12 Days of Christmas

Hi there dear and very special friends!!!! Happy December 1st!!!! I hope the beginning of the Holiday Season finds you healthy and very happy!!! I am thankful for each and every one of you!

BethieJ over at Papertrey Ink suggested that we have our own version of the 12 days of Christmas and I thought it would be fun to play along!!! For the next 12 days, I will be posting ideas for Christmas goodies, gifts and decorations!! I hope you don't mind if I post a few of my favorites along with my new ideas!!! Check out the PTI forums for more ideas!! The people at PTI are amazing!!!!

Day 1:

A visit from the Jolly Old Head Elf Himself!!!

Here is a quick and easy tutorial to make your very own Santa Ornament:

Supplies:

Patterned Paper cut in a quarter circle:

Wood Beads

Curly Doll Hair

Pom Poms

Felt

Decorative Cording or Ribbon

Markers

Hot Glue Gun

Holly punch

Stickles

1. Draw a face on your wooden bead with a marker. It doesn’t have to be perfect as most of the face will be covered with the Jolly Old Elf’s beard.

2. Attach decorative cording folded in a loop to the top of the bead with hot glue. Make sure your cording is longer than the length of the Old Man’s hat with enough at the end to hang. (see picture for reference). Be sure to use your hot glue liberally so that the bond will support the bead.

3. Roll your quarter circle into a cone and glue with hot glue. Attach to the bead with hot glue.

4. Cut up the doll hair and attach to the bead in sections with hot glue.This is a very random process; keep adding hair until you like the results. Straighten a little piece of hair and add a little glue above his mouth and fill in his mustache. Trim beard as desired.

5. Embellish with a little felt, holly leaves and berries and a white pompom

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

See you tomorrow for more 12 days of Christmas!!!

Kristii

Computers and Challenges!!

For me to say "computers are challenging" is an understatement! I live on my computer. I facebook, blog, check my email, edit, design....you name it, I do it on my computer. However, when my computer gives me fits, I am totally at a loss! Over the past two months, I have managed to fry two computers and today, I have spent countless hours trying to salvage what was lost. An overwhelming task, to say the least! Finally, I have gotten to a point where I can at least post to my blog....sigh! You can be sure that I will be spending some time investigating computers and finding a computer that will fill my needs and hopefully not break down under the heavy load I put onto it! Until then, I am finally going to post a couple of challenges that I made cards for!

2 Sketches 4 You

This challenge has become my favorite over the past several weeks!!! I just love the sketches that Laura and Kazan post and this week's was no exception!

Laura's Sketch 66

This week I made a card using Tinsel and Twig from The Girl's Paperie by Margie, however, it is not a Christmas Card. I have a friend who I have been thinking about a ton and thought it would be fun to send a card to her. I got out my Copics and went to town!!! Way fun!!

Here's a close-up of the detail:

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: Bazzill Red; PTI Rustic White and Stamper's Select White

Patterned Paper: Girl's Paperie Tinsel and Twig

Stamps: PTI Year of Flowers-Mums; Red Lead Paperworks Chickadee

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger Brushed Corduroy and Barn Red;

Memento Tuxedo Black

Dies: PTI Medium Scallop

Fiskar's Pinking Shears

Ribbon, Button and Floss from my stash

Copic Markers

Moxie Fab World Trigger Tuesday

It's Snowing Gingerbread

When I took a peak at the challenge, I thought...."snowing gingerbread", what can I do with that. However, after thinking for a brief moment, I thought....I can make my husband's birthday card using that trigger!!!! So I picked up my Sizzix Snow embossing folder and took a peek at Tim Holtz Tags of Christmas from a year ago and went to town!!!!

I dry embossed both the PTI Stamper's select and Blueberry Sky papers. Stamped and embossed the trees and the car then hand I cut them all out. I added some Sparkly Fluff to the trees and then punched out and glittered some snowflakes. I die cut a banner and stamped on the Happy Birthday message and wouldn't you know it?? I had the perfect masculine card for my husband!!! It was so fun to make and best of all, He loved it!!!

Supplies Used:

PTI Cardstock: Stamper's Select, Rustic Cream and Blueberry Sky

Grungeboard byTim Holtz

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

PTI Ink: Fresh Snow

Tim Holtz Ink by Ranger: Forest Moss and Crushed Olive

Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder: Black and Clear

Craft Lounge Sparkly Fluff: Sugar

Tim Holtz Stamps: Car and Trees

PTI Stamps: Border Builders

PTI Dies: Border Builders

EK Success Punch

Martha Stewart Glitter

I truly hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

We will be putting up our main Christmas Tree!!! Whoo hoo!! I love Christmas!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kristii

Inspiration from my Pantry

Hi there dear friends!!!! I hope this post finds you warm and toasty!!! We are in the freezer here in Montana!!! The temperature is -6 degrees now with the low forecast to be -16....brrrrrr!!!It really is gorgeous here with all the snow and now that we are on Thanksgiving Break and I don't have to go outside, I say...."Bring it on!!!" It will be perfect weather for baking and celebrating all that we are thankful for!!!!

A fellow PTI enthusiast, Ted, issued a challenge on his blog, Happily Ever Crafter and I thought it would an interesting challenge, so I gave it a try!!!! Here's the challenge:

You're going to go to your kitchen and find something (ANYTHING that's food or kitchen consumable related) and use that as your inspiration. Preferably, I want it to have a label or some brand or something on it so you can use it as your inspiration.

Here's my inspiration:

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to use a can of Pumpkin for inspiration. I wanted to make a card for my sweet co-worker and here's what I came up with:
I took the colors and the banners from the label and used those and the turkey to form the card around. The PTI Banner Builders worked perfectly for this project as well as the PTI Gobble, Gobble set!!!

Supplies Used:

PTI Cardstock: Rustic Cream and Kraft

Bazzill Brown

Inks: PTI Dark Chocolate

Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger: Rusty Hinge, Barn Door, Wild Honey, and Brushed Corduroy

PTI Stamps: Background Basics- Tin Types; Gobble, Gobble, Banner Builder Collection

Read Lead Paperworks: Vintage Worn Dot Pattern

PTI Dies: Gobble, Gobble; Banner Builder Collection

PTI Button Twine

Kaiser Craft Pearls

Buttons from my stash

This project was a bit of a challenge for me, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!!! If you want to get in on the challenge, stop by Ted's blog and check it out!! It was a lot of fun!! Thanks Ted!

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful evening!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!!! I'm so thankful for all of you!

Kristii

Feeling crafty and a bit rosy...

Hi there dear friends!!! I hope this evening is finding you happy and warm! We are at 2 degrees on our way to heavy snow and -17 forecast on Tuesday night!! Makes me want to stay home, that's for sure!! I love the snow this time of the year, but the cold I could do without! Oh well, I will be singing Christmas songs as it truly is feeling a lot like Christmas!!!!

I worked on CPS #194 this evening.

Here's the sketch:

I really wanted to make a card with a vintage kraft background, and I wanted to play with my new Larger than Life stamps. I just love those stamps and I just had to try to make a Christmas card using them!!! I stamped the background of my card with Hero Arts Friends Stamp. I put together a couple of tags and stamped the Larger than Life Leaves and then my mind wandered back to Betsy Veldman's sweet little roses she made out of PTI felt a few months back. You can find her tutorial here. I made the roses just like Betsy's, but instead of sewing them together, I used a small punched circle as a base. Then I glued the rolled flower onto the base with Zip Dry.
The result is a little different for a Christmas type card, but I really wanted to get out of my box and try something new!! There's nothing like kraft with a punch of color.

Supplies Used:

PTI Kraft and Rusty Cream Cardstock

PTI Stamps: Larger Than Life, Library Card, Fillable Frames #9, Friendship Jar

PTI Dies: Jar Label, Fillable Frames #4, Mat Stack #4, Rickrack Border

PTI Felt Pure Poppy

Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate; Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger: Brushed Corduroy and Crushed Olive

Lace and Ribbon from my stash

Thanks for stopping by!!! Wishing you an absolutely wonderful week!!!

Kristii

CPS #193

Happy snowy evening and what a peaceful night it is!! Such a contrast from earlier in the day! We had a blustery afternoon which caused the electricity to go out in our little town. We sat for over an hour in the dark in the library this afternoon. It made for an unusual ending to a normal school day. It is kind of fun to have something out of the norm happen, and lucky for us, school was let out a little early!! Hooray! I felt just like a little kid again, excited to get out of school! Excitement was in the air for all that could be done in the extra minutes we found in our day! For me, it was a wonderful time to get out my scrappy goodies and spend some time having fun! I have not been feeling well all week, so scrappy time wasn't in the formula! So, I took advantage of the time and I will make sure that I get into bed earlier than normal. It's a win, win situation!!!

I decided to play with Card Positioning Systems sketch #193.

Here's the sketch:

and here's my take on the sketch:

Supplies used:

Patterned Paper: Girl's Paperie

Cardstock: Bazzill Red and PTI Rustic Cream

Stamps PTI: 2010 Holiday Tags

Stamps: Red Lead Paperworks Chickadees

Glitter and Ribbon: Stampin Up

Ink: Tim Holtz Barn Door, Crushed Olive, and Brushed Corduroy

PTI Button and Twine

Die Cuts: PTI and Spellbinders

I had so much fun using a mixture of goodies on this card!!! I want to thank you for stopping by my blog!!! I hope your Friday is absolutely Fantastic!!!

See you soon,
Kristii

Perfectly Pink and Snowy Greetings

Happy Tuesday evening my dear friends!!!! I am so happy to be home and back in the crafting mode!!! I pulled out my PTI stamps which always makes me happy!!!! Add a little pink to the equation and I am in crafter's heaven!!!!

Today I used Kazan's sketch #66:

Here's my take on the sketch:

Supplies Used:

Stamps: PTI Peace be Still and On Ice

Patterned Paper: October Afternoon and Webster's Pages

Cardstock: PTI Kraft and Rustic Cream

Ink: PTI Fresh Snow and Dark Chocolate; Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger, Brushed Corduroy

Fancy Pants Pom Pom Ribbon

Seam Binding died with Egg Shell Copic Marker

Kaiser Craft Pearls dies with Aqua Copic Marker

PTI Vintage Cream Button

CI Imaginations Paper Lace

Martha Stewart Glitter

EK Success Snowflake Punch

I was looking for a cream ribbon to embellish my card. I love using seam binding to embellish my cards, but my seam binding is a nice crisp white color. I am so thankful for my Copic Markers!!! A little Egg Shell makes a white ribbon nice and creamy. A little red ink leftover on your craft sheet while you are coloring, makes for a perfectly pink ribbon!!! I also needed a little more aqua on my card to enhance the background paper and so I decided to try my Copic Markers and see how they would die the pearls. I used a little aqua to color them and wouldn't you know it, I had the perfect pearls for my card!!

I had a blast making today's card. I just love 2 Sketches 4 You!!! It's just the inspiration I need to have a perfectly creative evening!!!

Wishing you a wonderful evening!!! Thanks for stopping by!! I appreciate you!!

Kristii

Little Red Scrapbook Reveal

Good Evening Dear Friends!!! It's time for the Little Red Scrapbook Reveal!!

I just loved the Lily Bee Fall papers featured in this month's kit!!! I just had to use them to make some leaves to decorate these grapevine pumpkins. Now they have some nice fall colors to brighten our living room!!! I used my Cricut and A Child's Year cartridge.

This next layout features some photos from Benny's graduation from AIT in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. We were so excited to finally get to see him and hug him. The first photo in the layout shows Katlin and I looking though the door window trying to find Benny. We found him and nearly squealed. It was still another hour before we actually got to talk to him!!!

It was a happy moment for all of us when we could finally give Benny a hug!!!

We had a wonderful time visiting St. Louis!!! We visited Red Lead, a cute little art store that I totally loved!!! We stayed in the downtown area and of course, we visited the Arch. We also visited BB's Jazz, Blues, and Soup!! Such a great little restaurant across from Busch Field! We had the best time in St. Louis!!

Here's one last layout of Benny and his buds after graduation. What a wonderful day it was!!!!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Happy to be Home and LRS Sneaks!!!

Happy Sunday dear friends!!! I hope you had a wonderful week!!! I certainly had an absolutely fantastic week!!! Traveling to Missouri was such a great experience!! Seeing my boy again was the best!!!! I missed him so much!!! After graduation we traveled to St. Louis! We stopped in Webster's Grove and visited Red Lead. What a wonderful little shop!! I wish I could travel back and take some classes from them! I would so love to get more into the art of this craft! We stayed in downtown St. Louis and of course, we visited the Arch. I am afraid of heights and claustrophobic, and I am so proud of myself for making it to the top!!! We ate at a wonderful little restaurant called BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups and we had an absolutely wonderful experience! The next day we traveled to the Confluence of the Missouri into the Mississippi and then we headed home with our boy!! All in all, we traveled 3000 miles! We were a little road weary, but so happy when we arrived home. Benny is now settling in and getting ready to move into his own place and start college in January. We are so proud of our boy!!!

When we arrived home, I had some Little Red Scrapbook DT work to finish up. I was so excited to use pictures from our trip. It is always so therapeutic for me to scrap my heart and this month was no exception!!! I am looking so forward to sharing my work with you!!! Almost all of my layouts are based on Benny, so they will be relatively plain, with no fluff and frills, but I hope you will find inspiration in them just the same!

Here are my LRS November Sneaks:

Thanks for stopping by my blog!!! I hope you remember how special you are my friends!!!

I look forward to getting back into my card making mode!!! I also have some Christmas presents that I need to get started on. So I will be seeing you again very soon!!!

Have a wonderful week!

Kristii

Hello From St. Robert, Missouri

Hi there dear friends!!! I don't have any cards to post today as we are on the road in Central Missouri. The weather has been absolutely beautiful, but it's a little smoky here as there are brush fires on the base. We heard that we are missing the first significant snowfall back home, but we aren't missing the cold one little bit.

Our first day out, we drove through Montana, the upper corner of Wyoming, and three quarters of the way through South Dakota. We stopped in Mitchell for the night and of course, Mitchell is known for the Corn Palace. We drove by at the crack of dawn and took a picture.
We drove all day Monday through the bottom corner of South Dakota, through the Missouri River Valley in Iowa, through Kansas City where we stopped at Archiver's (Whoo hoo!!!), and all the way to the middle of Missouri! It was a long day of driving, but we were so happy when we arrived at our destination!

Today we arrived on the base a little early and Katlin and I were so excited to see Benny, we couldn't help peeking through the windows. We weren't the only excited family members looking for our soldier, but we sure did squeal when we saw him!

The soldiers were pretty loose and happy when we entered the field house. We couldn't talk to them until after the ceremony, but there were exchanges going on just the same!! Doesn't he look happy???

Benny was one of many soldiers who received a special award during the ceremony. Benny received an award for scoring over 300 on the Army Physical Fitness Test!!! Whoo hoo! Go Benny!!! He had to march right by us and look how hard he is concentrating at staying serious!

After the ceremony concluded, Katlin was the first one to rush the soldiers and get a hug from Ben!!! She was just a little excited!

After the ceremony we all got a chance to get a hug in! We missed him so!!! Here's a picture of Benny and his Daddy!! Aren't my boys handsome??

What an amazing day it was!!! We ate at Sonic (cherry limeade heaven!!!!), toured the base, ate again at Ruby Tuesday's and chilled at the hotel before we had to take him back to the base!!! We had an absolutely wonderful day!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!! I will post more of our trip tomorrow!!!

Kristii

Card Positioning Systems and Excitement Abounds

Hi there Sweet Friends!!!! I wanted to make one last post before we head out to Missouri to pick up Benny!! I am so excited, I just can't contain myself!! I am so proud of this boy who has made the choice to serve his country!!!

I also want to thank all those service men and women who have sacrificed to keep us safe. I hope that you will take time this Veteran's Day to remember those who serve!!!Benny may be graduating from his AIT in the National Guard, but the truth is....He will always be my baby!!!
... and what a sweet baby he was!!! I love you Benjamin Clay and I can't wait to see you!!! Just a few more days!!!!

CPS 191

I wanted to play with one more challenge before we leave for Missouri and since I don't work with circles much I thought this week's Card Positioning Systems challenge would be a good one to try! Making cards has become so therapeutic these days now that my time has become so limited!! Cards are quick and easy, yet they still fulfill that need for creativity that lives deep in my soul!

Here's the Sketch:

and here's my take on the challenge:

Supplies Used:

Bazzill Cardstock: Ruby Red

PTI Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Rustic Cream

PTI Dies: Limitless Layers Circles, Victorian Lace, Medium Scallop, Small Star

Ink: Stampin Up Real Red; Memento Tuxedo Black

PTI Stamps: 2010 Holiday Tags, Tiny Treats Christmas

Cornish Heritage Farms Large Polka Dot

Punch: Martha Stewart Snowflake

Stampin Up Tinsel Ribbon

Kaiser Craft Pearl

PTI Button Twine and Buttons

and these Copic Markers...

and here's a close-up

Thanks for stopping by!!!! You are special and I appreciate you all!!!!

Kristii

Happy Friday!!!!

Whooo hoo!!! I am sooooo happy that its Friday!!! Just two more days before we go to pick up our boy from his Military training!!!! I am soooo excited!!! I just can't wait to see him and give him a great big hug!!!!

In the mean-time, I am working on Christmas gifts and cards to give to friends and family!! I just had to try out the 2 Sketches 4 You Challenge (which I have grown to love, by the way)!! It gives me the perfect opportunity to play with my PTI goodies!!! I also have to mention that my friend Jessica brought me my Stampin Up order this evening, which included some way fun trims!!! Thanks Jessica, you rock!!

Here's this weeks challenge:

and here's my take on the challenge:

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: Bazzill Red and Black; PTI Kraft and Rustic White

Patterned Paper: Girl's Paperie by Margie

Stamps: PTI Tiny Treats Christmas and 2010 Holiday Tags

PTI Ribbon: Pure Poppy

PTI dies: Medium Scallop

Punches: Stampin Up Scallop; McGill Pine Bough

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger: Brushed Corduroy; Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black

Kasier Craft Pearls

Stampin Up Glass Glitter: Silver

Thanks for stopping by my blog dear friends!!! You are wonderful!!!

I will try to update the blog while we are on the road!!

I look forward to seeing you then!!!

Kristii

Counting my Blessings and Wee Memories!!!!

Hi there dear friends!!! I hope your Monday was a wonderful day!! I have to tell you, it was hard to get up today...the weekends go by so fast! Regardless, I woke up thankful for my awesome husband, my amazing family, my wonderful job and all the things that the Lord has provided!!!

I am also thankful for this hobby that I love so much!!!!! I have met so many amazing people and have learned so much along the way!!!

Wee Memories #29- Free For All

My love affair with PTI goodies continues and since Wee Memories was sponsoring a free for all, I decided coordinate my PTI goodies with 7 Gypsies Conservatory papers! I paired the green patterned paper with some pink, cream and plum colors. Here is what I came up with:

Supplies Used:

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream and Bazzill Basics

Patterned Paper: 7 Gypsies Conservatory 6x6 Paper Pad; Prima Flights of Fancy Tip Toe

PTI Stamps: Turning a new Leaf, Take Note

PTI Die: Victorian Lace and Limitless Layers

Punch: Martha Stewart

Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger: Brushed Corduroy and Crushed Olive

Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black

Hug Snug Seam Binding dyed with Tim Holtz Distress Reinker: Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick

Kaiser Craft Pearls

Don't you just love the Victorian Lace die???? It is definitely one of my favorite dies along with the Limitless Layers Dies wich have also been used in this card!!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!!! You are all very special to me!!!

Kristii