My Handmade Creations for the SUper Friends "Yankee Swap"

Hi!  Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!  After sharing photos from the SUper Friends' Yankee Swap of handmade items, I thought it might be fun to show you the projects I made for the swap!  

I created two decor items for it.  The first was a piece of framed artwork:

I created the Northern Lights-like background on watercolor paper by dripping and spritzing ink refills onto the paper.  Then, I sprinkled salt onto the background to absorb some of the color.  After the ink was dry, I gently brushed away the salt.  The snowflakes are die cuts from the Seasonal Tag Framelits, which have carried over from the Holiday Catalog.  I cut them out of White Glimmer Paper, and added a Glitter Enamel Dot in the center.  The houses are cut with the Hometown Greetings Edgelits.  The "Joy to the World" and santa and sleigh images are from the coordinating Hearts Come Home Stamp set.  The trees in the background are from the now-retired Carols of Christmas bundle.  On the side of the "Joy to the World" banner is a tassel from the Mini Tassel Assortment (trimmed down a bit).   I sprinkled rhinestones on the background to look like sparkling stars.

I actually created another similar frame for a swap I did with my friend Marlene in December, and here is how the one I created for her turned out:

The second decor item I included in my package for the swap was this heart wreath, attached to a heart-shaped wood plaque:

The roses were made with the now retired Spiral Flower die, out of Very Vanilla, Rose Red, and Pink Pirouette card stock.  The leaves were made with the Festive Flower Builder Punch and Reason for the Season Stamp Set, with Always Artichoke paper and ink.  (If you'd like, you can see a Christmas wreath I made in this style here and another Valentine's wreath in this blog post).

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Fabulous Friends Friday: SUper Friends "Yankee" Gift Swap

Happy Friday!!!  For today's Fabulous Friends Friday, I have some more fun photos to share from this month's SUper Friends gathering.  In addition to our card swap, we also did a "Yankee Swap" of handmade gifts.  In this type of swap, everyone who brings a gift draws a number, and then opens a gift in order of number drawn . . . although instead of opening a gift, someone can choose to steal an already opened gift.  We put a two-steal limit on our swap, but the funny thing was that everyone was so happy with what they opened and anxious to see what the next gift would bring that no one ended up stealing!  

Here we all are before the Yankee gift swap, with all our wrapped presents in the center of the table:

And, here we are during the swap:

We had a fun variety of handmade gifts, including jewelry, stamped decor items, calendars, and food! 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Many Magical Mermaid Cards

Happy Tuesday!   Last week, I shared the swap card I created with the Magical Day Bundle for our January SUper Friends swap, but I actually created several different versions of it, and wanted to share those with you today!  The basic layout is the same for each of the cards, the difference is in the colors of the background papers I used.  Well, and using Brusho to create the background for the mermaid and her seahorse friends, meant that each card turned out a bit different, too!  

Here are the three different color variations I created:

Respectively, the paint crackle/ocean wave-looking background paper on each is Dapper Denim, Old Olive, and Berry Burst, from the Color Theory Designer Series Paper Pack.  The frame around the mermaid and friends artwork is either Lemon-Lime Twist or Dapper Denim from the Eastern Palace Specialty Designer Paper pack. And, the chevron strip behind that is a design from the Foil Frenzy Specialty Paper.  

Here's a close up of one of the Brusho backgrounds:

To create it, I started with a piece of Thick Whisper White cardstock, spritzed that, sprinkled on some Moss Green and Prussian Blue crystals, then spritzed again.  The mermaid and seahorses were colored with Stampin' Blends Markers.  I embellished the card with Brights Enamel Shapes (starfish in mermaid's hair and hearts on greeting), and the new Glitter and Clear Epoxy shapes (sparkles in the water).

I used leftover strips from the Color Theory Designer Series Paper Pack as well as some of the wonderful Myths & Magic Specialty Washi Tape to finish the inside of the card and the back flap of the envelope:

Which is your favorite color combination?

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Occasions and Sale-a-Bration Party Make and Take Sneak Peek #2

Hi!  I'm back with a sneak peek of the second project for tomorrow's Occasions and Sale-a-Bration Party!  For this one, we'll be making a love note (3 x 3" size) card in one of two designs, using the Party Pandas stamp set and Bubbles & Fizz Paper from Sale-a-Bration, as well as the new Tailored Tag punch:

For the birthday card sample, I had fun creating a little bow for my panda, using the Bermuda Bay Shimmer Ribbon from the Sale-a-Bration Shimmer Ribbon pack:

To add a special dimensional effect on the Valentine's sample, I used a heart from the Brights Enamel Shapes:

Which one do you like best?

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Fabulous Friends Friday: January SUper Friends' Swap

Happy Friday!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!  I have some fabulous artwork to share with you today from my SUper Friends (demonstrator group).  At our January gathering we had a swap of cards made with Occasions and Sale-a-Bration products.  We also did a Yankee swap with handmade goods . . . I'll try to share photos of that another day!  

Here is Agnes's beautiful card, which features the Amazing You stamp set and Celebrate You thinlits from Sale-a-Bration, in combination with the Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper and Layer Leaves Dynamic Embossing Folder:

Connie M.'s cheerful card is made with the Flying Home stamp set from the Occasions Catalog, and beautifully colored with the Stampin' Blends.  She also used the new Tutti-frutti adhesive backed sequins, and one of my favorite ribbons -- the 1/4" Ombre Ribbon in Lemon Lime Twist:

Connie S. created this wonderful twisted easel card with a mini calendar, which shows off a couple patterns from the Petal Passion Designer Series Paper, available in the Occasions Catalog:

For her stunning card, Jana chose to feature the Lots of Lavender Stamp Set from Sale-a-Bration, along with the Celebrate You thinlits, with the "amazing" die cut from Silver Glimmer Paper:

 Judy-Ann's awesome card shows off a brilliant combination of the Epic Celebrations stamp set and Bubbles and Fizz Designer Paper, both from Sale-a-Bration, plus the new Scattered Sequins Dynamic Embossing Folder, from the Occasions Catalog:

Margery created her adorably fun and festive card by combining the Party Pandas stamp set (which includes the confetti stamp Margery used to make her colorful background!) and Celebrate You thinlits from Sale-a-Bration with the new Scattered Sequins Dynamic Embossing Folder, from the Occasions Catalog:

Nancy's sparkly creation features the Celebrate You thinlits from Sale-a-Bration, cut multiple times with different shades of blue, and assembled to create this wonderful ombre look:

For my card, I decided to use Brusho Crystal Color to create a water-like background for a mermaid and her seahorse friends from the Magical Day Bundle in the Occasions Catalog.  The designer paper in the background is from the Color Theory, Eastern Specialty, and Foil Frenzy packs:

Whew!  Thanks so much to the SUper Friends for these amazing cards!  Hope you enjoyed seeing all of those, and they inspire you to make some of your own creations with the great new Sale-a-Bration and Occasions products!! 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Occasions and Sale-a-Bration Party Make and Takes Sneak Peek #1

Hi!  Happy New Year!  Wow!  I didn't realize I'd taken such a long break from blogging!  Sorry about that!  Have lots of projects to share with you, so hopefully can get back into a regular blogging routine again!  Thanks for your patience with me!!

Today I am excited to share with you one of the projects I have planned for my Occasions and Sale-a-Bration party this Sunday!  I hope if you are in the area, you'll come join me (you can find out more information about it here or on Facebook here).

This one combines the Heart Happiness and Petal Palette stamp sets with the Painted with Love Specialty Designer Paper, all from the Occasions Catalog:

While I made this sample a "Thank You," I think this could just as easily be a Valentine, anniversary or birthday card!  What do you think?

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Michelle