Cold Turkey

Back when the old version of this blog was up and running I did something I called "Cold Turkey" where I made it my mission to make some Christmas cards throughout November so I wouldn't feel as rushed come December.  I decided to do it again this year and plan on posting a new Christmas card every Tuesday and Thursday this month (except probably Thanksgiving itself since that just feels wrong).

To start it off I decided to make this Christmas card which I was simple and quick to make (I'm travelling out of state this weekend so I've been spending today mostly packing).

I love when I'm able to avoid making your typical green and red Christmas cards which is what I enjoy about this one as well.  

Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this venture throughout the month and be all ready for December!  Wish me luck!

Identifiable Elements:

• Merry Christmas sticker- Sleigh Ride collection by BoBunny
• Rhinestones- Adhesive Gems by Simply Creative
• Brown paper- Neutrals card stock stack by DCWV

Fast Card Friday

Today's Fast Card Friday truly was fast.  I used all pre-made pieces and was able to slap it together quite quickly!  I thought this would be a good card to use as more of my friends are taking major steps in their lives with getting new jobs or buying their first houses.

The other great thing about this card was that I was able to use up the last of a rhinestone sheet and the last of these pink flowers which means my goal of clearing my stash is even closer to being completed!

Because of this goal I unfortunately can only identify one piece of this card but at least it's one of the important bits!

Identifiable Elements

• Pink flowers- Paper Shapes in Gerbera Cotton Candy by Bazzill Basics Paper

Fast Card Friday

Today I was inspired by the most random thing possible.  I was looking through some of my font stickers and noticed I was running out of these red ones so I decided to try and figure out what I could spell with them.  When I realized I could spell "Good Luck" I knew I had a Fast Card Friday on my hands.

To make the rest of the card I sprayed some distressing ink, punched out some cute ovals, and slapped on some rhinestones.  It truly was a fast card AND it had the added bonus of letting me use up some of the pieces I'd been meaning to.

Luckily I have friends who are constantly growing as people and taking on new endeavors so I know this card will be put to good use!

Identifiable Elements:

• Distressing ink- Pinstripe by Mister Huey's Color Mists
• Oval paper- I Love Family collection by Echo Park Paper Co.
• Rhinestones- Adhesive gems by Imaginisce

Couldn't Wait 'Til Wednesday

This page probably should've been saved for a Hoarder's Hump Day but I'm just too proud of it to wait!  I'm super excited that I got to use the custom Thickers of glitter that I had originally made for a different page.  I had ended up not using them because I didn't think they worked but when I found these photos and realized the phrase and the date were right I immediately knew I had to work with them!

Lots of times I find myself trying to steer away from red and especially yellow so I'm really proud of myself for embracing this background paper.  I'm surprised at how much I ended up loving it!

I used a lot of things I'd been hoarding so unfortunately the pieces I can identify is limited.  It's my goal to eventually pare down my stash to only things that I name but I believe that's just a pipe dream at this point.

Identifiable Elements:

• Background paper- School Days collection by Bazzill Basics Paper
• Rhinestones- Adhesive Gems by Simply Creative
• Custom thickers- DIYthickers in Shoebox by American Crafts

Fast Card Friday

This Fast Card Friday only happened because I realized I might actually start needing baby cards.  I've never really had a need as I hardly know anyone having kids but I was at work one day and we were talking about how it seemed like we had so many pregnant coworkers giving birth recently and I decided I might want to have some cards on hand for that.

I luckily have some paper die cuts of baby related things that my mom gave me from her old Creative Memories stash.  I used the purple booties to start because I thought they were really cute and I really like purple.  A lot of this is random stuff I had stashed away.  It was really quick to throw together and I already have a potential recipient!

Identifiable Elements:

• Backround paper- Kraft Classics paper pad by SEI
• Rhinestones- Adhesive Gems by Simply Creative

4 Photo Frenzy

I've noticed that not too many scrappers seem to be doing 4 photo layouts without cropping their photos but I have a lot of pages that I need to get done that'll fit that description.  Today's page is one of them.

Most of these photos weren't super croppable (I'm making that a word now) so I decided to embrace it.  I used a heavily patterned paper for the background so that I could have visual interest without piling too much on and making the page heavy.  

I refuse to crop my memories for aesthetics.

I added a few finishing touches with the chipboard and rhinestones (because I can never have enough bling).  Unfortunately, a lot of this page came from my stash with no name.

For such a fast page to put together this turned out to be one of my favorites that I've done in awhile!

Identifiable Elements:

• Sticker letters- Summer Fresh collection by Simple Stories
• Rhinestones- Adhesive Gems by Simply Creative

Fast Card Friday

Today's fast card is fast in that it doesn't take long to put the pieces together but it does take a bit of time to dry.  I still consider it fast because without drying time it only took me about 10 minutes to create.

This card was fun to make because I tried out something different with glitter glue.  I lumped a whole lot of streaks of glitter onto the white piece that I had stamped flowers on then unleashed my inner toddler and smeared it with my fingers to get them to mix together.

Finger painting is just as fun as an adult.

I got a little messy myself but I think the otherwise clean lines of the card balance out the visual interest of the glitter.

Unfortunately the blue and green glitter glues had no label as I won them from a contest many years back.

Identifiable Elements:

• Flower stamp- Secret Garden by Stampin' Up!
• Birthday stamp- Bring On the Cake by Stampin' Up!
• Ink- Basic Gray by Stampin' Up!
• Gold glitter- Glitter Glue by Studio G
• Green paper- Neutrals cradstock stack by DCWV
• Rhinestones- Adhesive Gems by Simply Creative

Scrap Our Stash September Challenge

Now that I'm back I'm excited to take on some new challenges but first I thought I'd go back to a challenge blog that I always enjoyed and undertake the Scrap Our Stash challenge for the month.

This month the challenge is to use a grid layout and transparency.  Lucky for me my last trip to JoAnn's yielded some transparent papers on sale!  I used the black dots one and in all honesty, while this is my first time using them, I'm in love.

I kept the grid them with the squares and the background I made.  I'm really proud that my squares I cut actually turned out to be square (I'm not always the best at lining my papers up on the cutter)!

I had a little bit of trouble getting my camera to "see" the lettering, but I promise, it's there!

Play along with me at the Scrap Our Stash Challenge blog!

Identifiable Elements: 

• Background paper- The Color of Memories by American Crafts
• Transparent polka dots by- "Raven Dots" by Bazzill Basics Paper
• Black flowers- Jolee's Boutique
• Black embossed swirls- Jolee's Boutique
• Gray embossed cardstock- Two Scoops collection by Bazzill Basics Paper
• Tan cardstock- Neutrals cardstock stack by DCWV

Pile Picking

I have quite the growing pile of various crafting supplies on my craft table and as disorganized as I am, even I am finding it difficult to work with.  I've begun digging out stuff to put away but of course that's no fun so I've started a new game with myself.  Every time I find a stamp set or embellishment calling my name in the pile I stop and make something with it (putting away everything once I'm done of course to keep the pile from growing).  This time I used a stamp set that had yet to be experimented with and made this super simple birthday card.  I challenged myself even more on accident by stamping it in a color that I had surprisingly little coordinating paper, buttons, or anything else really.  As always, a little glitter was definitely necessary.