Friday, December 29, 2023

TGIF; Thankful Friday 298


Another Friday and another week to be thankful. This week has gone by so fast with the excitement and craziness of Christmas on Monday. And then just pure relaxation the rest of the week. 

I did an Art Session with a ladies group at a local church and it was very nice. The group of ladies was just great. Very friendly, open to the experience and it was just really nice. 



Plus they invited us to join them in their potluck. Yummy!

What are you thankful for this week?

Friday, December 22, 2023

TGIF; Thankful Friday #297


Happy Thankful Friday! Well the holidays are fully upon on and I feel like I blinked and the month is halfway over. We didn't get a chance to do a lot of our traditional events and I think I'm ok with it. It's a different holiday season for sure.

This week I'm thankful for dreary weather because it keeps us at home, rolled up in a cozy blanket with only the twinkle of Christmas lights on. I celebrated my 59th birthday on Monday and the whole family (except my oldest granddaughter) went to dinner at a local restaurant. I was very spoiled at work with cards, presents, gift cards, flowers and even lunch. 

My DD and I always laugh that no one really likes me, but apparently they do. LOL

So this week, I'm also thankful for a December birthday.

What are you thankful for? Let me know in the comments.


Thursday, December 21, 2023

Freaky Fast Friday Challenge

Hi there, I decided to join the Freaky Fast Friday Challenge from the The Scraproom Blog. This one is always challenging because they give you cutting formulas but not necessarily where to put the pieces. I like it. It's a great challenge.

Here is the formula:

And here is my completed layout:



I created a YouTube process video to show the process. 


I love the pink and frilly layout that went perfectly with the photos of our visit to the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. This is a companion page to one that I did earlier. You can see the post HERE.


I have such a hard time taking photos of 12x12 layouts. I probably should have used a different background for this, but I think this is fine.




Puppy Pop Up Card; CutCardStock

I don't know about you, but I'm always saving ideas to make "one day". Well, this puppy pop up card was one of those project ideas. It is so stinkin' cute, I don't know why I waited so long to make it!

It was also pretty easy since all I needed to do was cut out the pieces with my Cricut. The card was designed by Sue Maraval in Cricut Design Space. The hardest part was selectin which color cardstock out of all the varieties from CutCardStock has available. I decided to go with Vanilla Bean Brown for the puppy and Wild Salmon for the background. Wild Salmon is quickly becoming my favorite go to color right now.


Other colors used are Pepper Red, Black Licorice, and Cougar Smooth White.

I don't have the writing feature with my Cricut model so I just used a white pen to write "Happy Birthday" and "pull" on the ears & tongue. Although the popping element was hard to capture, I believe you can tell how it pops up and how super cute it is!


Be sure to check out CutCardStock for all your cardstock needs and while you're there, sign up for their newsletter because they are always having sales on their already discounted prices. Great quality - great prices, it doesn't get much better than that!

And if you're looking for paper project inspiration, look no further than the CutCardStock Blog! If you want to see this card on the blog, click HERE.



Wednesday, December 20, 2023

SNS Card Sketch #256


I love this sketch from Sketch n Scrap! If you're new here, Sketch n Scrap posts two card sketches and two layout sketches a month and I'm on their Design Team.

If you've ever been stuck on how to start a project, sketches are a great way to get yourself moving. I love a good sketch and this one is one of those for sure! 

Here's the sketch:


And here's my card:


What did I do? I pretty much followed the sketch exactly how it is. It's so pretty and I love the colorful squares as the background. This is a great way to use your scraps! Which is exactly what I did  I chose a more subdued color scheme since I wanted to use a set of leaf dies. I used some gel prints from my stash to cut with these dies and eventually create a swag. 

Watch the YouTube process video for more info 






Monday, December 18, 2023

Cookie Board

I’m showing off something a little different today. I made a cookie board for my work holiday luncheon and I decided to film it. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve fallen in love with charcuterie boards and have made some really nice ones!

I don’t always post on my blog, but I always post on my Instagram account. Find me @3sons_and_astar

Here’s some photos but make sure you watch the video!



No need to shop at fancy stores. I bought all these at my neighborhood grocery stores.





Friday, December 15, 2023

12 Days of Christmas Tags Series Winner!


Thanks for all the likes, comments and interaction with my 12 Days of Christmas Tags Series for 2023. I entered all the names of people who commented either here, my YouTube channel, Facebook and IG. 

And the winner is:

Donna commented every day and it paid off!  Donna, be sure to send me your mailing address so I can get those tags out to you!




TGIF; Thankful Friday #296


Happy Thankful Friday! This week I'm thankful for another festive holiday office space. Our office really went all out on an "It's a Small World" theme for Christmas this year.

Each department pulled a country out of a hat and we selected Japan. It was a group effort and we did a great job. 

Can you see where my Cricut came into play? I made "larger than mat" lanterns and the chopsticks for the tree. I also created the mural, Japanese word banners & each of the Japanese cardboard characters. 









My favorite things are the origami cranes. They remind me of my dear friend, Sharon who used to make these at random times after she learned to make them in Fourth Grade. What's your fav?






 

Sketch n Scrap Layout; Sketch #287


I'm still behind in my scrapbooking and the best way to catch up is...you guessed it...scrapbooking! Using sketches gives me a jump off point and helps keep the creative juices flowing. Sketch n Scrap (SNS) posts two cards and two single page layout sketches per month and they are fabulous!

Today I'm working with layout sketch #287. Here's the sketch:

And here's my layout:


I'm also participating in the Iron Crafter Challenge YouTube Hop.

Join a fun group of crafty peeps each month as we take on the Iron Crafter Challenge! Each month Anna from @piececraftlove or Tara from @thepapersnob will select a challenge ingredient to use on a layout. This hop goes live on the THIRD FRIDAY of the month. There's a hop on YouTube and Instagram to show how we used the challenge ingredient(s) for the month. The mystery item for the month will be announced on the first of each month.


The mystery challenge ingredient for December is FLAIR.  Now, I don't have any FLAIR in my stash, but I had these flat back embellishments for years. In fact, I checked the back and the year is 2013. I'm guessing I had them at least that long. I pulled out a pink frilly paper pack from Authentique and it coordinated beautifully with the fancy pink decor of The Madonna Inn. This is located near Pismo - not sure the exact town. I went full on with a pink & pretty theme for this layout and I love it!




For the YouTube hop, here's the playlist with ALL the videos of the participants:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCfSqErOPJopB5H3UWfkJpFb2xOSbKhwZ


If you want to learn about the mystery item and play along, come over to the Piece Craft Love Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/piececraftloveclubhouse


Here's my YT video:



Be sure to hop along and visit the other channels:

Tara https://www.youtube.com/@thepapersnob

Kristen https://youtube.com/@scrappingonthefly1217

Christine https://youtube.com/@ScrappingHarden

Kimberly https://www.youtube.com/c/IdRatherBeScrapbooking

Hollie Www.youtube.com/ivycoelcreations


Instagram:

Brandi Jo: https://instagram.com/scrappy.boymama

Simera https://instagram.com/scrappysimi

Tina www.instagram.com/tinamcmmvr


And be sure to go to the Sketch n Scrap blog to participate in this or any of the other monthly challenges. You can also find them on Facebook!


Thursday, December 14, 2023

Printable Cuttable Creatables; Stocking Gift Card Holder


Do you hand out gift cards for the holidays? If you have teens and/or young adults on your gifting list, I’m sure you do.

Hi there, I’m showing off these cute and useful gift card holders made from the Christmas Stocking Gift Card Holder D017 cut file. I give a lot of gift cards during the holidays and this cut file is perfect to dress them up! I mean, who doesn’t want to receive one of these festive little things?


The cut file is already set as the perfect size for a gift card so no need to change anything! I decided to make mine using patterned paper so I made sure to find heavier weight patterned paper for them. And because I needed more than one, I made sure to create a couple at a time.


Once the image is scored and cut, I used a bone folder to reinforce the score lines before adhering the sides together.


With all the little tabs, I thought it would be easier to use liquid adhesive to adhere the front and back of the holder together.


And since I had the glue out, I used it for all my adhesive needs. I love the cute patches on these stockings and using a coordinating color really makes them pop.


I used a tag punch that I own to create a To/Fr area to write the recipient's name; tied a bow using some red string and adhered the holly with foam adhesive all in the front of the stocking.  It is so cute!



Don’t you agree? I could have easily written the recipient’s name on the stocking cuff which I’ve done in the past, but I love the addition of the little tag. 



There is such a great variety of gift cardholders on the Printable Cuttable Creatables website, you’ll never have to give a gift card in a boring envelope again and why not make some extras so they’re ready for future gifting needs?  


Be sure to check out this project as well as others on the PCC Blog. You'll surely find something to inspire you!


Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Final Tag for the 12 Days of Christmas Tags Series 2023


Day 12 - The final tag for the 2023 12 Days of Christmas Tags Series. I hope you've enjoyed this series as much as I have. For the final tag, I decided to make a faux snowglobe tag. I use the word faux, because the snow is not technically falling. I'm not sure why I decided on this bright yellow but I like the change of color scheme for this final tag.

I cut each strip at 2.25x8.5" and folded them at the middle. I used a circle punch to punch the window on each strip.


I used the same circle punch to punch out white circles to stamp & place inside each tag. Be sure to check out the YouTube process video to see how these were put together.


A lot of hand drawing, writing and faux stitches on this one!


Although the ribbon hides it, there’s also a silver eyelet attached.

Remember to leave a comment here, on YouTube and IG to enter the giveaway that I'm having. The giveaway is a set of one each of the 12 tags that were made this year. I'll draw the name in the next couple of days since I need to go back to Day 1 and collect the names.


Monday, December 11, 2023

Day 11; 12 Days of Christmas Tags Series


It's Day 11 and only one more day until this year's 12 Days of Christmas Tags Series ends. I think this year's tags might be my favorite overall but check out past years' tags to see if you agree with me.

Day 11 tags are gingerbread men stamped & die cut but also stuffed using the paper scraps from cutting them out. What an awesome way to use up this paper waste!



I completely forgot about this stamp and die set that I won at this year's Stamp & Scrapbook Expo and only found them while digging around for a different Christmas stamp set.

Be sure to check out the process YouTube video so you can see how I made these simple gingerbread men/women into something fun and full of dimension.


Be sure to comment here, my YouTube channel and/or IG for a chance to win a set of one of each of the 12 tags. Your comment is an entry - leave two comments and get two entries, etc.
Good luck! 

Products Used:
Kraft paper from CutCardStock
Stamp & Die Cut set from Hild Street Stamps
Red Stamp Pad from Stampin Up!
Red Glitter marker from CTMH
White pen
Ribbon & string from my stash
Three Tag punch