Snow Much Fun Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Once again SplitCoastStampers provided another fun sketch to play with!  I SO look forward to Wednesdays when the Sketch Challenge is released.  I can't believe that it's sketch #363.  This has been going on for 363 weeks!! WOW.  What is cool too is that there are only 2 more Wednesdays left to this month and it will end on sketch #365.  A years worth of sketches!!  WOW!  I know I have said this before but just bear with me....  I have been doing these since sketch #126 with the exception of missing a couple in between because they were square cards.  I am no longer intimidated by square cards anymore hence the only missing 2 sketches in all that time!  I just can't believe I've been playing along for over 4 1/2 years!! It just doesn't seem that long!

So lets get to my card.  I had found some fun snowflake paper in the DCWV stacks.  The base of my card is Bashful Blue and I also used Whisper White card stock.  I colored the snowmen in with markers and blender pens.  I added a pompom to the shorter snowman's "hand" but I forgot to add one to his hat!!  How silly.  I'll have to remember to pop one on there.  It's easy enough to do, I just stuck it on with a glue dot!

This was a fun sketch to do.  Cutting the snowmen out took a little while to do but it was still fun.

If you have time, I highly recommend you give this sketch a try!  I did flip the sketch to accommodate the image I wanted to use.  They do allow you to do that!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Candy Gifts for Christmas Weekend Project

Here's a fun and pretty gift to add to the "Weekend Projects" list!  I have made several of these. They are fun and they really don't take all that long to make.  I LOVE making gifts for my friends and this is one of my favorite ones!

First you must find some type of container.  I have a short glass container.  Inside that container is a foam block like florists would use.  There is a couple of pieces of mylar (those go down before the block goes in).  I add a pop up glue dot at the bottom and then the mylar sheet.  You can get those mylar sheets at any party store. 

I got a BIG snowflake pick and added that to the back of the jar.  Then I added some mylar strips inside the jar (on top of the block). And then I cut some florist stems (green wire) in different lengths.  You don't want them any higher than half the height of the snowflake.  Arrange them by length. 

Since I was going for a wintery look I went for blue wrapped candies.  And what better candy to use than the Lendor truffles!!!  YUM!  And Dove chocolates!!!  And the Vanilla Tootsie Rolls are also a candy wrapped in blue so there's some of those tucked in there too!  I took my hot glue gun and added a bit of glue to the end of the tallest wire.  This one was going in the center.  I just added the glue and stuck it to the truffle and let it set up for a few seconds.  While it was setting up I just moved on to the other candies and got them all stuck on the wires.  

Now the fun part starts! Stick the candied wires in the foam block and try to keep the candies in a rounded form.  Tallest in the middle and shortest in the front and sides.  I fill in some gaps with single unwired Tootsie Rolls.  And that's it.  VERY fun, VERY easy and VERY VERY cute!!!

I have a few more fun gifts to share with you before Christmas is here so please stop back!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Glimmer Paper Snowflake Gift Container

I have been telling myself lately to just toss these containers away when I empty them but....  I love to repurpose things.  This container was from some dried lemon stuff that I use for making lemon bread.  The recipe is on the container!!  

I had baked Monster Cookies and the last one is always a really large one because there is not enough to make two.  So I bake this big cookie and I put it in this container.  It fits perfectly.  So that is another reason to want to keep these containers!!!  I guess it's ok to keep the containers if you plan to use them right away.  I am done storing things so I will look at this as an ok thing (this time!!!).  

On the top of this container I cut a 4" circle of Night of Navy card stock.  Then I punched out a snowflake using the silver Glimmer Paper.  Now I did have to cut the snowflake in half to get it to fit in the lid.  It was about 1/8" too big.  But cutting it in half made it easy to fit the two pieces in.  In the center they are just a little bit on top of each other but the "Merry Christmas" scallop piece covered it.   

I had gotten my silver paper at Joann's because I didn't order any from Stampin' Up! and I wasn't going to place an order for just a package of the glimmer paper.  This paper was also sticky on the back so after cutting it out I just peeled the back and stuck it on top of the Night of Navy circle.

The "Merry Christmas" was done on my computer. I had printed out a page of them a while ago and I just punched them out using the 1-1/4" circle punch.  I layered the words using a circle of Night of Navy and a red Glimmer Paper scallop.  I set it in place on top of the snowflake using pop up glue dots.  And that was it.  It's all ready to give!  These make wonderful Stocking Stuffers!!  Click here for more stocking stuffer ideas!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

A Matching Bow!

I LOVE having my bows match my wrapping paper but I REALLY hate cutting all those strips of paper to make it work.  Well, my problem is now solved.  Earlier this year I had found that Sizzix has a die that cuts those strips.  It cuts 3 sizes plus two different size buttons to attach the bow to.  How cool is that?  I thought it was very cool and after I bought it I set it aside until now!  I have a lot of stuff like that.  But this die is one I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of!

I ran the wrapping paper and the die through my Big Kick using a couple of layers of wrapping paper.  I just turned the centers of the strips to a point, matched up the holes (yup, it even puts holes in the tips too) and I just kept adding points until I thought it looked full enough!  I did use a retired red corduroy brad in the center to hold it all together.  I need to use those things up and what a perfect way to do it!!!  I was thinking about purchasing some of those plastic pieces you use in the center of these bows.  One end has a tip on it so you can just poke it through the box and it stays in place.  I'll have to look for them when I'm out shopping but I have a feeling I missed the window of opportunity with those!  But that's ok too, I have lots of brads I can use up!

I am not sure where I got this die but there's only a few places online that I shop for them.  One is Oh My Crafts, Ritz Camera (I know, who would think they would have dies) and Sizzix.  I don't shop too many other places on the net for things like this.  It just seems that once you know where to get the best price you just don't shop around anymore.   

These do not take long to make and I thought it was fun too!  I'm off to make some more bows for the gifts I still have to wrap.  I just finished up my holiday baking and I have a few gifts left to buy and a few left to wrap!!!  I figure I should be done with that by Thursday and I can kick back and enjoy the rest of the holiday season!  Get the stressful stuff out of the way and take time to enjoy the lights, music (maybe snow) and the warm cozy evenings!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Jolly Bingo Bits Christmas Card

A while back I bought the postage stamp punch (actually, it was when it was on a pre-order) and I never used it!  I LOVE postage stamp images.  I still have the postage edge scissors!  But why I never used this punch is beyond me!  

When I sat down to make this card what I had in mind was the base of the card and the two background layers.  I knew I wanted it in white with red for the accent color.  I was looking in my workroom and I saw the Stitched Felt Winter Wishes pack and realized I had only used the mittens in that pack and I had only used one set of them!  What's up with that?

I took the wreath out.  I had wanted to make one of those door cards with the wreath on it but have not gotten around to it.  So I'm sitting here now with the background ready and the wreath.  But the wreath needed something on the inside so I took one of my computer generated words and cut it to fit the wreath.  I set the wreath on the card and wasn't thrilled so I moved it towards the bottom and knew that something had to go on top.  I took out the Jolly Bingo Bits set and was going to use the snowman but I didn't think it went so well with the wreath.  Then I spotted the holly and berries image and decided to use that one since the wreath is made with the same shape leaves.  

Now how the postage stamp part came into play!!  I was looking for a punch to use as a back layer because I was being lazy and didn't want to cut any card stock, let alone 3 pieces!  I took the punch out and then I was on the hunt for a punch to fit on top of the postage stamp one!  A 1" square stamp works perfectly.  So next I colored my images, stamped them and punched them out!  Then I assembled the card.

The wreath was still bugging me because it wasn't very colorful. I punched out some red dots using a handheld round paper punch.  I tied the bow on the wreath and attached it with glue dots.  I strung 3 jingle bells together and used a glue dot to hole them in place under the bow.  I liked what I saw and the card was done!!!

It has a clean and simple look to it too.  I LOVE the CAS look!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,

Wanda

Gifts of Christmas

I have loved this "Gifts of Christmas" set and have not used it as much as I would have liked to.  I did "stamp on a candle" using it.  I had plans on making candles to sell at the fall craft fair but that didn't happen.  

I have had this card saved in a file on my computer for over a year.  I found it at Michelle's site, Painted Desert Serenade.  She I only changed one thing (shocker, I know!!!).  She had used Bravo Burgundy for the flowers and I used Cherry Cobbler not only for the flowers but for the words too. Minor changes but I do like how the red stands out a bit more than the burgundy does.

To do this you are suppose to color the image with markers.  What I did was I stamped the whole image with Night of Navy.  Then I took my blender pen and wiped off the few areas where I wanted the Cherry Cobbler to go and then I just colored with the Cherry Cobbler marker. It was so much easier to see where I needed to color that way.  I actually did start coloring with the marker but I found it difficult to see where I needed to color so I went with the ink pad and blender pen.  

This is a quick card to make too! 

You can view the candle I stamped using this image here.  

I am betting this set won't be in the next catalog.  It's been around for a few years now and I have a feeling it will be gone.  I think I need to make a couple more cards with it before it retires.  I will probably be selling mine if that is the case.  I have LOTS of sets to sell but very little time to get them photographed and put in the web store!  Where does the time go?  And besides, to be honest here, I would rather be stamping and creating!!

This card is going off in the mail tomorrow to a special friend!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Greeting Card Kids Snow Globe Weekend Project

I was digging in one of my cupboards in my workroom today and ran across two of these adorable snow globes.  I was digging in there for some Snow Tex to put on this adorable outdoor snowman yard art a friend of mine (Peggy) gave to me.  She just didn't want it anymore.  I will show you what I did to it tomorrow.  I really should have taken a photo of it before I added "stuff" to it.  But it's ok, I know you'll think it's cute and NO Peggy, you can't have it back!!! LOL

Ok, onto this fun project.  I did have to add more water to them. It's so odd how water in these things can evaporate.  Does it really evaporate?  The thing is sealed and the seal is covered.  It must, the water has to go somewhere!

After filling it I then went on the search for something Christmasy to fit in the area I had to work with.

I found the adorable little winter girl from the "Greeting Card Kids" set worked perfectly in there!  Isn't she cute?

I cut my card stock to fit the space provided.  Then I stamped the image twice.  Once on the cut piece and then again on a scrap piece.  I cut out the tree and the girl.  I colored them and them put them on Dimensionals.  I was wondering if that was a waste of time and a waste of Dimensionals.  But it wasn't.  You can see the dimension on the girl and the tree.  And it made me regret that I didn't color the girl and the tree on the cut piece of card stock.  But it still looks nice.  

With this globe you can do another image on the other side or you can add your holiday greetings. I'm going to keep this one like it is for a while and then I'm going to take it apart and make one for my new great-nephew.  I am going to put a photo of him on one side and do a little Christmasy thing on the other side behind the words "Baby's First Christmas."  I think his parents will like it!  I'll share it with you when I get it done.  I'll even share both sides of it with you this time!! LOL

The other one I'm going to give to a special friend of mine who is just getting into stamping and I'm going to let her have some fun with it!  I got it all filled up for her and ready to go!!  

I think this globe came from Oriental Trading several years ago but I do know they still carry other forms of snow globes.  You can always Google it too if you don't like the ones that OT has!  These make GREAT stocking stuffers, a fun Stamp Camp project and I think they may sell well at craft fairs. Decorate up one side and have the other side with some options like Merry Christmas mom, grandma, etc.  Or a teacher theme.  There's lots of ways you can make it work and appealing to the buyer!  Check out the side bar on the right for more Stocking Stuffers, Stamp Camp projects and Craft Fair items.  The side bar is full of things for you to see and have fun with!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Easy Events Christmas Card Wednesday Sketch Challenge

 WOW, what a long title that was!!  This was a very fun sketch at SplitCoastStampers.  I was done in no time which kind of surprised me.  I don't usually finish them this quickly.  I tend to look through my stamp sets or the Stampin' Up! catalog to find an image that fits in the focal space.  This time I knew what image I wanted to use and I was hoping it would fit.  And it did!!!  I did flip the sketch a quarter turn because I wanted the orientation of the image to fit the card.  Or is it that I wanted the card to fit the orientation of the image???  I just wanted it to fit and look good!!!  LOL

I had run across some old decorative paper that had bought at Michael's MANY years ago.  It was fun using it but I hardly put a dent in the decorative paper sheet!  I could make more of these card because they were easy and quick enough.  It's such a clean and simple card (CAS) and would be able to make about 3 or 4 more off that piece of decorative paper. 

If you have time, give this sketch a try.  You can keep those panels all one color or you can do them in 3 different colors.  You're the artist.  The only real rule to these sketches is to try to keep the panels the same size as the diagram. That's the challenge!

I was also thrilled with the image I chose because it now finished off that set.  I have made a card with every image in that set!!  It's SO rare but it was something I challenged myself to do when I bought that set!  I LOVE it when I can use every image in a set!  This set was easy enough to do that but this image made me wait until it was December to play with it. I didn't want to be making and posting Christmas cards in the summer months!  Though the thought of the cooler weather then would be welcoming!!  

Ok, I'm off to create something else now!

Happy Stamping and I thank you for stopping by to see my card!
Wanda

Santa Theme Scratch Pad Holder Stocking Stuffer

 I've been making some fun Stocking Stuffers lately.  It's always great to have some fun things to put in the stockings that don't cost an arm and a leg.  And what better to put in the stocking than a scratch pad.  We play games on Christmas day and it's nice to have something to write on to keep score!  

This is a quick project to make too.  You just cut and score the card stock, punch the buttons, buckle and the "fir", add a belt and you're done!!!

You need a piece of red card stock cut 6" x 12".  Score it on the long side at 4", 4-3/8" and 8-1/4".  Fold the score lines inward.

Take the Word Window punch and punch the far right panel about 1/4" down and all across the top of that panel.  Be sure to leave 1/4" on each side of the panel. Using the window punch allows you to refill this note holder!!

Next fold the panel you punched inward.  Use a bone folder to make a sharp crease.  With the panel open glue the far right edge (the 6" end) and the bottom of that panel.  Use your bone folder to help the glue to adhere to the card stock.  Insert the scratch pad and fold over the other two scored pieces.  The top piece may need to be trimmed 1/8".  You will see this once the scratch pad has been inserted and the other score lines folded in.

Decorate the front as desired.  Here I used the lace punch to make the fir.  I used a 1" circle punch for the buttons and I used a 3/4" and a 1-3/4" square punches for the buckle.  And that is it.  Very simple and very quick to make! 

These are also great for a Make n Take, Stamp Camp and you can even sell them at your local craft fairs.  Oh and they do make fun Stocking Stuffers!!!  For more stocking stuffer ideas just click here.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Groom's Dinner Invitation Card

For the past few days I have been working on making the Groom's Dinner invitation cards.  It really didn't take two days but it spewed into two days because I had other things I had to attend to.  One was a bridal shower and the other was a class I taught on Sunday.  Sunday night I finished the cards.  They are all addressed and will go out in the mail today!  One less thing off the HUGE list of wedding stuff to attend to!  I still need to contact the caterer and order the food and then I can tend to the little detailed stuff. 

Anyway, lets get back to my fun card. There is absolutely no stamping done on this card.  The words for the invitation part were done on the computer.  Scissors, punches, Dimensionals, glitter and glue was used to make this invitation. 

I had seen a card done something like this but they used real buttons. I believe it was a card by Lynn Pratt.  To save on postage I didn't want to use real buttons and I didn't have a bunch of black buttons so I went with the punched ones.  I believe it was a Martha Stewart punch. It punched the button and embossed the raised edge at the same time.  And the best part about this card is I wrote down the measurements for you!

I started out with a 9-1/2" x 5-3/8" piece of black card stock.  I then scored it on the long side at 2-3/4" and 6-7/8".  For the lapel I made a little mark about 1-11/8" from the fold and then folded the lapel tip to the left fold.  I repeated this for the other lapel.  I taped them in place with glue dots.  I needed something that would hold the lapels down.  The lapels may not be perfectly even but that's ok.

I punched out the buttons and then I used some ultra fine black glitter on the lapel and buttons.  I set these aside to dry.  The bow is just a small square I punched out and then cut into a triangle.  I put them together on top of a 1/2" circle and then I added another 1/2" circle on top of that.  Once I was done making them I added the glitter to them too.  

The "shirt" piece actually has the invitation on it and it pulls out from the top of the card.  Under the bow there is 2 small punched circles to represent buttons.  I don't know if it will show up if you click the photo.  I think the flash bounced back too much.  But trust me, they are there!!

I set the jacket buttons on Dimensionals to pop them up and I used them on the bow tie too.  

I have them all addressed and they are ready to be mailed!!!  Color me happy and one less thing to do!!! And the best part, they weighted less than one ounce and they fit through the little slot so it won't cost more than the $.44 to mail them!!!  

These were fun and I'm sure those receiving them will like the looks of them.  I did make one for myself to keep!  I will probably have it on display in my workroom for a while and then put it in a scrapbook!  

Now I can move onto some of the other fun Christmas things I want to make for stocking stuffers and gifts!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Serene Snowflakes Christmas Card

This is yet another one of those cards that I just HAD to CASE!  I saw it and immediately knew that I had to make one!  I never know if I'm making the card exactly like the original designer did but I'm usually happy with the end results.

This card was made by Deb at Artfelt Impressions. 

First of all it was the colors that caught my eyes.  The Pool Party snowflakes were just so sweet looking.  

I don't get to play with the confetti paper much (because I forget I have it) so when I do play with it I am always pleased with the project.  And the same with the corner rounder!  I have a lot of tools I forget to play with!

This was a very quick and simple card to do too!! I LOVE those features in a card. 

On the center snowflake there is a rhinestone attached to the middle and this piece was cut out.  Just the center part of the snowflake.  I was glad I was only making one because I honestly didn't enjoy cutting out the center of a snowflake.  I know it's SO worth it but for some odd reason I wasn't into that today.  And this is coming from some one who LOVES snowflakes!  

I really like this card and am going to display it in my workroom until the end of the month!!

If you make this card be sure to give Deb the credit for it.  I don't believe I changed anything on this card!! A total CASE!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,

Wanda

Christmas Fudge Sleeve Weekend Project

To make this cute sleeve, I took a piece of decorative paper that measured 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" I scored the bottom piece (on the long side) at 1" and I scored the top end (on the long side) 3/4".

On the short side score at 1", 1-1/4", 3-5/8" and 3-7/8"

Fold the short scored lines so the back side of the decorative paper is on top.  Fold the long scored inward.  Use a very strong tape like the Sticky Strip or the Redline tape (same exact thing) or you can use glue.  I prefer to glue.  It takes a little longer to set up but I know it will stay, even if I leave the candy in the card and it gets froze. 

Since I’m using glue I’m going to use the word “glue” in my instructions.  I glued the “cuff” I crated at the bottom.  I only glued it on the ends.  I wanted them to lay down flat when I meet the edges of the paper to form the sleeve.  You will see what I mean if you wrap the paper around the candy bar until the long edges meet.  See at the ends how that folded piece sticks up?  Just glue them down.  You don’t need to glue the whole “cuff” but you can if you want. I like to leave it unglued so I can slip in a little “to and from” tag.

After gluing the edges of the “cuffs” then I glued the long center back seam.  And then I glued the bottom of the holder shut.  I just pinched it and held it for a few seconds while the glue set up. 

I searched my ribbons and didn’t have any Garden Green color so I am going to go with Always Artichoke.  The green in the patterned paper is so fine that the Always Artichoke blends just fine.

I did have a bit of trouble trying to get the ribbon knots to match up.  Who would have thought that would be so difficult? 

I also took a piece of Always Artichoke and punched out a tab, folded it in half and glued it to the end of the candy bar wrapper.  Since I made the candy holder pocket so deep I wanted to have something to pull the candy bar out of there.  I thought shaking it out cheapened it for some reason!!  The tab gave it a bit more class!

And then I added the cute little cookie cutter and rolling pin.  Those are from the “Dress It Up” pack I got at Michael’s.  I thought that set of little baking things were adorable!!!  There’s a cookie sheet, a gingerbread boy, 2 more cookie cutters, a spatula, cutting board, cookies, spoon and a few more things.  I couldn’t pass it up. I bought these a few years ago and have had them hanging on my wall ever since I bought them.

These little pockets are fun to make.  I printed out a few more words on the computer so I can make some more of these.  They do make cute gifts!!!!  And it saves you a lot of time in making real fudge!!! LOL

The poem for the front goes like this:

A day or two ago, we thought we'd make a treat for all our special friends...
A Christmas gift to eat! Our intentions were top notch, but our schedules 

would not budge, hence this year's version of homemade Christmas fudge!

Click on the photos for a closer view. And there is a longer version of the poem here.  It will fit on the king size candy bars.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Lighted Glass Block Weekend Project

This is my very first glass block ever.  I never made one before because I was afraid of the drilling part to get a hole in the block so the lights could be fed through it.  Well at Michael's they have glass blocks with a nice size hole already in it.  And there is a plastic cap to cover the hole too!!!  I am SO loving these glass blocks now!

I used the "Snow Much Fun" set on this block.  What I did here was I cut a piece of Vellum to fit inside the glass block.  Because the hole is big enough you can add and remove the vellum with ease.  I may just make a file to keep the stamped vellum squares in and just reuse the block for other occasions.  Every season (when I'm done with them all) I can just go to the file and pull out the one that is needed for the holiday and set the block out on display!!  That's the plan anyway!!

I stamped the images using black StazOn. And then I colored the images with colored pencils.  That is how I was able to get the snowmen SO white!  I made masks of the snowmen and then stamped the tree on.  I left the masks on and sponged the sky and ground in.  

When I was all done coloring and sponging I used some glitter Stickles to add some sparkle and dimension to the images and snow.  Click on the image for a closer look at the glittery parts!!  I may give this as a gift and get another block.  Michael's has a 50% off coupon this week!!! I bought this block a few weeks back and I think it was only $9 or $10 without a coupon. Of course I got mine with a coupon!  

These are SO much fun to decorate.  I want to make another one, hopefully I can do it before Christmas.  But I can always make a wintry looking scene that I can keep out WAY after Christmas!  These don't take long to decorate either.  Well, they do take a bit of time if you cut out every piece to make a mask!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Hand-Penned Holidays

Can you believe it's December 1st already?  That means only 24 days to Christmas!  YIKES!!!  I have hardly begun my shopping.  So I'm changing subjects here and I'm going to talk about my card here! 

I am SO loving this "Hand-Penned Holidays" set.  The font on this card is ever so lovely!  It just makes this card look so elegant.

This is a very simple card to make too.

I just embossed the bottom panel and then added the stamped top piece.  You can do it on one piece of card stock but I just found it easier this way because I had the embossed piece sitting on my worktable from a different project I was going to do.  The ribbon hides the seams so you can do whatever you want there.  And I also found this easier because if I made an error on the words I would have had to cut it off and add a piece of card stock anyway.  I just saved myself the time in having to correct the error.  And I actually didn't make an error on the words but that falls under one of the "Murphy's Law" things doesn't it?  Had I done it on one piece I probably would have made a mistake. That's usually how it works for me!!

Ok, back to the rest of this easy card.  I had a snowflake sitting in my stash so I just sponged the edges popped a Dimensional behind it and a rhinestone on top and stuck it in the bottom corner.

My card stock colors are Marina Mist (for the main part of the card), Pacific Point on top of it and Whisper White on top of that!  And that is it.  So quick and simple to do!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda