Thursday, December 31, 2015

Thank You Card



Now that Christmas is over, it's time to send out the thank you cards. Today I am sharing a cute 5 by 7 inch thank you card made with "CK Smore Snow Cutie" from KaDoodle Bug Designs.



The snowflake frame is from Bird's Cards. The bottom layer is cut from teal glitter cardstock and the top layer is aqua glitter cardstock. The "Thanks" and snowflakes are from Cricut Design Space and are also cut from the same colors of glitter cardstock as the frame.

The base of the card, the snowman and the marshmallow are made with glossy white cardstock. The chocolate is brown glossy cardstock. The clothes are purple glitter cardstock with aqua trim. The rest of the snowman is made using cardstock scraps.

The title, snowman and snowflakes are attached with pop dots to give the card dimension. Little crystals in aqua and purple were added to the snowflakes. As a final touch I made a bow from aqua and purple tulle strips that were approximately 1 inch by 12 inches. The bow was attached to the upper left corner of the card with glue dots. 

Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year!

Monday, December 28, 2015

Tis the Season to be Freezin'







Today I am sharing a cute little nine inch wreath for winter.

Materials
9 inch blue and silver tinsel and snowflake wreath (I got mine from the Dollar Store)
"Tis the Season to be Freezin'" pattern from KaDoodleBug Designs
Black velveteen paper
Glitter paper in white and light blue
Silver metallic cardstock
Pink print and blue print cardstock
Plain cardstock in white, orange, pink and black
3-1 inch snowflake charms
2-1/2 inch snowflake charms
hot glue gun, glue
2-Light blue tulle, 4 inches by 18

Make your paper piecings using black velveteen paper for the penguin bodies and white glitter paper for their bellies, then use the other colors as shown. The bottom penguin is 3 1/2 inches and the side penguin is 4 inches. The title is made 4 inches tall; the bottom layer is black cardstock, the middle layer is silver metallic and the top layer is light blue glitter paper.





Using 2 strips of 4 inch by 18 inch tulle, make a bow for the top of the wreath. Using hot glue attach a 1 inch snowflake charm to the center of the bow. Attach the bow to the top of the wreath.

Attach the paper piecings evenly spaced round the wreath using hot glue. Add the snowflake charms between the paper piecings.

Enjoy your cute little winter wreath! ~ Shirley

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?






This has been an unusual winter here in the U.P. of Michigan. Here it is a week before Christmas and we have no snow! I'm sure we will eventually be blasted with the white stuff, and then it will be snowman making time! I love these Whimsical Inklings files available from KaDoodle Bug Designs. For my layout I used:

Snow Reindeer
Reindeer Building Snowman
Winter Reindeer Peeker
Snow Friends





All the printed papers are from Cricut Imagine cartridges. Yes, I have an Imagine machine that still works! The paper piecings range in size from 4 1/4 to 5 inches. The top border is from Christmas Borders by Little Scraps of Heaven Designs. I made my title with my explore using Pooh Font. I added some extra snowflakes and touches of glitter glue to the white areas.



 The mats were made by placing two 4 1/2 inch squares on a 12 by 12 area of my explore mat, spaced as I would want them on my layout. I added three one inch snowflakes so they slightly overlap each other and the squares. I then welded them together and duplicated them for the second page. I added a blue snowflake print mat onto a slightly larger dark aqua mat. I added a one inch wavy border mounted on dark pink cardstock and trimmed with a wavy decorative scissor, to each mat. Then I added some 1/2 inch sheer blue ribbon to each mat, and added a snowflake to the center.



Thanks for stopping by and Merry Christmas! ~ Shirley


Friday, December 11, 2015

Christmas Candy Polar Bears Wreath





Today I am sharing this cute evergreen wreath using a brand new file from KaDoodle Bug Designs, "Christmas Candy Polar Bears. 

Materials

15 inch artificial evergreen wreath
Silk poinsettias 1 large, one small
various pinecones and artificial evergreen sprigs
White poster board 12 x 12 inches
white fleece
glitter paper in green, red, dark red and white
White cardstock and scraps in black and gray
Hot glue, glue, foam tape 
Wire (optional)

Using the poinsettias, evergreen sprigs and pinecones, decorate your evergreen wreath by clustering the poinsettias together near the top and slightly to the left. Scatter the other decorations evenly around the wreath. These can be wired in place or secured with hot glue.





Cut the base layer for the three polar bears out of poster board for stability.  Cut the pieces for the polar bear bodies from plain white cardstock, and trace these pieces onto the fleece, then cut the pieces out by hand. The standing bear is 6 inches, the candy bear is 5 3/4 inches and the lollipop bear is 5 inches. Everything else is cut from glitter paper except the inner ears, bottom of the feet,the nose and the  (These are cut from cardstock scraps in black and gray.) Ink the edges of the bears with gray, then brush the bears from the center out to get the fuzzy look. (I use a tooth brush.) Put everything together using lots of glue and foam tape. Space your finished bears evenly around the wreath and secure with hot glue. scatter the extra candy pieces between the bears. You now have a cute Christmas Candy Polar Bears wreath to hang and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! ~ Shirley

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Christmas Night Penguin Step Easel Card





Today I am posting on the KaDoodle Bug Designs blog. If you would like the details of my Christmas step easel card and the design space file for the card base, check it out here: http://kadoodlebugdesigns.blogspot.com/

Have a great day! ~ Shirley


Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Unwrap the Spirit Easel Card



Today I am sharing a cute little Christmas easel card.



The pattern for the easel card and the snowflakes are from Bird's Cards. The card is made at 5 1/4 inches.


I used Cutie KaToodles Mrs. Claus Bear from KaDoodle Bug Designs, cut at 3 1/2 inches. I added a Christmas bow,  a poinsettia, three large snowflakes (cut from glitter paper), 10 small snowflakes (using a punch) and lots of bling. 


Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Merry Christmouse Layout




     Today I am sharing a two page Christmas layout using the KaDoodleBug Designs file, " CK Santa's Little Helper."






MATERIALS

"CK Santa's Little Helper" file from KBD
Font from Carousel from Cricut 
2 sheets" Merry & Bright" cardstock from We R Memory Keepers
1 sheet" Tiny Polka Lime" from The Paper Studio
1 sheet" Holly" by Taylor for Daisyd's
1 sheet green checked paper ( source unknown)
1 sheet tan Xmas print paper (source unknown)
Cardstock in red, bright green, olive green, white, black, gray, light gray, pink and yellow.
Jewels and gems. ( I used several different shapes and sizes and colors)
Paper flowers in red and bright green 1/2 inch and 1 1/2 inch

DIRECTIONS

I used the" Merry & Bright" cardstock as the background for my layout. I added the other elements from left to right in these measurements: ( cut two of each)
green checked - 2 inches x 12 inches
olive green strip - 1/2 inch x 12 inches
red "Holly" - 2 1/2 inches x 12 inches
"Tiny Polka Lime" - 6 inches x 11 inches
tan Xmas print mats - 6 inches x 8 1/2 inches
red cardstock mats 5 inches x 7 1/2 inches
white strips 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 - 2 inches  

Put the background together as shown, reversing the order for the second page.  The large mice are made at about 4 1/2 inches tall. The small mouse is 3 inches tall. I also made an extra candy cane and present. The letters are 1 1/2 inches tall and cut using "Carousel" from Cricut.





Thanks for visiting! ~ Shirley

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Merry Christmas Skates





Today I am sharing another shape card using the KaDoodleBug Designs file, "Merry Christmas Skates." This is a perfect file for making shape cards. I used glitter paper for the skate and the snow, and fleece for the snowman. I used a lot of foam tape to put it together. If you would like to know how to make a shape card scroll down to my previous post showing with the "how to."
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! ~ Shirley

Monday, November 23, 2015

Christmas Angel Bear



I would like to thank all those who hopped with us for the KaDoodle Bug Designs Holiday Hop over the week end, and would like to welcome all the new followers of my blog. I started out trying to personally answer all the great comments that were left, but soon got overwhelmed. Please know that even though I am not able to personally answer each one, I did read them all and appreciate all your comments!

Today I am sharing a cute little Christmas decoration that features " Christmas Angel Bear" from KBD.  



MATERIALS 

candy-cane decoration ( from the dollar store)
1 1/2 inch wide Christmas ribbon
Mulberry paper in light  brown
Flocked paper in tan and brown
Gold metallic paper ( for the halo)
White vellum (for the wings)
Glossy paper in white, red and green ( for the candy-cane)
Cardstock in brown (base)& black
Stiff brush
glue gun
adhesive
Chalks

I  sized my tear bear at 6 inches. I cut the pieces for the bear body out of scrap paper and traced them onto the back side of the mulberry paper, I then went over the traced lines with a wet paintbrush and carefully hand tore around them. Set these aside to dry. When they are dry, carefully brush the pieces from the center out until you get the fuzzy effect you want. Assemble your bear and chalk the edges.

  Make an 8 inch bow with the ribbon and hot glue the bow about 1 inch below the point where the two candy-canes meet. Hot glue the bear onto the bow so the bear's paws are even with the botton of the bow. I added the holly sprig that was on the candy-cane to the bear's paws. All finished! Easy Peasy.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! ~ Shirley

Saturday, November 21, 2015




Welcome to KaDoodle Bug Design's Holiday Blog Hop!  We are so excited to have you join us today! At each stop of the hop we hope you will be inspired by the creativity of the design team. 

You should be arriving from Jennifer's blog. If you happened across this post out of order, please head to the KaDoodle Bug Design's Blog to start at the beginning of the hop.

Here are the projects I created:

For my first project I made a little easel card box that would be perfect for treats or for a small gift. For my easel card box I used the adorable ""Here Comes Santa" file.





My finished easel card box measures 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches tall.  The basic easel card box pattern is available for free from the group, "Cricut Lovers Guide to Design Space."


I used flocked, velvet papers for Rudolph and his hat and Santa's pants, and glitter papers for the snow. I added a snowflake button for a drawer pull.


For my second project I made a pop up card using "Oh Ginger Snaps."




My finished card measures 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches. The patterned papers are all from DCWV. I added lots of glitter glue and bling for added sparkle.



I hope you enjoyed my projects  and thanks for stopping by! ~ DT Shirley

Your next stop is Sonja

Now for the Blog Hop Prize! 
8 FILES, that's right every new file used in this hop today!

What do you need to do to be eligible for this amazing prize?
1.  Become a follower of each blog in the hop. 
2.  Leave some comment love at each stop.  You can do so until midnight on Sunday, November 22 MST to be eligible for the prizes.
3. Be sure you "Like" KaDoodle Bug Design Facebook Fanpage
4.  If you do all of the above, check back at the KBD Fanpage for the winner on Tuesday, November 24th 

Here is the complete blog hop lineup:

KBD(Alma)
Sukie
Jennifer
                        Shirley (You are here)
Sonja
Mellisa
Jana
Saundra
Twila
Cathy
Katie
Sandra
Theresa
Barbara
Mitsyana
Jessi
Tanya

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Merry Christmas Skates




When I saw this cute pattern, "Merry Christmas Skates" from KaDoodle Bug Designs I knew that the polar bear and penguin had to be tear bears, even though it has been a very long time since I made a tear bear.



MATERIALS LIST

Heavy mulberry paper in white
Glitter paper in white and red
Flocked or velveteen paper in black
Glossy green paper
Silver metallic paper
white cardstock (for the card base)
twine in red/white (about 18 inches)
small circle punch
adhesive

I made the card base by duplicating the base layer included in the svg file. I flipped one piece horizontally and welded the two base pieces together at the heel.

I cut all the pieces out of the appropriate papers except for the penguin belly and polar bear which were cut from cardstock. The cardstock penguin and polar bear pieces will be used as patterns and are traced onto the backside of the mulberry paper. Use a wet paintbrush to trace over your outlined shapes on the mulberry paper. VERY CAREFULLY tear out the shapes along the traced lines. Assemble your other card pieces while the mulberry dries. Use the circle punch to make 5 holes about 1/2 inch in from the front edge of the skate to use for lacing the skate. Tape down one end of the twine to the back and lace the other end through the holes as shown. Tape this end to the back and cut the twine. Make a little bow and glue it at the top just below where the penguin will be.

When the mulberry pieces are dry, take a stiff brush and CAREFULLY brush from the center out on each piece until you get the "fuzzy" effect you are after. Finish assembling your card.

I hope you enjoyed this little project and thanks for stopping by!
 ~ Shirley

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Elf in Stocking Card





Today I played with the KaDoodle Bug Designs digital version of "Elf in Stocking" which is a current freebie. I don't have any of the beautiful artist's pens that everyone seems to be using lately, so I decided to experiment with what I did have. Here's the result of my "play session."



Since I don't have any flesh colored pens that would give the effect I wanted, I used Stampin Up chalk to add a touch of color to the faces and hands of all my elves. I'll take each coloring medium I used one at a time. First, I used a variety of gel pens, some of which were glitter pens.



I was pretty happy with the results from the gel pens. The coverage was fairly smooth and I liked the added glitter effect from the glitter pens. The elf on my card was also done with gel pens.



I next experimented with Stampin Up watercolor pens and Zig blender pens.I was surprised that these gave a streakier effect than I expected. Maybe my results would have been better with different paper. I used plain Georgia Pacific cardstock. Since I have a complete set of these pens I think I will experiment some more with them and try to get better results.





Finally, I used a set of Stampin Up watercolor pencils. If you like a subtle, light, watercolor effect, these work really well. The blender pen worked very well blending the colors evenly. 




I hope my little experiment was helpful. I hope you have a happy, crafty day! ~ Shirley






Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Feeling Stuffed








Hello, today I am sharing a two page Thanksgiving layout with you. For my layout I used the adorable "Cutie KaToodles Turkey" and "Cutie KaToodles Pumpkin Turkey." I also used "Baking Goodies" for the pies.

Cutie KaToodles - TurkeyCutie KaToodles - Pumpkin Turkey



Baking Goodies - Click Image to Close



MATERIALS LIST

Harvest House Stack from DCWV
cardstock in white, brown, yellow, red, orange, green, light green and aqua
Embosser (I used the Cuttlebug)
Cuttlebug embossing folders: Simple Flowers, Swiss Dots and James Set
Ribbon: Autumn Collection by Made for Retail, Inc.
Kid's Red letters from Provo Craft
Adhesive



I used the Harvest House papers for everything except my paper piecings. I added a 1 1/4 inch strip of orange print, and a 1/2 inch strip of leaf print to the bottom of each page. I then cut a 2 inch brown print wavy scalloped border and a 1 1/2 inch wavy border from the leaf print. I stacked the smaller border over the larger leaving a 3/8 inch strip of the brown print showing at the top 
and a little of the brown scallop showing below. I added one of these to the top of each page. 

Next, I made four mats at 4 1/2 inches by 6 1/2 inches using the brown print, the orange print (two orange and two brown), white cardstock and the pumpkin print. I added a 1/2 inch strip of the brown print on the left side of each mat and added the leaf print ribbon on top.

 



I made the CK Pumkin Turkey 5 3/4 inches and the CK Turkey 5 1/4 inches. I used the three embossing folders and my Cuttlebug to emboss the tail feathers. The pies were made 3 1/4 inches long and 4 inches. The title box measures 3 inches by 4 3/4 inches. I hand cut around the title which was first placed on yellow cardstock. That was mounted on the brown print and trimmed around leaving only 1/8 inch of the brown showing. This was mounted on the orange print, then on white.

I hope you enjoyed my project and I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving! ~ Shirley