Christmas Cards 2013 version 2

This is the second design of the Christmas cards I made today (yes, December 21st!).  I used the Christmas Tree embossing folder by The Paper Studio.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
Paper Playtime--#25 Winter fun
Simon Says--use a stamp
Die Cuttin' Divas--#146 Anything holiday related
Scrappy Moms Stamps--Christmas greetings
Tuesday Throwdown--#176 What Christmas means to you

Christmas Cards 2013 version 1

It is December 21, time to start making this year's Christmas cards!  Since I got going so late, I needed a REALLY simple design.  I decided to let some embossing serve as the design rather than a multi-layer Cricut image.  Here is one of the two designs I made, using the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder:

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
Paper Playtime #25--Winter Fun
Simon Says--use a stamp
Die Cuttin' Divas--anything holiday related
Scrappy Moms Stamps--Christmas greetings
Tuesday Throwdown--#176 What Christmas means to you
Totally Papercrafts--#197 Christmas using non-traditional colors

Christmas 2012

Here we are, one week before Christmas.  Time to get started on my cards, I suppose!  I let the challenges guide me this week.  The ornament is from A Child's Year and the word Joy is from Create a Critter.  I was trying to use as many scraps as possible, so each card looks a little different.  Here is one example:

This card will be entered in the following challenges:

Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #128

Cardztv challenge #21--I'm dreaming of a white Christmas (snow, snowflakes, or snowman)

Simon Says--What's your favorite tool, stamp, or product?  (My Cricut!)

Die Cuttin' Divas #94--Holiday Spirit

Really Reasonable Ribbon #62--Anything Goes & Ribbon

Dilo en español--Feliz Navidad

Tuesday Throwdown #127--use wrapping paper

Using some scraps...

When I use my Cricut, I often cut an extra shape or two in case one rips during the cutting.  Because of this, I had an extra sheep from a previous card.  I combined him with some other scraps to create this card, making it a one-of-a-kind.

The red circle was run through the Swiss Dots folder.  The red piece on the bottom was run through the Holly Ribbons Cuttlebug folder.  The sheep is from Animal Kingdom and the sentiment was printed on my computer (last year!).

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
Fantabulous Cricut #90--ribbon
Really Reasonable Ribbon--anything goes and ribbon
Whimsical Designs--something sparkly (my ribbon)

Rockin' around the Christmas tree...

I created these cards for my coworkers--kindergarten teachers.  This year, we had a 50's party on the 50th day of school.  I brought my camera that day and am going to give each of them a copy of the picture of us in our 50's costumes.  I thought it would be cute to make a card that somehow incorporated that theme.  I thought that the circle in the Skipping Stones Design sketch would be perfect for a record.  I searched on My Cut Search for a record, but there weren't any on any of my carts.  I figured it would be easy enough to make my own though.  Using the image of the record from the Nifty Fifties cart as a guide, I made one on my Gypsy using a circle from Graphically Speaking.  I used my Allegro Cuttlebug folder on the white base.  The piano keys stamp is from The Paper Studio.  The sentiment was printed from my computer.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:

Skipping Stones Design--sketch challenge #106

Celebrate the Occasion--#43 Christmas, no red

With cold hands and a warm heart...

I saw some Christmas ornaments at our state fair with a sentiment I wanted to steal.  It went perfectly with the 50 States cartridge I picked up for $5 this summer, too!

I ended up making 2 different versions of this card, not so much because I wanted to, but because despite being super careful, my paper ripped when I was removing it from the pad and I had to work around that!  I actually really like both versions though.  On one card, Wisconsin was run through the Argyle Cuttlebug folder (to sort of look like a sweater).  On the other I ran it through the Snowflakes folder.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:

Skipping Stones Design--sketch challenge

Cardztv--crafty Christmas

Cute Card Thursday--anything goes

Scrappy Moms Stamps--Christmas

More Than Favors--Wacky Wednesday #61--Christmas

Celebrate the Occasion #42--Christmas (no green)

Scrapbookaholic by Abby--Dilo en español challenge #6, Navidad

Tuesday Throwdown #77--Celebrate the season

Robin's Creative Cottage--favorite project from the last month

Fleece Navidad!

My husband and I have many bilingual friends.  Ever since I saw a card with the sentiment "Fleece Navidad" this summer on Under a Cherry Tree I knew I wanted to use it on some Christmas cards.  I was also inspired by the sketch at Skipping Stones Design and Craft Spot by Kimberly encouraged me to make it a window card--my first!

The circle is from Graphically Speaking.  The scalloped circle is from Gypsy Wanderings.  The sheep is from Animal Kingdom.  I would have loved to have used a Peachy Keen face but the set I have that goes with this cart requires you to cut the sheep at 3" and that wasn't going to work with this sketch.  I ran the white parts of the sheep through the D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder and the front of the card through Swiss Dots.  I used some of my new metal accents for my i-rock.  I was a little disappointed at how glue oozed out from under these accents.  I haven't had that problem with the i-rock gems.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog #88--Holiday card
Cricut Cardz Challenge #96--Christmas card using an image that starts with an S (sheep)
Scrapalicious USA--Christmas project of your choosing
Bah! Humbug!--Cute Christmas critters
The Cuttlebug Spot--use scraps
Craft Spot by Kimberly--Christmas through the window
Make it Monday--Linky party

One of a kind

Last year I started my Christmas cards in the summer.  This year, I'm starting in November.  I used the sketch from Skipping Stones Design.  The sentiment is also from one of their stamps.  The tag that it is on is from Gypsy Wanderings.  In keeping with the sentiment, I wanted 3 different snowflakes.  The ones I chose were from Accent Essentials, Graphically Speaking, and the Christmas Solutions cart.  I put an iRock gem in the center of each snowflake.  The dark blue background was run through the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder.

This sentiment makes the card rather versatile.  I could use it for a Christmas card or a thank you card for a gift or someone who's done a kind deed, such as a neighbor who snowblows your driveway for you.

This card will be entered in the following challenges:

Skipping Stones Design--sketch #100

The Cuttlebug Spot--anything goes

More Than Favors--Wacky Wednesday #58, buttons, bling, or brads

Really Reasonable Ribbon--#35, Christmas

Whimsical Designs--anything goes

Scrapbookaholic by Abby--glitter or bling

Snowy Christmas Card

I used my new Winter Frolic cartridge for the snowman.  He's small enough that I don't think I could have done his face without my new Peachy Keen stamps from the Winter Faces Assortment (PK 520).  I used the Hide Contour on my Gypsy to hide the face on the cart so the Cricut wouldn't cut it.  The snowflake is from the Christmas Solutions cartridge.

I think this may be the most challenges I've combined into one card so far!  This card will be entered in:

Flaunt It Friday's challenge #1--use the snowman from p. 29 of the Winter Frolic Cartridge
Paper Cutz challenge #70--use 2 kinds of patterned papers
Paper Playtime challenge #28--a project with snowflakes
Cute Card Thursday challenge #141--blue theme
Mojo Monday challenge #168--sketch

Winter anniversary card

My in-laws will be celebrating their anniversary soon, and since they live somewhere tropical, I thought it would be fun to make them a card with some snow!  The only thing I used my Cricut for on this card was the snowflake, which is from the Christmas Solutions cartridge.  The snowflake border punch is a Fiskars embossing punch.  The ribbon is from my stash of ribbon that I've saved from shopping bag handles and such to recycle in my card making.  The sentiment was printed on my computer.  Now that it is done, I'm debating whether I should have run the light blue background through the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder.  I'm sure my husband will let me know when I show it to him!

This card will be entered in the following challenges: Skipping Stones Design sketch challenge #52, Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog's Challenge Me Monday #38 (using ribbon), Paper Cutz Challenge #69 (Anything Goes), and Cute Card Thursday challenge #140 (Blast from the Past--I'm doing Challenge #128, using material--the ribbon).

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

I whipped up a couple of these cards tonight to enter in the sketch challenge at Skipping Stones Design and in the challenge at Cute Card Thursday #138 (Anything Goes).  The bell with ribbon is from the Christmas Solutions cartridge, thanks to the free Gypsy download!  The green circle behind it is from Graphically Speaking.  The white strip at the top was run through the Holly Ribbons Cuttlebug folder.

Happy Holly Days!

This is another Mary-inspired card.  It is 4.25 x 5.5 inches.  I cut the holly paper at 3.5 x 4in, but I think I would cut this slightly longer next time to allow for a little more overlap with the green paper, which I cut at 2 x 4 inches and ran through the Holly Ribbons Cuttlebug folder.  The holly was cut from Stretch Your Imagination.  I cut it at 2 inches and mounted it on foam tape.  (I had tried 2.5 inches and that was too wide, but I think next time I'd try 2.25.")  I printed the sentiment on the computer and trimmed the corners with a Creative Memories corner punch.