A Thousand Sheets of Paper Giveaway

You really need to check out the blog A Thousand Sheets of Paper, she is giving away a 1,000 sheets of paper plus a lot more.

Blog Candy Giveaway

***This offer is now closed due to lack of responses.***

I "won" a homemade gift by leaving one of the first 5 comments on Tammy's blog, so now I'll see who my first 5 are. The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done sometime this year (I will want to get it done ASAP so it will be in the next month or so).

4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
5-The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog! (then come here and post, I WILL check your blog *wink*)

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

So....who will be the first 5 people?????

1. Scramptastic (Please email me your address. Click on View My Complete Profile to email me. I couldn't find a way to contact you on your blog)

Some Sympathy and Christmas cards

On December 9, my SIL's mother passed away from a brain aneurysm. She was only 71 years old. I made this card for my SIL and for her 3 sisters and for her brother:



For this card, I knew I wanted to use the Cuttlebug Bird Call folder but I didn't want to use the whole image. So I cut a 2x2 square and placed it in the folder so that it would emboss the bird and some of the grass. I then backed the square with a slightly larger black square and a white scalloped square. It is hard to tell in the picture but I popdotted the square when I placed it on the card. It is also hard to see but the black background is embossed with the Cuttlebug Distressed Stripes folder.

This is the first time that I did a card completely in black and white and I must say that I am very pleased with how it turned out.

Stamps: PTI Paper Tray
Paper: CTMH black, white daisy
Accessories: CTMH bigger black brads, Cuttlebug Bird Call and Distressed Stripes, Nestibilities scalloped square

I am trying to keep a supply of cards on had so I used the same layout as the above card but this time I used different colors and stamps for the sympathy cards:


For the above cards, I used CTMH Faith and for the colors, I used CTMH colonial white, chocolate (card on left) and bamboo (card on right).

Since I never got around to posting my Christmas cards in December and I don't want to dedicate a whole post to the Christmas cards (I am so ready to move on from Christmas cards), I thought I would spread out posting my Christmas cards in several posts as I am posting other cards.

For the card layout below, I decided to do some in two different color schemes. Since I used metallic card stock, they didn't photograph very well.


Inside:



Stamps: CTMH Beauty of Christmas
Paper: silver metallic, CTMH outdoor denim
Ink: CTMH outdoor denim
Accessories: CTMH outdoor denim grosgrain ribbon, silver brads, glitter, Cuttlebug Snowflakes

For the card below, I changed the outdoor denim to New England Ivy and used both red and silver metallic cardstock and cranberry grosgrain.



These cards had a lot of layering and since I used metallic cardstock, it also makes the card a bit heavy. To cut down on the weight and to also save cardstock, I used my paper trimmer and cut out the centers of my backing layers. No sense in wasting paper when you can't see it behind the layers. If anyone is interested in how I save paper when layering, please post to let me know. I will then make sure I do a photo tutorial of how to use your trimmer to cut out the centers.

That's all I have time to post today. I need to get moving and get over to my sister's house to work on some Valentine treats (photos coming soon if I remember to take some pictures today) for my youngest dd to take to school on Friday. My oldest dd says that they are not having a Valentine party on Friday but are having a "regular" party. She, however, can't tell me if she needs to bring a treat or anything to school. Hopefully, she will find out today because I am not going to try and make something at the last minute for her to take.

I will be back tomorrow or Thursday with more projects!

PTI Bitty Dot Sketch Challenge

Papertrey Ink has a big 2nd anniversary celebration going on right now. If you haven't heard about it, you may want to check out Nichole Heady's bog so you can get in on the celebration.

I wanted to participate in the challenges on Thursday and Friday but was unable to because my car died on me. I keep all my stamping supplies at my sister's house and there was no way I was going to walk to her house in -2F temperatures. My car needs a new alternator and, unfortunately, it will not be fixed until Monday.

I had no intentions of participating in today's challenge either but my sister came over to my house and made me go home with her so I could do a card. So this is the card that I came up with:



Stamps: SU! Wanted
Paper: SU! Chocolate Chip, CTMH Colonial White, Juniper
Inks: SU! Chocolate Chip, CTMH Juniper

It is hard to tell in the photo but the circles with the stars are pop-dotted.

Stay tuned, I have a lot of catching up to do. I have several Christmas cards to post plus some other miscellaneous cards that I have done in the past couple months.

Spellbinder's Design Team

Spellbinder's is looking for new Design Team members. If you are interested in trying out for their design team, you can click here for more information.

I'm So Excited I Won!

I just found out that I won blog candy! Jeanette Lynton, the founder of Close To My Heart, has a blog and just posted a little while ago the winners of her Passion for Paper contest. I totally missed my name the first time I read the list. Thankfully, I read it again and saw my name in the number 1 spot. I won a paper pack and My Stickease from the new spring catalog. I don't know which one I won because she will pick the pack for each winner. She was very generous and gave away 12 paper packs instead of the 5 that she orginally planned on giving away.

Well, I got to run now. I have to take my oldest dd and her friend to Girl Scouts. Then I am taking my youngest dd to shop for a Christmas gift for the little girl that I watch after school.

Christmas Carol quiz

Here is a fun Christmas Carol quiz. After you take the quiz, leave a comment with your results! I, unfortunately, only got a 68%. It told me that I spend too much time shopping and eating and I need to spend more time singing. I am definitely not a singer and very rarely listen to music--well, I should say pay attention to the words in a song. I am going to the local high school choir concert tonight so I am definitely going to pay attention to the words.

I have lots of cards to post but have to get the pictures off my sister's camera first. I guess I need to start taking my camera with me when I go to her house to stamp so I can get my pictures posted quicker. Hopefully, I can start posting some cards tomorrow.

For those of you who take the quiz and leave a comment, I will have one of my dds draw a name and you will get a little something for me. Leave your comments by Thursday, December 18 at noon (EST) and I will have my dd draw a name after school that day.

Christmas Cards for my MIL and FIL

In addition to making Christmas cards for my DH's grandma, I also made some for my MIL and FIL. I made 10 of each of these cards.

This card was inspired by Sharon Johnson's card:


Stamps: SU! Snow Swirled
Paper: gold metallic


Stamps: CTMH (can't think of the name of the stamp set right now)
Paper: CTMH holiday red
Accessories: Cuttlebug Winter House, Stickles

I have a question for anyone who has the Cuttlebug Winter House embossing folder. Does yours deeply emboss your cardstock? When I made these cards, I used my friends folder but used my machine and they were deeply embossed. I ordered a folder for myself and my sister used it today. She used a leftover circle that I had embossed with my friends folder and she noticed that there was a big difference in the two. My folder didn't emboss nearly as well as my friends and also, the images seemed to be a little different because she could not line the circle up over the full embossed sheet. I am going to get in touch with the company but was just wondering if anyone else could tell me how theirs embosses.

Last of the Card Donations

Here are the rest of the card donations.

These were made by my sister Carol:





From Stacy M., Pasco, WA:





These are from Sue C., N. Royalton, OH:


This is a set of notecards in different colors sent in by Susan R. Springboro, OH:


This large lot of cards was donated by Susie H., Tucker, GA (thanks, Susie, for your very generous donation!):












From Taylor V., Pasadena, CA:



This set of Christmas cards is from Teresa K., Staunton, VA:





And last but not least, this card is from Tosha L., Dinuba, CA:


And here is a picture of 5 of the 6 baskets that we donated for the benefit:


The basket in the middle is the one with the stamping supplies. I didn't get a picture of the 6th basket. We didn't get that put together until the night before the benefit and I totally forgot to take a picture of it.

Thank you again to everyone for your generosity in donating your cards for the benefit!

OCC Sketch Challenge

Very rarely do I get to participate in sketch challenges. I keep all my stamping stuff at my sister's house so I don't always have time when I am there to make everything that I want to make. Fortunately, today I had time.

While I was working on my Christmas cards, my sister mentioned my cousin's birthday which is on Tuesday. I knew her birthday was coming up, but I guess it came quicker than I was prepared for. I had every intention of getting her card done so I could get in the mail on time but I guess my card is going to be a day or two late. She lives in Texas so I don't think the card is going to get from Ohio to Texas by Tuesday.

I remembered that OCC was having a sketch challenge so I came up with this card:


And this is the inside:


Stamps: SU! Paris in the Spring, PTI Birthday Basics
Paper: CTMH Stylin' (retired), black, baby pink
Ink: CTMH archival black, baby pink marker
Accessories: Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls, Scallop square Nestie, SU! black grosgrain, CTMH flower, CTMH baby pink brad

At first, I colored the presents in using my PrismaColor pencils but I decided there was too much color going on. So I threw that piece away and just added some color with the baby pink marker. It was so much better and had just enough color.

I was also really pleased with how my flower accent turned out. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted and then this idea came to me. I cut three pieces of the grosgrain ribbon and folded the ends under to the middle on each of them and adhered them. I then used my paper piercer and put a hole in the center of each so I could put the brad through. I think it is a fun accent piece and will have to remember to add it to other cards in different colors.

Christmas Cards for DH's Grandma

This year I decided to give my DH's grandma an early Christmas present. I made her two sets of 10 Christmas cards. I hope she liked them. I didn't get to give them to her personally since she lives about 2 hours away. I took them with me when we went to my in-laws for Thanksgiving so they could give them to her the next time they saw her.

Anyways, here is the first card. It was inspired by this card by jennifv on Splitcoaststampers:


And the inside:



Stamps: PTI Snowflake Serenade
Paper: red metallic
Inks: CTMH holiday red
Accessories: Cuttlebug Lace Tree, rhinestones

And here is the second card:


And the inside:


Stamps: PTI Snowflake Serenade
Paper: CTMH outdoor denim
Ink: CTMH outdoor denim
Accessories: Cuttlebug Snowflakes, rhinestones

When you make your Christmas cards, do you make them all the same design or do you do all different cards? When I started stamping, I used to make mine all the same design but now that I have more stamps and a lot more ideas, I make different sets of cards. I'm still working on my Christmas cares but will be posting them as soon as I get them all done.

More Card Donations--almost done

I think I should be able to get the rest of the cards posted tomorrow.

This card is from Jazzi B., Portland, ME:


This is from Jerri Kay:


From Joanne B., Franklin, MA:



From Julia B., Red Creek, Alberta:




From Katherine R., Rockledge, FL:





These were sent in by Kim M., Flowery Branch, GA:



These are from Laurie W., Katy, TX:



These were sent in by Lorri H., Cave Creek, AZ:


These are from Makiko J., Waskom, TX:


From Michelle B., Fenton, MO:



These are from Pam S., Connoquenessing, PA:






Sent in by Peggy E., Terrebone, Quebec:



From Rita C., Showlow, AZ:


From Rita R., Charlotte CH, VA:


From Rochelle W., Sacramento, CA:


And finally for today, from Sharon J., Baraga, MI:



I want to say a special thanks to Sharon. She posted about the benefit on her blog which resulted in 17 people sending in 90 cards! That was a huge help and greatly appreciated!