The Mouse King

Continuing the Nutcracker Sweet theme.  (Yes, I know it's really Suite, but the paper collection is called Nutcracker Sweet).

Love, love, love these bows made with my Bow-It-All.  Which card is your favorite?

Clara and the Nutcracker

More Christmas cards.

Supplies used:  Graphic 45 Nutcracker Sweet collection
Bow-It-All from Zutter from RRR.

Visions of Sugar Plums

Here are two more cards made with G45's Nutcracker Sweet collection:

May visions of sugar plums dance in your head!

G45 "Nutcracker Sweet" Christmas Cards

I have been playing with the G45 "Nutcracker Sweet" Christmas collection from a few years ago.  I always need a bit of inspiration to get my creative juices flowing, so I want to thank Gloria Stengel for her Sugar Plum Fairy card that was my original inspiration.  You can see Gloria's card on her blog HERE.

Here is my version:

Mine is a 5x7" card; I think hers is smaller.  I also made a bunch of other cards with this collection which I will be sharing with you during the weeks before Christmas.  You will see that I am IN LOVE with my Bow-It-All from Zutter.  It's a tool available from Really Reasonable Ribbon (RRR) that will make absolutely perfect bows in a variety of sizes.  And it's on SALE HERE.  I have also used a bunch of ribbon from the RRR monthly ribbon club--only $9 a month!  Check it out HERE.  The ribbon on the card above is from my stash, but I made the double bow on the Bow-It-All.  Cute, isn't it?!

Here is another Nutcracker Sweet card.  This one is my own design:

Awesome bow here too from my Bow-It-All.  Leave me some love in the comments if you like what you see!

Happy Halloween!

Just popping in with some Halloween cards.  All are made with retired CTMH paper "Hooligans" or mystery paper from my stash.  Enjoy!

The Most Improbable Shot

While in Chicago, my husband and I were killing a few minutes before heading out to meet up with my brother Jay and his family who were on a sailboat cruise.  We wandered around our hotel and checked out the Gold Lounge on the fifteenth floor where our breakfast would be served.  I snapped a shot of the skyline and then noticed waaaay in the distance a lighthouse.  I started zooming in and snapped a shot of it, and then a sailboat sailed into my frame, and I automatically snapped another shot.  I said to Mark, "Wouldn't it be funny if that was Jay and company's sailboat?"  And funnily enough, IT WAS!  Unbelievable!

Here are close-ups of each page:

The red arrows are pointing to the lighthouse in the distance.

Crusin' with Close To My Heart

My husband and I recently visited Chicago, and on the advice of a friend, we stopped for lunch at a 50's diner called Ed Debevic's.  The food was less than impressive, but the experience was great for a scrapbooker!  50's decor and snarky wait staff made our visit a success.  Here's my layout using CTMH's Crusin' paper pack from several years ago:

One of the things I like to do is add a pocket to hold ephemera--in this case the receipt from our lunch.  I just put adhesive on the sides and bottom of the photo mat, leaving the top open so I could slide the receipt in.

Yes, our waiter's name was Popcorn, lol.