Snowman Greetings Card

This is a card I made three years ago. Super simple, and easy to mass produce. Sorry I have no pictures of the actual making of the card, but here is what I did - its pretty easy to do.

I used a 6"x12" piece of white cardstock, and folded it to make a 6" square card.  I had some neat plastic like wrapping/tissue paper with blue and silver snowflakes on it, and cut that to 5 1/2 " square, and glued it onto the base. Then there is a 3 1/2" square of white vellum that frames a 3 1/2" circle that I printed a cute snowman and the Season's Greetings phrase on.  The snowman just bursts out a hello I think! For the inside I actually cut a 5 7/8" square of paper, and stamped with a versa pad and used silver embossing powder for the sentiment... one of the rare times I actually put something inside a card! I've really got to get back to doing that more often!

I tried to show how the snowflake paper is almost iridescent... hard to show in photos sometimes!

Enjoy your holidays! This is my last card until the New Year, and the last card of the year for the Card a Day Blog, as we start our winter break there tomorrow! Take good care, and keep crafting!

Home-made Shake and Bake

Just sorting out my kitchen and decided to make up some Shake 'n' Bake... it is a pantry item I always make ahead of time... it usually is slightly different each time I make it up, as it depends upon what bread or crackers I use to make the crumb base. This batch turned out exceptionally well, so I thought I would share the recipe on the blog so I have it for future reference too!   The original recipe I got was off of All Recipes, but it had 10 different spices and herbs to measure out... What I did below definitely simplifies it!

• 4 cups fine, dry bread crumbs (or mixture of crackers or cornflakes and bread crumbs)
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs (I had these, and wanted some extra crunch in my mix)
• 1 heaping Tbsp Mrs Dash
• 1 heaping Tbsp Kirkland No Salt Seasoning (I prefer this blend, there is no citrus taste like Mrs Dash)
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Roasted Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 1/4 cups Parmesan Cheese (approx.)
• 1/3 cup oil

Simply mix up in a large bowl, and store in a sealed container.

To use:

1/4 scant cup of mix per piece of chicken or pork. Shake together in a plastic bag and bake @ 375 d. F. until done.

Another great use for this mix is to sprinkle on top of casseroles instead of crushed potato chips... really adds some color and great taste!

I made a large mayonnaise jar (1 1/2 quart) in about 15 minutes.  I like doing this so much I printed the recipe and stuck it to the jar... Enjoy, this staple - it is so cheap to make compared to the store bought, and you can customize it to suit your taste too!

A Snow Globe Card for Marcel

At the Card a Day Blog, the theme is Snow… I just had to do this card for my husband’s memory, to help me remember to believe in the reason for the season and to find some joy in it… it may be a few years until I do.
Snow globes are one of my favorite ornaments… I love snow too, and thought that it would be a great idea to have snowflakes as the highlight of the snow globe.  I took a few items off of a couple of cutting files from my silhouette Studio… a hexagon base from one item, and a snow globe from another, then the Believe phrase.  I digitally colored the items, then combined everything (the snow globe is actually three layers).
Here is what I cut out:

A hint of the layering with dimensional tape:

And the final card:

Thanks for visiting! Hope my card inspired you to remember someone too!

A Clean New Year Card

Hi! I made a quick and clean designed New Years Card, taking my inspiration from the Freshly Made Sketches here.  I made it with my silhouette, so I could co-ordinate all the colors of the items in the card. Used the honeycomb embossing die to make a base for my 5”x7” card.

My computer is acting up a bit, so before it dies, I will just share some quick pictures of the before part of my design and then the final card…. enjoy!

The picture of what I cut out… used everything except the rust colored buttons.

Then a bit of the detail that I got by just painting on some glue to create a textured, somewhat glossy surface on the flowers and buttons.

I really like it, I hope you do too!

 

Visit the Card a Day Blog tomorrow when we start one of my favorite themes! Snow! (And yep! We’ve got snow where I live so I’ll have some great inspiration!)

A Very Happy New Year Card

Over at the Card a Day Blog, I have the pleasure of making the first card of December, with a new theme! New Years! Its hard to believe that we have to start thinking about the New Year already! That means I’m really behind! I made a really simple card that I hope inspires you!
In this card, there are 5 layers, some I did digitally (no cut) and others I print and cut out, adhering them to the card with dimensional tape.  The layers in order, back to front:

1. 5”x7” rectangle filled with a red texture pattern I had on my computer.
2. 4.5” x 6.5” rectangle filled with a pattern I bought at the Silhouette store.
3. A snowman that I colored digitally
4. A birthday banner I changed into a New Year banner
5. Wavy “snow” edge made of a scalloped border that I ran through my cuttlebug, using a new favorite embossing plate  from Cricut, designed by Anna Griffin, called “Foulard”

Here is what I print and cut to adhere dimensionally:

Here is what I printed as a card “base”:

And the final result!
Sorry that I didn’t have time to note all the file names I used… I do hope you like the card though!
At the Card a Day Blog there are just two weeks of card making posts to do before our Christmas/Winter Break!  Its almost as good as an advent calendar, the excitement of the end of the year for our card making!  Enjoy!

A Warm Thank You Card

One of the first quilt blocks I ever made with my sister was a Maltese Flower Cross, hand appliqued quilt square we did for a block of the month in the Quadra Island Quilters group we belong to.  I thought it made a very festive looking block that using Christmas colors would fit right into being a Christmas thank you card! Its as close to a paper piecing card that I’ll ever make (really don’t like fiddling around too much with cards…the quicker the better is my motto)
Here is where I got the inspiration!

I downloaded the pattern and copy and pasted it into my Silhouette Studio Program… traced the outside edge, digitally colored the pieces, and resized them to make an approximately 5 inch square card.  I made a background piece with a word border which repeated “Thank you” (you could have lots of fun with the program doing this, or opt to hand write a message around the edge too.
Here are the two screens in my Studio program showing the pieces ready to print and cut.

It looks complex, but it is really assembled quite easily… Attach with glue or double sided tape as necessary:

1. Cross the green stems, corner to corner and centered…
2. Put the crown like golden flower petals down, almost touching both sides of the green stems.
3. The center red circle should just cover the bottom of all of the golden flower petals.
4. Arrange the  golden buds topped with the white strips on the arching stems
5. Attach the leaves and red flower buds on the remaining stems towards the corner.

All in all, I think it will be a special card for someone on my list who loves quilting

I’ve really been enjoying what other card makers have been posting on this theme at the Card a Day Blog, I hope you have too!

8 Little Lights, a Card for Hanukkah

I am posting a card for the Card a Day Blog today, and the theme is Hanukkah.  Its not a card that I would usually make as I have no one to send it to, so I am a bit out of my comfort zone… therefore the reason to try to make it even more special   I decided to do an easel card, and I adjusted the easel card file by Bird  - “Christmas Pudding Easel Card”. Using the cut file with my Silhouette, I  basically by just used the card base and adding an extra colored circle. The menorah was a cut file I found in the Silhouette store. 

The pictures below are from the start of my project to the finished, folded card.  All that is left to do is to print or stamp Happy Hanukkah in the space that is viewed when the card is opened.

 

Simple, yet special…. my favorite thing to do when making a card (K.I.S.S.)

Have a great card making day!!!!