Santa Sleigh - Unity Stamp Co. Challenge.

Hey everyone! 

I've totally working away (still... ) on my Christmas cards, but couldn't help but to take a break here and there to create something when I saw these challenges.  They are both from Unity Stamp Company (which I've ordered tons of stamps in the last little while!) and one is on their blog and one of them is right on their Facebook wall.  The prizes are just so amazing, and it also gave me a reason to play with their stamps a bit. If you've got Unity stamps, you've got to take a look... I'm sure you'd want to enter... actually don't take a look... it's taking away my chances of winning! lol... No, really, you should look - very generous prizes!

One was to create a Christmas project and the other was to create anything with snowflakes/snow using their stamps, so I thought that my project would be eligible for both!

I created a Santa Sleigh using the cuts from Santa's Visit SVG kit and Santa from Christmas Morning SVG Collection, and creating a little treat gift with it.



I've used the new Cosmo Cricket Dear Mr.Claus collection for this project - loving these papers! So classic and pretty!



This stamp was from Ornamental Season itty bitty.



Here's Santa waving "hello!" to you!



...and here's the focus of my project - aren't these ticket stamps just adorable? I colored them with my Copics :) They are from Ticket to Christmas itty bitty stamps. I embellished with wooden buttons, red hemp rope cord and burlap from Canvas Corp.



Inside sits a canvas draw string bag (canvas also from Canvas Corp) which I made! I filled it up with Lindt chocolate balls :) The tag is from Tis the Season for Joy (jillibean soup) set.



...and lastly but not least, I stamped the canvas bag with snowflakes with stamps from Snowflakes Fall from Heaven (jillibean soup) set.

I personally think that it's cute and goes really well with my streetlamp which sits in the background :)

Oh, I made a quick card with Ornamental Season stamps as well:



It's pretty simple, but I wanted the clean look for this. I colored the ornaments with Copics, but also stamped another same image onto the vellum and placed it on top of it :) I also jazzed it up with some rhinestones and crinkled ribbon as well..

Anyway, here's my two Unity Stamp Company submissions... wish me luck :)

Oh, and SVG Cuts is holding their first ever Winter challenge right on their FB wall, so hope that you go and join in on that one! I guess I could go and enter this project there as well! (jk!)

Alrighty - better get back to my card making!

Christmas Lantern Streetlamp - SVG Cuts DT project!

Hey all! It's been a while!

It's now December (eek! I'm so excited about this month!) and I'm underway making our annual Christmas cards.  I decided to not go all out this year...  and put on embellishments and such...  However, I am still using my cutting machine and my print and cut ability to do something unique...  I've not seen anyone do this before, so can't wait to show you! I'll definitely share when it's done! So, that is why I've been pretty much absent... as I work away in a Santa workshop trying to get the cards done (I'm making over 100 of them!) :)

However, while I was letting everything print out and getting it cut, I still had some time to work away on my next SVG Cuts project and I get to share it with you today! I'm so excited by the way this turned out - it's simple, but so magical and makes a pretty decor.  It's my mom's fave project of mine - she says!

Anyway, this project was actually inspired by Mary's idea to take the lantern from Crisp Days of Fall SVG Kit and turn it into a 'Christmas Carol'-like version...  So, the first thing that I did was to watch the movie trailer like 10 times, and picked out objects/styles that I can use for my project... 

I was so tempted to cut out and make a whole scene - cut out little shops and all... but then I realized that it would take away from the project to have it too busy (and more like, I'll never get that done!), so I kept it simple, yet enough details to look at...

Anyway, I know that you've been waiting patiently, so now, I'll show you finally! Here it is!!!

You like? Does it scream 'Christmas Carol' out to you?? I'm totally enjoying having this sit on top of a fireplace right now... so fun to look at!

I changed the flourish window on the original lantern and replaced it with the snowy windows from Spirits of Christmas Past SVG Kit. I printed the vellum yellow to add warmth :)



I used an empty roll (parchment roll) and used it as a post. I made an opening into the lantern and the base box (from Santa's Visit SVG Kit). I also used a wooden dowel through the empty roll so I can hang a sign using the stamp from Gingerbread Kisses.



The wreath is really easy - I just cut out some hollies? holly? and glued them onto the twig wreath I got from Michaels. I put a little bow at the bottom and voila - makes a pretty wreath in no time!



At the bottom of the post, I embellished it with a bike from Spirits of Christmas Past SVG Kit... and you're gonna love my last touch to my project!



I took a crate from Caramel Apple Pie SVG Kit and made a miniature one with it to hold Christmas parcels and letters. It cut really well for me, and I was surprised to see how sturdy it was.

I added the rest of the embellishments and I'm really happy with the way it turned out! I hope that you're inspired to make this for your Christmas dinner :)

If you are interested in full details of my project, go take a look at the SVG Cuts blog - it'll have all the files and dimensions there!.. and you can also leave me some love there, too! You know that I'd like that!

Oh, and one more thing - I have a winner from my last post... it is katknit!!! Congratulations - please contact me so I can get the gift card out to ya!

Oh, and another thing - don't forget to enter in for your daily chance to win the Sizzix Eclips - announced this Sunday - click here! and for you to enter in to win ALL stamp sets from Punkin' Patch Stamps - click here!

Alright - that's it for today! Have a crafty day - and thanks for stoppin' by!

Holly Jolly Season is here! My Thoughts Exactly December Stamp Release!

Season's greetings everyone!  Are you starting to get excited for Christmas??? I'm gonna put up my tree finally this week, and can't wait to see the kids' faces covered with excitement! 

Today, you guys get a treat, 'cause it's normally on the first of every month that you see the new My Thoughts Exactly stamps - BUT I know how you've been anxiously waiting to see the newest release and also knowing that these stamps may make your life easier in all your holiday crafting projects, we decided to be super nice and release it out a few days early! (Don't expect this every month! lol...)

So, with this month's release, you are going to be seeing TWO sets - one being NON-SENTIMENT stamps! You're gonna love these! ANNND... although each set is $15 each, if you get two - it's $25 for the bundle! How can you resist???

The first one is the mix and match Holly Jolly Phrases - and again, Alyssa uses her magic into working these stamp set into a fun and practical set! Look at all the phrases here and various fonts in this set - isn't it fun? (This set is just in the works of getting them done, so it'll be a pre-order, but will be shipping out in 3~4 days!)

The second one is the Holly Jolly Tags - and comes with 5 fun tags that you can stamp away and personalize all your gifts! Even better - get BOTH sets, and use the sentiments from the first set on the tags!  Belinda, from SVGs by Bee, is working on matching SVGs to go with these stamps, so all you have to do is to cut the tags out on your cutting machine and stamp them!

So, anyway, I'm sure you're wondering what I've whipped up this time around...

I used the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly (there's a matching paper pack, too here) and did print and cut with my Silhouette to create a cute little gift bag!



You like? This is actually really easy as long as you have Silhouette or any other cutting machine that has the print and cut capability. If you've been wanting to do this for the longest time - it's the perfect time to ask Santa :) This bag that I used is from Vintage Halloween Party Bags SVG Kit and this is always a easy go-to bag whenever you're looking for a simple cute bag!

Some close ups:



So, the tag that you see here is from the Holly Jolly Tags set. I stamped them onto two cardstock, and then cut out the white oval to place them onto the stamped blue cardstock. The rosettes are also from Vintage Halloween Party Bags SVG Kit.

Here's the skates on twine upclose:



... and snowman having a solitude party!



... and that's not it! I've done the sides and the back! (sorry my photos are not crisp... had a hard time with this photo shoot... :(  )





Lastly, here's the back:



... and the tag upclose:



I used the same technique to this - stamped them on three separate cardstock, cut out the area wanted in that color and assembled it together. The scallop circle is from SVGs by Bee's file, but she's madly working away at getting the proper sizing to make sure that it's no fuss for you to use! But for now, you get to see what it will look like with her SVG together with stamp! For all the customers that buys the tag set, you will be e-mailed with a downloadable SVG file for these tags shortly ;)

Anyway, here it is!

Now for the fun part! Alyssa, from My Thoughts Exactly, is giving away $5 gift card from each of our blogs! Make sure that you are a follower of my blog and hers, and comment here on this post to win! I'll be picking the winner this Thursday!

And... one last thing! If you LOVE these stamps - maybe you should consider applying for their design team position right now! Don't waste time, because the deadline is November 30th!  It's a growing company and it's going to be exciting, especially with a new PRODUCT being announced in 2011! See this post to apply!

Hope you liked it and make sure that you go visit the other girl's blogs to see some inspiration done with these awesome stamp sets!

Have a crafty day everyone!

3D Chair Wedding favors - My Thoughts Exactly DT Project.

Helloo!!!  It's my DT project day for My Thoughts Exactly!!!  and you get to see more goodness from the Many Thanks Stamp set!

I just can't tell you how clever it is to make these sets all mix and match phrases!  It's so fun to be able to put different sentiments together, and you get so much more out from one set by having the ability just use what you want.  I haven't tried yet - but I think that I've got enough sets that I can make pretty cool phrases using various sets!

Anyway, I've been wanting to make these cute little 3D chairs for the longest time, and this project happened to be the perfect time to use it!  The chairs are from My Grafico 3D Chair Favour Box Templates.   I didn't really do anything to them - just cut them out the way they were.  For just one of them with vertical slats, I actually took my hole punch and my handy scissors and cut them out myself.  There was another chair in the file, which was the 'elegant' chair, but just didn't fit with my style for what I wanted to accomplish here :)



I spiced up these chairs with crinkled ribbons, charm from Making Memories AND I actually used my sewing machine to make cushions for these little chairs!  I think that this is my first EVER real sewing other than doing it on paper!  I was so proud of myself! (hehehe.. okay, all those seamstresses - don't laugh at me! This was a big step for me!)  and I made a 'lace' border using Martha Stewart punch.

Anyway, here it is!



Pretty, isn't it?



The back of them...



My awesome chair cushions :)



See how perfect these stamps go with my project! Thesse cute envelopes that I used to stamp my sentiments onto are from SVG Cuts My Big Day SVG Collection.   There are three different envelope SVG, and oh, so cute!



Oh, I even added on the cone on to the side of the chair (I meant to put a little bouquet of flowers, but couldn't find anything in my house that would work) I just rolled up one of those doilies that you can purchase from the baking section, and made it into a cone!



...and the chair even opens up where you can put little goodies in for the guests! Aren't these the cutest thing? I've come across so much cute and creative stuff for personalizing your own weddings - I would love to get married again! (well, to the same person, of course!)

Oh, and did you notice my good ol' flower topiary in the back of these pictures???



Anyway, that's it for today! Be sure to visit Lenae's blog, SugarGem, for more inspiration with these stamp sets!

Merry Advent Calendar - SVG Cuts DT Project.

Hey all! It's been a LLOOONG time again!

It's been pretty hectic lately, and I've been hardly home during the day EVERYDAY!  I'm at a point I actually just want a day at home so I can catch up on my laundry!  I know it has only started and it's just gonna get busier for a little while...  So, please just get used to the idea of seeing a new blog post once a week until Christmas...  I'm sure you're also busy - so I'm being nice.  The more posts I make, I'm taking your time away from all the things you need to get done. Right?  Me always thinking of others :)

Anyway, it's another SVG Cuts DT project day!!!! and I was soo excited to share this one.  I have always wanted to make 3D Letters - I see so many of you making them, but I had never made them before.  As well, I had such a blast making my last Halloween Advent Calendar, so I HAD to make one for Christmas.  So... why not combine these two files and make a 3D Letters calendar??? 

Okay, honestly, I wasn't too sure how it was going to work out...  Having never made these letters before, I didn't know if the compartments would fit.  The depth of the calendar and the 3D letters are different - how would I go about that?  All in all... after some serious thinking, it all came to me! I maximized the letters big enough to be able to cut on a 12x12 mat and I broke apart the doors, and brought them over to the letters.  IT FIT! Barely, but it worked! I also changed the height of the compartments to match the depth of the letters! It worked like a charm!

So... here's my project!!! Yes, finally you get to see it!



Okay, I don't want to brag about this, but I think that this turned out pretty darn cute. It was so fun to make - this definitely is one of my favorite projects that I've EVER done in my mod paperie life :)

Don't you just love the paper? It's the Season's Greetings Collection from Echo Park - LOVE their papers - I must get EVERY LINE that they make! The numbers that I used the dates are from the stickers from Christmas Dots & Stripes collection - the dates went up to day 25, so it was just PERFECT!

Okay, you are so lucky today - you're gonna be able to see LOTS of pics from me and get all the fine details that I've put into my project!

Letter M







Love the 3D poinsettia - from the 3D Wintergreens SVG Kit :)



Arent' the stamps cute? It's from the Holiday Traditions set from Punkin' Patch Stamps - and I also used the matching Stampables to create the exact cut around the stamps! Neato!

Letter E





Holly, again from 3D Wintergreens SVG Kit.



This stamp is from Holiday Traditions, too! Such cute stamps!

Letter R







Okay, I think that this stamp usage is my favorite one - on an airmail package! You can get the file from the Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree SVG Collection. I just love how it brings out the stamp from the Gingerbread Kisses set.



Second Letter R





I added the icicles and the snowflakes on this one to make it all frosty!

Letter Y





This Santa Sleigh was the VERY last element that I added to the project. I wanted something to finish off the project, but didn't want a heavy looking embellishment - it would look unbalanced. Then, it hit me - Christmas Eve... SANTA! and it's the last letter! AND, better yet - there was a simple Santa sleigh SVG file from Christmas in the Village SVG Collection!



...and beautiful pinecones to finish off the last letter! from 3D Wintergreens SVG Kit. I used Sno Writer and made nice white puffy surface on the tips of the pinecones.

So, here's how I did it! For more info on the sizes and exact files used, please go visit SVG Cuts blog.

Here's the quick run down - to make this project possible - you need TWO collections from SVG Cuts. They are 3D Letters SVG Kit and Classic Advent Calendar SVG Kit.





You resize, break apart, paste and such and each of the letters before cutting out should look like this:



You also need to adjust the compartment height from the Advent Calendar to fit the letters.



These compartments will be deeper than the regular advent, so it will give you more space to fill up with goodies :)





Then comes assembly - when assembling, because you are adding in such a tight space, you WILL NEED to cut off parts of the tabs. Then add some heavy weight material (I used rice), in order to make the letters stable to stand :)



Anyway, don't get overwhelmed - it's actually pretty fun to make, and once you make one letter, you'll get a hang of it! You don't have to embellish like mine - you can do whatever you want with it!

That's it folks! and leave me some love if you like my project! (Only if you like my project! LOL!)

Here's the last peek at it:



Ohhh, did you hear the latest in my exciting news??? Leo and Mary from SVG Cuts have given us the whole DT team a Sizzix Eclips and eCAL software as a Christmas bonus!!! We were so shocked when we found out!!! This is the machine that they recommend as the BEST - so I can't wait!! I am not braggin' here... I just want to express my thanks to Leo and Mary and let you all know how generous these two are, and how well they treat us :) I must say that I am very lucky to be working for a such great company! Stay tuned for my posts on Sizzix Eclips!

Have a great crafty day!