into a room that has a beach/ nautical feeling to it. I still have work to do but it is getting there.  Check out the results-

I need to change out the bed linens - I am still looking for the right sheets and pillow cases!  I really love how it turned out!