Merry Christmas!

I spent a wonderful evening with my family as we celebrated into the early hours of Christmas.  We have a White Christmas after all!  It such a wonderful time of the year to be with family and friends. 

Silver bell - Cricut Joys of the Season

Foil covered cardstock using Cuttlebug snowflake folder

DCWV Shimmer cardstock in brown and Anna Griffin Calisto Christmas

Small ribbon for embellishment

Enjoy the holiday season!  Peace, Joy and Happiness!

Sugar 'n Spice

Another rainy day and only 10 days before Christmas.  We really need some colder days and white, fluffy snow.  The meteorologists are saying that it could be a green Christmas - oh no! 

Here's a quick card that I made after finding the perfect background.

Image Cricut A Child's Year

Cardstock DCWV Glitter then embossed with Cuttlebug Dots folder

Background cardstock Recollections Sugar Plum collection

Have a great day!

Christmas Carollers

Only 11 days 'til Christmas...the preparations are well underway.  We'll be decorating our real balsam tree this evening.  Nothing like the smell of a fresh Christmas tree!

One of my favourite Christmas cards this year are the carollers.  Such a fun card to make!  I have so many Christmas songs that I enjoy.  I'm especially fond of the Canadian Tenors The Perfect Gift album.  An old time favourite is Kenny Rogers' Christmas Everyday.

Carollers - Cricut Winter Frolic, House - Joys of the Season

Face - Peachy Keen Stamps, pink chalk for cheeks

Hero Arts Noel Stamp

Brads and glitter for embellishments

Cardstock - DCWV Shimmer stack in brown and Recollections Sugar Plum for the green plaid

What is your favourite Christmas song?



Stitched Ornament

Good morning!  It looks like freezing rain for us today.  It has been such a mild December, hardly any snow and a bit of rain.  I'm still dreaming of a White Christmas.

Here is a card that I embroidered for some dear friends.  I haven't made too many stitched cards as I've been exploring the wonderful world of Cricut.  I will be making more stitched cards in 2012!

Ornament design Erica Fortgens

Stitched with multicoloured embroidery metallic floss

Embellished with glass beads

Blue frame DCWV Shimmer Stack using Cricut Elegant Edges

Silver card base DCWV Shimmer Stack

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Joys of the Christmas Season

It's Monday and just 13 days 'til Christmas.  I had a wonderful weekend of baking - 11 recipes.  The house was filled with the great aroma of cinnamon, ginger, chocolate.  Lots of butter used at this time of the year but we'll worry about our waistline in the new year :)!

A simple card sending "Joy" to our special friends:

White cardstock using Cuttlebug folder

Cricut snowflake on scrap cardstock

Ribbon, pearl and tree brads for embellishment

Have a great day and hope you're enjoying the "Joys of the Season"!



Two Weeks 'Til Christmas - Wow!

It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here in just a few short weeks.  The good news is that the house is decorated, we've done some baking and my cards have been mailed.  We'll put up the real tree this week. 

Angel: Cricut Christmas on DCWV glitter stack

Background:  DCWV Christmas Combo and green cardstock

Embellishments:  Gold ribbon

Stamped message inside:  "Wishing you Christmas Cheer" embossed with white powder

I'll try and be more diligent about posting regularly.

Hope you're enjoying the lead-up to Christmas!

Theme of the day "Happy Anniversary"

My dear family and friends celebrated their wedding anniversary over the past few months - ranging from the 4 year mark to 55 wonderful years of wedded bliss.

For my dear nephew and his wife - the perfect pair card:

Recipe:  Recollections turquoise blue cardstock, scraps from SEI Oasis

Sweethearts Cartridge for the shoes and "perfect pair" phrase

Stamp Autumn Leaves

Pearl ribbon embellishment and "dream" grommet

The interesting fold for this card is a technique from Yoliebean

The next card was for my dear BFF and her husband:

Recipe:  Card base DCWV Shimmer Stack

Damask Decor Cartridge for the bird and intricate shape

"Joyeux Anniversaire" stamped on vellum

Next card was for my dear sister and her husband:



Recipe:  DCWV Shimmer stack for base and layers

Ornamental Iron Cartridge for "gate" cutout

Autum Leaves for Happy Anniversary stamp

And last, but not least, the card for my dear parents celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary:

Bazzil Green for base and dark blue for layer

Sweethearts Cartridge for Lovebirds

Mini  pearl embellishments and stamp with embossing powder

I will be back soon to give you more updates of my work!





Happy Halloween

I can't believe that it has been several months (almost two) since I last updated my blog.  Thankfully I have been creative during these past weeks with knitting and card making - I just haven't shared my work.

As today is Halloween, I thought it would be most appropriate to show you the favours that I prepared for my family and the few kids (actually only 3) that will visit us this evening.  We live in the country on a cul-de-sac and only the neighbours' kids visit our door. So they get full size chocolate bars.

The project is easily done with some Halloween paper cut at 8" x 7", extra scrap at 2" for the band and then I used my cricut (Wrap It Up cart) for a few of the embellishments.  I bought a crimper to bind the ends together.

Have a happy Halloween!

Coffee anyone?

It's Saturday morning and I'm just getting ready to start my day.  Will you share a latte with me?

The base of the card is DCWV Glitter stack.  Then layered with DCWV All Dressed up Stack.  I added a ribbon for embellishment.  Using the cricut, I cut the "Happy Birthday", coffee mug and flower circle.  The mug was from "Joys of the Season" cart. I used Tulip puff paint to create the latte foam. 

Images of Summer

For today's blog, as we head into the long weekend for Labour Day, I thought I would post the different cards that I made with the theme of summer.

First, a card for my niece to thank her and her husband for their wonderful hospitality:

Most of the cardstock used was from my scrap stash.  I embossed the cones to make them look real and inked the edges of the icecream.  I added a small brad for the "Thank You" and a simple ribbon.

For the next card, it's a swimming theme using the cartridge "3 Birds on Parade".  It's a small card, 3 x 3, but perfect for my son.

For this card, the solid paper is Bazzil and the striped is SEI Oasis collection



And then for a nice summer night out on the town, this card for my daughter (also a 3 x 3 card). 

The cardstock for the base and dress was DCWV The Sweet collection and the shoes and background for the frame was DCWV matstock glitter.

And finally, for a sweet girl who just received her driver's license, a nice blue car.

I can't remember which cardstock I used for this one.  I believe the car is DCWV matstock glitter.  I simply added a daisy embellishment and a brown and blue polka dot ribbon.

Happy Friday everyone!

"Girlie" Birthday Cards

In July and August, three young ladies had their birthday.  I had recently purchased the Cricut cart "Forever Young" and decided to explore this cart.

The first card was for my best friend's 15 year-old daughter.  I made the card, envelope and a small purse for her gift card.  The inspiration from the card came from "JenN" who had created this reflection image for a journal cover. 

For the skirt, I pleated the pink and black ribbon.  The reflection in the mirror, was taking the same shape but using the flipped image and making it smaller.  The cardstock used is primarily DCWV Shimmer Stack and white carstock for the base. 

The cardstock for the envelope and purse is ATD Black Tie.



The next card was for my dear niece, a first time Mom.  As we all know, the days can be quite busy and demanding with a young baby and so I really just wanted to wish her a wonderful day.



I used a new Martha Stewart punch around the page and a Nestabilities circle punch.  The cardstock base is DCWV Shimmer stack and

The last card was again for my best friend's daughter who turned 17 and loves Sephora products.  I made a larger purse for her gift card.

The cardstock for the card is DCWV Shimmer Stack which I embossed with Cuttlebug Polka Dot folder.  The accessories were cut on DCWV glitter matstack.  The large purse was cut from "Must Have Larger than Life" paper stack which is 24" by 12".

I had a lot of fun making these cards.  Every time I make a new card, I learn a new technique.  By the time I'm done, I know what I would differently but I'm still pleased with these results.

Hope you "Have a Great Day" today!

Back to School Routine

Well I've had a fabulous summer and now it's back to the fall routine - meaning school for my two kids and work. My son started back on Monday (yes unfortunately he starts the week before Labour Day) and he's in grade 12 now.  This is his final year of high school and then onto college.  My daughter will start her third year of university next week but has started to get organized by buying books, confirming her classes and of course paying her tuition fees.  Wow! The time sure goes by quickly!

I've been making several cards while I enjoyed the summer as I even brought all my supplies and tools to the cottage.  The only thing that I didn't have the time to do was to blog.  So in the coming days and weeks, I'll post the 25+ cards that I've made during the months of July and August.

So for today, here is the quick and easy card that I made to accompany some my homemade jam that we were giving to a client.

Enjoy your day and the nice sunny weather!

End of the school year - "Life is Good"

My son finished school for this year on Tuesday.  In the fall, he'll start grade 12 - his final year in high school.  He'll be working this summer at a plant nursery and hopes to find some time for his favourite activities - fishing, biking and swimming.

Here's the card that I made for him:

The card base is DCWV Shimmer in brown.  The next layer was K & Company Roam in yellow.  Only two Cricut cartridges were used for this card:  Everyday Paper Dolls for the bicycle, swimmer and fishing rod and fish and Graphically Speaking for the saying.  The swimmer was cut at 3 1/2 inches and various scraps of cardstock were used for the swimming trunks, hair, and accessories.  The bicycle was done in green and black - the actual colours of his bike.  The saying "Life is Good" was cut using two different shades of green cardstock.  The corners were rounded. 
So it is officially the beginning of summer for us and "Life is Good"!

Relaxing in my bath!

To mark the end of my daughter's second year of university, I made her a simple card.  Throughout the year, to manage her stress and to relax, she takes a bath.  So here is her card:

I used a free cartridge that I had received, called Ornamental Iron for the background using Bazzil cardstock and the silver is DCWV Shimmer.  I used  "A Child's Year" for the girl in the bath tub using DCWV Taj Mahal cardstock.  I didn't add any other embellishments.

Félicitations ma chérie!

Happy Birthday to a dear niece

My niece celebrated her birthday on Sunday.  I had her card hand delivered by my brother given the possibility of a postal strike (which indeed became reality).  My niece loves purses and shopping so I thought this would suit her perfectly.

The character was cut using Everyday Paper Dolls at 3 1/2 inches.  The card frame was cut using Elegant Edges on DCWV TajMahal cardstock.  I used acetate for the cupcake frame.  I added a polka dot sparkling ribbon and a metal tag.  So Happy Birthday and hope she had a fantastic day!

A parade of "3 Birds on Parade"

As some of you know, there is a Cricut cartridge called 3 Birds on Parade.  I made several cards this past month using it.  It has been fun to make the birds more life-like.

The first card was for my husband for our 23rd wedding anniversary:

The birds were cut using DCWV Shimmer cardstock.  The background is Boys will be Boys cardstock.  I embellished the flowers and created a bow in her hair with pearls.  The base was in brown cardstock using the Sizzix folder then stamped with Happy Anniversary.  I added Daisyd's fabric flowers with American Crafts mini jewel brads.
The next card was a "congratulations" for a dear university graduate.



I used DCWV Shimmer cardstock for the background.  The green frame is cut using Elegant Edges cartridge.  The birdhouse is from Stretch your Imagination cartridge and unfortunately I do not remember which cartridge I used for the saying "Congrats". 

The next two cards were the Father's Day cards from my children to my husband.

For this card, most of the cardstock came from Sei Oasis collection for the patterned paper and Bazzil for the solid colours.  I simply added a small ribbon for embellishment. 

As above, the cardstock was Sei Oasis for the patterned paper and Bazzil for the solid.  The background is DCWV Shimmer.  I used Elegant Edges cartridge for the frame using K and Company embossed paper.  I inked the edges of the marshmallow to give it the "cooked appearance".  I added a simple ribbon and rounded the edges. 

I hope you enjoyed these birds!

Come Sail With Me!

It's nice to be back and posting my work!  Here is the birthday card that I made for my brother-in-law...I knew he liked boats, didn't realize that he really loves sailboats!

For this particular card, I used a few cartridges - Gyspy Wanderings for the sailboat and Elegant Edges for the background.  I inked the sail and added a few button embellishments with twine.  The paper was DCWV Shimmer paper and Boys will Be Boys cardstock.

I look forward to your feedback!

Fabulous Fifty

A dear family member turned 50 on Monday...should I say who it was?  It was my dear sister and I made this special card just to celebrate her!

The card was made to look like a storefront window that I designed using the Gypsy and welding the rectangles.  I placed a piece of acetate over the women's items secured with heart brads and then placed the sentiment "Be Fabulous" on pop-up dots.  All cuts were done using the Cricut cartridge - Gypsy Wanderings but I used two different types of paper.  I added sequin ribbon to the dress, a flower for the shoe and a shimmering brad for the hat.  I used the Cuttlebug polka dot folder for the white background.

I also made her a small wallet folder to include some money in the envelope.  Hope she has a wonderful day at a spa. 

The technique  for making the folder was from Splitcoaststampers but you can view a great video here Paper Boutique Blog - Business Card Folder