Where has the year gone?

I can't believe it is almost the end of November already.  Its just so crazy that the older you get the quicker time flies.  I remember my mom telling me that years ago but I really had no idea how true that is.  I read a joke somewhere that age is like a roll of toilet paper.  The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.  That may not be exactly the words, but you get my drift. :-)

I don't even know where to begin since my last post.  I have done up some Christmas cards I would like to share with you. The summer went so fast that I hardly even remember what I did.  My grandkids are all back in school now so I expect after the Christmas Holiday things should slow down some.  I always seem to be able to find time to make a card or two. 

Okay, on to the cards...I totally didn't take any pictures of the birthday cards I made this summer and I am so bummed.  I really need to remember to do that.  Here are the Christmas cards I have been making.

These are all Close to My Heart cards.  The paper on the first two is Pear and Partridge. The burlap ribbon and the stamps are Close to My Heart.  The last picture is the stamp from the Pear and Partridge Card Workshop and the paper is Avonlea.  For those who are familiar with the the ornament stamp will probably notice that I stamped the big one upside down.  Yikes.

The stamp is from CTMH, the paper is from Basic Grey, Nordic Holiday 6 x 6 pad.

I don't own a Christmas wreath stamp so I used a a flower wreath stamp from Hot off the Press, Sweet Blossoms & Swirls. I colored it with Spectrum Noir markers and touched the little flowers with some red Smooch. The face of the card was embossed with the Cuddlebug Snowflake folder.

I love the triple stamped layered look.  My mother in law had one that she had gotten from a swap and I just had to try my hand at it.  The snowflakes are from multiple stamp packages.  I hand drew the ornament and colored it with Spectrum Noir markers and added some little Dazzle jewels from Hot Off The Press, Bitty Pearls from CTMH.

Close to My Heart stamps were used here.

I got this stamp in with my CardMakers magazine subscription. UK version. I used white liquid embroidery for the snow on the trees and ground, Stickles for the glitter and Spectrum Noir markers to color it in.

This ornaments stamp is CTMH October Stamp of the Month. The polka dot satin ribbon is also from CTMH. I believe the paper is from Basic Grey, Nordic Holiday.

I think I will end for the day.  Hopefully I will be back sooner than a month.  Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

Spectum Noir Markers

I neglected to mention my new find.  Spectrum Noir markers are an alcohol marker, but much less expensive than the Copics.  They come 6 markers to a pack and are all color coordinated to blend with each other.  They come in 12 different packs. I have a few Copics but not enough really to do any good blending.  I have noticed these SpectrumNoir markers in several card magazines and PaperWishes catalog.  Last week when I was shopping at JoAnn's with my mother in law I found these.  They were like $14.50 at JoAnn's and with a 50% off coupon I had to give them a try.  I love them!! They are a little wetter I think than Copics so you have to be careful when you are coloring in your images by the edges because they do bleed.  I do recommend them.  I will be investing in the rest of the packages.  So far I have the Pinks, Blues and Cool Grays.  I have Reds, Yellows, Greens and Pales coming in the mail.  Oh...and they are much less expensive online.

I just wanted to share this with you in case you had seen these like I did and were hesitant to buy them. Go for it!!! I believe they are worth every cent! And saving cents TOTALLY makes sense. Hee hee...I had to add that part.

Until next time!