Core Challenges #8 - Lydia's Christmas Color Challenge

Hello! I was SO excited to hear about the Core challenges that were going on during CHA. I was super sad to miss CHA this year, but with a baby due any day I couldn't go. So I was just hoping that she would hold on to let me participate in a few of these and I guess she agreed! :)

Challenge #8: Lydia's Christmas Color Challenge

Recipe:
Core'dinations Super Assortments: Nostalgia™
Core'dinations Super Assortments: Elements™
Cricut Cartridge: Winter Woodland™
Cuttlebug Folder: Snowflakes™
Ribbon: Kris Swain's Etsy Store in Sage
Stickles in various colors
Glossy Accents
d-stress by Imaginisce with inking tip and sanding tip

The Magic of Winter

****SCROLL DOWN FOR THE SHOP PUMPKIN SPICE ECHO PARK WINTER LINES BLOG HOP***


Hello everyone! Good Monday Morning! Today over at Imaginisce we are showing you Christmas Card inspiration!!! All week we will be showcasing different Christmas inspiration - gift wrapping, home decor, layouts, etc! It's going to be GREAT! Pop on over to the Imaginisce Blog and check it out! :) 

The picture doesn't really show it, but I stickled around the whole thing as well as the snowflakes which are double popped with foam tape. Oh well! You'll have to use your imagination. :) 

Recipe:

• Gypsy™
• Cartridge: Winter Woodland™
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Snowflakes™(On sale for $2.69!)
• Patterned Paper: 
• Imaginisce: Cottage Christmas "Swirly Snowflakes"™
• Imaginisce: Cottage Christmas "Gingerbread Village"™
• i-rock by Imaginisce™
• Hot Rock Compact in Crystal (or Pink, Black, and Clear)™
• Twine from The Twinery in Honeydew™
• Imaginisce Colored Foam Tape in White™
• Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro with Perma-squares™
• Stickles in Diamond™
• Button from my stash

****SCROLL DOWN FOR THE SHOP PUMPKIN SPICE ECHO PARK WINTER LINES BLOG HOP***

Wintertime

You know what I love about these posts? I just have to write "Artful Delight December Kit" under the recipe and link it up! It's so nice just to link to one thing... Do you all use the links I link up? I was just wondering since I do it for you! :) 

Unfortunately, the December kits are sold out!!! But the add on is still available and you can win one over at Frosted Designs if you link up to the sketch by December 27th! 

Recipe:

Artful Delight December Kit
Swiss Dots Emboss Folder™
Snowflakes Emboss Folder™

Also, remember to play in the sketch challenge here at Artful Delight to win January's kit! 

Snowy Wishes Blog Hop!

***Scroll down for the Passionately Artistic Day 4 post: Gifts for your furry friends!***


WELCOME to the Snowy Wishes Blog Hop!

A HUGE thanks to Dorcas who invited me to hop with these super talented ladies!!!


The whole blog hop is being sponsored by My Pink Stamper and Scrappy Mom's Stamps! Thank you! See Dorcas' blog for details!

EAD Designs has sponsored part of my giveaway today! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have been using their stickers, vinyl, and rub-ons for a while now and I can tell you - they are super high quality. I have cut their vinyl in my Cricut and it cuts beautifully. Check out their blog to see some inspiration! This is just a sampling of what you could win! 

My amazing sponsor, Pumpkin Spice, told me that she is donating an Echo Park Wintertime Paper Pack to the winner! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Also, in honor of the blog hop, Pumpkin Spice is offering 10% off! No coupon code necessary! :) If you can't wait to see if you won, she is selling this kit for $9.80 which is cheaper than anywhere else I have seen! 
BUT you have to leave a comment telling me your 5 favorite things from the Pumpkin Spice website to qualify! 

 I think I will have to have two winners as the last prize is....

 sponsored by yours truly! :) 

If you came from EAD Designs or Pumpkin Spice, welcome! Start here at 4CraftyAngels - the beginning of the hop so you don't miss out on any of the inspiration or blog candy!

On to the project!

Recipe: 

Paper: Echo Park Merry Christmas Line™

Cartridge: Winter Woodland™

Ink: Momento

My Pink Stamper: Winter Punnies™

Embossing: Snowflakes Emboss Folder™

Glitter: Pixie Sparkle

Adhesive: Glue Arts™

I was going to write up a tutorial, but I think there is enough writing on this post! 

If you came from Momo's blog, then you are on the right track! Here is a list of all the people hoppin' today! 


Dorcas at 4craftyangels
Georgiana at carsonscricutcreations
Ive at allaboutmeandmyscrapbook
Momo at madebymomo
Court (that's me) at courtscrafts
Yvette at tinklovescupid
Jennifer at purplescrapbooker
Molly at armywirfelearnsthecricut
Norma at pinkblingcrafter
Celeste at ccscards
Blanca at sweetscrappingwithhoneyb
Cheryl at cardsbycg
Cristi at scrappin5littlecupcakes
Carri at doubleclickconnections
Trish with TechniquesbyTrish


Remember to leave a comment on this post to qualify for my giveaway and leave your top 5 favorite things found on the Pumpkin Spice website! 


I will draw a winner on Tuesday so that I can get these right out to you in time for your Christmas cards! Please send me your information within 48 hours of the announcement! 


Now you're off to Yvette's blog! 


***Special Announcement! Echo Park Paper is holding a Facebook referral contest! If you love their paper, please to go their Facebook page, like them, and leave a comment saying that Courtney Lee sent you! I would love it! :) ***

Doggy Gifts!

Courtney Lee

This week at Passionately Artistic, we are bringing you LOTS of inspiration for the Christmas season. I've enjoyed this as it has given me a kick start on those Christmas gifts! 

Today I am going to bring you gift ideas for the furry friends in your life. All of these can be applied to kitty cats, but I did everything with my dog Spoon and her best fluffy friends: Samson, Dash, Scarlet, and Buster in mind. 

Homemade Dog Biscuits 

I made these because they only took 4 ingredients - all of which I had in my house :) 

You can find the recipe HERE. 

Recipe:
2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use other flour)
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup water
1/3 cup peanut butter

Mix dry ingredients first, add the other two, knead, and then.....

I rolled out the dough onto a Cricut Cake™ mat, put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, and used Designer's Calendar to cut Christmas trees in various sizes. :) I will say that the Cricut Cake™ had some trouble cutting through the oats, but overall, I thought it was pretty fun. 

Bake for 40 minutes - they are supposed to be rock hard as they are doggy treats.

They can be stored out for 6 days, in the fridge for 3 weeks, or in the freezer for 6 months. 

I decided to put mine in a little treat bag! Which brings us to the second part of my doggy gifts idea day! :) 

Recipe: 

Machines: Cricut Expression™, Cuttlebug™, Gypsy™

Cartridges: Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More™, Gypsy Wanderings™

Embossing Folder: A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™

Adhesive: Glue Arts Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac™, Martha Stewart Gel Adhesive™

Paper: Martha Stewart Winter Wonderland™

I cut the treat bag from Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More™, but I added a square from the Gypsy Wanderings™ cartridge to the front of the Bag and welded it to create the square window. Then I made a slightly bigger square and put it on a new layer which I cut out of acetate and embossed with the Snowflakes Emboss Folder™ and adhered it to the inside.

Next up we have a Doggy Placemat

I made one of these before. You can see it on my blog HERE. I liked it so much that I thought I would make her one for Christmas. Plus, it's just added Christmas decoration! You could personalize these and give them to your puppy's FFF (Furry Friends Forever).

This is so simple it's almost embarrassing. :) 

Recipe:

Machines: Your Story™, Gypsy™
Cartridge: Cake Basics™

Paper: Martha Stewart Scandinavian™

Instructions:

I used the Cake Basics Cartridge to cut out an 8.5x11" Doily using my Gypsy to make it the perfect size. 

I then ran the cut card stock through the Your Story Laminator™. 

That's it! 

Lastly, I re-purposed a mug that I found at Michael's for $1. I am going to get another one so that it can say "milk". Here is the before picture:

Recipe: 

EAD Designs Vinyl Sheets in Olive and White™

EAD Designs Christmas Sentiments 2 Rub-ons in Dark Red™

Instructions:

Cut a 2"x12" strip of olive vinyl using a paper cutter

Cut a 1" strip of white vinyl using a paper cutter

Cut out the "Cookies" sentiment and rub it on. :) 

Spoon was compensated for her time as a model with the peanut butter treats described above. :)

I hope this inspires you to make homemade Christmas presents for your fuzzy friends or fur babies or FFF (Furry Friends Forever)!

Blog Hop - 2nd post of the day!

*****Scroll down for my Honey Bee post feature Fred She Said*****

I received an invitation from the fabulous Jen to be a part of  December 1st blog hop! I was delighted!

The theme is Christmas Cards so hopefully this will get your juices flowing.

If you just got here you need to start back at Jen's blog because there is blog candy to be found along the way! 

I have linked up the products I used for your shopping convenience and if you haven't checked out Pumpkin Spice - online retail store - then you should because her prices are fabulous and her shipping rates are the lowest I have seen - which is why I buy things there :) What can I say? I'm a girl who likes to think she is smart with her money. 

Recipe:

Cartridge: Winter Woodland™
Embossing: Snowflakes Emboss Folder™
Paper: My Mind's Eye: I Believe "Candy Cane Stripes"™(red top and hat/scarf accents),  "Wreaths" ™(blue bottom), and "Trees"™ (polka dot hat/scarf)
My Pink Stamper: Winter Punnies™
Versamark™ Ink
a la Mode™ black embossing powder
Black bling from Hero Arts self adhesive gems (small) and Want2Scrap Black Rhinestones™(large)
EK Success Heat Gun

Hopefully you got here from Norma's blog. I am the last spot on the hop! :)

Just in case you got lost here is a list of the blog hop participants:

Jen jennyscards.blogspot.com

Carol carolssweetcreations.blogspot.com

Momo madebymomo.blogspot.com

Nicole http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com//

Karey www.creativecraftcorner.com

Karen thebusybug.blogspot.com

Saundra luvscrappingtogether.blogspot.com

Celeste ccscards.blogspot.com

Jeanine scrappinwithjc.blogspot.com

Roma romascards.blogspot.com

Norma http://pinkblingcrafter.blogspot.com 

Me! Court from CourtsCrafts.blogspot.com

I hope you enjoyed my inspiration. Make sure to scroll down to see my Honey Bee post and if you like what I create, I would love it if you would become a follower, but it is definitely not required for the blog candy!  

What is the blog candy, you ask??? 

How about My Pink Stamper's Winter Punnies and a Houndstooth Embossing folder? 

My blog candy is open to US residents only unless the international winner wants to pay the shipping in which case I will send them a PayPal bill for the shipping. Sorry, but I bought these for you so it gets a little expensive to ship them internationally. :(

I will draw a random winner on Friday the 3rd, so make sure to get your comments in! :) The winner will have one week to claim their prize. 

Come back on December 4th for another blog hop that My Pink Stamper is sponsoring! :) I may or may not be giving away a Cricut Cartridge and some sponsored goodness from EAD Designs..

I also decided to enter this into Wee Memories Challenge #33: Use ribbon! :) 

Imaginisce Sketch Challenge

I had a really tough time getting pictures of these as it has been raining for days. So the colors look washed out to me. :( They will have to do though! 

You all know I don't normally do layouts, but I was making this for another thing... and didn't like how this came out compared to what I was going for. It's so busy. It didn't have to be. Some of the other ladies made it much simpler, but of course I went over the top. Anyway, it's for the Imaginisce Sketch Challenge. I did more work than I would like to admit on this for 2 days. There is a lot of detail once you start to look at it. Okay, enough talking, here it is:

Recipe:
Paper: Imaginisce Cottage Christmas™ line - everything but the white paper which is Bazzill Diamond White card stock
Ribbon: Imaginisce Cottage Christmas™
Chipboard: Imaginisce Cottage Christmas™
Snow Flowers: Jolly™
i-rock and hot rocks - Crystal™
Rub-ons (title): Imaginisce Cottage Christmas Season's Greeting Rub-on words™
Cartridge: Cake Basics™
Embossing: Snowflakes™, D'vine Swirls™
Glitter Glue: Studio G™
Button Twine: Paper Trey Ink™

It was based on this sketch by Melinda Spinks:

I'm not ready to show it just yet, but here is a sneak peak of the layout that I decided to go with instead. They asked that it be very "me" and the one I decided on is much more "me" :)

Snowflake Ornament

I made this ornament for a Cricut Circle challenge. I am really excited about how it came out! :) I hope you like it too an can't wait to put it on a Christmas tree this year. :)

What is exciting is that while I purchased the Christmas Solutions cart because I LOVE it, it is now a promotional instant download if you have a Gypsy! It just comes with it after you register and update it! I'm not sure how long it will be available, but you don't even have to buy this cart if you have a Gypsy! How cool is that! 

I haven't been able to update yet as I have a Mac. Soon, hopefully as I can't wait to download Smiley Cards and Tags, Bags, Boxes and More as well as Indie Art! :) 

Anyway, here is the project! :)

Recipe:
Cartridge: Christmas Solutions™
Embossing: A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™
Paper: My Mind's Eye: I Believe Collection™: "Trees" and  "Candy Cane Stripes", and DCWV Glitter Paper
Ribbon: Paper Trey Ink Pure Poppy Saddle Stitch™
Crop-a-Dile™
Glitter Glue: Studio G
Brads: My Mind's Eye: Lost and Found: Union Square Brads™
Adhesive: Glue Arts Perma Tac™ and Martha Stewart Gel Adhesive™

Instructions:
For the Christmas bulb:
Cut the blackout, base, and shift buttons and then flip them and cut them again all at 4.5". Each layer should be cut out of different card stock.
Emboss the blackout layer with the Snowflakes Emboss Folder™
Adhere all layers together.
Punch hole in top using Crop-a-dile™and add eyelet

For the Snowflake:
Cut the blackout and base layers at 3 inches.
Use Studio G red glitter glue to dot on all the polka dots on the pattern paper.
Punch small holes in the middle of the snowflake.
Put brads through on both sides.
Adhere all layers together.

Tie the snowflake to the Christmas bulb using the Paper Trey Ink ribbon!
Hang it on the tree! :)

This qualifies for Cricut Cardz Challenge of "use something with an 's' " - snowflake! :)
This also qualifies for Wee Memories Challenge #29 "Anything Goes"! :)

Cuttin' Up Saturday Christmas Multiples!

Please scroll down for my earlier post and the Halloween Blog Hop! 

Jolly good morning to you on this fine Saturday morning!

This week at the Cuttlebug Challenges we are showing you just how easy it is to make multiples of cards. Since it is National Card Making Day (or is it world card making day?) - a day to celebrate making cards for one another, crafting, and getting ahead on those Christmas cards, I have decided to make Christmas cards.

Recipe:

Cartridge: Christmas Solutions (Noel)™, Sentimentals™

Embossing: 5x7 Holly Ribbons Emboss Folder™, A2 Winter Borders Emboss Folder™, A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™

Paper: Echo Park Merry Christmas™, Bazzill™ (diamond white) 

Stamps: My Pink Stamper: Winter Punnies™

Pixie Glitter

Adhesive: Glue Glider Pro Perma-Tac™

Glossy Accents™

Crop-a-dile™

Ribbon

Instructions: 

1. I put all the Christmas trees, their layers, and their shadows on three different "layers" on my Gypsy. All cuts were from Christmas Solutions (Noel)™cartridge. I turned them around to fit as many on a sheet as possible. They were cut at 4.5". 

I took one off while it was cutting so that I could make sure it would come out okay. So I glued the green top to the white bottom and laid it on the top so you could see what it would look like. 

2. The next day I decided to add a maroon shadow to give it some more pop. 

3. I used Glossy Accents on the white part of the tree and then poured Pixie Sparkle over it. I let it dry overnight.

4. I cut out the tags from Sentimentals™and inked them with red ink around the edges.

5. I used my Crop-a-dile™ to punch holes and add eyelets to the tags.

6. I stamped the tags with a sentiment from My Pink Stamper: Winter Punnies™

7. I ran the tags through the Cuttlebug™ with the Snowflakes A2 Winter Borders Emboss Folder™

8. I ran the Echo Park Merry Christmas™ paper through the Cuttlebug™ with the 5x7 Holly Ribbons Emboss Folder™ and on the red and white striped versions, the A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™.

9. I adhered the ribbon and all layers using my Glue Glider Pro™ 

10. I pop dotted the Christmas tree and the tag after tying a ribbon around the tag.

11. I put it on the blog to share it with you! If you click on the picture below it will get bigger and you can see the detail. 

Don't forget to stop by the Cuttlebug Challenges and leave comments every day and become a follower because there are two cartridges up for grabs - Winter Frolic™ and Home Decor™.

Keep scrolling own for my Halloween Blog Hop where you can win an October 31st™ cart, My Pink Stamper™ Stamps, Cuttlebug™ folders, and EAD Designs™ stickerz!

Christmas Around the Clock 15-20

Here we go! On the home stretch during the Cuttlebug Challenge's Christmas Around the Clock!

Challenge #15- CD case project
I have definitely never done anything like this! This was so strange and yet so interesting. The picture doesn't fit because I needed it for my layout too and didn't want to cut it. So this is a placeholder!


Recipe:
Embossing: A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™
Cartridges: Designer's Calendar™, Tie the Knot™, Sweethearts™

Challenge #16 - Layout with at least two things embossed - one has to be a punch
My first layout! I think it came out pretty good!

Recipe:
Cartridges: Tie the Knot™, Graphically Speaking™
Embossing: A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™, A2 Swiss Dots Emboss Folder™
Embellishments: From Aubrey! :) (Thanks girl!)

Challenge #17 - Noel Card
I tried this card probably 5 different ways and tried to put the N-O-E-L in the corners and it just didn't look as good as theirs did so I finally welded it on the Gypsy™ and was happy with the result (finally!).

Recipe:
Cartridges: Elegant Cakes™ (font), Tie the Knot™ (welded card)
Embossing: Love is in the Air set™
Paper: Cosmo Cricut™ Breezy Freezy
Ribbon

Challenge #18 - Santa Soup

Recipe:
Cartridge: Designer's Calendar™
Embossing: Swiss Dots™
Ribbon
Hero Arts™ adhesive pearls


Challenge #19 - Cover your favorite candy bar
Well, my favorite candy is Haribo™ gummy bears, but I didn't cover them because currently I have about a 5 lb. bag that my best friends gave me to make fun of me so it would have taken about 4 12x12" sheets of card stock and would have looked horrible when I was done. So I covered a Hershey's bar instead.

Recipe:
Cartridge: Sweethearts™ (tag)
Embossing: Organic Border Emboss Folders™

Challenge #20 - Jewelry out of embossed art metal
Oh dear! It appears I am certainly not a jewelry maker! I made this sad necklace out of art metal and ribbon. ... Don't judge me too severely! ;)


Recipe:
Embossing: Love is in the Air™
Crop-a-dile for holes
Ribbon

Christmas Around the Clock Challenges 7-10

Still over at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blogspot making Christmas in July a reality!

Challenge # 7 - "Create a lot" - create 3 cards with the same pattern so that they're quickly manufactured with embossing.

Recipe:
Left card
Embossing: A2 Snowflakes Emboss Folder™
Cartridge: Storybook™
Ribbon
Middle card
Embossing: A2 Swiss Dots Emboss Folder™
Embellishments: Adhesive Pearls from Hero Arts™, Flower punch
Ribbon
Right card
Embossing: A2 Leafy Branche Emboss Folder™
Cartridge: Storybook™
Ribbon

Challenge #8 - Resist Christmas (I think she meant resist Christmas colors so this is what I did)


Recipe:
Cartridge: Wild Card™ (it is the envelope for the house cut and then I just cut off the two flaps top and bottom to make it a tri fold card
Embossing: A2 Forest Branches Emboss Folder™
Wreath: made from a flower punch and buttons
Door lines were colored with Copic™ markers

I liked the idea of this card. I'm still not positive I love the execution, but I will be improving on it for sure.

Challenge #9 - Incorporate Snowmen into a home decor project.
Well, those that know me from the beginning know that one of my first posts was making this tree into an Easter egg tree. I've decorated this tree with Christmas ornaments during the holidays and now it will have little snowmen on it! These are the first three I made. I used the Gypsy to mold and weld three circles together to make a snowman as I didn't have a snowman cut.



Blue Snowman:
Embossing: Snowflakes™
Pixie sparkle
Sharpie™
Buttons
Yarn
Red Snowman:
Embossing: D'Vine Swirls™
Pixie sparkle
Sharpie™
Buttons
Yarn
Green Snowman:
Embossing: Swiss Dots™
Pixie sparkle
Sharpie™
Buttons
Yarn

Challenge #10 - White and one other color card - add sparkle

Cartridge: Wild Card™
I used my Gypsy™ to hide the features on one of the ornaments to make a shadow
Paper: Bo Bunny™ 12" St Nick Sleigh
Emboss: Forest Branches™
Added adhesive to the shiny spot and added Pixie Sparkle
Ribbon

Whew! Done with that post. But you see what I mean that grouping them together is hopefully better than separating them. You let me know because there are 14 more to go!

Court