#2 Simple Tree

Today's sketch comes from February 2016:

Here was my original submission for the sketch:

And here's my take for Christmas! I've kept this Christmas tree stamp for a few years now. I can't bear to part with it. I used my Garden Green and Real Red markers to ink up the stamp. I simply layered on some cardstock, a piece of pattern paper, and some fun seasonal washi. The punched gold snowflakes became a finishing touch.

• Stamps: Star Tree
• Inks: Real Red; Garden Green; Close to Cocoa
• Cardstock: This Christmas DSP; Real Red; Whisper White
• Accessories: gold washi tape; red snowflake washi tape
• Tools: Lots of Labels Framelits; snowflake punch

#1 Merry Reindeer

Today's sketch comes from June 2016.

And here was my original submission for the sketch:

On to my reimagined Christmas card... I flipped the card onto it's side after realizing the pieces I wanted to include wouldn't quite fit vertically. Once I realigned my thinking, I got to stamping and cutting! I love my new little reindeer stamp! He's just so cute! For this card, I stamped him in Black, layered some trees in Old Olive, and (hard to see in the picture) added some sparkle with Wink of Stella. 

• Stamps: Merry Mistletoe
• Inks: Basic Black; Cherry Cobbler; Old Olive
• Cardstock: Be Merry DSP; Merry Music DSP; Old Olive; Whisper White
• Accessories: 
• Tools: Stitched Shapes Framelits; Clear Wink of Stella

November Crafting Goals

A recap of last month’s goals:

• Plan out November's 30 Days of Christmas Cards from Sketches! -- Success! In fact, I have gotten a big chunk of the cards created before the month started. Just a few more to finish.
• September MP Pages -- Fail
• Start Christmas card designs -- Success! I have a few designs that I love. During November, I will finish making my stack of Christmas cards for 2017.
• Craft destash -- Fail. Just never got around to it...
• Finish 30 Days of Lists (September project) -- Fail

November's Goals: I really need to finish out my ongoing projects and catch up on a few year long projects.

Projects that need to be completed

• Memory Planner Pages August through October -- I'm so incredibly behind on this!
• 30 Days of Christmas Cards from Sketches -- Almost finished, just need to completed a few more cards for this one.
• 2017 Christmas Cards -- I know I need to make a few more cards, and I need to start addressing those cards. 
• 30 Days of Lists (September) -- Must finish!
• Craft Destash -- Carry over goal from October.

Other Goals

• Prep December Daily -- I do pages for myself and Holiday albums for my mom, grandma, and in laws. I like to start pulling supplies in November so I know if I need to fill in any gaps at the craft store.
• Complete Week in the Life 2017 (tentatively November 6th - 12th -- I kept putting this off even though I always enjoy the process. I'm putting it on the calendar for the second week in November. No big holidays, so it will be a nice look at a typical week.
• Pull cards for December (birthday and thank you cards) -- Not Christmas cards, but all the other cards I want to send/hand out in December. 

30 Days of Christmas Cards from Sketches

Two years ago, I embarked on a month of Christmas cards in November. It was a lot of work, but so much fun. I wanted to do it again, but with a twist. For this November, I am making 30 Christmas cards using back sketches from Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration. I used to be on the design team and loved my time. I took a break due to life craziness, but still love following their creations. I went back through the site and pulled sketches from their sketch challenge. These sketches will be the basis of my month of Christmas cards. By the end of the month, I will have over 60 Christmas cards ready to send out (I'm making at least two of each design).

Stacked Birthday

Today's post is a departure from my Fall and Halloween cards. Who doesn't need a stash of birthday cards on hand? I always mindful of keeping a variety in my inventory. The Birthday Memories DSP is perfect for creating cute cards. For this one, I fussy cut all these cakes to create a stacked imaged. I added a piece of coordinated basic DSP and a great sentiment. For the finishing touch, I added some retired, but still great, candy dots!

• Stamps: Happy Happenings (retired)
• Inks: Real Red
• Cardstock: Birthday Memories DSP; Real Red; Blushing Bride; Whisper White
• Accessories: Subtles Candy Dots (retired)
• Tools: 

Sunday Haul #16

Last week, I stopped by Michael's and picked up my 2018 Memory Planner choice. I snagged this great 18 Months Big Happy Planner for 60% off. I love that it's mostly black and white. Perfect for adding some colorful embellishments. While there, I also grabbed some envelopes and white paper. 

Our October SU club order also came. I snagged some Metallic Snowflakes (I already used an entire two packs!), Cherry Cobbler Ink (replacing my old style ink pad), and the Merry Patterns Stamp Set. My hostess receive this set, but isn't big on Christmas stamp sets. Instaed, I get to play with it for a month before passing along to another crafty friend.

Another quick trip to Michael's for more white paper. While there, I snagged some other fun goodies including these cute Christmas washi tape rolls, the Happy Planner Quote Sticker book, and two ridiculously clearanced note pads.

q

Blue Birthday

Today's post is another cute birthday card inspired by the Birthday Memories DSP pack. I spied this great little card from Stamping with Lynn and decided to CASE the design. I fussy cut another birthday card to create my focal point. To help with the visual appeal, I added a strip of cute presents and party hats DSP. I finished the card with a nice sentiment and some fun (yet retired) candy dots.

• Stamps: Cool Treats
• Inks: Pacific Point
• Cardstock: Birthday Memories DSP; Pacific Point; Whisper White
• Accessories: Brights Candy Dots (retired)
• Tools: Stitched Shapes Framelits; Squares Framelits

Witches' Brew

Today's post is another Merry Cafe card. I just love these coffee cups so much. For this one I created my main coffee cup and then started adding the little extras. The spiderweb stamp was perfect for the corners. The striped image was great for a fill-in-the-gap stamp. And of course I had to cut out some great pumpkins and a witch's hat to add to my card. 

• Stamps: Merry Cafe; Spooky Cat
• Inks: White Craft Ink; Basic Black; Pumpkin Pie
• Cardstock: Spooky Night DSP; Pumpkin Pie; Basic Black; Whisper White
• Accessories: 
• Tools: Coffee Cups Frameltis

Gold Snowflake

Today's post is a simple shiny card with lots of texture! I wanted to created a card with some layered snowflakes. I started with the Winter Wonder Embossing folder and a smaller piece of Whisper White cardstock. Next I layered on a gold foil snowflake. From there, I heat embossed my sentiment in gold and die cut it using the Stitched Shapes Framelits. I bought this framelit set last year and am constantly amazed at how often I pull it out to use. Definitely one of my better investments! Finally, I needed some more shine, so I pulled out the Year of Cheer DSP pack. I was going to use the gold snowflake pattern, but this plaid was the better choice -- a nice contrast to the repeating the snowflakes. For a pop of color, I added a layer of Night of Navy cardstock. and place the whole thing on a white card base. Love this shiny card!

• Stamps: Wrapped in Warmth (retired)
• Inks: 
• Cardstock: Year of Cheer DSP; Night of Navy; Whisper White
• Accessories: Metallic Foil Snowflakes
• Tools: Winter Wonder Embossing Folder; Stitched Shapes Framelits; Gold Embossing Powder

Spooky Text Cat

Today's post is my favorite Halloween card of the season! I love this cute text cat on a background of jack-o-lanterns. I actually think that the jack-o-lantern paper is my favorite from the pack. It's too adorable! Beyond my cat, I stated a simple greeting and cute out the circle using the Stitched Shapes Framelits. The stitching gives me the image that extra something! To finish off the card, I added some great black rhinestones and washi tape (retired from last year).

• Stamps: Spooky Cat
• Inks: Pumpkin Pie; Basic Black
• Cardstock: Spooky Night DSP; Pumpkin Pie; Basic Black; Very Vanilla
• Accessories: Black Rhinestones; random washi tape
• Tools: Stitched Shapes Framelits; Cat Punch