Crafty Lizzie: Catching Up Before the Calendar Flips

Greetings, friends. Wow, 2016 has been a doozie of a year, hasn't it? "Don't get me started. Don't even get me started!"

I have crafted a bit this fall. I thought I'd share those creations, though admittedly the photos I took are by and large just awful. Bad light, etc. But, in the spirit of getting things done and moving on, here we go.

In late September I invited some of my friends from my kids' school (daycare) to come over for an evening of crafting. I like to make cards for the teachers, kids, and other families. I wanted to show them how easy (and therapeutic!) paper crafting could be. I designed some simple cards for everyone to try. We had a lot of fun!

This first design was so super simple! I stamped the image, by Savvy Stamps, in Memento Tuxedo Black ink right onto the card base (from A Muse Artstamps). Then on a separate piece of paper I stamped just the hat in Memento Tangelo, cut it out, and glued it in place. I stamped the sentiment, a classic A Muse Artstamps design, in Tuxedo Black. I colored the elephant with a couple of Copic markers and tied some A Muse Artstamps ribbon around the side. Done!

Next up was this adorable design, using an image and a sentiment from Rubber Soul. Ribbon and papers are from A Muse Studio. I used a Copic BG10 marker to give the sheep a little dimension and then used a Quickie Glue Pen and white flock to make the sheep all fuzzy. I used a couple of old Marvy punches to cut out the scalloped ovals.

This next design was definitely a rehash of something I had done years ago, back when I was teaching classes. Papers and stamps (image and sentiment) are from A Muse Artstamps. Oval punches are Marvy; word window punch is Stampin' Up! I stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with Copic markers. A couple of black brads and a length of orange hemp ribbon completed the design.

For this design I used images from Lawn Fawn's set, Winter Sparrows. I stamped with Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, and Bamboo Leaves. Papers are from A Muse Studio. Some Copic markers, and some carefully-applied Stickles, completed the design.

Separate from that girls' crafting night, I realized that I was very low on anniversary cards -- and I really like to send anniversary cards to our closest friends. With little time I came up with this design, which I almost loved... but did not quite. I think, honestly, that this design would have looked better on a smaller card. Well, maybe at some point I'll reboot it and play with the dimensions. These images are from the Avery Elle set, We Go Together. I stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and added some color with Copic markers. I also dotted on some Liquid Pearls to mimic chocolate chips in the cookie.

And finally, here is a card I designed for my work colleagues. White paper is Neenah; kraft is Paper Source. All images are from the Stampin' Up! set, Visions of Santa. I stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and then paper pieced the moose's long johns using vintage Christmas papers from Stampin' Up! It was a tedious labor of love but it paid off with some very cute cards.