Christmas Joy Nativity

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog. Another weekend is upon us. Hope you have some great plans.

 

I will be in my kitchen today making cookies for my niece's baby shower. My contribution is a ladylock. It's a puff pastry with a delicious vanilla buttercream filling. I plan on making 8 dozen cookies.

I can't attend her shower because I will be out in San Francisco taking care of my precious granddaughter Phoenix Daisy. My son and daughter-in-law are going away for a little r & r over the Columbus Day weekend. My hubby is staying here in Pittsburgh to hold down the fort while I am gone.

I am looking forward to seeing her and doing all our usual stuff. Which generally means we will play with her baby dolls from morning till night. She just never gets tired of it. I get worn out at the end of the day though (lol)!!

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz Blog. Today, I am using one of our new dies Joy Nativity. To me this die represents the essence of Christmas. I love the bold Joy word as well as how the Holy Family is nested in the letter "O".  So let's get started with some details on how I created my card.

Step 1:   This week I started off with a sketch. I found this perfect one on Splitcoaststampers. It wasn't too fussy and it allowed the Joy word to be the center focus.

Step 2: I looked through my paper stash for patterned paper that wouldn't take the focus away from the Joy word and at the same time have a touch of elegance to it. I found this red and gold paper that I thought would work for the elegant look I was after. I paired it up with a red card base that was almost a perfect match.

Maraschino Red Card Base: 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"
Patterned Paper Layer: 5 3/8" x 4 1/8"

Step 3:  For the oval elements #3 & #4) of the sketch I used the largest nested stitched eyelet die and the 2nd largest oval die. It nested quite nicely in the eyelet die and the eyelet die kept with the elegant look I wanted for this card.

Step 4: I cut my Joy word in a gold cardstock. There is such detail in this die. If you click on this photo or any of them really, it will allow you to see the detail I am talking about. Attached to the oval shapes with dimensional adhesive. Being raised a bit from the ovals will give it nice depth. 

Step 5: Attached the oval panel to the striped patterned paper layer. For the #2 layer of this sketch I decided to use ribbon. Looked through my ribbon stash and found this pleated ribbon that is a good match for the card base.  I really like adding ribbon on Christmas cards. I think it dresses them up nicely. 

 Attached my image panel to the card base and scattered a few sequins to complete this card. I hope I have given you an idea for using this new Joy Nativity die. By keeping your card simple, you could easily mass produce this one for Christmas. Well, that's it for me for this post. So until next time.........God bless.

Dies I used to create card:

I am also entering:

1.  Hiding in My CraftRoom has a freestyle challenge.

2.  Just Us Girls has a word die cuts challenge.

3.  Alphabet Challenge has an "O" for oval

4.  Winter Wonderland has an anything goes Christmas challenge.

5.  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is anything goes.

Frankenstein owl says hello

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog. Hope you all had a good weekend.

I have been down with a cold and yesterday was the first day that I started feeling well. Time for me now to catch up on all my "other stuff" that was neglected. Oh, I didn't mention that I passed it along to my hubby. And, now he is off work sick.

 

Our weather has been like summer time here. Hot and humid but I am loving it. Not ready to let summer go yet even though fall has officially arrived on the calendar.

 

Anyway, let's move onto my card for today. This one I made for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz Blog. There is a new release of Halloween & Christmas dies just released for ordering. Check them all out here.

My card today is using some of the new dies: Frankenstein & Ghost Owls and Halloween Phrases & More. So let's get started with some details on how I created my card.



When I saw this Frankenstein Owl die, I immediately knew I was going to make a card for my husband. I call him Dr. Frankenstein sometimes- jokingly of course. He was filling his gas blower in our garage once and the smell filled our entire house. Hence the name was borne for him (lol)!!So he will get a chuckle out of this card as well.



Step 1: Selected my card colors. I found some double sided designer paper in my stash from an old Halloween collection. I liked these patterns and thought it would work well for the layout I had in mind.

Green Card Base: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Designer Paper: 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" (cut in half)

Step 2:  I cut my Frankenstein Owl in Stampin'-Up old olive, pear pizzazz and mossy meadow cardstocks. He is such a little cutie.

I also cut a rectangle- used 2 different sizes and layered them together on my cardstock to get a wide frame. I did the same with the wacky stitched circle to get a wider frame. To connect the layers together, I used the CottageCutz icicle die. I thought it would work for the drippy goo you see on Halloween cards.

I cut my hello word from the CottageCutz Hello Spring die in a pumpkin shade. The pumpkin is part of the Halloween Phrases & More die.

Step 3: Attached the rectangle and circle to the card base. The rectangle is on an angle-just for some added interest.  

I changed the color of the drippy goo to a pumpkin shade. The designer paper has this cinnamon shade in it but its not a lot and I didn't think it was a good match on my card.

My Frankenstein Owl is popped up with dimensional adhesive. Attached the hello word and my pumpkin to the rectangle corner.

To complete my card, I stamped the friend word and scattered a few orange sequins. I hope I have given you some inspiration on a way to use this cute new owl die.


Time to get busy with the "other stuff" that got neglected (lol)!!!. So until next time...........God bless.


Dies I used to create card:

I am also entering:

1.  Always Fun Challenges has an anything goes challenge.

2.  Crafting From the Heart has an anything goes challenge.

3.  Crafty Cardmakers has an Autumn Challenge.

4.  heARTful Stamping has any anything goes + stamping challenge.

Give Thanks 2017

Hello Blogger Friends Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog.

Well, Autumn has officially arrived on the calendar but the weather here in Pittsburgh is typically what we have in July and August. That we didn't have during those months (lol)!!! It's 88° and high humidity.

 

This is just the weather that tomatoes like to ripen, and we have a lot right now. I spent several days this week canning tomatoes. I have 12 jars now to enjoy this winter. I also have been roasting a lot of them as well. I will probably have enough this week to process another 7 jars. It's a lot of work and this week  I didn't feel well so it took me twice as long to get this done.

 

Preschool has started and a couple of kids have already been out sick. I guess I got what they had but life goes on when you are an adult. Today I am feeling better and trying to catch up on stuff I didn't get done this week.

 

So, let's move onto my card for today. This one I created for the color challenge #648. Pam was our hostess and she chose daffodil delight, wild wasabi, fresh fig and very vanilla as her color palette. Optional this week is sequins. I didn't have any sequins that fit this color scheme so I used daffodil delight enamel dots.

daffodil delight, wild wasabi, fresh fig, very vanilla

 When Pam picked these colors, I thought of making a Thanksgiving card with sunflowers. So that's the direction I took. My first Thanksgiving card of the season.

The sunflowers, wheat stalks and give thanks word are all dies from CottageCutz. I cut the sunflowers in daffodil delight and sponged with the same color ink for depth. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop them up on the card for added interest.

 

The centers I cut in fresh fig. Love this rich fig color but it is a bit hard to photograph. Wheat stalks are cut in crumb cake and sponged with a bit of fossilized amber distress ink.

For my background, I used the pinewood planks embossing folder (Stampin'-Up) with vanilla cardstock and then sponged with crumb cake ink.

To complete my card, I cut my give thanks phrase in fresh fig and added my enamel dots. Well that's it for me for today. Time to get back to some household chores.

So until next time........God bless.

 

Card Details:

Paper: fresh fig, crumb cake, daffodil delight, wild wasabi, very vanilla  

Paper Size: 4 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Ink: daffodil delight, wild wasabi, crumb cake (Stampin'-Up), fossilized amber distress (Ranger)

Accessories: sunflowers, wheat stalks, give thanks dies (CottageCutz), pinewood planks ef, its my party enamel dots (Stampin-Up)  

 

Dies I used to create card: 

I am also entering:

1.  Hiding in my Craft Room has an any holiday challenge.

2.  My Time to Craft has a die cuts only challenge

3.  Simon Says Stamp has a Pop it up challenge. I popped up my sunflowers

Birthday Balloons

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog.

Well we are having a wave of hot weather here. Even though tomorrow is the first day of Autumn, you wouldn't know it. Our temps are in the high 80's-very humid and air conditioners are running again.

It's been good for our tomatoes that are still ripening. We are getting a lot each day and I am in canning mode right now. I processed 6 jars of tomato sauce today and tomorrow I will do another 6. Using a mixture of Heirloom and Roma will make for some winter deliciousness. It's a lot of work but so worth it in my opinion.

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for the color challenge #649 on Splitcoaststampers. Maura was our hostess and she chose basic gray, lemon lime twist and Bermuda bay. Optional was to make a birthday card.

For my card I used the MFT party balloons stamp set and matching dies. I cased myself on this card. Here is my original card in other colors. The balloons are stamped in bermuda bay and lemon lime twist inks.

The bermuda bay background paper is from the Stampin'-Up "confetti celebration" collection. The frame is cut in basic gray with the insta-frame die from MFT.

For my birthday phrase, I used the happy hello's die also from MFT. The birthday sentiment is from the label maker sentiments set also from MFT. 

Well, that's my card for this post. Time to dim the lights in Charmed Life land for another day. So until next time........God bless.

I am also entering: 

1.  Aud Sentiments has a 2 word sentiment challenge.

2.  Seize the Birthday-topping for the month is balloons.

3.  A Bit More Time to Craft has an anything goes challenge.

Halloween Candy Jar

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog on this 3rd Saturday in September.

 

It's a busy day for me today. Our tomatoes all seemed to ripen quickly over the past few days. So I am going to roast them and freeze them for use this winter. In past years, I used the water bath canning method. But this year I am trying something different. Roasted tomatoes are so delicious.

 

I roast them with onions, garlic, olive oil and a good balsamic vinegar for 30 minutes. When they start to caramelize, I take them from oven and use my food processor to puree. Then simply put them in freezer bags and into the freezer. I have both Roma and Heirloom tomatoes. Sometimes I mix them and sometimes I keep them separate. I think the Heirlooms are my favorite but the Roma's come in at a very close second.

 

So anyway, let's move to my card for today. This one I created for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz Blog. My card today is using some of the new dies that will be released On September 20th: Halloween Candy Jar and Halloween Phrases & More. So let's get started with some details on how I created my card.

Step 1: I already knew the dies I intended to use for my card so I just needed my layout. Splitcoaststampers had one that I thought would work well with my candy jar image. I substituted the candy jar for the oval in the sketch. And for element #4, I used my word phrase and the spider for element #5. I also added an additional layer.

Step 2: Selected my card colors. I found some double sided designer paper in my stash from an old Stampin'-Up Halloween collection. I decided to use the dotted pattern and paired it up with olive green and  cinnamon cardstocks.

Cajun Craze Card Base: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Old Olive Green Layer: 4 1/8" x 5 3/8"
Designer Paper Layer: 3 7/8" x 5 1/4"

Step3:  I cut my candy jar and candy in various cardstock. I just used the colors that were shown on the die packaging. So perfect for candy colors. Oh, and check out the eyeballs in the jar and the jar lid is a bat shape. Oh well it's Halloween!!

Step 4: Assembled all the pieces inside the jar. I decided to add a piece of clear acetate over the die cuts. I thought it would give a more realistic look of a glass candy jar. You can't really tell in this photo but the recipient will get the idea. Although when I photographed my card, I noticed that the photo lamp created a slight glare on the acetate.

Step 5: Time to begin the assembly of my card. Since lots of people have Halloween parties, I decided to make this one an invitation. It would be easy enough to reproduce. The phrase I used is part of the Halloween Phrase & More die. It will be available the middle of next week. So look for it in the online store. I cut it in cajun craze and old olive cardstocks to match the patterned paper.

 

I used dimensional adhesive on the candy jar. I like the look of it not being directly against the patterned paper. The little bit of dimension again makes it more like a real candy jar. At least that is my opinion.

Step 6:  To complete my card I secured the image panel to the cajun craze card base. I cut a couple more spiders and added them to the card. The bottom right one is layer 5 of the sketch and to balance the card off I added one to the upper left of my Halloween word. I also used some Wink of Stella on the spiders to give them a little sparkle.

Well that's it for me for this post. I hope I have given you an idea for a way to use this new candy jar die. Remember, to go to the online store on Wednesday, September 20 for ordering. So until next time........ God bless.

 

Dies I used to create card:

 

 

I am also entering:

1.  Scrap & Craft has an autumnal colors challenge.

2.  Crafty Catz has a Halloween challenge.

3.  Fussy and Fancy has a fall colors challenge.

4.  PolkaDoodles has an anything goes challenge.   

Puppy Trick or Treat

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with the Charmed Life Blog.

Well we are into the 9th day of September. I hope you are making a smooth transition from the hot, humid summer months. Our temperatures have cooled off somewhat rapidly here in Pittsburgh. So fall is coming- maybe a bit sooner than we want (LOL)! With fall comes thoughts of back to school, harvest time, pumpkins, hay rides and of course Halloween.

I don't typically make Halloween cards but CottageCutz introduced this cute puppy die and I thought I would make a card for my daughter-in-law. She will like it because I will send it from their dog.

This is also the card I made for my weekly DT post on the CottageCutz Blog. My card today is using some of the new dies: Halloween Pup, Halloween Phrases & More and Halloween Candy Jar. So let's get started with some details on how I created my card.

Step 1: This week I started my card with my layout. Splitcoaststampers had a good one posted for their Wednesday Sketch Challenge #661. I thought it would work great for my card idea. A layout always helps me to jump start my creativity.

Step 2: I looked through my cardstock and patterned papers to see what colors would work best for a fall card. I chose a pumpkin, olive green and purple for the main card colors. I decided to use the patterned paper for the larger part of the background (#2 in above sketch). Embossed the solid colored cardstock with a pumpkin embossing folder.

Background measurements:
patterned paper: 2 1/2" x 5 3/8"
Embossed Pumpkin Cardstock: 1 3/4" x 5 3/8"

I didn't want a seam showing, so I used some ribbon that matched the puppy's hat and my trick or treat words  to cover the seam and also as an accent piece.

Step 3: Time to start the die cutting. I decided to use more bright festive colors for the puppy's hat. He is such a little cutie and I wanted that carried over with the hat as well as the rest of the card. I believe I accomplished that look.

The trick or treat word I wanted placed in the circle element of the sketch. I used the 4th largest die in the CottageCutz circle set. It's approximately 2 1/2" round. This size was a perfect fit.

Step 4: I am ready to start assembly of my card parts. I cut a rectangle (#3) on the sketch. I layered that over a purple panel. It defined the panel a little more. Used the largest pierced rectangle die.

I added a few pumpkin enamel dots on this panel and a spider to the circle panel. The spider is from the new Halloween Candy Jar set. Layered  onto a white cardstock base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2") and my card is complete.

 

CottageCutz has a new release of Halloween & Christmas dies coming on September 20th. Online ordering is not available right now because of a move to a larger warehouse.

Well, that's it for me for today. So until next time .........God bless.

 

Dies I used to create card:

 

 

 

I am also entering:

1.  Crafty Friends Challenge wants us to use dies/punches.

2.  A Bit More Time to Craft has an anything goes challenge.

3.  A Perfect Time to Craft has an anything goes challenge.

4.  Classic Design Team Open Challenge has an anything goes.