Whirlpool of Imagination

Crafting With Leftovers

Whenever we cook, we like to make extras so we can have leftovers. Many times those leftovers are used in a different way than the original meal. The same thing can be done with crafting. When I have a project, many times I will make extra pieces. Then, at some later date, I can use those pieces in a different way.

These pandas were left over from Meg's school Valentine's from last year. They were already cut and colored so I decided to make some Valentine cards out of them.

These pandas are digis from Pink Cat Studio and are colored with copic and prismacolor markers.

So next time you have a project, make some extra components. Put them in the extras drawer and from time to time, go through there and see what goodies you can find.

Christmas Thank You's

Once the gift giving is done, then come thank you notes. This year I have some that are Christmas related and then some that can be used for all sort of gift thank you's, including Christmas.

These are sweet thank you notes made specifically for Christmas. The stamps are all from Papertrey Ink. I used the combination of red and brown which I've really been drawn to this season. I think that color combo may see some Valentine action too at some point.

Then the last batch I made are good for all occasion.

I used a stamp from Purple Onion and colored it with copic markers. I added some Martha Stewart glitter glue for added sparkle.

It's a relief to have the thank you cards written. That's always somewhat a chore with the kids so to have it done certainly feels good!

Purple and Gray

I was recently asked to make a sympathy card with a floral theme and the words praying for you. I pulled out one of my favorite flower background stamps of all time. No matter the theme, this one always strikes me.

The image stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms. The company is no longer in business although I know that they are trying to find people to buy their images from them. This stamp takes chalk ink really well so that's usually what I pull out when I want to stamp this one up.

I went through all my sentiments (including ALL the Papertrey ones) and have discovered a surprising lack of the simple praying for you sentiment. This is one I have used before from Verve Visual that fit the area I was working with so I used that one.

I really like this pairing of the purple with the gray. Apparently gray is the new black so we should be seeing it all over the crafting world. Time will tell what 2011 is going to bring for popular colors. It would be nice to be ahead of the curve for once!

Thinking of You Trees

I needed to make a thinking of you card without flowers. So what do I do? Pull out tree stamps instead. I have this thing with nature stamps apparently. And I'm telling you right now that I will never count the number of flower stamps I have. What I don;t know won't hurt me.

These trees are a classic from Stampin' Up. I used some chalk to shade the ground below them and then finished off with a sentiment from Papertrey.

Sitting here watching the snow fall. I've been waiting the last two weeks for a bit of snow - only one day late for a white Christmas but I'll take it while I can. Kids are on vacation so no worries about a snow day and just lots of fun! Even made some home made hot chocolate to celebrate!

Christmas Card Greetings

Every year I try to make a photo Christmas card and let me tell you, I'm running out of design ideas! This year I decided to go big. I found some great photo card envelopes so this one weighs in at 8 x 4.25 inches.

 

This card is basically a homage to all things Papertrey. Except for the green that the sentiment is on (I think that's SU wasabi, another favorite of mine), everything else on this card is Papertrey. Well, the ink is CTMH hunter but it matches the Papertrey pine card stock so closely that I forget that they are two different company products.

It took me a while to make all 75 that I needed to make but I can rest easy this week now that they are finished and out.

And I just received my PTI December order and the ideas for my Christmas thank you card are swirling around in my head. Who needs visions of sugar plums when I have Papertrey?

Purple Trees

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know of my love of the color purple. This admiration started in kindergarten and follows me still. I wanted to use these new stamps from Raisin Boat and decided to pull out my purples.

The trees, snow underneath and sentiment are all from Raisin Boat. They were all stamped with grape jelly ink. Below the trees, I added a line of "snow" using a Martha Stewart glitter pen. I went back and forth on the proportions but finally decided on the offset to the left with the sentiment off to the right.

I am slowing down the Christmas crafting train and am finally getting ready to move on to other holidays. I have to say that I am ready to put away all those Christmas stamps! Have a great day.

Hanging Ornaments

Sometimes all the crafty items I have accumulated come together and work so nicely as a pair. Two different stamp companies make up the images/words on this card and I love have they work together.

The tree and ornaments are from Raisin Boat and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. I used rose red on the ornaments and hunter green on the tree and words. I used a bit of silver outliner stickers to "hang" the ornaments.

Since I'm been trying to decorate the inside of cards too, here's a quick look on the inside of this one.

Not feeling the greatest today but plugging along on my Christmas cards. I will eventually get them posted here. Have a great day!

Hunter Green Tree

I am most definitely stuck on hunter green for Christmas card making this year. Although it should come as no surprise that I love hunter green - that was the color my bridesmaids wore when I got married. It's a VERY close second to purple as my all time favorite color.

I blame Papertrey Ink for reigniting my love of hinter green. Have you seen their Pinefeather card stock? It's gorgeous and I can't stop reaching for it. The stamps are from Taylored Expressions and stamped with either SU's hunter green ink or CTMH's ponderosa pine ink. I keep reaching between the two of them so I can't remember which one won out. The thing is I have a refill for the ponderosa and not for the hunter so I'm afraid to use the hunter because it will run out of ink!

I topped the tree off which a Swarovski rhinestone because every treetop needs a little sparkle.

I'm swamped with my own Christmas card making - I chose a cute design but it's labor intensive. I never learn.......

December Hopping

Good Monday morning to you! Today the Hoppetts are back to blog hopping with some really fun images. But first, did you come from the Digi Hop Blog? If so, great! If not, head back on there and start the hopping.

Now, if you are staying with me, let's jump right in. My image this month is from Hope Jacare.

This wonderful snow-woman is colored with copic and prismacolor markers. Since I went with brights, I decided the patterned paper should be bright too. I hardly even stray from my comfort colors at the holidays but I love this brightness of this one!

The sentiment is from Papertrey and stamped in espresso.

My letter for the month is.........N

Now head on over to Vicki for some more hopping fun!

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Not often can  say that I've made a card with a partridge image. Now, I'm not all that sure that that is what this is but in the spirit of the holiday, I'm calling it a partridge in a pear tree.

This is all Papertrey. The stamps, the cardstock and the ribbon. The only thing not PTI is the ink. I can't remember if I used hunter from SU or pine from CTMH. I have both but I'm stingy with my SU hunter because I neglected to buy a reinker before they retired it (a very sad day for me, BTW).

Lately, I've been adding little touches inside the cards as well. Not much but just a little bit.

I'm in crazy holiday mode this weekend. I need to shop, make calendars for presents, my cards and start baking. Yikes! Hope your weekend is a little less crazy than mine!