No Empty Chairs -- Decorative Plate

Hello, all!  I hope you're all starting to recover from the hustle, bustle, and fun of the holiday season, and that you had a wonderful and special time with your families.  We were busy, busy, but we had a wonderful time together.  And now I finally have a few minutes to start posting a few of my projects!  This first one is a decorative plate I made for my wonderful mom for her birthday.  The idea of "no empty chairs" came from a talk from Elder Henry B. Eyring, one of the leaders of our church, and it means that we want to have all our family together in Heaven.  My mom loved it so much she asked to have it engraved on her headstone, but I didn't think she should wait so long to enjoy it... :)  I bought the brown charger from a local home decor store, then I designed the vintage chair and flourishes and used SCAL to cut them out of gold and cream vinyl with my Cricut. 

Fancy Vinyl Chalkboard Giveaway

One of my favorite blogs on my "following" list is Tea Rose Home -- this lady has the most amazingly creative mind.  Right now one of her sponsors is hosting a giveaway of a really pretty vinyl chalkboard shape, so go check it out!

Thanks for all the little things!

This card just makes me happy every time I look at it.  It's one of those creations where I'm so glad I took a picture so I can enjoy it even though it's already at its new home with my wonderful friend who really does do so many little things for me. 

This new Paisley Cricut cartridge may just be my favorite yet.  I admit that I bought it pretty much just for these dolls -- aren't they too yummy?!  This is the kind of cartridge that coordinated stacks are for, though -- lots of layers, but easy if the colors are precoordinated.  I just loaded 4 different colors from the DCWV Citrus stack on my cutting mat, then cut all the layers at the same time.  The pp is from that stack as well.  The "thanks" is a Cuttlebug cut, and the little tag it's on is half a background shape from the Storybook cartridge.  TFL!

God Jul!

I wanted to create a special card for some dear friends in Denmark, and I thought I'd go again with the idea of a card with a removable ornament on the front.  I love the idea that even after they're finished enjoying the card, they have keepsake they can enjoy year after year.  The ornament here is called a julehjerte, which means Christmas heart in Danish.  It's about the most traditional ornament in Denmark and is supposed to have been invented by H. C. Andersen himself.  The tag says "God Jul," which means Merry Christmas!  I added a second chipboard frame to draw more attention to the tag with the sentiment.  The paper and chipboard are from Daisy D's and have been biding their time in my stash for a few years now.  I used this great sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You for the layout.  TFL!

And the winner is....

Beth!  Last's the best of all the game this time, because random.org picked #39 of 39 comments as the winner!

Beth said...

Beautiful snowflakes! I think I like the sweet snowflake the best but it's really difficult to pick a fave!

Beth, if you'll contact me with your email address, I'll send you a catalog so you can pick your five ornaments!

Several of you mentioned that you didn't see your favorites listed in my etsy shop anymore, but never fear -- all designs are available because I am always making more.  If you'd like to see a catalog, just contact me via email or via my etsy shop and I'll send you a pdf catalog (just make sure you leave your email address).

Thanks for playing along, everyone!  Happy Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas!

Deck the Halls -- 2S4Y

I've been trying to think of a way to incorporate one of the snowflake ornaments I sell in my etsy shop into a card, and Laura's sketch this week at 2 Sketches 4 You was PERFECT! I think this will be a really nice way to give one of my friends an ornament -- the ribbon at the top just loops through two holes I punched in the card, so it can easily be detached and hung on the tree.

I used my Cuttlebug for the embossing and then lightly sanded it (love the DCWV cardstock for that!), and the border punch and rub-on are both from SU. TFL!

Give Thanks Unto the Lord! (BBTB Contest)

I know I'm just sliding under the wire, but I couldn't resist entering the BBTB contest when I saw the theme was giving thanks. I have taken a challenge this month to blog every day about something I'm thankful for (you can see my entries on our family blog), and I am really feeling so grateful for all the big and little blessings in my life! I thought immediately of our new family pictures and that this scripture said perfectly how blessed I feel to have my wonderful family: "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever." (Psalms 136:1)

I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge for all the die-cuts. The felt pieces are from Fancy Pants, and the buttons are from Sassafrass Lass (review on these beauties coming soon!). I also used a Bazzill "In Stitch'z" template for the hand-stitched flourishes. The paper is from Scrapworks. I hope you'll excuse the bad pictures of the layout -- there was not a lot of natural light at 10:30 pm. :) TFL!