Snow Snow...go away...!!

    I am one who would be much happier if we never had any snow and I know I could easily live in a climate where the temps never went much below 60!   Pretty much exactly what it's been like for Brian and Meg since they moved to San Diego!  Oh, how I wish we could all have moved out there together...that would be like a dream come true...maybe in time, we will!   I would be very very happy to live in that climate and I almost most to LA, way back when I was 19.  I often wonder what my life would have been like, if I had made that move?  Hum??

    Speaking of JOY, I am very happy and excited to say that I have finished up all of my Christmas cards and will be mailing them out very soon.  I have them all stamped and addressed and ready to go and that's a good feeling to have it done.

    Today, I have quite few new cards to share and all of these will be put away for next year, or sent off to Operation Write Home for next season.  There are still many challenges being hosted with a Christmas or Winter theme and that's what inspired me to created most of these cards today.

    My first card was colored and created for the newest "Copic Coloring Challenge" over at The Outlawz, where the theme this week is a easy one -- Anything Goes!  I decided to color up this sweet little "Dress Up for Christmas" tree image, which a fun digi from  A Day for Daisies.   I colored it with my Copics and then added a light layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer over the top to give it extra shine.  My papers are a variety from my stash and my Sentiment is from a Hero Arts set.

  My next two cards were both inspired for the newest challenge at The Outlawz, which is today's Paper a la Mode Challenge.   Our theme for this week is "Birds" and while I did think about using the card above, I decided to make something fun and whimsical, so I put my Cameo to work to create these fun little Owl Cards, which I designed using the Print and Cut Feature after importing some of my favorite Christmas digi backgrounds into my "Pattern Files".  That way I could use the Fill feature and color in the owls with fun Christmas designs.  

   I also used my Cameo to create many of the die cuts you'll see on the next few cards, starting with this one, where I cut several snowflakes.

  And on this card, where I cute the snowflakes and the banner and then cut them directly from patterned papers.  I created my own background using a new stamp from Impression Obsession along with some Field Greens Shadow Ink and and a matching Hero Hues Foliage Cardstock.  

  And next I have a super quick and easy card that I created with one of the adorable pre-colored die cut images that I purchased from Lili of the Valley.   I simply trimmed the image a bit and layered it onto some black cardstock.  I picked out more matching papers and printed out a cute little digital sentiment -- put it all together and had this sweet little card.  I added a hint of glitter to the image and highlight the sentiment in red, with a Copic Spica Pen.  I also embossed the card base with a snowflake embossing folder!   I find these images are perfect when you are lacking MOJO or when you don't have time to color!   You can make several cards quickly and easily and they are all as sweet as can be.   They have a wonderful selection and they are very reasonable and also ship FREE!    Each sheet of six little images if just about $1.65 USD and you can create six different cards, which I think is awesome!    I also recently bought some of these amazing Mini Masterpieces, which are equally as wonderful!   

 My next two cards were also cards that feature a variety of die cuts, some I cut with my Cameo and others were cut using Dies from Memory Box and also from Sizzix.  There are so many amazing and wonderful die cuts now available and they make such nice cards!!  This first card contains a fabric type die cut that came packaged from Bazzill as well as the banner, which I cut on my Cameo.  

  This one features the Holly Vine and Crisp Bows, both from Memory Box, along with the two stars which I cut on my Cameo.   This card is actually pretty much a case of a card that Jennifer McGuire created and shared with us in last year's Holiday Card Bootcamp 2011.    Whenever I feel like I need some new inspiration, I will often go back to one of the workshops I've taken and review some of the Videos and Files for new ideas.  I think it's fabulous that we all have "forever" access to all the class content.    It's also fun to go back and look at the Gallery, especially when my MOJO is missing!  

     Today was a great day for me and it's my favorite kind of day.   I'm feeling pretty good, my pain level is controlled, I'm comfy and warm and I had lots of time in my craft room.   I could have easily stayed in ALL day and the only reason I even went out, was to take little Scout out, for a little walk.   He also doesn't like the cold, snow or even cold rain, so he's very content to skip our longer walks for days when the weather is much better.  He's a perfect dog for me and likes to come in and enjoy the warmth of the woodstove, or his his cozy blankets.   He's sleeping right next to me on his blanket and that's how he spends most of his day.  Happily lounging on his blanket, going out for walks or playing with his toys!  He stays very close to me and you can almost always find him, in whatever room I'm in.  He does also LOVE Alex and if Alex has been gone for a while, then he LOVES to be with him in his room and even sleeps in there every so often!    We are lucky to have him and very thankful that he's adapted so well to his new home.  He's a wonderful little dog and makes us all happy.

   

      I'm also happy that the snow is not sticking and can't wait for the mild air to move in.   Woohoo!!  Think SPRING!!!