Get Well Soon

 

Hello Blogger Friends and a happy Tuesday to you all. Winter has finally hit the Pittsburgh area with our first big dose of snowy weather. 

 

Our first accumulative snowfall always causes problems. It came in forms of white outs at various times and creating hazardous driving conditions.  Fortunately for me I was at Preschool and then back home again so I didn't have to drive in it.

 

Several accidents around the area kept me from driving over to pick up Ethan after school. I can go over there on Thursday but I wasn't going today. I don't like driving in snowy weather if I don't have to even though I have an SUV. As I sit and type this post the wind and snow are blowing furiously. Tonight our low will be around 8° so it may cause school delays in the morning.

 

Well enough of our weather. Let's move to the card I am showing today. This one I made for the color challenge #564 on Splitcoaststampers. Peggy was our hostess and she chose cucumber crush, pacific point and sahara sand as her color palette. Optional was to make a get well card.

cucumber crush, pacific point, sahara sand

 

I bought this cute Lawn Fawn set a while ago and decided to use it to make a cutsie type card. Something I don't usually do, but I am sending this to my friend who is battling breast cancer, and I thought it would bring a smile.

My background designer paper is from the Stampin'-Up "schoolhouse" collection. The tilted panels are cut with the MFT pierced rectangle stax dies.

I stamped my band-aids, prescription bottle and the birdie nurse in the challenge colors and then did a bit of paper piecing on all 4 images. Well blogger friends, that's my card for today. So until next time.......God bless.

card details:

Stamps: get well soon (Lawn Fawn) 

Paper: sahara Sand, pacific point, whisper white, schoolhouse dsp 

Paper Size: A2 

Ink: cucumber crush, pacific point (Stampin'-Up), tuxedo black (Memento)

Accessories: Spellbinders Matting Basics A& B, MFT pierced rectangle stax, get well soon dies (Lawn Fawn) 

 

I am also entering:

1.  Crafting From The Heart has an anything goes challenge. 

2.  Craft Your Passion has an anything goes. 

3.  Classy Cards 'n Such has a bright and cheerful challenge. 
 

 

~Celebrate 2016~

 

Hello Blogger friends! Thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog on this Sunday in January. It was a cold day here in Pittsburgh with a bit of snow. Not much though but one of those windy and blustery days that you just want to stay inside. Which we did after church and a quick lunch at Outback. 

 

My 5 year old granddaughter called me and we talked for about 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon. We do a video call on our I-Pads with the Apple FaceTime technology.

 

So we had a snack together and then played with her dolls and some other of her toys.  She likes telling me "secrets" so she takes the Ipad in her bed under the covers and whispers little things. It's just too cute.

 

Sometimes I think I could be doing other things but I quickly put the thought away. Could anything be more important than spending time with her even if it's a video call. It's how we get to see each other regularly-several times a week. Since she has no brothers or sisters I am her playmate. My son and daughter-in-law just go about the house while she and I talk.

 

There will come a time when she gets involved with school or other activities and the calls may stop. So for now I just need to savor the time she wants to spend with me.

 

Now onto my card for today. This is another card I made for CC562. Vicki is our hostess and she chose black, silver and gold. Optional was New Years. This gave me a chance to get 3 New Years cards made for people that I didn't get a Christmas card from me. Timing is everything!!

On this card I used a new to me die from Impression Obsession. It's the city landscape layers die. The celebrate word and 2016 are dies from MFT.

The background designer paper is from the Stampin'-Up collection "all is calm". It reminded me of a snowy scene in the city. I scattered a few gold sequins to complete this card.

 

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

 

card details:

Paper: : black, silver, all is calm dsp (Stampin'-Up) 

Paper Size: A2 

Accessories: city landscape layers (Impression Obsession), celebratory greetings & little numbers dies (MFT), gold sequins (Darice)  

I am also entering:
1.  Lil Patch of Crafty Friends has an anything goes challenge.
2.  Quirky Crafts has a celebrate challenge.
3.  Crafty Calendar Challenge is to use something new. I used my new IO landscape die.
4.  Cards In Envy has a shiny New Years Challenge.

~Happy 2016~

 

Hello Blogger Friends and a happy Saturday morning in January to you. Thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog.

 

I think I have turned the corner with this head cold. Yesterday I did pretty much nothing but rest and had some delicious chicken soup. It's just such comfort food when you are sick with a cold. Although I have read that there are healing properties in chicken soup. I am no authority but it does make you feel better.

 

My hubby and I prepared the soup together and now we have a bit stock pot full. So we can enjoy it over the next several days. Perfect winter food!!

 

Speaking of turning the corner, I have done that with all the Christmas cards I have been showing. I had a few more but they were just variations of others I had previously shown. So now I can move to the new years cards I created.

 

This one I made for the CC562 on Splitcoaststampers. Vicki was our hostess and she chose black, gold and silver for her color palette. Optional was to make a new years card.

 

For this card I used the MFT die sun, moon and stars. I saw this card on Pinterest and used it for inspiration. I cut the star trail directly into the black cardstock so there is some sparkle from the silver card base. It just doesn't show well in this photo. 

My happy word is from the "happy hellos" die from MFT and the 2016 is the little numbers die also from MFT.  Scattered a few gold sequins to complete this card.

 

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

 

card details:

Paper: silver, black (Stampin'-Up) 

Paper Size: A2 

Accessories: sun, moon and stars, happy hellos, little numbers dies (MFT), gold sequins (Darice) 

I am also entering:

1.  Scrappers Delights has an anything goes challenge.

2.  Brown Sugar has an anything goes challenge.

3.  Fussy and Fancy has a happy holidays challenge.

4.  Cards In Envy has a shiny New Years challenge.

Merry Christmas 3

 

Hello Blogger Friends! Happy Friday and thanks for taking the time to visit the Charmed Life Blog.

 

This cold and congestion has gotten the better of me and my hubby. He and I spent most of the day yesterday under our blankets just laying on our sofa. Fortunately we have a large sectional so we each could get our space (lol)!!

 

Drinking hot tea and eating chicken noodle soup was our lot for the day. I slept through the night and just woke at 9:00 am. And that after sleeping a few hours in the afternoon. I am coughing but don't feel as congested as yesterday. So hopefully I am on the way to clearing up.

 

Now onto the cards I am sharing for today.  These are 3 that I made with the Stampin'-Up Paper Pumpkin kit for November. The 1st and 3rd cards are alternate projects and my 2nd card is made following the kit instructions.

 

On the top card I used some designer paper, die cut a frame and flag and added a medallion doily. The sentiment is from kit from last year and the flourish from the September kit. I used this card from Holly as inspiration.

this one made with kit instructions and stamp

 

used different stamp set and added a layer

These paper Pumpkin Kits have been so great in the 1 1/2 years I have been a part of the monthly club. You should give them a try. If you need a Stampin'-Up demonstrator, let me know. My demo offers 20% discount on all orders. It just doesn't apply to these Paper Pumpkin Kits but they are only $19.95 per month.

 

Well, that's it for me for today Blogger friends so until next time.......God bless.

 

Card details: card 1:

Stamps: simply snowflake (Paper Pumpkin November 2014), wickedly sweet treat (Paper Pumpkin Sept 2015) 

Paper: card base (Paper Pumpkin Kit Nov 2015), ww, cherry cobbler, season of style dsp 

Paper Size: A2 I

Ink: cherry cobbler 

Accessories: window frames framelits (Stampin'-Up), flag stax (MFT), Paper Pumpkin Kit Nov2015 

 

card 3:

Stamps: simply snowflake (Paper Pumpkin November 2014) 

Paper: card base (Paper Pumpkin Kit Nov 2015), ww, cherry cobbler 

Paper Size: A2 Ink: cherry cobbler 

Accessories: Paper Pumpkin Kit Nov 2015

I am also entering:

1.  Creative Knockouts has an anything goes challenge.

2.  Craft Rocket Challenges has a happy anything challenge.

3.  DL.Art has an anything goes for January
4.  Jingle Belles challenge is something old something new. Used my new Paper Pumpkin kit + and old stamp set.

 



Season Greetings

 

Hello Blogger Friends! Happy Thursday and thanks for taking the time to visit with the Charmed Life Blog. Today was my day at pre-school and in spite of being congested with a cold, I went.

I can't take any conventional cold medicine because it doesn't agree with me. I have a homeopathic medicine that my son left behind. They were giving it to my granddaughter who passed this along to my hubby and I. He took off work today because he felt so bad and spent most of the day in bed.

After pre-school I came home and realized how I felt. So I got my pillow and blanket and laid down for the afternoon.

The kids were high energy and still trying to adjust back to the classroom schedule. we kept them busy and even made some "fake" snow. That was a big hit with them. We used baking soda and hair conditioner. It made it cold and a consistency to roll it. We made mini snowmen. It was messy but had their interest for 15-20 minutes.

I am still on my Christmas cards and today I am showing 2 styles that I made with the November Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin'-Up. There were enough supplies in the kit to make 2 style cards. I will show the other design tomorrow.

 This first sample I made is almost following the kit instructions except that I used cherry cobbler bakers twine and added a few cherry cobbler punched snowflakes. The card base and holly die cut came in the kit. I liked the CAS style. These ones went out to my nieces, nephews and some other younger friends who would like this style card.

This is another I created using some elements from the kit. I used all the striped card bases but had one extra holly die cut. So I took a vanilla card base with some Stampin'-Up Christmas designer paper and added some cherry cobbler enamel dots for a different look. I like how this one turned out as well.

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

I am also entering:
1.  As You Like It challenge has an anything goes.
2.  Cards 4 Galz has an anything goes challenge.
3.  Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge is anything goes.

Christmas Merry

 

Hello Blogger Friends and a happy Wednesday to you. Well it had to happen. My granddaughter was coughing while she was here for her Christmas visit and now I am down with a cold.

It's just a runny nose and some minor body aches but enough to keep me from the gym today. I took a hot shower and just got right back in my lounging pajamas. Hope I am feeling well enough to go to pre-school tomorrow. Thursday is my day there.

I cut back to 1 day a week for January and February. Then in March I will move back up to 2 days. The winter months can be a bear for driving and I don't like driving in the snow or ice. We have another assistant so I do have some flexibility with my schedule.

Let's move onto my card for today. This is another I made for Christmas. I found an old Stampin'-Up card photo kit in my stash. I was initially going to get rid of it and then I opened it up to take a peek. I knew I wasn't going to send a photo card but there were also instructions to make a greeting card. I was able to make 12 cards fairly quick using this kit. I sent 60 handmade cards this year.

So today I am showing the different cards I made with the kit. The kit came with the card bases, the scalloped frame, the die cut holly branch and the red border trim. On the first card, I added a die cut merry word, stamped the sentiment and added some sequins.



Christmas blessings die from SU Christmas Jingle kit

die cut from Echo Park kit

merry & bright die from SU  Christmas Jingle kit

die cut from SU Christmas Jingle kit

added my joy word and stamped sentiment

That's my cards for today. I hope you aren't getting tired of seeing my Christmas cards. I have just a few more to show and then I will move on. So until next time.......God bless.

I am also entering:

1.  ABC Christmas Challenge is anything goes.

2.  Crafting By Designs has an anything goes.  

3.  Inspiration Destination has an anything goes challenge.




 

 

~Holly Jolly Holidays~

 

Hello Blogger Friends and a happy Tuesday to all of you. Here we are at January 5 already, and it's time to think about taking Christmas decorations down for another year. Didn't I just get everything put up? The take down process is just as tedious for me.

I may start in a day or two with just my nutcracker collection. I would like to enjoy the Christmas trees for a bit more. With all the activity over the holidays I feel like I didn't get to just relax in front of them.

But that won't be tonight either because hubby will be gone to a basketball game.  And,  I will be picking up Ethan (youngest grandson) at school and then spending some time at my son's home. I haven't been over there in a couple of weeks.

One thing I am getting to do is look back over the Christmas cards I made this year. This is another I made for the CC561 challenge on Splitcoaststampers. I was the hostess and my color trio is coastal cabana, bermuda bay and smoky slate.

 My inspiration came from this card that I saw on Pinterest. I really liked the Christmas package look. So I re-created it in today's colors and added an additional layer.

My background designer paper is from the Stampin'-Up "winter frost" collection. It has all 3 of the challenge colors.  I layered it with smoky slate cardstock and then my card base is Bermuda bay.

My "ribbons" and "bow" are cut with the Blueprints 1 die from MFT in bermuda bay. My tag is a die from Sizzix and cut in smoky slate. The sentiment is stamped in Bermuda bay ink. Stamp is from the MFT " gift tag greetings" set.

Well that's my card for today. Time to get busy with my day because before I know it the clock will roll around to 2:00 pm and I leave for the drive across the city to get Ethan.

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

card details:
Stamps: gift tag greetings (MFT) 
Paper: bermuda bay, smoky slate, winter frost dsp (Stampin'-Up) 
Paper Size: A2 
Ink: bermuda bay 
Accessories: blueprints 3 dies (MFT), scallop tag (Sizzix)

I am also entering:
1.  Crafting From the Heart has an anything goes.
2.  Dream Valley challenge is Christmas.
3.  Not Just Cards has an anything goes challenge.

~Christmas Shaker~

 

Hello Blogger friends and a happy Monday to you all. Well, we had our first snowfall of the season. Just a light dusting but one of those ones that started as freezing rain and caused road headaches last night and this morning.

The salt truck was just on our street so conditions might still be somewhat bad. But, the good news is that the sun is shining. Whoo-hoo!!! It's been too many dreary days without it.

I am off to the gym in a bit so I wanted to get this post done before I go. I fully expect it to be jam packed with the new years rush of people. That will settle down after a few weeks as new year's resolutions are broken. (lol).

Anyway onto my card for today. This is another I made for Christmas. It was sent to my sweet 5 year old granddaughter. She saw one of my shaker cards and asked me to make her one some time ago. So this was an easy one to make as a one of a kind. the only thing I would do differently would be to add a few more sequins.

I used the colors from CC561. I was the hostess and my color trio was coastal cabana, bermuda bay and smoky slate.

 To make my card, I used this tutorial from Nicole for a star shaker card. Her directions are clear and easy to follow.  

 My striped background designer paper is from the Stampin'-Up "winter frost" collection. It has all 3 of today's colors.  I layered that onto a coastal cabana card base.

I cut my star from silver glitter paper. The sequins on the card front and for the shaker are the bermuda bay color.

Cut my merry word from a PaperTrey Ink die in coastal cabana and that completes this card. It's also time to close this post and get started with my day. So until next time.......God bless.

 

card details:
Paper: : coastal cabana, winter frost dsp (Stampin'-Up), silver glimmer paper (Recollections) 

Paper Size: A2 

Accessories: holiday words die (PaperTrey Ink), bermuda bay sequins, window sheets, star framelits (Stampin'-Up) 

Techniques: shaker cards 
 

I am also entering:

1.  Classy Cards 'n Such has a winter blues challenge.

2.  Eclectic Ellapu wants us to use one or more dies.

3.  Glitter "n Sparkle has an anything goes challenge.

Let It Snow

 

Hello Blogger Friends and a happy Sunday to you all. It's only 2 weeks into winter and already we are not seeing the sun much here in Pittsburgh. It is cloudy and overcast here again today.

This is such typical winter weather for us. Tonight we are supposed to get snow and that will be the first of the season. But, I am not going to gripe and complain. I live here and our weather is what it is (lol)!!

Fortunately for me I have Ott lighting in my craft room so it's nice and bright there. And after this post is complete I will be in there for awhile working on a card.

First, though I plan on making a big pot of marinara sauce. My hubby is working today until 9:00 pm so he will enjoy a delicious plate of pasta when he comes home. I am going to use some of the tomatoes that I canned from our garden in the fall.

So let's get on with today's card. I mentioned in yesterday's post I was going to be showing the Christmas cards I made for a week or so. I hope you all will stay with me and check out what I made.

I bought this Memory Box "let it snow" die and decided to make a forest scene. My nephew and his family are hunters and outdoors people so I knew they would like this one. And they mentioned to me over Christmas how much they did. that always makes it worthwhile to get a kind compliment on your work.

My background is the new snowfall stencil from MFT. I used some 3-D molding paste with a bit of glitter for a raised design effect.

The birch trees are cut in tip top taupe with a Memory Box die. My deer are stamped in choc chip and then die cut. The die and stamp is from the PTI "in the meadow" set.

The snow bank is cut with the Lawn Fawn "stitched hillsides" die from glitter paper. I added a few birds cut in real red. And, to finish off the card my "let it snow" word is cut in red 3x for added dimension.

Well, Blogger friends time to close this post and get busy with my marinara sauce. So until next time..........God bless.

card details:
Stamps: : in the meadow (Paper Trey Ink) 
Paper: whisper  white, tip top taupe, real red   
Ink: choc chip 
Accessories: snowfall stencil (MFT), 3-D molding paste (American Traditional Designs), warm diamond glitter (Elizabeth Crafts) in the meadow die  (Paper Trey Ink), stitched hillside die (Lawn Fawn), birch trees trio & let it snow dies (Memory Box)  
I am also entering:
1. Challenge Up Your Life has a stitches challenge. I used a stitched hillside die.
2. Creative Corner Challenge is anything goes.
3.  PDE Linky Party has an anything goes challenge.
4.  AAA Card Game #55 is glitter.

Christmas Wreath

 

Hello Blogger friends and a happy Saturday to you all. I can't believe Christmas is on the wind down for another year. It was a great one here at the Marsh household. My son-daughter-in-law and granddaughter came in on the 27th of December and just left this morning.

We had plenty of family time with my son and family that lives here in Pittsburgh. A Christmas celebration on Christmas Day and then another one on the 29th with all of us.

Then on New Years Eve we all attended my niece's wedding. That was quite an event. We don't usually go out on this night so this was something different for us. We all stayed at the hotel where the wedding reception was held. Then in the morning after a brunch together we headed back here to my home.

My home is so quiet today. My hubby went to work and I took Brett and family to the airport. I kept myself busy so I wouldn't have time to think how much I miss them.

Now onto my card for today. I just didn't have the time to post all the Christmas cards I made so I will be doing that over the next week or so.  

On this one I used the wondrous wreath set from Stampin'-Up. It's a 2 step stamping set. My wreath is stamped in old olive and mossy meadow. Then I added real red berries. Layered the wreath onto some corrugated kraft paper.

The background panel is embossed with the Stampin'-Up "fancy fan" folder. Finished my card with the "joy" word.

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

card details:
Stamps: wondrous wreath (Stampin'-Up) 
Paper: real red, whispering white, kraft corrogated (Stampin'-Up) 
Paper Size: A2 
Ink: old olive, mossy meadow, real red 
Accessories: fancy fan ef & wreath framelits (stampin'-Up)

I am also entering:
1.  ABC Challenge has a Y is your choice challenge.
2.  Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge is anything goes.
3.  Let's Craft and Create has a Christmas challenge.