Pin-spired Cards

How was your Christmas? Did you get any crafty supplies from Santa? Maybe you will have a little extra time between now and New Year's Eve to spend some playing in your craft room? 

Over at Bella Blvd. we were given the following Pinterest photo to inspire our next assignment.

(source)

Isn't this image gorgeous? It's fun to replace letters in a word with a object or symbol...there's always a lot of room for creativity in doing so.

I was reminded of this Bella Blvd. phrase card that uses a peace symbol for the 'o' in joy.

With the many circles in the card I went with a circular theme using buttons and this background die cut.

What I love most about this card is the color combination! These are some seriously cheerful colors!

For my next card I decided to use the word noel from the photo and replace the 'o' with an ornament and snowflake combination.

Both cards were created with Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection and have a completely different look and feel to them. I like that kind of versatility in a line!

The ornament and doily die cuts are from Top Dog Dies. They too are versatile...I've used them for so many projects this season.

To see the what my teammates created with this Pinterest photo, head over to Bella Blvd. to have a look.

Happy craftin'!

Last Minute Gift

I can almost hear Santa's sleigh! We're just days away from Christmas! No need to panic if you find yourself in need of a last minute gift or two. How about a Starbucks gift card and reusable cup decked out with a bit of ribbon and some die cuts from Top Dog Dies? 

I used the gorgeous Madison Doily Die, the Bird Cage Album Finishers Set, and the Snowflake Trio Set along with some pretty papers and accents from Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection to make this gift festive. 

What do you think? If you want to give several of these to teachers and neighbors you could skip the reusable cup and ask the lovely folks at Starbucks for paper cups to decorate instead. 

Whatever you do...don't panic, gift giving is all about fun and the season is meant for spending time together. Yesterday I went to a Christmas treats and sweets exchange....oh so yummy and a great way to catch up with the neighbors!

Holiday Gift Giving

Finding the perfect gift for Christmas is no easy task! Personally I love giving gift cards so that my friends and family can get exactly what they want or need. To make gift cards more fun to receive I'll make a small handmade gift to go with them. 

For this gift card project, I used a cut file to make a simple pillow box from white card stock and then dressed it up with some pretty patterned paper and accents from Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection.

See the little spool ornament? Recently while on Pinterest I saw a similar one made by Linda Aclair, design team member from Epiphany Crafts. I wanted to make one of these myself using Bella Blvd's colorful buttons.

For my next gift card project I dressed up an unfinished wood frame in more Christmas Countdown goodness and then used a thin metal die to create a matching envelope for the gift card.

Long after the gift cards are spent, my recipients will have pretty little holiday decor pieces to deck their halls with each year!

To see more gift card giving creations, head over to Bella Blvd.

Before I rush off I have more gifting projects to share with you over on the Pebbles blog. It's the post I mentioned yesterday...there was a small glitch, but it's available now. Enjoy!

T.G.I.F!

December Project Sheet

Feel like playing with paper? Today I have Bella Blvd's festive December project sheet to share with you!

Everything you need...supply list, tool list and instructions to make this gorgeous Elf on a Shelf page is available free for download here.

To see all of Bella Blvd's monthly project sheets, click here.

Happy craftin'! :)

Christmas Countdown

The countdown to Christmas is on! Christopher's been enjoying his Advent calendar and last night I hung our stockings by the chimney with care! ;) Over at the Bella Blvd. blog there's a challenge for you this week to create a project inspired by the quote, "Don't be afraid; Just believe" Mark 5:36.

Here's what I came up with, a couple cards created with the Christmas Countdown collection.

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How about these bright colors and the adorable penguin and elf?

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I love how each card has it's own color palette yet they were created with the same line, very versatile! One of my favorite Bella Blvd. accents are the buttons! There's always a few styles and colors that match each line!

So how are your holidays shaping up? I'm beginning to feel a little overwhelmed so I plan to sit down this morning with pen and paper and create a plan of attack! ;) There are so many things I want to accomplish and I want to enjoy it all too! I always feel better when I have a list that I can start working on and checking off.

Here's to a successful and enjoyable day for all of us!

Holiday Hoopla

Ooh la la...I've been having a lot of fun making Christmas cards and have a couple to share today that I created with Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection. 

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You probably know I have a thing for dies and thought these conversation bubble and snowflake dies would make a cool Ho Ho Ho design. What do you think? 

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Check out these holiday cars....everyone is busy, busy, busy bringing home Christmas trees and presents! So much fun, isn't it?

Pretty soon we'll be putting up our Christmas tree. It's a tradition at our house to decorate the day after Thanksgiving. The long weekend gives us plenty of time to deck the halls and weeks of sitting by the tree enjoying the twinkling lights while sipping cocoa. I'm really looking forward to all these moments!

Hope you enjoy everyday of this magical season! :)

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Brrrr! The mornings are getting colder in North Carolina and before we know it, we'll have snow on the ground! Speaking of snow...Top Dog Dies has a very cool Snowflake Trio Set (TC015) that's perfect for Christmas and winter crafting! These snowflakes have gorgeous detailing as you can see from my card share. 

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I also used the A2 Card #4 die (TW004), a gate-fold design that has a lovely shaped flap...another die that will get tons of use! And what do you think about that adorable little penguin? Ya, the one sporting earmuffs! Isn't he funny? He's part of Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection, along with the patterned paper. 

Before I scoot and get busy with more projects, I'm in the middle of another project using these snowflakes, I want to tell you that the Top Dog Dies' idea gallery is up and running with projects posted by the design team. And guess what? You too can post your Top Dog Dies projects! Isn't it exciting that we'll have access to Top Dog Dies creations in one easy-to-access spot? I can't wait to see yours! 

Have a terrific Tuesday!