Fa La La La La!

No, I'm not done with Christmas, not by a long shot, especially since I had barely finished decorating on Christmas Eve.  I think that call for an extended celebration, at least until Valentine's day, don'tcha think?.  The thought of taking all that stuff down now gives me a panic attack.  Besides, the Winter Wonderland Challenge at Aurora Wings is still going strong so consider this a little reminder.  I was dying to try my brand new stitched hillside pop up die by Lawn Fawn and created  cute little winter scene using the adorable little Caroling Elves by Aurora Wings.

I added some Magnolia Doohickey die cut trees and a blanket of snow, actually a stitched rectangle (another new die) on the base for a little more weight and a place to write a greeting.  I've had the blingy "fa la la la la la" in my craft drawer FOREVER and thought it was just the ticket here.

Here's a closeup of the sweet little elf trio.  They're colored with Copics in traditional Christmas colors and fussy cut but not popped so the card could close more easily.  Where's the front?  Ummm... would you believe not done yet? I've been a little ADD in all aspects of my life since Christmas and I just couldn't make a decision yet.  Will probably be just traditional DP with a Merry Christmas sentiment since all the fun action is inside.

Again, the Winter wonderland Blog Challenge runs through Saturday January 14th so there's still time to enter (up to 3 times if using an Aurora Wings image, but only once if you're using another stamp).  The winners of the December FB contest will be announced shortly and the new January contest will be starting soon.

Here's how to keep up with all that's happening at Aurora Wings.

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I'm entering this in the DL.Art January Linky challenge, the Outlawz Twisted Thursday ATG challenge, Simon Says Wednesday ATG, Open Minded Crafting Stitching Faux or Real (stitched dies), 613 Avenue Create ATG/Optional Technical (pop-up card), CHNC #314 ATG (as long as it's Christmas), CHNC January Christmas Extra, Dies R Us ATG using Dies and TTRCD ATG week of January 3rd.

The Cuttlebug Spot Pop Up Cards

Oh I sure have enjoyed this fabulous month of card folds with The Cuttlebug Spot. Our last inspiration is Pop Up cards and again, there are so many different kinds to choose from. I decided to go with the Surprise Pop-up found HERE on Splitcoast Stampers. I basically followed the tutorial, but wanted to make it a bit more special by using a Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page mat which caused be to modify the pop up dimensions slightly. The white mat is embossed with the tiny hearts from the With Love Card Making Combo and the pop-up sentiment is from the Sizzix Baby set.

I wanted it it to be as pretty closed at open so I started with a 5x6 3/4" rectangle and punched around with the Swirling Lace set. I added a 4x 5 3/4" yellow mat on top of that and then cut the width of the pop up top at 3 3/4" instead of 4 1/4" and cut the side slits for the slider at only 1/2" rather than 3/4" from each side. The pull tag is 3 1/4" wide. Because of this, I could only use 1/8" tape to adhere the top to the back to leave room for the slide tag.

In order for the pop up to slide easily it is best to stamp, or print your sentiment. I used rub ons mostly from Melissa Francis. The little hand and feet are brads from M's. Too cute, eh? The Cuttlebug Spot DT has come up with fabulous stuff this week (as always) so pop on over and be inspired!

BBTB2 Winter Frolic Santa

Eiyiyi! I can't believe it's the 6th already! Please don't remind me how little time is left before the big day. This is our first challenge in December for BBTB2 and our adorable and fabulously talented DT sister Joanna chose the Santa from Winter Frolic. That's 2 in a row from that cartridge, but remember, you can choose a Santa from ANY cartridge if you don't own Winter Frolic, as some of the gals did this week. I immediately started doing my usual design (shaped front in DS, with one of the sentiments) and then decided to do something entirely different.

I've been pulling out neglected things from my stash, in an effort to remind myself I've already got more crafty stuff than I know what to do with, and remembered the Sizzix pop-up sleigh die I just had to have (and of course never used) and thought dear Santa might look groovy riding in it. BTW, the Sleigh is a Bigz die and you CAN use your Cuttlebug to cut it out. The die is very thick, so you don't use your A plate, just a B plate, the Bigz die, card stock, and another B plate.

So you're seeing the INSIDE of my card. I decorated the sleigh like they did in the pic on the Sizzix die. I just happened to have the same Sizzix embossing folder and that was one less thing to worry about. LOL I cut Santa at 3 1/2" and added the trees border (also from Winter Frolic) cut at 4" behind the sleigh. I cut them twice and trimmed off 2 of them and embossed them with Swiss dots to add a bit of interest. Merry Christmas is from Beyond Birthdays shrunk down big time in DS and actually colored with Copics, as are the border presents (in the sleigh also from WF).

I did a bit of embossing on Santa himself, too. His sack is embossed with the Cuttlebug Mesh Texture and his beard is flocked and then embossed with the scrolly (not a word but you get the idea) heart from the Hearts 3x3 combo set (which I can't seem to find anywhere online at the moment.) The small scale worked well for the tiny beard. I used a Marvy Snow Marker for the trim on this coat and hat and realized that you've got to be a bit careful when applying the heat gun or it will scorch a bit. (I call it soot from the chimney.)

All of this stuff in the center makes it a FAT card in a different way, so I kept the front really simple; double mats, some candy striped ribbon and "ho, ho, ho" cut from Christmas Cheer. Now head on over to BBTB2 to see the rest of the DT's fabulous inspiration because Santa Clause is coming to town! P.S. It's naughty not to play along!

Hoppy Birthday Cut File Available

Here's a birthday card I designed for my dear frog loving friend Carole. (Check out her amazing blog HERE) I just can't get enough of that frog from Paper Dolls so this time he's jumping all over the place. The front is a spinner card and the sentiment (which I'm afraid is awfully hard to read because of the mix of patterns I chose) says "Hoppy".

Inside is a pop-up "Birthday" with a couple more frogs that hop out a you when you open the card. I couldn't resist the DCWV Spring Glitter Stack but now that I look at the pix I guess it made for an awfully busy card, especially because I blinged up a storm using adhesive gems. I still think it's a fun one and Carole got a kick out of it. Because it's pretty thick I used the Crayon box from Tags, Bags, Boxes and more for an envie and it fit perfectly. Custom Crops picked up my design so if you wish to make your own you can view the the full article and instructions and download the .cut file HERE. If you think it's cute I'd sure appreciate a comment on the Custom Crops site (and here of course). And if you'd also like to view the other articles and .cut files I've done click HERE for the list.

Happy Bee-Day

I had a blast making this for my dear friend Leah from the Cricut message board. Her mb name is BeeCherryLady so of course a bee themed birthday card was in order. It is my first spinner card, and my first word pop-up. The card was made using my Cricut Design studio for every aspect. I used A Walk in my Garden for the bee, hive, and flower cuts, Plantin Schoolbook for the welded words, and George for the honeycomb effect (which was inspired by JustforSharing from the Cricut mb). The little bee on the front spins from side to side when the card is tilted. I read SusanBlueRobot's tutorial on how to do word pop-ups for the inside. Her instructions are just awesome! I added bee brads on wire to simulate flight as well as lots of doodling. I even made some tiny cherries out of skittles and DMC floss by her name. This is my favorite card yet!

Halloween Pop-ups

I did these cards for a charity auction back in August. Sometimes it's kinda fun when the paper does most of the work. In this case it's all from the DCWV Fall glitter stack. I guess I didn't take a pic of the cards when they are closed, but when you pull the ribbon the front pulls up revealing the sentiment.

Father's Day

Okay, so you can see how much I was lovin' these pop-ups. I made this for my kitties to give to their daddy for Father's Day. Back in June Paper Pups was the only cartridge I owned that had any kitty images on it so I went with what I had and just cut the dogs out of the picture. I used more of the great cardstock from the DCWV Pet Matstack. The words "You're Purrfect Daddy" were welded from Plantin Schoolbook with design studio.

You Did It!

Here's my first Pop-up card. I found the tutorial on UTube. I made this as an 8th grade graduation card but it would be great for any accomplishment. It folds flat so it can be put in an envelope. This was the first time I used the Beyond Birthdays cart. The tag pocket on the back was for a gift card. I loved the bright colors I used and all of the little Favorite Findings stars. It's not very easy to impress a teenage boy, but when he opened it he said "Whoa!" That made my day.