A Krafty Kind of Christmas

Oh it has been a little while! Sorry about that! I got sick last week (yup there went the exercise program..but I am back on track this week) and then we were away for the weekend. Plus Thanksgiving is coming and I volunteered to make some table decorations...ok it was suppose to be me and my son, but he keeps finding reasons not to help me! Then my husband's grandmother will be celebrating her 90th birthday this weekend and I have been busy getting the kids to make her things and put together a photo board. So crazy how many memories 90 years can hold! So those are all of my excuses...I think. But I am getting back on track and I owe a lot of cards for birthdays and anniversaries I am late on...so hopefully I can be productive now!

So for my first card back, I pulled out some of the new Holiday collection cardstock by Jillibean Soup...totally love the colors on kraft...just makes me happy. This one also combined up the Clean and Simple Challenge #94 (this week: sponging) and the Clean and Simple Challenge #93 (last week: sketch). This is definitely clean and simple for me and I like it...don't know if I can do it all of the time, but it felt good.

I stamped the Moody for Presents from Paper Makeup Stamps in Chocolate Chip ink on Kraft cardstock. Then I used an aquabrush to color in just the hat and sweater with Bravo Burgundy and Whisper White ink. See the Moodies don't have to be completely colored! And oh how I love how that white ink went onto the kraft cardstock...just perfect! After I cut her out I sponged around the edges with some Chocolate Chip ink. Then I used a strip of the Jillibean Soup White Sugar from the Christmas Chestnut Soup on Kraft collection and some colored twine I had on hand. The greeting is the FREEbie sentiment from Paper Makeup Stamps from any order during November. I also sponged around the entire base card too.

The other cards I made I don't think I will be showing for awhile...one is my Christmas card this year and the other I may submit for publication...so we shall see. Well that is all for me. Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Moody for Presents, Season's Greeting FREEbie sentiment (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Kraft (SU!), White Sugar from Christmas Chestnut Soup on Kraft Collection (Jillibean Soup); Ink - Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White Craft (SU!); Accessories - Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders), red twine (unknown), aquabrush, dimensionals, sponge

A Baby Shower Blog Hop & Makeup Challenge

Today is a very special day...yes it is special because it is a Friday and my husband is taking the day off to spend some time with the family...and it is special because it is Friday and that means it is time for another Makeup 4 the Weekend Challenge (it is a sketch this week!)...but more importantly it is special because we are doing a Blog Hop in honor of one the fellow Makeup Artists, Ginger. See, her and her husband are adopting a baby boy...in fact a baby boy that will be born very soon! So we wanted to help her celebrate this amazing time in true card-maker fashion with a Blog hop! I am the first stop, but make sure you check out PMS Blog to hear all about what is truly special about today!

Ginger did an amazing job decorating the baby's room and she did it with a circle motif. If you didn't see it, then you need to check out this POST to see the pics. Anyway, I was sort of inspired by that for my card for her. Plus, like I mentioned today is also the Makeup 4 the Weekend #49, so I used that sketch for my layout. The Jamie Fairy from Paper Makeup Stamps was stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock in Basic Black ink and then paper pieced with some paper from the Granola Paper Pad by Basic Grey. I colored a little bit of it with a Brocade Blue marker and colored his hair with a Creamy Caramel marker.

I layered the image over a Bordering Blue Lacey Circle. All of the pattern paper is from the Granola Paper pad from Basic Grey. The hardware is from an old Hodge Podge Hardware kit from Stampin' Up!. The metal "baby" is an old set of metal words from Making Memories.

So now you are to continue on the Hop to Tina's Blog. Make sure you also create your own card using the sketch and link it up to the Makeup 4 the Weekend Challenge post to be entered for a chance to win a free stamp! Enjoy the baby-filled hop, leave some love for Ginger, and thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Jamie Fairy (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Bordering Blue, Very Vanilla (SU!), Granola Paper pad (Basic Grey); Ink - Basic Black, Brocade Blue marker, Creamy Caramel marker (SU!); Accessories - Metal Words (Making Memories), Pewter Hardware (SU!), Lacey Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), dimensionals

A Moody Review

So I have to first tell you how proud I am of myself...so far! The scale started tipping far too much recently, so I decided I needed to figure out an exercise program to lose some pounds. I have lots of exercise tapes/DVDs and most recently bought some Jillian Michaels workout DVDs, but didn't feel like doing just one tape and just wanted more direction. So I found the 30 Day Slimdown using three of Jillian's DVDs. I am on Day 10 and I have stuck with is thus far...a pretty big challenge as any Stay-at-Home Mom can attest too...especially if you don't have a gym membership. So to avoid having to workout with my son (always fun huffing and puffing while he is asking me questions and trying to talk to me), I have been doing morning workouts...and since I have early risers (around 6:30 am), I have been doing some very early mornings! But I am doing it and will hopefully continue!

Ok now that I am done telling you about my new focus, did you see the New Release from Paper Makeup Stamps?! It is a great one this month and the new Moody for Presents is one of my favorites...and I will tell you why. This Moody reminds me of me. See on Christmas, I am never seen without my Santa hat...and of course carrying lots of presents...plus you add in the wavy/curly hair...this Moody is totally me! Ok so lots of people could claim this same statement, but this is my story and I am stickin' to it!

Anyway, I stamped her (myself...hehe) in Brilliance Graphite Black and watercolored her with an aquabrush and ink pads. I added some red glitter pen to the red parts around her. The layout is from the current Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #164 and the sentiment is the FREEbie sentiment this month with any Paper Makeup Stamps order. The paper I used is from the retired Merry Moments (I think that is the name!) from Stampin' Up!.

So did you hear the other Paper Makeup Stamps News? We are switching to an every other month release schedule, which means there will not be another release in December, BUT there will be a Blog Hop on the 7th and we want you to join us!!! You have to use some sort of winter/Christmas stamp/digi from Paper Makeup Stamps to participate...so if you are interested you need to email Katie (the owner) at katie@papermakeup.com with the subject of December Fan Blog Hop by December 3rd! We hope you will join us for some fun!!! Until then (well actually earlier since I will be back tomorrow!), thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Moody for Presents, Season's Greetings FREEbie Sentiment (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments DSP (SU!), watercolor paper; Ink - Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko), Real Red, Old Olive, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip (SU!); Accessories - Circle and Large Scallop Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Chocolate Single Faced Satin Ribbon (Offray), Red Glitter Pen (Sakura), dimensionals, aquabrush

A Christmasy Blog Hop

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...ok not really here, but this Blog Hop may put you more in the Christmas mood! I will say working on some Christmas related cards has made me start thinking about my Christmas cards a whole lot sooner than I normally do...which is totally needed since I usually am scrambling to finish them around mid-December!

So hopefully the Paper Makeup Stamps Blog Hop is getting you Christmas mojo going...you should be arriving from Tina's Blog (love that new Moody for Presents!). If you didn't start at the beginning, then make sure you jump back to the PMS Blog to collect all of your letters for your 15% Off code! I am totally lovin' all of the Word Arts this time and I have to say that this Dr. Seuss one is my favorite! How classic is that line...totally love reading that book and seeing the movie every year! Since it was a Dr. Seuss quote, I tried to go for a whimsical look, which turned out to be a little basic, but I think it worked.

Anyway I started with the current Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #163. The quote was inked up with markers and stamped on the back side of the Joyful Multi Stripe pattern paper by KI Memories...it was a nice shimmery white and since the presents were cut from the same piece of pattern paper it matched nicely. Then it was cut with part of the Labels 16 Nestabilities die. As I said before the presents were cut out of the Joyful Multi Stripe pattern paper and then popped up with some dimensionals. The large Kiwi Kiss panel was embossed with the Spots and Dots embossing folder. The final touch was some 7/8" red satin ribbon and three red rhinestones.

Now it is time to hop on over to Danni's Blog to see what she created with an adorable Christmas tree! Oh and here is my letter before you leave me:

Have fun hopping along and getting some Christmas inspiration. Don't forget the Release Party is tonight at 9 pm in the PMS Forum. Be ready for lots of chatter and some fun...plus you will get to find out if you won any stamps! Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering.

The Engineering Details

Stamps - What if Christmas Wordart (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Garden Green, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Passion (SU!), Joyful Multi Stripe Pattern paper (KI Memories); Ink - Garden Green marker, Real Red marker, Pink Passion marker, Kiwi Kiss (SU!); Accessories - 7/8" red satin ribbon (Offray), Red Rhinestone Stickers (Me & My Big Ideas), Spots and Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (Provo), Labels 16 Die (Spellbinders), dimensionals, scissors

Blinged Out Sneak Peak

Whew...did you all have a great Halloween? Ours was a blast. We realized that this was my daughter's (2 yrs old) first time Trick-or-Treating. She was sick last year so she didn't go out with her brother and the year before she was a baby and obviously didn't do much but look cute. She was hilarious the whole time...so into it and determined to walk (or run) the whole way and to carry her bag herself! It wasn't until it got dark that she started getting scared of going up to the houses...guess once it got dark, everything looked a whole lot scarier because she wouldn't even go up to people that weren't dressed up. You can check out the costumes at the bottom of this post...the feathers may have been a pain in-the-you-know-where (de-feathered two boas and then glued each one on individually!), but they looked great.

Now onto the real reason for the post today...that is right, Paper Makeup Stamps is embarking on another release and today is "Fairy Day"! If you missed the first peek, make sure you check out this POST...by leaving a comment you could win all of the stamps peeked that day! I have the honor of showing you the Celest Fairy. She was previously released in a Makeup Kit, but now is available all by her beautiful self. I used the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #132 for my layout. I stamped the Celest Fairy in Brilliance Graphite Black ink on watercolor paper and colored her with ink pads and an aquabrush. She was cut-out completely...she is not quite a true circle so I was having a hard time using my circle nesties....but you can't tell too much when there is a large border around her (at least that is what I think!).

She was layered over top of a Lacey Circle by Spellbinders and the pattern paper was a Bashful Blue pattern paper from an old Hostess Pack. I blinged out the card with some rhinestone flourishes and some larger rhinetsones around the Lacey Circle. Definitely more bling than I normally use (it is hard to convince myself to use those flourishes...but honestly why I am just buying them and not using them!). The sentiment, which got nicely framed by the rhinestone flourish I might add, is from the Little Moments sentiment set by Paper Makeup Stamps.

Make sure you check out the PMS Blog for all of the peak posts and leave a comment to win the stamps for that day...nothin' better than free stamps! On November 7, we will be having a fun-filled Blog Hop and finish it off with a Release Party at 9 pm in the PMS Forum. So make sure to come on by for some fun! Until then, thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

Oh and here are my kids costumes and our costumes...theirs were definitely much better than ours, but it was fun being trees for our little birdies to perch in! My Mom came up with the design of the costumes and did any sewing needed...I feathered and leafed.

My two Birdies!

The Birdies perched in their "trees"

Showing off her feathers!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - Celest Fairy, Little Moments Sentiments (Paper Makeup Stamps); Paper - Night of Navy, So Saffron, Creamy Caramel, Bashful Blue Pattern Paper (SU!), Ink - Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Creamy Caramel (SU!), Brilliance Graphite Black (Tsukineko); Accessories - Lacey Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Rhinestone Flourishes (Best Occasion), Rhinestone Stickers (Darice), aquabrush, dimensionals