Christmas Treasures

The tradition of decorating a homey Christmas tree continues at my household and I am so blessed to have the tree more and more full each year with cute little handmade ornaments from my boys.

The panels of this treasure chest are decorated with everything Practicing Creativity Designs! I've used the new releases, Retro Christmas and Retro Christmas Backgrounds, last month's release, Christmas Wonders, and even a previous release For the Love of Dots! I rescued this chest from the "Going to Goodwill" pile and altered it to hold my boys' special ornaments during storage, and can use it as a holder (and protector) of my cards during the season.

I adore how all these sets work so well together! I threw in a vintage button, some ribbon and twine for additional interest:

Here's the inside:

And if you are interested, here's the before:

We've all got some great holiday gift ideas to share! Please check out the blogs of:
Courtney
Dana
Paulina
Jackie Solomon
Heather Pulvirenti
Christina Maclaren

And just a reminder that Courtney has a super fun challenge over at her blog too with prizes that you just want to have!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Cream) Archers Paper, (Cranberry Crisp) SU
Stamps: (Retro Christmas) (Retro Christmas Backgrounds) (Christmas Wonders) (For the Love of Dots) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme, River Rock, Old Olive, More Mustard Pigment) SU (Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (True Thyme Ribbon) SU (Red Bakers Twine), (Vintage Button)
Other: (Chest)

The Little Diva

She walks around in plastic high heals with feathers glued on top, tons of pink hair bows holding the fine blond hair out of her big blue eyes and five necklaces that hang past her little belly button. She's the little diva on my husband's side of the family and everyone is tickled pink with her. She'll be turning three in a couple of months and this card is for her.

Welcome to the another sneak peak from Practicing Creativity Designs! I wanted to showcase a card using the set I designed this month, Retro Christmas, in a non-holiday manner. All of the designers are also focusing on techniques using Tattered Angel Glimmer Mists available at the store. I started with a full sheet of cardstock and sprayed Dragonfly on one side and Vintage Pink on the other. I cut out of portion where the two met and stamped the deer (sans the antlers) right on top of the misting.

The other design team and guest designer gals have some great samples/sneaks to show you as well!
Courtney
Dana
Paulina
Jackie Solomon
Heather Pulvirenti
Christina Maclaren

Remember that Courtney has a super fun challenge over at her blog too! Make any card using a Practicing Creativity stamp, and link it up to this post by October 8th! There are two prizes! One winner gets to be the guest designer next month and there is also an awesome Tattered Angels prize pack!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific
Stamps: (Retro Christmas) (Chatterbox) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine
Embellishments: (Pink Twill) May Arts available at Practicing Creativity Designs, (Black Sheer) May Arts, (Rhinestone) Michaels, (Black Marker) Sharpie
Tools: (Labels 4 Nestabilities) Spellbinders

A Homespun Holiday

I love the homespun look and it is so easy to recreate. A lot of distressing, a bit of faux stitching, some sanding here and filing there, all coming together for a quaint little holiday card featuring one stamp from each of the holiday releases this month at Practicing Creativity Designs!  Also, Practicing Creativity Designs now has free shipping for $50 or more in the US!

Keeping it short today...I'll let you hop along to see some sneaks of the other stamps in the sets, so please mosey on over to the regular designer's blogs:
Courtney
Dana
Paulina
(and three guest designers this month!)
Jackie Solomon
Heather Pulvirenti
Christina Maclaren

Oh, and Courtney has a super fun challenge over at her blog in honor of World Card Making Day! Make any card using a Practicing Creativity stamp, and link it up to this post by October 8th! There are two prizes! One winner gets to be the guest designer next month and there is also an awesome Tattered Angels prize pack!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI (Very Vanilla) SU
Stamps: (Houndstooth from Retro Christmas Backgrounds) (Sentiment from Retro Christmas) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Cranberry Crisp Pigment) (Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Other: (Brown Pen) Creative Memories, (Paper Piecing Kit) SU, (Brown Twine) May Arts, (Chipboard Frame), (Vintage Button)

Just a Quick Note

So very excited and so very thankful for Mandy at Limelight Papercrafts for giving me the opportunity to guest design for the month of October! And wowza, what a way to start off with a bang! I'm off to place my first order tonight, and it even includes some fabulous patterned paper. (A promise to myself to conquer using it on cards soon.)

In celebration of World Card Making Day, Limelight has some great deals!
* Jillibean Soup Monster Stew 50% off
* All Prima Embellishments 50% off
* New Cosmo Cricket Matilda (& Coordinates) 30% off
* All Lawn Fawn Stamps 25% off
* Stampendous Ice Cream Float Stamp ONLY $1

GOODY BAGS:
Tonight through Monday ONLY, Limelight Papercrafts is including a free goody bag in each order! Each bag is different, but they all contain some fabulous crafting goodies!! You can expect to find some 6x6 patterned paper, ribbon, and a treat for sure. You may receive stickers, Prima flowers, buttons, or even stamps in your goody bag!


***Please check out my previous post today, there is a chance to win the newest releases from Practicing Creativity Designs- one is a set I designed!***

The Story

It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!

Gathered around his feet at Christmas time in our flannel jammies, my father would read How the Grinch Stole Christmas to us. Then as we grew older, we watched the cartoon on television. Each time I read the story to my boys or see the cartoon (only in the original version with the nice bright, bold colors and the low deep narrative voice), I realize that the story never gets old. It is all about carving roast beef, Cindy Lou Who and the true spirit of Christmas. The story is one of my favorite holiday books and movies, back then and now.

My favorite childhood holiday movie provides a clue for the newest releases at Practicing Creativity Designs as well as the inspiration for my clean and simple, easily reproduced in mass quantities card. Check out the current Caardvarks Challenge, I think this card fits the bill! Today, make sure you hop along to Dana's, Paulina's and Courtney's blogs and a leave comment, as a winner will be chosen at random from one of the comments on all of our blogs to win both sets! That's four chances to win!

I'd love to know what your favorite childhood holiday movie was and if it's still the same today. Please check back tomorrow, and the the rest of the week, it's going to be an exciting one!

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Kraft) PTI
Patterned Paper: (Blue) Daisy D Designs
Stamps: (Christmas Wonder) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine
Embellishments: (Green Striped Ribbon) May Arts, (Black Brads) SU
Other: (White Gel Pen) Signo by Uniball, (Black Pen) Pilot, (Labels 4 Nesties) Spellbinders, (Corner Chomper) WR Memories

The Beehive

I stood on the corner of the lot surveying the crew's work. They made a quick job of tearing down the one tree and were going to start on the next. Suddenly I felt something drop into my hair and then...felt the sting. Oh, how that hurt! Turns out that there was a beehive half as tall as me in the soon to be non-existent tree and the big wasp was none to happy to be disturbed.
So of course I had to pull out the hexagons from Hexagon-A-Thon by Schlosser Designs and create a beehive card. The Baker Beehive had TONS of hexagons within it, and it was really quite an inspiration. (Glad to see it gone though.) To give my hive a bit of depth, I gold embossed the hexagons, outlined them with black and then sponged a few ink colors.
There are only a few hours left to participate in the Happily Ever Challenged Challenge, the golden opportunity.
And only a few hours until we sneak the newest designs from Practicing Creativity Designs! Check back, you won't be disappointed!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific (Basic Black) SU (Gold) Unknown
Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs
Ink: Versamark, (Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Summer Sun Pigment) SU
Embellishments: (Gold Embossing Powder) SU (Gold String) SU (Stickers) SRM Stickers, (Black Pen) Pilot

Coveted Blankets

I have coveted many a crocheted blankets from my grandma. Some I use to ward off the chill of the cold Wisconsin winters, others I save because they are just too special-such as a pink one from my tenth birthday and the all white one trimmed with blue satin ribbon made especially for my boys' christening. She tried to teach me a couple of times the art of crochet, and I managed maybe a 100 yard string, but never mastered second rows. Everyone has their special crafty calling so I think I'll leave the crocheting up to Grandma.

The Tuesday Trigger at Moxie Fab World was calling to use Hexagon-A-Thon from Schlosser Designs. I grabbed the general shape and colors of the blanket as well as the color and texture of the bench it resides on. (Which, by the way, I adore, and think it would look lovely in my house.) I've also learned the power that a single embellishment can have, like one rhinestone, from Kelley at My Front Porch.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: (Turquoise Card) Joann's, (Very Vanilla) SU
Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Sentiment from Mega Mixed Messages) PTI
Ink: (Earth Elements Set Pigment) SU, (Vintage Photo, Antique Linen Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Rhinestone) Studio 18

The Linen Closet

There was a little door in her hallway that contained the freshest, cleanest, most exhilarating smell. I remember trailing at her heals as she would walk to her linen closet door, open it and pull out the crispest sheets around-white speckled with big, bright pink rosebuds. She would then carefully spread the sheet on the couch, pinch the edges and tuck me in tight. It never failed, I would always sleep well at Grandma's house.

The colors of the feathers and the shape of the hair net on this piece at Pegasusmaiden's Shop for the Etsy Inspired Challenge reminded me of Grandma's sheets and the whole while I could smell that wonderful smell again....and shaking my head as to why my linen closet doesn't smell the same. I sure hope that you can see that the background is stamped repeatedly with a stitched hexagon shape from Hexagon-A-Thon by Schlosser Designs and there is a faint polka dotted hexagon pattern to the rose.

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Gold and Copper Flecked) Archer's Paper
Stamps: (Hexagon-A-Thon) Schlosser Designs, (Rose from Roses in Bloom) Waltzingmouse Stamps, (Sentiment from Communique Curves) PTI
Ink: (Rose Red and Pretty in Pink Pigment) SU, (Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress) Ranger
Embellishments: (Rustic Twine) PTI, Button

Let's Get Together

This morning my cousin and I were able to get together without kiddos and enjoy a nice breakfast of omlets and pancakes. It was amazingly stress free and really kind of quiet. This afternoon my family and I enjoyed the cool crisp fallish air. That too was amazingly stress free but a lot less quiet.

This card was quite fun to make, although I think I could have edited way more than I did. Does that ever happen to you? I paper pieced the bike in some fun orange paper (check), added some pleated ribbon tape topped off with some baker's twine (check). Reminds me of the bike I had growing up. I also added some scallops along the bottom for a cute twist (check). Having three check marks makes me eligible to participate in the Scrappy Saturday Challenge over at Wee Memories!

And these two little men have been taking up a lot of my time lately...

Supplies:
Cardstock: (White) Georgia Pacific, (Yellow) Bazzill
Patterned Paper: (Orange Polka and Saffron Leaves from the Sweet Pea Collection) Stampin' Up!
Stamps: (The Whole Cycle, Chatterbox) Practicing Creativity Designs
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versamark
Embellishments: (Green Polka Dot Fabric Tape from Love My Tapes) Available at Practicing Creativity Designs, (Yellow Divine Twine) Available at Ryann Marin's Etsy Store, (Rhinestones) Michaels, (Blue Grosgrain Ribbon) Offray, Thread
Tools: (Scallop Border Punch) Fiskars

Grandma's Wedding Flower

She tells the story with eyes that are reliving the moment from fifty nine years ago. Her wedding was a whirlwind affair, with her groom-to-be just home from the war and leaving to go back. It was the middle of winter, and they did not have a lot of money. Other than her dress, her favorite part was the small bouquet of gardenias that she held, as they were cheap and hardy in the cold, but oh so beautiful to her.

Inspiration from this card derives from the layout natural elements on this album cover for the Jazzy Paper Designs Inspiration Challenge and the colors and technique from the Embellish Magazine Challenge.

Supplies Used: 
Cardstock: (Yellow) Archers Paper Co., (Kraft) PTI, (Light Green) Recollections, (Olive) CTMH
Stamps: (Ever After) Wplus9
Ink: (Onyx Black) Versafine, (Watermark) Versafine
Other: (Labels 4 Nestabilities) Spellbiners, (Olive Satin Ribbon) SU, (Twine) PTI, (White Gel Pen) Signo by Uniball