An Ilustrated - T'was the night before Christmas

Over the years I've made a LOT of Christmas cards.  I pop in some seasonal music and let the lyrics guide my hand.  There's a rendition of this poem from my childhood, by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvains that always makes me smile.  Here now, for the first time ever, are most of the cards I've made to this tune, layed out for your viewing pleasure as an illustrated version of the classic poem.  There's still a lot of room in here for more, so I guess I'll keep listening to it and share more as I go.  Happy Christmas!

Twas the Night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
(sorry, couldn't resist)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
(tee hee- there's another one!)

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Christmas on a Stick - The 2013 Cookie Book

Here are the shots of this year's cookie book, Christmas on a Stick!  The challenge for the bakers this year was to either put their cookie on a stick or make a sticky recipe to share.  This proved challenging indeed, but what we got was a lot of fun.  Thanks to all who participated!  Once Rosemary sends me the pictures, I'll get you a copy of them so you can have them for your books.

The book is not as elaborate as other years, from the looks of it. All my efforts pre-surgery went into the binding this year.   Post surgery, well, I just needed to get them done. 

It's a cloth covered hard bound book with a wire binding.  Each page is an A2 envelope cut from the Big Shot Pro die.  The covers are made of Davey Board, which if you've ever tried to cut that stuff, you'll know is no picnic.  The rounded spine is an up cycled paper towel roll trimmed to fit.  I used a quarter inch, square sided, wood dowel to mark the gutters in the binding, which allows the covers to turn back and the book to open. 

You first must put all the pieces together with book binder's tape, and then cover them with your chosen cloth, applied with a thin layer of PVA glue.  Fat quarters from the quilting isle of your local sewing store offers a myriad of fabric choices.  One fat quarter covered two of the books, so while not every book is completely unique on the outside, there are only 2 like it in the world!  The end papers cover up the raw edges of the fabric on the inside, and are reinforced with more book binder's tape to keep them strong.  The first and last page of the books are also reinforced in the same manner. 

I'm late getting these in the mail for those of you who get them as a gift.  But, never fear, they are on the way!

Squeeze the book and S-L-I-D-E off that organdy ribbon so you can put it back later....

The book stands on it's end very well for display.

This is the book open to the first page.  I marked the year on the front end paper with one of my Cricut fonts..can't remember which.  You can see the reinforced pages here if you click to embiggen.

Each recipe is a Christmas card from the participant inserted into the A2 envelope. 

Here is Pye getting into the act...note the furry black thing in the upper left....I alternated patterned paper with plain paper throughout the book and cut a name plate for each recipe.  If the paper was too plain, I got out some stamps and put some swirl into it.  The labels are hand lettered, inked, cut and stamped to add a little interest to the pages. 

Next year we are doing BLACK TIE CHRISTMAS.  I'll tell you now, the book idea I have is very elegant, so the recipes should match! The challenge is to deliver an ELEGANT recipe for the exchange next year.  You've got all year to practice, ladies!  I wonder what we'll get? 

Love you all! - Merry Christmas! - AMK

Christmas Cards - 2014

So here they are, some new this year and some made last year while the mood was still upon me.  There was a call out for blue colored Christmas cards last year so you'll see a lot of blue.  Of course I did not send them in so missed that publication.  Whatevs...

I was playing with transparency film and came up with this poinsettia card.  Using up some scraps from this year's cookie books makes them all just a bit different.  They are pretty fat in the envelope, so extra postage will be required. 

 

Then we have some HO cards and a simple Merry Christmas stamped on vellum to let the background show through.  Nothing too fancy here, but using up some more scraps. 

 



 

These are the BLUE cards I mentioned earlier.  If you didn't know, orange is the opposite of blue on the color wheel, so I worked in some orange on this first one.  Orange is just about my favorite color and is not typical for Christmas, so this one is probably my favorite this year.

Here's one with a window and a look at how the inside works all by itself.  I used a wafer die for the foliage on the front of the card, tied a little bow, stamped some poinsettias and off we go. 

Happy Christmas to you all!  If you have any questions about how any of these came together or what products I used, leave a comment and I'll reply.  All the best to you this holiday season! - AMK

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hidey-ho Readers, here's a sample of the latest Thanksgiving Day card.  In truth, I made these a while ago, knowing I was heading for an extended leave of absense from work.  Post surgery was going to leave me hobbled, and trying to swing a walker around in my craft cave was a recipe for disaster. 

These went out in the post today.  Admittedly a bit late for the friends who live farther away.  I had a number of cards left over from the Thanksgiving Day posts from 2011 as well.  As of today, I'm cleaned out!  Always a good thing for a card maker. 

Enjoy your Feast Day everyone!  A very happy and healthy Thanksgiving to you all!

WMRK made the paper, Sizzix made the dies and the senitment comes from Inkadinkado.  The little star brads were a gift from Andrea way back when she was a rep for Stampin' Up! 

Shameless Image Thievery - Southern Tier Brewing Co.

Southern Tier Brewing Co. produces a pretty good pumpkin beer this time of year.  With a tag line that reads; 
”bewitched and brewed with pagan spirit” - come on, how could you pass that up?  Below is the label affixed to black card stock.  Equipped with a color photo copier and some craft supplies; a little hocus-pocus and....Ta DA!  The Pumking greeting card is born.

They also produce a Warlock pumpkin stout that I have not tried yet.  It too has a pretty cool image, but I'm not diggin' the hat as much as I am the crown. 

Halloween #4 - my favorite so far!

Admittedly, this one is a little sick and twisted.  I've had this idea in my head since the first time I saw that butterfly-squished stamp from Unity Stamps.  They call that image Beautiful Disaster.  Irresistible from my perspective.  Tim Holtz also has a squished moth stamp but it's a lot more pointy than this one.  Oh, I own that one too, but this one was my 'first love', if you will.

So, as always, here are pictures of the products I used, giving credit where credit is due.  And then the finished card. "Life, subject to change without notice."

The Rusty Pickle set got used on the inside of the card - just a simple 'Happy Halloween'.  Those Rain Dots are a very dark purple.  And another set of pennant stamps from Unity added the '31' on the front of the card.  That 'October' stamp I got for a buck on Addicted to Rubber Stamps.  The background paper uses up the last from WE R Memory Keepers.  The line is called Heebie Jeebies.  Added to that were some scraps from My Mind's Eye.  Sprinkle a littel fairy dust on the pile and out popped this card.

 

 

Halloween #3

This card is made from paper meant for scrapbooking more so than card making.  WRMK made this line, but most lines provide something similar.  A sheet of paper with rows of different sentiments or borders.  It's meant to be cut into strips and used for 12x12 scrapbook layouts.  Since I'm not a scrapper (how many pictures of my cat do I really need?) and the strips are too big to fit on a card, that means this is the paper that filters its way to the bottom of the pile. 

Here I cut it into #10 cards and layered on some pennants that I cut from the Lifestyle Crafts Pennant Punches set.  I pulled some scraps from my stack and cut a moon using Spellbinders circle dies, a bat from an oldie but goodie Sizziz Original and boom!  I bizzy, but effective Halloween greeting. 

Pick o' the Patch

This little card came together pretty quickly.  My Mind's Eye provided the background paper and Prima leaves and flowers added to some scrapper's floss and button brads puts just the right spin on it, to make it "The Pick o' the Patch".  (which is what the sentiment is on the inside). 

Playing with my Stamping Gear

With Summer's end comes the time of year where I'm sick of working on the cookie books for Christmas and desperate to dive into Halloween greetings.  Anything NOT Christmas is in order.  While the books are not yet done, I find I get a little sloppy with them, so it's time to put them aside for a bit. 

Here is the first of three Halloween designs.  First a shot of the stuff I used to make it.  I went a little nuts when the Stamping Gear hit the market about a year ago.  I've been buying stamps steadily to use with it, everything I like, which was kind of a lot.  What can I say?  It's a gadget for stamping!  If I were a cat, this thing would be cat nip....just sayin'

It's sold under the Inkadinkado logo, parented by EK Success.  That green cog is the large round version of the tool.  It has a small round as well as a set of ovals, rectangles and squares too.  Essentially it acts as a spacer so you can evenly place images around the shape you've chosen.  They sell a line of stamps made for the Gear, but you don't have to limit yourself to them.  Any foam mounted stamp can be used.  I took one of the clear stamp skulls in the set below, mounted it on foam and used it with no problem.  Sure, sure the clear stamps stick without foam, but if you want the tool to work you need the height of the foam added to the clear stamp for it to work. 

That set of stamps in the center of the Gear is one they sell for the Gear - its their Halloween offering from last year.  I used the branches in the design below.  It should be said that the gear works best with images that are roughly 2" or less.  Anything larger won't fit well onto the handle they provide. 



 



You can see that by varying the color and the notch you use you can layer in the images until the cows come home.  A wreath of anything you can think of becomes possible.  The large circle was used on the front and the small was used on the inside.  I wanted the bats to have some dimension, so stamped them individually and then fussy-cut them out while watching mindless television. 

 

The Gear is a keeper.  If you like to make frames around things, this is a great twist on the standard.  There are lots and lots of Gear stamps available and more every season.  And, with a little ingenuity ANY stamp, as long as it's foam mounted, can work with your Gears.  You can probably even use wood mounted as long as you mark the center of the image on the wood and line that up with the notches on the Gear as you stamp.  Put it on your Amazon Wish List for Christmas! 

 



 

Marker Storage - Crafty and Free!

Hello Readers!  Today is the 4th of July, and while I didn't get anything seasonally made for the holiday, I do have a little organization tid-bit to share.  Behold!  My new marker storage caddy!  The first picture is a top down view.  The bee-hive separators are none other than toilet paper rolls I saved over time.  You can save the rolls from wrapping paper and cut them up, or from paper towels too.  They all work. 

Here's the how-to:

1. Figure out how many markers fit into one roll. Count your total number of markers and do the math. That will tell you how big of a box you need to make this work. It's not a bad idea to have a few empty sections. These are prisma-color markers. I can fit 5 markers into one section. 
2. Find a suitable box or make one from sturdy corrugated cardboard.  Mine is a cast off from buying a 12-pack of ginger ale from Costco last Christmas.  The sides of the box should be just a bit shorter than the length of your markers.  So, trim down the sides of any box that is too tall.  Or add height to the box with some deftly trimmed panels of corrugated cardboard, like I did. 
3. Determine the pattern you want your bee-hive to take, mine is a simple 4 x 6, but you can create extra pockets near the walls of the box by alternating your pattern.
4. Hot glue your bee-hive together outside of the box.  If you skip this it will still work, but I store my markers on the side, which makes the box a little top heavy, which in turn, will cause the upper level of your bee-hive to slip forward.  To avoid the potential mess of markers everywhere, and because I have a curious cat, I hot glued the bee-hive together.
5. Slip the bee-hive into the box.  This has some give, so just push it in there.  You can hot glue the hive to the inside of the box if you choose.  I have not done that yet, but I see now, it's a good idea.
6. Sort your makers by color - or however makes you happy.  Place it near your work table and you're all set!  If you really want to be fancy, cover the box in paper.  Me, not so much. 

 

 

 

Ghosts from Christmas Past

The large white envelope was in the mail yesterday, indicating a free issue of something that I've been published in recently.  There is no index in the 'Just' publications so you have to page through to find which one(s) they liked this go 'round.  On the patio with some ice coffee, I did just that and could not find a thing I recognized as mine.  Hmmm....

Going through it slower and looking at the names of the artists I finally found the two they chose.  They are easily from at least three years ago, probably more like 4.  Pages 105 and 112 of the Just Christmas 2013 - Vol 1.

Always nice to see my stuff in print, even if I'm having trouble recognizing it!  BTW - if you pick this issue up, there is one extremely prolific gal showcased in a big way.  I counted 62 cards by Beverly Sizemore.  Some were pretty cool, some not so much.  I'm going to have to google her and see what I find.  If you are into Christmas in July, this has some pretty good inspiration for you. 



http://scottpublications.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/1162

Easter Greetings!

These went out in the mail on Monday to friends and family.  The first one is made entirely from scraps I had in my pile.  I think there were 12 of them when I got them all done, so, yeah!  I used up a bunch of old stuff that's been hanging around since forever.  The carrots are a stamp I picked up from 'The Picture Show'.  I blogged about that Etsy store last October, if you recall.  Ink the top of the carrot in green, ink the bottom in orange, stamp, repeat.  They are all clear embossed to give them a little depth and shine.  I brought them all to the coffee shop one Sunday and commenced with fussy cutting them into individual carrots.  It sounds like it would take forever, but it really doesn't.  Muscle memory takes over after about the 5th one.

The second was cut using a card pattern I bought via the Cricut Craft Room for a paltry sum - less than $2.  All the little hearts are cut out with just the push of a button!  I will say, all that detail cutting x 12 cards pretty much spent the blade in my cutter.  Blades are easy to come by, so not heartbreaking. You get the liner as part of the image purchase and with the easy-peasy way the Craft Room lets you layer, it was super easy to layer the liner to fit the inside of the card.  Those bedecked little birds are also from 'The Picture Show'.  If you haven't stopped by her store yet, take a look.  Her stuff is truly unique.  Happy Easter, folks!

The Ides of March...

With the Ides of March only a few days away, the snow is rapidly melting as we await a late winter storm.  Given the mild temperature it will be mostly rain.  This creates the perfect storm for wasting a day in the craft cave!

Ink pads are great for small endeavors; a quick card here and there, or for an afternoon's detail work while parked at the coffee shop.  But when planning a larger project, or a mass production of cards, I prefer the ink refill bottles dribbled on my pallet board.  It allows for SUPER easy blending, and clean edge stamping.  Mind you, this works best with pigment inks.  They won't dry out on your pallet board for weeks.  Seriously, I've left ink exposed on my boards for months.  Of course if I don't hide it on a shelf or put it in a drawer, Pye gets into the action and I get her version of artwork all over creation.  Its a good thing this stuff is non-toxic...  She's lucky she's cute

The background piece of the finished card starts out as a plain sheet of 8.5x11 card stock.  I like to use either white or ivory Stardust.  I buy it by the ream from Office Max when they send out those paper bags in the Sunday paper.  Anything you can stick in the bag is X% off.  You can fit quite a few reams of paper in those bags. 

Choose your color pallet from your ink bottles.  The number you pick is only limited by the number of clean brayers you have.  Here's a tip.  When you buy an ink pad, buy the refill bottle with it.  Just because a pad gets dry doesn't mean it's not still good.  If you have the refill bottles your ink pads can last for years.  I've had most of mine for 10+ years.  The only reason I've thrown them out is if they get ratty and start shedding their foam or fabric on my projects. 

Dribble your colors onto your pallet. You only need about 4-6 drops per color.  I use small brayers so I space my dribbles just wider than the brayer.  Run a brayer through each of the puddles a few times back and forth to coat it.  Choose the lightest color first and start rolling it on the paper.  Alternate directions and colors until you like what you see. You can add back in lighter accents if you lost it all during the process.  No problem. 

I save the darkest colors for adding the stamped details.  In this case I used a 4-leaf clover.  Tap it onto the pallet board to ink it and then tap it onto the paper, repeat as often as you want.  Maybe add another color to the board that has some shimmer in it and stamp away.  You can see the pallet board below after I'm done.  The colors have blended to create ever different shades than what you started with.  Yes, you should line your work surface with something disposable as you will be inking off the edge of you page.

The embossing powder in the picture was used on the leprechaun's hat in the finished product.



After it's dry, I cut up the page to create the accent pieces for the card's background.  This is what it looks like, dry and cut.  You can encourage it to dry with your heat gun.  Or you can let it sit for a few hours.  When pigment ink is applied to paper, it will dry, albeit slowly.  The pallet board does not allow the ink to penetrate so it stays wet on the board. 



The horse shoe (below) is the first cut I did from the Cricut Craft Room, a thing I've been blogging about in previous posts.  I've been updating those posts as I learn more, so if you are a Cricut owner, you may want to re-read them. 

The inside of the card was stamped using the ink from the pallet board and various themed stamps from my collection.  I punched a four-leaf clover from green glitter paper left over from Christmas.  That's a Martha Stewart punch.  Click any image to embiggen for details. 

Happy St. Pat's, people! - AMK