Pre-Black Friday Offer: Countdown to Christmas only available November 10–15

Starting today Friday Nov 10 at 5pm EST (o 3pm MST) November 10 until midnight on Nov 15. The Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar is a great way to add DIY fun and excitement to your holiday season. The kit includes wood pieces, paperboard die-cuts and coordinating SVG files for creating a 9" × 12" advent calendar that you can use to count down the days until Christmas!

Here are more details:

Dog Birthday Wishes

My 2015 catching up is done with this card. 

Don't you love all the wrinkles on this little dog? Stamped and colored in with watercolor pencils. 

I stamped the rest of the phrase on the inside and added a few of those little grass bundles inside too. 

The lines were added with a black journaling pen...

The outside of the envelope was decorated just a bit. I have been doing the envelope decoration now for a couple of month and I have to say "I like it". 

No matter if it is just a little stamp like here or some leftover paper cuts, anything would work. If you like to know more about my classes or if you like to join them, please contact me.

Any cards, pages and boxes seen here on my blog can be purchase as well. Contact me for more information.

Hot Air Balloon "Happy Birthday"

I still have some catching up to do with cards we made in 2015. 

Here is a wonderful Hot Air Balloon Birthday card we made. The balloon base card was cut with the Cricut and used the Close to My Heart cartridge "Artfully Sent" (Z3168). The balloon part is usually open, but we placed red cardstock on the back. 



The middle piece with the clouds was also cut with the cartridge and we placed a piece of white cardstock behind it to show off the clouds.

Inside we stamped a "Happy Birthday" phrase and decorated the balloon with some rhinestones. 
The little bakers twine makes sure the card stays closed.

The cut out pieces from the clouds were used to decorate the front of the envelope.

Festive Merry Christmas

For this card layout I have to thank Jasmine Schulz who came up with this design. "Danke Dir Jasmin" ...

So how was this card done. First I stamped different snowflakes in our white daisy pigment ink all over a sheet of desert sand cardstock ... all from Close to My Heart. Since pigment ink is thicker and needs longer to dry I let the piece air-dry over night. I think I got carried a way just a big with the flakes but, oh well, random stamping sometimes does this to you.

I cut the sheet down to 4"x 5 1/4" and punched a 2 1/4" circle on the right side. 

Now I used a square piece of colonial white (cream color) cardstock, measuring about 2 3/4" and stamped some pine trees on it. I used the pine tree from the set "Always Grateful" (C1559) and two different shades of green ink all from Close to My Heart. I must say this again, if you haven't bought this set yet...Go Get It!....it is awesome!

First I stamped the lighter green. I inked the stamp and set it onto the paper, then without re-inking I stamped again aside of the first one. Once I was happy with the background I used the dark green to stamp the tree three more times. I inked the stamp each time.

I had some hemp thread with gold left and wrapped it through the circle and a round the left side twice before I tied it to a bow. I used a silver thread from the sewing department to go along with the hemp. This one is so thin, I just wrapped it around twice, fastened it with some tape in the back and arranged the pieces.

The little flag like the card base is cut from colonial white cardstock. I stamped the phrase in black ink. To decorate the card I used one big Gold Glitter Paper (Z3076) star and one little one. 

OK, how is the card assembled?

First you determine witch part of the stamped trees you like to see through the circle cutout. I adhered the stamped tree square directly on the cardbase front. I then placed the snowflakes layer with foam dots in the center of the base (there will be an 1/8" edge around the layer). Now all that is let is to ad the phrase banner with foam dots and glue the stars in place.

As you know by now, a phrase was stamped on the inside and the envelope was decorated as well.

















Isn't this a wonderful Christmas card? If you like to purchase cards or anything else seen here on the blogs, please contact me.
Why not join one of my classes and learn how to make these cards? Lots of fun....email me for more information!   

Christmas Tree in Silver

I found this cute tree die from Whimsy stamps and even so it is very delicate, it is easy to die-cut.   

But lets start with the base and work out way up. The cardbase is a regular 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" daisy white cardstock base.

The next layer is a piece of dark-blue cardstock (outdoor denim) from Close to My Heart center on the cardbase.

For the background I used a pieces of watercolor paper, smooth side up and Spectrum Aqua markers. 

I used three different markers, two blues and one green. 

The colors were scribbled on a pallet and added to the paper with a brush and lots of water. I let my paper air dry, but you can use a heating tool to speed up the process. 

Be aware that you might get harsher edges then when you let it air dry.

The most difficult part of this card was to adhere the tree to the paper. Yes, that was the difficult part! With the watercolor paper in the background you need a liquid glue that will hold the tree down good. There is not a lot of glue needed, but it should be strong. I used ArtGlitter glue with the super fine tip.

Center the watercolor paper with the tree on the blue cardstock. I embellished with a few sparkling sequins too.

And finally the embellishment is the little flag. I first stamped "Merry Christmas" on a pieces of white daisy cardstock. Cut the flag and adhered it to a piece of metallic silver paper (same paper the tree was cut out). Now I cut the flag into the metallic paper matching the white flag. I adhered the flags with foam adhesive to the card and trimmed the end on the right side of the card flush with the card.

And ... I had to decorate the envelope again ;-)

If you like to purchase this or any other card/ item seen on this blog, please contact me for more information.

Or if you like to join my monthly cardmaking classes, let me know. I would love to have in my group.

Christmas Tree in Gold

Remember the "Merry & Bright" card we made in class earlier? We used the negative of the die-cut in that card.
Now it is finally time to use the actual, the positive of this die, the tree!

The background of this card is made with watercolor markers and more details on how to use them will be on tomorrows blog. You can also always contact me if you like to know more about techniques.

In this sample I used little red rhinestones to make the card even more festive.

The tree is cut from gold metallic paper and the same paper was used to create the little flag with the Merry Christmas sentiment on it.

The card is a regular quarter card measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

And as you have seen me do this now to many of my Christmas cards this year, I had to decorate the envelope too. I am getting use to this! What about you? Do you like the decor on the envelope? 

Although this Christmas tree die is more of a stylish modern version, I really like it a lot. Delicate, modern and festive at the same time... love this little tree.

If you like to learn how to make cards like this and other once you have seen here on the blog, come join me in class and contact me today. No matter if you just want to try it, if its just for the Christmas cards or if you like to do it on a monthly base, there is room for you. Email me today for more information.

You can also order all cards see on the blog or have me put your special twist to them :-) Just contact me!

Christmas Wishes

Here is another example of cards we make in class. 

The base is cut at 4 1/4" x 11" and folded at half. So this once has the fold on the left side. I then folded part of the front panel of the card base back creating a little flap.

Before I adhere the flap to the front I adhered my green design paper. The panel is covert in brown cardstock and a piece of gold glitter paper (Z3076) centered over it. 

The holly and the ornament both are cut with the Cricut. You find the images on our Close to My Heart cartridges for the Cricut. 

The are exclusive to Close to My Heart and include over 700 images including fonts. You can find them on my website by clicking HERE.

Once you open the card there is room for your Christmas greetings and wishes.

The tag was cut from "desert sand" cardstock and embellished with a nice phrase and a few little red rhinestones.

Last but not least we had to decorate the envelope as well.

If you like to join one of my classes or if you have a group of people that would like to start card making, please contact me for more information. All cards and other items seen here on my blog can also be purchased from me.

Merry and Bright

 Here is a Christmas Card with a little modern touch. I really like this Christmas tree die and while I was cutting the trees for my class I thought, there negatives are to nice to throw away.

So here is one part of the tree die. I used the new peacock cardstock as a background. I stamped little snowflakes in the matching ink and wrapped a little bit of ribbon around the bottom.

The tree was cut from a piece of gold metallic cardstock and placed with foam dots onto some shimmer paper.

I stamped the phrase onto another piece of shimmer paper (be careful stamping when you do this at home. The shimmer paper is really slippery and the stamp has the tendency to slide of. Let dry completely!)

I added the phrase with foam dots and adhered a little bow to the card.

Like always, the inside and the envelope were stamped and decorated as well.

If you like to make these cards or if you like to buy any of the cards seen on my blog, please contact me.

Christmas Ornament Card 2

Ok here is the little story behind this card ..ops..

Busy day, many cards to prepare for class and I was working on my last set. I always make two sample cards so my ladies in class will know how the card can look like.... some follow close my design others are more free spirited...everything works for me!

Well, as I said, a long day and my last set... first I wondered why my papers fitted right on the base without leaving a white strip on each side. I measured and well, everything was cut correctly...checked the base and guess what???Yes, this one was of by a 1/4"...ok this explains it right? Right!


I am just about done and placed my phrase onto the card when my husband walks in..."Hi honey...oh what a cute card, but..." I said "but what?"...."well, is there a reason why you put Christmas before Merry???"
"I did WHAT????"..."Oh snap and the glue is already dry....oh well!" I wasn't even thinking, I just thought that it looked good...ops!
Well, nobody is perfect and even we make mistakes LOL...

My ladies had a great idea...they told me to put "is" between the words and I am good to go...awesome idea :-)

By the way, none of them copied my mistake....

Christmas Ornament Card

  

Christmas ornaments are always a great decoration item to place on cards. In this case I used our Close to My Heart cartridges to cut out the green and red ornaments from metallic paper. I cut the simple ornament shape from desert sand cardstock since this one has the look of golden paper.

The ornament pieces were layered with foam dots. Before I adhered them to the design paper I wrapped the ribbon strips around and adhered them in place.

I placed two strips of red cardstock on the card base leaving a small white stripe on each side. The design paper is placed in the center of the card. Once everything is in place I added the ornaments, bows and the "Merry Christmas"

I also stamped a matching phrase on the inside and decorated the envelope accordingly. 

We had a lot of fun with this card in class and let's see if you find a problem with this card....

Magic Christmas Night "Merry Christmas"

One of my favorite Christmas card designs. We had a lot of fun in class to see how the winder wonderland emerged and how easy it is to create the snow.

I used the Close to My Heart stamp set "Always Grateful" (C1559) again. This is such a gorgeous stamp set and so versatile, if you ever need some really nice trees, get this one!

First the Christmas tree was stamped in white pigment ink four times on the "desert sand" cardstock. You have to let it dry completely before you start the next step. I used "New England" green ink from Close to My Heart to stamp the other trees...Yes only one ink. I stamped slightly off set of the white trees first. Now I inked my stamp again, stamped once between the trees and a second time (without re-inking) next to the previous one. This gives you one tree in a nice dark green and another one in a lighter version. Fill in the space until you are satisfied with the layout. I stamped "Merry Christmas" with dark brown ink.

Now lets see how the snow is done... take your white pigment ink pad and with a downward motion go over the bottom of the cardstock piece. You cover all the space that are not stamped as well as some of the tree bottoms. Add snow glitter embossing powder to is and heat set.

I mixed 3-4 drops of white shimmer paint with a little bit of water. Mix well and use a brush to spritz drops onto your cardstock. Let it dry.

All that is left now is to adhere the cardstock piece to the center of your card base. You can use foam dots or adhere it direct to the base. Add a litter glitter paper star and your card is done.

I place a nice Christmas phrase on the inside and stamped a decorative design on the outside of the envelope. 

If you are interested in purchasing this card or any other you might see on my blog, please contact me. If you like to learn how to make this and other cards yourself, sent me an email for more information.

Owl Greetings "Get Well"

Last one for fall and then we are for to make Christmas cards...

For this card I used a basic daisy white card base. Two strips of brown cardstock were place on the right and left side of the front of the card.

The "Wood" part....
I inked up one side of my woodgrain embossing folder and placed a piece of daisy white cardstock carefully on the inside. Close the folder and run it through the Cuttlebug machine and out comes this beauty.

To adhere the embossed paper to the base I had to use quite a bit of liquid glue to make it stick the to front (it is due to the embossing)

The letters were cut with the Cricut and also adhered with liquid glue.

The wreath is from a retired Close to my Heart stamp set. I punched out a big circle matching the size of the wreath stamp and then punched out a smaller one in the center. I stamped the wreath and colored the berries and leafs with markers. To make it look more real I followed the contour of the wreath with my scissors and adhered it with foam dots to the front.

The little owl is also from a retired set and was stamped, colored in and cut out with scissors. I tucked it behind the wreath and adhered the wings to the front.

The inside is simply decorated with some faux stitching.... Love to join my card classes or would you like to buy some of my cards? Just contact me by clicking HERE....

Witches Hat Gift Box

A little late, but never-the-less, I thought I should show the cute little witches gift box we made for Halloween.

You can change the colors and decoration and use it for birthday or even Christmas gifts...




I used our Close to My Heart Cartridge "Artiste" (Z3170) to cut the base, the little purple bag. For the hat, you need a circle with a long cutout in the middle, a simple Christmas tree (two of them) and a paper bow. 



The assemble of the hat is quite simple, but will take to long to explain here so contact me if you like to know how it works. Decorate the hat with glitter and stars and place it on the little bag....Your witch is done...or wait, you can ad eyes to the bag and it is complete.

To keep the hat from falling off, I used a paper clip or a clothes pin on the top of the bag and placed the hat over it.....

Fall Window Scene "Warm Wishes"

No fall card without pumpkins or what do you think?

To create this card I used a regular card base with a fold on the top. The green design paper is cut just a bit shorter on the right and left, leaving room for a small strip of brown cardstock. 

I adhered the brown strips first and then centered the green paper on it, flush with the top and bottom of the card.

For the window... the frame, window box and the little strip of grass were cut out with the Cricut machine.



For the window background... I used a piece of champagne cardstock from Close to My Heart and a tree from the stamp set "Always Grateful" (C1559). This set has some wonderful trees in it that are a must have!!! You will see these trees popping up in other cards coming.

For the pumpkins... two circle punches in two different sizes. Punch out three circles of each size. I overlapped two of the circles just a bit and placed the third one in the middle of them...the green on top is leftover from the grass strip.
The tree is stamped in cocoa ink and placed behind the window grid. I then adhered the grass strip behind the window box and placed it with foam dots onto the window. The pumpkins were placed and adhered in position and the window was raised with foam dots from the card base.

The sentence is stamped again in cocoa ink and on champagne cardstock. I cut the fag to it and a piece of our gold shimmer trim (Z1985) which comes with adhesive on the back.
For the inside I used some leafs and swirls to decoration.

Never tried our shimmer trim? Well you are missing out on something great. Love that is has adhesive on the back and all you have to do is cut to length and remove the backing. You can buy many more colors online on my website or if you just want to try it...I can help! I also sell the shimmer trim in 12" measurements, so let me know if you like to try it.

Contact me if you have questions, like to order or would love to join my monthly card class.
I would love to hear form you...

Stay tuned.....