Five for Friday

1. It's beginning to look a little like Christmas. Not a lot (because I haven't decorated the inside of my house yet, nor have I put up our tree), but a little, because yesterday afternoon, I braved the cold and decorated our front porch. Here are a few photos.

 

2. I cannot believe that today is the last day of November! Earlier this week, it sunk in that we were approaching December 1st.... and I realized how much I need to do. Like it said in #1, I haven't decorated my house yet (but if Sage has her way, this will get done this weekend), nor have I send out my cards/newsletters/photos. Thankfully, my shopping is done, so I don't have to worry about that....

I did take advantage of a day off yesterday.... and started on my Christmas baking. I made some Mexican Wedding Cakes (I use my mom's Almond Crescent recipe, but since I'm not good at shaping them into crescents, I roll them into balls and after they're baked, dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate) , Whipped ShortbreadWhipped Shortbread and some Butter Crunch. I kept a little out for my family to enjoy, but the rest is in the freezer, at the ready if company stops by.


3. I'm looking forward to some of the fun activities we have planned for December.... Cameron & I have our work banquet tomorrow night, I'm taking the kids to see the Phineas & Ferb Live Show in Winnipeg next weekend, refereeing in a TKD tournament, the kids' Christmas concerts, etc. I'd also love to take them to see this, which looks really good!

Hmmm, listing this out reminds me that I have to get down our advent calendar and write some of these things down, so that when the kids open the boxes, they can see what we're doing that day....
One more thing to do.....


4. My local quilting store is having a Christmas "party" tomorrow afternoon and they're having a free class to learn how to crochet  a ruffled scarf. I told the owner that I've never crocheted before, but she said that was fine, so I'm going to go. I'm excited to learn a new skill!


5. I found some Fancy Pants patterned paper in my scrap folder yesterday and decided to use it to make a few cards.

For my first card, I used some Papertrey Ink cardstock (pure poppy) & Snowflake Medley die. I diecut my snowflake and then stamped on it with Versamark and my Simon Says Stamp Christmas labels set and then heat embossed it in white. I'm trying to make some cards that would be flatter and therefore better to send in the mail, but it's killing me not to add on some buttons! LOL!

For my second card, I used some PTI cardstock (pure poppy, rustic cream), stamps (love lives here:holidays) and dies (love lives here, lovely layers.) I used the lovely layers die to cut out the middle sizes flower, which I cut down to make the "ornament topper," for this week's Make it Monday at Papertrey Ink: Splitting diecuts. It was fun hunting through my dies, looking for one that would work as the topper for my ornament!

And for my last card, I used PTI cardstock (pure poppy, rustic cream) & stamps (stylish sentiments:holiday). The holly layered over top was cut on my new Silhouette Portrait.

Thanks for looking!

My new toy

So, after waiting patiently for over a month, I finally got my new Silhouette Portrait.

I picked it up on Tuesday afternoon and that evening, unpacked it and set it on our dining room table. I'm not sure how something so adorable could be so intimidating, but it was! LOL! Sage kept asking me if we were going to cut something with it...... "Um, not tonight, Sweetie."

So, yesterday afternoon, I gathered up my courage and plugged it in, watched the DVD and decided to make my first cuts. I ended up cutting out three "believes": one that I downloaded from the Silhouette online store, another from a font I'd downloaded from the Silhouette online store and the third one was a cut file that I'd downloaded from www.heidiswapp.com.

I was surprised at how painless it all was!

So, last night, I created three cards in my scrap area, using my new cut-out words...

For all three cards, I used Papertrey Ink cardstock (rustic white, soft stone) and stamps (nativity silhouettes, beautiful blessings:holidays). The patterned paper for the diecut words is Echo Park.

This first card has the believe that I'd downloaded from the Silhouette online store.

This second card uses the believe that I made myself using this font that I downloaded from the Silhouette online store. (Our of the three cards, this is my favourite!)



And for my third card, this is the cut file that I had to trace first (thanks for the advice, Cheryl!) and then cut. It's from Heidi Swapp.

Thanks for looking!

Papercrafting supplies for sale

Hi there!

I have some papercrafting items for sale that are perfect for scrapbooking &/or cardmaking. I've linked all of the items so you can see what they look like. The prices listed don't include shipping. All items are brand new in package unless otherwise specified, so many of them would make wonderful Christmas gifts (for yourself or for others!)

If you are interested in purchasing any of the items I have listed below, please email me at pennercl@mymts.net to let me know.

Patterned paper packs:

Graphic 45 A proper gentleman 8x8 paper pad -- $5

DCWV Chalkboard Cardstock stack 12x12 -- 36 sheets -- $8

Stampin' Up! World Spectacular patterned paper collection -- $7

Nikki Silvis Get Well Soon collection kit -- $5

My Little Shoebox Up in the Trees collection (9 pieces of 12x12 patterned paper and a 3D flower sticker sheet) -- $7

Echo Park Happy Days Collection Kit -- $12

Echo Park Homemade mini-theme kit" -- $4

SEI Dessert Springs collection (24 sheets of patterned paper, 1 sticker sheet & diecut accents) -- $12

Stamps:

Papertrey Ink Text Boxed stamp set (used, in very good condition) -- $10

Papertrey Ink All About You stamp set (used, in very good condition) -- $15

Papertrey Ink Flower Fusion #3 stamp set and die (used, in very good condition) -- $5

Lil Inkers Designs Acorn Sentiments stamp set & coordinating die -- $12

Avocado Arts Wishes and Kind Thoughts stamps set -- $10

Stampin' Up! You're Amazing cling stamp set -- $10

A Muse Studio Elegant Elements stamp set -- $10

Close to My Heart Sans Small Lowercase stamp set -- $5

Ink:

Stampin' Up! Island Indigo Classic Stamp pad -- $3

Colorbox archival dye cat's eye ink pad -- $1

Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink Pad TWIST Cat's Eye Queue -- $5

Embellishments:

Clear Snap Design Foils in Pink Punch -- $2

SEI Silver Valley sticker sheet and foil diecut accents -- $2

Maya Road Vintage Alterable Trinkets -- large -- $2

Sodalicious 1-2-3 ANGLE [chipboard] -- $2

Basic Grey Sparkling Rub-ons -- Curio -- $2

Basic Grey Sparkling Rub-ons -- Marjolaine -- $2

Miscellaneous:

Faber-Castell PITT® Pastel Pencils: NEUTRALS -- $5

Thanks for looking!

PTI November Blog Hop

Well, I almost missed it, but I managed to get a card made this evening for this month's Blog Hop at Papertrey Ink!

This month's challenge was to used a book cover as inspiration for our projects.

I was inspired by the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book cover in the bottom right hand corner, so I decided to implement Betsy's Chalkboard Art meets Stamping technique to create my card.

I started off by stamping my sentiments (PTI's Love, Joy, Peace, Movers & Shakers Sentiments and Think Big Favourites #17) in versamark and heat embossing them with white embossing powder and then stamping them again with PTI Fresh Snow ink. Then I added a couple of flourishes from PTI's The Sweet Life stamp set with fresh snow ink. I stamped the images from Tremendous Treats: Birthday onto patterned paper scraps (Crate, Echo Park, October Afternoon, PTI) and cut them out and added them to my card. I mounted the whole card on PTI Aqua Mist cardstock and stitched around the edges.

Thanks for looking!

Five for Friday

1. Well, it's been a bit of a busy week this week, with several trips to Winnipeg. On Saturday, Austin & I went in for a taekwondo promotion test and then did a little shopping afterwards. I got most of my Christmas shopping done, which was great!

On Monday, Sage went into Winnipeg with her choir for ChoralFest and I followed along in my van. She did very well! My mom came to watch, so the three of us went out for lunch afterwards and then Sage & I did a little shopping (where I picked up three teacher gifts!) It was nice spending some one-on-one time with my best girl!

2. On Wednesday, I went along with Austin's Jazz Choir to ChoralFest. We'd had a bit of free time at Polo Park, so Austin and I did a little shopping for him, at Aeropostale (they had 50% the whole store, so I got him a pair of jeans for $20) and Hollister (a new store for me, but loved by everyone in the choir. ;)  )

Here he is with his choir.... he's in the middle of the photo.

3. The plan was to go along with Jonah's choir to ChoralFest yesterday, but the weather was bad and they cancelled the trip. :(

4. I had a good week, contest-wise. My "thankful" layout won the Crate Paper Creative Weekly Challenge and one of my cards won the Moxie Fab World Journaling Card Challenge.

5. We had parent-teacher conferences this week, as well, so, since I had a suddenly free day yesterday, that I'd make some pumpkin muffins to take to the teachers. I put them in bags and made some tags using this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts.

Here are some individual shots of each tag. For each tag, I used PTI vellum, stamps, buttons, twine & dies (snowflake medley, tag sale #3), as well as Offray ribbon. At first I thought I'd use the PTI BB:Herringbone stamp set on all of them, but then decided to break out different background sets for each tag.

For this first tag, I also used PTI cardstock (winter wisteria), stamps (BB:Herringbone, tiny tags 2) and dies (damask snowflakes, tiny tags).

For my second tag, I also used PTI cardstock (fine linen), stamps (BB:Super Stripes, fillable frames 9) and dies (damask snowflakes, tiny tags).

For my third tag, I also used PTI cardstock (spring moss), stamps (Stitches and Swirls, fillable frames 9) and dies (limitless layers: squares (from which I cut off one edge to make a scalloped border). The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye.

For this next card, I used PTI cardstock (sweet blush), stamps (counting my blessings, bb:woodgrain) and I added some SU! Dazzling Details on the button for a little sparkle.

And for my last tag, I also used PTI cardstock (aqua mist), stamps (bb;houndstooth, fillable frames 9) and dies (limitless layers: squares (from which I cut off one edge to make a scalloped border). The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to getting together with some friends to scrapbook--- the perfect ending to a busy week!

Thanks for looking!

December Daily 2012, part 3

Well, I got it done!

I finished my December Daily album with a week and a half to spare!
(You can click here to see my part 1 post and here to see m part 2 post.)

For my part 3 post, I'm sharing the rest of the 6x8.5" pages that I made for ten of the days.

For Dec. 6th, I stamped my PTI Love Lives Here: Holidays stamp set along the top of a sheet of Simple Stories patterned paper. I highlighted the "6" with a circle stamp from PTI's Lovely Layers set. I added a few little SU! pearls to the star ornaments for dimension. The photo will go on the bottom half of the page. (I apologize for the poor photo of this one!)

For my Dec. 7th page, I used some Studio Calico (background) and Simple Stories & My Mind's Eye patterned paper, some MME decorative brads and some PTI dies (block numbers, tag sale #5, double-ended banner). Again, the photo will go on the bottom half of the page.

For Dec. 8th, I used a sheet of Studio Calico patterned paper, my date stamp and some PTI supplies (vellum cardstock, seeing stars dies, button & twine.) I was inspired by this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts. The photo will go at the top of this page.

I created this page for this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts. Here's a close-up of my layered vellum stars:

For Dec. 9th, I used another sheet of Studio Calico patterned paper for the background, to which I added a piece of My Mind's Eye patterned paper diecut with my PTI mat stack 4 die. On this, I stamped the date with my date stamp. The photo will go at the bottom of the page.

I also created this page for this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts, using my Christmas Poinsettia dies from PTI, as well as their vellum. The badge is from an etsy store called A Flair for Buttons.

For my Dec. 14th page, I diecut some PTI Love Lives Here: Holidays trees from Simple Stories patterned paper and put them on a Scenic Route patterned paper background. I added some PTI buttons with PTI twine, as well as a PTI Label Basics stamp at the top. The photo will go at the bottom of this page.

For Dec. 15th, where again, the photo will go at the bottom of the page, I used some Scenic Route patterned paper as the background and diecut some MME patterned paper with my Memory Box die. I stamped another PTI Label Basics label, along with the numbers from Movers & Shakers Sentiments on a piece of MME patterned paper and added a couple of PTI buttons with twine.

For my Christmas Eve page, I diecut some The Girl's Paperie patterned paper with my PTI Limitless Layers: Ovals 3.5" die and on it stamped images from PTI's Navitivity Silhouettes. I added some PTI buttons and twine and a tiny tag diecut of a sheet of Pink Paislee patterned paper from the date. The background patterned paper is Simple Stories.

For Christmas Day, I used my PTI Limitless Layers: Ovals 2.25" dies to diecut from some Simple Stories (the "25") and My Mind's Eye patterned paper. I added some PTI buttons, along with a Pink Paislee chipboard star, inked with PTI simply chartreuse ink.

Here's a close up:

For Dec. 30th, I used some PTI patterned paper & vellum, stamps (movers and shakers sentiments), buttons, twine and dies (snowflake medley, tiny tags).

This page was also created for this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts.

And, last, but not least, for New Year's Eve, I used some Studio Calico patterned paper for the background. I diecut some Simple Stories patterned paper with my PTI mat stack 4 die, as well as my PTI Block Numbers die for the date. I adhered this to the page strategically over a white circle on the background and added another A Flair for Buttons badge and two decorative brads (MME for the aqua one and Basic Grey for the little one).

Whew!

Well, I was reminded during this process of why I don't make a lot of mini albums.... I just get a little tired of them towards the end of the process. It's nice though, with the December Daily, because now I can just add my photos and journaling throughout the next month to finish it off--a huge bulk of the work is now done!

Thanks for looking!

December Daily 2012, part 2

As I mentioned in my December Daily 2012, part 1 post, I purchased some 5.5x8.5" Martha Steward page protects to use in my December Daily. They came in packages of 5, so I figured that I would use them for 20 of my days for December: four per page protector, using the front and the back, which leaves me room to add a 2.75x4" photo for each day.

I started off making each card fairly simply.... but then realized that this was a little too plain for my liking, so I jazzed them up with some buttons, twine and sewing, keeping them true to my style.

Also, for some strange reason, I was reluctant to pull out my dies or number stickers for these cards, forcing me to get creative with how I numbered them...

Since I posted my December 1 here, the little cards start with Dec. 2nd: I cut down a sheet of Simple Stories patterned paper, stamped around the #2 with a Studio Calico stamp that came with my Cut It Out class and added some PTI buttons with PTI twine.

For Dec. 3rd, I stamped a PTI Snowflake Medley stamp onto a scrap of Scenic Route patterned paper and added a some MME and Simple Stories patterned paper, diecut with my PTI double-ended banner die. The decorative brad is Echo Park. (In my attempt to avoid stickers, I looked through my decorative brad stash and found several with numbers. Score!)

For Dec. 4th, I used my new Memory Box die with some Studio Calico patterned paper. I stamped the PTI label basics label and filled it in with my date stamp.

Here's a better view... I propped up the bottom with SU! dimensional adhesive.

For Dec. 5th, I used some Scenic Route and My Mind's Eye patterned paper, PTI snowflake medley stamps, felt and die, my PTI heart border die for the tiny scalloped edge and another Echo Park decorative brad.

December 6, 7, 8 & 9 will have their own 8.5x6" pages. For December 10th, I used added a strip of Scenic Route patterned paper to a Bingo card cut from a sheet of Simple Stories patterned paper. I stamped around the "10" with the same stamp I used for Dec. 2nd and added some stitching, PTI buttons and twine.

For Dec. 11th, I used some Girl's paperie and Simple Stories patterned paper, a PTI label basics stamp and two MME decorative brads. I just hand wrote the "eleven."

For Dec. 12th, I used Bo Bunny patterned paper as the base and diecut some MME and Girl's Paperie patterned paper with my PTI double-ended banner die. The decorative brad is also MME.

For December 13th, I used my PTI Holiday Lights stamp set, on a piece of Lily Bee patterned paper.

Dec. 14 & 15 will each have a 8.5x6" page. My Dec. 16th card is the same as my Dec. 10th, but I used some PTI felt and Snowflake Medley die to highlight the number. To diecut the inside of the die, I used my PTI buttoned up die.

For Dec. 17th, I used Scenic Route patterned paper and my new Simon Says stamps and die, as well as some PTI buttons & twine. The "17" was stamped from my PTI Movers and Shakers sentiments stamps.

Dec. 18th: I stamped my PTI Holiday Lights stamps onto some Bo Bunny patterned paper and added my date stamp.

Dec. 19th: I used The Girl's Paperie patterned paper, my PTI pinking shears border die and a MME brad.

For Dec. 20th, I used Cosmo Cricket, MME & Bo Bunny patterned paper, my PTI heart border die, two MME decorative brads. The "20" was punched from a sheet of Pink Paislee patterned paper.

My Dec. 21st card is the same as Dec. 10 & 16, but this time, to highlight the number, I used a Pink Paislee mistable chipboard shape, inked with some PTI pure poppy ink.

For Dec. 22nd, I used some Bo Bunny, October Afternoon, MME (diecut with my PTI heart border die) and Studio Calico patterned paper. I stamped the "22" with my PTI Movers and Shakers sentiments stamps and added some PTI buttons with twine.

For Dec. 23rd, I stamped some MME patterned paper with my PTI Holiday Lights stamp set. The "23" was punched from a sheet of Pink Paislee patterned paper.

December 24th & 25th will have their own 8.5x6" page.

For Dec. 26, I used Scenic Route, Pink Paislee and MME patterned paper, PTI buttons and twine and Simon Says stamp & die.

For Dec. 27th, I used MME & Pink Paislee patterned paper, as well as my PTI heart border die.

For Dec. 28th, I used Cosmo Cricket & Bo Bunny patterned paper and my date stamp. For this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts, I diecut some PTI Snowflake Medley snowflakes from some PTI vellum cardstock and topped them with a PTI button and twine.

For Dec. 29th, I used the same supplies as for Dec. 10, 16 & 21, but this time, to highlight the number for the date,  I diecut some PTI Snowflake Medley snowflakes from some PTI vellum cardstock (again for this week's Make It Monday at PTI: Layered Vellum Die Cuts), and punched out the centre of each snowflake with a 1/2" circle punch.

December 30th & 31st will have their own 8.5x6" page, which I hope to get finished this week.

Thanks for looking!