Cookie Exchange 2016

Hello there! Are you ready to drool over some Christmas cookies? We held our annual cookie exchange party recently and it was a very yummy time.



We were a smaller group this year, only 7 bakers. My sweet tooth was still appeased.

Since our home was already decorated for Christmas, I didn't have to add much to the table save the cookies.



The only crafting I did was to create these little place cards for each of us.  The little critters from Into the Woods offering up the Santa mug from Beary Merry are so cute! I slipped my stamped pieces into tiny frames that I picked up from Michaels' dollar spot.

Ready to see the cookies?



Chantalle makes these fudgy chocolate crinkles every year because they are so melt-in-your-mouth good.

I loved this cookie. I liked that it wasn't overly sweet, and and had lots brightness from the orange.



These were mine! Cranberry and white chocolate chip cookies, with a white chocolate cream cheese icing and more white chocolate and cranberries on top. If you guessed that you would be in a sugar coma after one cookie, you'd probably be right. They are yummy, but I would skip the extra chocolate on top next time.



Snickerdoodles are already amazing, but add the warmth of the chai spices next to a cup of hot tea and this one wins everything.

What's not to love about a good peanut butter ball? The crunch inside is such a nice surprise.



Along with the chai-spiced cookies, these were on top for me. I just love the warm spice of these ginger molasses cookies.



Last, but not least, these buttery shortbreads were definitely the most festive looking of the bunch! They look like pretty holiday wreaths!

I hope you enjoyed this look at this year's cookie exchange! Merry Christmas, everyone!

♥.

noel with the gang

Hi there!

Can you believe there are only 4 more sleeps until Christmas? I can't wait!

Last week, I brought all of the pieces that Thomas' 4th grade class needed to create this card:

I used Beary Merry and Elfs and Their Shelf (both from Neat and Tangled) as well as the Noel die from Lawn Fawn and the Burst die from Avery Elle.

All of my favorite companies on one card!



It was a very fun experience, and they are apparently asking if I would come again in the new year. Some of kids were so meticulous, adding shading to the snowman  and the bear's scarf without my telling them to - it was obvious they were crafters already!

They loved the white gel pens too. I think some of the parents will be making trips to Michaels very soon!

♥.

love birds (with Avery Elle)

Hi there!

This is my second post of the day. Scroll down or click HERE to see something more holiday festive.

I'm on the Avery Elle blog this morning with this friendship card:

The set is called Love Birds and it was designed by my friend JJ Bolton. Hands down, it is my favorite of their current release. So quirky and delicate and gorgeous.

I colored the girl and used the square floral wreath to frame her out. I used the birds to link her to the sentiment banner and give a flow to the whole composition.

The background was sponged with purple and pink distress inks that fade to white.



I hope you like this little lady as much as I do!

♥.

'tis the season!

If today's card looks familiar, it's because I posted a sneak peek on instagram awhile ago, but never shared it fully to the blog. It's one of my favorites this year:




I used a few Neat and Tangled sets to create this card: Into The Woods for the critters, the little santa from Elfs and Their Shelf, and the santa mug from Beary Merry.

I love how the black background makes everything pop!



I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

you made the nice list!

The week before Christmas and I have a few cards I haven't shown off yet, as well as a holiday cookie exchange to make you drool over. That means, posts every day this week!

Today's card uses the Neat and Tangled Elfs and their shelf stamp set. I stamped, colored and die-cut everything and just assembled this fuss-free card.



I kept things nice and clean by sponging blue ink into a circle, and using that area to ground all of my images. The sentiment was bent to fit the top of the curve.

I hope you like it!

ps, if you like the whole elf on a shelf thing, I've been posting our (handmade and much cuter) elf's antics every day to my instagram account! My favorite was that one day where he spent 2 hours cutting out snowflakes ::wink::

If you want to find me on instagram, search "mom2sofia."

♥.

Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia

Hi there,

I'm taking part in Taheerah's Advent Calendar Extravaganza today! Advent Calendar Extravaganza is the festive event of the season! The "hop with a twist" was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day. Joining in the fun with Taheerah are one hundred special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration. Just like an Advent Calendar, you'll never know where you're going to be visiting next until you open the door.

And that's not all! With 25 amazing sponsors taking part as guests, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize every single day!

Join in the fun every day at Taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises await behind the door.

I made myself a winter scene! I layered images from Neat and Tangled's Santa's Wonderland onto some Lawn Fawn rolling hill dies.



I used some liquid appliqué to add the little snowy pom pom at the end of their hats.

Oh, sorry for the crazy pictures today! They are so sharp, I don't know what happened.

If you love these images and have been waiting for them to come back in stock at Neat and Tangled, I know they just restocked a whole slew of OOS sets - click!

It's not a party without a prize! Today's prize is generously supplied by Neat and Tangled, so you'll definitely want to win! Simply leave a comment on this post - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too. You must leave a comment on both blogs to be eligible to win. You have until December 31st to enter!

♥.

stitched heart envelope (new Lawn Fawn!)

Hi there, and welcome back to more of Lawn Fawn's December release.

The new heart envelope die is amazing! You can, of course use it for Valentine's day, but I still had some gift cards that needed enveloping for the holidays.



I used Gingham Backdrops to stamp the pattern, in black ink on red cardstock. I need everything to match under my tree, and I have a buffalo plaid wrapping paper for most of our gifts.



I love this buffalo check pattern, paired with kraft and some pops of black! It looks so cabin-cozy. I made myself a frame by first cutting the scalloped rectangles and then cutting a smaller rectangle into the middle.

The greeting is Winter Big Scripty Words and I die-cut it twice so that there could be a white shadow. I used a gel pen to add some highlights to the word and to the kraft background.



All done up in the back it is the sweetest thing. I used a heart die-cut and my stitcker maker to create the envelope seal.

I hope you like it! There's more to see on the LF blog this morning - click!

♥.

Sea you! (new Lawn Fawn)

Hi there, and welcome back to another day of Lawn Fawn's December release!

Today is our showcase of Octopi my Heart. I couldn't help but bring in the starfish and jellyfish from So Jelly, as well as the school of fish from Mermaid For You to play supporting roles:

I stamped, colored and cut out all of the elements and put them onto a circle die-cut. I used light blue copic markers to color the outside of the circle and then dragged the color inward a bit with the blender (copic marker 0.)



I borrowed a sentiment from Mermaid For You and popped it into a Bannerific frame.

I hope you like it! There's more to see on the LF blog this morning - click!

♥

Love letters (new Lawn Fawn)

eeep, this post is going up a little late because I am distracted by the face that my littlest sister is birthday her twin baby girls right now!

I can't wait to meet those tiny cuties. Send all of your easy-delivery vibes her way, please!

If twins wasn't exciting enough (it is for me, probably not for you) Lawn Fawn is showing off their new Valentine release.

We're kicking off the week with a closer look at Love Letters:

I paired the new Love Letters images with the big mailbox from You've Got Mail.  I love the pops of bright red on this card!

The little birdies are just so sweet.  Check out the LF blog this morning for so much more inspiration - click!

♥.

pumped for Christmas!

Hi there!

With my entire bin of Neat and Tangled stamps splayed out, I somehow ended up pairing Big Top Birthday with Beary Merry, Elfs and Their Shelf, and Nuts About You to create this card that kept me giggling the entire time I was crafting it:



I kept the card so simple, because I think the candy-cane-pumping strong man packs all the punch I needed. I stamped him first, and then masked him to be able to stamp the presents to the left, the snowman to the right, and the candy cane on top. The candy cane isn't that long, but a bit of selective inking and a black copic-friendly pen made it come together very easily.



I created the custom greeting on the computer, and then stamped and die-cut the banner.

This card is so silly, but I hope you can be inspired to see what images you can mix and match for your own funny Christmas cards!

♥.

Beary Merry Noel.

Hi there!

I've been neglecting the blog a little, with the busy-ness of the season (read: figuring out what to do with the elf every morning!) If you'd like to see what our elf has been up to, you can follow his adventures on instagram!

For now I have a Christmas card to show off,  featuring the sweet bear from Beary Merry.

I stamped and then colored the bear with soft brown copic markers (E51, E53 and E55.)

Then, I used the Journaling Alphas to cut out the letters to spell NOEL. I live in Montreal and we are very bilingual. I need cards for those french-speaking teachers and neighbors!

I love how the die set for Beary Merry allowed me to tuck the middle letters into his arms. It's just so cute!

Next, I used the large rounded rectangle from the Succulent Journaling Card die set and cut 2 layers: one out of white cardstock and another out of a pale aqua.  I used the Lucky Stars dies to cut stars out of the white layer, so that the aqua would show through.

I used some wooden stars and a kraft card base to reinforce the soft brown of the bear.

A white gel pen was used to add finishing touches to the letters and the bear.

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Christmas morning place settings (with Lawn Fawn)

Hi there!

I love creating special touches for holidays that will make all the little eyes in my house sparkle. I know when my 3 littles ones come downstairs on Christmas morning, seeing the table dressed up will make the morning that much more magical.



I stamped my little heart out, using Lawn Fawn's Gingham Backdrops in black ink on red cardstock to make my buffalo plaid decorations.



I used a piece of black 12x12 scrapbooking paper for the placemat, and added die-cut snowflakes to set the scene.



The little bear from Dad + Me got the holiday treatment with the addition of a little Santa hat.



The monogrammed plaid gable boxes make me very happy. Each one has a pair of new Christmas socks inside. Who doesn't want to start the day with cute & warm toes?



And, while they wait for Christmas morning waffles (the request has already been put in) they can enjoy one of the elves' main food groups: candy cane!



I hope you like my Christmas morning place-settings and I hope I've inspired you to create something special for your holiday table!

♥.

sealed with a kiss (Lawn Fawn Black Friday promo set!)

Hi there!

I hope you are ready for some pretty sweet Black Friday shopping! Lawn Fawn is offering something that you won't be able to pass up:

Sealed with a Kiss is an adorable mini set that you won't be able to buy, but you can get it for free!

I didn't get the dies on time, but just the stamp set alone is so fun to work with. I stamped the seals onto the ice block from Critters in the Arctic, and then masked everything to stamp the water beneath it all (the pond image from Dad + Me.)



The only thing that I popped up is the little hat on the seal, from Critters in the Arctic.

I also created a little holiday tag featuring the seals in the same set-up:

I went through my stamps little hats that the seals could wear, from the exclusive SSS/LF collab set, Happy Howlidays.  If you were lucky enough to snag yourself a set, the hat and reindeer antlers work perfectly for these seals!



I love that little M'WAH bubble, I'll be using it for valentine cards for sure!

Happy shopping, and check out the LF blog for more inspiration from the rest of the design team - click!

♥.

swan rides (Avery Elle)

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Avery Elle blog this morning with a card featuring the new Swans stamp set.



Isn't that couple the cutest? I stamped, colored and die-cut the focal image and used the pierced cloud borders as waves for the swan to wade through.

The background was created using distress inks and then splattered with water.



I used pinks and blues to keep the whole card looking like a perfect sweet Valentine.

I hope you like it!

♥.

Merry and bright

Hi there!

I made a card using the new Santa's Wonderland set in a bit of a different way:

I did some selective inking and next-level masking to get the snowman and Santa squished in together.

Here's what they look like in the stamp set:

Santa is holding a tree and the snoman has his arms full of Christmas decorations.

Step 1: ink up the snowman and wipe off the ink on everything outside his body.

Step 2: re-draw one outstretched arm using a copic-friendly pen. mask the snowman.

Step 3: ink up Santa, and carefully wipe off the tree. this is tricky, I won't lie.

Step 4: mask Santa and color the background with a copic airbrush system. cover up any stray lines with embossing paste and a snow-fall stencil. (If you look closely, you can see the snow right near his mitten. That was very necessary.)

Step 5: Stand back and admire your efforts! I love achieving new looks with my stamps, and I hope this inspires you to do something different with yours.

♥.

Reindeer games (with new Neat and Tangled)

Hi there!

I'm here and on the NT blog this morning with a fun little card featuring the snowman-making reindeer from Santa's Wonderland.

The poor little reindeer is concentrating so hard on building his snowman that he doesn't notice what is coming his way. ha!

I built my scene onto a tag (the Classic Tag 1 die.) The patterned paper I used on the tag looks like falling snow, and helps all of the whites (like the snow ball and the mounds of snowballs) really pop. 

The images are grounded with a bit of pom-pom trim.

The graphic background paper is so fun, and perfect for a card featuring the freezing temperatures of the north pole!

I hope you like my card, and thanks for stopping by!

♥.