Caroling Critters Sliding Easel + Giveaway Winner!

I was going to say Welcome to the last post for Visions of Sugarplums in July, but it's August already!  Christmas in August just doesn't have the same ring.  Nevertheless, this is the last post for Visions of Sugarplums in July!

I decided to join Spellbinders Die Hard club and the first set of dies I got was their Festive Wreath Slider.  I've made sliding easel cards in the past and I must say that having the dies certainly makes it easier!

I've got a video below showing how to make this card and if you want to see how to make a sliding easel card without dies, check out THIS POST AND VIDEO.  

Aren't those carolers adorable?  The Christmas tree is fun - each layer is a separate die.  You can't really see it in the photo, but there is a lovely layer of glitter that really makes this card shine!

Watch the Caroling Critters Sliding Easel Card video here:




The winner of the Poppy Stamps Purrfect Holiday stamp set is:  

 Pam (ScrapandSewGranny)  

Pam:  Email me at lhairston@cox.net (link in right side bar) to send me your address.

Well, at least I've got several Christmas cards done by having Visions of Sugarplums in July (and August)!   How far along are you?

Build a Wreath with Single Stamps + Giveaway + Winner!

Sweet and cute - you know that's my thing!  Today I've got a couple of cute and sweet projects featuring wreaths made with single stamps for Christmas in July!

Welcome to the third post of Visions of Sugarplums in July!  You can scroll down to see the first two posts with fun projects and videos.  Or click HERE and HERE.

The challenge is over, but I do have a small giveaway below.  And also a video with tips on creating wreaths.

This wreath is stamped with an oval in mind, but also a little wonky here and there.  That sweet kitty is from one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets:  Purrfect Holdays.

And I have a set to give away!  If you would like to have this sweet stamp set to create some cards of your own, just let me know in the comments.  I'll choose a winner (by random selection).  The winner will be announced Sunday, August 4th.

This fun wreath tag features stamps from Waffle Flower.  And this is my go-to treat bag (again)!

Check out the video:




Now for the winner of the Visions of Sugarplums (in July) challenge!  The winner is Gail from Crafty Nomad.  Gail has won $20 at Simon Says Stamp!  Gail if you don't get an email from me today, please email me at lhairston@cox.net.  

Thank you to everyone who linked up to the challenge!  I loved seeing all of your creations.

Snow Globes Card and Bags Video

Snow Globes!    I had a small plastic one with a blue back when I was a kid.  I remember loving it, but sadly I can't remember what was inside!  These Flora and Fauna snow globes are so cute and sweet.  

Welcome to the second post for Visions of Sugarplums in July!   

Be sure to check out the challenge HERE.  Link up to 4 of your Christmas/winter creations.

One of my favorite stamps in the set is that adorable reindeer!  I was thinking about my snow globe when I made this one.  The blue is just about right!

The polar bear is adorable too!  

The video below includes how to make this super easy gift bag.  It's my go-to treat and gift bag.

This isn't just a gift bag - it's a gift card holder.  It even has a "device" to keep the gift card in the bag safe and sound until the recipient pulls it out.

You may remember this idea:  it was mostly used with candy bars.  I find it works perfectly for gift cards too.  It's a little hard to tell in the photo, but the ribbon is all the way around the card and slides out right along with the card.  It's kind of cool and you can see it in the video.




There will be at least one more day of Visions of Sugarplums in July - and at least one more prize!  

So glad you stopped by!

Critter Sweaters + Visions of Sugarplums in July!

Christmas in July!  I usually don't get around to making anything for Christmas until about September.  So, yay!

Not only is it Christmas in July - it's also Visions of Sugarplums in July!  

You know what that  means, a challenge or two and prizes!  Woo Hoo (or HoHoHo)!

To kick off Visions of Sugarplums, I created this fun Hinge Card featuring Critter Sweaters from Sijmon Says Stamp.  Adorable critters, right?

Here's the inside - so pretty with the embossed snowflakes.  You can also see a little bit of the envelope.  If you want to see how I made the custom envelope, you can watch THIS VIDEO.

Here's the video for the Sweater Critters Hinge Card:

Please link back to this challenge.  The winner (random selection) will be announced Sunday, July 28th.  Link your picture below.

Looking forward to seeing your Christmas in July creations!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sweet Dreams Tag Book

Hi, there!  I just had the best week and half!  I'm sure you've already guessed that I had Louisa.  More on that a little later...

I've wanted to make a tag book with sleeping Louisa pictures for a long time.  Speaking of a long time, I started the tags a few weeks ago and just finished them up today.

The tag dies that I used from Pinkfresh Studio are just gorgeous and the little bunnies from Mama Elephant are just adorable.

When Louisa was little bitty, they lived in Denver.  I was flying every other week to Denver.  When it was time for me to go home, they would drive me to Union Station to catch a train to the airport.  Louisa would always fall asleep.  I took many adorable photographs of Louisa as I was getting out of the car.  

In the picture on the right, she's about a year and half.  At that point, they lived in Savannah.  This was the first time, Louisa flew with me to OKC to stay for awhile.  She never slept for long on the plane, but she was so sweet!

This little square tag was made with a slide die from The Stamp Market.

Here's another bunny.  Cute and sweet!

This is the  most recent sleeping picture of Lousa.  Lauren sent it to me a couple of weeks ago.  It's harder to get a picture of her sleeping now.  She only takes one nap and she seems to be sleeping a little lighter during naptime.

While Louisa was here, I took a lot of pictures and made her a tag book to take home and share with Mommy and Daddy.  I never dreamed it would be such a hit.  

The tags were so simple - just cut rectangle cardstock pieces, glued on the picture and wrote a few words.

Louisa absolutely loved going through the book and she could "read" the words, because she knew exactly what she had done.  When we got out of the car to meet her mommy and daddy, she ran to them with the tag book and made them look through it right then!

So glad you stopped by!

Z Fold Window Pass Thru Card + Video

Birthdays are always fun!  They're are even more fun when everyone can get together.  My daughter's birthday and my mom's birthday are one day apart, so we tend to celebrate them at the same time.

I made this card for Lauren.  I sent it to her in Wichita, because we didn't get together until a week after her birthday.   So I thought a paper hug would be fun!

I'm calling this card design a Z Fold Window Pass Thru card.  The Z fold part of the card is pulled through the opening of the base card.  I like making cards that are a little different from the standard fold.

I think this mouse kind of looks like he's opening his arms for a hug.  The mice are simply colored with copics and a couple of Staedtler Fine Liners for the little details like eyes, noses and glasses.

I've got a video below on making a Z Fold Window Pass Thru Card.  It's not hard at all!




Thank you for stopping by!

Unicorn and Rainbow Pop Up Card + Video

Unicorns, rainbows AND a pop up!  How cool is that?

I have to tell on myself.  When I was designing this card, I could not figure out the pop up part.  I glued the tabs to the rainbow and glued it to the card and 

IT. WOULD. NOT. POP. UP!

I took it off and put it on about four million times.  Pulling my hair out ensued.  While that may be a slight exaggeration, it was still frustrating.


Then an accident happened.  I got the angle right and it popped up!  Who knew an angle could be so important.  If you're thinking that I should have known, I bet you're a math genius or an engineer.  Or at least it makes me feel better to think so!

As long as it took me to figure out, this was still a fun card.  And now I know how important that angle really is.

The background on this card is made with Copic inks.  I used my refills and a small paintbrush.  I really like the subtle color.  

Here's the video on the unicorn rainbow pop-up card (including that all important angle):





Thank you for stopping by!