Advent Calendar

 I've wanted to make one of these for so long.  This fall when Silhouette released their new advent calendar (which comes complete with downloads for custom fit drawers and amazing boxes) I knew I had to get it.  The hardest part of this project was deciding which gorgeous papers to use.  There are sooo many amazing sets this year that I had a hard time deciding.  But in perfect Denni fashion I gravitated to K&Company.  Oh this Yuletide pad is so purty!  For some of the drawers I fussy cut images from the collage page, and for others I just used bits of design elements on the papers.  I cut the numbers using a Sizzix set so that my daughter could help.  She LOVES using my toys- what a great little crafting buddie she is becoming!!

I decided to use drawers for the calendar this year because some of the box designs that came with the set might be a bit tricky for my daughter to open.  I love the boxes though, and I think I may replace a few drawers each year with new boxes, that is assuming I don't use up all the gorgeous papers from this paper set first, lol!




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It's A Party!

I've been fighting some brain pain for the last couple days but really needed to get the invites for my daughter's birthday party in the mail so I opted for a simple Print and Cut design that she picked out.

She loves princesses and she loves Olivia so Princess Olivia theme it is.  The coolest part of making these invitations is that I have never tried this feature with my Silhouette or Cameo, ever.  I've purchased a bunch of the P&C designs, but either I didn't use them yet or I just printed them and fussy cut by hand (because I am crazy I know - but I do love doing that).  I just could not hand cut 10 Olivia's though with my headache.  I know that a few folks have had some troubles trying this feature so I was a bit nervous to start, but I held my breath and crossed my fingers and Oh. My. Gosh.  It totally worked like a dream, WOW!  LOVE it!!

Anyway, here is Princess Olivia, all dressed up and ready to party!!  The "It's A Party" phrase is by Lori Whitlock and the banner frame is by Loni Harris.

My daughter wanted me to add Olivia's horse and the little frog that are in the Silhouette store too, but they didn't fit, so I guess we will be making some nice Thank You notes with those P&C's!



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BOO!

I LOVE my new Eyelet Lace punch set!  I couldn't wait to use it so I made this card to send to my daughter with her Halloween candy.  The spooky eyes are from a Silhouette cut file by Loni Stevens.

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Creepy Candy

I wanted to send some Halloween candy to my daughter at college and this is what I came up with,  Bwahahahaaa!!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE these print and cut label files by Jennifer Wambach that I found the Silhouette Online Store.  They are so fun and my daughter should get a good giggle out of them too - I know I did, lol!  I filled a peanut butter jar with white chocolate M&M's (I never knew they made WHITE chocolate M&M's!!) and a frappuccino bottle with candy corn, and then used a Silhouette candy bar wrapper cut file by Pebbles in my Pocket to wrap a couple Hershey bars.

For her roomates I decided to make a few of the coffin treat boxes by Kenzie Daley.  I had some real fun with these!  On the covers I used some Dustin Pike colored digis and a cool font called A Charming Font and then outlined the edges with some distressed Stickles.  The inside sentiment is a Silhouette print and cut file and the cute spider is a Creative Memories punch. 

Creepy sweets for my sweetie!  She's gonna laugh for sure!


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Halloween Glass Block

I finally tried working with a glass block and I loved it!  I made this for my daughter's dorm room and although it is a bit late in the season, she still insisted on taking it anyway, yay! 

I combined (and slightly modified) designs from Lori Whitlock (house, bats), Sarah Bailey (trees) and Silhouette (ghost) to create the spooky scene and I added my own moon and background border.  Yep, all I had to do was draw a circle and a square, LOL!  I didn't have any kind of glass paint so I used tissue paper for the bottom layer to color the moon.  A wired sparkly black ribbon is wrapped around the sides and a yellow flickering flame battery powered tea light provides the spooky lighting.

A fun decoration, day or night!

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An apple for the teacher (and my first try at designing my own sliceform!)

I wanted an apple sliceform but couldn't find a file for one so I decided to try playing with my Silhouette software and design my own.  I used an ornament design by Kenzie Daley as my inspiration because every one of her 3D designs that I've ever tried has totally rocked so I figured it would be a good example for me to start with.  The trickiest part was sizing the outside rings but even that wasn't too bad.  My apple is a little taller than 3" and ready for my daughter to deliver to her new teacher on the first day of school.

Now I need to try to create one that folds flat to tuck into a card...


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Shabby Chic Nesting Trays

My GIBBS Happy Mail partner this round was Tracy who wished for a tray to hold projects in progress.  I found this set of nesting trays and could not resist shabbifying them.  I started with 2 layers of light blue paint, then a coat of crackle medium and topped it off with a coat of white paint.  OHMYGOSH it was AWFULLLLL!  The crackle happened so much faster than I could keep up with and I did not get anything of the look I was going for.  The cracks were too wide and too blue!  But after another 3 coats of white paint covering up some of the blue, and a bit of light sanding on some edges, it finally looked more like my brain was imagining it would.   I also added 2 coats of mod podge to seal them and to top off the crackle struggle, temps were hovering around 100 the entire week with humidity in the upper 90% range so it took FOREVER for each coat of paint to dry, eeeek! 

I'm so excited that you can coat more than one layer of paint over the crackle medium and it will still crackle a little bit - I may be more adventurous in the future knowing this now!

I added some fancy background mats and some simple silhouette designs cut with my Silhouette.  I thought that the plain blue mats needed something more so I used one of my monster sized StampinUp! background stamps to add a white ivy pattern.  The mat design file is by Sweet Afton and the ladies are by Hero Arts. 

The larger tray has a mat design by Samantha Walker (one of my fave designers in the store!) but I flipped it upside down to fit the House of 3 bird cage design better.  I love how Silhouette has so many different and awesome designers in their store!

This was a really fun project despite the initial crackle challenge (and also having them fall off my deck railing 10' down to rocks while I was taking pics of them - good thing I was going for the distressed look, LOL!) so I bought two more sets of these trays to alter for Christmas gifts this year - heck, I may even keep one for myself!

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Please Excuse My Drool....

I LOOOVE this!

I NEEEED this!

I am SOOOO gonna get this!


(and to my scrappy peeps: this thing is QUIET - no more wounded moose at our crops!)


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Surfing Dudley Get Well Card

I found something more difficult for me to make than a masculine card - a masculine card for a teenager!  Ohgosh I tell ya, I seriously almost ran to the store to buy one this time, lol! 

I used one of my favorite Dustin Pike Dudley images and I wrote a little message inside that included bits like "back on your feet" and "have a fun summer".  I colored him with my prismas and then cut a scribble frame by Samantha Walker with my Silhouette.

Do teenage boys even like cards??


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Mini Tissue Box

When I saw this tissue box design by Lori Whitlock in the Silhouette Online Store I just knew I had to have it!  I keep a couple of the pocket size tissue packs in the center console of my car and no matter how careful I am they always get squished to the bottom.  Now I can leave them out in view, tucked into this adorable teeny tissue box cover.  It actually can hold 2 packs so I always have a backup ;)

Oooooh I just had a thought!  These might even make cute little teacher gifts to include with those cd calendars I just made, heehee!!

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GIBBS Happy Mail clock

Item 3 on Lisa's wish list was for a wall clock to put in her craft room - again she requested purple and butterflies and although the design I came up with was super simple, I really like the silhouette design.  I covered a clock base with cardstock, added the flowers and numbers that I cut using my Silhouette, and finished it off with a few metallic butterfly stickers.  I sealed it all with mod podge and then held my breath and crossed my fingers and toes as I tried to reassemble the clock mechanism.  I was absolutely thrilled that it still worked when it was all put back together again, lol!!

Oh, and I remembered to take the battery out of it before shipping, I didn't think that a ticking package would make the USPS too comfortable, lol!

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GIBBS Happy Mail banner

The second thing on Lisa's wish list was for wall decorations for her craft room.  I decided to make MY version of a ROYGBIV banner (what is a rainbow without pink or aqua? LOL!) using my Silhouette.  I added rosettes that spell out "CREATE!" and a few color coordinated and glittered butterflies and a couple of the biggest buttons I ever saw as end pieces.

I did have a devil of a time trying to cut these pieces though because we had a week and a half of rain and the paper was so damp my poor Sil struggled to cut and not tear it.  I ended up trimming most of the pieces using my craft knife - but they were so worth it because I love the filigree look of these designs.  (Be sure to click on the pics to see closer detail)


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GIBBS Happy Mail Swap!

According to USPS tracking, the box of goodies I sent to my secret swap partner, Lisa, is sitting on her door step right now, YAY!!!  So it is safe to post my pics ; )

I made all 5 things that she posted in her wish list, not realizing that I only had to choose a few of the items.  Yep I'm a goober I guess, but that's a good thing for her, eh?  LOL!!

The first thing she asked for was a perpetual calendar.  I decided to make a magnetic one and I used a metal dry erase board for the base that I painted matte white.  The day markers are metal rimmed tags that I also painted, then glued onto magnets and covered with punched out numbers that I had printed from my computer.  The month labels were printed from my computer too and then backed with magnet sheets that I cut using my nesties.  I stitched the calendar grid to help with alignment and bordered the entire thing with flourishes cut with my Silhouette.  Extra calendar pieces fit nicely into one of the Stampin' Up! tins that I had stocked up on this winter when they went on clearance. 

I was kind of timid when designing all of the swap items for her since I am not totally sure of her style, but I know she likes purple (her scrap room color) and butterflies so I went with those hoping to play it safe.

I hope you like it Lisa!!



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2011 Calendar Blog Hop!

Welcome to my first blog hop!! If you are hopping along the months then you should have arrived from Summer and Jennifer's blog at Cricut Diaries. If not, be sure to start at the beginning and check out all the amazing bloggers and calendar layouts!  The hop runs December 28, 29 & 30th.

Also, if you are hopping along you can be entered into a drawing for some fantastic candy because our host Karelj from One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity is donating a brand-new cricut cartridge: Designer's Calendar!!  In order to be eligible to win you need to leave a comment on each and every stop on the hop and include a way for her to contact you in each comment. She will choose a winner by random.org on the 31st and announce it on her blog and contact the winner personally. So keep hopping and good luck!!

Here is the list of participating blogs:
1. January and April: Celeste at Touched by a Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
2. January and September: Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper http://www.overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com/
3. February: Christel at Scrappin' Sista http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/
4. February and March: Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com/
5. March and July: Diane at Crafting This Moment http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/
6. April: Bonnie at A Scrap Above http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/
7. May: Michelle at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
8. May: Natalie at Timeless Legacy Designs http://timelesslegacydesigns.blogspot.com/
9. June: Lisa at Lisa's Paper Butterflies http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com/
10. June: Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
11. July: Summer and Jennifer at Cricut Diaries http://cricutdiaries.blogspot.com/
12. August: Denise at Starlight Scrapper http://starlightscrapper.blogspot.com YOU ARE HERE!!
13. August: Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/
14. September: Deb at If It's Groovy http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com/
15. October: Rebecca at Creations with Becka http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/
16. October: Lora at Notes From The Scrapbook Lady http://scrpbooklady.blogspot.com/
17. November: Belinda at Queen Bee's Musings http://www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com/
18. November and December : Col at Col's Creative Corner at http://www.scrappycol.blogspot.com/
19. December: Deb at Tidbit's Place http://tidbitsplace.blogspot.com/


The layout I created is for the month of August. I love the summer months and with the snow and cold we are dealing with right now I needed to escape a bit and get lost in some warm thoughts.  And what says summer better than flowers, butterflies and kids chasing bubbles?  LOL!!

I no longer own a cricut, I replaced it with a Silhouette, but if you are a bug owner you can recreate my layouts easily using any similar cricut designs.  I've listed the materials and specifics below for these 12x12 layouts but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

PHOTO LAYOUT:
Purple mat = 12" x 12"
Periwinkle mat = 11.5" x 11.5"
Pink swirl paper = 11.25" x 11.25"
Light Pink Doily mat = 7.75" diameter (Silhouette design: "Scalloped Flowerd Circle" by Samantha Walker)
Lavender mat = 5.5" (Silhouette design: "Nested Frames Tags" by Alaa' K)
Photo is 4x5 but 4x6 fits nicely too
"August" font is Murray Bold and cut at 130pt and then shadowed
Periwinkle Loopy Border strip =1.25" x 10.25" (Silhouette design: "Loopy Lace" by Loni Stevens)
Misc leafy branch cuts (Silhouette design: "Leaf Branch" by Karla Dudley)
Butterflies were made using Martha Stewart punch and then I added Stickles
I added flat backed pearls to the doily mat
I added some doodling on leaves and fake stitching around mats using coordinating colored markers

CALENDAR GRID LAYOUT:
Purple mat = 12" x12"
Periwinkle mat = 11.5" x 11.5"
Pink swirl paper = 11.25" x 11.25"
Lavender Matt = 10.5" x 8.5"
Periwinkle Loopy Borders = 1.25" x 10.25"
Grid: I welded simple flowers in my cutter's software and cut from med pink, then printed the numbers on light pink paper using my printer and punched them out using Martha Stewart scallop 1" circle punch.  I also printed the days of the week on white cardstock, trimmed them to 1 5/16" x 5/16" and glued onto a green 10" x 1/2" strip.
I added another leafy branch, more Stickled Martha Stewart butterfly punchouts and doodled around mats.
I wasn't sure if I needed the year anywhere on the layouts but decided to add a hand drawn/cut tag and used floss for the tie.

Papers:
Purple and lavender cardstock and bright blue for butterflies is CTMH
Periwinkle cardstock is Bazzill
Pink swirl paper, green, medium pink and light pink cardstock is Creative Memories
Dark pink for "August" is American Crafts cardstock
Stickles color is Crystal

Thanks for visiting and Happy Hopping!

Your next stop is Gina's blog at Gina Thornton Stamping

Frosty The NOMAN

My daughter still has a few cute ways to say certain words with one trend being that she usually skips the "s" sound if it is in the beginning.  Last week when I asked her what I should put on the front of the holiday cards for her teachers she told me "Put a NOMAN on them mommy!"  LOL!  How could I resist that request?!!  

So I made 6 of these Frosty cards for my daughter's teachers and bus drivers.  The design is by Hero Arts and was cut with my Silhouette.  At first I thought I was gonna whip out these cards quickly because the design was one piece and just a silhouette outline cut with no layering.  But when I put them together they just looked like they needed a little something.  So I added googlie eyes...  Then buttons...  Then ribbon... and feathers.  So much for the quickie cards, LOL!  But I know the recipients will enjoy them so it was worth it.  The ribbon was the trickiest part because when I cut it the little rope part that makes loops kept winging out and I had to glue and hold til they behaved. 

 

This aqua blue card stock is one of the prettiest color in my stash.  It's from CTMH and is textured and very thick with a lighter shade of this color on the back side.  LOVE CTMH two tone!  And even though it is thick it cuts like butter in my Silhouette.  Frosty is cut out of Georgia Pacific cardstock which I also used to make the 5"x5" card base.   

I will be proud when my daughter eventually gets all her words right, but for now I will giggle and enjoy hearing her singing Frosty the Noman because that is one thing I will definitely miss.


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Calendar

I wanted to make a little something to mail along with our Christmas card to my husband's aunt (not the same dancing turkey aunt, lol!).  I decided to make her a little 6"x6" calendar with the tear away pages and discovered that my Storybook Creator 3.0 software has an unbelievable calendar tool.  Oh how I LOVE LOVE LOVE that software!

I used my Silhouette to cut the gorgeous frame which is actually created by using four of the freebie flourish design that Kenzie Daley posted a challenge with last week.  If you want to participate check it out HERE but hurry - she's picking a winner tomorrow.  Papers were all Creative Memories as was the paper flower and the punch that made the teeny butterflies.  The leaves were punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

You know, I was so excited to find the calendar tool that I never stopped to double check the dates for each month - gosh I hope they are correct, lol!


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Castle Card

What kind of birthday card does every preschool princess require?   A pink and purple royal palace card of course!  LOL!  I used a super cute and super easy Silhouette design by Samantha Walker, then added some ribbon and Star Dust Stickles (my absolute fave).  This was for my peep Diana's daughter, but my daughter liked it so much she requested the same card for her next birthday!

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Halloween Decorations & Card

I've been trying to finish up some decorations using Silhouette files to send to my daughter at school and they are finally done, yay!!  They are just some simple fun things to hang on the walls, windows and doors of her dorm room, along with a few frap bottles that I filled with candy corn for her, her boyfriend and her roommate.  I also sent her a card using a new awesome flourishy bat design that I just downloaded the other day, what perfect timing!

Now I can work on some requests from my kindergartner for her room, lol!

And here's the tag that I used on the candy corn bottles, it's a Dustin Pike  image that I colored in Paint.

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