"Dear Santa" Card

I just wanted to share this adorable card I made today!

(I scrap-lifted the idea from Paper Crafts Magazine, a design by Tiffany Johnson in the Nov/Dec issue & she was a designer on the "Perfect Pair" hop we did with Clear & Simple Stamps too)

(Tiffany's card used red & green; I used red & cream. She had some great flower ribbon, but I only had lace & netting; and of course she had a fabulous stamped typewriter & mine's a rubon - but I added the paper peeking out of mine.)



I ran the front of the card (from Creative Cuts & More, of course!) through the Cuttlebug w/the Swiss Dot embossing folder; added some red netting & lace from my stash around the middle & some bling dots of course!

The typewriter is this great rub-on my sister found at Michaels over the summer! (She got the last stamp like this rub-on!) I rubbed it onto some white cardstock, cut it out & then cut a slit along the "roller" of the typewriter to insert the "Dear Santa" paper printed from my computer!  Doesn't it look so real?! I wish I had more rub-ons & time to make a bunch of them this year!

Inside of the card

If ya don't hear from me beforehand,

Wishing you all a very

Happy Turkey Day!

turkey photo

 Gobble! Gobble!

Creative Cuts & More November Blog Hop

Thanks for joining us today for the

Creative Cuts & More 

November Blog Hop!

Today the Creative Cuts & More talented designers are sharing some more fabulous Christmas projects with you!

So, settle on in & hop along with us!

Hopefully you started at the beginning & hopped along from Chris', blog to get here (she's so creative, don'tcha think!).  If not, you really don't want to miss what all these designers have done for you today! So start HERE & work your way back to me!

OH! I almost forgot! What would a Christmas Hop be with out a little CANDY?!!
CC&M is giving away this fabulous Christmas Card Kit (a $29.99 value)!

One lucky winner can get a huge jump on making those fabulous Holiday cards simply by doing the following:

*Leave a comment on EACH designers blog
*Leave a comment on the Die Cut Diva Blog after you've finished hopping to let us know you've completed the hop!

So, let's get started, shall we?
I have created 3 totally different projects for you today & I am going to start with a simple card...

I am NOT a carder! For some reason I pick up a card & I just get stumped with design details! But this one turned out kind-of fun, if not a little messy! I used the Fancy Frame Window Card w/Scallop in Bazzill Canvas "Raven" so that I could stamp & emboss in white for this card. The white powder I have is so fine that it stuck to the texture of the cardstock & the result was a little messier than I had hoped for. So, I simply took my ink pad & "smudged" it around the card a little more to give it that snowy look!

I did the same thing inside too. Not perfect, but I'm kind-of messy myself! So whomever receives this card will totally understand! Tee Hee!

Next, I want to share this Tree I made for my table...

Isn't it cute?!
It's made from 12 Large Match Boxes!

First I dry-embossed the Swiss dot on the outside, then I heat embossed the white to achieve a snowy look! After putting together the outside pieces with some Tacky Tape, I put together the insides - no tape required! (The star on top is just punches, silver embossing on the large one & attached to a hat pin!)

 Then I punched some tabs out of patterned paper, numbered them for the 12 Days of Christmas & stapled them to the ends for the pull tabs! Right now there is only candy in each "drawer," but if I have time before the holidays, I hope to make some little paper ornaments to place inside for my daughter to discover!

Last, but certainly not least is my FAVORITE project this month...

12 Days of Christmas Banner

I made this fun "12 Days of Christmas" Banner by simply using the Large Rectangle (3 1/2" x 4 3/8") in the "Opal" Stardream Metallic Cardstock.

I dry-embossed the cards first with a swirly pattern, rounded the corners & then stamped a music pattern in black. With the pattern from embossing, the stamp image only adhered to the raised portions for a shabby look!

For the first & last cards on the banner, I cut out a Victorian image of 2 two couples to attach to each card. Behind the first couple is a Tree cut from Bazzill Canvas in "Lakeshore" blue cardstock with sweet little pearls on each "stem." I typed up the words to the song on the computer & then Glimmer Misted the paper with a "sand" mist.
For the last card, I Glimmer Misted a paper heart-shaped doille in "latte & gold," added some more pearls & placed it behind the couple with a sweet little embossed dove at their feet.

All along the center are the 12 Days of Christmas images I bought a long time ago from a digital site. I cut out the 12 images, layered them on top of 12 circles cut from cardboard (I peeled the top layer to expose the corrugated layer & added a little Distress Paint in "tarnished brass"), & layered that on top of a piece of burlap & attached it all to the card. Added the appropriate song verse...

To attach the banner cards to the ribbon, I used a bunch of double-ended swirly paper clips in gold & silver.
Too much fun!!

I hope you enjoyed my 3 little projects today as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you!

Now, it's time to HOP on over to see what little treasures my sister, Kim, over at The Scrap-a-Teeny Girls' blog, has to share with you!
But don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win the Christmas Card Kit!!
See you soon than you think!
- Becky

CC&M Autumn Blog Hop - "Handmade in Colorado" Treat Box

Hello & welcome to the Creative Cuts & More 

Autumn Blog Hop!

It's that time of year! 

Hope you're ready for some great ideas for the big Holiday rush & to get a jump start on all those

holiday cards, wall decor, centerpieces, gift wrap, &

more with us!

We've created a plethora of ideas for you with some amazing dies from Creative Cuts & More! So, grab your coffee, a note pad & get ready to jump in!

Hopefully you started at the beginning & hopped along from Chris' blog to get here (I just love her projects!!).  If not, you really don't want to miss what all these designers have done for you today! So start HERE & hop your way back to me!

Today, I am sharing the Tall Gable Box with you all! 

It measures approx. 3 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 1 7/8 & is the perfect little treat box to fill with all your handmade treats this Holiday Season!

Tall Gable Box

I ordered the box in the "Sapphire" Stardream Metallic Cardstock & assembled it with only ONE strip of Killer Red Tacky Tape along the back - the bottom of the box just folds into itself!

Christmas Ornaments

 I used three of the four Christmas Ornaments in a Smooth Bazzill, "Almond Cream" as gift tags with various embossed stamping on 2 of them & tied them on with some red & white Baker's Twine.

Moose & Trees

The Trees I ordered in a Bazzill Canvas, the front one in "Leapfrog" & the other in "Ivy," attached to another tree ordered in chipboard for dimension. I then ran them through my Cuttle Bug with the Swiss Dot embossing folder & embossed them with white ink & powder to give them some SNOW! I adhered them with more Killer Red Tacky Tape. For the Moose, I just couldn't resist ordering one in a brown felt (I attached him to the second one I ordered in chipboard too)! Don't ya love him! (Creative Cuts & More has tons of dies that can be used for your holiday creations! You gotta check it out!!)Then I popped him onto the box with foam squares!

I can't wait to fill this with some Homemade Fudge or Truffles (YUMMY!!!) this year & give it to Maggie's teacher!

That's it for me today!

Now it's time to hop on over to Kim's blog to see what exciting creations she has in store! It's always something great!!!

TTFN,

BECKY

Climb Every Mountain? Maybe Just THIS One!

All summer long Nick has had the 14'er bug! Up until yesterday, he has climbed 9 of the 50+ 14ft mountains in Colorado & has been asking me to join him. It's not that I didn't want to hike with him, it's that I have terrible knees & am not in the best shape. I can handle the climb up - other than being outta shape, it's not that difficult. But it's the hike back down that absolutely kills my knees!

But I finally relented! I agreed to climb Mt. Sherman with Nick yesterday. According to his list of mountains ranked by other hikers, Sherman is the easiest & least technical to climb. So, that's the one he picked for my FIRST 14'er.

So, here are the pics from my iPhone.

Weather setting in.

The weather was not ideal, but we were prepared! I had on 4 layers when we started; added Nick's Gortex coat at halfway. Nick had on 4 the whole time. We only saw about a dozen others on the mountain. Even with all the snow & cloud cover, it was a beautiful day, with the sun peeking in & out of the clouds. We "enjoyed" a hot lunch at the top, courtesy of Nick's stash of MRE's, we ate like soldiers hunkered down in the snow in a makeshift wind break! It took us 3 1/2 hours up & 2 back down. There were times when I wasn't sure I was gonna make it - getting close to hitting the wall a couple of times - but Nick would throw me some food & my energy would rally. It was hard, but very much worth it. Thanks to my hubby for believing I could do it! And, I'm glad I could be there when he bagged his 10th for the year!

Old Homestead halfway up

Me halfway & definitely tired already!

Nick inside the homestead looking like a military ranger or something!

Old, collapsed mine in the hill

The valley towards Fairplay on our way up

Me, past halfway; working our way towards the ridge

Saddle/ridge we climbed on the way to the top

Snow crystals on the rocks along the ascent

Nick talking to another hiker on the ridge

TOP!

 Here we are at the top! It sure felt good to get up there, but we were disappointed that the sun didn't make an appearance for us to catch a glimpse of the vistas around us!

View on the way down - the Holy Cross Wilderness across the way

The homestead standing in the sun on the way down

The valley on the way down

Me, ALL DONE & windburned!

 Today, I woke up feeling tired & sore from the knees down! I pretty much have been hanging out on the couch all day, but I am starting to feel a little more human again now. Hopefully I will be feeling well enough to run a little tomorrow (I am working my way through the Couch to 5K training program).  Not sure I will join Nick on any more climbs this fall, but maybe next year I'll slowly work my way up the list with him!

Crazy Hat Day

Just had to share this fun pic of Maggie before school this morning!

It's "Spirit Week" at her school this week & today was "hat" day. Maggie doesn't own too many hats other than her dress-up costumes, so this is what she picked...

Ain't she cute?!!!

Happy Thursday to y'all!

The Perfec Pair! A CC&M Blog Hop with Clear & Simple Stamps

Hi everyone! I am posting here again with another hop!!

Welcome to the Perfect Pair Hop with some great stamps from Clear & Simple Stamps & fabulous die cuts from Creative Cuts & More!! 

This should be a really fun hop to follow because not only will you find ideas from the Die Cut Diva team, but the Clear & Simple Stamps DT (CSS) is using the same stamp sets & dies!  Each team member was given a different stamp set & then we were paired with the CSS DT using that same set! Should be fun to compare the 2 ways each set was used! The challenge was to use the stamp set & dies assigned to us to create 3 projects with one of those projects submitted to CSS for their iPhone App (HERE).

And what would a hop be without some CANDY???

There will be 2, yes TWO! prizes (from CC&M and CSS) given away to 2 (TWO!!) lucky readers EACH day!! So be sure to leave a comment as you hop along to all these wonderful sites over the next TWO days!!

So, settle on in & hop along with us. Hopefully you started at the beginning & hopped along to Eva's post over at CSS (She has some beautiful work!!) to get here. If not, you really don't want to miss what all these designers have done for you today! So start HERE & work you way back to me!

Ok, so I had this fun little "Summer Sand" stamp set from Clear & Simple Stamps:

 This was a FANTASTIC stamp set for me to work with since we travel quite a bit to sandy beaches!! And, here are the dies I had to work with:

Box with Handle & Layer

Small Window A2 Card (I used this one for my iPhone App)

One of the suggested dies was unavailable, so I chose to work with this Peek-a-View box instead

When I was playing around with the Box with handle, I immediately thought of a sand bucket!

So I stamped the adorable sandcastle from the set on cardstock & cut it out. Then I used the "sand" stamp to layer "sand" all over the castle in 2 ink colors - brown & black, but I stamped over & over before re-inking to get some faded stamping too. (I repeated this process around the box & it's layers too!)
Then I stamped the titles "Life is better" & "at the Beach" on red Glimmer-Misted paper & cut them out like a little flag & banner. I put the "Life is better on a toothpick to make the flag, glued it to the back of the castle before popping it onto the front of the box.
Then I pulled out an old roll of artistic wire & started making swirly ends to hold photos of my daughter playing in the sand last year in Maui...

I stamped the little seashells on some Glimmered paper & cut them out to put on the corner here.

Castle Die in Cappuccino Curious Metallic paper.

I used more of the stamp phrases on the red Glimmer-misted paper again cut them into banner-type pieces & made a little crown for my "Queen." I used a pen to ink the edges of the castle so it would stand out more (not perfect, but it works!) I crossed out the word "castle" from the stamp because she was "Queen of the Sand" that day, with no castles to be made!

I then put a small cube of florists foam inside the box to stand all the wired up in. And added the info on the back.

I just love the whimsey of it!!


Next, I played with the Peek-a-View Box & I have to say it is rapidly becoming one of my favorites!
(We're even doing one in a Halloween kit to sell next month on Etsy!!)

Again, I used the "sand" stamps in brown & black to create the sandy look on the castle die. I stamped a bunch of the seashells on glimmered paper & cut each grouping out. Then I stamped "at the beach" onto the front of the lower part of the box. I scored the castle so it would bend around the corner of the box once I put the bottom of the box together with Killer Red Tacky Tape (CC&M really has THE best prices!). Scattered the seashells around the bottom edges too...

 For the inside of the box, I simply adhered a photo of Maggie at the beach onto a piece of cardstock, stamped the upper/bottom portions with the "sand" & "seashell clusters" & lightly tacked it inside so that it stayed in place. (The acetate piece is so simple: fold at scored lines & tape along one edge before you insert it.) For the top of the box, I simply stamped the "Life is Better" phrase on the center front edge & sprinkled glitter around it before I used the killer tape to adhere it all together. (I also used a little more of the tape along the inside bottom to tape the acetate to the bottom of the box to keep it from falling out with the weight of the coral, but the top can be opened.)

Filled it all up with the coral Maggie collected that year & violla!
Instant, adorable keepsake!

Thanks for stopping by!
Now it's time to hop on over to Jenyfur's blog to see what she's created for you!
OH! Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win some BLOG CANDY!!
TTFN!
Becky, a Scrap-a-Teeny Girl