Early bird gets -- great deals on Holiday cards!

I know, I know.  Halloween is still three days away.  How can I possibly be thinking about Christmas cards already?  Believe me -- with four little ones running around, I need to plan everything in advance, and getting a jumpstart on Christmas cards is just one of the ways I can manage the upcoming holidays.  I figure if I plan ahead now, I'll feel more relaxed when the season IS here and that will mean more enjoyable festivities for my entire family.  And you can't go wrong when there's a great deal with Shutterfly!

If you know anything about me, you know that I am a HUGE fan of Shutterfly.  I love their prints and the family sharing web site.  AND I LOVE their CHRISTMAS CARDS!  (Surprise surprise, right?!?)  Once again, Shutterfly has created an amazing assortment of Christmas cards to choose from.  It was so hard to pick my favorite, so I have a few I want to highlight for you.

Shutterfly has created an amazing card that allows you to have pictures on the front, along with pictures and captions inside the card.  What a great idea!  This will completely take the place of our Christmas letter!  I've "killed two birds with one stone", so to speak!  My favorite card is the Joy Sage Story (they also have this in a lovely sky color, Joy Sky Story, which I would normally go nuts for, but the sage will coordinate with our family picture better).

Isn't it lovely?  Our family picture will go on the outside, and then there is room inside for six pictures and short "updates" or "stories" -- one for each of us!  It's perfect!  Such a winner!  I also thought Most Wonderful Story was lovely, too.  To look around at all of Shutterfly's folded holiday cards, follow this link. http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Sometimes it's perfect to have a flat stationery card for your Christmas card.  Since the folded stationery cards are more expensive, we probably won't be able to spend them to everyone.  So I have a back-up plan!  I must admit that there were again several that I had a hard time choosing from, but I kept coming back to this lovely card because it's simple, elegant, and breathtakingly beautiful.  It's called "O Holy Night", and that is what Christmas is all about -- that HOLY NIGHT so long ago.  This will be a card I am so proud to send.

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Even with our family picture in color, I think this card will be stunning!  If you're looking for something a bit more colorful, a great choice would be Merry Bright Wishes -- great colors, and room for 5 pictures!

Take a peek at all of the gorgeous stationery cards here - http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

And of course, my stand-by for the past few years has been a 4x8 or 5x7 photo card.  Shutterfly has great choices again this year!  One of my favorites, again because it allows me to showcase individual photos of my entire family, is Picture Tree...

I also LOVE the Vintage Snowflakes card.  It is SO colorful and pretty.  AND there's room for 4 to 5 pictures on it.  MY KIND OF CARD!  Here it is...

Check out all of Shutterfly's great photo cards by following this link - http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

Guess what?  If you find something you like, you TOO can be an early bird with Christmas cards because Shutterfly is currently offering 20% of all holiday cards.  Check it out here.  

Don't forget to follow Shutterfly on Facebook or Twitter (50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010 #SFLY) to keep tabs on all the greatest deals!

For writing this post, I was given 50 free Shutterfly Christmas cards.  What a blessing!  THANK YOU, Shutterfly!

A special invitation

My husband's grandmother is celebrating her 75th birthday tomorrow! Never before have you met such a feisty energetic woman! We are thrilled to celebrate her birthday with the entire family in Kansas in a few weeks -- it will be a great way to end the summer just before school starts!

I was asked to make the invitations for her big party, and wanted to do them in a way that honored her. Her daughter really wanted me to use a picture of her (I believe from high school) on the front of the card with the phrase "Look who's turning 75". So I pulled out my Nestabilities and went to town. Grandma Bennett's favorite colors are green and yellow, and I thought that Close to My Heart's Boom-di-Ada creative basics paper set would be perfect. When I look at this card, it reminds me of Grandma Bennett, and she loves them, so that is all that matters! (please forgive the poor picture quality -- i was having bad luck that day!)

Happy Saturday!

Swap time!

It's that time of the month again -- SWAP TIME! The upcoming May Stamp of the Month has to be one of my all time favorites -- as a card-maker, it will be one I turn to time and time again (as I already have), and as a scrapbooker...well, the possibilities are just endless! It has a sentiment for nearly every occasion I can think of. So, as always, you can check it out here and let me know if you think it's a MUST HAVE for your collection!

In the card above, I used the rock'n'roll technique on the "You are My Hero" image from the stamp set, Just Like You. I had Father's Day in mind when I bought this set in January. And then came this awesome SOTM. I used Twilight ink to stamp "Father's Day" on the twill ribbon, and used Chocolate ink to stamp "Sending my love" on the chocolate cardstock. It was fast, simple, and perhaps the most masculine card I've made in a while, if not ever!

Stamps: Say it In Style (May 08 SOTM), Just Like You
Ink/Paper: Chocolate, Twilight, White Daisy
B&T Paper: Good Times
Accessories: Twill Ribbon
*All CTMH, of course!!!

Baby, baby, baby!

My sister-in-law (and brother-in-law) is expecting baby #1 at the end of May, and part of my shower contribution was the invitations. (I'm sure it's hard to believe that I'd want to do that.) They do not know what they're having, which is always exciting, so we decided to go with a nice soft green and chocolate. (Rachel...and I....and okay, lots of other people....well, we just love chocolate, so this HAD to be part of the shower!)

Here is what I came up with:

Stamps: Baby Steps (CTMH)

Paper/Ink: Key Lime, Chocolate, White Daisy CS

Accessories: Chocolate Polka Dot ribbon from HL (sorry CTMH -- I didn't have enough of my cocoa ribbon rounds!!!!)

Tools used: Blending Pen, Colluzzle, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, my computer (to do the inside of the invitation)

The inside reads: "They're expecting a baby, a new bundle of joy, A very special gift, be it a girl or a boy."

This card was inspired, again, by Lisa. She always has amazing ideas -- thanks, Lisa!!

Hope you're having a very blessed Sunday, and that you're week will be off to a great start tomorrow!
-Alyssa

A Challenge...

My SBS group decided to start holding challenges, and the first one was to use something we've never used before. Perfect timing! I've been needing to create some pieces with the upcoming Stamp of the Month for April (Express Postage), and this encouraged me to get past the creative block I've had with this particular set! I love this set -- loved it the first time I saw it! But I had NO idea what to do with it once it came. So the result is what you see above.

I random stamped the white daisy paper with the round circle from Express Postage in Twilight, Lilac Mist and Petal. I matted it on 3x3 Petal CS, created the band with Petal and Twilight, distressed, and added White Daisy grosgrain ribbon. Then I stamped the circle again Twilight, and added the sentiment in Twilight and a pewter brad. I cut it out, matted it on Twilight, and voila!

I also created a bookmark using one of CTMH's creative clips. These are really easy to work with, and are great accents for scrapbook layouts or cards. And now it's a bookmarks! I used a scallop circle punch on Petal and Amethyst CS, and then stamped the circle and sentiment in Petal on the Amethyst CS. I added a white daisy grosgrain ribbon for a little embellishment.

So what do you think? You can see this set here: http://www.closetomyheart.com/stamp_of_the_month_08_04_apr.aspx

I know there are a few of you who have tagged me recently -- I have not forgotten! I plan to hit those this weekend!

I'm BAAACK!

I'm BAAAACK! I know it's been a while. Ever heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours?" That pretty much happened. Nothing major...just so many things all at once. Sick kids, sick mommy, sick computer. (On that note, let me take a moment to remind you to back up your hard drive. We were LUCKY....we only lost a few pictures, and none were worth being upset about. Thank goodness!) And thanks to all who wrote to check in on me -- it was so thoughtful and really made me feel, well, kind of important. (I know that sounds silly, but you moms all know what I mean!)I'm hoping (praying like crazy, actually) that we are past the yuckies and can get back into life full steam ahead!

The picture above is of me with my two oldest kiddos -- Samantha and Hudson. We took all 3 kids to see Playhouse Disney Live when it came to town -- so much fun! This picture was taken just before the show started.

I hope this post finds you feeling well and looking forward to spring -- it's been a very long winter for our family. It seems as though someone has been sick with something since Thanksgiving. I wish I was exaggerating. And I've personally been catching everything, which is very unusual. I'm so sorry I've been such an absentee blogger! I have been so tired at the end of the days after chasing after my little ones that I've had little energy to do anything but dishes, laundry, and sleep. And sometimes none of those were even happening! But we've had 3 glorious days of weather this week, and took full advantage to air out our house and sweep those germs on their way!

And I've been busy creating (FINALLY -- oh my goodness, I was going through withdrawal!) I participated in something out of the box for me -- a monochromatic card swap. I designed cards for the blue, pink, and red groups. I love the way the blue and pink cards turned out, but red turned out to be much more challenging than I anticipated. So here goes nothing....

Stamp Sets: Angel Whispers, Simple Beauty (March SOTM); Ink/Paper: Blush, Baby Pink, and Hollyhock; Accessories: White Daisy grosgrain ribbon, scalloped circle punches

Stamp Sets: Star Struck, Sans Alphabet, Delightful Alphabet; Ink/Cardstock: Outdoor Denim, Crystal Blue, Twilight, White Daisy; Accessories: Pewter brads, corner rounder (by EK Success, I think)

Stamp Set: Soul Mates; Ink/Cardstock: Cranberry, Barn Red, Garnet, white daisy; Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cranberry grosgrain ribbon

Tomorrow, the kids and I are headed to at least one, maybe two Easter Egg hunts! I'm very excited -- they are all at that age where it will be fun but not "dumb" yet! Thankfully! And I already have a layout done just waiting for pictures!

Happy Friday!

Endless Love

Just a quick 3x3 card I made a while back -- this is CTMH's February Stamp of the Month. Click here: http://www.closetomyheart.com/stamp_of_the_month.aspx to see it. Thanks to Marjorie over at Mommy Scraps who (somewhere a little while ago) posted a tip on take close-up pictures. It really helped!

Check back later today -- I plan to post the layout we did at my club on Tuesday night.

Happy Thursday!

Stamps: Endless Love

Colors: Hollyhock, Blush, White Daisy and Chocolate

Accessories: Prisma Glitter, white daisy grosgrain ribbon

More emerging color...Marjorie's Challenge

A CTMH Consultant named Marjorie (check out her blog -- she's Mommy Scraps under my links to the left -- and she has got to be one of the most gifted card-makers I've ever seen!) posted a color challenge this week on our boards, and I thought I'd try emerging color again using her challenge colors. Now since I didn't have all of her challenge colors, I improvised a little. Can I just say that I am loving this emerging color thing? It's so much fun! And you get a sneak peak at the March Stamp of the Month! Sara and Marjorie -- I think you created a monster! ;)

Paper: White daisy CS, Amethyst

Stamp Sets: Simple Beauty (March 2008 Stamp of the Month), Delight in Everything

Ink colors: Petal, Lilac Beauty, Sweet Leaf, Buttercup

Accessories: White organdy ribbon (I intentionally went light on accessories because in person the colors are so much for vibrant....I didn't want to take away from anything.)

Okay, so practice makes perfect...this one is better than the last I think!

Blessings!

Sara's Challenge: Emerging Color

Since I'm a newbie stamper, I was very excited when my SBS10 sister, Sara, posted a challenge to the SBS10 to make a card with emerging color. I've never done this before, but it has always awed me when I've seen it and I would love to be able to create something so beautiful. This certainly does not look as amazing as some of the other emerging color examples I've seen, but it's my first attempt and I think it turned out okay -- what do YOU think?

Paper: Chocolate, white daisy, baby pink cs (CTMH)

Ink: Chocolate, Hollyhock, Blush, Garnet (CTMH)

Stamp set: All My Love

Accessories: Scallop circle punch, white organdy ribbon

Techniques: Edge distressing (gotta love CTMH's white core CS!), and Emerging COLOR!

So there you have it, SBS10 -- I think I might trying to do this with some light blues, greens and yellows in a flower pattern! It's fun, and practice makes perfect....back to practicing!

Blessings!

"Miracle"

I know, I know -- I promised I would post something everyday...and I missed yesterday! What can I say? It happens. But I'm back today with something that is kind of fun and spur of the moment. We found out last night that some of our friends are expecting their first child. So of course I went in "card mode" and my brain started cranking out ideas. The card I ended up with is not I expected to end up with, and I still don't know if I will send it to them, but it certainly allowed me to play with a few new stamp sets.

Paper: Sweet Leaf, Blush, Buttercup, Crystal Blue, White Daisy

Stamp Sets: Serendipity, Angel Whispers, and Baby Steps

Accessories: White daisy organdy ribbon

Tips? Suggestions? Criticize away! I want to hear what you experts think!

That's all I have for now -- tomorrow, I plan to alter a few darling mailboxes for my kids...my plan is to do them for Valentine's day, but we shall see what I end up! A mistake might turn into a happy surprise! Look forward to that post tomorrow night!

Happy Sunday, and as always, blessings to you and yours this week!