Torn Frames Peace Bird Bag

Creative Cuts and More is sponsoring the Caardvarks challenge this week and I wanted to play along. The challenge is to create a holiday card/project using die cuts, so I pulled out this versatile Square Bag #01 - Large that was cut from Kraft cardstock.

I stamped the bag with Holly's Tattered Background (my favorite background!) from I Brake for Stamps and set that aside. A green paper from Basic Grey's Wassail paper collection was stamped with the "peace bird" image from the Christmas Collage sheet, also from I Brake for Stamps. The collage image was too large for the bag, so I cut the sentiment off and trimmed down the bird image just a tiny bit. I distressed the edges, and then adhered them to some Torn Frames layers. Then I adhered the sentiment below the bird.

To finish off this bag, I punched a couple of holly leaves from a darker green paper (Basic Grey Wassail collection) and added some red buttons for the "berries." Once the stamping was complete and the embellishments were adhered, I used some Killer Red Tacky Tape to assemble the bag.

I love keeping a few of these bags on hand for quick little gift bags. Kraft is such a versatile color, so these bags can be used for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and birthdays. Don't forget to use coupon code CC&M10Holly to save 10% on your order from Creative Cuts and More.

When you purchase Holly's Tattered Background and this gorgeous Christmas Collage sheet from I Brake for Stamps, use coupon code SAVE10HOLLY to save 10% on your order. There are tons of stamps at the IBFS store, so grab some hot cocoa and enjoy your visit.

Wanna be a Belli Girl??

CREATIVE BELLI CHALLENGE DESIGN TEAM CALL!

We are looking to add some talented stampers to join our team for the first 2011 term, which runs January 1-June 30, 2011. ANY stamper, scrapbooker or papercrafter is welcome to apply!

Requirements:
~ You must be able to follow instructions on time and work well with others.
~ Check out the participants blogs and comment please.
~ Post your work with the weekly code to other Forums you are participating in and comment in those areas too.
~ You may "miss" 3 challenges out of the 6 month commitment.
~ Participate in each Bi-weekly Challenge and upload your project to the Belli blog no later than the Sunday evening before the Challenge Week.
~ Post a permanent DT banner on your blog
~ Join the DT Yahoo Group (our sole means of communication)
~ You MUST have a blog and be posting regularly.

To Apply:
Please create a card for your favorite challenge in your best work and send it (100kb or less each) to chrissyd723@gmail.com by December 15th. Please use BELLI DT CALL as your subject line. You may use any stamps and supplies you have. Be sure to include your full name, address, email address, and a link to your blog.

PLEASE NOTE: previous DT experience is not necessary.

We will not be able to respond to each submission. If you are chosen, you will hear from us by December 16. We will post the NEW members of the Design Team on December 20th.

If you have any questions please email me at chrissyd723@gmail.com with BELLI DT CALL Question in the subject line. I will do my best to get back to you within a day or two.

Cardabilities Sketch #14

Are you ready for the next Cardabilities sketch? I had an absolute blast creating my card with this sketch - just wait til you see it! First, here is Sketch #14:

I had just purchased the Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather 6x6 paper pad as well as the coordinating chipboard pieces. They were just begging to be used, and this came together SO quickly. Wanna see??

Isn't that a cute and fun card? The only stamping that I did was the sentiment. I pulled out my beloved retired Cold Play set (Stampin Up), stamped the sentiment, and cut it apart. After rooting around a bit, I found a piece of purple fiber and I just couldn't resist giving this snowman a fuzzy little scarf. LOL

Check out what the other DT gals have created over on the Cardabilities blog. You will love all the fabulous eye candy, trust me. Maybe you will see something to inspire you to create your own card using this sketch. Add the link to your creation on the Cardabilities blog so we can all check it out. :-)


Stamps: Cold Play (retired SU)
Ink: Plum
CS: Vanilla, Plum, Mitten Weather (Cosmo Cricket)
Other: Mitten Weather chipboard (Cosmo Cricket), snowflake punch (Martha Stewart), buttons (PTI), oval dies (Spellbinders), purple fiber

Belli Challenge #103 - Flocking or Flower Soft

Today's Belli Challenge is all about flocking and/or Flower Soft. You've probably got a jar of flocking hiding somewhere that you've forgotten about, or maybe you have a new and unopened jar of Flower Soft that you bought and never got around to using. Pull them out, join our Belli Challenge, and have fun creating with them. :-)

For my card, I stamped a tree from Flourishes that was just bare branches, and then I applied glue and Autumn Flower Soft to all the branches. I added a little extra Flower Soft along the "ground" by the tree to show all the leaves that have fallen off in the crisp fall air. I picked some papers to match the Flower Soft colors, and I used the Torn Frames technique (from Technique Junkies) on the two ovals.

Check out what the other Belli Girls have created today over on the Belli Challenge blog and leave them some love. They have been working hard to inspire you with their creations. Play along with us and leave a link with the Mr. Linky widget - we love to see your creations!

Creative Cuts and More Autumn Blog Hop

Hi blog hoppers! Weren't Melisa's projects beautiful? If you didn't arrive here from Melisa's blog, you don't want to miss what our designers have in store for you! The CC&M Autumn Blog Hop starts at http://die-cut-diva.blogspot.com/. If for some reason one of the links is broken along the hop, just go back to the Die Cut Diva Blog where the complete list will be.

For my projects, I decided to focus on some quick and easy, mass-produced, mail-able cards. When you are making 50 to 100 Christmas cards, you need something fast, and you want to keep your mailing costs down by using only one 44 cent stamp for each card. These two cards are nice and flat and they only take a few minutes to create.

For my first card, I used the Oval Window A2 Frame with Mat & Card Set. The card and the frame are cut from Typhoon Bazzill Canvas cardstock, and the mat is cut from White cardstock. Ordering the mat in white cardstock is important as this is the piece I stamped the Thomas Kinkade image onto. After the ink was dry, I adhered the white mat to the card, and then centered and adhered the frame over the mat.

The owner of Creative Cuts and More, Terry, has decided to add an option to order 5.25"x4" mats so that people like me can have all the cardstock pieces ready to go. All I had to do was stamp this sentiment on the inside and my card is done. (As an added bonus, if you mess up on stamping your main image on the front of the card, you can order extra mats.)

Since the first card is classic and elegant, I decided to go with a fun red and green theme for my second card. I ordered some Christmas Stocking #02 - Small dies cut from white and red felt.

As you can see in the picture below, I cut the cuffs off each stocking.

Then I adhered the white cuff to my card, and positioned the red stocking directly below the white cuff.

How is that for a fun and quick Christmas card? You can mix it up with all sorts of different colors - Terry has 26 different colors of felt in the store. Another fun option would be to order the stockings in Velvet paper! How cool would that be??

I hope I was able to inspire you with my quick and easy and mail-able cards today. Order your supplies today and get a jump start on your Christmas cards before December rolls around. Can you believe we only have two months til Christmas??

Now it is time to hop on over to Debbie's blog. Debbie is such a sweet gal, and she does some awesome work! You will love what she has in store for you today.



Blue Card details:
Oval Window A2 Frame with Mat & Card Set- Typhoon Bazzill Canvas cardstock for card and frame, White cardstock for the mat
Stamps: Stonehearth Hutch & A Merry Little Christmas (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Ink: Denim Adirondack
Other: brayer, stampamajig

Red & Green Card details:
Christmas Stocking #02 - Small dies cut from white and red felt
Stamps: Stocking Prints (PaperTrey Ink)
CS: Kraft, Really Red, Cottage Christmas dp (Imaginisce)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento

Accordian Card - TJ CD

Have you seen the news about the new Fancy Folds and Motion Paper Crafts CD that is being offered by Technique Junkies?? I had the honor of working on several projects for this cd, and what you see above is what I created for a special accordian card tutorial. There are 60 awesome tutorials on this cd for for all things folded and motion-related.

Not only do you get the full-page, step-by-step color tutorials, but you also get some gorgeous artwork. This new CD will ship in November. This will be a great resource for your own paper crafting, and if you are a demo or instructor, these tutorials will be a big hit in your classes.

The CD is $17.95 for US and Canadian Residents (Overseas, $19.95US).  Do you see the little button over on the right side of my blog directly under the header? That will take you directly to the page to purchase this cd. Not comfortable with online ordering? You can email Pat Huntoon (owner of Technique Junkies) for an invoice or send a check to her at::

Pat Huntoon
Technique Junkie Newsletter
PO Box 16547
Stamford CT 06905

My picture is just a small sneak peek of the wonderful artwork that you will see when you purchase this cd. This would also make a great Christmas gift for your crafty friends and family! (Hint, hint!!)

Apples in Autumn - CC&M

I am just loving this fall weather here in TX these days. It was a long time coming, but now we have those wonderful cool mornings and cool evenings to offset the warm afternoons each day. Now's the time for hay rides, apple-picking, pumpkin carving, and watching the leaves change color.

For my creation today, I wanted to use the apple die cut card from Creative Cuts and More and have it shout "autumn." I used the Mono Dies technique from Technique Junkies on the front of this card. The smaller apples are from a Martha Stewart punch, and they coordinate perfectly with all the apple die cuts from Creative Cuts and More.

For the sentiment, I used a small square of kraft cardstock, stamped the sentiment with brown ink, and then stamped Holly's Tattered Background with Versamark ink over the sentiment. That background gives the kraft cardstock a sort of cracked bark, woodsy feel.

Happy Autumn! Enjoy your weekend!


Die Cuts: Apple Window Square Scallop Card cut from Parakeet Bazzill Canvas cardstock
Stamps: Autumn Blessings (retired SNSS), Holly's Tattered Background (I Brake for Stamps)
Ink: Bamboo Leaves Memento, Versamark, Rich Cocoa Memento
Other: Martha Stewart apple punch, sponge