12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 10 & 11

Thinking if I do this next year I'll start my 12 days early so they don't actually fall on the busiest days of the season! :) Eric's sister was in town and a hotel with pool plus all the Breidenbach cousins equals getting home late! I should've known. But I've got a fun idea if you're a pallet lover...something I created this summer and hadn't had a chance to put on the blog so here is a Christmas tree for putting up outside and safer than hanging lights on your roofline! :)

I painted the pallet with a red stain the my neighbor, Amy, discovered this summer. Stain comes in lots of colors and the gray is something I'd love to try with a future wood project! Next I used scrap paper to literally build my tree, layering them until it was visually what I liked and spray painted it with a vibrant green. This was my favorite part of the project...

I added a star and paited a tree trunk. You could string with lights for your front porch or hang actual ornaments, so many possibilities! Sorry I don't have a picture of it on my porch but with a house for sale we've gotten rid of or given a lot to tidy up and this was on the given list. Can't wait to start crafting in our new home next summer! :)

Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope your Eve is filled with joy and a heart full of gratitude! I am feeling especially nostalgic with this being our last holiday in this house and so many memories and blessings here!

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 9

Vacation officially begins tomorrow for me which is why it's almost midnight and I'm finally posting day 9! Girls are out of school and I'm off until the new year, just a few additional reasons why this is indeed the most wonderful time of the year!

We're building a home this spring and in the process of moving I've discovered several of our family Christmas cards from years past and thought it would be such a great layout!

So, here it is

Another one for the books! So fun to look back and especially see how the girls have grown! Such fun memories, so glad I found these while packing! Tomorrow the girls and I will be in the kitchen all day creating lots of edible goodness.

12 Days of Craft Christmas: Day 8

Girls are out of school tomorrow and I'm done with work, too! So excited for this holiday break yet hard to believe it's finally here! Lots yet to do so playing catch up and sharing a book I do every year to save all the beautiful cards we get from friends, family, and coworkers!

All you need is some binder rings, hole punch, cardboard scraps, ruler, and sharp cutting tool to create your book and then have fun adding all those treasured cards and handwritten notes to keep for looking back at as years go by. To see my original post and full detailed instructions, check it out here

Hope you're getting all those last minute holiday items and to dos checked off your list!

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 7

I didn't plan on making so many cards but there are so many fun techniques I've been wanting to try and it really is the easiest way to try, sort of like a mini project! :) So, today I used Distress Inks to create a sky scene and then used a dot mask to create a sparkly snow image with gesso...

The background turned out so pretty, don't ya think? I then used a few different sets to create a Christmas scene and hand cut a snowy slope from white card stock. I added my die cut house and fussy cut tree from the SU set and added the sentiment in red. Mounted on Pure Poppy from PTI and this was ready to go. 

Can't wait to get this one in the mail! Stop back for more tomorrow! Can't believe this week is Christmas!!!

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Days 5 & 6

Just a few days in and I'm already slacking! Sorry to miss day 5 but my week ended with a bang as work didn't slow down at all and I literally ran right into the holiday festivities after finishing on Friday to make it over to our neighbors' in time for dinner and a limo to look at Christmas lights. Kids had a blast and the adults did, too! Needless to say, I wasn't up for crafting when I got home at 11 and decided I'd make it up to you all today with a home decor item that is super easy and so fun to do with the kids!

All you need is some patterned papers and I found an old frame that I sanded to age a bit and hot glued burlap onto the insert along the edges to keep it smooth but you could use a canvas, sturdy cardboard covered in paper or burlap, anything like that.

Next you cut strips of paper in pieces that gradually get smaller to build your tree. Roll each piece around a pencil, use a hot glue gun to secure and get all the rolls complete and stack them up to determine how many you'll need. My paper was from the holiday release at Stampin' Up and I die cut a small piece of paper that looks like wood for a trunk and used my Silhouette to cut a star from glitter card stock.

And here is the finished project sitting on the table in my foyer. Absolutely adore everything about this little creation! My youngest, Addi, asked if she could make one and it is that easy! I'll help with the hot glue gun but other than that she can make one of her very own for her bedroom. I have a feeling that will have a domino effect and Graci will want to make one for her room, too. So, looks like we'll be rolling paper into the wee hours tonight! Hope you'll agree that this is worth a missed day of crafting and I'll be back for Day 7 tomorrow, I promise!

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 4

Oh, my goodness! If you are searching for THE most adorable frozen creatures wrapped in sweaters or scarves, you must check out this set from Paperyrey Ink! Warmest Wishes with dies is what I used to inspire these Christmas tags!

Aren't they adorable? I die cut tags and stamped away, stamped the bear and fox on kraft and colored with my Prisma pencils. Using white to color on kraft made my polar bear pop. I can't get over the sweet sweater and scarf in Nordic print...and the simple box around the words...thinking poking holes in corners and putting twine through to recreate the lines would be a unique accent!

Here's each close up...

I finally had time to wrap a few last minute purchases so I'm going to put these on top with a bow so I can tuck them under the tree after the girls are tucked into bed tonight Tis the season! :)

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 3

Really love this one! I think it's country cute with the little critters from 3 different stamp sets. Amazing how many scenes you can create by mixing your sets up! The penguin is from Papertrey Ink and everything else is from a few different Lawn Fawn sets. A little doily in the background and a hand trimmed banner finish off the work. After mounting to some polka dot paper from Echo Park, reminiscent of snow, I added some turquoise and basic twine and liked it. But while cleaning up I found a scrap with rustic wood imagery on it and k ew it would be perfect! So I mounted my
4-1/2x5-1/2 inch card to the scrap of 4-3/4x6 and just love the final look!

If you have a few extra minutes try creating a scene with a few different sets and don't be afraid to mix brands. It's a great way to stretch the supplies you already have and even add new life to some older sets! Have fun and hope to see you back for Day 4!

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 2

I'm hoping to eventually become more disciplined with this craft habit but I cannot lie, I was tucking the girls into bed and it occurred to me that I'd made a commitment here yesterday and had yet to even think about creating something for day 2. So I grabbed some sweet reindeer paper that inspired me from SU and just dug in. A red diamond dot and some sparkly ribbon with a sentiment stamp was enough to get it done.

Cutting my patterned paper on an angle and adding my sentiment on that same angle is a fun way to add a new twist to what otherwise would be a very traditional card. I thought I needed more but once I added one red diamond dot, it was complete! This took me five minutes! I haven't been that quick with my crafting in forever and it was really freeing to not get hung up on it. Enjoy...I'm on a roll so hope you'll stop by and check out day 3! :)

12 Days of Crafty Christmas: Day 1

The countdown is on and it's crazy as usual around here. Sorry for the absence but I just can't seem to catch up with it all, like, ever, anyone else feel that way? Pretty sure that's just life but I thought, why not add a crafty Christmas countdown to my chaos because, well, it's fun! :) So, I'm trying my very best to show you a fun project every day until Christmas highlighting a product or technique to try.

First up, Prismacolor watercolor pencils. I've been using cheaper versions on pencils for coloring since this became a trend and just haven't loved the coloring which surprised me. So I took the p,urge with a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and invested in a small Prismacolor pencil set, similar sets can be found on Amazon. I had a stamp set from Stampin' Up and wanted to make a few thank you cards for Christmas gifts. I had the circle dies from Lawn Fawn and planned it out.

And here's what I came up with for a few cards, with some help from Addison because, who doesn't love to color?

I didn't do the water coloring because I needed to knock these out quickly tonight but I did add some red glitter glue to the reindeer nose and ornaments to add some texture. My verdict on these pencils, so worth the investment! Smooth and easy to add more depth or shadow, excited to have time to play with hem more and hoping I'll have a chance to use them for a watercolor technique on the countdown. Hope you'll stop by again to check it out, with the rest of the craft countdown projects! 

Sympathy and Blessings

Life is busy but the world does not stop moving! I don't expect it to, although every now and then I do have wishful thinking, especially when I have friends who are dealing with life events and I want to be there for them but my own circumstances don't make that a possibility. So, my next best option? Send a heartfelt handmade card!

A coworker's spouse recently lost her father and I wanted her to know she and their family were in my prayers with an autumn card. Fall is my favorite season with its striking colors and contrast and you can see His presence in the leaves before they land on the Earth, a symbol of something so grand! I recently got the leaf die from Papertrey Ink and did some water coloring for the leaves background to create that feeling for my sympathy card and used a Stampin' Up sentiment to finish it off with a few enamel dots.

I loved the way the first one turned out so decided to turn the same card into a thank you for someone that is long overdue! I switched out the sentiment with a newer one from Papertrey Ink and used gold embossing to add subtle texture. One card layout with two purposes is always a good thing!

I really enjoyed the process of these and hope you're counting your blessings and enjoying this beautiful fall season that God has blessed us with to savor before the snow starts flying! :)

Project Life...Catching Up from Summer

Hope you all had a fun and festive Halloween! It happens to be my favorite holiday behind my family favorite of Christmas! This year we had a hot dog, a baby, and a hunter in the family! If you want to check us out on my Instagram feed, ou can find me at sdbreidenbach.

So, here's some serious PL catch up, July, August, and September to be exact! I'm feeling pretty good about my progress considering November just started! :) I used a few branded kits to get these completed quickly! I bought a big stash of items recently because one of the last brick and mortar scrapbook stores near me recently closed because Lori, the owner and friend, decided to retire so I can't be too sad. Looks like online shopping may be a part of my crafting future!

July...

August...

And September...

Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop

It's only been um, eons, since I've had a chance to blog so sorry about being MIA but with a new job and listing our house for sale along with back to school chaos, the blog just had to take a backseat for awhile. So I figured a Papertrey Ink blog hop would be a perfect way to jump back in and why not get ahead on some Christmas tags in the process? :)

Here's the inspiration...

And here's some of the tags I created...

A picture of them all piled up, so excited that the holidays are upon us and had so much fun creating a few simple tags to adorn some shopping I've already started. Shhhh, don't tell my girls! :o)
Hope life is treating you all well and you're starting to get into the spirit with this fabulous inspiration and Papertrey Ink. It's always fun to look back at sets I've purchased several years back and get the same enjoyment out of them now as I did a few years back!

PS: Sorry about the bad lighting and that one picture that is not right side up, I waited until the end of my Sunday to create the tags and snap a few photos and just couldn't figure out how to move the picture right side up because it's been too long since I've been blogging! :o) I got a few PL layouts done this weekend, too, so I'll try to post those this week sometime! Happy hopping...

More Gossamer Blue, Project Life June 2015

Wow, it's been awhile since I stopped by, life has been a whirlwind! I actually created these cards and PL pages a few weeks back and am just now uploading them. So June Project Life with the June kit, what a novel idea! :) LOVE the gold and pinks with pineapples and flamingos in this one...

And here's my PL for June, such a fun month with lots going on...

I just love to look back at these moments that are moving so fast in this joyful, crazy, beautiful life of mine! Gives me a chance to relive them and hopefully, my girls will look back at these someday and not only know, but actually see how much love is in their lives! Happy weekend, friends! Thanks for stopping!!!

Birthday Layout w Gossamer Blue

Happy Saturday! Just a quick update w the layout from my May kit.

This came together easily and I added a few details to some of the die cuts I created w my Silhouette like this snow cone w a few candied enamel dots and sugary Wink of Stella pen accents. Here's the left page...

And the right page...

It's HOT here and we had the ADA Tour de Cure this morning and spent the afternoon swimming so feeling a tad exhausted this evening! The girls are baby-sitting the neighbors so Eric and I are going to relax in the air conditioning and catch up on our DVR...

Gossamer Blue May

Is it seriously past the 4th of July? Oh me oh my, time needs to slow down! But it won't, I sadly realize as we are preparing to have a middle schooler living among us!?!?! Eeeeek! I did have a few days off and dug into some kits. Cards galore from the May Gossamer Blue kit and I am loving some of these, just fresh and fun!

I had fun mixing the random font letters to spell my sentiment. Next up, I used the wooden Sweet to create a sweet little thank you that happens to be my favorite creation from this kit. Not sure if it's the vintage like yellow flowered paper or the pretty blue polka dot one, but seriously had so much fun making this one!

This is my second favorite...

I swoon over the wooden camera and those gold hearts! So sweet!

And another thank u, just for fun with a few scraps. You may have noticed the envelopes behind each of my cards. It's typical to not want to part with anything pretty and these kits are packed with this problem. I pulled out my envelope punch board from Stampin' Up and whipped these up to create some unique sized cards and matching envelopes and use up the pretty paper...why hadn't I thought of that earlier?!? 

You can check out Gossamer Blue and their kits here. I created a layout for Addison's birthday party with the rest of this so I'll share that later this week, hopefully before too much time goes by! :) Hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!