OMGosh....Amazing!

I know, I know....I am boring when it comes to the Silhouette.  I go on and on about what a wonderful cutter it is and my ramblings get a bit boring.  I am a long time owner of the Cricut....I had the original "Little Bug" and I still own 2 (TWO!) Expressions with a Gypsy and dozens of cartridges.  I love the Cricut....I love the idea behind it but I will now say it outloud....the quality of the Silhouette cutting is superior to the Cricut.  I said it.  That's my opinion and probably not worth much but there it is.
Take this card for example....this is a file designed by the great Samantha Walker. She is an amazing lady who designs all kinds of things including Spellbinder dies, stamps, papers, and files for the Silhouette and other cutters.  Her designs can be so intricate....I was sorta hesitant to buy one thinking...ok it looks great online but will it really cut?!
I did have to put a new blade in my Silhouette but this is what I ended up with...is this amazing or what?  This is the outside of the card which measures 6x6.  Check out those teensy stars and the beautiful flourish!

Look how pretty that lettering is....and that flourish...my, my, my!

And here is the inside of the card:

I hear you saying "Wow!".  I hear it all the way here in Georgia.  In case you forgot to say "wow"...here is a close up photo of the inside:

Amazing, huh?  Told you!

Happy Crafting!

(PS Sentiment is from Hero Arts...Paper is American Crafts.)

Embellished Gift Bags

I just love buying plain white gift bags at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or Joann's and fixing them up a bit.  It often doesn't take much....some pretty paper, a little cut out design, a title...there are just so many things you can do with a plain white gift bag!
I got together with 2 friends today for our little annual get together and lunch...we always exchange little gifties...they give me fabulous things and I always think my bags are better than what's in them! HA!  Some people are great gift givers and some...like me...just don't always get it quite right!  But I am all about presentation and packaging and I thought my decorated gift bags looked really cute.
I found these designs in the Silhouette Store and simply cut them out with just a little adjusting with some Recollections Kraft Christmas paper I had picked up at Michael's last year. 

I added a few punched snow flakes and some bling and a couple of tags and there you have it! Cute!

Happy Crafting!

Annual Get Together

Yesterday afternoon I attended the 5th annual get together of my scrapbooking group.  We have all attended overnight crops together over the years and love a chance to get together talk, laugh, share, play wild games and eat!  We call ourselves the Sharecroppers because we SHARE and we CROP!

My friend, Debbie, hosted it at her house and had it decorated so beautifully....she is just so creative!

 One of the things we do each year is bring a little stocking stuffer/giftie for each person there.  I made cones with my Silhouette and stuffed them with some candy and a Scrap Happy pink pen.  I forgot to take a picture of the final product!  I received a cute card deodorizer, ribbon, a shot glass (yes, this group does enjoy a drink or two!) and more!  Some people hand make things... Cyndi embroidered us a key ring and Nicole crocheted a dish cloth for us.  Sara who just graduated from UGA in with a BFA in jewelry making/art made us each a pair of earrings.  All wonderfully creative.
A few people brought some wonderful snacks! Yum!
And I also received a few hand made ornaments...always crowd pleasers.  This one by Lisa was just so clever....a little angel made out of a paper clip!  How smart and so cute!

I loved this one by Marie, too....she fashioned a tree out of buttons and twine:

And last but not least Christine made this wonderful little glass ornament with a feather in it from my guardian angel!

Aren't they wonderful?

I'm hoping I get one of the group pictures soon so I can show you how cute we all are! :)

Happy Crafting!

Joy

I am just loving my Silhouette more and more and wonder why it took me so long to get one.  Still love the Cricut, too....but I find I get perfect cuts the FIRST time with the Silhouette.  I'm not always so lucky with the Cricut and often had to do recuts especially for small pieces.

Here is an ornament (and card) I cut out on my Silhouette...it just cut like butter on this metallic shiny paper.
No ragged edges....just nice pretty cuts.

 I used My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas papers and a sentiment stamp from Hero Arts.  I also used a teensy bit of tinsel twine that Stampin' Up used to sell years ago.  I loved that stuff and wish they'd bring it back.  This was my last piece of the gold! :(  I had this roll for probably about 7 or 8 years and now it's all gone! I'm sad.

But really....I'm joyous.  No time to be sad, right?  And this card and cut made me happy.

Now to work on my photo Christmas card!

Happy Crafting!

Treat Cones

I have a group of friends that get together for cropping, general paper crafting, digital crafting, etc. a couple of times a year.  We call ourselves the Sharecroppers because there is always someone saying, "Hey, does anyone have a fill in the blank?" and a hand will shoot up with the item!  We crop and we share and we generally have an all around good time.

We try to get together near the holidays for a little afternoon of food and games....and lots of laughter!  We all bring little treats for each other.  Our group has grown to nearly 20 people! 

I made these little treat boxes from a free file at SVG Cuts (available on the blog) which I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo.  I know I could have embellished them more but I had to make 17 of the and time is a premium.  I'm not telling what I'm putting in them as my little gifties as some of the ladies from the group check out my blog occasionally.  But it is cute and I think they will like it!  Add a little chocolate and it will be a winner, I'm sure!

 I added a little tag from the office supply store which I stamped with a teeny tiny tree from Hero Arts.  The snowflakes were punched with a Fiskars punch.

And that is it for today, my friends!

Happy Crafting!

Peace

The holidays can be decidedly stressful for some.  We set our expectations way too high for ourselves and if we fall short or think we are falling short we let the stress get to us.  I probably used to be that way when I tried to make the perfect Christmas for my kids! LOL!  But now both are grown and have their own homes and I no longer feel stressed.  I have passed it on as a good mother should do!  My son does not feel stress yet over the holidays....well, he saves his for Christmas Eve when he finally goes shopping! HAHA!

My daughter put up 5 trees this year....3 full sized trees including a big 9+ one that is gorgeous and then two smaller trees for her children's rooms.  Her house is so pretty and festive!  But I think she actually does well handling the stress and it probably helps that she is a stay at home mom and has a bit more time in the house than I did when my own children were small.

Anyway...peace.  The holiday season should be a time of peace where we can look around and really take the time to enjoy the beauty around us.  I love Christmas lights and decorations....I think all the pretty lights and display helps to make a drab season beautiful.

So here's my card for today...Peace....with a cute little deer frolicking through the snow. 

 

The stamp set I used is by Hero Arts and was one I picked up recently at Michael's with a buy one get one deal.  Love that.  Saving money makes me peaceful! :)  I used BoBunny papers and pieced the little deer and tree.  Used some enamel accents on the deer's nose, eyes, and sweater. I hand cut the snow.  I embossed the sentiment with some silver embossing powder.  

 I stamped the tree twice and cut it out....the first layer is flat against the card and the second layer was adhered just down the trunk and then curled up a bit.  I love the way that turned out!  Peace.....

Happy Crafting!

 

Too Cute Not to Share!

My cute little grandson, David, got invited to a birthday party by a little friend.  Her mom made these oh-so-cute invitations!!!  I thought they were sooooo cute!  And Rapunzel actually even came to the party and did balloon animals for all the children.  When it was time for her to leave David asked her if she was going back to her castle.  He's just such a wise 3 year old!

Anyway, here is the invitation....I blurred out the personal information so that no one would go stalk this house! :)

Isn't it the cutest???

I don't know if she used a Cricut or a Silhouette or what....but I just love the craftiness of this!

Happy Crafting!