Some Christmas Cards that cannot easily be mailed

I did make Christmas cards this year.  Unfortunately they are too bulky to mail but I used them for people locally that I can hand deliver or put in their mailbox at church.  I cased the card from a Pin I made this year from a blog called Understanding Blue.  I created my own version of the Merry using my Silhouette and a font I thought was close to the one she used.

Here is my version:

For those cards I need to mail out, I will be sending boxes flat cards as they can be mailed with one stamp.  I did get a holiday news letter finished so I will be including it with my cards.  I so so so need to get them finished and into the mail.

<^..^> Lori

Some fall cards that I sent out

That last one is not my original idea.  I cased it from something I saw on Wendy Nasmith's blog earlier this year. 






<^..^> Lori

Cricut CraftRoom helps me to finish my card

I was given permission to get into the new Cricut CraftRoom.  It's exciting to me!  That is a good thing.  It has only worked once for me.  That is a bad thing.  Hmm...they did say it was a beta deal.  Guess it needs more work done.  The first time I got into the CraftRoom, it said I needed to update my Imagine and the software for the CraftRoom on my laptop.  It took about 2 hours to get through all of it.  I don't mind as I was crafting and watching a movie while it worked away.  But now I cannot get the software to open again.  It says the unexpected error.  The Cricut Bridge application has unexpectedly quit. Cricut CraftRoom must close down now.
You may try and re-launch Cricut CraftRoom.
If this problem persists, please contact customer support."

I used it to create this card.  I have a Cricut Imagine and I must admit I was a little intimidated by it.  It seems to need updating every time I try to use it.  Plus I am used to using Cricut Design Studio with my Cricut Expression.  I am used to the full PC screen which the Imagine certainly doesn't have.  My old eyes need a large screen, ok!?  So the Cricut CraftRoom was going to bring that feature to me for the Imagine.  Cool! 

I made this card. 

It's a gate card made from Bo Bunny green double dot paper that I bought at Scrapadoodle.  I love their paper.  I made a nice edge with EK border punch.  Wouldn't it be nice if they put the name of the punches on them.  Sorry, I think it is called treading water. I inked the edges white with CTMH White Daisy.  I knew I wanted some word on the front but couldn't decide.

Here is the inside of the card.

I printed the Crow from the Imagine More cartridge.  I kept thinking I would print "Something to Crow About" on the front but it didn't work out, too long.  Whatever I was going to print for the front, I wanted to use the Imagine and didn't want to waste paper printing just one or a few copies on a 12x12 inch piece of paper.  Here is where the Cricut CraftRoom helped me out.  I was able to choose a word, celebrate from Beyond Birthdays cartridge, and flood it will a colorful print from Hopscotch cartridge.  I could use the CraftRoom cartridge to fully fill the 12x12 page, so no wasted paper.  Yeah! 

Then I had to figure out how to attach the 'celebrate' word.  It was fragile.  I decided to glue it to a piece of acetate.  It was probably a scrap from some stamp packaging.  Anyway it turned out well.  I used a small piece of velcro to hold the card shut.  I like it.

<^..^> Lori

Penguin Card

I did my own version of a card I saw on Patty's blog . She is such a talented lady. It is a penquin made without any stamping. My twist on the card was to use the Expression to cut the black and the white portions of the penquin's tuxedo; otherwise I used SU! punches.

• Misc: SU! curly label punch, SU! large oval punch, Provo George Basic cartridge & Accent Essentials cartridge, Souffle white pen


• Cardstock: Bazzill black, Office Depot white & orange & blue

Pumpkin Lotion gift card

I have some Pumpkin Lotion from Bath & Body Works to give the wives of our pastors this week.

Recipe:

Paper-white card stock

Stamps-CTMH Four Seasons, CTMH Give Thanks, SU! Totally Tabs

Ink-CTMH chocolate, SU!-chocolate chip, orange, real red, yoyo yellow

Misc-SU! punch, Fiskars Ribbon punch, Papertrey Dark Chocolate twill ribbon, CTMH swirl paperclip (not sure what it is really called)

Send someone a card today (that sounds bossy!),

Shots from Stamp Club this weekend

No, my camera is still not fixed. I have an older camera that I gave the kids when we got our Elixim. It is an Olympus camera that is probably 15 years old but it still works.

We made 2 cards this weekend. I really like them. If I had to pick a favorite, I would be in trouble. Brenda comes up with some great ideas.

Recipe Mountain Scene:

Ink: CTMH Cocoa and Ponderosa Pine

Stamp: CTMH Catch of the Day C1277

Recipe Catch of the Day:

Ink: CTMH Garden Green, Chocolate, Black

Misc: Liquid Glass, sponge

Stamps: Beautiful Things D1298

The catch of the day used a technique featured on SCS by Beate Johns called Retiform. She is really good at techniques.

Casio Elixim camera NOT working

I have a Casio Elixim digital camera. I wanted to photo the 2 cards I made at Stamp Club this weekend. But when I turn on the camera, it says Camera Stabilizer Is Not Found. I am sure that is not good. I Googled it and came up with nothing that would fix it without going to a camera shop. I hope I don't have to buy a new camera. I mean I would love a new camera but I don't want to spend the money. Know what I mean? Well, if I cannot post a card, I will point you to a card I like on another site.
Do you follow Dawn's Stampin Studio website? Dawn Griffith is just the best for cute ideas and she puts them on You Tube which is so helpful for a visual person like myself. Check out her spinner card!

Today is the first day of October. I am amazed at how fast time is moving as I get older. My mom told me time moved faster as you get older and I didn't think too much about it until the last few years. She was right!

Jim is out in Iowa for the funeral of his uncle Don W. Jim drove to his parents house in the Quad cities last night. He met his brother, Steve, there and they drove on this morning to Redfield, IA for the funeral. We decided not to take the kids out of school so I stayed home.

We have beautiful clear skies this morning. It was cold enough last night that we closed all of the windows and even considered starting the boiler to heat the house.

Here is a card that I made using this Michelle Zindorf tutorial called Distant Pines. You can follow the link and see the masterpiece that she created. She makes these fabulous scenes with brayers and I wanted to give it a try. It turned out okay but I would love to take one of her classes to get more instructions.

Well, I have to get busy moving...remember to trust and obey...you know the song don't you!?

Cards made from CTMH BFF scraps after Sept Stamp Club

Well, here are the cards I made from the scraps from Brenda's purse project.

Recipe:

Paper: CTMH Best Friends Forever

Stickers: sparkle heart, words, and small blossoms-K&Company; Love-Michael's Bride page marker

Other: crystal-Stickels; circle cutter-Martha Stewart; Boho punch-SU!