Vintage Christmas Wishes

Vintage Christmas Card
Originally uploaded by Zero Discipline

I just wanted to send along this dear guy who is about my age to wish you the very best Christmas wishes. My blog will be taking a holiday break until January 2nd. I will keep you all in my thoughts as we celebrate the Season. Thanks for stopping in here and keeping me on my twinkle toes. Christmas love to you all.

Gentlemen Ginger

Gingerbread Mix
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

Here is another gift jar. As you may remember, I found these great air-tight jars at a thrift shop and I spray painted the lids gold. This one is filled with a yummy gingderbread mix. The label and tag were made with Hero Arts CG211, CG139 and LP177. I just love that kraft brown paper - it is perfect for gingerbread. The shapes were cut with Nestibilities (all except the boys, who were cut with my trusty fingers)
in my wonderful Cuttlebug.

Here is a close up of the tie-on label which is for the recipe.

That is a bright red silicone spatula tied to the side of the jar as a practical little extra. Don't you just love using silicone in the kitchen? Okay, maybe in other places, too?

Twinkle in Pastels

For those who know me - really know me - I am not a pastel kind of gal. Give them to me bright, sparkly and vibrant. So, Cath over at Moxie Fab World has done it again. A real challenge. She came up with this Vintage Pastel Christmas for the Tuesday Trigger.

So I decided to have a little tag fun. I got out one of my vintage classroom photos and selected an appropriately sweet subject. I gave her lots of pastel cuteness with a hat, some wings and lots of twinkle. Some torn paper and ribbon finish her off and now she is ready to eat fancy cupcakes with the best of them.

No stamping today, this is all me! Thanks, Cath for the inspiration and the challenge!

Raising Cane!

Hi, my pals! Here is a bright and festive jar that I put together for the desk of a sweet lady I frequently visit in a local insurance office (I also made one for my allergist's office). I actually found a couple of these nice jars with tight-fitting lids at a thrift shop. I love the handles on the lids and the jar shape.

First I spray painted the lids gold. Then I used two of my newest Hero Arts stamps (CG196 and CG119) with embossing powder and Distress Inks to create the patterns and distress the edges. The text was printed on my computer. The label and tag shapes were cut with Nestibilities dies in my Cuttlebug.

The jar and the tag are embellished with some vintage buttons from my stash, some cute red and white baker's twine and some thin red and white ribbon from Michael's.

Here is a better look at the tag. It is all ready for my greeting.

Quite festive, don't ya think?

Keep Your Day Job!

Okay, sometimes I think I'm funny......Here is a card that I made for my friend who used to own a wonderful scrapbook store near my house. I spent many happy hours (and lots of money!) there and she gave me such sweet inspiration. Thanks, Carina!

This was made with Jennifer McGuire's techniques and the free Hero Arts reindeer digi-download from TwoPeas. The inking (Distress Inks) and highlighting some of the dots in the background with Stickles are Jennifer's tricks. I printed the reindeer twice and popped up the head with dimensionals. I used Hero Arts CG139, CG119 and AR150 for the front of the card.

The answer to the riddle is in the inside of the card. More Distress inks on watercolor paper and Hero Arts S5067 (an oldie!). Yes, I think I will keep my day job. Oh, wait - I'm retired! Enjoy!

Advent Calendar

Advent Calendar
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

Here is an advent calendar I made for my little nieces (well, they are actually my cousin's daughter's children, but I have no idea what the correct reference is!). Since the box was white, I decided to do a snowflake theme, heat embossing in white using Hero Arts stamps CL357 & CG214. I inked it all up with Peeled Paint and Faded Jeans Distress Inks. To add a bit more interest for the girlies, I dug out some older HA stamps and decorated the corners and the center. It is wrapped all up with a ribbon and a matching tag. The tough part was finding tiny things to fill up all the drawers. I hope that they are enjoying the anticipation like I did when I was young. Love you, Jilly and Emily!

You Can Get Anything You Want

cardstore.com & Hero Arts
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

Here is another Hero Arts & cardstore.com creation using the "Pinecone Holidays" set. Hero Arts supplied the embellishments and the Stickles. I added the pearly button from my stash to pick up the yellow of the leaves.

This picture was taken on our recent trip east - I was so excited to finally see Arlo Guthrie's church (from his song "Alice's Restaurant" - I've been singing since the '60's) in Great Barrington, MA. A dream come true! The inside reads "Wishing you a 'You can get anything you want' Holiday Season". This was such fun! Thanks, Hero Arts!

Tiki Christmas

cardstore.com & Hero Arts
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

I recently won a chance to play with some Hero Arts goodies which were developed in conjunction with and online photo card store, cardstore.com. What fun! And the process is very user friendly. This is a great way to produce a hand-made photo card, since you are provided with all the Hero Arts embellishments and the photo layouts are really special. This is called "Red Scallop". And, gee - who do you think those happy folks are? Too much fun! Thanks, Hero Arts, for this chance to try something new.

Moxie Fab World All Occasions Challenge - Love!

Love, honor......but not obey! I just couldn't commit to that. But cherish? You bet ya - I sure do that. This card is for Cath's Moxie Fab World All Occasions Week - the Love Challenge. Check it out and come play along. I'm thinking cute, but still simple and elegant. Stamps and supplies are Stampin' Up. I like working in the square format but it takes extra postage to mail.

Silly Party Girls!

Silly Girls!
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

So, I warned you that some of my tags are silly! As most of you know, I love all things vintage (including my hubby - ha!), so this set called "Make Your Own" (CG175) from Hero Arts is a huge favorite. Well, I just couldn't imagine these gals not enjoying the holidays, so I got out my collection of vintage cookbooks and planned a little party. Don't you wish you were invited?

Congratulations Challenge - Moxie Fab World

Here is another of Cath's Favorite Occasions Challenges over at Moxie Fab World. This one is for congratulations. My card is a real sparkly one! I used lots of super fine glitter, an Elizabeth Crafts outline sticker, some great designer paper and I colored with an aqua painter. I love this look!

Thanks for checking in - you are the best ever!

Tag - you're it!

Grateful Giveaway
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

I love making tags - little pieces of art that are so portable, so finite and just fun. The main problem is that before you know it, hours can be spent on such a tiny project! My tags have several very distinctive styles from traditional to very silly.

Here is one of a series that I made for a recent Hero Arts challenge using their "Merry Christmas Trees" stamp set (one my holiday favs). I also used two other Hero stamps - lots of layers and lots of glamor.

All Occasion Challenge at Moxie Fab World

Our dear pal, Cath, over at Moxie Fab World is at it again! She is sponsoring "All Occasions Week" with a different challenge every day. Check it out an play along! The first challenge is for an all occasion card. I decided to use my most all-occasion stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms. It is so versatile because you can actually check off in the appropriate box depending on your message. Love it! And it goes perfectly with this cool outline sticker from Elizabeth Crafts. I placed the black outline onto sticky tape (such as Score Tape). Next, I put some very fine white glitter onto the sticker and tape and rubbed it in, then dumped of the excess. The image was colored with gel pens and an aqua-painter. See, I said it was cool. This card is finished off with some Heidi Swapp paper, Copics pens and a flower, button and ribbon from my stash.

A nice break from all the holiday stuff, eh? Enjoy!