Snowy Day Photos

We have had quite a bit of snow and more is on the way today.  I took my camera along on my walk to the mailbox yesterday and I wanted to share a few photos of the winter wonderland.  (Inside - I am still putting up trees!)

The ornaments in the front tree are lopsided from the weight of their snow caps.

This faded hydrangea is filled with snow.  We called some hydrangeas "snowball bushes" when I was growing up - this gives that a new meaning!

The mailbox house has a nice snowy cap.

One of my neighbors changes the side baskets to suit the seasons - don't they look pretty!

 There is a layer of snow and ice coating many of the trees.

The Adirondack chairs on the hill by the hammock trees have been upholstered with snow.

The red holly berries and the pointy green leaves contrast so nicely with the white snow.

When the sun goes down and the lights on the trees and back deck railing are on there is a magical glow.

I have had a few people asking again about the camera and software I use for my photos.  I currently use a Nikon D3200 DSLR and I often leave it on automatic.  I have found that you can work wonders with a good photo editing software - here is an example:

This is the original photo of one of the Santa ornaments on the Santa tree in our front hall.  It is much too dark and if I had taken this back when I used film it would have gone in the reject pile.

With a few quick edits I was able to salvage this version of the Santa photo - it may not be the best possible shot but it is a big improvement over the original image.

I use the software that used to be sold through Creative Memories as "Memory Manager" to edit and organize my photos.  It is now sold directly by Panstoria, the developers of the program.  Their version is called Historian.  For digital scrapping and other creative project I use the Artisan program (which was called "StoryBook Creator" when it was sold by Creative Memories).  I am an affiliate for Panstoria so if you buy through the links on my blog I will receive a commission (your price remains the same).  I appreciate your support and would be happy to answer any questions you have about the software programs.

Using the Artisan software, I am able to take images from my photos and turn them into elements I can use for digital scrapping, card making, print and cut projects and other creative projects.  Here is an example with the same Santa - now ready to pop on a digital page.

Tomorrow I have a project that I made using the Artisan software and Square1 Masterpiece printable fabric to share.  It is a gift so I have to wait until I give it to show it here!

If you have a Silhouette machine, don't miss the 12 days of Christmas free files that are each available for one day only - today is Day 4 and the image is this adorable gingerbread man.  These images are available in the Silhouette Online Store.

Also, Lettering Delights has daily special freebies and deals in addition to the Holiday Dollar Sale.  The special offers last for just 24 hours and change every day at 6 p.m. Mountain time.

One week left before Christmas - I hope you are getting everything done.  Stay safe if you are also in a snowy place - winter seems to be arriving with a big bang!
   
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Decking the Halls, shopping and organizing

It is such a busy time of year.  With Thanksgiving so late this year, the days are flying by and Christmas is right around the corner!  Our decorations are going up slowly.  It is a lot of work but I really enjoy the end result and the lights make things so much more cheery in the dark days of winter.

I have a few things of interest to share today...

If you use a machine and software that will work with SVG files, SVG Cuts has a wonderful free kit available now.  Click HERE to go to the site - don't you love that gingerbread house!

SVG Cuts is also having a Christmas sale that lasts until Sunday, December 15th.  You can save 25% on your entire purchase - no minimum purchase required.  Just type XMAS in the Coupon field during step 2 of the checkout.

The Cricut 12 Days of Christmas Deal for today, December 13th is the Cricut Expression and the Library Fonts cartridge for $159.99.  Click HERE to see the deal.  There are just two more days left in the twelve days and remember, each deal is only good for one day.

The Holiday Dollar Sale is continuing at Lettering Delights with over 300 products on sale for $1 ($2 for Cut-It Sets).  Today they will also be starting their 12 days of Christmas celebration, full of freebies, new products, deals and more!  Remember to check the LD blog and Facebook pages for even more goodies.

 

Craftsy is having a flash sale starting today.  Save up to 80% off on Designer Yarn (click HERE for the Yarn sale) and up to 65% off on Designer Fabric (click HERE for the Fabric sale).  This sale ends on December 16 at midnight Mountain Time.  The last day to order for Christmas delivery (in the US only) is December 16th.

Hazel & Ruby have a great free printable set of tags available on their site.  Click HERE to go to the page for this freebie.  Be sure to check out their products - they have some interesting things that you won't find anywhere else.

image from Ranger site

Finally, I noticed that Ranger has updated their free downloads of charts and labels for organizing your Ranger products.  Click HERE to go to the page on their site.  When you hover over each product you will see the available items to download to help you keep track of and organize your paints, inks, stains, etc.

3/4 inch distress color label circles to punch out - available on Ranger site

My favorite is the chart of circles with the colors and names of the distress products ready to punch out with a 3/4 inch punch.  These fit perfectly on the tops of the stains and paints.  When the holidays are over I'll be doing some reorganizing in my craft space.  It's great that Ranger provides these handy helpers!


Have you finished decorating?  Please tell me I'm not the last to be putting up trees and lights!

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True Scrap 5 a la Carte Sale

 

Back in October I took part in True Scrap 5 - an online live virtual paper crafting extravaganza with 15 classes over two days.  If you missed True Scrap 5, you now have the chance to create your own event by choosing the classes that are most interesting to you - at a great price!

 

Now through 12/25 (Merry Christmas!), take your pick from any (or all) 15 classes for just $9.99 each (a 25% discount from the regular price of $12.95).  Each class includes a project video, a "like you were there" full scrapinar replay (about 60 minutes), and a class handout if provided by the instructor.

 

Click HERE to see the full list of all of the classes available.

The classes are...

Project Miscellany

with Stephanie Ackerman - for details, click HERE

 

 

 

 Playing with Photos

with Tracy Banks - for details, click HERE

 

 

 

The Music of Your Life

with Monica Bradford - for details click HERE.

 

 

 

Creating Two-Page Layouts

with Jennifer Gallacher - for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

Memory-Keeping with Stamps, Dies and Punches

with Bev Grey - for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

Using Instagram Photos for Canvas Art

with Stephenie Hamen - for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

 Design Your Story with Bits and Pieces

with Noell Hyman - for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

The Art of the Everyday: As Seen Through Your Camera Lens

with Katrina Kennedy - for details, click HERE.

 

Pick a Card, Any Card: Using 3x4 and 4x6 Cards on Your Pages

with Layle Koncar - for details, click HERE.

 

 

Memory Minutes: Documenting Your Stories

in Bite-Sized Chunks

with Tammy Tutterow - for details, click HERE.

 

 

Stamp It Up a Notch

with Nichol Magouirk - for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

From Pixels to Paper and Back

with Traci Reed and Lain Ehmann- for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

Ribbons and Bows

with Windy Robinson- for details, click HERE.

 

 

Four Stencils, Four Ways

with Doris Sander- for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

The Simple Things: A Creative Journal

with Heidi Swapp- for details, click HERE.

 

 

 

This is a great assortment of class topics.  I have really enjoyed the presentations and projects I have watched so far.  I couldn't see everything live in October but the good thing is that you have access to these classes to watch them over and over again.

If you have any questions about the True Scrap 5 classes, please don't hesitate to contact me or leave a comment. 

I made these simple candy cane easels a couple of years ago.  You may remember them if you have been following my blog for a while.  Here is the LINK to the original post if you'd like to see directions and some examples of the easel in use.

I still have a lot of decorations to put up for the holidays.  Today I am on a mission to replace some of my outdoor light strings that are only lighting in some sections.  If it stops raining/sleeting/snowing, I'll get them draped on the fence - they look so pretty from the sun room when you look out.  Do you have more decorating to do?  Presents to buy?  Cards to write and cookies to bake?  Enjoy the traditions - it will all get done somehow!

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Quick Wine Bottle Gift Tag

 

'Tis the season for holiday celebrations.  When we bring a bottle of wine to our hosts I like to dress it up a bit.  This tag was quick and easy to make and with the pretty ribbon bow (which can be reused) it makes the wine seem a bit more special.

I recently ordered some items from Close to My Heart and I wanted to make my order total $50 or more so I could get the Stamp of the Month.  There are eight little stamps that sell for $2.95 so if your order is not quite up to the qualifying number, one of these can put you over the required amount.

screen shot of CTMH catalog page 113

So far, I have added the snowflake, the tree, the gift package and the "ho HO HO" to my collection.  You can find these stamps on page 113 of the Autumn/Winter Idea Book.  My friend Joy Tracey is a CTMH consultant and she would be happy to help you with any questions or orders - her blog is Obsessed with Scrapbooking and her CTMH website is HERE.

I had stamped this image on a leftover diecut to test it out.  I used Versamark ink and heat embossed the image with fine gold embossing powder.  Then I colored it in with some Promarkers in red and green.

Embossing the image makes it easier to stay in the lines when you color it in.  The effect of the gold embossing powder is very pretty as you can see in this close up photo.

Just when I finished coloring the image, I dropped my marker and left a few green spots on the right side.  So this was left sitting on my table, waiting to be used.  I punched the top of a two inch strip of green cardstock with my old Creative Memories tag punch and then layered the stamped shape on the top section of the tag.

I trimmed off the two sides of the white shape and added a gold metallic snowflake (made with the Martha Stewart Jumbo Icelandic Snowflake punch).

I added just a few red gems to balance the colors and add sparkle.

There is just enough room below the snowflake to add a signature with a white pen.  The festive ribbon is from Costco.

Just a few enabling tips...

The Twelve Days of Christmas Special from Cricut today is 30% off on all accessories - Monday, December 9th only.  Click HERE to find the Twelve Days of Christmas deals each day.

Cosmo Cricket Digital Kits are back at Jessica Sprague for a limited time.  I collected most of these when they were originally in the store.  If you love the Cosmo Cricket style, you'll find lots of uses for these sets.  Best of all, they are 30% off for the entire month. 

Lettering Delights is having a Holiday Dollar Sale with over 300 products on sale for $1 ($2 for Cut-It Sets).  There are lots of great sets at great prices - you can check out the sale items by clicking HERE.

The days are flying by - the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has me in a bit of a rush!  There hasn't been much time to get to the craftroom but I do have a few more projects to share this week.  I hope your holiday preparations are going well!

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation.