Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

My granddaughter, Claire Todd, turned 8 yesterday. She shares her birthday with her cousin (my oldest grandchild). Nicholas turned 18 yesterday. I only have four grandchildren, but I've been blessed with wonderful ones. They are all happy, bright, intelligent, and of course, handsome/beautiful children. Claire is the only granddaughter and is the youngest of my four -- can you say pampered?

She asked for an easel card for her birthday. I'd made her Mommy one in August, and Claire thought it was so very neat. Of course, Claire is quite the little crafter and artist herself, so she notices things such as easel cards with a special eye, and appreciates the workmanship that goes into making them.

Although I fussed and fumed for days trying to figure out what I wanted to do for the easel card, I finally came up with this one.  (I did report my Muses to Santa and asked he put them on the naughty list because they were definitely misbehaving and not helping me as they should.) The little image is a Magnolia stamp on Cryogen paper. I coloured it using my Copic markers and then fussy cut around. The background paper is from my stash, and I'm sorry I cannot tell you the manufacturer. The doily little Tilda is sitting upon is cut from a Spellbinder die. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The lace on the side is manufactured by Wright, but I don't know where I bought it.

You can't see them in the above photo, but there are small flowers on the circular sentiment, and I used teeny-tiny pearls for the centers, and I placed two larger pearls in the upper left corner of the strip above the ribbon. I also added a scallop of pearls on each corner of the bottom layer. The scallops of pearls are by Recollections and come on quite a substancial roll. I bought them at Michael's Crafts. They did finish off that lower part of the card quite nicely I think.  My birthday message to Claire is hidden in the area you can't see once the easel is standing.

So that's it. My little girl is no longer a baby. In fact, she informed her Mommy that she can now legally ride in the car without a  safety booster seat. Sigh! Another milestone passed (grin). 

No Post Today

Well, that isn't totally true as I am sharing a picture (and hopefully link) to a wonderfully fantastic opportunity to win some lovely blog candy. A very talented lady by the name of Julie Price is celebrating her six months blog-aversary and is offering the above package to one lucky person (drawing on 15 Dec. 2011).

Julie is a very talented artist. I think you will enjoy seeing all of her beautiful creations -- cards to decor -- so plan on being at Julie's site for some time (do take the time to look at all of her older posts as you won't want to miss ANYTHING). I plan to add the link to my sidebar for Julie's blogcandy, but just in case it doesn't work, here is the address: http://julieprice3.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/6-month-blog-candy/

Good luck!

So Much To Do -- So Little Time

My last post was titled "Beginning to look a lot like Christmas" but I didn't share anything Christmasy, so I thought I'd make up for it a little bit today. The month is fast filling up with projects I need to get done, baking that doesn't "need" to be done but would be sorely missed if I don't do it, school programs to watch, birthdays and lots more. I think I have finished off making enough Christmas cards, but of course, still need to get them addressed, little personal notes added and most importantly, off to the post office.

The above photos show a wee bit of our holiday decor. If you look closely at the tree, you  can catch a glimpse or two of some of the hand painted ornments I did. I also painted the two stockings some years back but didn't quite finish off the project. Had planned on adding a "cuff" to the top of each, and Father Christmas (the larger of the two stockings) never got his robe finished off. None-the-less, they hang on the mantle as they have for the past number of years.

We have cut down on the amount of decorating that we used to do. We used to put up a number of different "theme" trees (the one you see is all Santa ornaments, but also have enough snowmen ornaments and angel ornaments to do up similar sized trees). Also used to decorate every room in the house. We down sized our dwelling space significantly 11 years ago when we moved here to Georgia, so decorating also down sized. We still do enough to be festive and, as my husband says, to keep us from turning into old Scrooges (big grin)!

At any rate, sitting here posting isn't ticking anything off my list, so since I started this post bemoaning the number of things I need to get accomplished, I'd best sign off for now. Isn't the Christmas season truly wonderful?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

OK, so the little card I'm sharing has nothing to do with Christmas; however, the hubby and I have spent the past two days putting up our decorations and getting ready for the holidays. Well, we did take time out yesterday to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary with a nice date that included a lovely dinner and a movie. (I know, such a sedate celebration, but you know we ARE over 50, eh?) I also took time out today to make the above little card for a dear friend who recently had surgery.

I do so adore those little House Mouse images. I remember reading somewhere that the artist paid her way through college with those little images. So see, mice can be nice (grin). My younger daughter actually had quite a cute little rodant as a pet at one time. We also went through a number of hamsters (which are actually meaner) as well. Those days are past now, and I do think I much prefer the rubber stamp variety of mice at this stage in my life.

At any rate, this little card will go postal tomorrow (along with a gift for my oldest grandson who will soon be turning 18). I hope my friend will quicky and properly heal and that this little card will bring her a smile.

Went a Little Wild

Yesterday I went a little wild in the craft room. I had this little image from Cuddly Buddly (out of the UK) already colored up. I had put Stickles on his cap and on the star and wasn't really happy with the results. He is an adorable little St. Nick, and I felt, after the Stickles had dried, that I should have kept him a little more simple and primative. So, with that being said, I decided to go all the way with the glitzing him up.

I cut the red background using a die by QuicKutz. The square was too small to place the little image in the middle, so I turned the die cut so the scallops could be seen at the top, bottom and sides. I then ran a piece of Christmas ribbon through the two corner loops and secured the ribbon to the back. I added a matching bow and then "went wild." The poinsettia flower is by Wild Orchid Crafts. I added Stickles to the poinsettia (taking a brush and spreading it over the entire area). I then added the red glitter leaves behind the flower. They came from a bunch that I purchased from Michael's Crafts. 

The results are a bit glitzy for the jolly old man, but I had lots of fun experimenting with this little card. 

Muses Still Stuffed

I think my Muses are still stuffed from yesterday's celebration and feasting. They are working a bit sluggish today. Finished this little card using an image that I had already colored (in fact, have several). I really wanted the image panel to be oval, but the image is too large for my Spellbinder dies (should have decreased the size before I printed and colored -- one of these days I'll figure that out -- grin). Anyway. . .

The image is a freebie (always love those, right??) from Cuddly Buddly. It is by Karen Middleton. The sentiment is also a freebie from Cuddly Buddly.  I colored the image using my Copic Markers (G99/94, YR24/23/Y15, R46/59). The card base is white layered over with a patterned paper of subtle holly leaves. I placed a band of deep red cut using a Martha Stewart punch and used solid green for matting of the image and the sentiment. The image matting (scallop) is cut with one of my Spellbinder dies. The poinsettia flower at the top is by K&Co. Quick, easy, nice -- 

Tis the Season for Giving

I have found another wonderful crafter who is giving away a package of wonderful blog candy. You really need to hop over to her blog and check it out. Who wouldn't love to get some new paper, inks and images -- not to mention those lovely little roses? Our generous crafter is called Kate, and she is celebrating 600 followers (I was happy to get a dozen - grin). Her URL is http://downrightcrafty.blogspot.com/p/good-evening-to-you-all-in-land-of-blog.html and I know that you will enjoy a visit to her blog. Good luck!