Winter Birthday

Hello, my dear friends! I hope you're having a wonderful week. :o)

With the busy-bee days leading up to Christmas, it's not often I get cards made for December birthdays. (The shame!) I was determined this year, so I carved out some time to make a wintry birthday card. :o)

This precious Wee Stamps image is called Friendship is the Greatest Gift, available in rubber and digi. I've colored the sweet friends with my Copics, adding Glamour Dust, Star Dust, and Polar White Flower Soft to certain areas. There's a significant amount of Glamour Dust throughout the card, but I fear I didn't capture that well in the photographs. It's so twinkly in person! :o) I colored all of the berries purple and sparkly to make them sugar plums. :o) The image is layered atop a Spellbinders Picot Edge Circle.

The papers are from Recollections' Le Ballet paper pad, which is a personal favorite. I love the purples and greens. The sweet Heart Banner is from La La Land Crafts, which I cut out with coordinating paper atop a snowy white layer. All but one of the snowflakes are from Cheery Lynn Designs, which are covered in Glamour Dust and centered with a rhinestone. The largest snowflake is from the Silhouette Online Store.

I wanted to send some flowers to the birthday girl, so I turned to my favorite Pink Mist roses from Wild Orchid Crafts. A few of them center snowflakes for wintry delight, including the one securing my sentiment from Pink Gem Designs' Vintage Occasion Sentiment set. The flower arrangement rests atop a Cheery Lynn Mini Fanciful Flourish and a couple fluttering snowflakes.

A peek at the snowy interior:

It felt strange making a non-Christmas project! ;) Thank you for fluttering on by! I wish you a day of sunshine and festive treats. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *7 Kids College Fund~ Anything Goes (Image and 3 dies available at 7 Kids)
 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Calendar)
 *A Gem of a Challenge~ Anything Goes
 *Allsorts~ Anything but Christmas
 *Card Crafter's Circle~ Celebrations
 *Craft Your Passion~ Let It Snow
 *Crafty Catz~ Use 2 or More Dies (I used 5!)
 *Fussy and Fancy~ Hearts
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Pile It On~ P is for... (Purple, Pink, Present)
 *Stamp and Create~ Anything Goes

My Craft Spot Guest Designer: Shadow Box Book Card!

Happy Friday, my sweet friends! I am ecstatic to be guest designing today at My Craft Spot! It is truly an honor and I am so thankful for this unexpected blessing. I adore Kimberly and her talented DT, where inspiration always abounds. :o) For an extra special treat, there is a wonderful giveaway at the end of this post!

Inspired by several of Kimberly's goodies, I combined the true meaning of Christmas with the beautiful whimsy of the season. For this special occasion, I created a Shadow Box Book Card for a dear friend. (For the structure, I followed a fantastic tutorial by Delightfully Crazy.)

The papers throughout this book card are from Bo Bunny's Silver and Gold collection. For the spine of my 'book,' I heat-embossed one of the snowy flourishes from My Craft Spot's Ornate Labels-Christmas. That same stamp set graces my cover (repeatedly), where I heat-embossed the golden label outline and cut it out with the coordinating Ornate Labels metal dies. The sweet holly flourish is centered with garnet rhinestones and I couldn't resist using the holly jolly sentiment. :o)

A closer peek!

My MCS focal point is bordered with Wild Orchid Crafts roses and surrounded by a flurry of glamour-dusted snowflakes from Cheery Lynn Designs. The metal filigree corners are also from WOC, which I heat-embossed with gold embossing powder.

Inside, heavenly joy encourages a Christmas dance!

The gorgeous sentiment is from MCS's Joy To The World stamp set, surrounded in pearly snow and golden elegance. It is stamped upon a Marianne Design's die, Petra's Heart (LR0280). The embossed portions are sponged in Scattered Straw for a warm Christmas glow. I created a frame for the page using the Anastasia Border die from Cheery Lynn Designs, a technique I first saw many moons ago Cheery Lynn's blog.

For the shadow box part of my book card, I designed a scene from my heart. The glorious Christmas star (from the Silhouette Online Store) has turned the wintry landscape golden and inspires a ballet dance of pure love.

The joyous Christmas dancer:

The ballerina is a Marianne Design's die, Ballerina 2 (LR0166). I made her a tutu of white lace (the same as the book's border) and accented it with festive red and green rhinestones. I used crystalline gems for the waist and straps of her costume. The pearl-dusted snowdrift that she dances upon is another MD die, Fancy Edge with Lattice (LR0202). The golden lace framing the scene was purchased on eBay... I was determined to find just the right one for this project. ;)

The back, finished off with one more MD metal die. I used one of the dies from Anja's Vintage Ornaments 2 (LR0270) to act as hinges. This project was a joy to create and I hope my friend loves it as much as I do. :o) (I confess I will miss having this!) ;)

**STAMP SET GIVEAWAY!!!**

One of the many things I appreciate about Kimberly is her generosity! Do you want to be entered to win a My Craft Spot stamp set of your choice? Simply leave me a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite My Craft Spot stamp set is and you will be entered! How sweet is that?! I will draw and announce the lucky winner on Friday, December 13th!

Thank you for pirouetting on by and sharing in my excitement! I wish you a sparkly day. :o)

Challenges entered:

 *Cheery Lynn Designs~ Tis the Season (I used Snowflakes and Anastasia Border dies)

 *Crafty Ribbons~ Spots or Stripes

 *Created With Love~ Christmas

 *Divas by Design~ Feeling Festive

 *Love to Create~ Holiday Gift/3-D Project

 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes

 *Marianne's Design Divas~ Charm and/or Ribbon (I used dies LR0166, 0202, 0270, and 0280)

 *Papertake Weekly~ Anything Goes

 *Twist of Faith~ Baubles and Bells

Christmas Pocket Cards

Hello, my dear friends! I hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend! :o)

A quick post today to share my new cards as part of my contribution to this month's I Feel the Love Project. We are creating Christmas cards for severely ill children who will be spending the holiday at Flowers Hospital in Alabama. Crafting while rushed can be a challenge, so I am thankful for the fantastic sketch at My Craft Spot that jump started these creations!

Both sentiments are from My Craft Spot's Stampin' Around Christmas set, cut out with the coordinating Tiny Doilies metal dies. I adore this set! Bella Blvd buttons adorn the train wheels and each pocket contains two Peachy Keen Stamps gingerbread cookies for the kiddos to play with. They are cut out with the matching cut file and heat-embossed to make the icing more realistic. The bows on the train and penguin are made with Peppermint Stick Trendy Twine, purchased at My Craft Spot. The sweet pom trim is from Jo-Anns.

The purple papers are from Graphic 45's Nutcracker Sweet, while the textural green snowflake train car is from Best Creation Merry Christmas. 

The papers for the second card are from My Mind's Eye Merry collection. The steam from Santa's Express is made from heart rhinestones because it's driven by love. :o)

A peek inside, plus a look at the full gingerbread sweethearts! Rather than stamp the hearts that came with it, I used stitched heart buttons from Little Yellow Bicycle's Love Potion set.

All of my love and prayers are tucked inside for these precious children to receive the healing they need. :o)

Thank you for visiting! I wish you a blessed and beautiful day. :o)

Challenges entered:

 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Create Your Own Challenge; I used several!)

 *Charisma Cardz~ Christmas

 *Craft Your Passion~ Buttons Galore (flower buttons on wheels, tree button on train, heart buttons on gingerbread sweethearts)

 *Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge~ For a Child

 *DL.Art Thankful Thursday~ November Linky Party (Anything Goes)

 *Frosted Designs~ 11 Item Challenge (I used paper layering, circles, and buttons)

 *My Craft Spot~ Sketch

 *Sparkles~ Animals

 *Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge~ Add Buttons

 *Winter Wonderland~ Photo Inspiration (Santa)

Christmas Cutie!

Hello, my dear friends! I hope you're having a lovely week. Time is flying, but I'm trying my hardest to squeeze in more Christmas cards for sick kiddos.

As previously mentioned, this month's I Feel the Love Project mission is to create Christmas cards for kids who will be spending the holiday at Flowers Hospital in Alabama. Since severe sickness won't allow them to be home for Christmas, we are delivering festive cheer to them. :o)

The cutie pie sitting on the ornament is a cut file from the Silhouette Online Store. Rather than use the given facial features, I used my favorite Peachy Keen Stamps face, which is from the In The Garden Face Assortment collection. Her headband is made of rhinestones for extra festivity and since she's such a sweetheart, she's wearing a dress that is patterned with candy canes, cookies, and candy. :o) Her hair is embossed with the D'vine Swirls folder for curly texture.

The Christmas tree file was cut out using one of my favorite papers! I thought it would look cute, like the tree is decorated in ribbon and candy canes. :o) I fussy cut candy canes from the paper scraps and adhered them atop each other to be complete and stand out a little more. The Christmas light border is for pure whimsy and is covered in a few shades of Stickles.

The sparkling red bottom is embossed, but is completely washed out in this photograph and not as obvious as I had intended anyway. Lesson learned! But in the right light, you can see the cute ornaments from the Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland set I used. You can see it a little here, if you look *really* closely. ;) Kaisercraft lace divides the base papers.

I made a little window with the My Craft Spot Ornate Labels metal dies and stamped the outline with the coordinating Ornate Labels-Christmas stamp set. The Christmas-decorated neighborhood paper is a favorite from my stash. The gorgeous papers for the tree, dress, and ornament are from Graphic 45's Nutcracker Sweet. 

I pray that this little card will brighten the holiday of a sweet child battling for their life. It is created in love and hope! :o) Thank you for visiting! I wish you a blessed and beautiful day. :o)

Challenges entered:

 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional: Peace)

 *Christmas Card Challenges~ Bling

 *Crafty Catz~ Anything Not Square

 *Created With Love~ Anything Goes

 *Creative Creations~ Sparkle and Shine

 *DL.Art Thankful Thursday~ November Linky Party (Anything Goes)

 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes

 *One Stitch At A Time~ Anything Goes

 *Paper Playtime~ Sparkle
 *The Cutie Pie Challenge Blog~ Little Cuties

Guest Designer for Love to Create!

Happy Monday, my sparkly friends! I hope everyone is having a lovely start to the week. :o)

I am ecstatic to be this week's Guest Designer at one of my favorite challenges: Love to Create! Thank you for the opportunity, Jackie! It is an honor. :o)

The theme for Challenge #91 is Thanksgiving or Thanks and there are two marvelous sponsors: Beccy's Place and Sassy Studio Designs. I chose to showcase Beccy's Hydrangea digital stamp, which I completely fell in love with.

This Thanksgiving card was originally planned for my incredible dad, but he inspired me to include it in my contributions for the I Feel the Love Project Thanksgiving collection. He has always been selfless and this is an example of his influence in my life... he continually puts everyone above himself. So instead, this card is on the way to a wonderful resident of a senior care center. :o)

With my Copics, I colored Beccy's gorgeous hydrangea in Autumn's splendor. The red and orange petals are centered in bright sunshiny love and tiny rhinestones are nestled within the yellow sunbursts. The green leaves are covered in Star Dust because... well, you never really need a reason to add extra sparkle. ;)

My base was created with Spellbinders Gold Labels Four, with each layer cut from DCWV's Pumpkin Patch stack. A Zva Creative flourish adds a touch of sparkly whimsy, as does the Martha Stewart Monarch butterfly that has been coated in Shimmer Spritz. The sentiment is from K Andrews Designs Scripture Sayings set, which I stamped in Rich Cocoa. I hope it is loved by the recipient. :o)

Thank you for fluttering on by! I wish you a sparkly day of love and happiness. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes (Optional Twist: Holiday Thanks)
 *Cut It Up~ Thanksgiving
 *Divas By Design~ Use a Digi
 *Love to Scrap!~ Anything Goes
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *One Stitch at a Time~ Holidays
 *Papertake Weekly~ Anything Goes
 *Pile It On~ Show Us Your Tools (Die-cutting, Copics)
 *Stampin' for the Weekend~ Autumn Colors
 *SweetStamps~ Nature

Polar Bear Christmas!

Hello, my dear friends! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. :o)

This month, the I Feel the Love Project is collecting cards for children spending Christmas at Flowers Hospital in Alabama. A previous beloved recipient of IFTL, Trinitie, receives some of her treatments there as she continues to battle brain cancer... and it is in her honor that we are spreading holiday cheer at that location. :o) I am delighted to be sending them love this Christmas!

When these sweet sledding polar bears appeared in the Silhouette Online Store a month ago, I didn't hesitate to buy them. I had a hunch we would be crafting for kids for Christmas again this year, so these cutie pies have been patiently waiting. I embossed the snow with the Swiss Dots folder for texture and added a festive twine bow (Christmas Candy Cane from My Craft Spot) to the girl bear. I put them on an action wobble for extra kiddo fun! They look adorable as they wobble in their snowy sled. :o)

The bears are upon a Spellbinders Classic Circle, which is atop a sparkling Picot Edge Circle. The rhinestone-accented swirl is the Fancy Flourish from My Favorite Things. I wanted it to look like they are zooming something fierce. ;)

The sweet sentiment is from My Craft Spot's Stampin' Around Christmas stamp set, which I cut out (and layered) with the coordinating metal dies. Star Dust surrounds a few of the papers for wintry delight. The smattering of snowflakes are from Cheery Lynn Designs, which I covered in Glamour Dust. (I apologize that they aren't very visible in this photograph due to the light paper they're fluttering across.)

The polar bear paper is from Memory Box, while all of the other papers are My Mind's Eye. The pom trim is from American Crafts.

The swirling candy interior:

The sentiment is from Peachy Keen, to which I added a tiny snowflake from the My Craft Spot Stampin' Around Christmas set. I hope this whimsical little card warms the heart of the precious child who receives it. :o)

Thank you for sledding on by! Have a beautiful day. :o)

Challenges entered:

 *Christmas Cards All Year 'Round~ Winter Wonderland

 *Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge~ Outdoors

 *Cute Card Thursday~ Animal Magic

 *Papertake Weekly~ Anything Goes

 *Really Reasonable Ribbon~ Winter Holiday plus Ribbon/Trim (I used pom trim)

 *Sparkles Christmas Challenge~ Have a Beary Christmas

 *The Paper Girls~ Cut It Out (I used 5 metal dies and my Silhouette)

 *The Squirrel and the Fox~ Animal Antics

 *Winter Wonderland~ For a Child

Snowy Christmas

Hello, my sweet friends! I hope your November is off to a sparkly start! :o)

I have a wintry Christmas card to share with you today, which combines some newer goodies with some of my favorites from last season. :o)

I remain thoroughly enamored with heat-embossing! The tree is a Recollections stamp, which I heat-embossed with white embossing powder to make it snowy. I didn't want a purely white and blue Christmas card, so I added red and green rhinestones for a pop of Christmas cheer. :o)

The gorgeous die along the bottom is one of my new Marianne Design dies, called Anja Edge (LR0202). The beautiful embossing on it is a little washed out in these pictures, but the angled shot below shows it better. This shape is not only lovely, but also versatile. I couldn't resist using it as a fancy snowdrift for this card. :o)

Along the top is a Memory Box Frostyville border. Both borders are popped up with foam tape for dimension and accented with three sizes of pearls for a touch of elegance. The four snowflakes I added to the K and Company paper are from Cheery Lynn Designs, which I covered in Glamour Dust.

The reindeer is from the Spellbinders Fanciful Holiday set, which I cut out with Memory Box brown snowflake paper since he's frolicking through a winter wonderland. :o) I attached a jingly bell with Christmas twine from My Craft Spot so he can jingle all the way. ;)

My sentiment resides inside, which is from My Craft Spot's Joy to the World stamp set. This will be from me and my sweetheart, so I love that Kimberly included one with 'we.' :o) It rests atop a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square.

Thank you for fluttering on by! I wish you a sparkly day! :o)

Challenges entered:
 *613 Avenue Create~ Anything Goes
 *ABC Christmas Challenge~ V is for Vixen (Use a reindeer)
 *Allsorts~ Christmas Cheer
 *Christmas Card Challenges~ Anything Goes (Optional: Dimension)
 *Christmas Cards All Year 'Round~ Winter Wonderland
 *Craftin Desert Diva's Linky Party~ Anything Goes
 *Craftitude~ Anything Goes/ Use Twine or String
 *Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge~ Bling it Up
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Simon Says Stamp~ Anything Goes