Thanksgiving Cards-2010

I made these cute Thanksgiving cards to send to family this year!  The turkey was cut from Simply Charmed, using various cardstock for the body, and a piece of patterned cardstock from DCWV Natural Stack, for the feathers.  The pizza was cut from Locker Talk (w/the drink hidden on the Gypsy).  The sentiment is from Great Impressions.  The lined and leaf paper is from Scribble Scrabble, called Autumn Afternoon.  I used the "Top Note" Sizzix die from Stampin' Up for the background, and sponged it with SU's Early Espresso.  Each turkey and pizza slice are popped up with foam dots, and the flowers are adhered using large Zot dots. ~Hoppy Crafting! 

Black Friday 2010

Today was Black Friday!  That means that all the crazy shoppers hit the stores early for deep discounts on all kinds of merchandise.  Well, I kicked off black Friday with a trip to Wal-Mart (.com, that is!), as well as to JoAnn's (.com).  While crazy, adrenaline-filled shoppers were beginning to elbow each other at 12:01 am, I sat in my bathrobe, with a cup of hot chocolate, and shopped online. 
Don't get me wrong...I'm a BF veteran.  I've done the whole BF thing for years!  This year, BF was not my BFF.  I just decided to try it a new way this year!  It was awesome!  Within minutes, I had the select items in my cart and ready for checkout.  Everything went off without a hitch, and I was in bed by 1:30 a.m.  I thought (briefly) about joining the rat race in the wee hours of the morning, but when I didn't even hear my alarm (from being in such a deeeep sleep), I was more than happy to SLEEP IN! 
Surprisingly, when I did venture out around 1pm today, there were still MANY "doorbuster" deals available.  I was truly surprised at the amount of items that were left from the early morning chaos.  JoAnn's and Michael's both had the Cricut Personal for $59.99 (Mike's automatically changed their sign to match Jo's, since they're about a mile apart).  When I got to Jo's, there were plenty of Cricut carts to be had.  Previous exclusives to HSN and Expression bundles, were on their display.  There was Picturesque, Straight from the Nest, and two Martha Stewart Cake carts, as well as several new releases.  I picked a couple that I haven't been able to find elsewhere, and went on my way. 
At Mike's, I picked up some paper (50% off all stacks), and a couple of presents for my nieces.  Oh, and of course, some scented pine cones (since DH came along, and was holding a spot in line w/the basket--and they are his favorite). 
Later, I stopped at Target and Wal-Mart.  Of course I had to convince DH to take a couple of Cricut-hugger photos!  He probably thought I was crazy, BUT they new Cricut Expressions were SOOOOO GORGEOUS!!!  *Sigh*  How could a person even decide??? I LOVE the green, but the Aqua and Plum were also divine!  Even the Canary wasn't as obnoxious as I had imagined!  I was totally bummed that the lites they had on sale were only the "new releases" and none of the "older" 24.  I really wanted to get Handy Man, Wildlife, Dude, and possibly Billionaire.  Oh well, just saved myself some $$$.  Hope everyone had a safe and fun Thanksgiving, and a fun-filled Black Friday!  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Motivation



View from my Craft Cave.



I've got to say, there's nothing like a little motivation (in the form of snow), to whip a crafter into Christmas card-making mode!  Of course, I may have had extra motivation (to finish), due to the fact that my school has been CLOSED for TWO days!!!  Yes, we will need to make up those missed days, but this extra time right before the holiday craziness, has been utilized well!  In just under three hours, I managed to mass-produce 17 Christmas cards!  That includes: making the card bases, scoring, stamping, cutting shapes, punching, layering w/pop dots, cutting out pieces w/the trusty Sizzix machine, and adding glitter and other finishing touches!  It also included deciding on a design, which I have been thinking about over the past few weeks...I just needed to see how the "mind-design" compared with the actual product.  It obviously worked well, and now I'm about halfway done making all my holiday cards!  I love this design SO much, that I've decided to switch color palettes (from red/green/silver, to blues/purples/greens) and make another set of around 20 cards with the same design!  I will have to share this card....soon.  :o)   ~Hoppy Crafting!!!



Reason WHY school's closed (view from my classroom).















Glam "Thanks!"

I love the paper for the background of card # 6 from the We R Memory Keepers "Retro Glam" card kit!  The colors and patter are divine!  The bracket-type bubble in the middle has the sentiment "just wanted to say...Thanks!" in a mix of rub-ons and chipboard.  There are three gorgeous flowers on opposite corners, which I used pop dots to raise up.  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Flower Friends!

This card (#5) may well be my FAVORITE in the We R Memory Keepers "Retro Glam" card kit!  I love how the flowers pop off the page (thanks to my pop dots), and how the sentiment is chipboard and seems to nestle super-well between the stems and blooms.  ~Hoppy Crafting!

What a Hoot!

Here's card #4 from the We R Memory Keepers "Retro Glam" card kit!  I am loving how easy these are to put together (as well as to modify)!!!  This "You are a hoot" card is sooo stinkin' cute!  I love, love, love the chipboard owl!  I also like the asymmetrical design of the borders!  The sentiment is a combo of rub-ons and die-cut letters.  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Thank you, friend Card

Here's card #3 from the We R Memory Keepers "Retro Glam" card kit!  The sentiment is a rub-on (Thank you for being my FRIEND).  Again, I LOVE the green mixed with the magenta!  It really makes the card pop!  I also like that I was able to add chipboard embellishments and pop up the sentiment plaque with pop dots.  Even a card kit with specific instructions can be modified (if you feel brave!).  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Love Birds

Here is the second card I made, using the We R Memory Keepers "Retro Glam" card kit, which I found at the Creating Keepsakes Convention.  Don't you just loooove the chipboard birds and the mix of rub-ons and chipboard lettering???  I do!  And, of course, it's in one of my favorite colors....GREEN!!!  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Sew Glad We're Friends

I made this card, using the We R Memory Keepers "Retro Glam" designs.  It was super easy, but looks way cool!  In fact, I'm usually not one for card kits, but at the Creating Keepsakes Convention that I just attended on Friday, I found this cute card kit, and HAD to try it!  There are 8 cute cards included in this kit!  I will share each one with you, as I make it.  :o)  The sentiment is a rub-on, and the flower & leaves are chipboard.  ~Hoppy Crafting!

Birthday-U Rock!

This card was made using the Rock Princess cart.  I cut the skull from black and white, and the bow from two shades of pink. The top layer of the bow is popped up, using foam dots.  The font is also from Rock Princess, and "rock" is welded together, using the Gypsy.  I added a light pink paper on top of the dark pink card base, used a border punch, and inked it with Stampin' Ups Melon Mambo.  I LOVE how this card turned out!  ~Hoppy Crafting! 

Lisa's Birthday!

I must admit, as you may have observed, I have been VERY out of the blogging world for a few weeks.  I have been super sick, and my darling kinders continue to share at will.  I have had no energy for even the simplest crafting for at least three weeks!  Imagine the torture!  I finally (after beginning a third round of meds!), drug myself to my craft room to create a birthday card for my dear friend, Lisa!
I used the Stampin' Up set Upsy Daisy, and embossed the flowers and sentiment with a lime green embossing powder.  I used the SU bird punch for the branch and leaves in the background.  The flowers and sentiment were double mounted, and popped up with foam dots.  ~Hoppy Crafting!