Boo! Three Ways

Hello crafty people! So, I will admit that I have been a rather bad blogger lately, but I’ve still been working on things and I have THREE cards to share today!

Two noticeable things, I used my Cricut and I used some new photo editing effects to play up the Halloween theme. I really like the fading effect, but it does make the photos darker so by all means, let me know if you don’t like it.

My good friend Norma and I were chatting one night and she pretty much told me I should make a card using my Cricut. Well, I decided that I wanted to work on my design skills, so I used the same image and sentiment in a series of cards. I started with something simple, and worked my way up to something more involved. I have to be honest and admit that if I were just going to make one card, my first inclination is to always make it very involved.

What I ended up doing was using a few select patterns, textures, colors, and embellishments in different ways. The chevron from the ribbon the first card inspired the use of the chevron paper on the second and third cards. The first card had a black base, but instead of using a black base on the second card, I used a pattern that was mainly black. And, on the third card, I used the same patterned paper (stars) to punch out the pattern, to tie is back to the second card. Lather, rinse, repeat!!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a blessed day!

Vintage Halloween Tags & Bow Tutorial

Hello everyone! I cannot believe it’s already September. Before you know it, the Holidays will creep up on us. I was at work yesterday and I saw that the company is sending the first part of our Holiday collection at the end of this month. Eeek!

Today’s project was planned during the week I guest designed on Everyday Cricut. I wanted to revisit the tags I made, and change them up a bit.

Yes, I finally made another video! And, one thing I discovered when I was editing is that I’m not as uncomfortable as I thought. I’m trying to branch out and grow, so I know that one of the next steps for me is sharing more of my creative process.

I did not film the entire process of making these because the video would have been way too long. So, I wanted to mention that for these tags, I backed the window with vellum that I stamped and embossed a pattern on . Then I basically adhered the card so that it simply became a tag.

Before I leave, I wanted to let you all know about something new that the MCT team is doing every Tuesday. We’re showcasing different techniques. So, please stop by My Creative Time today to hop along.

As always, I thank you all for stopping by. I wish you a very blessed day!

Hi

Howdy! I hope everyone is having an awesome week. I’ve been super busy with work, but I carved out a bit of time to make this card, and complete another (which you will see soon).

Today’s card is being featured on the Platinum Scraps blog. I encourage you to visit to see my design team member’s take on this week’s card sketch.

I pretty much followed the sketch, but I wanted to do more than add patterned paper. Initially, I was going to do all of my pennants with ribbon, but I had these scraps laying on my work table, and I really like to use as much of my supplies as I can.

I really love using painted corrugated cardboard on my cards. It’s inexpensive and I think it packs a lot of punch. I tried to take good macro shots in order for you all to see the different colors. I painted it with acrylic paint that I bought from Jo-Ann. The colors I used were Vanilla, Lemon Ice, Grey, and Robbin’s Egg Blue. The green you see is the blue and yellow combined. I never imagined myself a paint artist, but I have a lot of fun when I do this. I’m sure you’ll see more of this in the future.

My card base is Rustic Cream from Papertrey Ink. I used the “Be Happy,” stamp set from the My Mind’s Eye Follow Your Heart collection to stamp the doilies and butterflies. The inks are Chamomile, Sugar, and Blue Sage Fresh Inks.

The patterned paper is also from the, “Be Happy,” collection. Again, I used scraps from previous projects. I find that I love this kind of color scheme, so I don’t mind using the same papers. The jute pennant is Offray. I took the pencil I keep in my craft caddy to curl the pennants and I used hot glue to secure them – it allows them to remain curled.

I round the corners of my cardboard element (and card base) with my Corner Chomper using the 1/2” setting and secured it with hot glue as well. Oh, I used Lemon Tart twill tape to tie a bow around the bottom portion. I also added an Aqua Mist vintage button that I threaded with some jute twine.

I used my Martha Stewart 3-in-1 Classic Butterfly punch to punch butterflies out of the same My Mind’s Eye Papers, and some Recollections yellow gingham. And to complete the card with a simple sentiment, I used some American Crafts foam Thickers in the Lullaby font. The color is Sunflower – a bit bright, but I can totally live with that.

That’s pretty much it. A pretty simple card to put together. I thank you for stopping by, and as always, I wish you a blessed day.

Stars and Stripes

Hello Friends! I am here with another card to usher in the weekend, AND I have an announcement. A little less than a month ago, I received an email from a dear friend that wanted to know if I was available for a design team position. So, just to cut to the chase, I am now a member of the Platinum Scraps Design Team!

I think my readers that have connected with me through Facebook or from the Cricut board know that I am not your mainstream paper crafter. I am male, which is rare, but I am also African American, which is basically a double whammy in the paper world! Platinum Scraps is a team of African American scrappers and card makers. My thought is that maybe there is another African American, male crafter waiting to be inspired, so it is with great pleasure that I join the team.

Now, for today’s card! I think for the first time, I made a card based on a sketch – maybe the second time. It’s not generally how I go about creating, but nonetheless, I tried to put my own spin on it! You can see the sketch an get all of the details by going over to the Platinum Scraps blog.

I’m calling my card Stars and Stripes – the design evolved kind of effortlessly. I even glittered the rosette without making a gigantic mess! I know that when I first got into crafting, glitter was one of my first purchases. I think I have maybe 6 colors, but they rarely see the light of day. I will admit that I am quite partial to the Martha Stewart Crafts glitter. I dare say it is the best on the market. I digress!

My card base is Soft Stone from Papertrey Ink. Until they release a medium toned gray, this is my absolute favorite. I used my Distress Stripes Cuttlebug embossing folder to give my Spring Rain layer texture, and to embody the stripes of the flag. From there, I selected some patterned papers. The antiqued book print is from an oldie, but a goodie, Lost & Found Portobello Road by My Mind’s Eye. I used some Tsukineko Gold Shimmer Spritz and water so I could ball and crinkle the paper. I dried it with my heat tool and ripped the bottom edge. I also did a bit of inking with my Antique Linen Distress ink. I adhered it to my card and did a bit of stitching with some red thread.

Next, I adhered another pattern from the Portobello Road pad. I rounded the corners with my Corner Chomper. The ribbon is gold satin from Offray. The Distressed Stars and Handkerchief (the rosette) are from Hobby Lobby. I added the postage stamp border for two reasons: first and foremost, I like the way it looks, and second, it’s thin paper. I also did a bit more stitching.

I used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board to make the rosette. I cut two 1.25” x 11” strips and scored them at every half inch. I glittered it with Jasper glitter, again from Martha Stewart. It’s a beautiful deep red that has incredible depth. It’s dark, but there is definitely a lot of glimmer as well.

My sentiment is from Here’s Lookin’ at You, from My Creative Time. I absolutely love the font combination that Emma used in this set. I used my Versamark Dazzle Frost ink to stamp my sentiment and I embossed it with Gold Metallic Zing embossing powder from American Crafts. I am happy to add that I finally have an embossing buddy! No more dryer sheets!

Thanks for stopping by. Have an amazing weekend (I’ll be working.)!! And, have the most blessed day!

Gingham and Toile

Hey there! It’s been a while since I posted a card just because I was inspired to create. That’s not to say that I’m not inspired with my other cards, but the card that I made for today is very good testament to who I am and to my favorite style.

Before I share my card, I’d like to share some inspiration photos that I found while Pinteresting:

Gideon Mendelson Design via Design Chic

Credit

Ginger Barber via Cote de Texas

As I have mentioned before, my first love is interior design. One of these days I hope to spend my time designing beautiful spaces as well as cards! I’m pretty patient, and I am sure God has a greater plan than I can even imagine.

A few months ago, I ordered a Papertrey Ink set that I had wish-listed, Button Boutique, and I was finally able to put it to use.  I combined it with Background Basics: Gingham, and some toile Paper Studio paper from Hobby Lobby to design this shabby card:

So, I have to confess that I have a total love affair with felt. It’s not the most luxurious of fabrics, but I love that it adds a bit of a soft texture to my projects. I will say that the non-synthetic variety is better for die cutting, but for uses like my button card, my craft felt worked fine. By the way, I used the Scalloped Circle die from My Creative Time to make my flower. The buttons are from Papertrey Ink.

I will say that I deviated from my normal process when I made this card. Since my flower was made previously, I started by stamping the gingham pattern onto a strip of Lemon Tart. Yellow is one of my most favorite colors – especially soft yellow. When it is the right shade, it can be incredibly neutral.

Next, I trimmed my toile paper. The sizing came to be about 4” x 2.5” – my focus was on the imagery within the pattern. I knew I wanted that particular vignette. Then I cut a strip of Aqua Mist – actually, it might have been a scrap, but I embossed it with the Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug folder. Starting with my patterned paper, I adhered them all directly to a Spring Moss card base. I stitched the seam between the papers with red Coats & Clark thread. I then went back and stitched around the border with my normal cream thread (also Coats & Clark – I will only use that or Güttermann).

To soften the edges and give the card a bit of a weathered look, I took a foam brush and swiped on some vanilla paint from Jo-Ann. I then cut a Wilton doily in half and adhered it over the embossed portion. After that I ruffled some Antique White Offray grosgrain ribbon over were it met the gingham portion and went back it with my sewing machine to add a zigzag detail.

My button card was stamped with Early Espresso ink from Stampin’ Up! I don’t have the coordinating die at the moment, so I used my trimmer to trim it, and I then adhered it to a piece of Aqua Mist. And I then adhered that with a little Beacon’s 3-in-1 to my felt. Back to the sewing machine with red thread for a little stitching! More vanilla paint, some brown baker’s twine from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique, and my flower completed it!

I really love how it came together! Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day!

For You–Monday Madness Imagine That!

Hey there crafty peeps! It is Monday and I am here with a vintage inspired Imagine card. The theme for this week’s challenge is, “happiness.” Emma wanted us to create a project based on something that makes us happy. There are a lot of things that make me happy, but quite a few of them do not necessarily translate into card making. I’ve been wanting to use the Kate’s Kitchen Imagine cartridge for a while now. It has a very retro/vintage look, and y’all know that I love me some vintage stuff! What else makes me happy? Coffee, so vintage and coffee make an awesome combination for a card!

Okay, so for the sake of full disclosure. I kind of made a mistake during the beginning stages of making the card. I planned to do some random zig-zag stitching with red thread, but I couldn’t because I put my adhesive on the edges of the patterned paper. Adhesive and sewing are enemies! If you get into sewing on your projects, you only need to use a small amount of adhesive – and put it towards the center of whatever you’re adhering down.

Now, the details! My card is a standard A2 cut into a portrait style. The base is Spring Moss. All of the patterned paper was printed from the Kate’s Kitchen Imagine cartridge. I also inked all of the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. For the doily, I blended Antique Linen and Old Paper. I highly recommend buy a package of these doilies. They are super cheap and there’s like 40 in the package.

I made this card for a specific reason. We’re FINALLY getting a Starbucks in my little Alabama town, and I have a coworker that loves coffee just as much as I do, so when they open, I plan to insert a gift card into mini bag. I love that it functions as an embellishment AND a holder. The bags that I use are made by Canvas Corp.

The diecut that my cup is mounted on is actually a cut from Kate’s Kitchen as well. It is located on page 26. I actually intended to use the printed cut, but it was a hot mess, so I turned it over and stamped it with a polka dot in Real Red ink. I diecut the cup from Coffee Break in Lemon Tart cardstock and the sleeve was cut from Aqua Mist. I stamped the sleeve with the coordinating stamp in Crumb Cake ink. I used my heart punch – another item that I highly recommend, to add another pop of red. At the very end, I decided to cover it with some Glossy Accents.

My sentiment is from Teeny Tag Greetings. I stamped it with Early Espresso. Oh, I tied a bow with some red gingham ribbon from Offray. I am so happy that I finally got to use it. I think it is just the perfect touch.

Okay, so I am going to just stop typing now. I know my posts are kind of like information overload, but I know that I personally like to read how people make their cards when I visit their blogs, so I keep that in mind when I write my posts.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an amazingly blessed day (and week)!

My Creative Time May Blog Hop

Howdy! You should have made your way here from the amazing Tracy’s blog, if not start at our great leader’s blog. here: My Creative Time.

We have come to the end of another great release, and I have one more card to share with you all. I made this for a special little girl and I had so much fun making it.

I had a friend from college that posted about her daughters 3rd birthday, and since she always comments on my cards on Facebook, I offered to make her daughter a card and send it to her. She told me that her favorite color was purple, and it just so happens that I have been really into this light lavender tone for a while now. I try to tailor my color choices to the season, but I have definitely figured out my own personal go-to palette. It’s something that I have come to figure out recently.

So, after that, I went on the hunt for a few patterned papers. I ended up using the colorful polka dot from the DCWV Nana’s Kids Stack and some elements from the Celebration stack. I cut out the little bingo card and 3 square. From there it just kind of came together in no time.

I used Celebrate Good Times again. I am in LOVE with this set. I know that in my own personal collection that I really needed a great birthday set. I used the coordinating dies once again, but I chose to make the cupcake this time. Once I got the card together, I went over the embossed lines with some Crystal Stickles.

GIVEWAY ALERT

In honor of Emma's Birthday month, she has decided to give away 12 "Surprise" Gift bags full of goodies!  All you have to do is leave a comment here & for MORE CHANCES, leave a comment on ALL blogs in this hop!  Also leave a way for us to contact you! Emma will use random.org to pick the 12 LUCKY winners from ALL THE COMMENTS COMBINED!!! So, you actually have 22 chances to win~!  Again, All you have to do is leave a comment on all blogs in this hop for more chances to win! The deadline is Sunday, May 20th at midnight! EASY PEASY!!! GOOD LUCK!:)

Blog Hop Line Up

Emma

Amy

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy B.

Cindy L.

Glora

Jeanne

Katie

Kim

Leanne

Liz

Micia

Nancy

Nikki

Rosy

Ruthie

Shar

Tracy

Trell (You’re here!)

Veronica

Carrie

Thanks so much coming by, I truly appreciate it! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and a super blessed day!00

Monday Madness . . . Imagine That!

Hello all! Happy Monday and welcome to another Imagine That! This week, we’re doing things a little different and we’re making it a color challenge.

Imagine Color Challenge: Black, White, Gray & Pink.

Using the colors above I made this card with some printed patterns from my Imagine the the Teresa Collins Black & White pattern cartridge.

As usual, my card is  standard A2. I used True Black cardstock for my base. I cut a white mat from my Georgia Pacific cardstock and sewed the gray and black scroll patterned mat to it with some black there. I adhered that to my card base.

I printed the polka dot pattern on some gray cardstock and I decided it use it to break up the intricate backdrop. But I wanted to do it with a little pattern and one that made sense. Also, I wanted a small accent of pink, so I punch a scallop border with my Scallop Sentiment punch and adhered it to the polka dot strip. By the way, it measures 4.25” x 1.5”. I then adhered that directly to the card, doing my best the center it.

I cut the stock top not from the Imagine in True Black and again with a floral patterned on some pink cardstock. I use dimensional adhesive to adhered them together and set them aside. I use some satin and sheer Offray ribbon to tie a bow on the card. I simply cut a slit on the side to feed the ribbon through. I used VersaMark Dazzle to stamp my sentiment and embossed it with black Zing embossing powder. My sentiment hails from the latest MCT release You Are Perk-fect. I wanted to show that sentiments are versatile.

To bring it all together, I adhered the top notes to the card with more dimensional adhesive, and I used some liquid adhesive to adhere my sentiment on top. I printed some butterflies from Storybook with the Black and White patterns and I decided to include them as well. Some pink rhinestones, Prima flourishes, and silver Shimmer Spritz finished it off!

Thanks so much for coming by. Have a blessed day!!

Elegant Treat Box

Hello everyone! This is my second post of the day. If you’re looking for my blog hop post, click here.

I have a super quick post using some My Creative Time products. I am in love with the new Bubblegum Treat Box Die, and I wanted to show that one can make adult appropriate things with it. In my mind, yellow, gray, and black equals an elegant Valentine!

The paper is from the DCWV Lemon Flower Stack. I think the only place to get this is Jo-Ann. I cut out the stitched heart from 100% Sweetness and stamped the coordinating love stamp with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I then stamped, “Be My Sweetie,” in Tuxedo Black.

So, am I crazy, or does it work? I’m contemplating making these for coworker. I won’t be asking any of them to be my sweetie though!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed weekend!

Rosie’s Rocking 45th Birthday Blog Hop!

Hello everyone! Me along with five wonderful ladies are hopping to help Rosie from Scrap Loving Mini’s celebrate her 45th birthday! If you didn’t start with Rosie’s blog, I made her blog title into a link to to get you to the right place.

Here is the card I made for Rosie. I bought this Echo Park collection earlier this month and I was saving it for today. I really hope that Rosie likes it!

The card is a standard A2 and is True Black from Papertrey Ink. The floral pattern and the black polka dot are from the Echo Park For the Record Collection. I used a flourish stamp set that I’ve had for a while now and Bermuda Bay ink to give a backdrop for the sentiment. I use Think Big Favorites #12 for the sentiment. If you can’t tell, it’s embossed with black Zing embossing powder and I realize now that I used regular VersaMark instead of my normal Dazzle in Frost. It makes a difference!

To embellish the card, I tied a double bow with some red sating ribbon and used a variety of yellow and red roses from Recollections and I Am Roses.

Blog Candy

I’ve decided to give the winner a choice of three things for my blog candy! And here are the choices:

1. $10.00 Gift Card to Jo-Ann
2. $10.00 Gift Card to Hobby Lobby
3. A stamp set of your choice from My Creative Time

The only requirement is that you leave a comment here with a way for me to contact you AND leave a comment on Rosie’s blog wishing her a happy birthday. You don’t have to follow me or anything of that nature.

Hop Line Up

1. Rosie - http://www.scraplovingminis.blogspot.com

2. Kari - http://purplefuntastickcreations.blogspot.com/

3. Zeni - http://www.scrappyzeni.com

4. Trell - http://polkadotsandpaint.blogspot.com (you’re here)

5. Rosa – http://craftsbyrosa.blogspot.com (next stop)

6. Lena - http://lenascreations.blogspot.com

7. Gloria – http://www.omascrafts.blogspot.com

That’s all for me today. I wish everyone a blessed weekend, and Rosie I hope you have a wonderfully blessed birthday!

Happy Graduation–MCT Sneak Peaks Day #2

Happy Tuesday everyone and welcome to day two of the My Creative Time January release sneaks. Emma has put together another great release this month. Getting right into it, I have a card to share with you all using More Gift Card Sentiments.

I knew I wanted to make a card with a fresh color combination. I’ve been really feeling yellow and blue as of late, and I didn’t want to make another vintage looking card. I used patterned paper from the A Walk in the Park collection from Echo Park as the starting point, and from there, I decided that I wanted to use a butterfly somewhere. The orange scalloped border strip is from the collection’s element sticker sheet. and I purchased the felt butterflies from the Spring seasonal isle at Hobby Lobby last year.

My card base is your standard A2. It’s Recollections Kraft. I trimmed the blue patterned mat to 4” x 5.25.” The yellow label die cut is a stock image from my Cricut Imagine. It’s Lemon Tart from Papertrey Ink. I’ve had that color for quite a while, but I’ve been reluctant to use it because I wanted the ribbon to coordinate with the cardstock. I ordered the ribbon on Sunday night and I can’t wait until it comes in. The green mat is from the Echo Park collection and the labels are cut at 3” and 2.8” respectively. I stamped my sentiment with Chicken Feed dye ink from Jenni Bowlin. I love her inks, the cover great and the colors are amazing. I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch a hole on the left side of the sentiment banner and I tied a bow with some yellow gingham Offray ribbon.

Since cash is a normal gift for graduates, I thought it would be a great idea to use the Embossed Gift Card Holder as a pocket to keep the bills secure. Unfortunately, I don’t have any cash on my person to demonstrate this. I‘m 100% committed to using my debit card and pretty much the only time I get cash is when I get my hair cut. My mom fusses at me all the time about it. Anyway, I digress! I used Gift Card Sentiments to stamp on the gift card holder, and I used more of the scalloped border sticker and a flower to dress it up a little.

Sneak Peek Giveaway Time!
With all of our Sneak Peek weeks, Emma likes to do some FUN giveaways!

All you have to do is leave comments on our blogs! You do NOT have to comment on every blog, BUT if you do, you will just have more chances to win!

SPREAD THE WORD TO THE WORLD ON FACEBOOK about this release & whatever connections you may have! Let us know on "My Creative Time's" FB page here http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/My-Creative-Time/364568506334 that you did so! OR you can just tag me in your post!

Emma will randomly pick & announce all winners on Friday, January 21st during this AWESOME release happening @ 12:01am PST in her video! GOOD LUCK!

Log onto to your Facebook now & let start spreading word!;)

That’s all for me, but I will be back on Thursday. Have a blessed day!

MCT 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day #11

Hey there! We’re on day 11 of our 12 days – can you believe it? Welcome and hopefully, you made it here from Tracy’s blog, if not, start at Emma’s blog: My Creative Time.

So, I had to go into work unexpectedly yesterday and after that, my mom and I went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping, I am sooo incredibly broke right now! Anyway, I decided to make my project for today sweet and simple. I love the chewy peppermint from Brach, so I raided the cabinet and dug out the little paint can from my stash for a little treat bucket.

Again, not a whole lot involved in making this, so you could turn out a bunch in not time at all. Had I not been Facebooking with Nikki and Shar, I would have been finished in minutes. The little paint can came from Michael’s. I think I might have paid $1.00 for it. The ribbon I used came from Jo-Ann and it was left over from last year. I simply wrapped it around the can and secured it with some sticky strip from Thermoweb. I used My Creative Time’s Fancy Frame Die and the Scallop and Stitched Circle Die set to create my embellishment. The candy cane paper is from Echo Park’s Merry Christmas Collection. Really love this collection. The scallop was cut out of Kelly Green felt. And the stitched circle was cut out of Kraft. I stamped, “Happy Holidays,” with Cherry Cobbler ink from Stampin’ Up. This sentiment comes from All Around Christmas.

I adhered the frame die cut with more sticky strip. I used dimensional adhesive and hot glue to secure the stitched circle to the scalloped felt diet cut. And hot glue to secure it to the frame. To finish it off, I took some more of the stitched green ribbon and some red grosgrain to tie some knots.

***12 Days of Christmas Give Away Alert***

To qualify for ALL the AMAZING giveaways for the next 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop! You will have until Tues, Dec 13th @ midnight to have all of your comments in! VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE LEAVE A WAY FOR US TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE WINNER'S!

There are some AMAZING giveaways for this special 12 day event & some SURPRISES to help celebrate "My Creative Time's" One Year Anniversary! Yep, Emma released her 1st set of stamps one year ago! So make sure you are tuned in because this is ONE hop you do NOT want to miss!;)

Blog Hop Line-up:

Emma

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy

Glora

Jeanne

Katie

Leanne

Linsey

Liz

Nancy

Nikki

Rosy

Ruthie

Shar

Tracy

Trell (you’re here)

Veronica (Next stop)

Thanks so much for coming by! Have a blessed day!

MCT 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day #9

Hey there! If you arrived here from Tracy’s blog, you’re on the right track. If not, start at Emma’s blog here: My Creative Time.

For my project today, I decided to work on another tag design. I decided to incorporate the design of the card I did for the first day into my tag. The colors really match our Christmas decorations and since I already had the paper printed I figured why not.

I sized the tag using my Gypsy. It’s cut from Kraft cardstock and I stamped the background with my Background Basics: Houndstooth stamp in VersaMark Dazzle. I then embossed with with clear embossing powder. The papers are from Mr. Frosty. I used the holly pattern to make a rosette and I used the pink snowflake pattern as my layer. The rosette was made with two 1.25” x 8” strips of paper and I scored ever 1/4.” I used my Curly Label die and felt the make a medallion for the rosette. My sentiment is from Gift Card Sentiments. It’s stamped on ivory cardstock from the Paper Company.

I used my polka dot background stamp and Melon Mambo ink to add dots to the background of my patterned layer. The green scallops were cut from Colorbox cardstock that I got from Wal-Mart. I got another Fiskars Scallop Sentiment punch. I cannot live without a scalloped border punch!! I tied some twine around bottom of the card and a bow around the top.

Before I adhered the rosette to the front of the tag, I used the to and from stamps and Melon Mambo ink, to stamp the back of the tag. These are going to go on a few select gifts as I don’t think I can handle making that many rosettes!

***12 Days of Christmas Give Away Alert***

To qualify for ALL the AMAZING giveaways for the next 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop! You will have until Tues, Dec 13th @ midnight to have all of your comments in! VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE LEAVE A WAY FOR US TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE WINNER'S!

There are some AMAZING giveaways for this special 12 day event & some SURPRISES to help celebrate "My Creative Time's" One Year Anniversary! Yep, Emma released her 1st set of stamps one year ago! So make sure you are tuned in because this is ONE hop you do NOT want to miss!;)

Blog Hop Line-up:

Emma

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy

Glora

Jeanne

Katie

Leanne

Linsey

Liz

Nancy

Nikki

Ruthie

Shar

Tracy

Trell (you’re here)

Veronica (Next stop)

Thanks so much for coming by! Have a blessed day!

MCT 12 Days of Christmas ~ Day #8

Hello everyone! If you arrived here from Tracy’s amazing blog, you’re on the right track. If not, start at Emma’s blog here: My Creative Time.

Okay, so for the sake of full disclosure, I was totally planning on posting something else (mini recipe album) today, but I haven’t been feeling well. I did come up with a card for today and I have to say that it’s very different from what I’m used to doing, but I totally like it.

If you can’t tell, it’s clear! I really didn’t want to do a lot of extra embellishing (Do I ever?) because I really wanted the base of the card to be a focal point of sorts. It’s a standard A2 sized card. I ordered a designer paper pack from Stampin’ Up a while ago and this was in the pack. When I ordered it, I didn’t realize two of the sheets were acetate. I figured I would never used them, but a little light bulb went off and I’m glad I went with it.

Because it’s clear, you have to adhere mats to the inside for a message. But, I didn’t want my adhesive to be seen on the back, so I adhered a 3.375” x 5” mat to the back  of the card and then ANOTHER to the inside of the card. If none of this makes any kind of sense, let me know in the comments and I will make this card on video as soon as I feel better.

For the front, I adhered a 2.5” x 4.25” patterned mat the the front of the card with Zots.  Again, I did not want the adhesive to be seen, so I used my Fiskars Apron Lace border punch and punched two 2.25” wide strips. I secured them to the inside of the base to cover the Zots. My patterned paper is from the Merry Christmas collection from Echo Park. I used My Creative Time’s, “Gift Card Sentiments,” for my sentiment. I am so in love with the font Emma used for this set. I am a big fan of writing in cursive, and when I was a student, I always had the best handwriting. I think I won best handwriting from 5th until 8th grade. All the girls with pretty handwriting were jealous, I know it. Anyway, my sentiment was stamped on a Fancy Frame die cut, also from My Creative Time. I used Cherry Cobbler ink from Stampin’ Up. It’s probably my favorite red ink at the moment. To finish the card up, I took some dark green grosgrain and tied a bow! Easy peasy!

***12 Days of Christmas Give Away Alert***

To qualify for ALL the AMAZING giveaways for the next 12 days, you must comment on every blog in this hop! You will have until Tues, Dec 13th @ midnight to have all of your comments in! VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE LEAVE A WAY FOR US TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE WINNER'S!

There are some AMAZING giveaways for this special 12 day event & some SURPRISES to help celebrate "My Creative Time's" One Year Anniversary! Yep, Emma released her 1st set of stamps one year ago! So make sure you are tuned in because this is ONE hop you do NOT want to miss!;)

Blog Hop Line-up:

Emma

Cassandra

Cathryn

Cindy

Glora

Jeanne

Katie

Leanne

Linsey

Liz

Nancy

Nikki

Rosy

Ruthie

Shar

Tracy

Trell (you’re here)

Veronica (Next stop)

Thanks so much for coming by! Have a blessed day!