This glitter traveled 2000ish miles so that I could make this card!

Welcome to my final post for 2014; thank you all for sharing the year with me. I'm feeling even more nostalgic than usual, having spent two weeks at my parents' house going through our collected treasures, old and new. A new treasure that I couldn't resist bringing home from Arizona to Maryland was Mom's extra Starform outline stickers. She also gifted me with the tools I need for my favorite technique using the stickers and lots of glitter (like the transfer plastic; I still have lots of adhesive film for now and I've actually had these outline stickers for over a year.) Many thanks to my wonderful husband for lugging my 30 containers of extrafine glitter in his carry-on!

...And many thanks to the personnel at Southwest Airlines for lugging my suitcase, which contained this designer paper and ribbon!

I purchased the double-sided DP at Mom's local craft store Scraps of Love for another nostalgic family card. The "Warm & Cozy" sentiment piece is cut from the designer's logo.

I've had the paper candi for, gee, maybe two years‽ I even used some for the inside, along with a piece from the DP. The ribbon is new-to-me, but is from my mom's stash which is made of years collecting bits of others' stashes! 

This photo doesn't quite capture the true color of the glitter; the cups are cherry red & lime green. I edged all the papers with a gold pen.

This design was inspired by the birth of our newest niece, Luna ... the cups represent her awesome parents and the sugar cubes are Luna and her sweet sister!

Challenge #155

Inspiration/Challenges:

Eureka Stamps: Something Old, Something New (old: Candi; new: glitter)
Less is More: CAS + Family (Sorry, I got a bit carried away and this isn't as CAS as I meant it to be!)
Sketch N Stash: Sketch + Stash (tea-themed outline stickers & paper embellishments)

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting!

One stitch at a time at OSAAT!

OSAAT December Prize Pack

This fortnight at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), our theme is Stitching. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists. Even if you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win the super-duper December prize pack.

I used the sweet Birds with Leaves from Gingerloft along with a lot of hand-stitching to create this texture-filled card:

I printed the digi stamp onto a linen-textured cardstock and colored it with Copics. I cut the piece out with a decorative die. I made a dotted border around the bird in InDesign so that it was easy for me to create the holes with an awl and hand-stitch the border with a mix of silver & blue threads. I used a needle to poke stitching holes on the image itself, and hand-stitched those details with the silver thread.

The sentiment was created in InDesign using the Home Sweet Home font, and also die-cut. I attached it to the card with a pretty stickpin, covering the pointy end with some white ribbon.

I created the background by printing out a stitching template on white cardstock, adhering it to a lovely patterned fabric, and hand-stitching it with silver thread. Time-consuming, but worth it! I pulled out some of the threads on the edges to give with a nice fringe.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Animal Friends Challenge: Everything goes with an animal
Creative Moments: Anything goes / non-traditional Christmas colors
Fairytale Stampers #49: Everything Goes with stamping (digi)

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time,

Sunbathing Santa - Summer Christmas at UnstampaBelles

The UnstampaBelles December challenge is Summer Fun with the option of Christmas. We're sponsored by Bizzy Becs Paper Crafts, and you can link up your projects until the end of the month. Remember, you can't use ANY STAMPS (digi or otherwise)!

I couldn't resist using this great scene, complete with sentiment, from a Storyteller Card Sheet by Webster's Pages. I used a second sheet to fussy-cut Santa himself, adhering the piece with foam tape, and I also added diamond Stickles to his beard (both ideas from my Mom; she's smart cookie!)

These summer-themed brads lend some sunshiny fun to Santa's Southern Hemisphere Christmas!

I mounted the card on a double-sided DP from Cloud9Design, because I thought the words worked perfectly with this scene.

Challenge/Inspiration:
Card Mania: Christmas
Cardz 4 Guyz #49: The Big Guy (Santa)
CHCC December Challenge: Anything Christmas
Dream Valley Challenges: Christmas

Update: This was chosen as a Top 3 card for Cardz 4 Guyz #49! Thank you!

Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us at UnstampaBelles,

Home for the Holidays - Pilin' on Christmas

Our current challenge at Pile It On is Christmas/Holidays. We have three great sponsors lined up, and you have until January 3 to link up.

I've never lived anywhere with a lot of relatives close by; and even though we live in the U.S.A. now, we have to travel to be with our families during the holidays. So for me, the phrase "home for the holidays" has always tugged at my heart. My folks taught me that wherever we are together is home, but I am very grateful that we are able to join my folks in Arizona this Christmas holiday. I found this great paper from Carta Bella that had both the sentiment and knit-patterned background, so I pulled out some travel-themed ephemera and made this simple card:

Challenges/Inspiration:
Add a Little Dazzle: Anything Goes
Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge: Vacation/Travel (hoarded items: wooden globe and twine)
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper December Challenge: AG with DP background
Crafty Sentiment Designs: Winter
Digi Choosday Challenge #50: Last Minute X-mas
Hambo Hoedown: Winter
Simon Says Stamp: Winter inspiration
A song in your He{ART} #22: I'll be Home for Christmas

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting! Hope you'll join us at Pile It On,

Glittery wishes at OSAAT

OSAAT December Prize Pack

This fortnight at One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT), our theme is Anything Goes with Glitter. StitchyBear's Digi Outlet has hundreds of digital products from many wonderful artists. Even if you don't use a store image, you'll still be in the drawing to win the super-duper December prize pack.

Using my Silhouette Cameo, I cut It's a Girl by Floppy Latte Designs from a shiny white paper. I took out some of the cut-out ieces and colored them green with a Copic. I backed the main piece with an adhesive-covered cardstock, re-added the cut-outs, and covered the whole with with a peach glitter. I added contrast to the sentiment with a pink Copic. All the patterned papers are by Graphic 45.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Paper Shelter Challenge #185: Special Celebration
Penny's Paper-Crafty #207: Anything but Christmas
Southern Girls: Celebrations (new baby)
Sparkle N Sprinkle: Anything Goes with Loose Glitter, Embossing Powder and/or Flocking (2nd entry)

Thank you for visiting and hope you'll join us at One Stitch at a Time,

Pilin' on the Holidays - Pile It On December Challenge

This MONTH at the Pile It On Challenge our theme is Christmas/Holidays. We have three great sponsors lined up, and you have until January 3 to link up.

I recently won a gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp, and one of the goodies I got was their great Village wafer die set. I also used a circle die for the "frozen lake" sentiment section. The card front is a heavy white cardstock that I heat-embossed with a large snowflake border stamp.

Happy Little Stampers

Challenges/Inspiration:
Add a Little Dazzle: Snow/Snowflakes or Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments Challenge #121: Holiday Bingo (middle row: Die cuts, Stamp, Bling)
Craft and Smash: Ice- snow- Christmas
Crafty Ribbons: Mono Christmas
The Crazy Challenge: White All Around (all white or with snow)
Fan-Tastic Tuesday #64: Anything Goes with twist - Add Embossing
Happy Little Stampers: Sketch
Sparkle N Sprinkle December Challenge: Anything Goes: use loose glitter, embossing powder, and/or flocking
Stampavie and More: Snowflakes

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting! Hope you'll join us at Pile It On,