Merry Christmas!

Good evening! I hope you all had a fabulous and Merry Christmas and are ready to bring in the New Year!! :D

I had the best Christmas ever! For the first time in 11 years I got to wake up on Christmas morning in my own bed and host my very own Christmas dinner in our new house! Well to be truthful, I had the guests bring the turkey! But trust me, that was for the best! Lol! 

I really did miss spending Christmas with my husbands family though, my mother n' law really does spoil us! :D

The couple of weeks leading up to Christmas got right crazy and hectic, so I didn't quite get everything crafty accomplished that I had wanted too. I took on a couple extra shifts at work and by the time I got home each day, I was just too darn lazy! But the last couple days have been really nice and quiet and I finally found some time to spend how I pleased! :D

I would like to say that I was super productive and got lots accomplished... but that would be a horrible lie! Lol! But I did get this layout done! 

I had these photos taken of my daughter at the end of her grade 8 year by a very talented photographer and dear friend of mine, Ivana! She did such an amazing job capturing Danielle's beauty and personality!

The paper I used for this layout was the Typography collection from Graphic 45. When I first saw the photos Ivana had taken, I would not have guessed I would be using such a vintage looking paper, but this line just worked perfectly with these photos!

Some embellishment I used included:

 Stampin Up washi tape

Teresa Collins washi tape

Studio Calico cork chevron arrows

Basic Grey alpha/journaling stickers

Maya Road camera transparency piece

Misc twine.

The "Inspire" quote and "alphabet card" were pieces I cut directly from the Graphic 45 paper.

To create the banner, I tore various pieces of washi tape off their roles. I then wrapped them around the twine. I left them with the rough edges but you could easily trim them to give them a cleaner, tidier look.

I used 3-D foam dimensional adhesive on the alpha letter stickers to make them stand out a bit more and I did all my journaling along the white cardstock strips.

I also used the foam adhesive on the camera transparency piece. You can't tell though because I used black ones and they are hidden so nicely!

Tomorrow I return to work but I am super excited for the end of the month to come! In just a few short weeks I get to go hang out with my scrappy SK peeps for an annual library fundraising event in Langham! I have attended this crop every year for the last 4 or 5 years now but never as someone who just gets to play!! I have always gone representing a store, so I am really looking forward to the crop this year and hanging out with all you crafty ladies!! :D

Maybe I'll have some more projects to show off! :D

I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year!

~Cayla~

Tis the season...

Welcome Everyone!!

If you have arrived here from Jodie's wonderful blog, then you have come from the right place!
 If not and you want to start from the beginning, go HERE!
The complete list of the links in order will be posted at the end!

December seems to be a stressful time for a lot of people and really, it's no different for me. Usually by this time of year I have atleast half, if not all of my gift shopping done, but not this year! With having started a new job and still trying to get in our groove of living in a new city with a new routine, I feel a little behind. Which is why I am feeling extremely grateful that I had the foresight to start making Christmas cards way back in August and also that I had made way to many cards last year, so I still have plenty left over! Lol!

So I am going to share a couple with you today! :D

 This stamp set makes me giggle everytime I see it! I just bought this set from Stampin Up and I love it! Santa in his long underwear, how cute can you get! :D 

I bought this set thinking it would be perfect for making Christmas cards for my crazy family and because I was on Pinterest (Surprise! Surprise!) and saw these cute cards made by this crafty gal. You can check out her blog to see what she created and to see where I got my inspiration! 

http://inkingidaho.blogspot.ca/2014/09/visions-of-santa.html?m=1

She did a way better job coloring in her Santa's because I think I need to go back to kindergarten and re-learn to color inside the lines! Lol! 

I of course changed up my card a bit and used some different products. I wish I had the stars embossing folder she used for the background of her card (and it's definitely on my very long wish list! :D) but I decided to use a Tim Holtz embossing folder instead. I also opted out of punching a scalloped border piece and decided to use up some of my washi tape to make a fun border.

This next card was one that I pulled out of my "last year's" stash! 

It was a super easy card to make and was a great way to use up some scraps! The greeting was stamped using a Stampin Up set but I honestly don't remember the name of the set right now and I think it is a retired set anyway. 

The snowmen stamp is also an old stamp I had from Inkadinkadoo I believe. 

These next two cards are some of my fave cards to make and may look complicated but I find they are a very relaxing thing to do!

I started embroidering on paper almost 10 years ago after taking a class at my LSS and I was hooked! It was such a unique way to make such a beautiful card to send to a special person and I found it to be so relaxing and kind of meditating! 

My husband and I used to spend MANY weekends driving back and forth between Calgary and Saskatoon. And when I say many weekends, I mean every second or third weekend for two or three years. So ya, a lot of driving. And for any of you who haven't driven that hi-way, I can tell you it is sooooooooooooooo boring!  So when I learned this new paper crafting technique, I found that it was a great way to pass the time in the car while my husband was driving but we could still have conversations!

I won't lie to you, these cards are definitely more time consuming, but the how-to is not difficult and the end result is gorgeous and unique! Any receiver would be thrilled to get a card like this!

Next, head on over to Carlye's blog and check out her gorgeous cards and then last but not least stop by and check out Amy's blog and her crafty creations!

Please stop in again soon! 

I am hoping to have some more holiday cards and some tags to share!

~Cayla!

Stop 1: Jodie at Prairie Paper Haven

Stop 2: ME at Cayla's Crafty Corner

Stop 3: Carlye at Crafty Carlye

Stop 4: Amy at Yo Ho Ho A Pirate Life's Craft