Just another Colorado Craft Company Friday FUN day!

Yes, I have been posting more than usual.  I'm on a mission, determined to have 365 cards to donate next Christmas!  So Christmas will continue for a bit, and then I'll leave you in peace for the Holidays!

I know a few of you have enjoyed my Colorado Craft Company cards ... here is a trio made with Christmas Presents and dies by Anita Jeram.  All colored with Prismacolor pencils.

I colored the second gift in his stack like a steak - do you think he will wait?

This guy is pretty protective of his family's presents... I think his bark 

is bigger than his bite!

Perhaps my favorite of all ... something about that creamy natural cardstock 

from MFT makes my heart go pitter-patter! - the hexagon, and Merry were found in my snippets bin!  A bit of gesso snow never hurts!

PTI Holiday Words dies, The Stamp Market Hexagon dies - embossed with a stencil?

Hope all your shopping is done, and presents wrapped ... 

I don't know about you, but I could use a long Winter's nap!

xo

=] Michele

[some affiliate links provided - thank you so very much for your support!]

CAS[E] this Sketch #402

 Oh what fun... Chrissy, you've done it again!

Now, let me ask you this... do you see washi tape?  patterned paper?  fun stenciling?  Well I have the answer - you can use whatever your little hearts desire!  We're gonna love it!

Me?  I have had a wonderful stamp set [a gift from a very generous friend] just itching to be inked up ... so guess what I did?  Grabbed a few seasonally compatible inks:

and stamped until MY heart was content!

I love stamping on this gorgeous EBE Linen cardstock!  

That texture provides perfect imperfections!

So.  By now you've had some time to think it over... which will you choose from the endless possibilities of Chrissy's Sketch #402?  Hey! Let's go see where the Sketch took Chrissy!  

But before you go... may I say that this sentiment is from me, to all of you!  Merry Christmas, my dear friends!  CTS will be taking a break until after the New Year on January 7th... so happy New Year, too!  Be happy, be healthy, be blessed...

=]  Michele

Inspired By #155 - Goodbye, 2020!

 

We're saying goodbye to 2020 at Inspired By #155!  

I can't help wonder if we'll all give 

a great sigh of relief?  No matter what got you through, I wish you all 

a healthy, blessed, and happy New Year!

Here's an old flop-eared friend of mine... let's just say he 

gets 'carried away' on occasion!

I know, and trust, that we'll be tasked with staying safely inside for a while longer.

I consider myself so lucky to have this fun card challenge, and hobby,  to keep me happily crafting through my days.  

Thanks to all of you who have spent some time with me in my little blog-space this year!  Thanks even more if you shared your inspired creations with us at Inspired By - we do hope you'll play along with IB155 - we'll give you 2 weeks to create - so play as often as you'd like!  

Love and hugs... bless you, and happy New Year!

=]  Michele

Supplies:  

The Cat's Pajamas: Time Out - fussy cut, sentiment white heat-embossed

The Greetery - Twisted crepe die

Speckled Egg Distress Oxide ink for blending, and coloring my vellum.

Sugar Pea Mix it Up Challenge #74

 I really don't think I need to say much ... I'll let this do all the talking ...

How could I resist?  my sweet little buddy from Hey Winter was so happy to play again today - he GNOMES me SO well!  My card for Sugar Pea Mix Up #74:

Mama Elephant Four Window cover plate

and a few stamps from the Hey Winter set for the scene outside the window.

Tags - both cut from Craft Consortium's Wood Textures patterned paper

See his little hat and beard?

He borrowed his style from his SSS Gnomie! shown here:

Honey Bee - Holiday Cheer paper cut with W&W die. 

Sometimes this girl has way too much fun!!   Thanks for stopping by! 

=]  Michele

Elf Shirley and second helpings!

 

My friend Shirley Bampton designs under The Bee's Knees for Stamplorations, and is our fabulous inspirational Elf over at the Christmas Kickstart Challenge #44 - Peace on Earth.  Of course, I had to play with her Layered Holly again!  I just love the perfectly imperfect way its layers play together... especially when imperfectly fuss-cut, and mounted on a fun embossed card base! 

HEY!  I guess since it involves an embossed [The Paper Studio - woodgrain] die-cut, I can send this one over to Let's Squash it! #3 too!  Here's a little closeup of those glossified berries ... I've also used my SU corrugated folder for my card front.

I'm making the best of this 'staying home, staying in' thing!  and finding so much joy in the making!

=]  Michele

It's never too late to shop!

 Think you've checked off everything from your list?  Did you remember  

to Secret Santa yourself???!!!

here's a little help with that...

Read the fine print, remember the code... and yes, the new stuff is on sale, too!

Here's a good place to start:  GO!

=]  Michele

Playing Cards with Friends!

I refer to this little hobby of ours as playing cards.  

I love to invite a friend to play cards with me - would YOU like to play?

I received a sweet little die from my friend Bobby Hagen [Bits & Pieces] for my birthday in November.  Since she also treated herself to one, I thought it would be a great way to start playing cards again!

So here are the parameters I assigned to my playtime with Bobby:  

• Memory Box Mistletoe Bundle 
• with Speckled Egg & Rustic Wilderness Distress Oxide inks... easy peasy!  

I'm so happy to use this gorgeous die again!  Ready.  set. go...

• First I cut all the dies from Bristol paper, and a card-base that is 4x7 inches
• For the greenery, I smooshed some Rustic Wilderness ink onto a piece of acetate, spritzed with water, and applied it to the die-cut 
• Created a piece of Bristol blended with Speckled Egg DOX from which I cut the berries, the sweet little bow, and also a tiny tag.
• I created a mop-up background using the leftover ink, and a stencil.  [my friend Bonnie calls this a Stencil Monoprint] Makes me think of marble.  Added that to my card base.
• Silver embossed a few hugs, and kisses on my tiny tag, and hung it with care with silver thread.
• After mounting them on my card base with foam squares, all that was left to do is to give it a bit of twinkle with Stickles!

Thanks, Bobby, for always being fun and ready to do just about anything!  I can't wait to see your card ... thanks again for this wonderful gift!  

Hey, let's go see it together, okay?  But!  Don't be surprised if one day soon I invite YOU to play cards with me!  It might be just what I need to get through Winter!  Are you up for it?

=]  Michele 

A bit of play time!

 The best part of having all my assignments done ahead is being able to 'play cards' with a few of my favorite Challenges ... enter FMS465...

I have just the old tag die, and new dies to make this work!

OOPSie Daisie... forgot the string!

With a little planning, one can always use the negative for another card... this one was embossed after cutting the Holly Jolly for my card, and is heading over to Let's Squash It!  They are looking for an embossed piece, with die cut, or fussy cut.  Hmmm think this fits the bill?  Even if it doesn't, it's always fun to play!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

=]  Michele

FMS card:  

Bazzill Pale Rose cardstock for base

The Stamp Market Holly Jolly dies, and stamp set

Neat & Tangled Doily Tag die - from 110# Neenah solar white

Let's Squash it! Challenge #3

Pure Poppy PTI cardstock

Holly Jolly dies, and stamps

white embossing powder

Richard Garay cable knit embossing folder

Pinkfresh December 2020 Challenge

 

Pinkfresh is looking for all things holiday for their December 2020 challenge ... how about a holiday on the slopes??

I'm thrilled to receive this darling Skiing By set - it was a Christmas present, and the giver was not one bit mad at me for opening it early - thanks, Danni! xo

I try to do a little search from my snippets bin before I craft - lo and behold, I found the perfect rectangles, and an instant design idea!  

Tell me if you agree... I thought the Challenge colors were perfect for ski-wear!

A few supporting characters were used in the making: PF Holiday Vibes for the red paper; 

EH Winterscapes for the slopes. SSS stitched dies for movement.

Since none of us is planning any holidays any time soon, this little scene did

the trick for me ... and no broken hips!!  BONUS!

=]  Michele

The Christmas Kickstart #44

I know I've already met my limit of 2 cards today, but [since all my cards have been mailed]  I've had a bit of play time with a new Distress Oxide ink:  Speckled Egg - yes, it is new to me, you've probably had it for an age!  Another new thing, too:  Altenew's Dotted Starburst Debossing cover die!  Okay... ready for my card for Christmas Kickstart #44?  

Well would you look at that ... another new thing!  MFT Snowflake Window!

I know one of you would have magically turned this into a shaker ... but I didn't want to cover up any of that cover plate! The little star was floating around in my snippets bin.  All I did was add 'peace' in the perfect size from an old [no longer available] W&W set.

Those of you who know me well know that blue isn't my favorite color - this gorgeous shade has my heart!

Peace out, peeps!

=]  Michele

Thank you, Jo and Shirley!  I'm very honored!!

CAS[E] this Sketch # 401 Retro week!

Welcome back - hope you are well stuffed from Thanksgiving - it wasn't a hardship to eat every. last. piece. of our pie!  

Retro week is so much fun - don't you think so, too?  Especially when the Sketch is from my very first year as a member of this fabulous CTS family!  It is such a honor.

Are you ready to search for your entry?  It's from October of 2015!!  I'll show you mine:

I've REALLY stretched that Sketch today... after all, it is Christmas time!  Santa has given me permission to s t r e t c h my card, too...

One of our cats used to climb up into our Christmas tree for a nap...

he never was naughty, but it was such a surprise to find him there the first time!

Meowy Christmas from [where else?] Colorado Crafts:  Christmas Tree Cat

I do love a few brown paper packages under my tree!  Hope you'll help us wrap up another Retro Sketch #401!

=]  Michele

CCC Christmas Tree Cat  Naughty or nice? sentiment cut with the  the companion die set.  tag die is also included!

Inspired By #154 - happy holly days

Do you have favorites - maybe really old sets - that come out to play every Christmas?  I do!  and I think you might just recognize it!  But first:  our IB154 inspiration:

                              

Isn't it pretty??  I couldn't help but pull out my variety pack of cardstocks from The Stamp Market - they were perfect, and they have the most lovely, almost felt-like, 'texture.'  

Here's my card... and a closeup:

Can you 'feel' that texture?

I'm so grateful to my friend Therese for introducing me to this Altenew Apothecary Labels set ... even trimmed, it makes a statement.

Thanks for dropping by today!  I hope you find a little something here that might inspire you to play along with IB154 ... maybe our Sketch will get the juices flowing?  For sure my teamies will!  OR how about the chance to win a prize??  Here's a darling set of sentiments YOU might just win, just for playing along:

=]  Michele

         

Supplies:

Wplus9:  Woodland Basics die set

The Stamp Market paper sampler

EBE Red Droplets embellishments

Decked out decorations - for teens!

 

When making gifts, I struggle with something that my grandkids might like ... well, like them or not - they were on my list today - the nice list, that is!  Altenew's Home Decor Contest gave me the opportunity to share them here!

I found just the perfect Altenew supply to let two of them know I think they are the stars of the show - the Altenew 3D Star die!  I cut them from a paper with a white core - then sanded the edges to make them a bit less-than-perfect - like their Grammy!

Try as I might, I couldn't get a photo without my reflection!  BUT this fun Dymo sentiment strip perfectly reflects the way friends seem to feel about my grandson, Will. I'm always surprised at the number of kids of all ages know him and call him by name at events we've attended!  He is a super fun 12 year old kid. 

I don't mind tellin' ya - we miss him like crazy!

Altenew Celebrations paper set for the dots!

Up next, the same star, but for my star-gazing granddaughter who recently amended her goals to include astrophysics, or any career that would involve space, after watching the launch of the Space X Falcon 9 in Florida over the weekend.   She will have to continue to be a star student, right?  

Tom has been sharing his love of star watching with Lola [and her sister and parents] over the Summer tracking the satellite launches and 'star-trails'  those satellites make.  Many trips to our observatory, too - especially for the Perseid's meteor showers in August.

Very old, perfect papers from my stash, and the perfect sentiment from

Altenew's School Days  stamped with Yellow Ochre crisp dye ink.

I'll create a pocket on the back of the frame to tuck a special message - you'll understand if I don't share those here.  

=]  Michele

12 Tags of Christmas 2020 - Home for the Holidays!

Oh!  There's no place like home - haven't we learned that best this year?  Yes, just like all of you do, I miss my family, and our gatherings, baking special treats, cooking all our favorites - even cleaning never sounded so good!  Decorating our home might be the most fun we have this Christmas!

Welcome to Day 6 of the 2020 EH 12 Tags of Christmas   Today, I've chosen the song Home for the Holidays as my tag theme... hey, if we can string lights?  why not tags?

Here's the progression:

I think Frosty is  warming up:  OHHH....

Ta daaaaaa!

Here is my little craft-table-tree*, and decked out with my string of tags!

                                  

Now, if you have a mind to, YOU can play along!  Each of the 12 songs that the team have chosen for their tag design will be posted on the Ellen Hutson blog daily.   Just find a day, a song, and a designer that inspires you!  We hope you'll play every day, or at least sing along!

=]  Michele

Supplies:  affiliate links provided, at no extra cost to you - thank you for your support!

Top tag:  Shipping tags, Merry Little Christmas stamps and dies, Essential Circles, Abstract Paint Strokes - for snow

Middle tag:  Shipping tags, Merry Little Christmas, Essential Circles, Classic Block Alphas, Hinged Alphas, and Winter Window

Home for the Holiday tag:  Shipping tags, Merry Little Christmas, Winter Window, Winterscapes 

*not available at Ellen Hutson - found at Hobby Lobby in 2019