Saturday, December 31, 2011

Joy's Life DT Project - "Doilies and Glitter"

I just realized that I forgot to post the project I created for Joy's Life this week!  Agh!  I must be more tired than I thought!  Group 2 was given a theme of doilies and glitter, which are two of my favorite design elements.  So I created this cute card using one of Krista Smith's digi stamps which I colored with my Copic markers.







I don't know how well it shows up in the photos but this card is really sparkly!  The designer paper, which is from DCWV's Mariposa collection has gold and copper glitter and I added iridescent glitter to the doily too.  It is mounted onto a red textured foil mat and then onto the card face.  I really love this one and will have to figure out who on my list is worthy of such a creation. LOL!  The sentiment stamp I used is from Joy's Life All Around Sentiments stamp set which you can purchase here.

That's it... short and sweet, right?  I wish you all a very happy New Year.  Until next time...

Happy crafting!

Friday, December 30, 2011

The end of 2011, my last two Christmas cards and a couple of announcements!


Well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve and the last day of 2011. Can you believe it? I can't! I have to say that this year has been something... not all good but certainly not all bad either. Finding myself without a job has presented a fair amount of problems, to be sure, but I have managed to stay in my house and keep my car and for those two things, I consider myself fortunate. Many people have not been quite as fortunate.  My hope for the new year is that our nation's leaders will learn to work together to do what's best for this country and its citizens... ALL of its citizens! No doubt it will be a long, hard road for all but the wealthiest among us but the people of this great land have always been resilient and we must find a way to weather whatever storms may come on this road to recovery. Sadly, we aren't the only nation that has suffered economic struggles and my prayer for the world is much the same. That countries around the globe learn to work together to bring peace and harmony to our lands and that we as the citizens of this planet find ways to repair the damage that we have done to it over the past couple of centuries so that it will survive for our grandchildren's grandchildren.

On a happier and crafty note, I have been blessed to be part of some incredible design teams this past year and beginning in 2012, I will be part of a new one... for WOW! Embossing Powders!!! This is the secret I have been hinting at over the last couple of months and I can finally say it! Suzy West, who many of you already know through your ties in the crafting world, has created her own line of embossing powders as an extension of the WOW brand and they will become available to you in the very near future. They are being debuted at Winter CHA and many members of the design team have been busy as little bees creating beautiful projects to show them off. Due to a prior commitment, I won't have anything at CHA this time but as the term for the team is a full 12 months, I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities for Summer CHA as well as other trade shows and events. As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, they come in some very yummy colors. I haven't had a lot of time to play with them yet but that time is coming so look for them in my upcoming projects! I am so excited and honored to be part of the WOW! Design Team and you won't believe the incredible talent! You will probably recognize many of the names and faces.  In fact, when you have a few minutes, I would love for you to visit our new WOW DT Blog!   

I apologize for not posting as frequently lately. Between the holidays and other previously mentioned commitments, I just haven't had the time to spend writing blog posts and even creating new projects as I did even a month ago. I have been crafting but I haven't been able to post those projects yet because they are for a guest designer spot I'm doing for Quick Quotes Scrapbook Company next month! If you have not yet visited their blog, it is awesome and they have some extremely talented designers on their team. I have been participating in some of their challenges over the past few months and was ecstatic when they invited me to join them for the whole month of January! What an honor! And they sent me a whole box of their beautiful papers and other products with which to create my projects for their blog! I have had so much fun playing with this stuff, I can't even tell you! I hope you'll check them out and that you'll visit their blog frequently next month to see the pieces I have made with their product and maybe even participate in their challenge. They give a fantastic prize to one of the participants in each challenge so it's truly worthwhile to enter.

If you're still with me, I appreciate your stamina! I also want to show you the last two of the Christmas cards I made for this year before it is gone forever. These are the two I mentioned in a previous post that are alike in design but different in color scheme. Since I have rambled on so long, I am going to cut to the chase here.







So these are my last cards for 2011. The images, as you can imagine, are by Phee McFaddell and were colored with Copics. The patterned paper is by DCWV and the cardstock is by Paper Studio. That's all, folks! I wish each and every one of you a safe and happy New Year and I hope you'll continue to follow me on my new adventures in 2012. Peace out, and until next time...

Happy crafting!!
Anniebee

Sunday, December 18, 2011

A right jolly old elf...

This is a late post for a Sunday night. I have spent the day shopping and doing laundry and I am worn out  but I didn't want to start off another week without a new post. Here's another Christmas card to encourage you to finish up those last minute cards you always need to have on hand for unexpected giving.  I will make my rounds to family and friends this week, delivering my special handmade cards in person.  It saves on stamps and I love to see the looks on the recipients' faces when they open them.

Here again, I have used an image by Phee McFaddell, one of my favorite illustrators.  It is one of my favorites of all her Christmas images.  Of course, I colored it with Copics in rich tones of evergreen, burgundy and gold, the traditional colors of the holiday season.






And now, I have a treat for you. In the event that you haven't had the pleasure of reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas in a while, I am including it here. I think it's such a sweet poem and conveys perfectly the magic that is Christmas.


Twas the Night before Christmas 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away, all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

I'll have a couple more cards before Christmas Day arrives. Two of them feature another Christmas angel done in two different color schemes.  I can't decide which one I like best so I'll let you decide for yourselves.  Stay tuned for that one.  

I also got wind from my team leader for the new DT that will start next month that a box full of product is on its way to me!  Yippeeeeeee!  I can't wait to start playing with it and hopefully soon after that I'll be able to announce the name of the company I'll be representing! How exciting! Until next time, have a wonderful week!

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas Star Angel

One more day and another weekend will be here!  That means more crafting time, for a couple of days at least.  This will be the last full weekend of shopping before Christmas too!  I am just astounded that this year is counting down to its close already.  It hardly seems possible that 2012 is just a few days away!






Today, I have another one of the Christmas cards I promised.  This one also features an image by Phee McFaddell, a star angel.  I love this image and it was a lot of fun to color with Copics.  The patterned paper and the tiny holly sprig are by K and Company.  The pink cardstock is from Paper Studio and the scalloped border is by ek Success.  The stamped greeting, sentiment and cross image were heat embossed with metallic gold embossing powder, which gives the card a classic appeal.

I'll have another card for you sometime this weekend.  In case you missed them, I also posted a Christmas card on Tuesday and a layout and card on Wednesday. Beginning the first week in January, I will be doing a guest designer spot for Quick Quotes.  I hope you'll all stop by for a visit during that time period as I'll be using their wonderful products in my creations.  Right now, I am about to fall asleep at the keyboard so until next time...

Happy Crafting!
Anniebee

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Joy's Life Family Time Design Team Project

Hi, everybody!  I am sorry to have been MIA for so long.  Something came up over the past couple of weeks that I can't really talk about just yet.  For now, all I can tell you is that I was selected for another design team that will start crankin' next month!  It's a great opportunity for me and my term with the team will last a full year!  Woohoo!!!  I'm very excited and can't wait to tell you about it but I have to wait for the okay before I can say any more.

In the meantime, I have been trying to catch up on my Christmas card making and working on a project for Joy's Life.  This week, Group 2 of Joy's Design Team will be featuring projects made with a family theme.  I actually made 2 projects that kind of go together.  You'll see what I mean when you see them.  There are quite a few pictures so get comfy!

The first one is a Christmas-themed layout.  The photos I used are of my sister, Patty's, family that were taken on Christmas morning of 2009, her last Christmas on this earth.  I know some of my regular readers may get tired of reading this but since I have quite a few new followers, I guess I should explain that Patty lost her 6-year battle with stage 4 breast cancer in May, 2010.  I treasure all of my pictures of her and since Christmas was her favorite holiday, I thought it would be a nice way to remember her this season.


The patterned cardstock is from K and Company as are the chipboard embellishments.  The photo mats are made from foil cardstock by American Crafts that I punched with a border punch from ek Success.  I outlined the patterened paper shape with green Stickles to add visual interest and also to make the layout look more "finished".


I love this big red and white striped bow made from ribbon I bought at Michael's.




I made this festive wreath using Martha Stewart's medium branch punch which is becoming increasingly hard to find.  I punched the branches from 3 different shades of green cardstock and adhered them one by one to a 2D wreath template and adorned the finished product with different colors of round gems, some holly from K and Company, a bit of organza ribbon and a poinsettia from Petaloo.  
The stamp I used for this layout is from the Joy's Life Wintery Puns stamp set that can be purchased on Joy's website.  The tag was created with a Spellbinders Fancy Tags die and the same green foil cardstock I used on the photo mats. 

My other project is a Christmas card that I made using one of the same photos I used on the layout.  



The patterned cardstock I used on this one is from a DCWV Holiday Collection paper pack that I bought from Hobby Lobby last year and the ribbon is from Michael's.




 
The stamps I used on this one are from Joy's Everyday Occasions and Holiday Occasions stamp sets and can be purchased from her website.

I am entering this layout in the following challenges:


That's all I have for you today.  I hope you were able to glean some bits of inspiration from these projects. I'll be back with some more Christmas cards later in the week. So, until next time...

Happy crafting!!!
Anniebee

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A New Christmas Card

This is going to be a short post as I am quite tired and need to get to bed at a decent hour tonight.  I have spent this past week making a few Christmas cards to give to family and friends and I'll be sharing them with you over the next few days, along with a project I created for Joy's Life Design Team that will post on Wednesday morning. I am a huge fan of illustrator, Phee McFaddell, who drew this gorgeous digital image.  I colored the image with Copics, of course.






Believe it or not, I got the "Rejoice" stamp I used on the front of the card along with another similar one that says "Blessings" in the dollar bin at Michael's a couple of weeks ago!  They are perfect for Christmas cards and because I love angels, I thought they would look very appropriate together.  The sentiment inside the card says, "May your Christmas be warm with love, blessed with joy and bright with promise!".  It's probably my favorite Christmas sentiment.  The ribbon is made of tulle that I bought on a roll from either Michaels or Jo-Ann.

That's it for this time.  I'll be back closer to the weekend with more Christmas cards and don't forget to check out Joy's Life Wednesday to see the new design team inspirational projects.  Until then...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Sunday, December 4, 2011

... And we have a WINNER!!!

Many thanks to all of you who participated in the Joy's Life Holiday Cards Blog Hop this weekend! The design team had so much fun creating special projects for this event in hopes of inspiring you to make your own greeting cards for this most beautiful season of the year. I call it the time of the 3 Fs...faith, family and friends... and for celebrating togetherness and thankfulness for the blessings we receive in our daily lives. We appreciate each and every one of you, and especially so because you took time out of your busy holiday schedules to spend a little time with us.

So, without further ado, I would like to announce the winner of my blog candy!! I know this is what all of you have been waiting for, after all!

I used random.org to choose one lucky visitor during the hop. Out of 28 wonderful comments, number 27 was selected as the winner!!! That's SUSAN, who said,

"Wow, you do beautiful work with Copics! I looked at some of your other cards too and you are very artistic! The blending of the blue sky behind the house is spot on and I love how you used the red to add contrast. Beautiful card! I'm a new follower!"

What a lovely compliment! Thank you so much for your kind words, Susan!  I will be contacting you through your blog but in case you see this first, I'll need your snail mail address so I can get your prize out to you! Congratulations!!!!

Again, I appreciate everyone's comment and I hope you enjoyed spending a little time with the Joy's Life Design Team this weekend!  I'll be back soon with more holiday-inspired projects.  Until then, have a blessed week.

Happy Crafting!!
Anniebee

Friday, December 2, 2011

Holiday Cards Blog Hop for Joy's Life!


Happy Friday, everybody!! Today, Joy's Life is hosting a blog hop with her Fall/Winter Design Team and featuring her brand new Wintery Puns stamp set! Each designer has created a holiday card using the new stamps and just wait until you see them! This set is so cute and is perfect for use on Christmas/Winter cards, layouts and other winter-themed projects. After having had a chance to use stamps from several of the sets Joy has available for purchase on her blog, I have to tell you that they are very high quality and the images they produce are crisp, detailed and excellent for all stamping applications.  


If you arrived here from Amanda's blog, you're in the right place. If you stumbled upon my blog by accident or just stopped in for a visit, you'll definitely want to start at Joy's Life so you don't miss any of the awesome projects created especially for this event by all of the Joy's Life designers. You'll also have a chance to win some cool blog candy along the way! And who doesn't love winning prizes?

My card features a rural homestead blanketed in the fluffy white stuff that makes wintertime so picturesque. I love this image from Delicious Doodles and it was so much fun to color with my Copics.  It doesn't show up very well in the photographs but I used a pearl glaze to give the snow that glistening appearance it gets when the surface gets just warm enough to melt ever so slightly and then refreezes.   
I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but the greeting is heat embossed with gold embossing powder.




Here's how the inside looks. I used a different patterned paper to add more visual interest.  




Now for the really fun part! I have a little candy for one of my visitors during this hop so please leave a comment to be to be included in the draw. If you like what you have seen here, I would love to have you as a follower but it's not necessary to be eligible for my giveaway. I don't have a photo of my candy but it will include some stamps, ribbon, embellishments and whatever else I find to add to the mix before I let Random.org select the winner on Sunday. I'll leave the giveaway open until noon Central Standard Time and I'll post the winner's name on my blog. If you'll include your email address in safe Blogger format, I will contact you personally. The winner will have until December 9th to claim their prize.  If it hasn't been claimed by then, I will draw an alternate name.

The complete lineup is included below for your convenience. If you somehow get lost along the way, you can return here and follow the links to each designer's personal blog and pick up where you left off. I hope that you have enjoyed my little project and that it has inspired you to create your own holiday cards. Don't forget to check out all of Joy's awesome stamp sets on her blog at some point before the end of the hop.  Your next stop is the very talented Annette.

Joy: http://joyslife.com 
Amandahttp://www.whiteruffles.blogspot.com
Annehttp://anniebeescraftroom.blogspot.com (You are here)
Annette: http://www.aspoonfullofsugarcrafts.blogspot.com
Christine: http://www.stampynwifesspace.blogspot.com
Jenniehttp://earthyscrap.blogspot.com
Mariahttp://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
Marthahttp://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com
Melisa: http://melisascraftycreations.blogspot.com
Stacey: http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Susiehttp://www.thedieshaveit.com
Tracy: http://www.thepickledowl.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Until next time...

Happy Holidays!
Anniebee