My Christmas Traditions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I've always used paper… putting it off til Christmas Eve night to do it, then hating that I have to do it by myself because I waited so long. This year, since the kids are halfway through their teen years, whatever they don’t wrap will get put in gift bags or left out if it’s too big.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Real! However, we’ve had some years where wer just couln’t afford a tree. Last year, the kids decorated the floor lamp for our tree, and about 4 years ago I used wooden crates (which turned out to be the prettiest ‘non-tree’ Christmas tree I’ve ever had).


3. When do you put up the tree decorations?
Growing up, it was always the day after Thanksgiving (which was NOT Black Friday back then!) And I’ve always tried to do the same since I started my own family. But it seems like every year I’m late for various reasons. Either we couln’t afford a tree yet, or because of moving, the decorations got lost… etc.

4. When do you take the tree down?
As late as I can get away with it! LOL I think the longest I think I’ve waited was til about the 3rd week of January.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Not really… that’s more my hubby and my brother’s thing.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
”The Sunshine Family” dolls that my brother got me when I was about 7 or 8. I carried the baby around everywhere and even slept with it in my hand.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
The only thing that stands out in my mind as a child was when I was really little, maybe between 4 and 6, we went to my cousin’s church for the Christmas Pageant and their ‘Mary’, for whatever reason, wasn’t there. I suddenly found myself standing in the basement of the church, wearing a little light blue dress with a white veil, and waiting in line to follow all the other kids upstairs to sit and hold the little baby doll Jesus in front of a crowd of people.. I remember that they were playing Christmas Carols, and our cue was “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” which (to my knowledge)I had never heard before that night. I felt so special to be Mary, but I was so scared because I was in front of so many people and din’t know what was going on.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Both of the kids…. and neither of them! LOL While it’s hard to figure out what Jessi really wants, she appreciates anything I get her, even if it’s just a notebook and cute pen. And with Drew, all he wants are video games… which is an addiction I don’t like to feed, but it’s hard to find non-game things for him.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, a small one. I cain’t find the really cute little “Precious Moments” type one I used to have.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Neither. I don’t do Christmas cards.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don’t remember any bad gifts.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
I don’t have a favorite Christmas movie. I pretty much like to watch new Christmas movies… anything I haven’t seen yet (or don’t remember), not the traditional stuff.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Until recently, I’d wait til the last week before Christmas. The last few years I’ve tried to hit a few places for Black Friday sales.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Not that I can remember… I’m always afraid that the person who gave it to me would expect to see it when they come to my house or say something about it months later.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
No favorite foods… I just really hate a big traditional dinner. I much prefer cold cuts and finger foods.

16. Lights on the tree?
I’ve always used colored lights. This year I used 300 colored and 200 white just to lighten it a little.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Blue Christmas by Elvis

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home?
Christmas morning at our house with the kids, then across town to mom & dad’s in the early afternoon.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
I always use the angel that I crafted years ago… but this year she got ruined, so I had to remake her. Here’s the newest version.


21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Carrying on a tradition from my childhood, We let the kids open one on Christmas Eve then the rest Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The attitudes people carry. We have lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas and the joy and happiness of the season.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I really like Light Blue & White… and snowflake/snowmen for a theme.

24. Favorite Christmas dinner?
A few years ago when my sister came up from NM… we mostly had cold cuts and finger foods. That was the first (and only) time we could get mom to not make a big dinner.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A 10” Galaxy Tab or a Kindle Fire, Silhouette Cameo, gift cards from Hobby Lobby, Sims 3 Pets (got it), and Michigan Wolverines Stuff.

A few extra traditions that we have….
On the night that we decorate the tree, I always put the Christmas music on and we all have hot chocolate and popcorn while I put the lights on, and then the kids help with the ornaments.

When the kids were really little, I started our own tradition quite by accident. One year I bought them each a fleece blanket, and the next year they wanted another one. Since then, I have bought them one every year, usually designed according to what they liked that year. They now have a whole stash of their own blanket throws!

Christmas Eve has a tradition that I have carried over from my childhood,. We have a really old record… the Little Golden Library story of the Birth of Christ. (For a few years now it has had a crack in it from the outside all the way in to the middle, but it still plays!)
So just about bedtime, we turn all the lights off, get cups of hot chocolate, get comfy and listen to the record. After it’s done, we flip the lights back on and the kids get to open one Christmas present. At first, it was whatever gift they could have that wouln’t keep them up another couple hours… then it kinda ended up that we’d give them their Christmas blanket.

To Every Thing There Is A Season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

This is my mom’s favorite passage of scripture. It has been for as long as I can remember. She has many other favorite verses that mean more to her depending on the situation she’s in or remembering, but this one seems to top them all for a general favorite. And somehow, even though it’s not really specific.. or even implying, this scripture brings Fall colors to mind. It may be because she was born in October or because Fall is her favorite season (which also happens to be my least favorite season). Anyhow, She just turned 83 last Sunday, so instead of making her a card, I decided to try out a new project I’d just discovered on a recent YouTube crafting spree. So here, for your viewing pleasure, is one of the most elaborate, detailed, time-consuming paper craft creations I can remember ever doing. And I do apologize for the many photos, but there’s not too many other ways to show the whole thing other than video or slideshow, which I don’t know how to do.

Tags, punches, buttons, ribbon, patterned paper, card stock, nail polish, pop dots, swirl embellishments, stickers, envelopes, gemstones, dimensional buttons, stick-on earrings, brads, glitter, inchies, crochet thread, FlowerSoft, lace, flowers, butterflies, fall leaves, teabag folding, and paperclips..
Other than the base patterned papers that are from The Paper Studio, I don’t think I could even give details on where I got all the stuff I used… half of it was scraps I had left over from other projects, buttons I’ve bought at garage sales or Hobby Lobby, tags from various kits I’ve bought from the Dollar Tree or who knows where else, stickers from Disney and the Dollar Tree or Big Lots, Punches from Martha Stewart and my Sillhouette library. I made most of the embellishments myself, which is what took so long for this project to get finished! LOL
If you have any questions about something particular… where I got it or how I made it, please ask and I will do my best to answer them!

Now to the challenges I will be entering this in:

Stampin’ Sisters in Christ – Anything Goes
Glitter Geeks – Flower Power!
Kaboodle Doodles – Let’s See Those Leaves!
Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT – Tag It
Flutter By Wednesday – Use Your Scraps
Our Daily Bread – Make your own embellishments
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge – Anything if it Sparkles
ABC Challenge – A… for Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenge - Fall Colors
Crafting For All Seasons - Fall Flowers/Pumpkins

Happy Birthday to My Hubby!!

I’m about two days late posting this, but I have a good excuse… I really do! I was creating this new blog! *grin* I wanted a fresh new start since I have been doing a lot more crafting and posting my kreations, and the old blog is more fun stuff, family and fotos,

So as I was looking through some of the challenges I subscribe to, it all started to come together in my mind how to make my hubby’s birthday card. I started with a sketch from CraftyCatz, (which I missed because I din’t have the blog done in time to post and link it), and then I found the Ribbon CarouselChallenge that required ‘the Fabric of Our Lives"’, so I cut up a pair of jeans my son was throwing away. I had already decided to use a lacy looking die cut from my Silhouette machine’s stash of files, so I put one of Sliekje’s adorable little hedgehog digi stamp on it, which helped me meet the Animals challenge at Ladybug Crafts Ink and the Lil Critter challenge at Papertake Weekly . It IS a birthday card even though it doesn’t say Happy Birthday on it… I was following the My Time To Craft challenge, “L… is for_”. And by the time I finished trying to ‘fix’ the sentiment so it would easily show up on the printed paper, it qualified for Kaboodle Doodle’s ‘Lots of Layers’ challenge! And to top it all off, I'm entering it in the Anything Goes Challenge at The Paper Shelter which has the most beautiful digi stamps! (I want a job there!)

Thank you, Abba, for my wonderful hubby!

Welcome to my brand new blog!

Lord, I dedicate this blog to You. You are the One Who gave me the imagination, talent and kreativity to do what I do, and I want to give You all the glory and honor for it.
I ask that You would bless this blog and all things that I post here. Father, I am depending on You for new ideas, confident decisions and accuracy.
I will do my very best in all that I create; If I win challenges, I praise You. If I lose challenges, I praise You. I love You, Abba!
Love,
Your Daughter,
KittyJo

A Card for Alisha

"And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Luke 11:9-10

How simple is that? Jesus said that if we ask, it will be given to us. Just... ask. It doesn't always seem that easy because a lot of times we pray for things and it seems nothing happens. But this scripture has really been true in our lives lately. I asked God, and He has given many times over in the last few weeks! I am so grateful to Him for His blessings!!
I am also thankful for my two best friends, whose birthdays are two days apart, two days after my hubby's birthday. I have three cards to be making over the next few days... well, two after this one. Odd that I would start with the last birthday instead of the first one! LOL
Today's card was made for Alisha, my wonderful friend and mentor. She and I have traveled the roads together many times, talking about in the Lord and growing in Him, hanging out together, playing Hand & Foot, and so much more. I so appreciate her wisdom and anointing as much as her friendship. She is a true friend.. she will quickly set me right back in the Word when I get off track and start in with the stinkin' thinkin', and I do the same for her. I am so grateful that Father has placed her in my life!

For this card, I used an image from Laurie Furnell's Heart & Soul CD that I purchased at PCcrafter.com. The evergreen leaves are a Martha Stwart punch, the pinecones are a rubber stamp from Stampin' Up!, and the leaves along the bottom are some punches and various cutting files from my Silhouette Cutting Machine. I colored them with my Sugarloaf markers and then added water with a Q-tip to blend the colors.
The wreath and topiaries, as shown in the enlargement below, are enhanced by using a product called FlowerSoft. I was really happy with how they turned out looking so real!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Card Makin' Mamas Use Punches
The Friday Mashup  Autumn project using shades of Yellow & Orange
Card Patterns Giving credit for a great sketch!
Pile It On The Colors of Fall
Critter Sketch Challenge Photo Inspiration
Our Daily Bread designs Fall Colors
PaperPlay Challenges Punches & Dies
And if I had finished it in time, I would have entered it in the Stampin' Sisters In Christ Challenge that ended last night asking for a door and a scripture. :(

My Little Octabox

Now that all the mistakes are out of the way (see previous post), here is the finished octabox!
I know it's not December yet, or even snow weather, but I used a Christmas paper anyway. It's mid-September and I always get Christmasy around this time of year. So I have been playing Christmas music all day (driving my family nuts with it) and thinking about what kind of other Christmas things I can make.

The box is one I designed for a contest many years ago when I was in the Computer_Crafts Yahoo Group. The paper is from Hobby Lobby. I'm not fond of pink and lime for Christmas colors, but other than the little designs resembling snowflakes, it would be hard to tell it even is a Christmas paper. The trim around the edges were made with Martha Stewart's Snowflake punch and a bow punch I picked up a long time ago. I don't remember the brand. I created the adornment on the top from 'doilies' cut with my Silhouette, another snowflake punch, some buttons and a bit of embroidery thread. To top it all off and add some bling, I used Wet & Wild glitter nail polish to all of the snowflakes on the edge of the did and then to the whole lacy embellishment on the top. I just wish it would have shown up better in the photo.
I am entering this fun little box in several challenges,

Pile It On

Creative Craft Challenge

Catch the Bug Challenge

Double whammy 'Duh'_ on me! LOL

Ok... so I'm gonna tell on myself here. Years ago, I designed an octagon box template and this morning I decided to redraw it in Silhouette Studio. It worked great, so I sent it through the machine to be cut. While the machine was running, I went back and looked at it again in Studio and suddenly realized that I had totally forgotten to adjust the cut lines! So the machine was cutting every single line, even the fold lines! My box was no longer gonna be a box, just two flat octagons and a bunch of square and triangle pieces. So I waited for the machine to stop (while my BFF and my daughter laughed at with me). Finally the machine gets done and I pull out the cutting mat with the cardstock on it that would have been my box. But there is no box! There are not even 2 octagons and a bunch of squares and triangles cut out! There was NOTHING! Just a clean blank sheet of cardstock. It was then that I realized that I had forgotten to put the blade back in this morning! ROFL I had taken it out to see if there was something wrong with it when after 3 cuts, it still wouln't cut all the way through the sheet of cardstock on a print & cut I did. (Never did figure that one out; unless it was because I was using a new, super-sticky cutting mat.)The moral of the story: For those of you who have a Silhouette cutting machine, there are some things you should know. The first of which is this: The blade has to be IN the machine for it to work! LOLBTW... I eventually did get the box finished!

Another Silhouette Discovery!

Ok, so I was just playing around with what I'd posted previously, and decided to try making all the elements/parts of a card to print & cut out.
In doing this, I discovered that I can take any digital background, lay a white shape on top of it, hit 'crop' and it will merge the pattern on to the shape! No more being forced to use their limited fill patterns!

Again... if you have any questions, please ask and I will do everything I can to help!

Silhouette Discovery

Just thought I'd share this photo I took in Canton, Ohio in the art district. It was beautiful from all angles and at all times of day or night.

So today as I was playing in Silhouette Studio, I thought about all the thousands of Hugware and digi-scrap images I have and how I'd love to be able to print them and have my Silhouette do all the cutting. I wasn't sure if it was actually possible, but I figured it was worth a try. Sure enough, with a little playing around, adjusting some sizes and settings, I was able to create my own Print & Cut files from my own graphics! I haven't actually cut any of them yet, but at least I know I can! Next, I'm going after the black & white outline images (I guess they are now called digi-stamps?) so that I can color them myself. I hope to use them on cards and other projects soon!

I'm not good at writing or videoing tutorials, but if you have any questions, please get ahold of me and we will find a way that I can walk you through the process!

Flutterbies

I'm back again already with another card for another contest. This time it is the Flutterbies challenge from Crafty Cardmakers.It was not my typical style of card, which is why I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I usually use lots of color and patterns, so to do this one almost all in white was very interesting! :)

Created on white cardstock, the edge is punched using one of Martha Stewart's border punches. The butterfly design on the front was cut using my Silhouette cutting machine, as well as the flowers making up the cluster on the inside. The butterflies inside are from a Martha Stewart punch. The hint of color on the front is from chalk pastels and the color on the inside is from watercolor pencils.

Colour Create Challenge Entry

Well, as promised, I am sharing some of my newest creations. First of all is one I created for the Colour Create Challenge because I have ALWAYS loved Pink, Green and White together. My favorite shades of those colors are not the ones in this card, however, I do so love the floral paper and wanted something special to do with it. Someday I will do a project with the sweet, delicate, romantic, soft shades of pink & green and add all the pretties to go with them. Meanwhile, here are the pics of the card I created for this contest.

I have so many supplies from so many places that it will be hard for me to say what brand I'm using, but I believe that for the most part, I will be able to at least remember where I got them from. I do apologize.
On this particular card, the floral patterned paper came from one of many 3lb scrap packs that I bought at Hobby Lobby. The 'sisters' images are from the 2008 Easy Scrapbooking Calendar (day by day). The lace design was cut from white cardstock using my Silhouette cutting machine (which I LOVE so much and wouln't trade for anything!) The brads are from Hobby Lobby, and I made the bow from ribbon found in a child's create-a-dollhouse type kit.