Loving Memories

 I am determined to "beef up" my stash! I have been doing pretty good in the holiday card department, but am lacking in the more generic and birthday categories. Once I got playing with this subtle, but versatile colour combo the other day, I just kept going with it and managed to create my sister-in-law's birthday card (yesterday's post) plus four cards for the stash = a good thing!

I decided this type of layout combined with the colours would work for a sympathy card. I do like to have at least one of these on hand in case the need arises. Here is the inside:

And here is one of the others I made. I quick and simple note card. I love the sentiment on this one. Since I grew up in the country, it rings true. The sentiment is also from the "Country-Born" CTMH set.

I would like to share at:
Heart 2 Heart - CAS
I think I am just going to make the deadline!

Thanks for visitng! Happy Saturday!
Shanna :)

What I used:
stamps - CTMH "Country-Born" D1543, "Big Hug" B1584
ribbon - SU
CTMH Cocoa and black ink
MFT Kraft CS

Sending You Birthday Wishes...

Hello Friday! This is the card I made for my sister-in-law's 30th Birthday. She and my brother are horse lovers, so this CTMH set was perfect.

 Here is the inside:

 And a shot of the envelope I made to go with it.

 I would like to share at the following:

Heart 2 Heart - Your Birthday - the colour chosen for my Birthday month (November) is COCOA - one of my all time favourite CTMH colours!
Seize the Birthday - anything goes
CASology - Birthday

Thanks for visiting!
Shanna :)

What I used:
stamps: CTMH "Country-Born" D1543, "Happy Day" D1041 and W190 large alpha with no name (was a promo long time ago), "Happy Birthday" C1257 and "Card Chatter - Bday" D1475
CTMH Cocoa and black ink
CTMH Cocoa CS, MFT Kraft CS
CTMH edge distresser
SU ribbon
CTMH Durables Artisan Studs

Owl tags

Here are a couple more really quick Christmas tags that I didn't get around to posting. Unfortunately, I have now run out of this fab owl paper that I originally bought from Target a couple years back.

Thanks for stopping by!
Shanna :)

Love

 Here is the other card I made while cropping with the girls on Saturday evening. These were fun colours to play with - straying a little from all the Christmas/Holiday stuff I have been mainly focused on since the beginning of the New Year. I may soon need to switch gears as I have not made any birthday cards for a looong time!

My card is for the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash - Hide and Seek
Heart 2 Heart - tic tac toe
(sketch, cricut - hiding tag, embossing)
Crazy 4 Challenges - sketch

Here is a peek at the sentiment stamped on the "hiding" tag.

Have a great day!
Shanna :)

What I used:
CTMH Diamond embossing folder
CTMH baker's twine
2 cards from different Picture My Life Kits
(I think "Chalk it Up" and "Laughing Lola")
background paper Pink Paislee "PenPals"
Love die - SU
sentiments - Happy Valentine's CTMH
Love you always - Unity
CTMH Thistle CS
Tim Holtz tissue tape

JOY

I enjoyed a fabulous afternoon scrapping and stamping with friends yesterday! I'd had a very busy and stressful week and it was just what I needed! Thanks Donna for organizing such a fabulous crop!!! Anyone who made a Christmas card or completed a project using a current CTMH product, had their names entered for a chance to win a scrappy prize! I won a fabulous collection of CTMH patterned papers!

Here is one of the cards I made at the crop:

I had been looking forward to playing with a fabulous find I stumbled upon just before Christmas - pictured below is the set of Coca Cola Santa playing cards I found in a church basement dime sale! How fun are these?!? I immediately thought of my brother who collects everything Coca Cola - this will likely be his Christmas card next year. I plan to make a few more using these fun images!

I also had the chance to play with some new stash - in addition to the fun, re-purposed playing cards, the Unity background stamp is a new and exciting acquisition from a joint Unity order Donna and I made recently. The inside sentiment is new as well, but I neglected to photograph it. 

This card is for the following:

Jingle Belles - use new stuff! (Unity stamps & those newly acquired Coca Cola Santa playing cards!)
Heart 2 Heart - old is NEW (re-purpose something - Santa playing card
Merry Monday - use a critter on your card (check out that adorable little puppy!)
Christmas Card Challenges - Santa hat inspiration photo

Thanks for visiting and Happy Sunday! 
We are heading out skiing/snowboarding this afternoon - it has finally warmed up!

Shanna :)

What I used:

2 CTMH embossing folders - Damask and Scallop
Joy sentiment - CTMH D1492 "Christmas Love:
Unity backround stamp "Gurnsey Gingham"
CTMH cranberry ink
CTMH New England Ivy CS 
CTMH distressing tool
poinsettia by Prima
Tim Holtz distress ink and paint (thanks Stephanie!)

Holly Jolly

Another holiday card for the stash - hooray!

This one is for the challenge at Little Red Wagon - Frosty!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Shanna :)

What I used:
paper: Crate Paper - Snow Day

Readers

Check out this fab gift my sister Krista made for me for Christmas!!! She knows how much we love to read in our house and that the house is FULL of books, lol, so this is sooo appropriate for us! I had not seen this quote before and I love it! It looks awesome on our piano. 

Now she has me thinking...this would be a great quote to put on a bookmark to include with a new baby gift - we always give books as part of a new baby gift. The wheels are turning, lol!

Thanks Lil' Sis! I adore this wonderful and thoughtful homemade gift! Miss you!

Shanna :)

Holiday Reindeer

Another card for the current challenge at Jingle Belles - "no time like presents" - to use leftover wrapping paper, tags, etc. to create holiday cards. As you can see here, I used an oval punch to create my focal point from this adorable and vintage style wrapping paper that I adore. I used a recent Freshly Made Sketch once again and again, I can't seem to stop using burlap! 

Since I "cut off" part of a poinsettia in the wrapping paper design, I found one that would effectively overlap the image, covering the partial one on the paper while providing some dimension. Cute, but quick and easy and one more card for the 2015 stash!!!

As I mentioned, this card is for the current prompt at Jingle Belles! Head on over and check out the fabulous inspiration. You know you want to get those holiday cards going and reduce your stress next holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by!

Shanna :)

What I used:

oval and scalloped oval punch

Target gift wrap leftovers

burlap

Prima poinsettia

paper - CTMH scrap and Little Yellow Bicycle "Making Merry"

Kaiser pearls for the centre of the poinsettia and to embellish

CTMH distressing tool

A musical Thank You

So glad I had a chance to try out the current sketch from Freshly Made Sketches! It was a bit tricky for me, but I love it. I had to make the card a little larger than the standard size to accommodate the images I wanted to use. I made my card 5 x 6.

I made this card to send to a wonderfully musical family we met at a party before Christmas...
It was an adult party, but the teens of this particular family were invited and told that they were welcome to bring along their instruments. (The hosts of the party are all musical as well - guitarists and pianists.) The teens from this talented family all brought their fiddles!!! So we had a piano (and several people who could play it WELL, two guitars and three fiddles - wow was it a blast! Old-fashioned, down-home Christmas fun complete with caroling and step-dancing - think Riverdance in the living room!!! We so enjoyed it and I must say it was the one of the major highlights of our Christmas season! Since my boys are both musical (both play piano), I am hoping that they will have a chance to meet these young musicians at some point. I really wanted to send them a note in the mail to let them know how much we enjoyed their music.

I must say that I had a tough time photographing this one. The envelope is actually a beautiful light shade of blue, but you can't tell at all in the photo. The photo of the inside gives you a better idea of the true colours on the front of the card.

Here is the inside...

Thank you for your visit!
Shanna :)


What I used:
music note paper - The Paper Studio (gifted to me by Donna)
sentiment - CTMH "Tag the Occasion"
image - CTMH "A Delightful Ditty"
Spellbinders M-bossabilities embossing folder
inside image - CTMH "Sweet Music"

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

Good morning and Happy Sunday! Once again, it is too cold to go snowboarding, so I am in my craft room! (The temp is -27 C, but feels like -36 C with the wind!)

The new challenge at Christmas Card challenges is to CASE a card from a Design Team member. The above card was CASEd from this fun card below, made by Pat (see this post) for the colour scheme! I love combined black with traditional (and sometimes non-traditional) Christmas colours! I also used a recent sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.

Like I said, I have not yet managed to put away the burlap, so here it is again! I will share once again at City Crafter for their Burlap Love challenge - hope it is okay to enter a few times!

So glad you stopped by!

Shanna :)

What I used:

burlap and twine

tag from a cute Walmart set picked up by my Ma during the Boxing Day sales - they came in a little clear paint can!

main patterned paper by Little Yellow Bicycle "Making Merry"

other papers from scrap bin

Sizzix embossing folder 

Love

Again, I really hope you aren't all sick of Christmas cards because I continue to be on a roll and there doesn't seem much sense in stopping as it is such a nice feeling to get the stash going so early in the New Year. I continue to feel so inspired by all the fabulous challenges right now! And besides, the Christmas themed stuff is still front and centre in my scrap room and is easily accessible, so here is another one!

A simple inside using one of my new and fabulous Unity sets.

I would like to share with:

Jingle Belles - no time like presents (use leftover gift tags, wrapping paper, etc.) - the focal point was a tag on one of my youngest son's gifts this year, I covered up the hole with some twine and a button - I actually managed to make hand-stamped tags for most of my gifts this year and had a blast doing it, yay!

Cute Card Thursday - What's New (Unity sentiment & patterned paper background)

Crazy 4 Challenges - When you look at this new craft room, what are the first things you think to put in it? (besides stamps and paper)

 - I thought first of my sewing machine and my Cricut, both of which I used on this card

Thanks so much for your visit!

Shanna :)

What I used:
patterned paper - Little Yellow Bicycle "Making Merry" 6x6 pack
recycled Christmas tag - silhouette image is from Cricut Cartridge "A Child's Year"
machine stitching, baker's twine, random button
sentiment inside: Unity "Let's be Jolly" grab bag

Oh Christmas Tree!

Well, hopefully you aren't all tired of Christmas just yet as I seem to be on a roll here! I really loved this recent sketch from Freshly Made, but didn't get a chance to play while it was current. (Can't wait to play with their current one!) However, it worked really well with this fun tag when I got around to playing.

 The tag is from a cute set my Mom picked up on clearance in the Boxing Day sales when she was visiting at the holidays - Thanks Mom! I was actually supposed to share these with my Lil Sis, but we forgot to share them out before she left - sorry! A good reason for her to visit again soon maybe! Anyhow, turns out these tags make for fun cards when used with a fun sketch!

I also used some of the new Little Yellow Bicycle 6x6 paper pad I picked up in the Christmas Sales! Love that fun greyish snowflake background! 

The ribbon is also new - my Lil Sis dug it out of a clearance bin at a Boxing Day sale somewhere (can't remember where) and was nice enough to share it with me!

A little embossing, a little stitching and without much fuss, voila another holiday card for the stash! I left this one without a sentiment. Sometimes it's nice to have a few like that as it could become a holiday thank you at the last minute or I could add the sentiment on the inside in another language for example. My husband's side of the family is French so I do have a few French sentiments for the holidays.

I would like to share this at:

Shopping Our Stash - Happy NEW Year! - use something new (ribbon, tag, patterned paper)
City Crafter - Burlap Love
and
Cute Card Thursday - What's New? (ribbon, tag, paper)

Thanks for visting!
 I just got back from a skate ski lesson under the lights out at Lappe Nordic. It was a great lesson but it was a little on the cold side! Well, not as cold as it was here yesterday in Thunder Bay, Ontario when it still felt like -42 C (with the wind chill) at noon, but it was chilly tonight, -18 c and with the wind it felt like about -27 c. Good thing there are lots of trees - we had our lesson in a treed area where it was very sheltered from the wind, so it really wasn't too bad. My bed, conveniently equipped with flannel sheets; however, is calling my name rather loudly, so off I go. 

Sweet Dreams!

Shanna :)

Christmas tags

A few tags I made for Christmas but didn't find time to post...

Cheers,

Shanna :)

What I used:
CTMH - Gingerbread (long retired) for the candy canes
joy sentiment - SU
Holiday Wishes sentiment "Holiday Wishes" by Tina Wenke
other random bits and bobs hanging around my scrap table
shipping tags - LOVE these!

Winter Wonder

I have another winter/Christmas card for the stash.

I struggled with the burlap strip on the left side - it seemed to need something, so I added some stitching. Not sure I love it, but I don't hate it either, so here it is and here it be. I may give it another go and play around with the layout as I stamped out 3 or 4 of these images. Might change the shape of the card altogether, hmmm... would love to hear your ideas...

This one I created for:
Merry Monday - snowflake
and
City Crafter - burlap love
and
Shopping Our Stash -  Happy NEW Year - use something new

I do love the mitten die - Thanks Danderella for loaning me that one - ahemm, I think I maybe inadvertently hung onto that one much longer than was polite! thanks again!

Here is the inside of my card using a sentiment from my recently acquired Unity stamp set "Like a Snowflake" - love this set - you will be seeing lots of it!

Thanks for visiting!

Shanna :)

What I used:
sentiment, snowflakes - Unity ...like a snowflake (December 2014 sentiment kit)
image on front - CTMH Winter Wonder D1241
outdoor denim ink
burlap
MFT mitten die
Bella bling, twine, embroidery floss

Season's Greetings - card #1

New Year's resolutions - one of mine is to get organized for Christmas earlier this year! Since I definitely do not want to give up on making and sending homemade cards and making as many homemade gifts as possible, I think I am going to make a written plan with deadlines to try to keep it fun and keep myself on track. 

Fall is my favourite time of year, but it seems always to be my busiest, personally and at work (can you say LOTS of travel?) I often seem to be in denial about this, perhaps because I hate the feeling of "facing it" when the calendar turns to September. However, the denial leads to other problems that may be relieved with more detailed advanced planning. I am still milling over the rest of the plan, but part of it is to try my best to play along with the bi-weekly challenge at Jingle Belles - this should help in the card department! This year's first prompt is "No time like the presents" - to use leftover bits of wrapping paper, ribbons, tags, tissue paper etc. from gifts! Well, that I can do - my family makes fun of me for unwrapping so slowly! It's because I am always trying to figure out what I can re-use!

I would also like to share my card at:

The Paper Players where the challenge is to create a project using something that has been re-purposed or recycled
and
Christmas Card Challenges - colour challenge - most of the colours are there, with a few additions

Thanks so much for visiting!
Shanna :)

What I used:
recycled wrapping paper from Target
recycled Christmas Cracker remnants
Pink Paislee "Snow Village"
CTMH - B1455 "Be Jolly"
sewing machine
MME Indie Chic lace
Prima poinsettia

Happy 40th Trevor!

Our friend Trevor turned Friday on January 2nd. This is the card I made for him. 

It was the perfect opportunity to play with my recently acquired, but not yet inked, stamp set from Stampin' Up! Next time, I might try cutting the numbers out with my cricut machine.

I would like to share at:
Less is More - black, metallic plus one
Crazy 4 Challenges - CAS

The temperature is -38 C with windchill today here in Thunder Bay. No outdoor activities for this girl today! Gonna take care of a few chores and then get crafty!

Thanks for visiting!
Shanna :)

What I used:
SU "Work of Art" 
CTMH "Giggle Lowercase"
bling
Enjoy die cut - The Greeting Farm "Delicate words"
ink: CTMH Juniper and black

Have an ice day!

 Happy New Year!
Sure hope you had a fabulous holiday, we sure did! My parents, my sister, her hubby and my nephew arrived for a visit on Dec. 27th. We celebrated Christmas together on Dec. 30th and New Year's on Dec. 31st. Way to fit it in eh? The three boys - my two and my nephew - had so much fun together just playing and being goofy. It was so wonderful to have them together again! I so wish my sister and I lived closer together - nobody can make me laugh (and almost pee my pants, lol) like she can! We like to think that living so far apart makes the time we spend together that much more special, and let's face it, if we didn't live 17 hours apart, how often would we have sleepovers?!? There is something about spending the entirety of a few days - mornings, meals, evenings - together that is just really special.

They were supposed to begin the long journey home tomorrow morning (they drove 17 hours to get here!) but there is a storm coming, so they departed this morning to try to get ahead of it. I received a text an hour or so ago letting us know that they have stopped for the night in Cochrane, ON where they rented what they believe to have been the last available hotel room in town! Hoping they have safe roads for the rest of their drive tomorrow!

I couldn't wait to share with you the card I made for my nephew! I was in the checkout line at Target and spotted this Gingerbread hockey play gift card. I thought of my nephew right away who is all about the hockey and who was on his way to my house! I planned to make it into a quick tag to add to his gift, but it morphed into a card which was perfect since it allowed me to use this "punny" sentiment! He LOVED it!

 I have never met a two year old who is so intrigued by small things such as his Auntie's homemade cards. Sure made Auntie happy!

Here is the inside:

I would like to share at:

Cute Card Thursday - anything goes

Winter Wonderland - fave colour combo

this time of year, I love adding black to a traditional mix of red and green!

Thanks for your visit! I hope to be back soon!

Shanna :)

What I used:

gift card from Target

CTMH - Wintry Wishes C1560

Gel-a-tins "Hockey Goals"