Cutting Cafe Blog Hop Winner

Happy Saturday to you all.  I don't usually have a post on Saturday, but today I have a winner for The Cutting Café Blog Hop.  I was so pleased to see that many of you liked my December Daily card deck.  I really enjoyed making this set of cards for my granddaughters Paige and Payton to help them countdown the days until Christmas.  If you missed my first post with my project you can see it HERE.  As promised, one lucky person is the winner of a December Daily set from The Cutting Café.

  And the winner (picked by random.org) is #26 Sharla who said:

 

 

Wow, this is absolutely fantastic! I've never done the December Daily, but it looks like a wonderful way to start a new tradition. Your cards are beautiful!

 

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, Sharla, and for your sweet comment.  If you will email me at thomasjeri55atyahoodotcom I will see that you get your own December Daily set so you can start your own family tradition.

 

Thank you to each and every one of you who visited and left such nice comments.  They are truly appreciated and accepted.  I've decided to post a few more of the cards I made to, hopefully, give you a few more ideas for your own December Daily projects.  Happy crafting!

 

 





The Cutting Cafe Blog Hop December Daily project

Hi my crafty friends!  Welcome to The Cutting Café Blog Hop where we are honoring all of our amazing designers who are at the end of their term.  You should have arrived here to my blog from Sheryl's blog, if not and you'd like to start at the beginning of the blog you can see the complete list of Designers at the end of this post.  Today the set I'm showcasing is the December Daily Numbers printable stamp set which you could win.  Make sure you leave a comment at the end of my post for your chance to win.  This is the third year in a row that I have made a December Daily or "countdown calendar" of some sort for my granddaughter Payton. We've had several additions to our growing family in the past few years and Payton now has a sister, my son has a little guy and a couple months ago we added our first great grandchild to the mix.  It got me to thinking about how I was possibly going to make a project for each of them every single year.  I think I came up with the solution this year.  I've decided to make a set of cards that can be used over every year.  I wanted to put my cards in a nice box for storage so I decided to use The Cutting Café Life Savers Box set.  I used a 3x4 journaling die (from My Creative Time) as the base layer of each card and made one for each day from December 1st to the 25th.  On the back of each card I printed an activity for the day.  After printing the activity on the back of each card I decorated the front of the card using die cuts or other embellishments.  Here is the card with the little banner for Day 1 from the Daily numbers printable stamps set.

 Front of card

Back of card

 

 

This post would be extraordinarily long if I showed you the whole stack of cards so I'll just show a few other days.

On the front of Day 6 I made a book that I cut from the Cricut Lite Recess cartridge and added a small circle with Santa on it to the front of the book.  For Day 7 I added a premade element from last year's Simple Stories Christmas stack.  Below is a photo of the activities I put on the back of each card.

 

For Day 20 and Day 21 I used printable stamps from the Cutting Cafe's December-Christmas Daily printable stamp set or the December Daily 2 printable stamp set on the fronts and Cricut's Christmas Cheer cartridge for the present and Christmas light. 

 

 

I think creating family traditions is so important.  Now that my kids are grown with families of their own they have carried on some of the traditions we had with them.  When our kids were small every single Christmas Eve we gave them a new pair of pajamas and when they were snuggled in we would pull out the book The Night Before Christmas and read it to them.  Now they do the same thing with their kids. This Christmas we will buy the book for our new great granddaughter so she can have the same tradition.  When she is a little bit older she will have a set of cards like these.  This set will be for my granddaughters Paige and Payton.  I started making the December Daily projects when Payton was three.  Next year my son's little guy will be three so I will make a set of cards for him and a tradition will begin anew.  One other thing I might mention is that I will be taking these cards and getting them laminated so they will last for years.  I hope you've enjoyed my project and are inspired to start a December Daily for your family.  Again, I will be giving away one of the Cutting Cafe's December Daily files for a prize.  Please leave me a comment and I will have Random.org pick a winner on Saturday so check back to see if you are the LUCKY one.  Your next stop on the hop will be Rhonda's blog here.  Have fun and thanks for stopping by.

 

List of Blog Participants

Regina Easter

Rose Miller

Sheryl Wilder

Jeri Thomas
Rhonda Zmikly

Tmika Miller

Flowerdisco Agnes

Barbara Burgess 

Lisa Minkcler

Audrey Long

Leslie Foley 
Mary Ann Guth
Tanya Alley
Melisa Waldorf
Krista Norman









My Creative Time Back to School Challenge

Each year I get my granddaughter, Payton, an outfit for Back-to-School so I made this little note of encouragement for her to stick in with the gift.  I must admit, I'm completely obsessed with my 3x4 journaling card die from My Creative Time`.  I find myself using it for everything.  I just made the coolest Christmas Countdown project using it.  I'll be posting that project next Wednesday.  I hope you'll stop back by to see it.  When I saw this week's Back to School challenge on Miss Emma's blog I knew I would have to use my favorite journaling die and somehow incorporate the Hipster Kitty stamp to go along with it because with those glasses on she looks so very studious.  After cutting out the journaling card I used one of the stamps that coordinate with it from the Journal It! Stamp Set.  This is the first time I have tried using the stamp with two different colors of ink and really like how it turned out.  Next I used the MCT Stitched Mini Frame and Arrow die to cut the frame to go around the kitty and the striped arrow.  I stamped only the head portion of the kitty stamp and colored it in.  I left my Copics down in Florida and I sure do miss them.  The only thing I had to color in the kitty was some colored pencils from Walmart.  Not happy with that but what can I do.  I put the kitty low in the frame so the cup of coffee she's holding couldn't be seen (that wouldn't do for a school card).  This allowed room for me to stamp "You can do it!" from the You Are Here stamp set.  I added the pre-made circle sentiment saying "Smarty Pants" because I'm always telling Payton how smart she is from learning so much at school.  I can't wait to give this to her when we see her in a couple weeks.  Thanks for coming by today and don't forget to come back on Wednesday to see my fabulous December Daily project using the 3x4 Journaling Card Die.

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #34

TGIF!!!  Yes, even old retired people can love Fridays.  Why do I love this particular Friday?  It's time for the Cardz TV Stamps Go To Galz (of which I'm proudly a member) to reveal their challenge.  This week's challenge, which will run until Sept. 9th, is for a black and white card with a pop of yellow.  I've had this pretty DCWV Lemon Flower Mat Stack in my stash for years.  It's got some really pretty glossy sparkle and glitter papers in it and was perfect for this challenge.  As you can see I used a glossy printed black paper for my background.  I simply added a one inch white punched border strip with a black cardstock paper strip cut at 1/2".  Then I embellished with a pretty frame in yellow and some cute little paper flower buttons.  My sentiment is from the Cardz TV Stamps Good Times stamp set.

My Creative Time Black and White Challenge

I just got back from a little family trip and found my post didn't go for the My Creative Time Black and White Challenge.  I might just make the midnight deadline.

My Creative Time is having a black and white challenge.  That's all the inspiration I needed to get a quick card put together for one of my son-in-laws.  There are so many things that I love about Emma's stamps and dies but right up there at the top is being able to put a card together without having to take out my diecutting machine.  Trying to create in my tiny camper this summer is beginning to wear on me.  Anyway, for this card I used my Cuttlebug numbers embossing folder for my background paper and added a piece of chevron washi tape.  Then I used the My Creative Time ticket die, the Fun Tickets stamp and the sentiment Wish Big from the Chunky Die Accessories set and popped it up with a little dimensional foam.  That's it, quick and easy.

Pretty Purse Box

Does this elegant little purse look like it's made out of paper?  I don't think so.  If you're looking for a unique way to give a lady in your life a special little gift, do I have a treat for you today.  This week the Cutting Café Design Team is featuring creations made from Regina's fabulous Assorted Purse Box Templates.  This set comes with five different styles of purses with lots of different embellishments to put on them including straps and buckles.  This is a truly amazing cutting file which comes in SVG, PDF, MTC and WPC forms.  So even if you don't have any cutting machine you can use the PDF file to cut it by hand.  Believe me, I have been designing for Regina for quite some time (even before I had a cutting machine) and I've made many, many of her files using only paper and scissors. 

For my purse I used a new KI Memories 6x6 paper stack called Metro Garden that I found at Walmart with beautiful blue, beige, brown and gold papers.  I made the main box section of my purse from good old kraft cardstock then I added the front and back panels with a print from the stack and the scalloped top piece from a beautiful blue.  The fanciness to this purse comes from the embellishments I add which were all purchased from Walmart's craft area of the store.  I used pearls on a string from the bead section, and pre-strung sequins and button from the fabric section.  The embellishments cost me less than $2.00.  I finished the purse off with a paper tassel and a tag that says "Favorite Bag", both come with the set.  I think I made an elegant gift box for very little money, one that any fine lady would be sure to love. 

The Cutting Cafe Vintage Shoe

I have a quick post today since we have family visiting and commitments this week.  At The Cutting Café this week the Design Team is making shoes.  We're featuring either the Vintage Boot Shaped card template or the High Heel Shoe Shaped card template.  Being the old fashioned girl that I am, I just had to go vintage.  All my pretty blue patterned papers are from a 6x6" KI Memories paper pad called Metro Garden that I recently found at Walmart.  I used the SVG file to cut out the card and layers, did some machine stitching, added some gorgeous buttons I recently snatched up at a tent sale along with a little jute.  I printed out the sentiment on a tag, popped it up with some foam tape and added two pearls for embellishment.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Cardz TV Stamps Challenge #33 Seeing Red

It's time for Cardz TV Challenge #33 and this week the Go To Galz are Seeing Red.  No, not because we're all mad at each other.  LOL  It's just the name of the challenge for a project using the color red.  I took the opportunity to make a card for one of my teen grandsons.  If you know me, you might have heard me complain about having to make birthday cards for four teenage grandsons.  It's like torture for me.  Thank goodness I have four daughters and enough granddaughters to supplement my girlie tendencies.  For my card today I used the Cardz TV stamp set Make A Wish.  Some of you may be a little hesitant to take your scissors to your stamp sets, but I do it all the time.  It gives you the opportunity to split up phrases to make new ones or to arrange them in different ways.  I cut the Happy Birthday sentiment into two separate words so I could stamp the word Happy three times onto my tag and then I added Birthday at the bottom.  A quick and simple card.  So don't be AFRAID, cut those sentiments apart and look at the new possibilities.  Join the challenge to make a project using the color red and link it up on the Cardz TV blog.  Have FUN!!!

The Cutting Cafe All About Girls

For my Cutting Cafe project today I've made a girly giftcard holder.  I just love how this came out. This week Miss Regina asked the Design Team to create projects using the All About Girls Printable Stamp set.  I also used the Cutting Cafe Gift Card Holder Cutting file/template.  This All About Girls set is fabulous and comes with 60 images and can be purchased in either black and white or a colored version.  I used the SVG file to cut the card from white cardstock and embossed the front part of the card with a diamond pattern so it would tie in with my printed green paper pattern that I used for the top of the card.  Before attaching the front scallop I did a little zigzag stitching with black thread.  I also tied the yellow ribbon onto the top before attaching it.  What better sentiment for a giftcard than SHOP TIL YOU DROP.  The other element from the All About Girls set I used is the cute yellow handbag and SPARKLE sentiment.  After I printed the purse and fussy cut it I attached it to the bow with some yellow twine and added the tiny tag .  I embellished the bag with a few gems (both rhinestones and pearls).  Please tell me you love this as much as I do.

I'm a Great Grandma

 

My husband and I became great grandparents for the first time on Monday.  Our oldest granddaughter had a baby girl.  Lots of people become great grandparents nowadays, but very few are probably as young as hubby and I (we're both 57).  We have friends who are older than us and don't even have one grandchild, no less great grandchildren.  It is even more shocking to me than it was to become a grandma at the age of 38.  Here are the details for our newest family addition.  She weighed an unbelievable 9 lbs. 10 oz., was 22 3/4" long and her name is Ella Marie.  I couldn't wait to do a scrapbook page with her first photo.  Are you as shocked as we were to see all that hair?  I'm going to warn you now that this is a very long post.

Quite some years ago my kids bought me a Canon Selphy photo printer.  I used it to make this really adorable picture.  It printed the pink frame around the photo and the clipart balloons that say It's A Girl!.  I love how it turned out.  I'm using a SN@P 6 x 8 album for this layout.  My calendar was made using the new Type Calendar Stamp set from My Creative Time.  I have a fabulous tip for anyone using this stamp set.  This set comes with the calendar base, individual numbers, days of the week stamp and months.  When my stamp set came I was, quite frankly, a little overwhelmed at the thought of how I was going to get the numbers to stamp on the calendar and look neat and even.  I suddenly had an aha moment. First I stamped the calendar grid using Versamark ink and then heat embossed it with WOW embossing powder in Cotton Candy Blue.  Then I added the days of the week and heat embossed them in Bubble Gum Pink.  Next I placed the individual numbers into the actual calendar grid stamp so I was able to ink them up and stamp them all at once.  I tried to take a picture to show you, but it didn't show up very well so hopefully you can tell what I'm talking about.  This method works because the numbers stick up higher than the grid so the grid will not restamp.

I used my tweezers to place each number inside it's assigned square.  As you can see in the pic below I left the space empty where the number 29 would go.  I inked up the numbers with Momento Tuxedo Black Ink and stamped them onto the calendar.  Then I went back and stamped the number 29 with more Versamark ink and heat embossed it in pink.  To really draw the eye to that special date I surrounded it with a heart that I cut using the My Creative Time Stitched Heart Layering Dies.  I used the small and medium heart, cutting the medium heart first and then placing the smaller heart into the center of it and running it through my Cuttlebug again.

When the calendar was done I added dimensional foam to the back and left a space so I could add a file folder that I made with the new My Creative Time Stitched File Folder Die.  I stamped the word baby on the little tab using a sentiment from My Creative Time Chunky Jar Accessories set.  I used the folder to have a place to put a tag for journaling and a small frame for another photo.

 

 

Thanks for coming by today and letting me share my news with you.  I hope you'll come back tomorrow to see my post of 3x4 journaling cards I made to go along with this layout.  They will sit on the opposite page in the album.