A Gift Card Holder, A Couple of Carolers and One Heck of A Challenge!!

Happy Thursday everyone! Just one more day until the weekend starts!!

Today has been beautiful but freezing!!! Brrrrr! It looked so warm before I went outside to take my pictures, but after only 5 minutes I had to come in and warm up my hands. I even had my big puffy coat on!! I couldn't believe it. I think it only got up to 30 degrees today.

Jason wants me to take Izzy to get a flu shot asap, so I am trying to track down a place that will give them to her. Our regular doctor's office is all booked up and the urgent care place isn't sure they will have any left tomorrow. I am going to call a pediatric after hours center soon to see if they have any left. I don't know how I feel about the flu shot. I have received them in the past and then actually gotten sick from them. But Jason is really concerned so I will do it to ease his mind, if I can ever track a place down. Lol!

Well Izzy hasn't gone in the potty today. She has practiced a lot, i.e. we have spent a ton of time in the bathroom, but I keep missing it. Poor baby. She really wants to do the right thing. She is such a good girl.

Jason is working from home tomorrow!!!!! Yeah!! I am so excited, that means I can go to Curves tomorrow instead of tonight and he will be here to help me with Izzy. I love it when he is around as does Izzy and Tuxy. I think they are even more excited than I am! Izzy is so cute when Jason is home, she sits on his lap and helps him program. Maybe she will be the next Microsoft genius!!!

How many of you were at the MFT party last night? It was super fun and the sets they released are amazing!!! I had so much fun and everyone is so sweet and supportive. I can't wait to get mine in the mail and start stamping! I am going to have a blast with them!

Well I have some fun cards in store for you today. My first card is actually a gift card holder. Last Friday's challenge in the Hanna Forum was to create a gift card holder. What a fab idea!! Who doesn't need gift card holders around Christmas time. While I was thinking about the Hanna sets I own that I could make a gift card holder out of, I started to think about how many people in my family love to cook. That then led to the idea of a cooking themed gift card holder and finally to this card.

I am really pleased with the way this turned out. I really wanted to use Kiss the Cook by Hanna Stamps for my card and I thought a card that was in the shape of a pot would be perfect!! I started this card off by creating a square gift card holder out of red card stock. I used the pop up gift card technique to assemble it. Using a bowl, I cut out the corners on the bottom. To create the lid, I used the same bowl to get the curved shape and attached it to the top. I then shaded in my lid and pot with my copics. For the handle on the top, I free handed a shape, cut it out of black card stock and attached it to the top. I then wrapped green stitched ribbon around the pot to make it look like a gift. I stamped and colored the girl from Kiss the Cook using white card stock, markers and copics. I cut her out and mounted her on a piece of green card stock that I popped off the holder. To finish the card, I printed off the sentiment using my computer, cut it out along with a piece of green and a piece of red card stock with my nesties and added a ribbon and button! Isn't it cute!!! Now all it needs is a gift certificate to finish it off!

My second card is a card for one of the ambassador challenges over at the MFT forum. The challenge was to create a card using at least three different kinds of ribbons. Now I love ribbon, but this was a little difficult for me. Luckily I found this great sketch over at Sketches! {by tamara} that seemed to shout, "use three ribbons on me". So of course I did! Lol!

Don't they look like they are caroling? I know snowmen don't usually carol, but these do!! Okay, so I started this card off by stamping A Scarf for Three by MFT Stamps on white card stock and coloring them in with my markers and copics. I cut them out and mounted them on green card stock. Following the sketch, I layered on green card stock, red card stock and two different kinds of Christmas DP. I wrapped the DP behind the image in white ribbon to give it the window appearance in the sketch. I then crisscrossed a green and red ribbon across the bottom and added an ornament charm with a metal swirl. To finish the card I added three green brads down the side. I really love this layout, it is so fun and funky.

Alright this last card is for the monster of all challenges. My friend Heather, who I love, issued this crazy challenge in the Pink Cat Studio forum over at PCP. I actually had to read through it five times and then print if off so that I could make sure I included all the elements. It is a 3 times 3, 6 by 6 and 1 of 3 challenge. You were required to make a 6 by 6 card using three items of three different elements, with one of the three color choices she listed. I incorporated today's Ways To Use it Challenge over at SCS which was to use envelopes in your creation. Here it is!!!

Here is a slightly higher version of the card so you can see the envelope better.

I did it, I did it and I really like it! So here goes the explanation. I made a 6 by 6 card with the Turquoise, Pink and Silver color combo. I used three brads, three stamps and three different kinds of DP. I even stamped an envelope to match! I started this card off by stamping the ice cream cone, banana split and sundae from Sweet Treats by Pink Cat Studio on a piece of white card stock and then colored them in with my markers and copics. (I was going to add liquid applique to the whipped cream but I forgot, oops!) I then mounted them on pink and silver/gray card stock. To make the back ground I layered, pink and silver/gray card stock with three different kinds of Christmas DP. I added a ribbon across the bottom and tied on strips of it to create a bow effect. I popped off all my images and added three turquoise brads in the corner. I printed off the sentiment on the computer and cut it out along with a piece of DP using my nesties and adhered it to the bow. For the coordinating envelope, I stamped two chocolate covered cherries in the right corner and small cherries down the side. I think it will make a nice thinking of you card for my sister who loves ice cream.

Well I am off to eat dinner! Have a great evening and thanks as always for stopping by!