Holiday Lantern

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

Hope you had a great weekend and that your Thanksgiving celebration was a good one. Ours was such a wonderful time with family. I never take these times for granted anymore especially since the days of Covid restrictions. 

I started my Christmas decorating and hopefully will finish up this week. I put up two trees and I decorate every room downstairs, so it does take me 3-4 days. But I love Christmas and seeing my home look so festive. 

I wanted to get this card posted before I get back to the decorating.

This one I made for the color challenge #973 on Splitcoaststampers. We were to use granny apple green, polished pink and balmy blue for our color trio. Optional was anything goes. I chose to use red for the option. 

granny apple green, polished pink, balmy blue

I went with a Christmas theme for my card. I used the Vintage Holiday Lantern die and cut in 2 of the challenge colors plus a few allowed neutrals of mossy meadow, soft suede, a metallic brown and a metallic beige.

I cut my Noel phrase in polished pink. This is a new die from Stampin' Up. 

The background snowflake embossed paper is from Lasting Impressions. I have had it in my stash for years.

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

Card Details:

Paper: polished pink, granny apple green, mossy meadow, real red, soft suede (Stampin' Up), sea water (Bazzill), metallics (Worldwin Papers), white snowflakes embossed (Lasting Impressions)

Paper Size: 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

Accessories: Vintage Holiday Lantern die (CottageCutz), Noel die (Stampin' Up),

I am also entering:

1.  Cardz 4 Galz has a wet or dry embossing challenge. 

2.  Alphabet Challenge is to use quadruple shapes or images. I used 4 letters for my sentiment. 

3.  Crafty Catz is anything goes w/optional of Christmas or Winter. 

4.  My Time to Craft Christmas has a theme of snowflakes. I used snowflake embossed paper. 

5.  Gem of a Challenge has an anything goes. 

Christmas Ornaments

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

It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and time to start thinking seriously about Christmas. I will be taking down all my Fall decorations today and start with Christmas. 

For my Christmas decorating I usually take about 3 days to get everything done. I love this season and decorate every room on the downstairs level. I also decorate minimally the 2 bedrooms that my son and his family will use when they come for their Christmas visit. 

Then there are my Christmas cards. I have 19 made so far and still need a lot more. I send boxed cards to those who don't really appreciate a handmade card and I don't feel guilty about it (LOL).

Now onto my card for today. This one I made using the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #967. We were to use parakeet party, fresh freesia and highland heather. 

parakeet party, fresh freesia, highland heather

I thought this would be a great trio of colors to use for ornaments on a Christmas card. I used night of navy cardstock (allowed neutral) for the ornament itself and the challenge colors for the decorations on the ornaments.

My layout is a slimline design (3 1/2" x 7 1/2"). Background designer paper is from the Stampin' Up "penguin playmates" collection. The Ornament are a new die from CottageCutz- Old Fashioned Ornaments 2. 

I added some candy canes, holly leaves and peppermint twist candies for interest. Finished off my card with sequins.

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

Card Details:

Stamps: Christmas Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper: fresh freesia, highland heather, parakeet party, night of navy, white, pengruin playmates dsp (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: 3 1/2" x 7 1/2"

Ink: night of navy (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: old fashioned ornament 2(CottageCutz)

Techniques: slimline card

I am also entering:

1.  Time Out Challenges has a Winter/Holiday Challenge. 

2.  Crafty Catz has an anything goes challenge w/option of Christmas or Winter. 

3.  Merry Little Christmas Challenge is anything goes.

4.  Inkspirational Challenge #303 is seasonal- I chose winter with a Christmas theme.   

5.  TicTacToe challenge #236 -I chose the 3rd column or right. 

Autumn Friends Celebrate Thanksgiving

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

Hope your Thanksgiving celebration was a wonderful time with family /friends. We celebrated with our family. It was a great time with our kids/grandkids and my meal turned out perfectly. Even the gravy didn't give me any trouble this year. 

My daughter-in-law bought a delicious broccoli-cauliflower gratin. I had my usual menu of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, corn, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls, pumpkin and apple pies. 

Needless to say, we were all more than full after dinner. We waited until after clean-up to have dessert. I am already looking forward to Christmas dinner because I will have my CA son and his family here as well. 

Now onto my card for today. This was the last one that I made for Thanksgiving 2023. I wanted to post it yesterday but there was just no time between Wednesday or Thursday.  

I used the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #974 for my slimline card. We were to use poppy parade, crushed curry, pecan pie and crumb cake for the color combination. Optional was anything goes. I chose the addition of blue for this part.

poppy parade, crushed curry, pecan pie, crumb cake

I cut the Autumn Friends (CottageCutz die) images in the challenge colors plus a few allowed neutrals.

For the Fall Tree (CottageCutz die), I wanted the look of the trees we see in PA in the Fall season. So, I cut in white cardstock and blended barn door and fossilized amber distress inks to get a beautiful Fall color. I colored the 3 leaves with the same inks. These inks are a match for the Stampin'Up colors.

Next, I chose this pattern of designer paper for the card background. I liked the blue sky and the sun rays. It's from a pack called "heavenly skies" (Divinity Designs) and they are sized for a slimline card at 6" x 9".
I cut a white card base 4" x 9" and the designer paper is also 4" x 9" to cover the white card front. I attached the designer paper to the card base. And cut a slope in the crumb cake shade using the Hills Slimline die. They are both attached with double sided tape.

I attached my images with clear drying glue except for the Bear & Owl. I used dimensional adhesive to  lift them slightly off the card base.

To complete the card, I cut a couple of clouds using the Stitched Sun, Clouds & Umbrella (CottageCutz die). I cut them from the leftover designer paper. Stamped my Happy Thanksgiving sentiment and attached to the card base.

That's my card for today. So, until next time......God bless. 

Card Details:

Stamps: gift of fall (Paper Pumpkin 2019)

Paper: crushed curry, poppy parade, pecan pie, crumb cake, soft suede (stampin' Up), Heavenly Skies Designer Paper (Divinity Designs)

Paper Size: 4" x 9"

Ink: pecan pie (Stampin' Up) fossilized amber distress, barn red distress, antique linen distress (Ranger), tuxedo black (memento)

Accessories: Fall Tree die, Autumn Friends die, Clouds die, Hill slimline die (CottageCutz)

I am also entering:

1.  The Paper Funday challenge is anything goes-with optional grateful/thankful.

2.  Crafty Animals Challenge #78 is anything goes with an animal. 

3.  Crafting Happiness Challenge is a Turkey or any animal. 

4.  Critter Crazy Challenge #80 is anything goes with a critter. 

5.  The Four Seasons Challenge is anything Fall goes. 

 

Father Christmas

Hello Blogger Friends. Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. Hope you all had a great weekend and found some time to get crafty. 

It's Thanksgiving week here in the US. I have to get to the store and finish up my shopping for the big feast I will have on Thursday. I do all my meal preps on Wednesday, so I am a bit ahead on Thursday morning. 

People in my neighborhood have already started decorating for Christmas but not me. I have my house decorated for Thanksgiving and I will take those down on Friday and start Christmas then. I have started a small amount of Christmas shopping though. Just some things I ordered online. 

I need to get gift ideas from everyone and then I will get to it. I used to do the Black Friday thing, but my grandsons have grown and we aren't looking for deals on big ticket items like in years past. Plus, the stores already have deals going on. 

Now onto my card for today. This one is using the new Father Christmas die from CottageCutz. 

Design Steps:

I started by selecting the designer papers I wanted to use for my layout. I have an older Christmas pack from BoBunny that had the name of Father Christmas. It contains vintage designs. I picked 2 different patterns and cut them as the background for my image.

Light Green Card Base: 4 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Light Green Image Panel: 3 1/8" x 4 1/8" (I used the largest rectangle die)
Dark Green Layering Panel: 3 1/2:" x 4 1/2"

Next, I cut the Father Christmas image. I used the colors from the packaging as they coordinated well with my designer paper. I wanted a more vintage look to my card so I cut the bow from the Vintage Holiday Lantern die and also used the Corner Flourish die (2016 release) for another corner accent.

Stamped my sentiment and started attaching some of the images.   

I attached the Father Christmas image with dimensional adhesive and added some poinsettia embellishments. These images are cut from the Christmas Ornament die. And that completes my card for today. So until next time ......God bless. 

I am also entering:

1.  We Love Stamping has a Christmas Characters challenge.

2.  Allsorts challenge #755 is Christmas time. 

3.  The Crafty Addicts has an anything goes challenge. 

4.  Christmas Craft Creations has an add a hat challenge. 

5.  Lil Patch of Crafty Friends has an anything goes challenge. 

Joy to the World Tree

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

It's the Saturday before Thanksgiving and I am getting excited for the upcoming holiday. My son, daughter-in-law and grandsons will be coming for dinner. It will be a wonderful family celebration for sure. 

My hubby's family was also invited but they are going to celebrate at his brother's home. My mother-in-law who is 93 and has limited mobility thought it would be easier to go there for dinner. 

Now onto my card for today, I am featuring a Christmas card using the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #965. We were to use granny apple green, melon mambo, poppy parade and shaded spruce for our color trio. 

melon mambo, poppy parade, shaded spruce, granny apple green

For my card, I decided to try making it Christmas with these colors. I started by used the Blooming Holiday Cutting Plate from Taylored Expressions and I cut in white cardstock.

Layered that panel on a piece of shaded spruce cardstock. It's also my card base. Then I cut the image again in melon mambo and did the die inlay technique. I cut only the greenery stems in granny apple green and also did the die inlay.

My "joy to the world tree" is a die from CottageCutz. I cut it in shaded spruce cardstock. I added the ornaments in poppy parade, added a gold star and the tree base in soft suede to complete my card. 

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

Card Details:

Paper: shaded spruce, melon mambo, real red, granny apple green, gold, white (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Accessories: Blooming Holiday Cutting Plate (Taylored Expressions), Joy to the World Tree die (CottageCutz)

Techniques: die cut inlay

I am also entering:

1.  Allsorts has a Christmas Time challenge. 

2.  Inkspirational has a Seasonal challenge. 

3.  Most Magical Time of the Year Challenge is Christmas or Halloween.

4.  My Time to Craft challenge is "it's got to be Christmas". 

5.  C.R.A.F.T. challenge is Christmas. 

6.  Art Impressions has a making spirits bright challenge. 

Layered Leaves Thanksgiving Card

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. It's a rainy, damp day here in Pittsburgh. So perfect for spending time in my craft room. I am finishing up my Thanksgiving cards with this card. I sent it off to my friend in Virginia. 

I purchased my Thanksgiving turkey yesterday. It's a 21# bird. It usually takes longer to thaw than what the package reads so I usually buy it a week before Thanksgiving Day. 

I keep my menu the same every year. I love Thanksgiving and the wonderful family time we have along with the delicious meal. I roast a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, glazed carrots, fresh cranberries and dessert of pumpkin and apple pies. My daughter-in-law will bring another vegetable. She's a great cook so it will be something delicious. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I created using the contents of an older Stampin' Up Paper Pumpkin Kit. It's from 2017 and this card finished off the kit- finally. 

The kit included the large leaf image, the greenery, background designer paper, bakers twine and the gold leaf die cut.  I made this one different from the kit ideas which were to make pillow boxes. I used the kit to make all cards. 

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

Card Details:

Stamps: Layered Leaves (PP Kit 2017)

Paper: cajun craze, PP Kit 2017 (Stampin" Up)

Ink: cajun craze (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: Paper Pumpkin Kit, cajun craze twine, cajun craze sequins (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Creative Fingers has an anything goes challenge. 

2.  Crafty Catz #659 is anything goes.  

3.  Creative Knockouts has a lots of layers challenge.

4.  Simon says Stamp has a Thanks/thanksgiving challenge. 

5.  The Card Concept has a Fall Leaves Challenge. My card is the Clean and Layered style. 

 

Christmas Deer - Folk Art Style

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

It's another beautiful day here in Pittsburgh. We have had sunshine and blue skies for 5 or 6 days in a row. It's colder but when the sun shines it makes it ok. 

I started thinking about Thanksgiving today. It's one of my favorite holidays of the year. I have such pleasant memories of Thanksgiving celebrations when I was a child. My Mom's family would come and celebrate with us. She was such a good cook, and everyone loved her bread stuffing recipe. I make mine just how she made hers. My family enjoys it as well.  

I can't believe it's just a week or so away. I plan on buying my turkey on Thursday. I usually get a bigger one and it takes 5-6 days to thaw out. We like the Honeysuckle white brand. It roasts up perfectly and we get to enjoy it for a few days after Thanksgiving. 

Now onto my card for today. This one I made using the Folk Art Deer die from CottageCutz. I decided to turn it into a Christmas card. I will send this to a cousin in California. He is from Pittsburgh and likes winter scenes just not living in them (LOL)!!!

I cut the deer in 2 shades of blue cardstock and added red and green for the embellishments. I put a Santa hat on him after all he is a Christmas deer. 

Embossed the background with the snow swirls embossing folder. Added a snowy hill covered just the top portion with glitter. 

The Peace and Joy phrase is also a die from CottageCutz. The stamped sentiment is from Spellbinders. 

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

Card Details:

Stamps: Lots of Wishing You (Spellbinders)

Paper: white, real red, garden green, misty moonlight, soft suede, night of navy (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: tuxedo black (Memento)

Accessories: Folk Art Deer, Mountain Lodge, Peace and Joy Wreath (CottageCutz), Snow Swirl EF (Darice)

I am also entering:

1.  Cardz For Guyz wants us to create a winter scene.

2.  The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #152 is anything goes. 

3.  Aud Sentiments has an either/or challenge. I chose Christmas + a sentiment. 

4.  Crafty Animals is anything goes with an animal. 

5.  Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog is anything goes. 

6.  Critter Crazy challenge is anything goes featuring a critter. 

Give Thanks

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

I had to post this funny story. 

 

We made a quick stop after church at Sam's Club, and I went in while hubby waited in the car. I forgot that I took the keys with me, and he shut the car off and opened the door. Well, you know that sets the alarm off.  

He had to come into the Club looking for me. My phone started ringing and it was him. Of course, I thought he was going to ask what is taking me so long. Instead, he asked where are you? I am in the store, and I can't find you. I resisted saying it's a big store how did you expect to find me (LOL)!!!! 

I got to where he was quickly and gave him the keys. He ran into a couple of people we know, and they laughed when he told them the story. They said we heard the alarm in the parking lot. Oh by the way he did ask me what took me so long when I returned to the car!

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for the color challenge #971 on Splitcoaststampers. Our colors were pretty peacock, crushed curry and cajun craze for the  color trio.

crushed curry, pretty peacock, cajun craze

For my card I went with a Thanksgiving theme using new Fall dies - Fall Wheel, Fall Barrel (sunflowers) and the Autumn Friends die from CottageCutz. I cut my images in the challenge colors plus a few neutrals.

My background paper is from the Stampin' Up "come to gather" collection. I have wanted to use this particular pattern, and I think it worked well on my card. Sentiment is from an old Verve set- "abundant harvest".

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

Card Details:

Stamps: Abundant Harvest (Verve)

Paper: crushed curry, cajun craze, pretty peacock, black, pecan pie, crumb cake, early espresso (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: cajun craze, (Stampin' Up) fossilized amber distress (Ranger)

Accessories: Fall Barrel die, Autumn Friends die, Fall Wheel die, Square dies (CottageCutz

I am also entering:

1.  Crafting Happiness has a Thanksgiving/Harvest challenge. 

2.  Die Cut Divas challenge is all about the Holidays. 

3.  Crafty Calendar has an anything goes challenge. 

4.  Just Us Girls has a thanks or Thanksgiving challenge. 

5.  Polkadoodles challenge #45 is anything goes. 

Farm Scene

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

Another weekend is upon us, and I hope you have some crafty plans. We don't have anything special planned for today just some household chores. Then tomorrow it's church and on Sunday nights we have a prayer meeting in our home. 

We have 6 couples who come 2x a month and we pray for our nation, our city and whatever else God has for us. So if you have a prayer need, let me know and we will pray for you. 

Now onto my card for today. I created a Thanksgiving card using the CottageCutz Fall Farm Scene die. 

Design Steps:

I started by cutting the scene from a pecan cardstock. The scene itself measure 4 1/2" x 3 1/2".

Next, I used the die inlay and overly technique to add some color to the scene. For the inlay part, I gave the barn a red door and a red roof and added red apples to the basket. 

For the overlay part, I cut the sun in a yellow cardstock and glued it over the brown sun. And for the tree I gave it a Fall look by cutting the tree a 2nd time with white cardstock and used distress inks for the color.

I was going to do ink blending for the background then decided to try and use patterned paper in blue and green shades.
The blue measures 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"
and the green measure 3 1/2" x 2 1/8".
I secured those with clear drying glue. I glued the green paper up just a teeny bit high and because I glued it down it wouldn't move. So, to cover that I added some leaves to the base of the tree. 

I added a layering panel using a terracotta cardstock. My card base is a mossy green.
terracotta layering panel: 3 3/4" x 4 3/4"
mossy card base: 4" x 5"

To finish off my card I stamped a simple "Give Thanks sentiment on the tree. 

That's it for me for this post. So until next time......God bless. 

I am also entering:

1.  Cut It Up has a layer it up challenge. 

2.  Cardz 4 Galz has a thank you, thankful or Thanksgiving challenge.

3.  Creative Inspiration Challenge #8 is anything goes.  

4.  Creative Knockouts has a Fall is in the Air challenge. 

5.  The Paper Funday has an anything goes w/option of thankful, thank you or grateful.