Dot & Whimsy

Hello, friends!  I've whipped up a couple of beauteous winter cards 

using the non-winter theme, Type Set from

The winter sky presents many colors. 

 While preparing for the fun challenge of “winter cards” with the “Typeset Collection”

 I was truly inspired by the horizon-like colors of orangey-pink, aqua and corn silk blue 

found in many of the papers and stickers!  I pulled out these colors and set to task.

  My first stop: the Silhouette Design Store and cutting files from Basic Grey!

 For the first card, “Snow: The Best Day Ever”, I used the Christmas Tree cutting file.

  From the solid aqua and striped 6X6 papers, I cut two aqua trees to measure

 2.5”H and a single striped tree to measure 3”H.  I prepared the A2 card base with

 a mat of the navy 6X6 paper.

 Next, I used the Spellbinders Label Fourteen Dies to cut the two mats that measure

 3.5”W and 4.5”W.  The two were layered together with foam adhesive.  The trees

 were overlapped with the striped tree added on top with foam adhesive. 

 A couple of stickers, alpha stickers and flair completed the card!

 The second card, “Hello Winter” uses a couple of fun Silhouette shapes.  

The “hello” was found as a part of the “Hello Sunshine” cutting file; the word sunshine

 was simply omitted before cutting.  I made the word larger, by adding a shadow.

 To spell out “winter”, I used the banner sticker (shown above) and covered the letters

 up with the Typeset Epoxy Letter Stickers…the perfect fit!

After preparing the A2 card base, I cut a piece of the 6X6 orange dot paper to 3.5” X 5.5”.

 I used the large die from the Spellbinders Snowflake Pendant Die Set to die-cut the 

snowflake shape from the top of the paper.  The paper was then layered onto a piece

 of woodgrain paper found in the Paper Pad.  The bottom of the orange dot paper was

 die-cut with the Spellbinders Curved Borders Scallop die and then attached to 

the striped paper mat with foam adhesive.

The snowflake border was also found at Silhouette. It was cut from the same solid 

aqua paper (as the trees in the first card) to measure 4”W.  It was glittered with clear

 glitter and then embellished with small, aqua Candy Dots.

 I hope that you're inspired to try a non-winter theme, throw in a few of your own

die cuts or cutting files to create your own unique cards!

See more ideas on the Basic Grey Blog!

Today is the day!

Release day of the Winter Issue of 

 You can find me on pages 43 and 48 of this issue!

 The winter issue can be viewed in a fully searchable online digital magazine format

 or can be downloaded to your desktop!  Easy, free and full of inspiration!

You won't want to miss :)

I have a set of wonky, but cute "FRAMED SNOWMEN" tags up on the

...and hey, they can also double as ornaments after the gift-giving is done!

To start, I grabbed a few of the "Claus & Co." Chipboard Frames. 

 For each snowman, you'll need a large and small square, as well as a round chipboard

 shape for the head.

 Next, I backed each of the frames with a matching-sized square of patterned paper

 from the 6X6 Paper Pad. 

The heads were covered in an off-white pattern from a section of the "Ho Ho Ho" paper. 

For the noses I used smaller sized hearts from the "Wood Veneer" pack and inked them

 with a burnt orange chalk ink.

 The cheeks were given some blush with pink chalk and black enamel dots 

were used for the eyes. 

To adhere the small and large frame together, simply use a scrap piece of 

heavyweight cardstock or chipboard piece.  Make a bridge at the back with the

 material by gluing one end to the large frame and the other half to the smaller frame.

Now for the fun part...embellishing!  I added different Wood Veneer pieces 

(that I inked with various chalk inks) and then accented the centers with Bradz.  

The smaller alphabet stickers from the "Expressions Cardstock Stickers" 

were used to personalize with the snowmen.

To give a nice, finished look (as well as make into a gift tag), I traced the entire 

snowman onto a piece of cardstock and then trimmed out and glued to the back. 

 Use stickers or fancy hand-writing to add your To and From :)

With a small hole punched at the top, tie some string or twine through and your 

tag-ornament is framed and ready to go!

I hope that you enjoyed this fun Christmas craft and will give it a try!

Claus & Co.- Expressions Cardstock Stickers; Ho Ho Ho Paper; Bradz; 6x6 pad;
Chipboard Frames;

One of my all-time-favorite holiday movies is now in paper form:

Graphic 45 has designed the most lovely and nostalgic artwork that

captures the spirit of Bob Cratchit, Tiny Time and Scrooge perfectly!

And of course, Petaloo's vintage finds like velvet dogwoods and festive

berry picks really help to bring the collection to life!

Here are just a few photos of the mini album that I created:

This is a 12 page album, so come by the Petaloo Blog --HERE-- to see more,
as well as a list of products that I've used to make it.
AND you could **WIN** some terrific goodies...--CLICK HERE-- for details :)

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. 
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
 The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. 
I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

We're having a Merry Christmas decorating with the 

from

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.

.

and they're having a GIVEAWAY on the blog too...don't miss it!

(click on link above)

This trio of Christmas coned-shaped trees will be added to my holiday décor.  

They're just perfect for bookshelves, a fire place mantel or coffee table…make as many as you’d like in different sizes and patterns from the “Have a Merry Christmas” Collection.

 Varying patterns for making cones can be found online, but I found that by cutting 

a piece of 12X12 patterned paper from one corner to its opposite corner
(at a rounded angle) served to make a pretty good cone shape.

  Once you have the paper cut, roll the paper slightly to form the cone shape.  

Secure the two edges with a quick drying liquid glue. 

 If needed, trim around the bottom of the cone so that it will sit flat.

Now for the fun part: decorating the trees!

  I used the ornament stamp from the Happy Christmas Stamp Set,

 Delicata Golden Glitz and Color Box Wild Cherry ink pads and the Santa Claus paper.

  After stamping an equal number of the ornaments in both colors, each were trimmed out. 

 The outer edge of the ornament was used as a guide for where to cut. 

 Next, I used green/red/white twine and tied small bows to the top of each ornament. 

 The tails of the bows were glued to the back of the ornament and then the ornaments

 were attached around the bottom of the largest cone shape. 

 Large enamel dots were added to the center of the ornaments.

 For the focal point of the largest tree, I layered together one of the die-cut

 Ephemera pieces and a label sticker. 

 The piece was attached with a piece of foam adhesive.

The tops of the trees were adorned with a glittered star.
To make the star, I used a few chipboard stars from my stash and covered them
 with patterned paper from the 6×6 Paper Pad.

To decide the height of your trees, go by the length of the paper.
The largest tree shape was cut from a 12X12 paper, so the approximate height of
 this tree is 12” high.  The other two trees were cut from paper that measured
 10.5” and 8.5”; all of the widths were 12”.

Embellish the bottoms with fun trims such as sequined string or pom pom ribbon!

Carta Bella Paper would like to help you embellish some of your Christmas projects!
**Leave a comment on the Carta Bella blog post, (by clicking HERE)**

 and tell them if you’ve already put up your Christmas Tree – or when you plan to –
 and you could be the lucky (randomly chosen) winner of this
 Striped Ornament Die

 which coordinates with the “Have a Merry Christmas” collection!

GOOD LUCK!  This die is the perfect size to make actual tree ornaments with!
XOXOX

Happy Saturday!

I have a few "Juniper Berry" crafts to share with you today

that have been up on the 

First up is a really "COOL" snowman home-decor project:

has the cutest Designer Dies to go with almost

every collection that they create!  

This past week I had a set of "Meow" Cards up:

Come on by the EP blog and see how I put together these

fun, feline 3-D cards!

With Thanksgiving-themed collections hard to find, why not try 

Sun Kissed and its beautiful papers and embellishments for your fall and

 Thanksgiving cards this year!

 First up is a whimsical, homespun “Happy Thanksgiving” card where I used some 

pumpkin dies that I had in my stash…no dies, no worries! Use easy-to-find svg files

 or other templates/punches to achieve a unique look.

 I die-cut each pumpkin twice from the 6X6 “Daybreak” paper (multi floral) and the 

off-white paper (or side B of the “Daybreak” paper). The center of each pumpkin was

 layered with the opposite pattern by trimming away the sides and gluing in place. 

The edges were inked with Memento Potter’s Clay.

Buttons from the Embellishment Pack were hand-stitched to the center of each

 pumpkin before they were added with foam adhesive. I used the small letter stickers

 to spell out “thanksgiving” at the bottom. 

The second card’s inspiration was drawn from the “sending you happy” sticker. It was layered onto the speech bubble sticker with foam adhesive and then attached to the journal card.

 Again, I used a die from my stash to die-cut the word “grateful” from the “Solstice” paper. 

The larger stickers or other svg style sentiments could be used instead. Half inch strips

 of the striped paper were added to the top and bottom of the journal card.

Buttons from the Embellishment Pack were adhered with glue dots and then small

 bows of twine were included.

There are many wonderful patterns and colors found in the Sun Kissed collection that 

can be used for your fall crafting! Check out the Sun Kissed product here:

And more papercrafting ideas on the blog: