Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round ~ P, Q is for ...

 Hello and welcome to this month's challenge at Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Our challenge this month is G, H is for ...

P is for ... Pinecone, Presents, Peppermint

Q is for ... Quilt (sorry, I could not find anymore for Q but look below at my second card😀)

Card no. 1 - P is for Penguins

I love the idea of these cuties having a snowball fight. What a fun way to spend time at Christmas!

I used the following to create this scene:

Festive Friends Delightful Die Cuts Pad - Hunkydory - penguins, igloo, snowballs

Winter Wonderland Paper Pad - The Paper Studio - snowflake background

Silhouette - snowy tree, snow banks

I created the Merry Christmas greeting die cut using the Silhouette.

Snowflakes are from the same die cuts pad as the rest of the images.

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Card no. 2 - Q is a for Quaint Village

It's hard to find a Christmas word beginning with the letter "Q", so this might be a bit of a stretch, but what do you all think?  It works, right?  It reminds me of all those quaint little villages you see on Christmas movies. The various layers of this card base were pulled from various designs from different Silhouette files.

The village is from Hearty Crafts 3D Toppers - Winter Villages collection.

The trees were cut using a die from Cottage Cutz called Fir Trees.

On this card, I used the 2mm foam squares, from Hunkydory, to adhered each layer to each other.  It looks beautiful, but it does add quite a bit of bulk to the card. I will either hand deliver it or mail it locally.

The Merry Christmas greeting was cut using the Silhouette. The tree was cut with the same die I used to cut the trees for the front of the card.  I used a white Gelly Roll pen to add the "snow".

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Now it's your turn to make a Christmas project,  and to come play along with us.  You have till the end of the month to link your project to our blog at  Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Hugs,

Retirement Card

Hello everyone and welcome back.  After 50 years plus of working, hubby finally retired 😀  Since he loves the beach and everything tropical, I thought this card would be perfect for him, and yes he did love it.  Told me that all that was missing was a cold beer to which I replied that it could be easily arranged 😀

To make this card, I used the following crafty products:

Honey Bee Stamps - Hammock Lovely Layers die set

Marianne Designs - Sandy Path (beach grasses)

Sunny Studio - Tropical Trees Background (seagulls)

Silhouette - Card base, Beach Scene Pattern Paper,

Inside Small Palm Tree & Sentiment

I had fun making this card.  If you follow my blog, then you know by now, that tropical themed cards are one of my favourite cards to make.  I'm also having fun having hubby home. After 41 years of marriage, we have gone thru many phases of life together and this is a new one for us.  It's an adjustment but a fun one!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope to see you again next time.

Hugs,

 

Pet Sympathy Card ~ Maverick

It's been a few months since we had to say goodbye to our Maverick.  I just couldn't write this post till now.  Maverick was my son's dog.  We gave Maverick, a Basenji puppy, to my son as a Christmas present when he was in High School.  Although he was my son's dog, it was I who spent the most time with him during the day.  He was my constant companion until my son got home from school.  A couple of years later, my son went to university and although he did come home every day, I was still the one who spent most of the day with Maverick.  After graduation, my son started working and again I spent even more of my days with Maverick.  When my son bought his house and moved out, I'm sure you can understand how lonely I felt. Not only did I miss my boy, but I missed his puppy too.  He really was our puppy!  Although I missed having Maverick around all the time, I visited my son often, and I often pet-sat for him.  So in a way, Maverick was still around, just not all the time, and that took some getting used to.  But then he got really sick and we had to say goodbye and that, my friends, shattered my heart.  I felt that loss all over again but knew that this time, I couldn't just visit, you know?  Even now, writing this post, I miss the little guy so much.  He had a bed right here in my hobby room and kept me company while I crafted.  He was such a good boy with such a huge personality that only another Basenji owner would understand.  They are so smart, so protective, so loyal, but let me tell you that they don't listen worth diddly.  Not unless they want to or unless there is something in it for them.  I'm sure that Basenjis are not the only breed with these traits, but our Maverick was just one of a kind. Yes, I understand you all feel that way about your puppies.😊

Anyway, before all these memories bring me to tears again, I'd like to share the card I made for my son and his girlfriend when Maverick passed.  My son's girlfriend has been a part of this family for long time, so Maverick was definitely hers too.

Now take a look at the photo below.  It only takes one look to see the instant love that was shared between my son and his puppy.  As soon as my son got home from school, and then later, from University and then a few years later, from work, they were inseparable!  There really is something beautiful between a boy and his dog! My son was 16 at the time and Maverick was only 8 weeks old, and a total Christmas surprise for my son.

As for the card, I combined a few files from Silhouette to get the look I wanted.  It was one of the saddest cards I've ever had to make.  Pets really do take a piece of your heart when it's their time to cross that rainbow bridge. 

And on this sad note, I will see you next time.  Thanks so much for your visit and for letting me pour  my heart out to you.

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #278 ~ Anything Goes w/twist - Sweets for Dad

     Hello crafting friends and welcome to our monthly challenge

 at Crafty Gals Corner! 

  The theme for our challenge this month is

~ Anything Goes w/optional twist - Sweets for Dad ~

I used a file from Silhouette to create this "Box of Chocolate Covered Strawberries".

Hubby loves them, so I thought it would make the perfect Father's Day card.

I added a panel at the back to add my greeting which was print and cut using the Silhouette.  

This is a 7" x 5" card when folded flat for mailing and fits perfectly into an A9 envelope.

We would love to see you play along with us.   You have until noon, CST,

on 11 August 2026, to link your project to our challenge. Crafty Gals Corner will be taking our Summer Break during the month of July, so our Top 3 winners will be announced when we come back.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe Summer.

Hugs,

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round ~ K, L is for ...

  Hello and welcome to this month's challenge at Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

Our challenge this month is K, L is for ...

K is for ... Kris Kringle, Kings, Kiss Under the Mistletoe 

L is for ... Letter to Santa, Lanterns, Lights

My two cards this month are:

K is for Kittens

So this is a new type of card making for me.  Not so long ago I came across Maremi's Small Art by Marta Lapkowska and loved it.  So, of course I had to get a few things to try it out for myself 😀  I got the Essentials Backgrounds - Whispers of Christmas and Bits & Bobs - Christmas Edition.

To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I made this card, but I'm not exactly thrilled with it.  Plus it took me a long time to fussy cut all the bits and bobs.  It also took me a long time to decide what went together with what ... so yes! I struggled to put everything together just right so it would look semi-decent.  After seeing so many gorgeous creations, I realized that it is definitely a "me" thing.  I'm going to give it another try soon-ish and see how that goes.  I'll let you know!

But now a little bit more about this card.  All the elements are from the Bits & Bobs book.  I fussy cut what I wanted to put together and then it was a matter of using 1mm and 2 mm foam squares to add all the different layers.  I think I need lots of practice in fussy cutting, but who has the time or patience to cut out all those fine hairs on the cats????  Still, I think I could have made a better job of it.  Next time I'll try harder for sure, or I'll just look for elements with straight edges 😁

On the inside, I used a cut out from one of the SVGs from Dreaming Tree.  I love the way this comes out and the fact that I can resize it to fit the size of my card.  This card is a 5.25" square card that does not need extra postage when mailing it.

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Card no. 2 - L is for Lantern

As you know, I find stitching on cards very relaxing so after making the card above, I needed something easy and already planned out for me, so out came my Stitch & Do kits.  This card was made using kit #159 by Amy Design.

Doesn't this sweet image just portray peace and joy?  It makes me feel so tranquil looking at it until I look at all the snow - then I just want to head off to a tropical island somewhere!!!  I did have to fussy cut the 3 layers of the image, but that was easy peasy.  I used 1mm foam squares to adhered the different layers together.  This way I get a little dimension but not a lot of bulk which is important when mailing cards overseas.

On the inside, I used a stamp from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Great Impressions Stamps.  I used copic markers to add a little colour to the lamp post.

Okay friends, this was a very long and chatty post.  I guess you can tell that I'm feeling better 😊 So thanks for stopping by and listening to me.  Now it's your turn to make a Christmas project,  and to come play along with us.  You have till the end of the month to link your project to our blog at  Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round.

I'm playing along at:

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenges

Hugs,

Monster Birthday

 Hello friends. I made this Monster of a Birthday card for my grandson who turned 9 yesterday.

I used a file from Silhouette, by Bella Carta Designs, to make this card. Grey cardstock is from Recollections. All others are from Scraps drawers. I made a second monster frame for the back. This is where I wrote my birthday message for him. It was quite a bit of work to put together, but fortunately the video tutorial was easy to follow, and the smile on my grandson's face made it all worth it!😀

That's all I have for today. Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.

Hugs,

He Is Risen

Hello everyone, today I'm sharing another card made for Easter 2025.

I used a combination of files from Silhouette to create this card. It fits into an A7 envelope which is the size I normally use to mail cards overseas.

I will be back again soon to catch up on sharing more cards with you.

Floral Birthday Card

Hello everyone and welcome back. Today I'm sharing the card I made for my hubby's aunt who turns 96 today.

Crafty ingredients to make this card:

Silhouette - Card Base

Amy Designs - Spring is Here - 3D Pushouts Sheet 

Recollections - Itsy Bitsy Ditsy Cherry Pie patterned paper

Scrappy Tails Crafts - Rhinestones

I sized this card to be 5" x 7" when folded flat for mailing.  It fits perfectly into an A7 envelope.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I have a bunch of cards to share with you and will be catching up in the next few days, so I hope you'll come back for a visit.

Hugs,

 

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #277 ~ Anything Goes w/optional twist - Flowers for Mom

    Hello crafting friends and welcome to our monthly challenge

 at Crafty Gals Corner! 

  The theme for our challenge this month is

~ Anything Goes w/optional twist - Flowers for Mom ~

Using a file from Silhouette, I made this box card, filled with loads of flowers, to send to my mom on her 91 st birthday

Most of the cardstock is from my scraps drawers. These little flowers are a great way to use them up :-)

I made an extra panel on the back to write my message.

I resized this card to fit perfectly into an A9 envelope.

That's all for today.  We would love to see you play along with us.  You have until noon, CST, on 9 June 2026, to link your project to our challenge.

Hugs,