So thankful

{Pin}spirational Challenge #30 inspiration photo

 Don't you just love this time of year!?  I love leaves and pumpkins and the warm fall colors.  So there are lots of all of those things in this post.  Lots of pictures because there are a lot of components to this project.

 And I love that both the {Pin}spirational challenge and the JUGS challenge are these gorgeous inspiration photos.  My project is something I haven't ever done before.  I have recently seen a couple of these little tag books made out of toilet paper rolls and thought they were really cute.  Well, yesterday, we had a ladies craft time at my church and we made these little tag books.  Mostly, we just learned how to make the "pages" out of the rolls and cover them with paper.  Some people embellished theirs with a few embellies that were there, but I had a plan in mind and hadn't brought all my "toys" along.  So, I came home and played some more and this is the result:

 Cover page.  Just imagine that there are two binder rings in the holes on the left.  They didn't have enough for everyone at the craft event, so I am waiting to get mine.  But you can still get the idea of what it will look like.
Supplies:DCWV paper; SU! pumpkin cs; PTI alphabet and leaf die; Clear Dollar Stamps "Elegant Flourishes" stamped on leaf; Kaiser Kraft rhinestones; all ribbons in project are American Crafts

 Supplies: DCWV paper; Clear Dollar Stamps "Elegant Flourishes" stamp; Verve "Tall Oaks" pumpkin and sentiment

 Supplies: DCWV paper; Verve "I Chronicles 16:34" plain jane; black embossing powder; PTI "Mat Stack 2" flourish set on each side of the verse.

 Supplies: DCWV paper; PTI "Through the Trees" sentiment, "Mat Stack 2" flourishes; Verve "Tall Oaks" acorns

 Supplies: DCWV paper; Clear Dollar Stamps "Elegant Flourishes"; Verve "Tall Oaks" pumpkins and sentiment

 I am going to use this book as a "We are thankful for . . . this year" book, so the last "page" has the year and each tag, as you will see in the next picture, has a space for each family member to write what they are thankful for.  Then there is the potential to make another each year and have a great reminder of the things were are thankful for throughout the years.
Supplies: DCWV paper; PTI "By the Numbers" dies

Each tag is the same with the phrase "So thankful" and a couple lines on which to write.
Supplies (tags): Clear Dollar Stamps "Elegant Flourishes"; Verve "So happy"; the tags were cut out using a cricut machine the woman leading the craft time brought with her.

Challenges:
{Pin}spirational Challenge #30--inspiration photo
Do You Stack Up #95--embossing (page #3)
DRS Designs #48--Autumn greetings
JUGS#160--inspiration photo

A new monthly challenge blog

If you have been a fan of Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog or even if it is a new challenge to you, the fun is being doubled with a new monthly challenge blog.  I'll let Crafty Hazel herself tell you about it:

"This blog is a 'spin off' from my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog that has now been running successfully for nearly two years.

Starting at the beginning of 2013 I challenge you to add any Christmas card to this blog - challenges will be monthly, with a prize at the end of the month for a randomly chosen winner.

Bugaboo Stamps have very kindly agreed to sponsor every monthly challenge with a $21 prize of the winner's choice of digitial stamps.

Weekly challenges will continue on my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog, so please continue to support them.

To launch this new extra blog, I'm giving away some Christmas candy:

2 'the red line' topper & paper pack, each containing:

1 topper sheet & 2 coordinated papers

2 C5 blank cards and envelopes

6 x 6 pad of 36 Berry Merry Christmas papers

6 x 6 pad of 24 My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas papers

A pack of 10 A6 red card blanks with square apertures

S et of Classic Christmas Promarkers

Anyone can take part - I'm willing to post to anywhere in the world. The draw for the winner (randomly chosen) will take place at midnight UK time on 30 November, which will allow time to send them ahead of the Christmas mail - and, of course, the winner will have some lovely goodies to play along with the challenges in the new year.

All I ask is that you spread the word of my new blog and the prize I'm giving away to the winner, by becoming a follower and create a blog post and, if possible, also put my pink button in your sidebar, telling people that the extra monthly challenges will begin on 1 January 2013.

When you've become a follower and created a blogpost and/or put my blinkie in your sidebar, please leave a link to your blogpost in the linky below."


So, there it is.  Help spread the word and you could have some new goodies to play with.

Gingerbread House

 Happy Friday!!  It's time for another challenge on the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long blog: Use Circles.  Our sponsor for this week is Meljen Designs and the winner will get to choose 4 of their adorable images.  How great is that?!

The Meljen's image that I got to use this week is this adorable Gingerbread House.  Their images are all so cute.  I love all the ones I have.  It was really fun to color and then to glitter.  Yep, I got a bit carried away with the glitter, but it's so sparkly and beautiful.  So, I started off with the idea to glitter the green gumdrops because gumdrops are glittery.  Then it just went on from there--it even carried over to the snowflake.  I just couldn't help it. : )

Remember that I said the challenge this week is to use circles?  Well, I had to stretch a bit on this one, but my card does contain circles: the lollipops and mint "wreath" in the image; the rhinestone on the snowflake and even the ends of some of the embossed snowflakes.  So how do you interpret this challenge?  I would love to see your take on it.  Hop over to the CSAYL blog, check out the other DT projects and play along.

Challenges:
Christmas Card Challenge #47--bows
House of Gilli #44--emboss it
Sweet Stop Sketches #181--sketch with a twist: be inspired by a book or movie (My inspiration is Hansel and Gretel with their yummy candy house)

Supplies:
Stamps: Meljen's Designs "Gingerbread House" digital image; Verve "Ornamental Christmas"
Paper: Basic Grey
Embossing folders/punches/dies: Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder; Martha Stewart Snowflake punch; spellbinders label 4 die
Ribbon, aluminum tape, rhinestone (Kaiser Kraft) and lots and lots of glitter!!!  Martha Stewart (orange, blue, purple, green) SU! dazzling diamonds

Recycled gift bag

 I needed some gift packaging for the cards I made for my pastor's wife (see this post for details) and none of the templates I had seemed to fit the bill.  But, I have used the clear boxes that the Papertrey Ink stamps come in (hmmm . . . maybe that is a good reason to buy some more) as gift "bags" before and it seemed to be a good idea this time, too.  It's kind of fun because the gift becomes part of the packaging.  And it's reusing something that would otherwise be thrown away.  I already had the card made (see this post), so I decided to coordinate the packaging with both the card and the cards (confusing I know).  I stamped the flower cluster and then stamped it again and cut it out to create a mask so I could stamp the pumpkin below the cluster and make it look like a flower arrangement in the pumpkin or flower decorations on a pumpkin.  Anyway, I think it came out super cute and was a brilliant way to tie the two cards together.

Challenges:
CRAFT Challenge #177--use metal (I used aluminum tape on the label I used as a tag)
{Pin}spirational Challenges #30--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the pumpkins, and black and orange colors)
Our Daily Bread Designs #127--use at least three supplies/technique that begin with the letters L.E.A.F. (I used L--labels die and leaves, E--eyelets, A--acetate, F--flowers)

Supplies:
Stamps: Skipping Stones Design "Timeless Textures"; Verve "Tall Oaks" and "for you" phrase; Flourishes "Summer Blossoms"
Dies/punches: Spellbinders label 4, classic circles and scalloped circles, large; Fiskars Upper Crest border punch
Organza ribbon, eyelets, aluminum tape, twine, recycled stamp packaging

Give Thanks

hmmm . . . in the fading evening light, white cards photograph kinda blue.  October is Pastor Appreciation Month and I thought I would give a small gift to our pastor's wife, since there isn't a Pastor's Wife Appreciation Month and she does a lot behind the scenes at our church.  So, I wanted to give her some handmade notecards. I even stamped the image on the envelopes.   I used the 10 Minute craft dash challenge colors orange, pink, and turquoise and I actually made this card in under 10 minutes!!!  yep, 9:45!!  It can be done and with quite beautiful results if you ask me.  I did have to add a little tiny bit of green to outline the leaves.  They looked to plain without anything.  I think it still fits the challenge.

Challenges:
10 minute craft dash #5--orange, pink, turquoise under 10 minutes

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "I Chronicles 16:34" plain jane; Flourishes "Summer Blossoms"

Fall elegance

Ok, so this card was quite the challenge for me.  I was trying to use the Fab n' Funky color challenge: orange, black and your color of choice.  I don't celebrate Halloween so I didn't want to create something that looked too "Halloween".  Not as easy as it seems.  Plus, I really wanted to use this adorable pumpkin and I wanted it to look somewhat elegant.  But I finally found this beautiful baby blue that looked super elegant when I stamped it with an orange craft ink.

Challenges:
Skipping Stones Design #150--sketch
Fab n' Funky #143--orange, black, and color of choice (mine is light blue)
Clearly Inspired Challenge #62--all tied up (use ribbon or twine)
The Squirrel and the Fox #29--Use a Ribbon

Supplies:
Stamps: Skipping Stones Design "Timeless Textures" and sentiment from the shoe set; Verve "Tall Oaks"; Clear Dollar Stamps "Elegant Flourishes" (stamped on the background)
Dies/punches: Fiskars "Upper Crest" border punch; spellbinders classic circles and scalloped circles, large

snowman

Time for another challenge at Christmas Stampin' All Year Long.  We had so many entries for last week's "Anything Goes" challenge!  Yeay!!  I've been trying to get to all the blogs to view all of your beautiful creations, but there are so many I haven't made it around yet.  That's a good thing, though, 'cause that means lots of people are playing along.  This week's challenge is "Traditional Colors".  Pretty easy, I think.  Our awesome sponsor this week is Limited Runs Stamps.

The prize is  . . . hmmm . . . I wasn't told exactly; but I'm guessing it is going to be a couple of their fabulous images.  And boy do they have a lot of them.  My cutie snowman is one of them.  So, hop on over to the CSAYL blog and see what the other DT members have been up to and then play along with us.  I love visiting your blogs and getting inspiration from all of you.

Challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge#94--snowflakes
House of Gilli--Anything goes
Seems a Little Sketchy--sketch
Timeless Tuesday #191--Winter
Sparkles Christmas Challenge--traditional

Supplies:
Stamps: Limited Runs digital image; Verve "Ornamental Christmas" (sentiment)
Punches/dies: Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Fiskars scalloped border punch; spellbinders labels one die