Are we ready yet?

Are you busy running around buying last minute gifts, wrapping presents, making cookies or the last minute card? I know that this weekend has been time to pull a lot of things together for me or "out of the hat" so to speak. I've got MOST of the wrapping done - had to make sure I could get everything back to NY so the DH called a friend and we have borrowed a covered trailer so that I could be sure that my bows wouldn't crush and my paper wouldn't get soggy in the ski carrier. I didn't want to wait until Chirstmas Eve to wrap - that's when I start to relax and enjoy. So, I've had the Christmas cd's going and plenty of tape on hand to do my Martha thing.

I also fit some time in to stamp and thought I would share a few projects. I'm gonna be brief on the supplies so that I can do a few more things before we head to a Christmas party tonight. First up are some Christmas cards. I had to wait until they made their way to mailboxes but if they haven't, sit tight - I was a little late this year.



I loved my Papertrey Ink September release sets. This card was deisgned by one of the design team members. I found it as I cruised through their blogs looking for ideas on how to use the stamps. This tree is so pretty. It's from the Tree Trimming Trio set. I love the swirls and pointed boughs. The buttons were easy to place as the stamp has outlines to help guide you. The set had some pretty ornament stamps that could be used there as well. I chose to follow the sample and used dark buttons (most liekly rescued from an old shirt). The Noel sentiment is also in this set but the background is from Peaceful Poinsettia. I added a silk ribbon bow and antiqued the image using Tim Holtz distress inks. The music note paper was in the Fa La La pack by Making Memories (I think, I've lost the label) but I know I found it at Target last year.

Next up... Vervealisious



This card uses the Ornamental Christmas set from Verve. Tiffany got it for me last year for Christmas and I can't tell you I how much I've used this. It's making it's way onto my gift tags this year and the sentiments found their way onto a few cards throughout the year. It's that versitile and the ornaments are just so elegant. I choose to make this a little more rustic so I picked the solid bulb but paired it with the flair of the cursive sentiment. I then added a picture hanger at the top so I could loop some hemp and "hang" it from the boughs I made. Yes, this stamp is in the set as well. See, it's got lots of neat things for you. The little holly and berries used to adorn the ornament was made with a small punch I found at JoAnn's this year by EK Success. Of course, I had to drive to Detroit to find it because my small store just doesn't have much stock but I did get it on sale and used it on a few things this season. The design paper is Christmas Cheer by K&Company and again, I bought it last year. Do you see the pattern here...I buy (ok, hoard) and then I get around to using. The ribbon was bought with Chirstmas cards in mind. It's just more of the bargains I found at Mary Maxim's this summer. I passed it by at first because it was so dark and then a light bulb clicked off that it would be the perfect color to pair with Christmas red. I scurried - yes I was a bit frantic that it would be gone, and was relieved to find it in their tent sale. See, it just takes me time to find the usefulness of my supplies.

I again softened the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink, this time I went a little darker with Vintage Photo so that it gave the apperance of being in the woods.

Next up...

They're here. Yes, the cabinets have finally arrived. They were a few days late as the manufacturer had to close the plant due to an ice storm but they got in late Thursday night. The staff at good 'ol LumberJack stayed late to pull them off one truck and load them onto one of ours so they could be delivered early Friday morning. I had hoped that some of them would have been installed but no - they apparantly need to acclimate to the termperature of the house before they can be hung or they are likely to crack. Soooo, on Monday the hanging begins. Our kitchen and living room are filled with the unboxed cabinets and I was thrilled to see the color and design. I am VERY pleased. Last minute Shaun and I switched to a Burgandy Cherry and we are so happy we did. They look great check them out...



This is a view of the cabinet that will go over the refrigerator. It's 24 inches deep and it looks like it will hold a ton. I now need a step stool so that I can reach in the way back without the DH's assistance. You also get a view of one of the open shelves that will sit on either side over the sink.



This is a view of one of the smaller cabinets that will sit on either side of the microwave over the stove. At first we were going to have open wine racks/shelves and last minute we switched to enclosed cabinets so that I could fit more in and have less visible clutter. You also get a view of the wall color - a soft earthy mutted yellow. For those of you who know us, it's the same color as our NY kitchen. Also in this view is the tile. What an improvement over the stuff we had before. You'll notice that the base moulding is not up yet in this location as they are waiting for the cabinet to be mounted next to the refridgerator. Here's a look at that...



It's massive. I couldn't even fit it all into the picture. Wouldn't you know that I painted most of the back wall thinking that I didn't know how high the cabinets would go and this is almost 3 inches shy of the ceiling. That means once the crown is installed it will be just skimming the top. Oh well - better safe than sorry. You can see in the background that I skimped on the corner wall because I didn't want to waste time and paint where a cabinet was going to be. I also thought it might be fun for the next person that redoes the kitchen to see a little of the history of it's changes throughout time.

Ok - gotta go finish some wrapping.

Have a great week as we enter the Christmas season. We'll be heading to NY on Wednesday so I don't know if I'll have time to get back to you before then. Thank you for your support and kind words as I journey through the world of paper arts. While I wish I could create side by side with all of you, it's been fun to share my creations and inspirations via the net.

I wish you Peace and Happiness for the coming year.

Love, Cath

A Cheery Greeting

Hello Everyone!

Hope you are having fun preparing for the holidays. I have visions of Christmas cookies baking, cards being mailed, and presents being wrapped. I'll have to settle for the presents bought and the kitchen being primed and painted. Our new cabinets will be delivered next week and I can't tell you how exicted we are and ready. Living out of boxes and seeing white dust everyday is getting a little old. On a good note, the bathroom demolition was a great improvement along with the tile floor and new casings for all the windows and doors. Pulling the refridgerator out of the closet and finally exposing a pantry is pure bliss. Our goal is to finish painting that this weekend so we can start to put our food in there and off the hallway floor. Keep your fingers crossed that I have the energy to complete this.

Knowing that I had lots to do in the kitchen today, I was up early again so that I could create. Early was 3am because I couldn't sleep. The creating consisted of a new card that I cased from Amy Sheffer. I bought the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird 6x6 DP when I visited my sissy this summer and I haven't really used it. Amy created this card using the papers and I just had to give it a try. Her ability to combine colors amazes me. I would not have come up with this combo on my own and yet I love it!



I added a heat embossed birthday sentiment and some Martha Stewart punched butterflies. A few stray buttons (I'm learning to recycle these off shirts that won't cut it for the Salvation Army) and a ribbon bow make this a done deal.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for looking.

Cath

A Christening

Yes, I'm alive. Thanksgiving preparations, kitchen renovations, and Christmas shopping have left me with very little creative time. I made sure to get up early this weekend since we were staying in town so that I could relax in my craft haven. Shaun doesn't understand why I would get up at 6am on the weekend, but with so much to do, I wanted to make sure I found some time for me. I had two projects this weekend. First up is a Christening card for my newest nephew, John Patrick (Jack). The whole family headed to DC for the special event but the DH and I just couldn't swing another trip. After hearing about all the snow they got - way before we did I might add - I'm not so distraught. That would have been a treacherous trip through the PA mountains. Can't believe they actually got snow before we did!

Ok, on to the card.



I know this looks a little grown up for a baby but I loved the navy and copper color combo and decided to make a go of it. The DP is from SEI's Moravia pack. It was a steal a few weeks back on Michael's clearance rack. I love the rich colors and mix and match patterns. I thought a Nestabilites Label 4 frame for the cross image would lighten the mood up. The Celtic Cross stamp is from Inkadinkadoo and was stamped with Encore Ultimate Metallic ink in Bronze. It shimers so much in real life but I don't think you can see it in the picture. If you click on the picture, you can blow the image up and see it a little better. You can even see that I cut a second image out and popped it up with dimensionals to give it a little more depth. The sentiment was created on my computer using the LD Adornment font and it was cut out with the SU Word punch.

Note: The font was a freebie I got on scrapnfonts. If you haven't been there yet you should check it out because they always have fonts in the freebie basket. I just went there to confirm the site address for you and they in fact have five fonts that I haven't got yet, Whoo Hoo! This site used to have lots of fonts for the Creative Keepsakes publication and they start with CK. I've used quite a few of those on my work as well.

Tags to treasure...


My second project is an adorable snowman that I colored using my Copics. I then added some Polar White Flower Soft for the snow and Ultra Fine Glitter Snow on the snowflakes. Again, the picture does not do this justice. I think my light might be part of the problem. Too many chores during daylight hours meant that the picture clarity was sacrificed. Sorry guys. This stamp is by Art Impressions and I used scraps from Linda and John's print sample paper to make these. It makes a difference on the way the Copics are absorbed but I reasoned that it was a tag and would be hardly noticed. While I would be hard pressed to throw this out, I know that only so many things in life can be saved.

That's all I have for today folks. The DH is putsing around in the kitchen which means that he wants dinner so I had better get moving before more than his stomache is growling.

Thanks for stopping by and have a good week.