Warm Winter Wishes

Happy January, my dear friends! I pray your new year is filled with heavenly light and joy unspeakable. :o) I am so thankful to have met some incredible crafters last year and I look forward to sharing in our continued crafty journeys. :o)

My sparkly little blog has been quiet over the busy holidays, but I'm happy to be back! Since I fell far short of my Christmas card goal, my first card of 2013 was made for someone who didn't get a handmade festive creation... my sweetheart! I was so disappointed I ran out of time. As it turns out, surprising him with this 'just because' card was equally special. (The unexpected ones can be the most exciting!)

"Warm Winter Wishes"

For my sweetheart, a pretty winter scene. :o) He appreciates nature as much as I, with its majestic beauty from our Creator. The snowflake paper is from a K and Company Christmas collection. The church is from the Noel cartridge, to which I embossed the snowy rooftop with Swiss Dots and added Star Dust to the windows for a sparkling glow. The tree is a Recollections stamp, which I heat-embossed in silver and sprinkled with rhinestones for extra twinkles of joy.

A tiny peek inside (and a better view of the tree), which is lined with the same paper and a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis square.

The snowy ground is embossed with a folder from the Winter Wonderland set. The top border die is one of my favorite new things! It is the Memory Box Frostyville border die, which was high on my wish list for eons. I am thrilled for this new blessing and love that my first use is for his card. :o) (You will probably see a lot of this border! Hehe.) Graduating sizes of rhinestones are sprinkled throughout it for extra winter sparkle.

The Whimsical Designs sentiment is from Stephanie's Snow Much Fun set, which is stamped upon a Spellbinders Labels Four die. It is adhered by a three-layer snowflake from Gypsy Wanderings, with each layer popped up for dimension. I wanted to wish him a winter that is warmed by God's love. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *Card Mania~ Winter Wonderland
 *Craft with Cutters~ Snowflakes
 *Little Scrap Pieces Fun Friday~ Winter
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Papertake Weekly~ Anything Goes
 *Simon Says Stamp~ New (Memory Box Frostyville border die)
 *Word Art Wednesday~ Encouraging/Uplifting

Thank you for fluttering on by! I hope your day sparkles with blessings. You are loved! :o)

Christmas card!

Hello, my sweet friends! I hope you're all enjoying this beautiful season of love and hope. :o)

It's been a little while! The days just fly by, don't they? I'm excited to have a card to share today that I made for my sweet parents. :o) (Envision lots of sparkle.. much of it didn't show up in the picture.)

A peek at the red and white interior:

I thought they'd enjoy a cute and sparkly scene atop one of my favorite card shapes from Elegant Edges. The glimmering Christmas tree is cut with Core Couture paper for extra sparkle and adorned with red rhinestones. I made a wreath to put around the sweet reindeer, which I turned into a holly wreath with rhinestone 'berries' and made a bow with twine from My Craft Spot. All of the cuts are from the marvelous Noel cartridge. The reindeer's antlers and hooves are shimmering with Star Dust, courtesy of the swirling snow and his radiant heart. :o)

The pop-dotted snowflakes are from Art Philosophy and the snowy ground is embossed with a Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland folder. Instead of a snowy sky, I opted for this beautiful festive paper from Best Creation's Merry Christmas collection. A few months ago when I showed my mom my holiday papers, she adored these fluttering, sparkly holly and berries. She'll be excited I used it for their card. :o) The interior paper is from My Mind's Eye, topped with a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square.

The sentiment is from My Craft Spot's Joy to the World set. I stamped it upon a Spellbinders Labels Four die, trimmed it in star dust to make it icy, and adhered it with a Wild Orchid Crafts scallop pearl. The greeting is simple, but when you wish someone a Merry Christmas from your heart, a gorgeous light appears in their eyes. So much love, joy, and hope wrapped into that one simple phrase. I always get warm fuzzies when I say it. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *Cupcake Inspirations~ Photo Inspiration
 *Jingle Belles~ Anything Goes (Holiday)
 *Little Miss Muffet~ It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas
 *Little Scrap Pieces Fun Friday~ Holiday
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Paper Playtime~ Winter Fun
 *Simon Says Stamp~ Favorites! (Embossing, Bling, Noel cartridge)
 *Sparkles Christmas~ Button or Bow
 *Winter Wonderland~ Oh Christmas Tree!
 *Word Art Wednesday~ Uplifting/Encouraging

Thank you for visiting me! I hope your week is filled with love and blessings. :o)

Christmas Rosette Wands: I Feel the Love

Happy Friday, my dear friends! I hope you've had a blessed week. :o)

It's been nearly two weeks since my last post, but for good reason! Last week was filled with festive family time and this week I've been fervently crafting away at this project. As mentioned in previous posts, I had my heart set on making some rosette wands for this month's I Feel the Love collection. Our crafty gifts are going to children who will be spending Christmas in the hospital. It is heartbreaking, but I am ever thankful to Madison of Funky Cards for giving us a way to bless those sweet kiddos.

My gift to them: Twelve different rosette wands to brighten their hospital rooms. :o)

I painted bamboo skewers in glittery silver and gold acrylic paint and paired each rosette with two different ribbons. Twirling action is a must with rosette wands! :o) It was impossible to capture all of the detailing that went into these, but I tried. I'll show a few at a time for a bit of a better look. Enlarging will help since I cannot gush about each one, despite the innate desire. ;)

The sweet candy cane paper for the center rosette is one of my all-time favorites! It and many of the twelve rosettes are patterns from Graphic 45's Nutcracker Sweet Collection. **swoon** The rosette topper contains a bunch of Christmas morning elements that I cut out from various papers in the set. The tree is decked out in red rhinestones and topped with a sparkling heart of love. The candy cane ribbon is velvet, which I hope the kids will enjoy. It is a given that Star Dust and rhinestones are used throughout every wand. :o) The other two pretty rosettes are topped with Spellbinders Fanciful Holiday trees, decorated with rhinestones. The white background is embossed for extra snowy texture.

Reindeer and The Nutcracker ballet... they needed to be represented in this set! :o) The reindeer rosette papers are from K and Company, while the gorgeous pointe shoe paper is from Graphic 45. On the left, the sparkling reindeer is cut from the Noel cartridge and I gave him a layer of SnowTex to prance around in. The middle deer also has a SnowTex ground, with sparklified antlers and red rhinestones to serve as holly berries. The sweet ballet dancer was carved out from a Graphic 45 paper, sparkled up, and set upon a snow-embossed backdrop.

Guess what other theme was essential? TREATS! :o) Gingerbread cuties frolic around the purple rosette, with the main one sporting a trendy twine bow. Christmas sugar cookies are the theme in the center, with individuals cut out for the rosette topper and sprinkled with caramel-colored rhinestones. See the snowman cookie? He's giving the children his sugar cookie heart. :o) On the right we have a plethora of Christmas candy! It is topped with a portion of a sweet tag, upon which I stamped "Be Merry" from My Craft Spot's "Joy to the World" stamp set... and I couldn't resist adding a border of crystal and red rhinestones to symbolize candy cane coloring.

Lastly, the snowy set! Nutcrackers and snowflakes abound, complete with varying designs of rhinestones (and ribbon that is trying to be all willy nilly). Kudos to my sweetheart who happily made an emergency run to Michael's when I ran out of sparkles before I was done decorating the snowflakes... I am truly blessed! The center snowflake is from Art Philosophy.

The backs, which I couldn't bear to leave empty:

All but one of the rosette papers have a festive or wintry reverse side, so I left a border of it visible. The snowflake bases are cut from Elegant Edges and stamped with another sentiment from the Joy to the World set. The 'we' represents me and my sweetheart... although he didn't physically assist in this set, he gave the encouragement I needed when fatigue or design-uncertainty would set in each night. Indeed these appear simple, but they require a lot of work. He is very much a part of all twelve wands.

I hope my super sappy love twirls into the hearts of every child at Children's Hospital Central California. I always pray God's healing love over the things I make for those in need, faithfully convinced that they receive it. I'll certainly say an extra special prayer for these kids on Christmas morning. There is still time to join us in this very special collection. :o)

Challenges entered:

 *Craft Your Passion~ Holiday Edibles (The set of three containing candy canes, gingerbread men, and sugar cookies... and the candy cane in the first set)

 *Crafty Ribbons~ Use at Least Two Ribbons

 *Cute Card Thursday~ Snowflakes! (Throughout most of the rosette wands)

 *Decorate to Celebrate~ Holiday Choice (Christmas!)

 *Divas by Design~ Glitter and Sparkle

 *Fussy and Fancy~ I Love Christmas

 *Little Miss Muffet~ Tags or Gifts

 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes

 *The Crafty Pad~ Add Some Glitter (Do not let my pictures fool you... I added it everywhere!)

 *Word Art Wednesday~ God's Goodness/Encouragement

Thank you for pirouetting on by today! I wish you a sparkly weekend of love, hugs, and all things beautiful. :o)

Ice Skate Christmas Card :)

Happy Monday, my crafty friends! I hope you're having a lovely day. :o)

I had some crafty time this weekend, which I used to create a Christmas card for one of my friends. She loves figure skating, so I made her an ice skate shaped card. I'm excited to give it to her! :o)

Note: The paper that looks beige did not photograph properly! It is a pretty lavender-pink shade that coordinates with the deep plum. I'm short on time, otherwise I'd try again.

She loves elegance and whimsy, sparkles and pearls... so I incorporated all of them into her card. I don't blame you if you just stare at the blade and nothing else. It was kaleidoscopic fun creating that layer! :o) I covered it in Glossy Accents and then dumped an avalanche of Halo-Silver glitter mix atop it. Instead of doing straight-up silver, I wanted twinkles of rainbows throughout. :o) She is often the rainbow in my heart, after all. :o)

The ice skate is from the Noel cartridge and the snowflakes are from Art Philosophy. I added a Cheery Lynn Designs flourish near the heel to serve as a snowy breeze, which I embellished with a few flurries. Some are pop-dotted for dimension. The gorgeous papers are from the Recollections Le Ballet stack, which I was gifted last Christmas. I loved combining both of our loves in this creation... her love of figure skating and my love of ballet. :o)

I heat-embossed the top with a Queen and Company flourish and My Craft Spot snowflakes for more sparkly, wintry fun. I used Holographic embossing powder for extra rainbow love. The pearl-drop strand is from Wild Orchid Crafts, which I used for several reasons: pearls are always happy, they look like snowflakes, and the teardrops look like icicles! And they just felt right for additional pearly flair. :o)

To finish off the front, I added pearls down the 'lace' part and a sweet pom pom-accented bow. The light purple twine is from My Craft Spot, to which I adhered the poms with hot glue.

A peek inside, which I need to get better at doing. ;) The boot part is lined with the same lavender-pink paper as the top of the skate and the blade is lined with silver shimmer paper. 

The stamp is from the new My Craft Spot Joy to the World sentiment set, which reads: "Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day." She understands the peace and joy found when skating across the ice... just like when I dance across a stage. There is so much beauty in the arts and when it is choreographed to celebrate the Christmas season and the birth of our Lord, it's magical. That's what I envisioned for this card. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *Crafty Catz~ Let's Have Sparkle
 *Crafty Hazelnut Christmas Challenge~ Something older than six months (papers)
 *Glitter n Sparkle~ Lots of Layers
 *Little Miss Muffet~ Textiles
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Paper Playtime~ Anything Goes
 *Sparkles Christmas Challenge~ Contemporary Colors
 *The Crafty Pad~ It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
 *The Ribbon Girls~ Lavender Hues
 *Word Art Wednesday~ Uplifting/Encouraging

Thank you for triple-looping on by! :o) I wish you a joyous day and a beautiful Thanksgiving! :o)

Christmas Joy :)

Happy Monday, my dear friends! I know many of you are in Hurricane Sandy's path.. you have been and will continue to be in my prayers. **extra hugs**

I used my crafty time this weekend for the upcoming I Feel the Love Project collection. With a hunch that it'll be Christmas cards for kiddos in unfortunate situations, and my crafty time not what it once was, I wanted to get a bit of a head start. There's nothing more rewarding than using our passion to bless others, so I want to get my Christmas stash started for those sweet kiddos. It would break my heart to run out of time.

When creating for I Feel the Love, my heart is divided between happy-fluttery and panicky. I get myself so nervous, wanting everything to be just so! At the same time, it's when I have the most fun. :o) For my first Christmas surprise for a child in need of some extra love this season, I had it on my heart to create a festive scene.

With such a special recipient, I wanted to add something extra fun. I'm thrilled to finally own the Cricut Noel cartridge, so I was eager to use it. I chose the beautiful window, backed it with a reindeer scene from a K and Company paper, filled it in with Glossy Accents for realism, and added shimmery microbeads to the corners for frostiness. I hope the sweet kiddo likes it. :o)

This card was built around the precious Elisabeth Bell stamp, titled Star of Bethlehem. I colored the children in Copic golds and reds, adding Star Dust, Christmas Red, and Gold Stickles at various points. I dabbed Star Dust down the gold dress, as if she's leaving a trail of sparkles wherever she goes. :o) I originally was going to have them approaching a die-cut tree, but it wasn't working out as planned. I was so thankful to have this gorgeous Best Creation Merry Christmas paper to salvage the theme. The tree is beautiful and very sparkly in person. There are also sparkling flourishes throughout the entire sheet. :o)

The gift may seem disproportionate in size, but this is for I Feel the Love... I totally want to give them a life-size Christmas present! :o) I added buttons to the Art Philosophy gift for textural detail and sparklified the ribbon. I like to think it's ready to explode with sparkling love. Or maybe it's dusted with shimmery snow because Santa just delivered it. :o)

Lastly, I made a banner to help deliver the message of Christmas joy. :o) The cut is from Art Philosophy and I used golden paper with musical scores.. the heavenly angels are singing! The "joy" stamp is from CTMH Art Philosophy collection, which I heat-embossed in gold for shininess and a bit of dimension. The banner is 'secured' with rhinestones and Christmas twine. :o) I hope this little card delivers tangible hugs and love to its future recipient. I squeezed in as much sappy, sparkly, festive love as possible. :o)

Challenges entered:
 *Christmas Crafting~ Buttons and Twine
 *Crafty Ann's~ Christmas in October
 *Crafty Ribbons~ Christmas
 *Elphine House Australia~ Buttons and Bows
 *Inspire Me Fridays~ Anything Goes
 *Make It Monday~ Anything Goes
 *Paper Playtime~ Anything Goes
 *Sparkles Christmas Challenge~ Traditional
 *Stampin' for the Weekend~ Anything Goes
 *Word Art Wednesday~ Encouraging/Uplifting

Thank you for twirling on by! I wish you a sparkling day of blessings. :o)