Layouts and Christmas Cards

Hi there,

I've been busy making Christmas cards!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

I started off a bit rough, not liking the card layouts and tossing those cards aside, but then a card 

idea came to me... and that's all it took.  I'm on a roll now.  

My desk is a mess!  I only have a small space to work on.  But I know where

everything is though!  :)

I also had time to make two pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.  I can't wait

to dig in to that pie!!!

This is a rather long post, but hang in there, check out the layouts and at the end

are two Christmas cards that I made a week or so ago.

So, for my first layout... which was a submission at Sketch N Scrap http://sketchnscrap.blogspot.com/

for their Sketch Challenge 20.

Here is the sketch, which I rotated counter clockwise.

Here's what I created:

Christmas without my hubby.  :(

Have no fear, his "flat daddy" was with us!!!

Not the best photo... I am having a seriously bad hair day (ewwww)... Dylan is making a funny

face and Andrew is holding "dad" behind him.  Lynn is the only one who looks good!  :)

But it's still my favorite!!

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, Colorbok

Gold Sheer Wire Ribbon

Red Sheer Ribbon

Snowflake

Flowers

Red Cording

Rhinestones: Forever in Time

Font: Cricut Stamped

Cricut

I wandered into a Dollar Store a couple weeks ago and saw a package of these cute

snowflakes... I couldn't resist getting them!

I just added a small flower in the center with a rhinestone.

 This grouping has my title along the side.  I used a trio of flowers on the corner of the

photo.  More rhinestones were added on the smaller flowers and cording was

used for the larger flower.

Here's a closer look at my flower trio.

Ewwww... what in the world did I do to my hair!  It looks awful!  Oh my!!

Ok, so don't focus on that... 

Let's continue on...

Here's a closer look at the sheer ribbons which were layered just under the photo.

My next layout is a FUN one... which was submitted at Colorful Creations http://colorfulcreations.ning.com/

for their Twisted Blueprints Challenge (twistednov).

This is the sketch I had to work with:

The twist was to use paint splatter and a hand made banner on your layout.

Here's what I created:

This is Tom & Geri.  Fat, lazy and happy cats.  Tom is no longer with us, and Geri

is the yo-yo dieting cat.  She gains weight and loses on the same amount of food.

Not sure how this happens.  It seems like twice a year we have to put her on a "diet"

so the Vet won't be freaking about her weight!

I have to coordinate her diet with her Vet visit because her last visit she was a "bit" 

overweight and the Vet was freaking out at how much weight she gained!  Yeah, I know,

she's our fat cat!

Supplies used:

Paper: Imagine That

Twine

Stickers: Memories in the Making

Dome Cat Sticker: Daisy Hill

Folk Art Extreme Glitter Paint/Toothbrush

Pearl Mists: Ranger

I "found" this sticker in my stash and thought it would go so nicely with this page.

I used twine to tie around the top loop.

Cat and Dog stickers... how cool is this?  They come in such fun colors too.

This is my hand made banner.  I strategically cut each banner to show the "meow" words

and the gray and yellow cat.  Isn't it cute?

The banner was misted with the very ends turned up slightly.

I used a toothbrush rubbed in glitter paint and speckled onto the page.

It's so cool when it dries.  You can feel the texture.

Here's a closer look at my banner.

This next layout is a wild one.  I say that because of all the techniques I used and the

wide "variety" of items on my page.

This layout was submitted at Soul Scrappers http://soul-scrappers.ning.com/

for their Birds of a Feather Challenge (SSQ14).

A small packet of "goodies" was mailed to each member who wished to participate

and ALL ITEMS or as much as you can use were to be added on your layout.

This is the list of items I received:

Pink feather

Tree trunk

Tree

Owls

Clouds

Speech bubble

Birdhouse

Two rows of different kinds and colors of trees

An embossed bird

A trio of leaves

I do have to say that once I saw this wild combination of items I had no idea what I was

going to create.  I reflected this dilemma of mine with some members and it was suggested

that I make a card.

That's what I'll do!  So, I got to work trying to fit everything on a small card... no, this

was not going to work.

Back to the layout I went.  I must have cleared my page several times before I finally

came up with something that I like.  The layout is my own creation.

Be warned... there are a LOT of photos because this ended up being

my prized possession!  :)

My work of art!  Lots of dimension, lots of items and a rather cool outcome.

And, I just have to tell you that my layout was FEATURED on Soul Scrappers!!!

So honored and thrilled!!

Supplies used:

Paper: K&Co.

Self-adhesive Ribbon (across the top)

Ribbon

Twine

Clear Plastic Glitter Shapes: Making Memories

Embroidery Flowers

Perfect Pearls Mists: Ranger

Distress Stain: Tim Holtz

Corrugated Cardboard

Sizzix Fence Die

Big Shot

Netting

Ribbon (covered the tree trunk)

Tree: Embossed with Darice Embossing Folder

String Pearls

Tree: covered with gold sheer ribbon

Distressing (birdhouse post)

Watercolor Pencils

Flower "pieces" that look like trees & bushes

Pop Dots

Sentiment: K&Co.

Tweety Bird Sticker

Cheesecloth

Flowers/Leaves

Foam Bubble & Clouds (covered with ribbon)

Computer Font: Parisienne

 This is my flower/bird grouping.  I started with cheesecloth and added leaves

and random flower pieces that I save when I pull apart bouquets of flowers that I

purchase.  One of those pieces serves quite nicely as a branch for the embossed bird

with a googlie eye to sit upon.  The pink feather was tucked behind the upper group of

flowers.  A pop dot was used under the bird.

Self-adhesive ribbon was used along the top portion of the page.

This is my quote, which reads:

Q: What did they call the canary that flew into the pastry dish?

A: Tweetie Pie!

Isn't it cute?  Believe me, I searched high and low for just the right quote.  It was driving me

crazy!  Then it came down to the final two and I finally decided on this one.

The foam bubble was self-adhesive, so I arranged strips of ribbon and flipped the

sticky part onto the ribbon and trimmed around the bubble.  The joke was printed

on cream colored paper and the edges were distressed with stain.

The clear plastic bracket was actually quite glittery and too pink, so I turned it over and it 

changed the color of the bracket to a peachy color with no glitter, which worked

perfectly!

I just had to add this cute tweetie bird to represent the quote!  Isn't he cute!?!?

Under the tweetie is a clear plastic corner.

You can see the random flower piece that had tiny flowers on it and when I pulled them

off I kept this piece... and I'm glad I did because it looks like a small bush!!

The strip of trees were misted.

I used the same technique on the clouds as I did with the speech bubble.

It was rather easy to do... pulling the adhesive off the foam and adhering the ribbon

and trimming around it.  They're so cute!!

I found this quote in my stash and knew I had to use it for this page.

I adhered the sticker to cream paper and stained the edges.

The fence was cut from corrugated cardboard, using a Sizzix die and my Big Shot.  

I started off by staining the fence then misting it.  

Flower pieces, which look like small trees or bushes were hot glued in place and

the fence was adhered to these bulky pieces, leaving it raised, so I didn't need to use pop dots

under it.  I added small embroidery flowers and a bow made with twine.  I twisted a 

small strip of netting and placed it under the strip of trees behind the fence.

Pop dots were used under the owls.  

The other fence was adhered the same way... on the flower pieces that are serving as

trees.  You can see one strip of trees behind the fence and the embroidery cluster.

One of the branches was longer, which served as branches for the two owls.

I recently purchased this tree embossing folder... just in time to use on this page!!

After embossing the tree, I misted it and later put a small amount of stain onto a paper towel

and lightly brushed it over the tree randomly.

The birdhouse was distressed a bit and I added a green post which was distressed.

A closer look at my embossed tree.

I pondered how to create a cool tree.  Then I found this 2-3-inch wide embroidered

ribbon and adhered it to the tree and trimmed the edges.

The the tree itself, I covered it with sheer gold ribbon and then embossed it.

Love how it turned out!

Here's a closer look at the row of trees on a small strip of cardstock.  I started off by

adding string pearls for each tree trunk.  The trees were colored lightly using watercolor

pencils.  You can just barely see the netting under the fence.

This is a much better photo of the trees.

Had to show you a closer look at the cute bird on a branch!  :)

Hope you liked the journey through my layouts.

Now... drum roll.... here are a couple of my Christmas cards.

Yay!

My first card was submitted at Sketches 4 All  http://sketchesforyou.ning.com/

for their November Card Challenge - Sentiments.

The challenge was to use as many sentiments on a card as you can.

I also used a S4A sketch.

Here's my card:

I really liked how this turned out, even though I was quite skeptical on how I was going to

used a "bunch" of sentiments on my card!

Using the SU stamp set made it a breeze!!

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White Cardstock

Sheer Ribbon

Inks: A la mode Blue, Studio g Green, Studio g Red

Pop Dots

Sentiments: Stampin' Up! Sparkling Sayings

And now, my final card for today.

I made a similar card which was also submitted at Sketches 4 All, but this card was

not submitted.

If only I had more of these poinsettia tags!  These are the cards I could've made all

my Christmas cards with!!

Supplies used:

Paper: DCWV, White Cardstock

Ribbon

Poinsettia Tag w/Gem (which I used as a die cut)

Inks: A la mode Black, A la mode Green, A la mode Red

Sentiment: Inkadinkadoo

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed your visit so much that you'll return again and again!  

Libby  :)