Sunday, December 4, 2022

Sleighs with Tonic Studio Die Set

Last week as a Christmas gift to a friend of mine, I paid for 2 spots in a craft class at my local craft outlet store. We made the most adorable sleighs, and as part of the class fee, we received the dies to make more of them. If you are interested in ordering the die set to make some of these sleighs yourself, here's a link: Tonic Studios - Dies - Christmas Sleigh (scrapbook.com). The die set is very versatile with several different options for sleigh designs and little tags and bows to embellish your finished sleighs. In the first picture below, the one with the candy in it is the one I made in class, and you can't really tell, but it's actually gold foil card stock (it kind of looks like kraft card stock in the picture). The sleigh on the right I made when I got home and used silver card stock, red glitter card stock, and green card stock. I added some gold and white twine to the first one and some silver and white twine to the second one to tie the little "Merry and Bright" tags to the sleighs. Of course I had to run out and buy some Christmas candy to put in the sleighs, too! 

I ended up spending most of yesterday playing with this die set and making up several kits to share with my daughters, my daughter-in-law, and the 3 friends my daughter in the Navy shares a house with in SC. I die cut all the pieces and then put them in baggies and plan to send some adhesives and instructions to my daughter in SC (along with plenty of Christmas candy for them to fill their sleighs!). For my other daughter and my daughter-in-law, I helped them assemble their sleighs today. My husband and I had all the kids (except the one in SC whom we miss terribly!) over for lunch and then while the men watched my sweet baby grandson, the girls and I worked on assembling the sleighs and filling them with candy! It was so fun! 



Top view:


How long do you think the candy will last?!

See how pretty the intricate designs are? Just leave yourself plenty of time to glue everything on: 



I used cotton balls to simulate snow for my sleds:

Here's my daughter-in-law (on the left) and my daughter with their sleds. You can see the two different patterns on the sides of the sleds:



My daughter's finished sled with her choice of candy. Here's the back:


Here's the front:


Here's a look at the die set I used:




Challenges I'm entering: 

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/: Freezing cold mood board (there's snow in the photos, and sleighs need snow to run, so I thought it fit the prompt) (1/5; ends 12/5)

https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (5/5; ends 12/7)


Outlawz Challenges: Monthly linky



Dream Valley Challenges: Lots of layers (3/3; ends Dec. 10)

Use Your Stuff: Christmas Treats (I hope the treats inside the sleigh count)

Double Trouble Paper Crafting (doubletroublechallenge.blogspot.com): Following Thing 1's open challenge (1/4; ends Dec. 28)

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (5/5 for this week; ends Dec. 7)


C.R.A.F.T. Challenge (trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.com): Christmas Present (These sleighs are for Christmas candy, which is the best present around, right?!) (ends Dec. 7)

613 Avenue Create (avenue613.blogspot.com): ATG (option of up in the sky) (1/8; ends at the end of the  month)


Creative Fingers Challenge Blog: ATG (1/3; ends Dec. 16)


Allsorts challenge blog: Christmas (1/3; ends Dec. 8)

Crafty Calendar Challenge: ATG (1/3; ends Dec. 27)



Cut It Up (cutitupchallenges.blogspot.com): Winter (1/1; ends Dec. 14) 

Winter Wonderland (christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.com): ATG Christmas (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

Classic Design Challenge Blog: ATG (1/unlimited entries; ends at the end of the month)

The Diva's that cut ....paper! (die-cut-divas.blogspot.com): Anything winter or Christmas themed (1/4; ends at the end of the month)

Happy Little Stampers: Christmas Challenge: ATG Christmas (ends at the end of the month)

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge -1st to the 25th every month: Christmas and/or movement (1/5; ends at the end of the month)

The Crafting Challenge: Christmas (1/3; ends at the end of the month)

fourseasons (thefourseasonschallenge.blogspot.com): ATG winter (1/3; ends at the end of the month)












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Fleece Navidad Card

I love a good pun, and this Baah Humbug set from Lawn Fawn has several cute ones! For this card, I stamped one of the sheep from the set and added several accessory stamps for him: the knitting needles and yarn, the ball of yarn on the bottom, and the little line of yarn to connect the knitting to the yarn ball. I wanted to follow the color challenge and sketch challenge over at MFT Stamps, so I used 2 shades of pink, blue, and green for the colors on the card. I die cut some blue card stock for the sky behind my little sheep, and then I die cut some green card stock using the same die to make the grass he's on. I then fussy cut some wavy lines out of the green card stock and made three layers of grass behind my little sheep. I fussy cut the sheep and the yarn ball and popped the yarn ball up using foam tape. I stamped the sentiment and cut it out to fit on the small rectangle at the top. The light pink rectangle is cut out of flocked card stock, so it has a fuzziness to it that I thought worked well with this card. I embossed the darker pink mat with a Richard Garay EF called "Knitted Pattern." The sheep and the yarn were colored with Copics and Chameleon markers. 

  


Challenges I'm entering:
Lawn Fawnatics Challenge 137 – Holiday Critters | Lawn Fawnatics

Shop Wednesday Blitzday Deals Then Join the MFT Team for Sketch Challe – MFT Stamps

Celebrate Turkey Day with Huge Savings and a New Color Challenge! – MFT Stamps

As You Like It Challenge: Favorite non-traditional Christmas animal and why: I love sheep as a non-traditional Christmas animal because there are so many great puns you can use for them, and because they lend themselves well to winter-themes such as warm clothes made out of wool. So fun! Plus they are really cute!

TIME OUT Challenges: Winter/holiday season C5

No more challenges
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Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Christmas Concertina Card

This Christmas concertina card comes from a free SVG file over at The Bearded Housewife. Here's a link to the blog post about it: How to Make a Christmas Concertina Card - The Bearded Housewife. I used my Silhouette Cameo 4 to cut out the file. 

The original file is for an A7 card, and I made a set of cards in that size for the shut ins at my church. I also resized the file to make an A2 version. I really wish I would have had more of the card stock I used for the A2 version because I love the contrast with the poinsettia pattern and the lovely red pattern, but unfortunately I only had a few sheets of that card stock and had to use some other Christmas card stock for the large set of cards. 

I stamped "Christmas Blessings" on the front of the cards (I think the stamp is from a Just Rite stamp set) and I also added some holly leaves and berries to the inside sentiment panel using tiny stamps from a Lawn Fawn Christmas set. I used a Close to My Heart stamp for the inside sentiment: "A baby, a manger, a bright and shining star; a shepherd, an angel, three kings from afar; a Savior, a promise from heaven above--The story of Christmas is filled with God's love." I really like the poem because it focuses on the motivation behind sending Jesus to earth: God's love for sinful humans and His mercy and compassion on us. God chose to offer us a way to be reconciled to Him through faith in Jesus' perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection. What a gracious, loving God He is!

A2 size card:



Here's a look at the inside of the unfolded card: 


Here's the back of the card:



A close up of the sentiment panel (I used dies to cut out the sentiment panel and the mat behind it, but I don't remember the brand of die): 


Here's a look at the size difference between the original A7 file (far left) and the resized version (middle and far right): 


A7 version:


Inside of A7 version:


Back of A7 version:



The set of cards for the shut ins at my church:



Challenges I'm entering: 

Creative Knockouts: Time to be Merry (3/3; ends Nov.30) C10

Through The Purple Haze Challenges: Monochromatic (my A7 set of cards are monochromatic); (1/3; ends Nov. 30) C10



The Paper Shelter: Winter Celebrations (2/2; ends Dec. 7)


https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (4/5; ends Dec. 7)

Word Art Wednesday (1/5 for this week; ends Dec. 7)


Dream Valley Challenges: Lots of layers (1/3; ends Dec. 10)

No more challenges
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Nativity Snow Globe Cards

Spoiler alert! Hopefully none of the people on my mom's Christmas list follow my blog because this is the Christmas card design her recipients are going to receive this year. I made 250 of them for her and then did another (much smaller!) batch for the members of my Bible Study Fellowship discussion group and a few other people from church. Most of the people on my Christmas list are getting a photo card that features a family photo taken this past summer when my daughter in the Navy was home on leave as well as a few smaller photos of my darling grandson. 

The card design for this card comes from a file in the Silhouette Design Store titled "Snow Globe Card Nativity." I resized it to fit in my A2 envelopes. I also used a couple Close to My Heart stamps for the verse and the star. I stamped those using my MISTI, and it made quick work of the project since I lined up both stamps exactly where I wanted them and then stamped the front and backs of the cards at the same time. Thankfully both card elements fit nicely in the MISTI so I could stamp them both at the same time. 

The hardest part of this card was definitely the panel with baby Jesus. I had to change out my cutting blade toward the end of the project. That hay is tough on the blade! The other panels cut out very easily, and I was able to use the fastest setting on my Silhouette, which was a good thing since I was cutting out so many of them!






Close up of the verse:


Side view where you can see the tab the 3 outer panels are glued to:




A look at my work space as I folded and glued the tabs for each card:



Challenges I'm entering:

Creative Knockouts: Time to be Merry (2/3; ends Dec. 1); C10

Anything Goes with a Fun Fold for Creative Creases #46 (secretstamper.com): ends Dec. 8

digidesignchallengeblog (disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.com): (3/3; ends Dec. 9)

****Pammie's Inky Pinkies**** **********Challenges********** (pammiesinkypinkieschallenges.blogspot.com) (3/3; ends Dec. 5)

The Paper Shelter: Winter Celebrations (1/2; ends Dec. 7)


https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (3/5; ends Dec. 7)

Word Art Wednesday (2/5 for this week; ends Dec. 7)

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Big Hugs Get Well Card

This get well soon card is for a woman on my church's prayer list who was kicked by a horse resulting in several broken bones. I hope this colorful floral card will lift her spirits.

I started with a white A2 card base and added a die cut frame using yellow polka dot card stock. Then I die cut the floral background from SU!'s Dahlia Days bundle out of purple card stock. Next, I stamped a few dahlias and leaves and then die cut them with the coordinating dies. I adhered them to the bottom left corner and popped up the blue one using foam tape. I stamped "Get Well Soon" using a stamp from SU!'s Ringed with Nature bundle and then die cut it using a Gina Marie Designs die. I adhered the sentiment with foam tape, also. 

For the inside of the card, I used a Lawn Fawn pop up die with the sentiment "Big Hugs." I bought the die at my local Craft Outlet store on Black Friday and was eager to use it. I think it will get a lot of use as I frequently make cards for people on the prayer list. 




A close-up of the gorgeous flowers in this stamp set:



Here's a look at the pop-up die cut:




Challenges I'm entering: 

Gem of A Craft Challenge (pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.com): ATG (1/3; ends Dec. 2)

digidesignchallengeblog (disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.com): Load on the layers (1/3; ends Dec.9)





https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (2/5; ends Dec. 7)

Word Art Wednesday (3/5 for this week; ends Dec. 7)

Festive Friday Challenge (theoutlawzchallenges-friday.blogspot.com): Several themes, but I chose flowers (2/3; ends Dec. 8)

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Prayers Card

This card is for a sister in Christ who lost her 10-year-old daughter back in October. She reached out to me just after Thanksgiving and let me know she was struggling so I could pray for her. A few days after I began praying that the Lord would reassure her about the questions she had and comfort her in her grief, she texted that she had contacted a former pastor, and he encouraged her greatly and discussed her questions with her and provided reassurance and comfort. It was such a clear answer to my prayers! I am in awe of how God cares for us so personally. I will continue to keep this family in my prayers as Christmas approaches and then their daughter's birthday on Jan. 2, but I am so grateful I can entrust them to God's loving care.

I started this card with a white A7 card base and chose to do a horizontal orientation. Using a die from SU!'s Dahlia Days bundle, I die cut the floral background using pink adhesive vinyl. I adhered it to the card base and then I die cut and embossed a Spellbinders die to make the navy blue frame. I adhered the frame with foam tape to pop it up a little from the background. I stamped and die cut the dahlias and leaves for the top left corner on the front of the card and the bottom right corner on the inside of the card using stamps and dies from the same Dahlia Days bundle. I used foam tape to adhere the flowers to pop them up a bit. I die cut the prayers die using both yellow and navy card stock and adhered them to some white card with a slight offset so the yellow peeks behind the blue a bit. I then fussy cut around the sentiment and used foam tape to adhere it to the front of the card. For the inside, I stamped a sentiment from a Papertrey Ink stamp set onto an oval die cut using a Spellbinders die. 







Here's the sentiment:


 Challenges I'm entering: 






https://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/: ATG (1/5; ends Dec. 7)

Word Art Wednesday (4/5 for this week; ends Dec. 7)

Festive Friday Challenge (theoutlawzchallenges-friday.blogspot.com): Several themes, but I chose flowers (3/3; ends Dec. 8)



Creations in Pink: ATG with more pink than other colors (1/3; ends Dec. 12)

Dream Valley Challenges: Lots of layers (2/3; ends Dec. 10)
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Sunday, November 27, 2022

GD Card for The Outlawz Sunday Song & Rhyme

One of my cards was recently chosen as the Challenge Favorite over at The Outlawz Sunday Song & Rhyme Challenge, and the DT graciously invited me to be a GD for the challenge starting today. The poem selected for this challenge is: 

What a wonderful bird the frog are
When he stand he sit almost;
When he hop he fly almost.
He ain't got no sense hardly;
He ain't got no tail hardly either.
When he sit, he sit on what he ain't got almost.

It's an odd sort of poem, isn't it?! But it lends itself well to froggy puns like "Hoppy birthday," so I decided to make a fun birthday card for my uncle who is 83 years young this month. 

This is a Z-fold card that I embossed using SU!'s Ringed With Nature embossing folder. The pre-colored frog digi stamp on the front of the card was generously provided to me by the challenge sponsor Mirtillamente for my GD card. I used a Close to My Heart stamp set titled "Fun Times" to stamp the tiny flies, the "Time's fun when you're having flies" sentiment, and the plain black frog inside the card. I created the "Hoppy Birthday" sentiment using Silhouette Design Studio software. I cut the ovals out using my Cameo 4. 

My next challenge was figuring out how to add a watermark to my photo of the front of the card. I have never watermarked any of my photos before, but I was asked by the DT of The Outlawz Sunday Song & Rhyme Challenge to put a watermark over my photo. I thought I had it figured out using Power Point on my laptop but then discovered I couldn't import the image into blogspot to post it on my blog (There is probably a way to do this, but after several failed attempts, I moved on to another method). I tried 3 different apps on my phone before landing on a free one called "eZy Watermark" that wasn't exactly easy for me! Still, I was eventually able to add a watermark to the photos of my card, and now I know I can do that in the future if need be. 

If you'd like to join the fun over at The Outlawz Sunday Song & Rhyme, see the link below.









Challenges I'm entering: 

Songs and Rhymes challenge (theoutlawzchallenges-sunday.blogspot.com): See poem listed in the blog post. The line I chose is the first one: "When he hop he fly almost" which goes with my "Hoppy Birthday" sentiment. 

Outlawz Challenges: Twisted Thursday: ATG 

Word Art Wednesday: ATG (2/10; ends Dec. 7)

Outlawz Challenges: Monthly linky

 Happy Little Stampers: Birthday Challenge: ATG birthday


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Location: Michigan, USA
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