Bracing for an unwanted guest

 

It happened last year too...Just before Halloween, we had a freak snow / ice storm and this year it is Sandy. We are expected to lose power for a few days, so decided to post my cards quick along with storing water and planning for last minute shopping. 

The card is based on the sketch at Mojo Monday.

And my card is

 A lot of distressing going on there, right?

The background paper is a DCWV Eastern world collection. I have used the Spellbinders

Mega Dies, Fleur De Lis Doily Accents as well as the Snowflake dies. A lot of distressing using the Tim Holtz distressing pads.

 The inside of the card is quite simple.

 

Submitting for the following challenges:

Mojo Monday blog 

Just in time....

Years ago, ( actually, probably decades ago ) during my graduate studies, the Professor drilled in to us the concept of Just-in-time management. This was considered the ultimate in efficiency. But I considered it the ultimate in creating stress-induced ulcers :)  Well, my next card was and will probably be the only time I cut it this close.
I really wanted to work on this sketch at Mojo monday but the week as well as saturday had been kind of crazy. I had all the elements laid out in my mind, I just had to do it.

So over the course of week, I slowly got all the papers together, cut the shapes, put the embellishments together but it took till Sunday 3pm to put it all together. And then there was the rush to photograph it before the sun went down. I like taking my pictures in the morning but oh well....
Here is my card

 

The image of Santa is quite an old one and truly, I have forgotten where I got it from. The star as well as the backing on Santa is the Spellbinder dies.

The Merry Chritmas stamp is inkadinkado. As for the papers, I will come back and add more info, I just want to publish this post. Would be sad if my Just in time effort failed...

Submitting for the following challenge

Mojo Monday challenge

Pile it on Challenge

Inspire me Fridays 

Totally papercrafts challenge 

Christmas tree

In the real world, a Christmas tree needs to come in first before the lights can be taken out of the storage. But in my card world, Edwin was struggling with the lights yesterday while Tilda is carrying the Christmas tree so effortlessly today :) Oh well.....after all it is my world, I can turn it topsy-turvy if I want to, can't I ?

The card today is based of one of my favorite color combinations and lucky me, it works wonders with a Christmas themed card

 I had so much fun coloring the stamped image, I wonder if I overdid it.
The background paper is from a Recollections stack I think and the edges are distressed with a Tim Holtz distressing ink. The big snowflake/star is a Spellbinder die.

The trees as well as the lamp post is hand-drawn. I should get around to ordering some new die-cuts, so much easier that way.

 The inside is lined with the same paper and distressed. I added some ribbon and another snowflakeat the corner.

Submitting for the following challenge

Timeless Tuesday Challenge 191 - winter theme

Creative Inspirations challenge  - anything goes

Southern Girls Challenge  - tie a ribbon around it

A boy's Christmas

 

This is the story of Christmas lighting in our house...

Every year the boys ( read, my husband) get really excited about lighting the Christmas tree as well putting lights around the house. Of course, when the lights come out of the storage, everything gets tangled :) And whatever doesn't, gets messed up by the rest of us shouting directions....

So this stamped image is just perfect for our house

I used the sketch at Delightful Challenge to make my card

And my interpretation of the card is

 

The background paper is from an old DCWV Christmas Collection paper stack which I have had for ages. Used two spellbinder dies - the background circle as well as the snowflake. Actually, the snowflake one is my current favorite. I distressed it slightly with Tim Holtz distress ink and put some glitter on. The smaller snowflakes are punched.

 

The inside of this card is quite simple with space to write a sentiment.

Submitting for the following challenge

Delightful Challenges - the sketch

Send a smile 4 kids challenge - punches and/or die cut

Christmas is here.....almost

 

It's October but the rush is on....

With all the Christmas / new year cards required by the end of the year, it is always good to start early ( which I almost never do ). So this year I am doing it early enough so that I do not have to rush in the end....fingers crossed :)

For my card, I used the sketch at the mojo monday challenge

 

 And this  is my interpretation....

I really love the soft colors on this card - quite un-christmasy, actually :)

The background paper is from my really old stack of DCWV papers, the ones that I bought on sale at the end of Christmas season years ago :)

A little bit of distressing around the edges and the card gets this lovely old feel.

 

The inside of the card is lines with the same paper. Much easier to get the festival feel on the inside, don't you think?  The Stamped image is from Whiff of Joy " Henry the mouse"  -  Yay !!!! I love all the "henry" images. They are super cute and perfect for winter / Christmas cards.

Submitting for the following challenge

Mojo Monday Challenge 262 

2 sisters challenge blog - anything goes

Anything goes Challenge - animals

Papertake weekly blog challenge - creature big and small

This was fun....
I have a few other cards made, now I just need time to update my blog :)

A cup of tea....or coffee

A cold rainy day and a warm cup of tea...or coffee, and what can be better than that ?
Except of course, if you have a nice stamp to color, lots of paper and all the tools that your heart desires...right?
The card today is based on this sketch at Whiff of Joy Challenge blog

And my interpretation of the card is

All the papers are from the Recollections- Paisley and Damask paper pad. A lot of hand stitching went in to this card since I don't have a sewing machine. Next purchase, may be?

I also love the inside pocket with three tags to write messages. I think I have fallen in love with the idea of inside pockets - gives so much more room for writing messages or sweet little nothings.

And there you have it...a sweet serene card.
Submitting for the following challenge
Whiff of Joy Challenge blog

It ain't that easy, getting back on the horse

And now I know why they say it is important to get right back on the horse when you fall. I fell off my proverbial horse ( making cards ) and it took me roughly two months to get back on :) The summer vacation, being outdoor, traveling, lines at the airport.......all in all, a good summer but a bad one for my crafting.
But now I am back....and this is my first card after the hiatus. And a Christmas card at that - my first one for this year which was based on the sketch from Card Positioning System blog.

 And this is my interpretation of the card

The image of Henry the mouse with the Lantern is so adorable and a perfect one for any Christmas card. It was fun to color this image. The snowflakes were cut using the spellbinder dies and then sprinkled with "fairy dust" - that's what I call it anyway. In shops they may call it glitter but fairy dust sounds so much more magical :)

The papers are a new acquisition - from Recollection Christmas pack. And I even got them at 50% + 25% discount at Michael's. Days like that make me sooooo happy.

I wanted to make an inside pocket for extra little notes and once I had it on the card, I realized why they don't work on a "landscape" card. The notes fall out of the card pretty easy. So I improvised and added a cover...viola, problem solved.

And then, a perfect place for the sentiment....

All in all, rather satisfied with my first card back :)

Submitting it for the following challenge

Card Positioning system