Photo - Muttart Conservatory

I took my last trip to the Muttart Conservatory for 2011.  It was set up for the Snow Queen with blue glittered poinsettias in the feature pavilion. It was pretty quiet so an excellent opportunity to wander with out too much distraction. The number of orchids was super.  I got several really great shots.  I've put together a collage of images.  The dusty plum poinsettias were really nice.  The snowflake was on some silver giftwrapped boxes in the sleigh but with reflections it looked blue.  The top pic is some fuzzy looking leaves in macro.  The pics on the right is are orchids I think.  A couple of good hours just shooting pics, enjoying the temperatures of the pavilions and relaxing a little bit.

2012 Christmas Card Challenge

Let's have a little fun this year. The objective of the challenge is to get your Christmas cards made throughout the year. The themes are meant to be inspirational and broad enough to allow a lot of creative expression.

I will be posting my cards the first of the month along with suggestions and encouragement to participate in the challenge.  Join as many months as you want.

If you participate, please add a comment to the post for the month you are joining including a link to your card so others can be inspired. I'm looking forward to seeing your creations. Become a follower of my blog if you want to be notified of my postings.

Here's my list of themes with a few ideas next to each of them:

January - Color - White/Turquoise/Chocolate

February - Accents - Textiles - Ribbon (silk, satin, gross grain, seam binding, organza), fabric, cording, felt, yarn, fiber, lace, silk flowers

March - Focus - Star - Bethlehem, one, many, night sky, layered, 6 point, 5 point, primitive, die cut, stamped

April - Color - Grape/Sage/Mustard

May - Accents - Metal - Pins, clips, buckles, die cut, embossed, buttons, charms

June - Focus - Trees - Pine, bare, cluster, decorated, folded, triangular, Christmas, die cut, stamped, painted, embossed

July - Color- Ivory/Brown/Gold

August - Accents - Tags - Circle, pointed, crescent, scallop, large, tiny, stamped, square, oval, shaped

September - Focus - Words - Noel, Joy, Peace, Hope, MC, Rejoice, stamped, die cut

October - Color - Navy/Red/Silver

November - Accents - Ornaments - Fat, short, tall, slim, round, elliptical, die cut, stamped

December - Focus - Reason for the Season - Nativity, manger, wisemen, star, shepherds, angels, holy family, baby Jesus, Bethlehem, church, sheep, stable

Ornament - Baby's 1st Christmas

This is the ornament for the baby boy as he celebrates his first Christmas.  I found the elephant on line and added the words.  I printed it on vellum and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I cut the vellum with my Sizzix circle die. I rolled up the vellum circle and put it through the hole or the ornament and used a bamboo skewer to unroll it.  Since it was a round ornament I had to fill the space behind the vellum so I used soft white cotton balls which helps to keep the vellum circle front and center and goes with the baby theme.  I put the hanger back in ensuring the prongs went behind the vellum.

Card - Baby Boy

This is a digital version of the card I made for this new baby boy because I forgot to scan the card I made.  I can't believe it but I was fighting a deadline! 

I started with a light turquoise card folded at the top.  I found the graphic on-line. I color printed a the hippo, the sentiment and a background on vellum and embossed it in clear powder.  I mounted the vellum to the card with tiny white brads in each corner.  I added Congratulations to the parents on the inside.

Merry Christmas to all of you!  I hope you have a great day with family and friends.  Enjoy good food, the great weather, and take a walk.
This nativity is part of a larger fabric Advent Calendar my sister made for me last year! It was good to count down by adding another figure each day.  The angels, the star, sheep, shepherds, the stable animals, the wisemen, the camels, and finally Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.  The panel was designed by Nancy Halvorsen.

Christmas Wreath

I made myself a new wreath for my office door.  The one have been using is years old and the color scheme came from the eighties.  With all the Christmas stuff on sale at Michaels I managed to get all the stuff on 70% off.  Yahoo!  The pinecones go well with the color of the door and I added a bit of silver accents. I'm considering it a work in progress and may improve it next year when it comes out of the box.

2012 Photo Calendar

I've created a new calendar of flower photos again this year.  I changed the format to 5.5" x 8.5" which allows me to use photos in the landscape orientation. I chose flowers again this year because that was quick and easy.  I selected some black and white graphics for backgrounds and placed the photo in the middle of the background. I produced the calendar part in Publisher.  I printed the covers on card stock and the pages on 28 lb paper. I placed a small hole at the top below the binding with my Cropadile. I used Bind It All coil in my Zutter machine to bind the top.  I'm happy with the results.

Calendar - Round Coaster

I made this calendar for a friend.   I used some retired Stampin Up! Designer Paper which I glued to the round coaster and pressed.  Once completely dry I trimmed the paper to the edge with scissors and sanded the edge smooth.  I produced the calendar on a single sheet and trimmed it down into 12 small sheets.  I stamped the greeting in Brilliant Blue with a clear stamp. I added the white flowers with a large blue brad in the center.  The flower element is attached with 3D foam tape. I added sheet magnet to the back.

Retirement - Canoe

I made this card for guy who is retiring.  Lucky guy! He likes to canoe so he likely will do more of it during the summers than he has so far. 
I started with a navy card and added a textured light blue paper for the sky.  I added the tree next which is a Sizzix die. I added the medium blue below for the water.  I cut the canoe with my Cricut with the "Just Because" Card cartridge.  This cartridge has good layers so I was able to cut the pieces in separate colors and assemble the element.  I added some ripped clouds and a punch circle sun in the sky!

Table Centre Pieces - Gold/Red Boxes

I created these boxes as center pieces for our Women's Christmas Party today.  With the napkins in hand I headed out to find something that would match. I found the gift wrap and ribbon at Michael's.  It's gold foil with a subtle snowflake pattern in it.  The ribbon was a good color match as well.  I wanted a consistent look I purchased the boxes at Creative Packaging. The boxes will be on each table then given away at the end of the evening.  They contain really nice candle holders.

Card - Card Club Sample

This card was a early sample of my Card Club.  I started with a white card and added a nice blue textured layer.  The snowman was cut with a Sizzix die.  I cut the arms with my Cricut and the Straight from the Nest cartridge.  Markers helped with the eyes, mouth, nose and coal buttons on his belly.  I added a small punched red heart and small yellow star hanging from his stick hand.  I cut Joy with the Tim Holtz mover and shaper.  I placed clear packing tape behind the hole and filled it with Ultra Fine Halo Glitter that I have owned for YEARS!  I really love this snowman.

Gift - Card Box

I made this card box for a friend who makes cards with me every month who has a birthday this day.  I wrapped the metal tin with 2 pieces of 12" scrapbook paper and adhered it with double sided paper.  I cut the letters with my Cricut Lyrical Letters cartridge from lavendar paper and then smudged the edges with ink and chalked the centers.  I glued the letters in place with liquid quick dry adhesive. I added the gross grain ribbon along the top of the ribbon adhered with double sided tape.  I created an accent with a silver Prima Flower, a blue purple silk flower on a large white brad.  This was then adhered to the box with double sided paper.  I added a purple organza ribbon to the handle. I added some cards to the tin and it's ready to go!

Card - Wedding Double Ring Pattern

I created this card as a wedding card.  I started with a navy card and selected a designer paper that would coordinate with it.  I then found the moss green paper to match. I cut the Sizzix Lattice Die from the green.  This was then adhered to the piece of designer paper and I trimmed around the outside edge.  I saved the elliptical shapes from the lattice die as they coordinate perfectly on the Five Petal Punch from Stampin UP!.  I glued the lattice die element which reminds me a lot of the double wedding ring pattern for quilts on the top part of the card. I placed a strip of moss green below.  The leftovers from the die were glued over the flower petals of the punch and the element was held in place with a large ivory brad.

Card - Christmas Eve

I created this card by first selecting a church scene.  I'm sure it's Christmas Eve with folks headed to church. The image was cropped into an oval to which I added a shadow.  I adjusted the colors of the image so that I had a cool image and another which was warmer. The card was color printed and I added a MS snowflake in white topped with a fabric snowflake held in place with tiny white brad.

Card - Joy to the World

I designed this card with just words in different fonts and colors.  I placed them on an oval filled with a green gradient fill.  The added embellishment is confetti daisies in green and red which looks like a poinsettia.  These are held in place with a white tiny brad. 

Card - Watercolor Ornaments

These cards are mostly color printed then I add some additional elements. I drew the ornament myself then filled it with my own watercolors scans. This gives me the ability to make them in a full range of colors. The evergreen branch was created from a photo I took this summer.  I added a string with a knot.  Top Left: I selected a true blue card stock that worked with the color of the ornament.  I cut 2 Sizzix stars, one from the blue and then one from silver glitter paper.  I added a greeting in a matching color.  I used liquid glue to adhere the stars. This one is cooler in tone. Bottom Right: This one is warmer in tone so I used a turquoise card stock for the star with a teal glitter paper.

R2G Card Kit - Prima Flower

I created these card kits with Prima Flowers.  Some were the paper ones in the white, peach, pink colors and these metallic ones.  I started with a pink card and added this great polka dots designer paper.   I decided to make the stem and the brad in the centre of the flowers black to provide some connection between elements. This would allow me to change the rest of the elements (card and flowers) as I needed to. I created the stem with my Cricut and the Straight from the Nest cartridge. I glued the stem before I added 2 more layers of silk flowers and held everything in place with a regular brad.  Makes great cards for little girls.

Cmas Card Challenge - December - Metallics

Metallics are a natural for Christmas cards. I used silver, white pearl and gold for the metallics on this card. I cut the words with the Sizzix "Join the Cheer" sizzlet strip. The ornament is on the strip as well. It was tedious cutting all the small pieces but I'm really happy the results. I wanted to hang the ornament and tried quite a few options before I chose this silver thread. I glued the words and the ornament onto a black layer that was embossed with the Swiss Dots folder. This was mounted onto a white card.