Christmas Cards 2011

Monkey in a Tree

Riley is a such a brat.  When I brought home several bags, he sniffed the PetSmart bag.  I put it on the counter.  He knew where it was and whined.  I moved it to the spare room.  He still knew where it was and whined even more.  Kevin finally said for me to give it to him as the whining was driving him nuts.  So, Riley got his stocking stuffer early....a cute little green monkey with a Santa hat.  A few days later, I put the monkey in the tree just to see what Jack would do.  Well, you'll see who the bigger brat STILL is...  LOLLLLLLL!  Towards the end of the video you can see just a portion of the many dog toys that litter our floor.  Toys, bones and old socks.  These dogs are crazy.

Monkey Smiles

Sometimes life is just too serious.  We all need a little laugh now and then.  Yes, these are MINE.  LOL

Celebrating Beth

I will be giving this card to my friend Beth for her birthday. My other friend Joy had given me a punched strip of paper that I was able to cut in half and incorporate on two identical cards. Thanks, Joy! I added some embossing with one of my fav Cuttlebug folders, a stamped sentiment and my fav little leaf die from Stampin' Up!.

A closer look at all the details.  Thanks for stopping by!

Fleur-de-lis

My friend Christie lives in Tennessee. She turns 40 on Monday and I so wish I could be there to help her usher in this milestone. She loves the fleur-de-lis and I found one on the Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge. I was TICKLED! I think she'll "get it" when she opens the envelope....I remembered she likes the fleur-de-lis. :)

I used two different Cuttebug embossing folders...one for the frame shape on the card front and another on the bottom layer of the fleur-de-lis. I really hope she likes it. Happy 40th, CC!

Kathy's Cozies

I love to watch scrapbooking/craft room/stamping videos on You Tube. One day I found a video about Kathy's Cozies. I found her blog, looked at samples in her gallery and decided I "needed" some for my craft area. You can see her blog at http://www.kathyscozies.blogspot.com . She was super fantastic to work with & kept up great communication via Facebook and e-mail. I received my cozies today and I can't say enough about the SUPERIOR quality of what she makes.

The gorgeous "after" look. Love it! I got cozies for my Gypsy, Cricut Expression and Cuttlebug.

This pattern is way cuter than the green color of the Cuttlebug. I love the little feature on the side where you can tie the ribbon to keep the cozy extra snug.

This is the front of my Gypsy cozy. I have a silicone cover on my Gypsy and the entire thing fits in this cozy perfectly. Kathy has paid great attention to detail with creating patterns for various things. You can get cozies in various colors and fabrics and for many many different machines. Please check out her blog for more details. That is where I found this fabric. I knew I wanted black and white. I simply told her I wanted the hot pink accents and she took care of the rest. You can customize your cozies which allows them to be so personal. Love them!

I have the whole "matchy matchy" thing going on. I am in love with black and white damask (as you can tell). Look how stinkin' adorable my Gypsy looks in its silicone cover and then tucked in the cozy. Not sure if you can tell, but she puts a cute ribbon loop and button at the top of this size cozy.

My camera is on crack sometimes. I turned off the flash and got this "magenta" tone. Anyway...I want you to see Kathy's signature detail...a HEART sew in every cozy she makes. Isn't that neat?!

I had two curious pups who needed to SNIFF my new goodies. I can't even imagine what dogs can smell on things. It must be sensory overload. LOL

My new scrapbook totes are from Thirty One gifts. I got this one free with my recent catalog party in November. See...I'm all matchy matchy with the black and white. It's the little things...

...and many more

I made four identical card tonight using some supplies I got at Hobby Lobby. They recently had a 1/2 off sale on all of their Paper Studio products.

I love this birthday stack. The pages have glitter!!! There are 20 different designs in this stack and they coordinate with the box of cards I got there, too. The colors aren't EXACT, but they match well enough to look good together. I had originally picked out two brown card bases and two purple card bases. My idea kept building and I am much happier with this final design. I ran the brown through the Cuttlebug using my SU! Top Note die. I cut down the purple layer and put everything on a Crumb Cake cardstock base. With the asymetrical look, I wanted to add something on the right hand side. Thus, the large eyelet and Crumb Cake ribbon. Ta Da!

Just wanted to share a funny. Often, this is where I find Riley in the morning. He comes downstairs with me and while I am getting ready he finds a soft, warm spot to go back to sleep. I don't blame him. I am so not a morning person either, little buddy.