12 Days of Christmas Tags Series 2024; Day 7

It's Day 7 of my 12 Days of Christmas Tags series. I always have so much fun with these tags and these are extra fun because I used a product that I wasn't sure I'd ever use! Corrugated Cardboard! I found these at a clearance sale for next to nothing and thought, hmmm...I could use these for something. Well, I experimented with cutting these sheets with my Cricut and they cut perfectly!

Be sure to leave a comment here, on my YT channel or IG to be entered into a drawing at the end of the series. The lucky person selected will win a set of one of each 12 tags!

I'm not sure if this made the difference, but I put the corrugated side directly on the mat so the blade wouldn't catch in the grooves.

I embossed the first set of these reindeer and used the corrugated cardboard for the other set. The fine tip on the glue bottle really came in handy with the white "icing" on these tags!

Then I used three different types and colors of twine to finish them. The "to/from" is stamped on the back. So cute!

Watch the process on the YouTube video

TGIF; Thankful Friday 345

Happy Friday and happy thankful Friday! Can you believe it? I have 10 more working days before I'm retired! This week I'm thankful for the coworkers and colleagues that have been coming by my desk giving their congratulations and farewells. It's been awesome. 

What are you thankful for this week?

12 Days of Christmas Tags Series 2024; Day Six

It's Day Six of my 12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags series. I hope you've been following along so far. If not, scroll back and see the first five tags. You don't want to miss them or any of the upcoming tags!

Be sure to leave a comment here, on my YT channel or IG to be entered into a drawing at the end of the series. The lucky person selected will win a set of one of each 12 tags!

Day Six and these are probably my favorite so far. It's hard to pick because I love them all. I pulled out the Sizzix Sidekick and some dies I purchased from Scrapbooking.com last year  These polar bears are so adorable and the addition of the black and white wooden beads give these tags a homespun look.

Check the video to see how they were put together!

Cardmaking Blind Challenge

Oh my goodness, I did a thing. I participated in a LIVE YouTube hop where the participants created a card front while wearing a blindfold! The challenge was part of Crafters for International Disability Day Awareness and it was nuts!

I did some prep work. Thanks to Tracy with Not Scared of Color and did a decent job. Here's my completed card:

Watch the live replay:

12Days of Christmas Tags Series 2024; Day 5

It's Day Five of my 12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags series. I hope you've been following along so far. If not, scroll back and see the first four tags. You don't want to miss them or any of the upcoming tags!

Be sure to leave a comment here, on my YT channel or IG to be entered into a drawing at the end of the series. The lucky person selected will win a set of one of each 12 tags!

For Day Five, I stamped and colored a couple Christmas cacti on tags. Once they were colored, white pen marks, rose gold shimmer, splatter and edging were added to complete each tag. 

Watch the YouTube process video to see it all come together!

The stamp set used was purchased from Photo Play earlier this year!

12Days of Christmas Tags Series 2024; Day Four

It's Day Four of my 12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags series. I hope you've been following along so far. If not, scroll back and see the first three tags. You don't want to miss them or any of the upcoming tags!

Be sure to leave a comment here, on my YT channel or IG to be entered into a drawing at the end of the series. The lucky person selected will win a set of one of each 12 tags!

For these tags, I uploaded a free cut file from Dreaming Tree. Their cut files are so awesome and I love a company that also has freebies!

Once the pieces were loaded on Design Space, change the middle cut line of the base to score, attach and then cut each layer. See how to do this important step on the YouTube video.

I love the addition of the jingle bell and the gold glitter paper for the top layer!

Be sure to come back for the next eight tags!

12 Days of Christmas Tags Series 2024; Day Three

It's Day Three of my 12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags series. I hope you've been following along so far. If not, scroll back and see the first two tags. You don't want to miss them or any of the upcoming tags!

Be sure to leave a comment here, on my YT channel or IG to be entered into a drawing at the end of the series. The lucky person selected will win a set of one of each 12 tags!

For the third tag, I actually used some items that I purchased during the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo back in March. I purchased them for this reason, but if you're like me, I usually forget all about them and then rediscover them years later.

Not this year! I purchased the glittery winter forest washi tape and deer brads from The Eyelet Outlet. And the sparkly trees were from Hobby Lobby.

I used vanilla and soft blue cardstock for the tags and they turned out so pretty!

Watch the YT video to see the process.

12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags Series 2024; Day Two

December 2nd and Day Two of my 12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags series. I've done this series for many years so if you're interested in checking out previous tags, click on the 12 Days of Christmas Tags label to the right!

These tags were pretty easy to make using a super cute nutcracker stamp set by Avery Elle, scrap Christmas paper and a circle punch.

Faux stitching really adds a lot to these simple white tags, don't you think?

I filmed the process and when I went back to edit it, I realized that I didn't. UGH! I hate when that happens but thankfully, the tags were simple enough to just talk about. Check out the YT verbal instructions to see how they were made.

The twist ties were purchased at an after Christmas sale - my favorite time to purchase Christmas stuff!

Be sure to comment on each blog post, IG post and YT pvideo for chances to win one set of the 12 tags. I'll gather & draw a name at the end of the series and select one winner!

Come back tomorrow and the next 10 days to see all 12 tags!

12 Days of Christmas Tags Series 2024; Day One

It's that time of the year! I started early this month so you can actually use the gift tags this year. Be sure to comment on each blog post, IG post and YT video for chances to win one set of the 12 tags. I'll gather & draw a name at the end of the series and select one winner!

For tag ONE, I pulled out my Cricut and a cute SVG file I purchased from WilderCrafting on Etsy. We're huge Harry Potter fans so when I saw this, I knew I had to have it and make some cute gift tags with it!

I punched a hole in the top to add baker's twine and a jingle bell. I also stamped a "to/from" on the snowman's belly. It is afterall, a gift tag!

Watch the video on how I put it together using my Glue Precision Press.

Planting Bulbs Lasagna Style

This is a different kind of creative project and I'm excited to share it with you! I have been trying to grow more and more plants in my backyard and when I heard about bulb planting lasagna style, I wanted to try it!

Awhile ago I rescued about 10 planter pots from the roadside. Some I painted but these two large ones, I kept as is because I want the flowers to be the brightest thing about them.

I purchased a bunch of different bulbs from Amazon. Here's a LINK to my list if you're interested in exactly what I purchased. I watched lots of YouTube videos from actual gardeners before trying this on my own.

The basic idea is layering bulbs so they bloom throughout Spring instead of at one time. We'll get to enjoy beautiful blooms for much longer! I put the pot in a spot where I can see it from my kitchen window!

Watch my quick YouTube video to hear my tips and be sure to check back because I will keep y'all updated!

Follow me on Instagram @3sons_and_astar

Highlighting a Focal Image Card

Sometimes I tell myself to clear off my desktop before I start the next project but then I make the cutest cards using all those random items so maybe not.

I had a card making session using items I found on my desk and here's the result.

Be sure to watch the YouTube video to see all the steps. My favorite thing was using the circle as a mask to create a cool inky background with two ink pads and some splatter.

I always have a hard time with tying a bow so a simple knot was perfect to add some more color to the card front.

The bird was fussy cut from a panel I stamped & colored earlier and using thinner foam adhesive worked well to add dimension.

What will you create from your scraps today?

PCC Blog Hop; Christmas Layout Overlay

Hi there, Printable Cuttable Creatables is hosting a Blog Hop and I'm showing off the Christmas Tree Car cut file from their website.  

The main hub for all the HOP info is HERE. There will be lots of inspiration, prizes and fun. 

• To be eligible to win any of the prizes, readers must view and leave a comment on EACH DT hop post.

• We’ll leave the prize portion of the hop open until Nov 29th to allow readers a chance to participate.

• The last day of the hop (Nov 29th) is also the kickoff of our Black Friday Sale. Printable Cuttable Creatables is having a huge 50% sale on all designs and commercial licenses, plus 15% off Virtual Wallets. Use 3SONS15 for added savings!  

___________________________________________________

👇👇👇Blog addresses below👇👇👇

Ellen: https://www.instagram.com/craftyellenh/

Dorlene:  https://craftsinthecommandcenter.blogspot.com/2024/11/pcc-blog-hop-christmas-layout-overlay.html

Nancy: https://thenickelnook.blogspot.com/2024/11/design-team-blog-hop-for-printable.html

Jana: https://youtu.be/fYDl348UCIM

Linh: https://lvhandcrafted.com/printable-cuttable-creatables-blog-hop/

Details of my project:

For over five years, I take at least one photo a day in December and then do "December Daily" layouts. I put it in quotes because most people do a separate album for it but I just do photo heavy layouts and this year, I decided to create a layout overlay.

When I create overlays, I usually keep it pretty simple because I accentuate with the photos and other embellishments which is exactly what I did here.

The Christmas Tree Car is perfect for this layout because it doesn't really embellish the story but is a decoration for the season. I searched for the word December and grabbed one in DS and then just squares/rectangles from Shapes for the photo openings.

Here's the final layout:

Well, not final final since I still need to add photos and etc.

Check out my YouTube process video for step by step. It's a pretty easy process and I hope my video inspires you to create one yourself.

Make sure to follow along with the Blog Hop and use code 3SONS15 on the website to get an additional 15% off your order.

TGIF; Thankful Friday #344

TGIF and Thankful Friday! There's a lot going on this week at work since our office started decorating for our Annual Christmas Decorating Contest. If you take a look at past years, you can see, we get into it! We won last year with this Christmas in Japan work of art!

I posted this SHORT on YouTube which showcases some of the designs I created using cardboard but that's only the half of it! I also created lots of elves and a rock n rolling Santa!

Here's a few photos but folks, this is only the beginning!

This week, I'm thankful that I am someone who thinks outside the (cardboard) box!

What are you thankful for this week?

Memphis Layout

I am so excited to start the scrapbook layouts for our Memphis trip in August, 2022 but also a little nervous. This was a great mother/daughter trip and I hope the photos and the layouts do it justice.

I did decide to make this it's own album since I took tons of photos and want to scrapbook them all! I went pretty simple on the cover page which will set the scene for the scrapbook.

The photo we took while in the airplane is perfect for an opening layout!

Be sure to watch the process YouTube video to see how I made my own scrapbooking kit for this album and how I created this layout.

I combined papers & ephemera from travel and music items that I have in my stash and some that were purchased specifically for this trip. I also have some stickers, postcards and other travel items that were purchased while in Memphis. 

Do you add postcards to your scrapbook pages?