Cheers to a Happy New Year!!!

Gosh, I've really taken a vacation from posting! It's been wonderful to spend time with family though. We were back in Canada with family over Christmas and managed to get in three days of skiing so that was a nice bonus! I can't say I love winter but it sure is much more fun if you embrace it and get involved in winter sports. On that note, we're off to the Winter Classic hockey game at Fenway on New Year's Day. I'm SO excited about that...gonna wear my warmest down parka.  :)

Tonight though I'm behaving like Winobella (and I'm dressed exactly like her...wink!) enjoying some fab wine with appies and dinner. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch, MTSC54, for the layout. I dug deep into my stash of Basic Grey 6x6 pads again for this card...these papers are from Lily Kate. It doesn't show in the photo but I added clear Glaze pen to the glasses and the bottle.

I have a funny story about this card. I was on the phone with Dana and it's been about a week since we last chatted. I said something about my Winobella image for the card I'm posting and she said she was also using Winobella. Then I told her I was using Mercy's sketch and she is too! Then she told me she was using purple and green, and I had purple and green out too, but then I switched the green to Kraft instead. We consulted on the border punches though so those shouldn't be the same. Weird, eh! Talk about being on the same wave length!!!! LOL! I can't wait to see how her card turns out!

Whatever you're doing tonight, have a safe and happy New Year and all the best in 2010!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Sweet Sunday Balloon

It's time for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch, SSSC50. You'll find the sketch on Karen Giron's blog, The Sweetest Thing.

I hope you had a wonderful holiday. It always seems to go by so quickly, but it sure is a lot of fun!!! Only 363 days til next Christmas...LOL!

I thought I'd move onto birthdays for today's sketch. The start of the year is always a big birthday time in my family so it's never too early to get going on cards. I have this card earmarked for my niece. I used the sweet My Balloon set from the Pure Innocence line at MFT. These little girls are soooooo adorable! I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream and coloured her with copics. I paper pieced her jumper though and added a little shine to the heart with my clear Glaze pen. The image is cut out with square Nestabilties. All the papers and ribbon are from my Spa Key Ingredients from Taylored Expressions.

I added a little piercing around the image to jazz it up and ran the blue cardstock through my Apron Lace punch before adhering it to the card. The base is 5.25 inches square. I tied the perfect little bow using my Bow Easy tool then just attached it with a glue dot.

I hope you'll play along with this week's sketch and link your creation to Karen's blog using the Mr. Linky tool. Now let's go see what the other Sweet Sunday Stampers created with this week's sketch.
Jen Tapler
Laura Fredrickson
Sarah-Jane Kale'
Vicki Burdick
and Karen Giron

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

Quick Holiday Packaging

I have a quick packaging project to share with you today. I had some Peppermint Bark that I was giving to my chiropractor and her secretary and I wanted a cute package to put it in because they know I'm a crafty gal.

I started with clear pails that I picked up at Taylored Expressions then I quickly embellished them with patterned papers from my stash. I jazzed them up with my apron lace punch and added a couple layered of ribbon. Then I used my Bow Easy to tie the green bows and attached a button to each with linen thread. The paper decoration is about 1.75 inches high...I wanted to leave quite a bit of the pail uncovered so the yummy bark would show through.

For the top I punched a red circle with my Giga Marvy circle punch, then layered the patterned paper, punched with my Mega Marvy circle punch. I coloured the chipboard snowflake with a green copic before running it through my Sticker Maker to coat it with adhesive. Then I covered it with green glitter and tied on another button. Fun, quick and easy!!!

They loved the containers (and the contents) and best of all, they can reuse them for gifting another small item or a gift card.   :)

Wishing you a VERY happy holiday season!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Holiday Thank You

This past Saturday we attended our neighbourhood Christmas party and it was a ton of fun! I made this card as a thank you to the hosts for throwing such a fabulous party.

I have to tell you though, I was feeling a little pressure while creating this card, and here's why. While I was at the party on Saturday night I noticed that the thank you card I made them last year was on display on the kitchen window sill! Seriously!!! I can't tell you how pleased I was that she not only kept the card, but it's still on display after a year! Talk about being appreciated!!! So I knew I had to make this one just as good.  :)

I chose AddyTude Loves Her 'Tinis from Stamping Bella...seems like a fitting image for a party! The layout is Mercy's Sketch Challenge, MTSC43. For the card I started by stamping AddyTude with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Bella's Bestest Paper then I cut her out with circle Nestabilities. Everything is coloured with copics and I added a little yellow shimmer to the flower centers with my yellow Spica glitter pen. I wanted the martinis to have a red hue but not be completely opaque so I used my R11 copic to pick up colour from my R37, then I coloured the drinks with R11. This technique only deposits a little of the dark colour at a time. I really like the effect and it doesn't ruin your markers either! I added shine with my clear Glaze pen to her glasses, shoes and the drinks.

I had to dig deep into my stack of Basic Grey 6x6 pads to find this one, Stella Ruby. It's an old one but it's sooooo pretty! I ran the striped piece through my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder before stitching around it so it would have a little dimension, but I left the floral panels flat. I had a difficult time deciding on flower embellishments for this card, but once I landed on the ghost flower for the base I knew it needed a little sparkle so I outlined the edges with Fruit Punch Stickles. I tinted my linen thread with a R35 before tying it to the button. A length of ribbon and two Glitter Dots finish it nicely.

I can't wait to drop it in her mailbox!   :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Karen

A Little Stamping Time

Three more sleeps til Christmas...wooo hoooooo!!!! This is my absolute favourite holiday of the year!!! I've managed to squeak out a little stamping time during the busy time leading up to Christmas. So in honour of my stamping time I reached for Crafty Cuppie for today's card. The layout is SC259 from Splitcoast.

I absolutely LOVE the colours in the December 20th Key Ingredients...they're so me! So that's what I reached for to create this card. Every single supply I used on this card (except the sewing) is in the December 20th Key Ingredients.

I started by stamping Cuppie with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Choice Buttercream then I cut it out with rectangle Nestabilities. I coloured the image with copics, paper pieced Cuppie's apron, and went over the jar of glitter with my clear Glaze pen. I pierced around the edges with my Tim Holtz ruler (LOVE that thing!) to make the image pop a little then layered in onto a scallop rectangle of Prism Baby Pink Medium.

The rest of the card is just layers of paper from the December 20th Key Ingredients with a little stitching thrown in for whimsy. Oh, and my beloved Apron Lace punch too! The pink Candy dots add another fun touch...I keep wanting to eat one they look so yummy! LOL! I used the smallest size in my Labels Trio to cut out the sentiment...it's the perfect size for tucking just about anywhere on a card.

Ok...time's up...I'm off to do more pre-Christmas running around. That's not to say I have a bunch of errands and shopping to do, but I consider all the house stuff running around too!

Thanks for taking a minute out of your busy day to stop by!
Karen