2014 Calendar - January

January, 2014

Happy New Year!  At least it will be soon.

I found the swirled cut on a cartridge I bought quite awhile ago on one of those great sales, but since it was already after Christmas, I put it aside.  After looking for some January ideas, I found this cut.  It's quite thick, actually - 4 layers of cardstock.  The base white piece we were able to lay down a layer of Stickles and allow it to dry before adding the other layers.  The red layer had to have the Stickles added after everything was placed.  That one was trickier, but not as difficult as I thought it would be.

The snowflake was a surprise find - Mom and I had to go and pick up more adhesive during the project, and I saw these ... and knew they'd be perfect just there! 

I hope you've enjoyed each of the calendar pages. 

2014 Calendar - February

February, 2014

After switching out last year's heart cut, I decided that from now on, I'm just going to stay with my favorite - the vertical hearts.  We used Shimmering Angels spray and if you look closely, the spots on the hearts shimmer in the light.  If you look closely, the base cut under the hearts is embossed with little hearts as well.

Anyone else watch the Winter Olympics every 4 years?  I can't wait!  February 6th is opening ceremonies!  I've already been watching some of the time trials to get to know the USA's athletes.   If you leave a comment, I'll tell you how I made the Olympic Rings!

2014 Calendar - March

March, 2014

There's a Cricut Cartridge - Create a Critter 2 with very cute "Happy" cuts on it - Happy Birthday, Happy St. Patrick's Day, etc.  I use it quite a lot.

This calendar page just turned out to be lots of fun, and LOTS of Stickles! 

2014 Calendar - April

April, 2014

I'm not sure what it is about the April calendar, but it always needs some type of ribbon or bow.  I didn't plan it and was thrilled that I found some perfect ribbon in my stash.

I thought it would take much longer to watercolor the bunnies, but it only took one movie to get 20 sets finished!  I had all the pieces stamped, and my husband and I sat down to watch a movie.  By the time it was over, I had all the rabbits and their little sparkly tails all finished.  The cross is embossed using a purple ink and clear embossing powder.

2014 Calendar - May

May, 2014

May for Mother's Day, of course - and they always say, 'April showers bring May flowers!'  I keep wanting to use that quote.  Maybe next year.

I like using a single flower as an accent, and the rhinestone flowers I collected throughout the year - as I do for many of the little touches on the calendars.

May is pretty special in our family.  3 birthdays, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day - it gets very busy, but always lots of fun!

2014 Calendar - June

June, 2014

As always, June is Father's Day.  I haven't yet found a cut I like better than this Happy Father's Day cut, so I continue to use it.  Different colors, different sizes, etc.  Hopefully, they'll come up with a better/different one soon.

FIFA - What is that?  It is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.  Basically, every four years, the world gathers soccer teams by country and has a huge tournament.  My husband and I spend this time watching lots more soccer than we normally do.  It's not always up to the quality of league play, but there are some really good games to watch!

FIFA's colors are gold, green, and white - worked out quite well, even though it was unplanned!  :)

The soccer ball comes from a Stampin' Up set.  I embossed it in black, punched and then framed it with a scallop circle punch. 

2014 Calendar - July

July, 2014

I always enjoy the July calendar!  I think the July 2013 is still one of my favorites.  This technique also came from my stamp club!  We used it on a card one month, and as I thought about designs I used the basic technique and added a few touches.

THANKS to Robin and Kathy for the ideas!

Michael's has packs of ribbon and twine in large packs of 15 to 20 spools all in different colors.  The red and blue polka dotted ribbon worked perfectly with this design, and after dove-tailing all the pieces, I discovered it was adhesive as well!  It wasn't planned, but turned out to be a great time saver.

Just as I'm writing the post for this page, I've already got an idea to make the fireworks better for the 2015 calendar.  :) 

2014 Calendar - August

August, 2014

August is always the most difficult month to come up with a theme for the calendar - there just aren't any holidays! 

Summer vacation is winding down for the kids, and school is about to start again - but there just aren't any holidays.  This grill was made entirely out of punches.  It makes great Father's Day cards, and is just perfect for that griller for a birthday.  The page just needed something after we had the grills put together, so I found a hot dog on one of my Cricut Cartridges. 

2014 Calendar - September

September, 2014

My FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE!!!!!

I saw this idea from someone's card off a website, and thought how perfect it would be for the September calendar!

This stamp set used for the background and leaf triad is called Gently Falling.  I used gold and silver embossing powder and hand cut each leaf.  It took a lot less time to cut all 60 leaves (20 calendars x3) than I thought. 

2014 Calendar - October

October, 2014

There's always something funny about October!  How is it that a holiday that really isn't my favorite, even though it's lots of fun always seems to be the most intricate, detailed calendar page?  Hmmmmm  :)

I had 2 cuts made that didn't make it onto this year's calendar - so they wait another year.  Maybe to make the 2015 calendar!

I really LOVE the Stampin' Up Owl punch!  I've made 2 versions from the punch, and just love how they turn out!

Question:  Is that an owl, or a bat?

2014 Calendar - November

November, 2014

I found this turkey on one of my newer cartridges and thought it would be perfect for the calendar.  This is one of the two months that didn't get a Stickles treatment on the month.  The turkey and Be Grateful are inked and have Stickles accents. 

2014 Calendar - December

December 2014 calendar 

The star is a 2 piece 3D die cut, and the stocking is a sticker.

We used the Martha Stewart branch punch to cut out the pine needles and little lights I have stashed from a Cricut Cartridge ready to use every year! :)

Family's Christmas Gifts ~ Part 3

This is one of those projects I really LOVE doing!  This again was one of our Stamp Camp projects from early October.  I was able to order a bunch of the wooden crosses from my up-line Kathy and when Mom and I were done with the calendars I settled in to get these crosses done and sent for gifts.

The background canvas came from Michael's and I bought a used Lutheran Hymnal to use for the backgrounds.

I only used 2 paper stacks for covering all the crosses - Mocha Morning, and the Modern Medley for the black and vanilla crosses.

Some of the crosses went to close friends, though most of them went to family members.

 

Family Note Pads for Christmas

Here are more of the notepads I made for family members.  THANKS to my sister Gail for taking these pictures for me!

Family's Christmas Gifts ~ Part 2

Part 2 of 3 of the Christmas gifts I made this year for the family.

I made 9 of these note card holders and card sets for family and friends this year.  The idea came from my up-line Kathy who always has such AWESOME projects for us!  I made a few changes, and sent them to family members and some friends I reconnected with this year.

These wall letters also came from Kathy during our Stamp Camp in early October this year.    They are customized for each family.

This W went to my cousin and his wife in Texas.  

This W is for my Aunt and Uncle.

This S is for another Aunt and Uncle.

This G is for my nephew and his wife.  He was pretty puzzled why I asked about the colors in their house.  Guess he figured out why now. :)

This G is for my sister and her husband.  They have a log home, and I know the colors will work GREAT in their place.

This is for my nephew.  He's single, so no flowers for him!  :)

Merry Christmas! Themed Christmas Trees!

Merry Christmas, 2013! 

This past summer my family and I went to Door County, Wisconsin and spent 3 days touring, and getting some quality family time.

I discovered there was a Christmas shop called The Tannenbaum Shop - in an old converted Lutheran Church!  I mentioned this in past posts.

Here, finally are some of the pictures!  Each tree is in a different theme.
Please Enjoy!