My Top 10 Cards from 2010 Blog Hop

Oh what a year!  Suzi, aka Mrs. Weyremaster is hosting a top 10 cards of 2010 blog hop. 

I am still finishing up Christmas presents, but I couldn't resist playing along with this one! (yes, I know Christmas is over, but it still lives on for a few more days since we have yet to see everyone in our family!).  I realized as I went thru my cards, that I have yet to post my family Christmas card - yikes, and it is one of my favorite cards from this year.
So here are my other 10 favorites from oldest to most recent (I will have to get that Christmas card up before the new year).  Click on the #s to be taken to the original post.

1. 

 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Join in the fun, including prizes...you have until 7 am GMT Wednesday, December 29th to link up your own list here. 
Smiles,
Julie

Passing the Amber Ink Torch

This past month as an Amber Ink torchbearer for the brown team has flown by.  I learned that I LOVE iPaper printed on kraft CS (did I mention I love it enough yet?), I got to work with some fun digis, I laughed and laughed and laughed, I won a nutty cookbook (Ha, Ha), and I met some wonderful people! 

 Here are a couple of my favorite creations...

Now I know the brown team will be well represented because I am passing the torch on to Laurel Seabrook! 
Be sure to head on over to Laurel's blog, "Seabrook Designs" and leave her a little lovin' today, as she begins her month with Amber Ink!  Laurel is a master with digis and iPaper, so I know she is going to carry the torch high!!!
Smiles,
Agent Foxy Needles (do I have to give up my secret agent name?!!!)

Amber Ink Blog Hop Winner

Lots of thanks today...
Thank you to everyone who hopped with Amber Ink last week!
Thank you to everyone who voted for their favorite Amber Ink project!
Thank you to Amber Ink for having prizes for the blog participants - both hoppers and designers!

Guess what?!!!  Lucky commenter #13 from my blog hop post has won a $10 Gift Certificate to Amber Ink!!!

Congrats to Lindsey who wrote:

This is gorgeous! I'll add my vote for the awesomeness of the iPaper on kraft!

December 7, 2010 3:43 PM

- send an e-mail to info@amberink.com to claim your prize.

One final thank you to everyone who voted for my card as their favorite :>)  My card came in second and I received a present in the mail wrapped in Amber Ink iPaper!   What fun!!! 

To find out what was inside check out this post on the AmberInklings Blog...
Smiles,
Julie

Amber Ink Gift Boxes

It is amazing how fast the past month has gone by.  This is my last week as an Amber Ink Torchbearer for the Brown Team.  No worries though, because I know that the crafter I am passing the torch to next week will represent the Brown Team well.  On Monday you will find out who!

Today I used up some iPaper scraps to create a couple gift boxes, each is topped with ribbon and a tag with an Amber Ink image.  I am giving lots of gift cards this year and a gift box adds a personal touch, plus there is room for some candy too.

 I am hopelessly addicted to the Snowflake Lace Blue Hint on kraft :>)

The tags were created using the Tags 1 svg file from Perfect Presentation.  I printed the images first and then cut out the tags.  Check out this tutorial to see how to combine digi images with cut files. 

The boxes are made using the Perfect Presentation Top Notch template.  What a fun opening!

2 more gift boxes down, about 8 more to go!!! 
These gift boxes are for Top Tip Tuesday - Christmas Inspired Challenge.
Smiles,
Agent Foxy Needles
Details:  Images - snowflake from 'Tis the Season to be Pretty and present from You're the Perfect Package (AmberInk) , PP - Snowflake Lace Blue Hint and Holiday Cheer Red (AmberInk), Template - Top Notch (Perfect Presentation), Tag - Tags1 (Perfect Presentation), CS - Kraft, Pure Poppy and Ocean Tides (PTI), Embossing - Snowflakes (Sizzix) and Swiss Dots (Cuttlebug), Ribbon - Binding, Pearls (Recollections), buttons (PTI), and twine (PTI).

Flashback Friday 5.0

Amy Tsuruta has issued another Flashback Challenge - the 5th challenge is to repost the first time you used a new technique. 

I am sharing the first time I did paper piercing back in the Spring of 2009, which reminds me that I have not used that technique in a long time.

Have a wonderful Friday and why don't you link up your first technique card to Amy's blog?  You have until 11:59 pm tonight (12/10/10).
Smiles,
Julie
Details:  All SU - the image is an oldie, but a cutie!

We Hopped, Now You Vote!

Yesterday was the First Annual AmberInk Holiday Blog Hop.  Now, it is time to vote for your favorite!   Head on over to the AmberInklings blog and choose your favorite - there are little pics to help remind you of all the fabulous creations there are to choose from.  You have until midnight tonight to vote!!! 

If you did not hop, there is still time to do so.  Start at Karin with an "i" for Paper! and get hopping.  Here is a quick link to my creation for the hop yesterday!  Remember, there will be prizes for random comments left along the hop!

Smiles,
Agent Foxy Needles

A Shutterfly Christmas

Oh how I love Shutterfly, let me count the ways...  I really do use Shutterfly and that is why I was excited when I saw a post on a fellow crafter's blog about a fabulous promotion happening with Shutterfly.  They are offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers.  Click here to find out what you need to do to get in on this! 

Well, first I should start off by stating that yes, I am a handmade crafter at heart.  And yes, I would make every single Christmas card if I had the time.  The problem, is that I send around 100 cards every year and well, I like to have time to do make more than just cards.  I really do not want to stress myself out.  Plus, I know that some people who receive my cards really just want a picture of my children!!!  Okay, maybe a few want to see my latest creation, but that is the beauty of Shutterfly, I can be creative and give a pic of my kiddos without sacrificing all my time! 

Check out all the cards there are to choose from at Shutterfly!  The designs are fresh and new and there really are hundreds to choose from.  There are classic cards, cute cards and even cards with aqua, like this "French Vintage Holiday card found here (it might be my fave because it is similar to a card I posted yesterday!). A photo card is definitely the way to go if you want to have more than one pic on your card.  Multiple pics are perfect for children who do not like to have their photo taken.  Last year, I could not get a good picture of all 3 of my children together so I did 3 individual candid shots.

Besides cards, Shutterfly has so many other photo gifts...I am sure you will be able to cross a few names off your gift giving list.  One item I recommend highly are the photo books.  I created my first one 2 years ago because I wanted a quick gift for my MIL and a photo book of our family vacation was perfect.  Once I had her album done, I created a copy, made a few changes and had a book printed for my own family.  Another fun idea is to create a family recipe book, like my sister did for my Mother's favorite recipes with family photos sprinkled throughout.  For me, a photo book is the next best thing to a scrapbook page that I create.  Not to mention it is much faster!

I have also created calendars on Shutterfly.  The great thing is that all the dates are saved from one year to the next, so you do not have to re-enter B-days, etc when you make a new calendar!  

Shutterfly photo stationary cards are also great.  I purchased these in the past for thank you cards and I have never been disappointed.

For me, it all comes down to saving time.  Shutterfly allows me to create quick last minute gifts that still have a personal touch. 

Smiles,
Julie

AmberInk's First Annual Christmas Blog Hop

Are you hungry?  Are you ready to hop?  Today is the First Annual AmberInk Holiday Blog Hop.

If you are coming from Jacki Randolph's blog (Team Brown) then you are at the right place (and hopefully you did not overeat over at Jacki's!)!  If not, then be sure to start at Our Ambassador of Awesomeness, Shannan Teubner's blog and get hopping.

We are hopping today AmberInk style.  That means there is a "fun" (I use the term loosely) challenge involved. Alumni and current torchbearers have all been slaving away in the kitchen (er craft room) to serve you a seven course meal!   See, over at AmberInk, we are given missions and this time around we needed to prepare a 7 course meal for 2.  We tried telling Pam that we don't cook, but alas, she laughed and so we are all cooking up a meal for you. Yes, that is the type of challenge you see everyday - LOL!  It translates to a project with 2 colors and a neutral and 7 different techniques.  Okay, so once I figured out what Pam was talking about, I mixed the following together:  1 iPaper (OMG  I love the Snowflake Lace Hint on kraft), 2 ribbon, 3 dry embossing, 4 stitching, 5 pearl embellies, 6 die cut, and 7 lacey trim.  After stirring for quite awhile, and baking for a long time the following came out of the oven...

 

Did I mention that I love the Snowflake Lace Hint iPaper on kraft?!!!

Be sure to leave a comment today - a few prizes will be given to random comments along the hop!  Plus, head on over to the AmberInklings blog tomorrow as there will be voting on all the creations showcased along today's hop!  Now get hopping...next up is the ubber talented Julia Dunnit of Stamping Ground.  Julia is representing the Pink Team and I am sure she whipped up something super yummy for you!

BTW, my card is based on this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.  I figured I was already confused enough by the blog hop challenge mission, so why not add another layer of complexity with a sketch challenge!
Plus, the Paper Players challenge this week is Christmas!
Smiles,
Agent Foxy Needles
Details:  Image - 'Tis the Season (AmberInk), PP - Snowflake Lace Hint (AmberInk), Sentiment - (Verve), Ink - Ladybug Red (Momento), CS - Kraft, Pure Poppy and Ocean Tides (PTI), Embossing - Snowflakes (Sizzix), Die - Scallop Square (Nestabilities), Ribbon - Binding, Pearls (Recollections), and trim - stash.

Just a Little Late for the Hump Day Inspiration Sketch

Oh how I wish it was Wednesday already!  I am not wishing for the time to go by fast, since it goes by fast enough this time of year, I am just waiting until Friday when we go on the North Pole Express!  It is a train ride to the North Pole with a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, plus cookies, caroling, and hot chocolate.  Each car on the train has a host/hostess who entertains and leads the caroling and games.  The kids wear PJs and it has turned into a family tradition - I think this may be the fifth year for us.
As I have trains on my mind, I am sharing a "train" tag!  The image is a custom freebie from Inktegrity that you will receive with each image purchased - that means you can have whatever name you want, although I am personally a little partial to "Alex" :>) 

I may be late for last week's Inktegrity Hump Day Inspiration Challenge, but there is still time for you to participate.  Link up your own take on this sketch to the Inktegrity Challenge Blog found here.
Enjoy your week!
Smiles,
Julie
Details:  Image - Inktegrity

Verve Triple Challenge

The theme for this month's Verve Project Parade is "Triple Play".  Create 3 of something.  This time of year I need plenty of gift boxes, so I went with the Favor Box II template from Perfect Presentation and put a Verve spin on it.

 This template is the same one I used on Monday's post, except this time around I included the removable "roof" and turned each box into a house. 

I also added a tag using the Perfect Presentation svg cut file Tag Set 1.  All the stamps and sentiments are from the Verve set "Christmas in the Air". 

The window and doors are a free digi from Little Paper Shop, just join the forum to get this freebie and others!

The wreaths are made from flock and then I added clear rhinestones which I colored red with a copic.  The bows were cut free hand from felt.
These projects are also for Yvonne Yam's guest blogger contest by Julie Tucker-Wolek, which is to use old and new goodies.  Well, the template is new, using the window and door digis is new, plus I am still new to copics (and flocking, so ignore that little bump on my wreath!). The old would be the PP and the stamp set.
Smiles,
Julie
Details:  I think I covered it all in the post - yikes, sorry it was a little on the long side!

A Perfect Presentation Christmas

Are you ready for Christmas?  Now that Thanksgiving is over I am officially on Christmas mode, which means gifts!  Today the Perfect Presentation design team is ready to help you out with gift ideas.  Today may not be an official new release day but there are quite a few new cut files (including tags) and templates (there is a sleigh) in the store.  Have you checked out the new Perfect Presentation store?!!!  

I am sharing an idea for one of the new templates, "Favor Box II".  This template has such a fun closure and it is roomy too.

The PP is an iPaper from Amber Ink.  If you missed my post from last week, iPaper is the way to go because you can print the pattern paper on heavy card stock and then cut your template from it.  For this one, I printed on kraft paper which tones down the red iPaper and gives more of a rustic feel (love it).  The image is also from Amber Ink.

My box is filled with bite size Lindt Fioretto and I was able to fit in the entire 4 oz bag with plenty of room to spare - hmphhh, that means no extras for me to eat and it also means that this box is BIG enough to hold almost 8 oz, so I need to go buy more.

Be sure to visit the rest of the design team for more gifty ideas: Kerri Michaud, Terri Moore, Alyssa Scritchfield, Chris Olsen, Beth Johnson and Leigh Ann Baird. Plus, we have a new member on the team, Susan Wesley, so be sure to stop by and say "hi"!

Smiles,

Julie

Details:  Template - Favor Box II (Perfect Presentation), Image - Tis the Season (Amber Ink), IPaper - Red Snowflake Lace Tiny (Amber Ink), CS - Kraft and Green (PTI), copics, embossing folders - Plaid (Sizzix) & Swiss Dots (Cuttlebug), and Ink - Always Artichoke (SU).

Papertrey November Blog Hop Challenge

November's PTI Blog Hop Challenge is to "design a holiday tag or two using all of your favorite goodies and share it with all of us!"
Tags are so much fun to create and a great way to use up little scraps of paper.  I made a dozen, then bundled them up in a clear bag tied with a bow - a great little gift for anyone with a Birthday in November or December. 

 

 I cut out all of my tag bases on my Cricut using Tag Set 1 from Perfect Presentation.  Gotta love being able to cut more than one at a time and change the size - for these I made the tags 2" wide.  All the tags have the same basic layout, but each has different PP and images/sentiments from Christmas Button Bits.  Some have felt, others just solid strips of paper and the gingerbread men tags have ric rac.  I used my Cricut to create the ric rac with a svg freebie from Pigtails Paper Trails - I reduced the size to fit the width of my tags.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to those in the US and may this be just a little inspiration to get everyone crafting for the holidays.
Smiles,
Julie
Details - Stamps - Christmas Button Bits (PTI), PP - Eskimo Kisses (Basic Grey) and Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket), Felt (TCP), Buttons (PTI), Twine (PTI), CS - PTI and GKD, SVG - Tag Set 1 (Perfect Presentation) and Ric Rac (Pigtails Paper Trails), and Twine (Martha Stewart Crafts).

Cocoa Anyone?

I have seen the posts on other blogs with yummy homemade hot cocoa recipes.  I really do love the idea of making my own hot chocolate, but I am taking the easy way out today - Ha!  Especially because the Tall Gable template from Perfect Presentation is the perfect size to hold packets of hot chocolate. 

My DD has a male teacher this year so I am trying for a more masculine look with this box.  Hot Cocoa Slusser from Inktegrity is perfect paired up with hot chocolate mix :>)

Right now, this box is filled with Swiss Miss (it's some special dark chocolate kind) but I will be on the lookout for other brands/varieties to fit in this box over the next month (yikes, Christmas is coming fast).  Swiss Miss should consider changing their packaging though because this box holds all 8 packets and is much more fun than a plain ole rectangle.  This pic also lets you in on a little secret of mine...I use a dark thread for my bobbin.  I think it makes the stitching a little more distinct and it is also easier because I never have to change it to match the top thread ;>).  Here is another little tip, the plaid embossing on my template was too distinguished, so after I embossed, I ran the paper thru my Cuttlebug outside of the folder to smooth out the embossing.  Now the embossing is subtle, yet still gives some texture.
My cocoa box is for the following challenges:
Inktegrity Hump Day Inspiration Challenge - Anything Goes! - Now everyone should be able to play along with this one and you may just win a gift certificate to Inktegrity :>)
Paper Players - Sketch Challenge - I always love a good sketch!
Have a wonderful day!
Smiles,
Julie
Details:  Image - Hot Cocoa Slusser (Inktegrity), template - Tall Gable (Perfect Presentation), CS - SU, PP - Oliver (Basic Grey), Dies - Rectangles (Nestabilities) and Embossing Folders - Plaid (Sizzix).

AmberINK's INKredible 21 Day Challenge - Wrap it Your Way

Have you heard about the Amber INK's INKredible 21 Day Challenge?  Now you all know that I love challenges, but I have to say the prize from this one is truly INKredible.  The winner will get to create their own stamp set with Amber!!!  Haven't we all said oh I wish I had... Well, now you can have it!!!  For chance at your own set all you have to do is play along with the challenges.  The newest challenge is a theme, "Wrap it Your Way".  Take a gift or food item and deck it out.  Make a tag or card to attach to a gift, decorate a candle, a gift bag, etc. 
I decided to make my own gift set, I know, not much of a surprise from me :>).  

The surprise, is that the holiday sentiment paper is Amber Ink iPaper (Holiday Cheer Purple) that I printed myself.  Amazingly enough, prior to last week, I had never thought of using iPaper to create patterned card stock to use with templates.  Hard to believe, but true!  The benefit of using CS for templates is that CS is typically heavier than PP.  By being able to print your own PP, you can choose whatever weight CS you want - hooray!!!  That means I no longer need to create mats all the time out of thin PP to layer over my templates, which will save time.

I was immediately drawn to the purple paper because I have a friend who loooooovvves the color.  So much so that she even has a purple couch.  She also has a slight addiction to what is found in this little bag...hand sanitizer (I guess if she sees this the only surprise will be what scents are in her bag).  
It was so easy to create the little bag, using the Bag it Up template from Perfect Presentation, that I did another in my fave - aqua (Snowflake Lace iPaper).  Creating your own packaging personalizes every gift and with iPaper it is soooo fun and saves time and paper!

Have fun stopping by the blogs of my Fellow Torchbearers Angela, Julia, Kerri, Stacie, and Shannan (aka Amber Ink's Ambassador of Awesomeness).

We are all excited to see what you wrap and even more excited to see what stamp set one of you creates!!!

Signing off with smiles,

Agent Foxy Needles

Details:  Image - Tis the Season (I copied and pasted the ornament from the set to create the group of 3) (Amber Ink), CS - White (PTI), iPaper - Holiday Cheer Purple and Snowflake Lace (Amber Ink), Template - Bag it Up (Perfect Presentation), dies - Labels 1 (Nestabilities), and stash ribbon.