2 Weeks To Thanksgiving - Oh My!!

How did it get to be so close to Thanksgiving so fast?  I love the holiday time and always want it to last forever.  For some reason this year seems to be passing by so quickly.  I hope things slow down a little.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?  I know I am not.  I haven't even bought a turkey yet!!  I cook every year and really do enjoy it.  I just feel so unprepared this year.  I finally sat down yesterday and went through my recipes to put the menu together.  I guess that now I will just need to put the grocery list together and get to the store.  I also need to put the guest list together and invite everyone to come.  I don't know about you but sometimes the "to do" list seems endless to me.  There are not enough hours in the day.  That's when I have to remind myself that the holidays are to be enjoyed and not a chore.  I need to modify my list and just do the basics - the things I love and the traditions that are so important to me.  Well that's my holiday advice.  Sure hope I follow it.

Today I wanted to share a simple thank you card with you that I made for a bride recently.  She wanted a basic design to send to those who gave her and her new husband a wedding gift.  So I came up with the following card. 

 

I started with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Old Olive card and scored it at 4 1/4".  I added only one layer to this.  It is a 4" x 5 1/4" Night of Navy piece of card stock.  I ran this through my big shot using the retired Lacy Brocade impression folder.  I attached it to the base card using runner adhesive.  

For the center focal point, I used a retired stamp set called Ain't Love Grand.  I stamped the little car using Basic Black ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I used my color pencils to color it in.  Now there is a greeting that stamped with the car image too but when I punched out the car I deliberately did not include the greeting.  I just did not want to use it.  I punched the car out using the wide oval punch and layered it onto an Old Olive oval which was cut using the oval framelits set and the big shot.  The ovals are attached together using runner adhesive and the final oval is attached to the card using dimensionals.  I them added a pearl to the top and bottom of the oval for added decor.

 

The greeting I chose to use is from the stamp set (retired also I think) called Curly Cute.  I stamped it using Old Olive ink and punched it out with the modern label punch.  I then punched out an Old Olive modern label and layered the greeting onto it using runner adhesive.  The completed greeting is attached to the card with dimensionals.  

Once the card had had plenty of time to sit so the ink was dried completely, I sprayed the entire front with champagne shimmer spray.  For the inside, I put a blank 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock which allowed the bride plenty of room to write her notes.  

Remember that cards do not have to be complicated to be elegant.  At this busy time of year the last thing you need to do is stress yourself out trying to do really intricate holiday cards.  Just do a design that you are comfortable with and your family and friends will love it.

Thanks for dropping by today to visit.  I will return again with another card to share with you.  See you all later.

Finally Back To Normal - Well Almost

I cannot believe how long it has been since I have blogged.  I had these thank you cards to make to send to the sponsors of the charity my husband is president of and boy did they take a while to finish.  On top of that I also was making thank you cards for my daughter's friend who just got married.  I don't know if it was just me being slow at doing them or maybe they really were that intricate.  Oh well.  All I know is they are finished now and I can once again relax a bit and blog more often.

I am still keeping my nephew Jackson 3 days a week.  He is so much fun!  He is 14 months now and walking a bit.  He prefers to have you assist him with walking but he'll get more independent in time.  My hubby is still battling his sinus issues and we will find out if the medicine he is on is working at all on Thursday.  I sure hope it is.  He has been ill for almost 3 months.  He needs a break and so do I!

Today I thought I would share with you the birthday card I made for my hubby this year.  I used a sticker set as the main focus points on the card but did a fancy fold for it called a tri-shutter.  Let me show it and get us going.

 

My hubby is a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan so I went with that theme for this ear.  This is a view from the front of the card.  I used Pumpkin Pie card stock for this one and added layers of Basic Black and Whisper White to the panels.  I ran the white through my big shot using the spider web impression folder and lightly brushed the web with black ink to make it pop.

 

This is a look from the top down.  You can see how the card bends.  I love the fact that you can see all of it when it is standing up.

 

This gives you a view of all the panels.  I used the small heart punch for two of the panels as well as for with Sally.  The cupcake punch allowed me to create cute cupcakes for two panels.  I stuck with the black and white theme for these but added Pool Party card stock dots to the cupcakes as well as for the candle.  Believe it or not, this color matched the tone used on the Sally sticker for her skin.  The letters were cut out using the retired decorative strip called Billboard and my big shot.  I used runner adhesive and a two way glue pen to all all the embellishments.  The bats were part of the sticker set.

 

This photo allows you to see how the card looks when folded flat.  It fits in a regular A2 envelope and is easy to mail.  The recipient will be in for a surprise when they unfold it and see all the work you have put into it.  

I know I have made this type of card before and believe I have put the how to instructions up also.  Check my June 14, 2013 birthday card post.  They should be in it.  However if you cannot locate them, please let me know and I will do a tutorial on how to make the base card.  

I cannot tell you how good it feels to be visiting with all of you again.  I have really missed this.  Thanks for your patience and understanding.  I look forward to sitting down and crafting again soon.  While I may not get back to posting every day (I run short of time on my Jackson days) I will try my best to post 2 to 3 times a week.  

Thanks for stopping by to visit me today.  See you again soon!!!