A TALE OF TWO TREES

 Today I have two trees to share with you . . . one is a "wild hair" idea that I got while frowning upon the many boxes of holiday decorations that were taking up valuable space.  I decided to do nothing about them; instead, I pulled this little tree from one of them and used the Cricut "From My Kitchen" cartridge to cut some decorations for it.  It turned out to be a whimsical, yet festive, decoration for my kitchen/dining area.  The second tree that I'm sharing was created with Stampin' Up!'s "Candy Cane Christmas" designer paper.  It's a very simple card--square, of course--and one that's easy to duplicate.  Card stock colors are Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Early Espresso, and Real Red.  I used the "Grateful Greetings" stamp set for the sentiment, the Eyelet Border punch, silver Glass Glitter, and a rhinestone jewel.  Easy peasy!

HOLIDAY WREATH

Several days ago, I posted a holiday wreath card HERE.  This is the card that inspired that "downsized" version.  I had high hopes for making multiples of this card because I loved the simple, yet appealing design but, after punching enough branches to make one wreath, I changed my mind!  I think I wore out the punch because it got tougher and tougher the more I used it.  If I am to make multiples of this card, I will have to begin soon to punch a few branches every so often so I will end up with a bunch by next year's card-making frenzy.  Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include Always Artichoke, Soft Suede, Real Red, and Very Vanilla card stock, crochet trim, "Merry Details" Sizzix die, Jewelry Tag punch, and "Tiny Tags" stamp set. 

HOLIDAY WINTER SCENE

Isn't it funny how you have a plan to make four or five special cards but then, after you get started, you realize that you'll be lucky to complete just one?  Ha!  That's exactly what transpired with the idea and intention of this card.  It definitely turned into one of those 12-hour projects but now that it's all done, the copy cats won't take nearly that long.  To create this card, I used the "Christmas Noel" Cricut cartridge, and doesn't it have gorgeous scenery images?  Stampin' Up! products used on this stair card include silver cord, rhinestone jewels, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, sentiment from "Grateful Greetings," and  Stampin' Dimensionals.  I had planned to get my holiday cards in the mail today, but I still have a few more to make and must decide if I'll make more of this design.  I wish I had a "pause" button on the holiday countdown so I could get caught up! 

ST. VALENTINE INTERRUPTS ST. NICK

I recently got Stampin' Up!'s "Love Letter" designer paper and was anxious to take it for a spin, so I had to interrupt the Christmas card assembly line to make room for a little Valentine dilly.  This is a fun tri-stair card, and I have been wanting to make one of these for the longest time!  I have a couple of Cricut cut files for cards like this, but I've never taken the time to figure out how to score and fold them.  To make this card, I used my trusty Fiskars paper trimmer and a score tool.  Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include:  "Love You Much," "Teeny Tiny Wishes," and "Grateful Greetings" stamp sets, Tag punches, assorted heart punches, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 2-1/2" Scallop Circle, 1-3/4" Circle, Modern Label, and Word Window punches, Sizzix "Billboard" alphabet die, distressing tool, Vintage Trinkets and, of course, the "Love Letter" designer paper.  Remember . . .  if you click on any of the pictures, a larger one will open.

MY "FEMININE FRIDAYS" QUICKIE

Boy, did I goof this week!  A little while ago, I looked at the clock and made a mental note that it would soon be midnight.  And then it hit me . . . ACK!!! . . . I'm supposed to post a project for "Feminine Fridays"!  It's not as though I haven't known for a week, but I've been busy with too many irons in the fire lately.  Last week, Julie presented a mission for me to use designer paper to cover something, and I literally (except for the tissues) used items that were laying on my desk to create the Travel Tissue Cover pictured here.  I have been working on my Christmas cards and had just finished using my Cricut Expression and the "Winter Woodland" cartridge to cut the reindeer (17 of them!!!!).  Also for my cards, I had stamped and punched the oval sentiment from Stampin' Up!'s retired hostess set, "Christmas Punch."  I added Crystal Effects around the punched oval and sprinkled it with Champagne Glass glitter.  Doesn't it look great?  The designer paper is from Stampin' Up!'s "Deck the Halls" collection, and that gorgeous red ribbon is also from Stampin' Up!  A few days ago, I was experimenting with a "Bow Easy" that I had cut from chipboard with the Cricut, so the pretty little bow was just resting on the keyboard, waiting for me to need it.  I've never thought that I worked very well under pressure, but I will be the first to pat myself on the back for getting my act together in a moment of panic.  I will now set this post to publish on my blog on Friday, December 10th, at 12:05 a.m.  I'll bet the Crystal Effects on my oval sentiment won't even be dry by then!  Happy Friday to you!!!

GLITTERY MITTENS

Sharing two quick cards and, yes, they're square!  Stampin' Up! products used to create these cards include:  "Candy Cane Christmas" and "Deck the Halls" designer paper, Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake  card stock, felt flurries, rhinestone jewels, Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, and Scallop Edge Border punch.  I used the Big Shot to cut the Spellbinders' mitten die from glittery felt, and it's way more glittery in person than it appears in the photo.

HOLIDAY FRONT DOOR

Today I made five of these superdeeduper quick cards, and the simple design is quite nice when you need a small stack of them.  The hardest part is getting the four "panels" lined up, and I don't think any of mine were perfect.  The stamped sentiment is from Stampin' Up!'s "Home for Christmas" set.  I used a combo die and embossing folder from Cuttlebug to create the wreath, to which I added dots of Stickles.  Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this card include Very Vanilla and Always Artichoke card stock and Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, and Crumb Cake ink. 

JULIE'S "FEMININE FRIDAYS" PROJECTS

It's time for "Feminine Fridays," and my good friend, Julie Beaulieu, has some projects (yes, more than one) posted on her blog today.  I apologize for the not-so-great sneak peek photo.  I LOVE the paper that Julie used for her project, and I think I might still have some in my stash.  I am reminded that I need to use my papers--new and retired, and her project is also a great holiday gift idea!  There wasn't time this week for Frankii to help Julie video-record my "mission" for next week, but I do have a mission.  Woohoo!!!

EASY TRIFOLD

I hope you're not getting tired of seeing cards created with Stampin' Up!'s "My Digital Studio" software.  I'll admit that I've been kind of stuck on MDS lately.  I actually came in here to close the program and, somehow, got sidetracked and interested in trying one of the designer trifold card templates.  This is the "Play Date" design, and I thought it looked really good, so I only added a couple of things . . . the double row of stitching at the top, (digital) punched hearts, ribbon, button, and the inside greeting.  Having never designed one of the MDS trifold cards before, I wasn't sure how the printing would do, but it turned out great!  This is definitely a designer template that I'll go to again and again when I need a quick "pick-me-up" kind of card!

DIGITAL "WINTER POST" CREATION

Pictured here is a card that I designed recently with Stampin' Up!'s "My Digital Studio" software.  Being a 100% digital design, this card features the following Stampin' Up! images:  "Winter Post" and "Baroque Motifs" stamp brush sets, Snowflake, Curly Label, and Scallop Edge Border punches, antique brad, crochet trim, red brads, and Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, and Cherry Cobbler colors.  I am very pleased with this design and how quickly/easily it was to complete.