Happy New Year

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog this last Saturday in January. 

It's a damp and cloudy day here in Pittsburgh. Rain is in the forecast for later on today. But the days are getting longer. Sunset is now at 5:30 so it's light until about 5:45. 

I didn't get any craft time in today, but I am getting my craft room straightened out. That is a never-ending job! My plan this winter is to purge what I am not using and get it organized a little better than I have right now. 

So, if you are in the US and would like any designer paper let me know. I am giving it away at no charge and will gladly mail it out to you. It's all Stampin' Up paper. I have so much of it that I have to let some go. 

Now onto my card for today. I made this slimline card for my trainer at the gym and enclosed a gift card to one of his favorite restaurants. I didn't get to see him right before Christmas, so I gave it as a new year and new goals card. 

The colors are from the color challenge #981 on Splitcoaststampers. We were to use balmy blue, highland heather and smoky slate for our color trio. Optional was to make it sparkle.

highland heather, balmy blue, smoky slate

The background paper is a slimline card front from Divinity Designs. It had the perfect colors. I added a couple of snowmen since it is a winter themed scene. Their scarves are cut in the challenge colors. 

I used white glitter paper (2024), balmy blue glitter paper (snowman scarf) and a gray glitter paper (stars) for the sparkle. 

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

Card Details:

Paper: black, highland heather, balmy blue, Balmy blue glitter paper, white, black (Stampin' Up), slimline card fronts (Divinity Design)

Paper Size: 8 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Accessories: snowy village accessories, star dies (CottageCutz), little numbers (MFT)

Techniques: slimline card

I am also entering:

1.  Allsorts has an anything but square or an anything goes. 

2.  Crafty Calendar has an anything goes challenge. 

3.  Polkadoodles has an anything goes challenge. 

4.  C.R.A.F.T. Challenge is winter. 

5.  Crafty Gals Corner challenge is winter fun has an anything goes challenge. 

 

It's A Girl

Hello Blogger Friends! Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today. Another weekend is upon us, so I hope you have something crafty planned. 

Today I had an appointment with the functional medicine Dr that I am seeing. This Dr is a Godsend. He is a board certified internist but he doesn't practice medicine by just treating a symptom and handing you a prescription. He works with his patients to develop a comprehensive wellness plan by digging deeper and tending to the roots of the illness. He can write a prescription if needed but that's not his first line of approach. 

I am not really having any major medical problems and I was looking for a Dr like this for years. A friend of mine mentioned him in casual conversation and it immediately piqued my interest. I looked him up online and called for an appointment. I have seen him 3x now and each visit I am more and more impressed. 

Anyway, that was my day. So now I am moving onto my card for today. This one I created using the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #982. Our colors were pool party, soft seafoam and bubble bath. 

pool party, soft seafoam, bubble bath

My niece just had a baby girl, and I thought these colors would work great for a baby card. And, I thought a screen divider layout would also work for the baby dies I wanted to use. I am really happy with how this turned out. 

Here is a link to the tutorial that I used. 

I focused on the bubble bath color for my card. But I did get the soft seafoam in with the diaper pin and  pool party ink is sponged on the cloud.

My panels are the vanilla cardstock and I embossed with a heart embossing folder. The dies are all from CottageCutz.

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

Card Details:

Stamps: Ten Little Fingers (Great Impressions Stamps), Practically Perfect (Verve)

Paper: bubble bath, soft seafoam, baked brown sugar, vanilla, ivory, white (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: tumbled glass distress (Ranger)

Accessories: decorative label punch, oval punch (Stampin' Up), garden rail punch (Martha Stewart), Stork, Bear on Cloud & Moon, Diaper Pin, Baby Footprints, Heart dies (CottageCutz), Heart EF (Darice)

I am also entering:

1.  Crafty Catz has an anything goes challenge. 

2.  Creative Creases has anything goes with a fun fold. 

3.  Creative Fingers has an anything goes challenge. 

4.  Craft Rocket Challenges wants us to use embossing. 

5.  Creative Knockouts has a lots of layers challenge. 

Key to My Heart

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

It's somewhat of a milder day here in Pittsburgh. My hubby and I were able to do our walk outside instead of at our indoor local Community Center track. That one gets a little busy, but it allows us to get a 45–50-minute walk in. So, I am not complaining.

I finally got all of my Christmas decorations taken down and packed up for another year. I pulled out all my next season decorations which would be Valentine's Day. I usually leave those up until March and then decorate for Easter. But this year Easter falls on March 31 so that may change my schedule up a bit. I haven't decided as yet.

But for today I am featuring a Valentine card. I used the colors from the Splitcoaststampers color challenge #935. We were to use rich razzleberry, fresh freesia and evening evergreen for the color trio.

fresh freesia, rich razzleberry, evening evergreen

For this card I used the January 2023 Paper Pumpkin Kit from Stampin' Up. It had the fresh freesia and rich razzleberry colors as part of the kit. I used the fresh freesia card base that came in the kit. I really liked the background on the base. I added the lock & key (from Kit) to the vellum round.

Stamped my sentiment in rich razzleberry ink on a die cut banner. The stamp I used is part of the kit. Added a few evening evergreen opal rounds and this card is done.

Well, that's it for me for this post. I plan on posting a lot more on my Blog since I have resigned my position on the CottageCutz team. It was almost an 8-year stint but I have some other responsibilities that will be taking more of my time this upcoming year. 

Card Details:

Stamps: key to my heart (January 2023 Paper Pumpkin)

Paper: Fresh freesia, vellum (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: rich razzleberry (Stampin'-Up)

Accessories: January 2023 Paper Pumpkin Kit, evening evergreens, christmas cardinal dies (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Fab 'n' Funky has a "stamp it" challenge. 

2.  I Spy with my Little Eye challenge is hearts or roses.

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

4.  Crafts Galore Encore Challenge is anything goes. 

5.  The Card Concept has a new year love challenge. My design is clean and layered. I was inspired           by the love theme.

2023 Favorite Cards (Part 2)

Hello Blogger Friends! Happy New Year! 

Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit with The Charmed Life Blog today.  I know this post is a bit late, but I had trouble with my Feedblitz account for the past several months and it finally was resolved. 

I am featuring the 2nd part of my favorite cards from 2023. You can see Part 1 here. 

August 2023

September 2023

October 2023

October 2023

November 2023

November 2023

December 2023

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

2023 Favorite Cards (Part 1)

Hello Blogger Friends! Happy New Year! Hope your Christmas celebrations were great and that you had time with family/friends. 

My son and his family left to go home to California today. The house is so quiet, and I miss them already. But we had some great family time with both our sons. One lives here in Pittsburgh and the other in CA. 

I am starting off my year with some of my favorite cards from 2023. I am posting 6 cards today and 6 cards tomorrow. 

February 2023

This next one is a birthday fun fold pop up card. I have a full tutorial on this post.

March 2023

April 2023
This is an easel treat card box. Full tutorial on this Blog post.

May 2023

June 2023

July 2023 (1)

July 2023 (2)

Well, that's Part 1 of my faves. Stop back tomorrow to see Part 2. God Bless!

Horse Drawn Sleigh

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

Hope your Christmas festivities are going great. My son and his family arrived from CA last night. Today we will have another Christmas celebration with my Pittsburgh son and his family. So, looking forward to all of us being together. 

I am posting the last of my 2023 Christmas cards. This one I made using some scenic background paper from Stampin' Up. It's part of their "One Horse Open Sleigh" collection. I used the Vintage Horse & Sleigh die from CottageCutz and the Christmas Greetings die to complete this card.

Well, that's it for me for this post. Time to get back to my family. So until next time..... God bless!

Card Details:

Paper: boho blue, night of navy, one horse open sleigh dsp (Stampin' Up), white glitter paper (Paper Studio)

Paper Size: 5 3/4" square

Accessories: vintage horse & sleigh die, christmas greetings die (CottageCutz)

I am also entering:

1.  ABC Christmas Challenge is "Y" for your choice. 

2.  Crafty Gals Corner is tis the season. 

3.  Double D Challenge is winter/snow. 

4. The Holly and Ivy challenge is anything goes.

5.  The Crafty Addicts is anything goes. 

Christmas Card Trio

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

It's 3 days before Christmas so I hope you are all on schedule with the Christmas Preps. I went our food shopping for my Christmas dinner this morning. The store opened at 8:00 am and that's when I got there.

The parking lot was already full and the store inside was packed. Fortunately, I had a list and was able to get everything I needed in 1/2 hr. That was a record for me. 

I finished up all my gift wrapping today and also made more cookies. I just have to run the sweeper and clean the bathrooms and I will be ready for my Monday dinner with my family. 

Now let's move onto my card for today. This one I created with some of the contents of the November 2022 Paper Pumpkin Kit from Stampin' Up. It was a kit to create tags, but I turned the tags into A2 size cards. 

My backgrounds are all designer paper from Stampin' Up. I coordinated the card bases with the colors of the dsp. The angled layers are also designer paper and cardstock that I embossed with a snowflake folder. 

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

I am also entering:

1.  Jingle Belles has a wrapping up Christmas challenge. 

2.  Most Magical Time of the Year- anything goes Christmas. 

3.  As You Like it Challenge is anything goes. 

4.  Creative Inspirations Challenge is anything goes. 

5.  Classic Design Challenge is anything goes. 

Merry Christmas Tag

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

It's the start of the Winter Solstice and also just 4 days until Christmas. I hope your Christmas preps are going according to schedule. 

I am finished with my gift shopping and as soon as I finish this post, I will be wrapping gifts. Then tonight I will get back to more cookie baking. I baked 10 dozen cookies last night. Tomorrow I will do my food shopping for Christmas dinner and then Saturday it will be a day of completing any wrapping or cookie baking I didn't get to. 

Now onto my post for today. This Christmas card I made using some of the contents of the Stampin' Up November 2022 Paper Pumpkin kit. I made several and will post them over the next several days. It is a kit to make tags, but I changed it to a A2 card.

I added designer paper for the background. It's from the Sweetest Christmas collection by Stampin' Up.  The glitter paper is a mint macaron shade also from Stampin' Up. The tag, candy cane and bakers twine are from the kit. 

To complete this card, I stamped the sentiment and scattered a few enamel dots. 

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

Card Details:

Stamps: From the North Pole (PPKit 2022)

Paper: sweet sorbet, mint macaron glitter paper, sweetest christmas dsp (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: sweet sorbet (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: Paper Pumpkin Kit November 2022, sweet sorbet enamel dots (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Creative Knockouts has a time to be merry challenge. 

2.  ABC Christmas Challenge is "Z" for black & white or Stripes. 

3.  Fab 'n' Funky has a Christmas challenge. 

4.  The Sisterhood of Crafters has a Christmas challenge. 

5.  Shopping our Stash has a winter holidays challenge. 

Santa Letter Mailbox

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

It's a rainy Sunday here in Pittsburgh. We started our day off with church and we also taught Sunday school. My hubby and I have the 5–7-year-olds. It's a great age group to work with. 

We did our lesson on the Nativity and then we had them make a Nativity Christmas ornament to take home. I found this idea on Pinterest, and it worked out well. I didn't use her template but used a die and cut my own nativity scene. 

Now I am at home relaxing and enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon. Maybe I should be wrapping gifts, but I just don't feel like doing anything. That can always be done tomorrow. I had a busy week and taking this day as a day of rest.

Now onto my card for today. This one I created for the color challenge #978 on Splitcoaststampers. I was the hostess and I chose real red, white and blueberry bushel for the color trio. Optional was anything goes. 

real red, white, blueberry bushel

This was one of my last Christmas cards, and I selected these colors so I could use this new to me mailbox die from Spellbinders.

Cut the images in the challenge colors and for my anything goes option I chose to use green - old olive and mossy meadow.

My background paper is from the Stampin' Up "winter meadow" collection. I cut a snowbank in white glitter paper and stamped my sentiment to complete my card.

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

Card Details:

Stamps: parcel & post sentiments (Spellbinders)

Paper: real red, white, blueberry bushel, old olive, mossy meadow, winter meadow dsp (Stampin' Up), white & red glitter paper (Paper Studio)

Paper Size: A2

Ink: real red (Stampin'-Up)

Accessories: parcel & post mailbox, parcel & post Christmas decorations (Spellbinders), stitched hils die (Lawn Fawn)

I am also entering:

1.  Crafty Calendar has a Christmas themed challenge. 

2.  Inkspirational Challenge is "celebrate".

3.  Cut It Up has a "celebrate" challenge. 

4.  My Time to Craft has a holidays around the world challenge.

   

Rocking Horse w/Toys Christmas Card

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

Well, I finished up addressing all my Christmas cards. This one was sent off to my friend in Washington. It was one of my Splitcoaststampers color challenge cards. She is on the design team with me. She commented that the card reminded her of a rocking horse her daughter had when she was little. So of course, I had to send her the card. She will be surprised when it arrives in her mailbox. 

I am ready to start my Christmas baking now. I am scaling back this year because I am on the Paleo diet and not doing sugar. So, I don't want to be tempted with all the candy and cookies I usually make. I am only making Pizzelles and my mini lady locks. My hubby is ok with it so that's good enough for me.

Now onto my card for today. this one I made for the color challenge #975 on Splitcoaststampers. We were to use cherry cobbler, night of navy and shaded spruce for our color trio.

cherry cobbler, night of navy, shaded spruce

 Optional was to use designer paper. I had the perfect paper- it's from the Stampin' Up "wrapped in plaid " collection. In fact, if you have this paper there is a sheet in the collection that has all 3 of this week's colors.

For my Christmas card, I used the CottageCutz Rocking Horse w/Toys die and cut in the challenge colors plus a couple of neutrals.

I used an edge die from MFT to cut the white panel and layered my images there. Added a few night of navy resin stars and stamped my Hero Arts sentiment in night of navy ink.

The bottom half of the card is featuring the designer paper in the cherry cobbler and shaded spruce colors. I like the gold trim on this design.

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

card details:

Stamps: Christmas Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper: cherry cobbler, night of navy, pecan pie, soft suede, early espresso, soft suede, crumb cake, wrapped in plaid dspwhite (Stampin' Up)

Paper Size: 4 1/2" x 5 3/4"

Ink: night of navy (Stampin' Up)

Accessories: Rocking Horse w/Toys die (CottageCutz), Stitched basic Edges die (MFT), Resin Stars (Stampin' Up)

I am also entering:

1.  Alphabet Challenge is "S" for Stars.

2.  Aloha Friday Challenge is Christmas/Winter Animals. 

3.  Jingle Belles is a Christmas theme-wrapping up 2023. 

4.  C.R.A.F.T. has a Christmas challenge.

5.  Little Red Wagon #735 is a Christmas challenge.