Thursday, December 29, 2011

Inspired Stamps New Year Card

For today's post I created a New Years Day card with Inspired Stamps. I used on of the scripture stamps, which I think is appropriate for the New Year. I'm really hoping that God will be with my in New Year as I meet new challenges.


My goal for 2012 is to slow down and enjoy life a little more. I don't want to rush so much that I miss so many things. I hope to get out a bit more with my hubby, and maybe get to take a vacation this year. And finish off the two "under construction" bedrooms in my house. Happy Crafting.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Winners!

In all my holiday hoopla I forgot to give out my prizes. Here goes!


The winner of the magazines from the Winter Wonderland Blog hop is:


Michelle said...
Very cute card... and super easy to make alot of... that is what I like about it. Thanks for the chance to win!!! Michelle mpetrovich23 at yahoo dot com http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com


The winner of the embelishments from The Greeting Farm Customer Blog hop is:


Simply Sandy said...
what cute cards!


Congratulations Ladies! Please email me at pixichickpapercrafts@gmail.com with your addresses so that I can send you your prize!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

25 Days of December Designt Team - Gingerbread

Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
25 Days of Christmas.
Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
and every day in December.




Today's theme is Gingerbread, so I decided to bake some. The first time I had gingerbread I was in Gettysburg, PA with my Hubby and my cousin Tess. Gingerbread with lemon sauce was the house specialty desert at the restaurant we went to. Gingerbread with lemon sauce sounded weird, but tasted good. So I set decided to make my own.


The little Gingerbread woman on top is from Paper Dolls Dress Up. It's one of the accessory cuts. I used my Sakura white gel pen to add the icing on her. She is small, I only cut her at 2", but she works great as a topper for this fabulous desert.

Here's the recipe I used:

Gingerbread Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup molasses
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup hot water

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.( or spray with PAM)
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
  3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
  4. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  
  5.  
     


    Lemon Sauce Ingredients:

    • 1/2 cup white sugar
    • 2 tbsp cornstarch
    • a dash of salt
    • 1 cup water
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • 1 tbsp butter

    Directions:

    1. In a small sauce pan combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently
    2. Whisk in egg yolks, then add lemon juice and butter. Bring to a simmer.
    3. Remove from heat, and pout over gingerbread while still warm.

    Happy Crafting!

    Inspired Stamps Chirstmas Card

    I have one last Christmas Card for you using Inspired Stamps. These stamps are HLO Winter Girl and the tree from the Ask, Seek, Knock set.


    I really like this tree. It has a lot of character, and it can be very versatile. And Winter Girl is super cute. I hope you like my card. Happy Crafting.

    Monday, December 19, 2011

    Greeting Farm Customer Blog Hop!

    Today I have a Holiday Card for The Greeting Farm's Customer Blog Hop. Please visit the TGF blog to see all of the stops on the hop. There are 2 Grand Prizes, and one lucky hopper will win the ENTIRE January release!

    My inspiration for this card is the song Santa Baby by Ertha Kit. I just love that song for some reason, even it's the total opposite of my personality. And this stamp completely embodies the song (at least I think so). Anyway, I made this one twice because I just got my C5-C9 markers and I had to try out black hair. 


    I used Cheeky Glamour for this card. She is just adorable. The twine is Peapod (green) and Maraschino (red) from The Twinery and the flower and jewel are from Prima. My Dear Santa stamp came from the dollar bin at Michaels, but I think it goes nicely with this card. I hope you enjoy the hop! Happy Crafting.

    PS. I have some blog candy of my own!

    I'm giving away these embellishments. All you have to do is comment and become a follower and you will be entered to win. 


    I also entered this card in the Shellys Images Challenge  - Anything Goes

    Saturday, December 17, 2011

    Winter Wonderland Blog Hop Day 1

    Hi there! Welcome to my blog and the Winter Wonderland Blog hop. If you have arrived from Lisa's blog you are in the right place! If not please start at Lisa's blog! This hop is all about Christmas, and fabulous sponsor is PSA Essentials. You can find them here:

    http://www.psaessentials.com/

    http://www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com/


    My project is this super cute Christmas Card. I love Christmas, so I thought this one suited me perfectly. 


    The hearts are cut using the Sweethearts Cricut Cartridge using paper from DCWV. And of course I had to add some bling to them. I also use some cute grosgrain ribbons I bought from Michaels. They came together in a roll. The sentiment stamp is from Recollections.

    And I have some Christmas Themed Blog Candy (because what's a hop without some candy):
    Two Crafting Magazines from my collection. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You must be a follower to win.US and Canada residents only, sorry, shipping is just too expensive. Now it's time for you to visit Colleen's blog.



    Here is today's line up in case you get lost.

    1.  Theresa H.~www.thescrapbookingqueen.com
    2.  Lisa ~ http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
    3.  Amber J. ~ http://pixiperfectcreations.blogspot.com
    4. Colleen H. ~ www.cbcscrapbooking.blogspot.com
    5. April N. ~ http://www.curlsandgrins.blogspot.com
    6. Michelle H. ~http://www.craftychelle.blogspot.com/

    7. Jamie ~ http://myamusinglife.blogspot.com/
    8. PSA~ http://www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com/

    Friday, December 16, 2011

    I found a Fabulous Giveaway to share! Check it out:

    Melissa is giving away

    $150 to Michaels
    1 Copic Airbrush starter kit
     
    Copic Swatch Book

    and
    36 Copic Ciao Markers


    This ends January 1st so hurry and enter!Creating from the Heart: ♥ My Annual End of the Year/ Christmas Giveaway!!! ♥

    25 Days in December Design Team- Candy Theme

    Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
    25 Days of Christmas.
    Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
    and every day in December.


    For my today's candy theme I decided I would make some home decor. I have these battery powered candles on my mantle, and I change them for every holiday. 
    I started with 2" strips of green or red paper around all of the candles so I had something to glue my candy to.

    The Candy Canes were cut at 4" and they are from Simply Charmed.

    The mint is also cut from Simply Charmed at 4". The lolli pop is from Create a Critter and is at 3.75" because the candle I put them on was much shorter than the rest. I know this is a very simple and easy decoration to create and I hop it gives you some holiday inspiration.

    I also entered this project into the Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Anything but a Card Challenge

    Happy Crafting!



    Thursday, December 15, 2011

    Inspired Stamps Chirstmas Card

    Today I"m bringing you a blue card. I seem to do one blue card every Christmas. This one is made using the 1" Snowmen stamp set from Inspired Stamps. I also used the "Merry Christmas" from the Perfect Sentiment Stamps.



    I also entered this card in the the Made Especially for you challenge: Let it Snow

    25 Days in December Design Team- Tree Theme

    Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
    25 Days of Christmas.
    Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
    and every day in December.




    Today I have a layout for your. I know I haven't done one in a while because I am so busy with making cards, but I have to get back to my scrapbooking! So for my tree themed project I made this:


    The stripped paper and the paper with presents is from an old DCWV Christmas stack. I must say that it has lasted me quite a long time. I think I bought it 4 Christmas's ago. The red polka dot paper is from Scenic Route Paper Co.

    I used 3 different cart for this project. The words are from Simply Sweet, cut at 2". The star garland is from Joys of the Season. I used my Gypsy to weld together 2 garlands to get the size I wanted for this layout. The tree is from Paper Dolls Dress Up and is cut at 10.5". I really like this particular tree, and have used it for several projects in the past


    These lights on the tree are from a craft and hobby store. I picked them up and just hung on to them for a few years waiting for the perfect project to come along. I think they look great. I use small glue dots to keep each one in place. The star on top of the tree is cut out of Best Creations Glittered cardstock. I really like this one because the glitter doesn't shed, but it is very expensive. Must get back to Christmas shopping!

    Happy Crafting.

    Wednesday, December 14, 2011

    25 Days in December Design Team- Ornament Theme

    Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
    25 Days of Christmas.
    Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
    and every day in December.


    Today's card is ornament themed. I wanted something clean and simple, so I came up with this card.




    The card itself is made from red cardstock at 6.5 x 5. The green matting is 6 x 4.5 and I used a Martha Stewart corner punch to give it some flair. Then I matted a piece of white cardstock on top of the green and stamped it with Merry Christmas. The ornaments are cut from the Joys of the Season Cartridge, but I'm sure many cartridges have ornaments that you could use. The green one is cut at 2.5" and the red on is cut at 2". The "Merry Christmas" is from a Recollections clear stamp set that I got last year at Michael's.

    This is a great card for using up scraps of patterned paper, and you could do it in any color scheme you like. Maybe even make cards that match your actual holiday decor! Happy Crafting.

    Tuesday, December 13, 2011

    25 Days in December Design Team- Penguin Theme

    Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
    25 Days of Christmas.
    Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
    and every day in December.


    For today's theme I made an ornament with a penguin. This one is pretty simple, but I think it's so cute.


    The snowflake is from When It's Cold Outside, and I cut it out at 5". I used Mod Podge to add glitter to the ornament. After the glitter I added a second layer of Mod Podge to keep the glitter from shedding everywhere.  I cut the penguin from Joys of the Season at 3". I used Peachy Keen Stamps Critter Faces for his little face, and chalked his cheeks with some Pebbles Chalk. I used a marker to color in his feet rather than cut them out. All that's left is to add some string and he's ready to go. He's so cute, but I don't even have my tree up yet! Better get started. Happy Crafting!

    Monday, December 12, 2011

    25 Days in December Design Team- Snow Theme

    Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
    25 Days of Christmas.
    Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
    and every day in December.


    Today I made a home decor wall hanger with the snow theme. I used a large paint stir-er for my mounting piece. I just spray painted it white and added some clear pushpins.


    The flags are from Straight from the Nest and I cut them out at 7". I used Chatterbox Artsy.licious paper to make them. Its hard to see but the paper is glittered.



    The snowflakes are from When it's Cold Outside (seasonal cart) and I covered them with glitter. The are all cut at 3"



    The font is from Winter Woodlands. I really like the font on that cart! It's so fancy.



    I liked this one so much I had to use it at my office instead of my house.
    I also entered this project in the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge- Rolling in Ribbon since it has blue ribbon on it
    Happy Crafting!

    Sunday, December 11, 2011

    Product Review: What's all the Twine about?

    I have 3 different brands of twine in my craft arsenal right now, so I though it would be a good time to write a product review. This started because of a sale at The Twinery, a 3 color sample pack for $5


    Okay, I know that twine has been popular in papercrafting for over a year now. But to be honest I really hadn't gotten into it that much. Until I discovered The Twinery that is! I didn't see the big deal, but then I checked out a couple of The Twinery's blog hops and I thought, hey there may be something here. But I had no idea that there is a huge quality difference in twine! Let me show you what I mean.


    This is a comparison of 3 different twine products. The red twine ( the far right) I got from a friend, I'm not sure what brand it is. But as you can see it's really thin, and it's very loosely spun so it comes apart. The orange twine is from Divine Twine. I bought it at a local craft store. It's better than the red, thicker and more tightly spun so that it stays together. And I do think this is pretty good twine. I used it for a few cards in the last couple of months. The Green is from the sample pack above from The Twinery. It's thicker, more tightly spun, and has way more color in it that the other two. I was really impressed.


    This is a close up of the twine from the card on my last post:

    Looks pretty good, huh? Divine Twine is not bad, below is a close up of Divine Twine from a card I made using that product. I just found that I like The Twinery's twine (say that five times fast) because it is thicker and has more color.


    And their customer service is great! I had a small snafu with my order, but they were very nice to me and got everything straightened out right away. I now own these three sample sets!

    And here is a sneak peak of another card that's coming using this twine:
    I see more twine in my future!

    Saturday, December 10, 2011

    Echo Park Christmas Card

    This one is made with Echo Park's Holly Jolly line and an Oliver stamp from The Greeting Farm. I made this for the Echo Park Holiday Card Contest, wish me luck.  I though it was really cute, and my coworkers keep asking me to make this card for them.


    I made this card 6x6 out of red cardstock. The I cute the zig-zag paper at 5.5"x 5.5". I cut another square of red cardstock and then the small squares of snowflake and numbered paper at 2"x2". If you look closely you can see that I added gold Stickles to the #25. I made the button bow using Twine from The Twinery, which I love an am addicted to now. Oliver is from an Oliver an Amelia Stamp set, and I'm wondering if I should make a card with Amelia too! Not so sure I will have time. I colored Oliver with my Copic Markers (3 times before I got him right) and the Dear Santa stamp was in the dollar bin at Michael's.

    I decided to enter a few more challenges since there are so many going this month.

    1. Creative Card Crew  -  Tis the Season
    2. Two Sisters Challenge - Christmas
    3. Come and Get It Challenges - Anything Christmas
    4. Tuesday Throwdown - Celebrate the Season

    Happy Crafting!

    Thursday, December 8, 2011

    Inspired Stamps Chirstmas Card

    This one is made with the super cute Winter Ruth Stamp from Inspired Stamps. She is bigger than the HLO stamps, and comes with several different stamps of her hands so you can change what object she is holding. I have been into very traditional Christmas colors this month, and this card goes right along with that theme!


    Tuesday, December 6, 2011

    Sweet Stamping Treats Tag, Bag or Box Challenge.

    Today at Sweet Stamping Treats they are having a Tag, Bag or Box Challenge. You can enter this one by using any SST stamp to create a tag, bag or box. Since I made a box the last time this Challenge came up, this time I made a bag.
    I made this bag using the Sally's Teddy Bear stamp from the December stamp release.

    Monday, December 5, 2011

    Winner of the Sweet Stamping Treats Stamp

    I know this is late and I have to go to bed so I will be quick. The winner is:

    Edwina said...
    Sally's teddy Bear is so cute! That is the one I would like. I am a follower of your blog. Edwina Brown edwinabrown@comcast.net

    25 Days in December Design Team- Cookie Theme

    Welcome to Erica's Craft Room
    25 Days of Christmas.
    Don't forget to stop by Erica's blog to see more projects today....
    and every day in December.


     My project today is a cookie themed card using my Cricut Expresssions. I decided to go with Gingerbread Men because they are so traditionally Christmas. I used to have so much fun as a kid decorating these cookies.
     The background paper is from American Traditions Designs, Holiday Cheer line, it's called Holiday Words. I picked it up on sale at Michaels. I used red and green cards for these instead of the usual white. The Gingerbread man is from the From My Kitchen cartridge at 3.5".

      I used rick-rack for icing on his arms and legs, buttons for candies on his chest, and some bling for his gumdrop eyes. I used my white gel pen to color in his mouth.

    This one is a quick card to throw together if you don't have a lot of time. Happy Crafting!

    Saturday, December 3, 2011

    Sweet Stamping Treats New Release and a Give Away

    In honor of the Sweet Stamping Treats December New Releases SST is giving away one of their digi stamps right here on my blog! All you have to do is go to http://sweetstampingtreats.blogspot.com/ and become a follower. While you are there, check out all of the stamps they have available, then come back here and leave me a comment on this post letting me know which digi stamp you like best. I will choose one follower to win the stamp that they picked as their favorite. I will announce the winner on Monday, December 5th. Good luck!