Christmas Cards/Great Cartoon/Stuff

Hey All! Before I start my ramble, I just want to say thanks to each and every one of you who left such uplifting comments on my last post. If you were all right here right now, I'd give you all a giant hug! You don't know what your comments mean to me. For those of you who don't have a blog, or have your comments set to "no reply", I want you to know I do appreciate the comments, and I wish you would give me some way of responding to you so that I can say thanks. But until then, know that I love your comments and I think you are wonderful for leaving them.

OK, that mushy stuff said, take a look at this hilarious cartoon I found in the January 2009 issue of the Reader's Digest (be sure to click on the picture for all of the detail, it is priceless!):

OMG is that hilarious or what?!!! I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Especially since it is a guy being interviewed! How perfect is this for me. As many of you know, I am currently unemployed because of downsizing. Can you see me in this situation in the future?!?!?! LOL I swear, if it doesn't break any copyright laws, I'm going to use this as the header for my blog after the holidays. What a hoot!

Alright now. . . .on to the Christmas card. This one took me some time, but I think the result was worth it if I do say so myself. I've seen others make this wreath, and I always marveled at them, and I had the punch, so this is my version. . .

This is a 5 X 7 card (which most of mine are). I used the McGill pine punch to punch out the gazillion pine branches. I punched them out in two different shades of green to give it more of a "real" look, and a few gold branches for decorative value. I cut out a "ring" to use as a template for the wreath using my Nesties. I then began to glue them on to the template one at a time with my Martha Stewart glue pen (I love that pen). I alternated greens and stuck on the gold ones last. I used red rhinestones for the "berries" and glued those on using diamond glaze. I then used my CB and embossed that background with one of the folders (forget what it is called) and used a Gelly Roll glitter pen to highlight the raised parts. I mounted the wreath on that with foam dimensionals, mounted that onto Bazzill card stock, and added the bow (ribbon from Michael's). The sentiment is from Martha Stewart and I added the two rhinestones on either side to finish it off. If you click on the photo, you will see how glittery the background is.

My next project is a set of monogrammed note cards that I made for Jay's Mom's birthday. Here the are:

I made two each of 3 designs. I wanted them to have a little elegance about them, so I used paper from (I believe DCWV) a stack called "simple elegance". I mounted all the papers directly onto Bazzill white card stock. The monograms were done using the JustRite DIY Monogram Stamper Kit. I love this product, and plan to get other sets. This is a great starter. I stamped the monograms in Versamark ink and then embossed with black fine detail ep. I then cut them out with Nestie circles and scallops. All were mounted with dimensional foam squares. I tied ribbon to some and added bling to others as you can see from the close up below:

I put them is a simple box (store bought) and decorated it with ribbon and a matching monogram tag. She really loved it. I had to take it back from her after I had given it to her because I realized I had forgotten to photograph the set for my blog. LOL

Finally, I received the sweets RAK from the very sweet Michelle Ueligitone. I was so pleasantly surprised to receive it. Here is what she sent:

It came on a very wet, cold, grayish creepy day. When I opened it, it was like opening sunshine. It really brightened my day. Michelle lives in Hawaii, so it was nice to think about such a beautiful place for that moment. If you have not visited Michelle, go do so. She is very talented, and she has the most amazingly beautiful little daughter! They actually are both stunning beauties! Thanks Michelle. It was so thoughtful of you!

That's it for this post kids! It is 10:00 pm here and I'm off to go upstairs and continue working on my Christmas projects. Here's what I'm working on to be highlighted in upcoming blog posts: Dog treat Christmas gifts for the neighborhood dogs; Dog themed clear ornaments to go with them; giant candy bar Christmas sleeves (40 of them! LOL); and various other Christmas cards. These are just a few of what I'm working on. So lots of posts coming!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by. As I said at the beginning, it means so much to me. I'll be looking at all of your blogs when I get up tomorrow while having my first cup of coffee, so I'll see you in the morning! LOL Don't forget the pic of the week below!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God help me be the person my dogs think I am."