I'm back !

I know ! I was supposed to announce the grand winner on Christmas day ! What happen ? First, my daughter broke her wrist on the third day of vacation. Next, we had so much wind around Christmas, electricity was gone for the day. No connection internet in the house, snow falling during two days, I didn't have the courage to drive to the connection point. Then back in the south, no internet connection and no phone in the house ! But don't believe I didn't have a good time ! I have some picture for you...

 



This is our house in the Alps after one night of snowing. Even with a broken wrist, my daughter and her sister had so much fun building a snowman ! Evening in front of a fireplace with friends, walking in the snow, eating best cheese on the planet : that's our favorite winter !

The winner of the final prize is Kristol ! she wrotes :
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KristolDecember 20, 2013 at 8:04 AM

very beautiful cards

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Kristol, send me a message with your mailing address using the contact form on the left and I will send you your prize !

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I wish you all a fantastic New Year's Eve !

Winner !

Hello from the mountain !

We took the plane on Saturday morning and arrived at night in our cherished village in the Alps. That's why you got no new post from me this week end... The giveaway is now closed for the last week and I will give you the name of the winner now...

Congratulations to Solange J. ! She wrotes :
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Solange J.December 20, 2013 at 11:49 PM

Beautiful card and "bonnes vacances" !

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Solange, send me a message using the contact form on the left with your mailing address and I will send you your prize !

 

I already had fun during my first days of vacations : late sleep, snowboarding, family reunion...

I hope you will have a great holiday time yourself. I will be back on the 25th for the last drawing ! don't forget to vote. You have to comment on the "30 cards before Christmas" page and be a follower to be able to win the prize.

 

Kisses from France !

The last card !

This one is no traditional card. Black paper, washi, white and black poinsettia...

Black paper by American Crafts, white papers by Recollections, crystals by K&Company, washi tapes found at Costco, white gel pen and Copic black marker.

It's the last card of 30, that means will be able to vote for your favorite between tomorrow and the 24th of December. I will choose randomly a comment on the "30 cards before Christmas giveaway" page for Christmas day. You have to be a follower to win the prize. Don't forget to play for this week's prize by commenting and following on one of the week's post.

I hope some of my cards have help you to go through this Christmas cards thing by giving some ideas. It was a challenge for me and I'm glad I did it. It will make things easier for next year !

Vintage Christmas card

I cannot denied it, this whole card thing really bring the vintage out of me ! Or maybe it's just the Kaisercraft papers. Anyway, here is my last attempt to make a vintage card for Christmas :

You can recognize the Recollections bird stamp on the envelope. The sentiment is a Carolyne Knott's acrylic stamp. The lace is a decorative trim from Hobby Lobby. Distress ink by Tim Holtz.
 I do like this one a lot. Will you vote for this one ? Maybe for tomorrow's card...
Don't forget to comment and follow to win the Prima Marketing prize !

I will have a busy day, making cookies and boxes (4 more last night), packing for our trip, sending Christmas card (hard to let them go) and loosing time on phone with customer service (one month late delivery...).
Wish you a good day !

You know it's Christmas time when...

...I'm making cookies. For teachers. And boxes. To put the cookies in. It's the best way to get rid fast of my Christmas papers, by the way ! Two sheets of papers for one box, maybe I really will reduce my pile of papers. And I will have room for new ones ! Yeah !

Look what I have done yesterday night...

My favourite, "croquants aux amandes". You can find the receipe in this previous post.

Now for the cards. They will be the last using Recollections papers (finally !).

 

Perfect to use your small pieces of papers ! Stickers by Making Memories, distress ink by Tim Holtz.

 

Snowflakes stamps by Inkadinkado, golden marker by American Crafts. I love the golden twine, but it was not easy to glue it. I used the Fabri-Tac glue for that. I didn't want to put sentiment on this one, I found it perfect like this.

Again the golden twine (love it), K&Company chipboard alphabet, Prima Marketing laces, wood snowflakes I re-found in my stash, golden marker by American Crafts.
The blue paper was embossed with an Impressabilities by Spellbinders and distress ink in brown (Tim Holtz). I used the snowflakes as a template for the envelope. The crystal line under the NOEL is by Want2Scrap but colored with the golden marker.

Still two days to play with my 30 cards before Christmas... See you tomorrow !

Rush hours

Ok, I was too ambitious. I will not have the time to post only on Sunday the vote for the cards. I'm not even sure I will have an internet connection on Sunday...
So from now, you will probably see more than one card each day, and I will post the poll Friday night or Saturday morning. It doesn't change a thing for this week's drawing.

Today I will show you two different cards. The first one was made with Recollections papers, Recollections stamps, a white lace, and Copic markers.

This is one of my favourite. it took me some time to color all the flowers and leaves but I love the result. It's like a mix between Scottish tartan and English roses.

The second card use Kaisercraft papers, distress ink by Tim Holtz and some blings. By chance, the Recollections stamp (same sheet than the flowers above) match exactly the bird on the paper, so I used it for the envelope.

If you need informations about the drawing, go to this page. You could win Prima goodies this week.

Happy Tuesday !

3rd winner !

Yeah ! I will make another follower happy today ! And this follower will be...

 

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FleursbydesignDecember 9, 2013 at 8:39 AM

Congrats Lisa, beautiful card so pretty :)

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Thank you for your comment, Fleur ! Your kind message has paid off !
Send me a message using the contact form on the left, and I will send you your gift ASAP !

What will be our treat this week ? Some Frosty Treat by Prima Marketing ! If you are the winner of this 4th week, you will receive one Stars Frosty Treat package, one Gifts Frosty Treat, and one Center Kissed Floral (12mm).



I'm not sponsored by Prima, just bought too much and want to share... Feel free to contact me if you want to sponsor my blog for the final drawing on Christmas day or for another giveaway !
To win these, you will have to let a comment on one of the post this week AND be a follower.

Today's card is one made with free papers from one the UK magazine, few ribbons (Celebrate it), a button, and an Inkadinkado stamp.

I used the mini Bowdabra to make the bow. I not very good at making bow, this small tool is really helpful.

Hope you had a good week end and wish a wonderful week !

Another Pinspired card

Sunday 15th. First day of my marathon week. My daughters and I will be leaving next Saturday for our French vacations, and I will have to prepare everything without my husband. He has left at 4AM this morning and will be in Houston for the whole week. I will probably have some time at night to scrapbook...

So last day of the 3rd week for my giveaway... and another Pinterest card inspired me. Here is the Pin I lifted (find it on my Pinboard "Cards") :

Focusing on the main plan (that was reducing a lot my Christmas papers...), I choose to use Recollections Christmas paper for the background instead of white cardstock, and hand cut the snowflake. The snowflake stamp is by Inkadinkado, the sentiment came from the vintage stamps by Carolyne Knott. Black Tuxedo ink by Memento. Red ribbon by Celebrate It (Michaels) and green ribbon by Simplicity. Red baker twine found in the $1 section at Target last year.

 

 

 

Comment today to enter the drawing of 3 packages of embellishment (see Monday's post) and don't forget to follow to validate your entry.

 

Have a great Sunday !



2 more weeks...

Are you ready for Christmas ? I'm still not. Because I'm traveling next week, I didn't feel like decorating a lot and my Christmas shopping has been done on line. But maybe you're ready or you are more in the mood...
It seems that the card today want to motivate me :

Recollections papers, Carolyne Knott's stamps (the one coming as a free gift in the Cardmaking&Papercrafts magazine) and Copic markers, plus few foam squares to make the cut stamp pop up.

To jump into the spirit, we will drag our daughters in a Toys R's us this morning (looks more like suicide to me), to have few more gift ideas...

Hope you will survive one of the last Saturday before Christmas if you are shopping too...

Black is a Christmas color too !

Few years back, I bought this georgous black snowflakes border from Prima Marketing and use it to decorate a frame with a Christmas morning picture (some details on this last year's post) :

When I was looking for new ideas to make cards, I suddenly remember that I still have leftover of the black border. It was the perfect add to my new creation :

If you want to re-create this card, you will need :

- a blank 4x6 card
- a black snowflakes border by Prima Markeeting
- 3 different papers (mine by Recollections)
- black ink (Cat's eye by Colorbox)
- alphabet stickers (Me&My big ideas)

for the envelope : red ink, black marker and dot stamp.

1. Cover the card with the green paper, ink the edges in black.
2. Cut 4 strips of red paper (1"x 3 1/2"), round the corners and ink the edge in black. Adhere them onto the card, 3/8" apart.
3. Cut a strip of 4 1/4" x 3/4" in dotted white paper, round the corners and ink the edges. Place the alpha stickers to create the sentiment.
4. Cut small circles in the dotted paper to fit under the circle of the snowflakes border, ink the edges and adhere behind each circle of the border.
5. Place the black border at the bottom of the card, trim the excess.
6. Adhere the dotted strip with foam squares at 1" from the top.

Optional : Stamp red dots on the left side of the envelope, trace a line with the black marker.

You will not need more than 15mn to make this card, and I think it looks very classy. If you like it, you will be able to vote for it next week. While waiting, comment and follow me to win 3 great packages of embellishments !

Have a good day !

Last day for a challenge

Hello !

Beside the card of the day, I will show you a layout I made yesterday for the last challenge of the year at Sketchbook365 blog :

Papers by Piggy Tales, grunge board sheet and wing shapes by Tim Holtz, white distress crackle paint by tim Holtz, acrylic white paint, blue and green distress ink by Tim Holtz, brick stencil by Want2Scrap, green washi tape by Webster's page, black and blue washi tapes found at Costco, white foam alphabet by Thickers, acrylic stickers by 9Clouds. Plus two chipboard corners given by a one of my friend.

It was not easy to refrain myself to use flowers or glitter or flourishes on this layout ! I did want a manly page, I think the result is not bad at all !

Now for the card, a super easy one made with a free gift from Cardmaking&Papercrafts magazine  :

The blue reindeer on the envelope was made with a glitter pen and the stencil given by the magazine. Let's just say it was the quickiest card I made. Sometimes you lack of inspiration... At least, it matches my layout ;-)

Continue to comment and don't forget to follow me, there is still few until the end of the week to win the prize...

Liebster award ! (and card)

Hello !

I got a surprise from Evie this morning. She nominated me for the Liebster Award ! How kind of her ! For those who don't know her, she's a talented artist who loves Paris and scrapbooking. She took a lot of great photographies of my homewtown and create lovely layout with them. You can check her blog here. Thank you Evie for this nomination !

Part of the nomination is to answer few questions from Evie :

1. What is your favorite dessert ? : "Fraisier" with no doubt (kind of strawberry shortcake but so much better)
2. Who is your favorite artist? : Mucha.
3. What was your favorite subject in elementary school? History
4. Do you like to dance? like crazy
5. What is your favorite season? Spring
6. Do you eat real butter? there is false butter ? As Julia Child said, "with enough butter, anything is good"
7. What do you collect? scrapbooking items
8. What do you put in your coffee? sugar and cream
9. Who is your favorite Disney character and why? Mulan, because she stand up to protect her family without fear of consequences
10. Are you a little bit country or are you a little bit rock-n-roll? a mix of both with a hint of jungle

I also have to share 5 facts about myself :

1. I move furniture in my house every 6 months
2. I like to create silly songs for my children about anything
3. I listen very loud music only when I'm alone
4. If I don't have a dessert, it's not a meal.
5. I still call my mom every year when the first snow is falling to tell her.

Here are my nominees for The Liebster Award :

1. My day-to-day life
2. Le blog de Scraptxu
3. My creative place
4. Creative Explosion
5. D's Paper Studio


And my questions for the nominees:

1. What is the name of your first crush ?
2. What is the state/country of your childhood ?
3. What is your favorite candy ?
4. Where do you want to go for your next vacation ?
5. What is your favorite color ?
6. What is the last book you loved ?
7. What is your favorite tree ?
8. Are you singing under the shower ?
9. What will you cook for Christmas dinner ?
10. What is the strangest thing you found in your fridge ?

Here is a list of guidelines should you wish to accept and pass on the award.

1) Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
2) Display the award on your blog.
3) Answer the questions about yourself that were provided by the blogger who nominated you.
4) Provide 5 facts about yourself.
5) Nominate at least 5 bloggers you would like to pass the award on to.
6) Create a list of 10 questions you want your nominees to answer.
7) List a set of rules similar to these on your blog.
8) Inform the bloggers that you have nominated them and profile a link to your post.

Most of all, have fun!

Oh ! I almost forgot ! Here is my card of the day !

 

Recollections papers and ribbon. Don't forget to play to win 3 packages of embellishments ! See under the "30 cards before Christmas" for a rules reminder...

Pinspired tag card

Some Pinspiration today for this tag card, re-arranged to fit my papers. Here is the pin I lift (you can find it on my Pinboard Cards) :

Using my Kaisercraft papers, cling stamp by recollections, brown distress ink by Tim Holtz, ribbons from Hobby Lobby and a brown cardstock tag, that's what I have created :

 

 

I used an American Crafts gold pen to outline the stamp on the envelope. The golden string is attach with Fabri-Tac glue, my favorite glue for fabric, ribbon, glitter paper too.

 

 

Leave a comment and follow my blog (the google friends connect button is working now) to win the 3 embellishments packages....

 

Have a good day.



2nd winner and some Copic use

Here we are ! Another week, the third one for this challenge ! Man, I don't want to see Christmas papers anymore... but I have still 3 cards to make so I will see more anyway.

Ok, I will not make you wait any longer. This week's winner is...

 

 

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Lisa Rukin SwiftDecember 4, 2013 at 4:26 AM

Another pretty card, Valerie! Love the banner!

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Congrats Lisa ! Send me a message using the contact form on the left column with your mailing address, and I will send your prize ASAP !

Now the card. I did use my Copic markers on this one, and I'm very please with my new improved skill.

Papers by Recollections (I really bought too much of them), white cardstock, vintage Christmas stamps by Carolyne Knott, Copic Sketch YG03, YG21, YG63, R20, R29, B93, B97, E51, E31, Black Tuxedo Memento ink.

This week you will play to win a clear heart stamp by Prima Marketing, Softies buttons by KI Memories, and fabric buttons by TPC Studio (Morrocan market collection). Those could be great on your soon-to-be Valentine's creations...

To play, you must leave a comment in one (or more) of this week's post(s) and follow my blog. Super easy.

See you tomorrow...

2 cards for 1 day

It's already the end of the week ! Days are flying when you're near Christmas...Haven't started my Christmas shopping yet, and it's very unusual. Normally, I will start thinking of it in October, letting only the last minute gift and cooking stuff for December. But this year, with our late moving in November, I didn't have the time for that. And in 2 weeks I will be traveling again to France !

Before leaving, I need to deliver all my cards to you. So, to not be late for that, you will have 2 cards today ! Both made with Recollections papers only. Very quick cards for the last minute ;-)

 

On this one, I cut the sentiment, tag, trees and gifts from another sheet of paper and add some glitter to the trees before place them on the green paper.

This one is so simple, it takes only few minutes to make. Designer paper for the background and a distressed tag on foam squares.

Don't forget to let a comment on at least one of this week's post and to follow my blog to enter the drawing. Who will win the 3 Prima charms ?

Have a good sunday...

A layout for a challenge and card 12

I did have some times this week with the snow falling, and I made a layout for the "C'est magnifique kits" Challenge of December. I choose a picture of my youngest after ski lesson (I made another layout with a picture taken the same day here), and the page came to me with a lot of pink and black. I know, unusual for winter...

Papers by recollections, flowers by Prima Marketing, Petaloo, Recollections, Quote stickers by DCWV, wood element found at Michaels, journaling tag by Anna Griffin, crystals by Prima Marketing, chipboard by K&Company. I used white Tim Holtz distress crackle paint on the round chipboard.
I love their sketch, and this one made no exception. I really love the results. I think I will call my style Shabby bright...

They also have a giveaway this month (seems to me that every blog have one ;-)). I will enter too.

Now for MY giveaway, here is the card of the day. Sometimes you got a really good inspiration, and sometimes you just want to use your stash... So a simple card (not that bad) with a matching envelope.

You have until tomorrow to play by making a comment on one of the post this week AND following my blog.
See ya !

Selphy voltage problem and card 11th

You have probably noticed that I didn't use my Cricut in any of the cards. Nor stitch or emboss. The reason is I don't have enough converter or adaptor to plug everything. It was OK until now because I did know we will have few more soon. But yesterday, I was planning to test my brand new Selphy (DH was in Houston  2 weeks ago, came back with it), and after checking the voltage, tried to plug it with an adaptor. It shut down the whole room ! Luckily, the Selphy is OK (I tried it in the kitchen with a converter), but it means that I will have to wait more to play with it. Grrrr !
For those who are traveling with a Selphy, be careful if the voltage is different... Maybe batteries will be a good option.

I did ask DH for a Selphy, because I don't have easy access to a store with printing as in the US. In Houston, I just sent picture by internet to a Walgreens and stop by picking them before picking the kids at school. Here, none of the printing facilities are near us, and anyway you cannot park your car (even few minutes) in front of it. It's a little more expensive too. So, for the picture I can't wait to print with a bunch of others, the one I need right now to start my layout, I did though Selphy will be a good option.

So no new toy today. I will just work with an old picture for now. I want to participate in this month's challenge from C'est Magnifique kit. I hope to finish it today, and maybe show it tomorrow on this blog.

Card 11 ? Right there :

Papers and Merry Christmas stamp by Kaisercraft, bling center of the flower by K&Company, crystal flourishes by Want2scrap, flower stamp by Making Memories. The sentiment is stamped with Memento black tuxedo ink, and the flower with Stazon brown ink.

It will be time to send these cards soon...
Have a good day and don't forget to leave a comment and to follow me to win this week's prize !

Christmas card with feathers

It's icy, windy and snowy in the same time today. I will stay at home in my huge new scraproom (I will post a picture when everything will be tidy...), creating cards (what a surprise ! 3 more to go) or layouts.

This kind of weather make me choose a warm card for today's post. Rich red, cozy feathers, warm brown...

Papers by Recollections, feathers by The Paper Studio, stamps by Inkadinkado, brown Stazon ink, decorative trim found at Hobby Lobby.
The Noel stamp was an ornament, I just cut it to look like an oval. I use a chipboard to draw the scallop circle on the red paper and cut it by hand.

Here the sketch :

Hope you like this card. Wish you a warmer day than mine !

Christmas banner - Day 9

In the issue 122 of Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine (October), I found great goodies : a full sheet of vintage Christmas stamp !

I really love them and did use them a lot in my Christmas cards...
Beside this wonderful gift, this issue was full of good ideas. I was inspired by one of them for the card I will show you today. Here is the Cardmaking&Papercrafts card :

And is mine :

Papers still by Recollections, stamps by Carolyne Knott, Copic markers, red baker's twine (found at Target).
And as my bonus, here is the sketch :

Don't forget to follow me AND to leave a comment to participate in my giveaway this week...
Wish you a great day !

Merry Christmas in white

Hello everyone !

Today I will share my struggle to have white text on red paper with an acrylic stamp. I got several white ink, but none of them give me the result I wanted. See for yourself :

 

Usually, the Stazon opaque is great for dark color, but the better result with this ink is on transparency or acrylic sheet.
I only used the Colorbox when I wanted a blurry effect on edges.
Just forget about the Versacraft. I bought this one like 10 years ago when I was in France and there was nothing else.
I choose the Tsukinako Brilliance white, but I used also the white gelly roll 08 by Sakura (I write the text on the right with it) to trace over the stamp :

Much better.
You can see on the right some KI white frosty lace cardstock, and the red paper is from a Christmas Recollections sheet. I used the lace paper as a template to re-create the design on the envelope with a red glitter gel pen, then fill it with a Copic marker. If you want to color an envelope, don't forget to place a piece of paper inside the envelope before coloring. It will prevent stains on the back of the envelope.

Hope you will continue to play for the giveaway. You can see the previous cards and a reminder of the rules on the page "30 cards before Christmas" (top of this page).

Have a wonderful day !

Day 8 - First winner

Our first week is over and it's time to pick a winner for the 2 Prima packages.
I used a true random number generator (random.org) to choose. So the winner is....
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Megan November 27, 2013 at 3:42 AM

This is beautiful! I always struggle with "boring" envelopes.

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Congrats Megan, please send me a message with the contact form on the left column with your address and I will send you your gift !

 

Now, for the card.

 

 

Recollections papers only (remember, I bought a lot of these $4 pads...). I cut out the snowman, the small snowflakes and the heart and used square foam to give them dimension. And of course a little tree for the envelope.

 

This week, you will play for a set of 3 Prima Marketing charms, stars with crystals in 3 colors.

 

 

 

Don't hesitate to contact me if you want to sponsor this giveaway, still 3 more prizes to win until Christmas.

 

Have a good week !

Time to trim the tree - day 7

Yep ! We're officially in December and Christmas decoration need to get out of the box, even if the weather do not make us feel like it's winter :

Crazy, hum ? It looks like Spring !

My card of the day will reflect my goal (finding a tree...) :

Still Recollections papers. I cut out each tree, plus a border for the text, keeping one tree for the envelope. I really get my Christmas papers stock down with this kind of card.

Remember, it's the last day to enter for the Prima Belle fleur drawing. I will announce the winner tomorrow.

Have a good Sunday !