Oh Deer, Winter . . .

~ photo heavy ~

Howdy, and welcome back.  Yeah, some days I craft, and craft some more, and other days, I am busy with life's chores.  Lucky for me, this weekend has been one of those craft, and craft some more days {smile}.  Now, before everyone gets too excited, it's snowing like crazy here, and the wind is blowing harder/faster than a ________.  (I'll let you fill-in-the-blank)  So, I have re-arranged my running schedule: todays run will be run tomorrow, and tomorrows run will be run on Tuesday.  The treadmill work will be done . . . . not sure at this moment, but I need to get some miles done.  So, I am focusing on that.

Ok, now for some crafting!  I am working on a few holiday themed orders, and entering one of them in three (yes, 3!) challenges:  Catch the Bug Challenge, Time Out Challenge and Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  Now, I believe that the last two challenges are 'new-to-me' challenges, so this will be fun!

Let's start with Catch the Bug Challenge.  I see their sketches a lot, and have wanted to play, so I am not one hundred percent that I haven't played with them before.  But, just look at this current challenge sketch!  How beautiful!

The first thing that catches my eye about this sketch is the simplicity: aka easy to work with!  You can do so much with it, or leave it clean and simple.  Me, I'm more on the more is better.  And if you haven't fallen in love with this sketch yet, simply look at what the design team has created, and you will be running to your craft room.  (just like me!) 

Ok, now on to the Time Out Challenge.  Their current challenge is to be inspired by words.  Their words.  Here is their graphics:

I went with: Gift & Open it

Ok, I don't know about you, but this screams gift card holder to me.  Or how about Birthday, or a Thank You gift, or . . .  another endless possibilities challenge.  Oh, and don't forget to see what the design team has created.  Super fun!

And my last stop, is Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  Another fun, and creative group of folks.   This may be a regular challenge for me.  (smile)

I went diagonal: light blue, ribbon, and sequins

and here is what I made:

and another view:

This over-sized card, is actually a 'packaged' gift card holder.  It's for those gift cards that are purchased that have these think wrappers.  So, instead of ripping apart the packaging to get the gift card out, simply slide the whole package into the pocket of this gift card holder!  Ta-Da!

Recipe:  I used Cocoa Bean card stock from Paper Trey Ink.  Love the heavy weight of their card stock, it gives these types of projects stand-up power!  I used Pool Party card stock by Stampin' Up! for the matts.  I just love this shade of pale/light blue.  The pattern papers I used were from the same collection: Oh Deer! by Close To My Heart.  (It was from 2016)  and yes, I hoard saved my scraps.

I did some machine stitching to hold the layers of paper in place, along with some adhesive.  The gold satin ribbon and cream crochet trim are also machine stitched to the cover.  I thought the gold satin ribbon matched the music pattern paper beautifully.

The sentiment rectangle is actually a journalling square that was cut down and matted with a scrap of Cocoa Bean card stock.  I added a retired mini paper clip to the top left corner of it, and a pair of silver sequins to the right corner.  It is adhered to the card front with foam tape to lift it off the card front.  

The paper blossom is actually from the Sweet Peppermint collection by Prima Marketing.  I just love how it adds just the right amount of contrast to the blue, without looking too gold.  

I painted and glittered two silver jingle bells, and tied them with some silver and cream bakers twine.  I then tied a triple-bow with the same bakers twine, and tucked it under the paper blossom.  I added a retired Stampin' Up! snowflake charm to the knot.  I added one lone silver sequin just to the left of the paper blossom to help repeat the silver accents.

The three banner pieces peaking out from under the pinecone pattern paper are simply scraps of this beautiful collection.  I flagged the ends with a pair of scissors.

Since my focal piece is the sentiment, I decided to add some embellishments to the lower right corner, instead of a sentiment.  So, I took two silver foil embossed pinecone die-cuts from the Oh Deer! collection and adhered them.  The top pinecone is adhered with foam tape, so that they wouldn't be smashed on.  I tied some of the same silver and cream bakers twine to a snowflake charm, and hot glued it to the stacked pinecones.  

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you have been inspired to play along with any/all of these challenges.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Hope to be back soon {fingers crossed}.

Sweet Peppermint Kisses for Santa

~ photo heavy ~

Howdy, and welcome to my little piece of blog-land.  I hope your new year has gotten off to a roaring start!  Me, I've been doing what I always do: crafting, baking, running, and chores.  So, not much of a change.  But, I am ok with that.   

For my holiday break I got the Flu, and boy was that awful!  I was in bed for a week, and couldn't get  the energy to do much of anything productive.  Then, it was back to work, back to marathon training, back to life.  I have been working on a few special orders: cupcakes, and crafts.  Let's just admit it, those are my two favorite things!

I am entering one of my creations in three paper crafting challenges:  Paper Story, As You See It, and Word Art Wednesday.  We will start with International first, and finish at home.

I stumbled upon this incredible paper craft challenge site while following a favorite paper crafter overseas.  And I am happy I did!  The folks over @ Paper Story have a super talented group of designers who I am sure will inspire you!  This challenge site is from Russia, but they have a 'translate' button, so it is super easy to play along!  Their current challenge is called: Olivier.  It is a 'recipe-based' challenge.  They have given you mandatory elements, just like in a recipe, but with an option to switch one 'ingredient' with something else, just like a recipe.  How super fun is that?  Here is their recipe: Paper, Flowers, Lace, Beads (brads, buttons, chips, dots, sparkles), Chip (chipboard), Tape (cord/braid ok), and Machine Line.  

My next stop:  As You See It.  This challenge site has some very creative challenges, and their design team has a range of styles, so no matter yours, you will be inspired.  Their current challenge is a sketch.  (Love these)

I rotated this sketch 90 degrees left, and then mirrored it

And my final stop was Word Art Wednesday.  I just can't brag about this site enough.  The design team is super talented, the write-up is inspirational, and the site is just plain NICE!  Their current challenge is: Anything Goes & Family Friendly.  Who wouldn't want to play along?

and  here is what I made:

Paper: Sweet Peppermint, Flower: manufactured, Lace: two kinds, Beads: button and sequins, Chip: chipboard mittens, Tape: thin silver cord, and Machine Line: machine sewing on both panels.

another view:

Recipe:  This gift card holder was made with pattern paper from the Sweet Peppermint holiday collection by Prima Marketing.  The base of the 'card' is crumb cake card stock by Stampin' Up!  I just love the heavy weight of it.  The matt is real red card stock by Stampin' Up!, as well.  

I used the tiny green dot pattern paper for the panels.  I didn't want any distractions from the focus: Santa!  I machine stitched this pattern paper to the red matt.

I then layered 4 different pattern papers from the Sweet Peppermint collection: the red stripe, the multi-check, the snowflake, and the multi-colored dot.  I did matt the snowflake pattern paper with crumb cake card stock, to give the layered rectangles a 'base'.  The sentiment/journaling card is adhered to the front with foam tape.  I also added a file tab, from the Sweet Peppermint collection, to the side of the Santa journalling card.

I wrapped two different lace trims around the top portion.  I just love the softness this brought to my 'card'.  I tied a double bow with one of the lace trims.  

The flower and leaves are both from Prima Marketing, as well, and yes, the same collection: Sweet Peppermint.  I just love the contrast between this mint color and the reds.

I added a chipboard piece from the same collection.  I thought mittens were a nice touch.  And the silver outline adds a nice sparkle!

I added some silver sequins to mimic the sparkle from the glitter on the flower and the silver on the chipboard.  I added an aqua vintage button to the lower right corner of the journalling card.  I thought it matched the flower beautifully, and tied it with some slim silver cord.  

here is what the 'card' looks like opened:

I love making these 'packaged' gift card holders, because it makes gift giving super easy.  Now, when you purchase your gift cards from the store, you no longer have to rip them open, to give the card.  Just slide the whole thing, right into the pouch, and viola!  I make a lot of these for my Holiday Craft Fairs, and folks seem to really enjoy them.  {smile}  My crafts are 'one-of-a-kind', in that I do NOT mass produce.  It makes each item special.  Now, I do make similar, but not match-matchy, carbon copies.  

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope that you have been inspired to play along with any/all of these challenge sites.  Enjoy your weekend, and take care!