Winter Tilda and Edwin

That's another swap completed. I made five of these Jumbo ATCs (they measure 3.5x5"). I used Basic Grey paper, and colored my images with Copics. The snowflakes at the top of each of my ATCs are from the QuicKutz Revolution border die. The only requirement for these JATCs is a sparkly snowflake somewhere on them.
Speaking of QuicKutz, I got an Epic Six for Christmas from my mom. It's on my cabinet, next to my Cricut, but I haven't read the book yet, so I haven't tried it out. I have several 2x2 dies, one or two 4x4 dies, and some other brands of dies like SIzzix. I'm saving up for a Nestabilities set.

Sadly, I received no gift cards this year.

I have been such a sloth this week. Sleeping until ten am isn't enough--no, I have not worn makeup since Christmas Day, and have barely poked my nose out the door except to mail out packages for scrapping friends.

Birthday Cards featuring Whiff of Joy mouse

I made these fold-out cards for a birthday card swap. I feel so on top of things. This is a January card swap, and I just finished today. I also feel a little guilty. Instead of cleaning up and cleaning out my craft room, I have been inking and coloring and folding and piecing. But it's just too durn fun to stop!!

I used the Cupcake option on my Hello Kitty Cricut cartridge for the cover of my card, piecing it together so that the colors of the cupcake match the colors of my patterned paper (mostly from a DCWV stack). The sentiment is stamped with SU stamp.

Here's my scrumptious little birthday mouse, snagging his piece of birthday sweets. He's from Whiff of Joy, and I do believe there's a link on the right for WOJ. I colored him with Copics, although the other cards portray his gray siblings-he's the only brown mouse in the lot.

I bought the sentiment stamp from Archiver's, and I think the words of wisdom are apropos to the occasion. The background paper was white until I used Bubblegum and Key Lime Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels Company.

The pattern for this fold-out card can be found at scor-pal.com under the tutorials link. After folding I looped a piece of coordinating paper around the card to keep it closed and attached my Cricut cupcake to the front. I like the way this turned out--how about you? Thumbs up or thumbs down. Let me know!
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Cards in a Box

This was so much fun, but it took almost the whole day to make them all. Luckily I loaded up on caffeine yesterday, since I was up past midnight whipping these out. This is my new favorite card, along with the trifold shutter card.

And to go along with the sentiment inside, it makes a perfect treat box as well. Which fits into a certain swap I'm signed up for.

So I think instead of the birthday card swap, I'm going to use these in a different swap.

I just love the way Tilda works with these cards. Now all I need is the chocolate to fill them with. Next I need to finish my 24 Days Before Christmas album (got five more pages to go), and then work on a few more swaps due in January.

Tilda Birthday Card in a Box

I love Karen's Tutorial Tuesday Blog. She had this tutorial, and I have this birthday card swap coming up in January, so I discovered the perfect pattern. Above the box is closed, and Tilda sitting unwrapping her present adorns the cover. I used K-I ribbon to go around the cover, which also keeps the cover together. The paper is from My Mind's Eye from their Adventure series, called Sun-Kissed Sweet.

I colored my Tildas with Copics, and used the rubons that matched the paper line for added embellishments. Each inside flap has a "pocket" with a scallop tag inside. Each scallop tag has a birthday sentiment stamped on it. And of course you can't just use one Tilda image on a card, right?! So I colored and cut a few more Tildas to decorate the inside of the card as well.

I can't wait to score, cut and put together the other cards needed for the birthday card swap I'm in with LuckyBug Yahoo group (link on the right).

Looking Up

Christmas wasn't a disaster, though we had a few near misses. But everyone enjoyed themselves in their own way, and we look forward now to a new year. As promised, I've posted some of the pages in my 24 Days Before Christmas.

Although it seemed easy enough, one photo a day up until Christmas, there were a couple days I couldn't remember, or desire, to take a picture, but I did, sometimes on the very mundane parts of my day.

December 17 was easy to take a photo. Our school performed the Nutcracker Suite. The problem was in choosing which of many pictures I took to scrap.

My son's birthday is December 18, and I took off that day to be with him. We went to see the movie Avatar in 3D (awesome movie), and later the whole family went out for Sushi.

More snow fell, and the forest preserves were postcard pretty.

Now that the holiday is behind us, we are homebound couch potatoes this weekend. We have watched the entire first season of Eureka (my Christmas gift), slept late, eaten leftovers and relaxed mightily. Wendy has read ALL her books she received Christmas Day (that's four manga and a novel) and my hubby and son have also watched their respective DVDs.

There's so much more in the works, but I'll save that for later. It's getting late and I'm hoping the Coke I drank this afternoon doesn't keep me up much longer. G'nite.

Bah Humbug

If you want to retain your Christmas spirit, don't read further. Just check back in a few days. I'm going to vent, When did the holidays fall apart? DO adults see Christmas differently than children? I don't remember this much drama when I was growing up.
This Christmas, we have a funeral to look forward to, actually a memorial, as my cousin's wife died earlier this month, much earlier. We won't be seeing my cousing because up until last week, he firmly believed she was going to walk out of the morgue (happily he is now accepting her death and now in full grieving mode and I respect his time to himself).
Meanwhile, his dad, my uncle, is on death's door, dying from a brain tumor/cancer. So his half of the family is keeping a very low profile and that's 11 people missing from my dinner tonight.
Then there's my other uncle, the crazy one (I mean really crazy). After punching my sister and resisting arrest, after the charges (most of them were dropped), after his arrest earlier this month for DUI, He is depressed and thinks every one hates him (we don't, we're just worried about him, and a little scared of him). Sop my gram, the matriarch of the family, without whom CHristmas wouldn't be CHristmas, wants to stay home with him instead of coming over to be with the sane part of the family. Now we're down to nine.
Other than that, I've had a lovely Christmas, got and gave some great presents, thanked God for all we have, and am about to serve the best damn CHristmas turkey dinner this year.
Thank for letting me vent. I promise to put some of my latest work on the next post, and shake off this dismal mood. Everyone have a joy-filled Christmas, and a peaceful and relaxing New Year.

a Visit from Three Spirits

So after I whined on my blog, I spent the last hour and a half of the day scrapping another eight pages in my 24 Days before Christmas album. I felt better, and went to bed, well, not with sugar plums dancing in my head, but feeling more of the Christmas spirit.

Yesterday, I breught down some of my Christmas boxes from the attic and went on a decorating rampage, so the house looks at least respectable.

And today, after coming home from my office Christmas dinner at Appleby's (our tab, not the church's), I finished the Christmas tree. If I do say so myself, it looks beautiful (and about time too).

Although I have to work tomorrow, I have 12/24 off so I can lock myself in my craft room and wrap presents. The turkey is thawing, the kids are cleaning the house (a miracle in itself), and I'm done shopping. I'm on my 4th day of Weight Watchers (does dinner at Appleby count? not right now) and I have crafting goals for 2010. Life is looking much better.