Altoid Tin Lid Ornaments

Hello crafty friends!  Last week I had a table set up for a local "3rd Friday"/Holiday Bazaar.  It was coooold and it took the whole weekend to thaw out.

Today I want to share 2 Altoids tin lid ornaments made from leftover paper.  In my last blog post I shared bright Christmas cards made with Blue Fern Vintage Christmas and Vintage Christmas 2.  (I've been hoarding the paper for a while but I think it's from 2015-ish.)

Anyway, I had the ephemera-card-type scraps and layered them into leftover Altoids tin lids!

Neat, huh?  They came together pretty quickly except for Stickles drying time... Oh how I love Stickles!  i used a nail and hammer mat to poke holes for the beaded charm and the hanging string.  Let me know if you have any construction questions -- I'm happy to help!

Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

New Christmas Cards!

Hi folks!  Just a quick note to let you know I have new Christmas cards in my Etsy shop.  Click here to check them out!

I'll be adding more throughout the month.  Thanks for your visit today!

Cheers,
Susan

Custom "Baby's Firsts" Mini Album

Hello crafty friends!

I have a great customer who orders cards throughout the year.  For Christmas she came up with the brilliant idea for an album of card fronts.  She wanted to celebrate a new baby in the family as well as that sweet baby's firsts, which happened quickly after she was born.

The album is 3 pages.  I will send a baptism page for the album soon EDIT: the baptism page is included below!  Who knows -- there might even be a 1st birthday page later.  I love this album idea!

This is the front page. Can you see the tag on the right side? It holds a sweet personalized sentiment.

Multi layered

Baby's first Thanksgiving!

The left  side of each page coordinates with the theme.

Baby's first Christmas. This one kind of knocks even my socks off! It was a lot of time consuming work but also the most fun to design and see finished.

The "First" is red Stickles under a layer of Glossy Accents.
It shows better in person!

All Graphic 45 papers, of course. If I could buy up every unused Santa scene page in all the closets across the world, I would. It's perfect.

This baptism page was shipped yesterday!

Thanks for visiting today.

Cheers,
Susan

Santa's Elf Updated!

I collect ornament kits from The Cracker Box. I'm making this one as a gift. :) Shhh... the receiver might be reading... *wink*

I hope everyone is enjoying a happy holiday season.

Cheers,
Susan
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OK - here it is January 11th and I'm finally getting around to sharing finished photos of the beautiful Cracker Box kit ornament. I gave it to my brother and his new wife for Christmas!

Finished with stand

Detail of the main decoration, repeated on the other side

I love these kits but they take so much time to make. I logged 10 hours with this one, and the most intricate one I've made took 22 hours. I never keep them - they are always made as wedding gifts. As much as I respect the time and thought that goes into a wedding registry, I ignore it and make a keepsake instead. :)

Cheers!

Vintage Christmas Altered Altoid Tin

Hiya folks! You might know I like to haunt the halls over at Craftster.org. I joined a Vintage Christmas Altered Altoid Tin swap and here's what I made:

The tin is perched atop a wood candlestick from the craft store. I painted it black then swooshed a little gold here and there. The knob at the top got the same treatment. The Santa image is from Graphic 45's Christmas Emporium. The 8x8 pack is chock-full of gorgeousness!

There are three layers including the base one with the fireplace. then Santa with kids and the last layer is just the kids. Two of the stockings are layered, also.

This little sign covered a bump created when I had to add a teeny tiny nail to hold the tin to the paper. I thought my mighty glue would work, but it pulled away enough to make me nervous, so the nail went in after the tin was finished. Of course I couldn't find one with a perfectly flat head!

The back is also G45, including the "special delivery" tag and little postage stamps. I know my swap partner received the today but I won't get mine until Monday. She's wicked talented so I'll be sure to show you hers too!

Cheers,
Susan

Mini Christmas Tags

Hiya folks! In honor of today's start of Tim Holtz's annual 12 Tags of Christmas frenzy, I want to share a couple of tags I made last weekend. They are small - 4.5" x about 2.5", and three are inspired by tags from his 2010 collection.

I made them as free gifts for shopping in my Etsy store on Small Business Saturday. The wonderful customer who received these has been very kind to me throughout the year and I think I gave her more than she bargained for... in a good way!

I had a lot of fun with these, using scads of Tim Holtz and Ranger stuff I've either not used before or used in new ways. The only one not inspired by the 12 Tags is the blue "Snow". I had the letters from a different project and paired with white embossed TH snowflake stamps. The cut-out flakes are from a Cricut cartridge - maybe from Joys of the Season since that's the only Christmas one I have. Oh, and the rosette is a 1/2" x 12" strip of paper scored at 1/4" intervals. Easy do-it-yourself!

If you're not familiar with Tim or his tags, check out his blog - today is day 1 of the 2011 tags, and if it's any indication of what's to come, I might just play along. They are great for learning new techniques and you definitely don't have to use his products. At the bottom of his posts you can see where other people have uploaded their versions of his tag. It's fun to see the inspiration!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Hiya crafty friends! Over at The Beary Scrap DT & Challenge blog we're a few days into our month-long challenge and I'm so impressed with all the entries so far! You are definitely showing us "Your Beary Best" and we appreciate it!

Today I have a simple Christmas card made with My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Christmas.

I used one of the die-cut embellishments from the 12 x 12 kit and put a green layer behind it. The card base is the same green, so it's a nice little accent. I spritzed the poinsetta with Glimmer Mist and it's a lot more subtle in person! So is the Glossy Accents over the red "Christmas" and bits on the die cut embellishment. My camera was picking up all kinds of light today!

I used a bit of green seam binding behind the flower and Kaisercraft pearls in the corner. The stick pin is one of my Killam Creatables, and since looking at this photo I've decided to add a second pin. That one looks lonely!

Thanks so much for visiting today! Our "Your Beary Best" challenge runs ALL MONTH with a $30 gift voucher as the prize. Won't you show us your beary best?

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Sketch and Christmas in July

Hello crafty friends! I hope all our American readers are having fabulous Independence Day celebrations. Today we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.  July 4, 1776 was a monumental day in the history of the newly formed United States of America. Today we celebrate with parties, fireworks and pools. It's one big birthday party for the nation. Happy birthday!

So, with that said... at The Beary Scrap we're in the midst of our July Sketch Challenge. The design team is shaking it up a bit by adding a Christmas in July theme to our projects. Notice how that happens to go with our Christmas in July blog candy? Hey, we planned it right!

Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that I'm posting a Christmas card on July 4th...  but can't red and green be considered national colors, too? *grin*

This is Magnolia's "Tilda with Fir" and happens to be the stamp included with our challenge blog candy. Isn't she adorable? This is a pretty simple card made with papers that really seemed to do the designing work for me. They are from a Webster's Pages 6x6 pack. See the background paper? I used the front of the stack for this layer. Underneath the plaid layer is the "petit papers" logo - it's like getting an extra sheet in an already fabulous paper pad!

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Magnolia - check out the Christmas selection here. It's all on sale!
• Paper: Bazzill Basics; Webster's Pages "Waiting for Santa/Sweet Season" 6x6 pad
• Medium: Copics for skin (E000, E00, E01); Prismacolor pencils with OMS; Ranger Distress ink in Vintage Photo; Stickles in Diamond and Distress Stickles in Frosted Lace (on the white roses)
• Embellishements: Ivory Seam Binding; Mulberry Paper Roses in 20mm and 10mm; Killam Creatables beaded pin set; crochet flower from Willowfolk on Etsy; all others from stash
• Adhesives: Scor-Tape; 3D Glue Dots in 1/8" and 1/16"; Fabri-tac

Thanks so much for visiting today! Please join our Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge - all entries are eligible to win our blog candy as well as the $20 gift voucher! It goes on through July 14th - I hope to see *your* fun projects!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Jolly Old St. Nick

Hello hello blogging friends! i hope you had a spectacular weekend in your neck of the woods. Husband and I visited a dog show so we could stare at all the beautiful Dobe Boys and Girls. Ours runs more toward the Dobe Goof side of the breed family, and we love every bit of him. It is nice to see the ladies and gents, though. *wink*

After that I hunkered down in the studio. I managed to finish 2 cards from weeks ago and create today's card and a commissioned Philadelphia Flyers (professional ice hockey) card for a girl. I'm really pleased with it and will share here later this week.

Today kicks off a new Beary Sweet Challenge, and our theme is 

Anything Goes! 

Haha - I love this kind of challenge since it allows me complete freedom. Of course, this was a no-brainer for me since I started designing this card in my head waaay back when I first got my mitts on the My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly papers. With this challenge I was finally able to use it.

Santa is too delicious to be *just* a background element, don'tcha think? I had 2 of the same sheets and cut one Santa out. I painted him with Distress Crackle paint and layered him onto the second. Oh, I also I lightly inked the cut-out edges before painting with the crackle. I used Stickles on the holly and berries in his hat, too.

Here's a little note about Stickles - I have both the "Christmas Red" and "Gold" but find that "Candy Cane" and "Diamond" are much more suitable. When compared side by side, the former seem too bright.

The delightful ribbon is new to The Beary Scrap and I *love* it! I used 2 strips and wove gold embroidery thread through the centers. It was a bit of a brainstorm, and I'm really happy it hit me. I have tons of embroidery thread from years (er... decades?) ago that I've never used. Now it will be put to a good use! Yay!

The tag and tag holder thingy are Tim Holtz... stay tuned for TH products at TBS. *verybiggrin* The holly leaves (edged in Diamond Stickles) and red gems are from stash.

Challenges Entered

• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday #92 (11/15) - Glitter
• Totally Gorjuss #56 (11/19) - Traditional Christmas Colors
• Cute Card Thursday #138 (11/17 ) - Anything Goes
• ABC (11/21) - H is for Holiday

Card Recipe

• Paper: My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly "Jolly Old St. Nick"; Bazzill Basics Mud Pie and (Dark Green)
• Medium: Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan; Stickles in Diamond, Candy Cane, Green; Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy
• Embellishments: Lace (available soon on the website); Embroidery floss, holly leaves, gems from stash
• Adhesive: Scor-Tape, sewing machine

Thank you *so* much for visiting me today! I really hope you join our Anything Goes challenge at the Beary Scrap Design Team Blog - I'd love to see your projects!

Cheers,
Susan

CLP #31 Sketch

Please scroll down for my Beary Scrap Challenge #13! I will announcee my Inking Pink Blog Hop winner tomorrow - thanks so much for hopping along with us!

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It's November 1st and time for another Crafting Life's Pieces Sketch Challenge! Yay! We have another gorgeous sketch and fabulous samples from the design team. I love working with these talented ladies! Please be sure to check them out HERE. :)

 I used the delightful Puppy Post - isn't he the cutest little guy? the papers are Bazzill solids and Basic Gray Wassail. I received the stamp digitally (they are unmounted rubber stamps in the store) and printed on the new Copic X-Press. I'll write more in it another time, but just know that I LOVE it with my Prismacolor pencils and OMS. Oh yea, it works with Copics, too. Haha!

He is layered - #1 is the full image, #2 is the post box (to give it a rounded effect) and the puppy, and layer #3 is the ears and letter. I used silicone glue in between the layers. 

And here is Chelsea's beautiful CLP Challenge sketch. I hope you can use it and join our challenge!

 

This month we're sponsored by Lili of the Valley, a UK Company which has a simply gorgeous range of unique un-mounted rubber stamps. The winner will be getting a £10 gift voucher to spend at Lili of the Valley.

Come join us!

Cheers,
Susan

Where Has The Time Gone?

Hello! Wow, I can't believe it's already the 28th! The New Year is upon us, and I am itching to get back in the studio. I found 2 fun Die Cuts With A View (DCWV) paper stacks a week or three ago: a Michaels-exclusive stack called "Berry Street Farmers Market", and a Joann's find called "Be Mine".  This second stack is pinks, blues, and greens - all with a romantic, vintage-y feel. And gee, Valentines is coming up, right? How convenient! *grin*

By the way, US and Canada residents can go to this DCWV web page, watch a short video on the stacks, and at the end enter to win your choice of the 4 Michaels-exclusives. Belle Cafe is my choice!

Finnegan got a Snuggie from Aunt Courtney. How funny is this?

He made out like a bandit - new collar, bed, water bowl mat (ok, that was more for me and my kitchen floor) tons of toys and treats. He suffered excitement overdose and basically passed out for a few days. We've put some new toys away for later. Grammydog and Grampydog got him a huge plush dog and it's wayyy too adorable to see him carry it around. Even better than the teddy bear, I think!

Today I'm waiting for the HVAC guy to see what's up with the 2nd floor heat pump. It might have burned up a bit on Christmas day... there was smoke and that nasty burning electrical smell... luckily the first floor is heated by a furnace *and* it's been in the 50's. We didn't freeze out my wonderful in-laws during their visit. Outside temps have dropped significantly, though, so a fix can't come soon enough. *grin*

After the HVAC diagnosis, I'm off to see what is left at Michael's. I haven't done any post-Christmas shopping yet, and I have a gift card burning a hole in the wallet. (Thanks Courtney!) I'm hoping they still have the Cosmo Cricket boy stack (can't remember the formal name) I saw a few weeks ago. I think it was on a clearance, so I'm not getting hopes up too high. I'll also look at the jewelry findings, although I don't think that store sells the kind of wires and tools I need.  Open stock papers are 30% off, which makes their too-high prices a little more palatable.

(Hey! Where did all this chattiness come from?! Oh, right, my resolve to give a little bit of the "Susan" in Killam Creative. I just didn't expect *this*... Haha)

I'm very excited to be jumping feet first into the chainmaille and wirework jewelry world. In the coming months you'll see some wild stuff coming out of Killam Creative! Loads of research going on now, including finding a good Argentium and sterling silver wire supplier. On the photographic front, Santa brought me a new macro Speedlight system, so my macro work will be out of this world. I've fired off a few test shots and I'm gobsmacked! In addition, I'll be attending Nikon School in March. Sitting here right now, I can't even imagine who I will be in one year. It's very exciting! I couldn't do it without the incredible support of my husband. Heh, I can almost feel his shoe on my butt and hear his words as I fly out the door, "Go forth and photograph!"

AND I got Copics. I can finally stop agonizing over pencil lines. Yay! Thanks Lori!

So, how was *your* Christmas? Any new projects on the horizon? I'd love to hear about them!

Cheers,
Susan

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a great holiday, and my very best wishes for a wonderful New Year. Thanks so much for reading my blog and buying my cards and layouts. I have great plans for Killam Creative in 2010, so keep an eye out!

Cheers,
Susan

Happy Happy and CLP 11

Happy Thanksgiving!

My "show" is tomorrow and Saturday. I'm exhausted beyond belief and really proud of what I've accomplished. I've missed reading your blogs! I did manage to kick out a killer Thanksgiving dinner (if I do say so myself!) - I refused to let this show get in the way, especially it would just be the two of us this year. Loads of last-minute things to do tonight.

I have a card to share, made for Chelsea's Crafting Life's Pieces Sketch Challenge #11. I'm determined to win for the month of November, plus she makes cool sketches. *grin*

 

This is a Sassy Studio Designs digital stamp colored with Prismacolor pencils and Stickles; Cricut Storybook die cut swirly things, Prima flowers, Bazzill shimmer card stock and K & Co Peppermint Twist and Christmas Cheer patterned card stock. Oh, and venise lace, pearls and charms I put together.

Cheers!

Susan

Quixotic Paperie Challenge #3

Hello! Thanks for stopping in today. This week's Quixotic Challenge theme is 'kraft and red", and I used kraft paper color rather than the paper itself. This is my first collage-type card, and I'm pleased with the result. Hope you like it!

Cheers!
Susan

Home for the Holidays

Hello! Today's card is -once again- inspired by a Crafting Life's Pieces sketch challenge. This is for challenge #10, and here's the sketch:

Here is my card:

 

 

 

 

The image is a Mo Manning stunner. (Check out Digital Pencil Too for more of her great art!)

Another challenge blog entered is the Cupcake Craft Challenge 66, which was to "Go Digital."

I also entered this card into The Color Throwdown #69 challenge:

Papers: Waussau White, Bazzill, MME, Recollections Brown Shimmer

Medium: Prismacolor pencils

Embellishments: K&Co (border adhesive), grosgrain ribbon, MS punch branches, MM metals

Thanks for stopping by!

Susan

Vintage Boy Christmas Card

(I can't seem to get the color right - either with the point -n- shoot or the DSLR. Oy! I guess that's what happens when you rush around like a chicken with it's head cut off.)

Originally for Chelsea's challenge, this little boy kicked my butt into the night last night. (Procrastinate much, Susan?) I didn't make the deadline, but that's OK. Chels does great sketches, and I'll work on the next one.
 [Edit: I *did* make it! I am doing a happy dance right now!]

Ok, here's the story: One of Matthew's co-workers requested Christmas cards for her teen sons to give their Godparents and a card she can give to her 13 year old Goddaughter. Apparently there aren't enough age-appropriate cards out there, so she thought of me. How cool is this? *Very* cool.

The girl card is going to be easy, but the boy cards present an interesting challenge. Right now I'm enjoying my Prismacolor pencils and stamps, so off I go to find teen boy images... and after loads of searching I really only found 2 that might work out. This "Vintage Boy" card is made with a Ladybug & Friends stamp, and is one possibility for the 16 year old. In the original stamp the boy is holding a bouquet of flowers behind his back (I masked them out).

The other stamp set is from The Greeting Farm, called My Guy Ian. I haven't ordered the set yet since I'm still on the fence and waiting for the lovely Lindsay over at Sassy Studio Designs. I really like her digital stamps, and she's going to try her best to make a boy to add to her Teen Scene series. It would be part of her November 15th Winter Release, and I won't find out until then. I have my fingers crossed!

Anyway, about this particular card:

Papers: Bazzill, Canson Mi-Tiente, Basic Grey and Webster's Pages
Embellishments: Repro vintage garland, grosgrain ribbon, MM Findings, Cricut "snowflake".
Boy: Elisabeth Bell's "For Someone Special" stamp, Prismacolor pencils

Admittedly, I thought the end result was odd, but he has grown on me and I love him now. *wink*

Cheers!
Susan

World Card Making Day!

In honor of WCM Day I'd like to share a little bit of my current projects. None are finished yet, of course. This morning I did finish my CLP Challenge entry, so even if the day doesn't let me in the studio, I've done my part to celebrate. *grin*

This is a Mo Manning digital image called "Swine Flu". How fabulous is Mo?! I originally wanted to use this for the challenge, but he's too big for the required elements. The background paper is so sweet and grandmotherly that I can't help but think a cup of tea is on it's way. Believe it or not, the white ruffle is compliments of Kleenex!

The next teaser is from a set of Christmas cards. I used Martha Stewart's incredibly versatile branch punch over and over and over and over until I had enough for about 5 trees. Then my hand cramped up  - conveniently in the shape of a wine glass, whose contents made the cramping disappear. See how that works?

These cards still need to be "blinged out", but I'm really pleased with the combination of branch punch and Pearl Glimmer Mist. The finished card will be relatively simple - silver star on top and a combination of sheer ribbon and "s" shaped findings. I'll show more when all the "mail order" parts come in.

My last project teaser isn't a card, but a glimpse of my one and only pre-made Halloween layout. I've worked on this house off and on for about a week, partly just staring at it for the next clue as to what it needs. :) I really enjoy paper piecing, and this one challenged me with its little bitty parts. The door is Cricut-cut, but everything else is hand cut.

There will be costumed tear bears, of course. It should be up by the 10th or so;  it's getting late in the season and I'm sure my mind isn't the only that's moved on the more "festive" holiday projects!

I hope your day is productive!

Susan