Saturday, March 26, 2011

Blog Hops - March 26 and March 27

Welcome to Day 2 of the "Make Your Own Holiday Blog Hop."  If you missed Day #1, just scroll down through this post. You'll see that the holiday I made up is "Love ♥ Your Neighbors Day" ... a way to salute the neighbors I love in my close-knit community.

For one neighbor's card, I was inspired by the new Nikki Sivils Scrapbooking line of papers called "We Are Family."  Here are the two main prints in this line:




Each of these papers is double-sided. One has a red-white polka dot, and the other is a swirly medium blue solid. 

I loved how these papers showed a "neighborhood". I picked one house to mimic in my card.  Here is the Nikki house shown on the paper that inspired my  paper-pieced card:


Here is the card I made:

OUTSIDE FRONT

INSIDE OF CARD
I'll be giving this card to my neighbor who lives at #328 on my block (which is why I changed the house number on the card), along with a pail of chocolate chip cookies.  Please see my Day #1 post to see the pails I made for each of my neighbors.

SCROLL DOWN to See Day #1 post, as well as info on how to WIN BLOG CANDY in honor of "Love ♥ Your Neighbors Day."


March 25, 2011

In typical CardMonkey fashion, I've over-committed myself for this weekend. Not only is it my 12th wedding anniversary (March 27) and my SIL's birthday, but I'm participating in two blog hops!

If you're here for the Make Your Own Holiday Blog Hop hosted by the inimitable Karelj, you're in the right place, and read on. You'll find a cute project featuring my "♥ Love Your Neighbors ♥" card and gift set, blog candy for this hop's participants, as well as links to your next stop.

If you're here for the Disney Pixar Blog Hop, you're welcome to detour here briefly but if you'd rather continue on that hop immediately, please CLICK HERE to be beamed up to my post for that special occasion!  There, you'll find some Disney scrap layouts to document a trip to Disney (worth scrap-lifting!), and a Mickey-inspired Birthday card.  And you'll find another blog candy from CardMonkey for those participants. 

Feel free to visit both, comment on both, and be eligible to win and win!! 

Without further ado then ...

Welcome to the "Make Up Your Own Holiday Blog Hop"! You should have arrived here from Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose.  If you just stumbled across the hop, and you’d like to start at the beginning, hop over to Karelj’s blog at www.kareljcreations.com to start at the beginning.  After my stop, you should head over to Rachel to see what Stamps Happy creations she has in store for you!

Here at CardMonkey, it's:

Happy ♥Love Your Neighbors!♥ Day

I am blessed to share my driveway with three families, the best neighbors in the world. There when you need them, private when you'd rather not ... ready with a warm grill and a cold beer ... open hearts during time of sorrow (when one husband died) as well as joy (a daughter's wedding, new grandbabies) ... supportive and helpful. So I chose this weekend to honor them...

Here is the gift set I made for each of the three families. It includes a card, as well as a customized bucket that I'll be filling with homemade chocolate chip cookies:

Project details: 
For the card (which is 4.5" wide by 7" high), I used one sheet of October Afternoon's paper. This paper has a full sheet of a house printed on it, which I trimmed down to use.
I added some accents (white gel pen, brown Copic markers) and then made a wreath and a bush to compliment the printed bushes inside.

To make the wreath on the door, I used one branch of flowers by KaiserCraft and curved it into a circle.  It wrapped neatly over itself, and I secured it with a bow. 

For the bush, I cut a piece of green cardstock, and ran it through my Swiss Dot Cuttlebug Folder.  Still not happy with it, I edged in ink, then colored the Swiss Dots red.  Ugh, even worse!  I tried blending ... eeeek!  About to toss it and start over, I covered the bush in Glossy Accents.  EEEEK!  Bushes aren't glossy!  So then I took another branch (green) of flowers and shredded it into the Glossy Accents. Voila! This I like!!!

For the INSIDE of the card:
I fiddled around with the paper until I got the layout I liked with two windows side-by-side.  I added a little piece of the siding and roof, plus the chimney, to balance out the right side.  (OK, if I thought of this before, the siding would have been a flap.)  Now I admit that the siding looked a little odd, until I decided to fussy cut a branch or two from some other patterned paper I bought today.  It has these cute bird feeders hanging from it.

Next, I fussy cut some leaves, drew in some white dots for accents on the tree and window panes, and added the sentiment (which I printed on my computer).  I still wanted something, so I added the clipped grass at the bottom edge. I made these with really cool Martha Stewart fringing scissors. Have you seen these?! 

For the bucket, I trimmed a window out from the top part of the paper, cut out the window panes and glued it to the bucket. I lined the bucket in blue to match the house background, and cut out a window to see through.  I added a border of Bazzill glossy dotted paper that I trimmed with laurel leaves cut with a Martha Stewart punch.  Wanting to cover the seam in the red dotted paper, I added a tree (fussy cut from brown stock), and leaves punched with a Punch A Bunch. I'll load it with homemade chocolate chip cookies before gifting it.

BLOG CANDY:
DO YOU SEE THAT PRETTY FRINGED GRASS ON
THE INSIDE OF MY CARD (SHOWN ABOVE)?

It's easy-peasy to make it with Martha Stewart's Fringe Scissors...
and I have a new pair for the winner of my blog candy!

Each pair has 5 stainless-steel, nonstick blades that cut
at the same time.  SO fun to use!


To qualify:

1.  Be a follower of this CardMonkey blog, and let me know that you are, in your comment. 

2.  Post a comment prior to 12 Midnight EDT on Sunday March 27. I've got "Randy" at Random.org standing by to pick the winner by chance afterwards, and I'll post the winner's name here and send an e-mail to the winner if you leave me a way to contact you. 

3. Winner has one week to send me a US mail address for the prize; winners outside of the USA will receive a gift card in lieu of the prize, to an online merchant serving their country. 

4. Feel free to make an additional comment on the other post I'll have up today, for the Disney Pixar Blog Hop.  There is different blog candy offered for that hop ... check it out.

**In addition, the fabulous-o KarelJ has extra-special blog candy for ALLLL the hoppers so stay tuned for this message below:**

Karelj is offering an over-all blog candy for those who are hopping along with us. She thought it would be fun to have some holiday-themed candy for this hop--but, of course, made-up holiday items were hard to come by! She decided to do a whole bunch of *regular* holiday themed stamps for you to enjoy.
  • From Fiskars, there is an assorted holiday set
  • There's an alphabet from All Night Media
  • A set of 100 plus clear stamps and a storage case from Family Memories, and
  • 5 sets of clear stamps from various dollar bins in big box stores.
How to win them? Follow along the blog trail, leaving a comment on each and every blog. On Monday, Karelj will ask her  buddy Randy (random.org) to select a blog number (from the list), a day (Saturday is one, Sunday is two), and a comment number from that blog. Please make sure you have left a reliable way to contact you (email is best, in the safe format of **** at **** dot com ) so you can be notified by her personally. If you don't, she’ll have to select another winner. 

Alright, on to your next stop:

If you're lost along the way,
here is a complete list of the blog stops:

1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity at http://www.kareljcreations.com/
2. Janice at Cricut Confessions at http://www.cricutconfessions.com/
3. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at http://www.cricutdiaries.com/
4. Denine at Pumpkin and Spice at http://pumpkinspiceblog.blogspot.com/
5. Colleen at Col’s Creative Corner at http://www.scrappycol.blogspot.com
6. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com
7. Ellen at Card Monkey at www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com    
**YOU ARE HERE **
8. Rachel at Suburban Crafter  <---This is your next stop!http://www.rachelstampshappy.blogspot.com/
9. Monica at Scraps 2 Treasure at http://scraps2treasure.blogspot.com/
10. Jen at Young’s Scrapping at www.youngsscrapping.blogspot.com
11. Becka at Creations With Becka at www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com
12. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! at http://www.jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
13. Michelle at Peanut Butter and jelly Designs at http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com
14. Celeste at Touched By A Butterfly at http://touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
15. Leah at Leah’s Card Designs at http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com
16. Calie at Calie’s Creative Corner at www.Caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com
17. Audrey at It’s A Beautiful Life at www.audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com
18. Bonnie at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com
19. Diane at Crafting This Moment at http://www.craftingthismoment.blogspot.com
20. Nicolette at Beyond Scrapping at www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
21. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping at http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com
22. Kathryn at Creations With Kathryn at http://www.creationswithkathryn.com/
23. Yolie at Just Yolie, Just Create at http://justyolie.com
24. Patti at Short ‘N Scrappy at http://www.shortnscrappy.com/
25. Krista Orr at Scrapaleupagus at http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/
26. Kay Craig at 100 Things at http://kopperhead100.blogspot.com
27. Jane Hollon at Sneezy’s Ramblings at http://sneezy1956.blogspot.com
28. Jennifer Anderson at Scrappin’ Lil’ Turtle at http://www.creativearmywife.blogspot.com


♥  Be sure to leave Karelj some love  ♥
to thank her for hosting this great blog hop!!

75 comments:

Bunnyfreak said...

Love the card and bucket.

Janice said...

Such a cute project! Your details are out of this world! The bush story I can totally relate to... Wait until you get your gift card.

Janice
www.cricutconfessions.com

JustYolie said...

Ellen, your card is fabulous love all the details! I'm sure your neighbors will love it!

Kopperhead said...

Just can't get any cuter than that, and what a sweet and thoughtful holiday.
kopperhead@cox.net
k

marg0006 said...

I'm on day 1 of the blog hop and I am already a follower. Great idea for your project.

Kathy's Kreative Spot said...

Love your card and cute can for you homemade chocolate chip cookies. I would love to be you neighbor.
Kathy
Katsews at gmail dotcom

Anonymous said...

such a wonderful project Love it.

DtsArt said...

wonderful project. TFS
http://www.dtsart.com/contact.htm

Melissa said...

WOW! How fantastic are those?!?!? You did a fabulous job and I've never even heard of those scissors before!!!!

Melissa
www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com

Misty Olsen said...

What a nice card. Ilove it! The colors are really bold.

Pat P said...

I love your project. I just bought that paper line. I end up with all of the October Afternoon papers. You are blessed with wonderful neighbors, so nice you made them such a nice gift.
Pat P tpmk222@aol.com

Lucy said...

You are so creative! I'm jealous. I love your ideas and you give me inspiration. Thanks, Lucy

www.cricutcraftyclare.blogspot.com said...

Facebook has been suggesting I friend you for weeks. NOw that I found your blog, and see your work, I just might have to friend ya! Thanks for the inspiration.

Lisa said...

OHHHHH how cute!! I don't know what I like best, the card or the can???? TFS I'm already a follower.

paperbutterflies AT sbcglobal DOT net

doverdi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
doverdi said...

What a gorgeous card & tin plus cookies. Your neighbors are going to love it. (can I be your neighbor too?) lol I enjoyed creating a holiday for this hop & a project to go along with it. TFS! I forgot to say that I'm a follower too.

Tambo said...

I am a new follower. I absolutely love the card and can. I have decorated lots of cans and filled them with many things, for gifts. They are sort of a card all their own. Just a great job! gavinsmimi@gmail.com

simply monica said...

New follower and great job on both hops - how you manage is beyond me I get confused on one ahahah TFS

Jazmin said...

I love the card and can! Its nice that you have such great neighbors!!

Jazzy
www.JazzysCards.Blogspot.com
MsPoet2Be@gmail.com

Lillian Child said...

In the words of Mr. Rogers, won't you be MY neighbor??!! Who would love to receive either of these fabulous projects. Great creativity!

Unknown said...

what cute projects. Never seen the paper cutting tool for fringe before that is awesome.
Deb

Gina Thornton said...

Okay first may I say that you have VERY lucky neighbors!!!!!! What sweet and heartfelt creations you have made for them!!! I am sure they will love them! And bonus...COOKIES!
I am a new follower!
Thanks for hopping along with us!
Gina
GRKIDDO
at Verizon
dot net

mitz said...

...( follower )... such a clever idea you had.. fantastic.. thanks for the opportunity
mitz_zee@yahoodotcom

Nicolette said...

I love your house album and can. What a perfect gift to give. You are almost at 500 followers. That is so wonderful!!! Thanks for a chance to win. Enjoying being in this blog hop with you.

www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
beyondscrapin@aol.com

Doris P. said...

LOVE the bucket and card... I became a follower in your other blog hop today... my head is spinning with ideas!! :)
parkernana5@cox.net

Dana said...

Very cute! I love the decorations on the paint can!

dmcarlisle09atgmaildotcom

Kim said...

Wow how lucky are you to have such great neighbors and How LUCKY they are to have YOU!! I love you projects!! Your card is one of my favs:)
~Kim
http://crazyaboutscrapin.blogspot.com
kfordyce6638 at gmail dot com

Leah said...

Wonderful!! Love your projects...it's great having nice neighbor's I can say that about mine as well...all at the ready when needed and private when needed. They're great!!!

Leah
http://www.leahscarddesigns.com

Sandy S. (CraftyCreations) said...

Your project is super cute. Love all the detail you put into it!

Sandy
http://thecraftycreationspot.blogspot.com/

Judy said...

Wow! Busy day! I am visiting both hops..... I am a follower....

jejaeb@cfl.rr.com

cdm317 said...

What a sweet surprise for a new neighbor! It's so good to see that people still believe in being gracious neighbors.
c dm 3 17a tya h ood o tco m

gtolivas said...

WOW!!! you are truly talented. what a wonderful idea with the card and bucket. the card is so detailed and so pretty and your bucket is idea really is the best I've seen so far with the little window and all-how very cute! thanks for the inspiration.

Josie0602 said...

Can I be your neighbor? That is a fantastic gift...I just know your neighbors love you!! Awesome projects!
Tracy
jtg0398 at sbcglobal dot net
www.scrappininthewoods.blogspot.com

Jenny V. said...

Wow cool project. Your neighbor will sure love this gift. That's a cool scissor.

Karen S. said...

Great project! I'm sure your neighbors will love it! I'm a new follower! Thanks for the chance to win your awesome blog candy!

pruttybird said...

Very cool projects. I think your neighbors will love it. I am a new follower :)

pruttybird at comcast dot net

Minta's Creations said...

Very cool projects..
Minta

mintab@gmail.com
http://mintascreations.blogspot.com/

Bea said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bea said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michelle said...

Geez that is the nicest thing.... how wonderful are you to care about your neighbors to go and give them something like that!!! That's what's wrong with the world people just don't care.... everyone is just too too busy...I wish I was moving on to your street.

I love those scissors too. I seen them on HSN I think... I was hemming and hauling about gettting them and when I decided to get them they were back ordered. So, thanks for the chance to get them. Got the fingers crossed.

I may come back for the Disney Pixar Blog Hop later on.

TFS

Michelle
mpetrovich23 at yahoo dot com
http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com

Sugarlips said...

That is adorable. Your neighbors are lucky. My neighbors that I share a driveway with are a pain...lol


iluvkatie74
at yahoo
dot com

Kristin said...

Amazing projects! I love hearing that you and your neighbors all take care of one another.

Kristin
ksully4597 at gmail dot com

Tami B. said...

I'm glad this is just virtual hopping or my legs would be falling off right about now. Two hops- wow, you're going be reading comments all night. As for these creations....fantabulous! That card is absolutely amazing. How long did it take?! I got tickled at what you went thru to get the bush just right. Sounds so much like something I would do. It turned out great.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Gak! I'm going to try again!
I'd love to be your neighbor! This gift bucket and card are just so amazing! You have really lucky neighbors~and I hope they know how great you are!! Thanks for hopping with me--you're among the best! Karelj

Anonymous said...

This is brilliant! Beautiful job. So glad I came across this blog hop.

Dorcas
dtroche@bellsouth.net

CathyinMN said...

Such a fun card. I wish I had a bucket of homemade cookies! TFS!
tcsobotka at charter dot net

Lisa R. said...

Love your gift set. The card is awesome. I'm a follower. Thanks for sharing. joy4umetoo at hotmail dot com

scrapperbecka said...

love your projects, the card is super cute and what a great cookie tin

scrapperbecka at yahoo dot com

bcriminger said...

I've seen fringe scissors, but never tried them, they would be fun! I'm a follower
brandicriminger@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I just let out a loud gasp! I had NO idea Martha had those scissors!!! I'm making that dang grass all the time, ONE at a time! LOL. thanks for a chance to win some.
Just became a follower of your blog, your work is AMAZING!!!!
stampinlara at yahoo dot com

Anna said...

Great projects!!! Just wonderful.
I'm a follower.
Thanks for the chance to win.
http: // mamawann. blogspot. com/
annadowdy at gmail dot com

Gloria said...

WOW!!! What great projects you have. Love it all!!!. Thank you for sharing. disneynut4life22@yahoo.com

doverdi said...

Another great card for Day 2. I love the Nikki Sivils papers & will have to look for them. Thanks for sharing your creativity. It's been fun creating a holiday & project to go along with it.

jengd said...

Adorable projects!! I can't tell you which I like more because they're both great.

Misty said...

Super cute! May I have some cookies, please? I am already a follower.

Hummer Hugs,
Misty
http://deliteful-gifts.blogspot.com/
hummingbird204 at comcast dot net

Love to scrap Lyndra said...

Love the neighbor holiday, that is wonderful. Great projects, I also went through the Disney Hop this weekend. Thanks for sharing and I am a follower. dbjb1519 at yahoo dot com

Tamara said...

TFS your beautiful projects!!!
sweetheartcopper at msn dot com

mlc_15 said...

How adorable!!! I am already a follower...Thanks for sharing! mlc_15@hotmail.com

Babe O'Mara said...

What a wonderful project and how sweet of you to honor your neighbors. Love the card and bucket.
I'm already a follower. Thanks for a chance at some candy.

Babe
youiesmom@att.net

Emily said...

Super cute! Love all the details! I am a follower of your blog

Emily (coolcricutcreations at yahoo dot com)

cdm317 said...

Love today's card! Wow, you have been busy!
Colleen
c d m31 7at ya h ood ot co m

Stacey Brucale said...

I love your projects, especially the paint can!

xxsquigglesxx(at)gmail(dot)com

Anniebee said...

Hello again, Ellen! I have spent quite a bit of time at your blog this weekend! LOL! When you do something, you go all out, don't you? Your projects are always wonderful and these are no exception. I love the cookie pail and both cards. It's so nice that you live in such a great neighborhood full of nice people. I live in the house in which I grew up and I know some of my neighbors very well and some I don't know at all. It wasn't like this when I was a kid and I miss those days. Thanks so much for sharing and for offering a chance to win those awesome MS scissors! I'm already a happy follower.

Anne
lucyblueeyz at yahoo dot com

Marcy S. said...

Those are such cute and thoughtful gifts, thanks for sharing. I am a new follower.

Marcy S.
m.serrano@live.com
http://marcyscreativecrafts.blogspot.com/

Denine said...

Can I be your neighbor? ;-)
Adorable cards and pail. I just love how you have made the card into a piece of art by decorating the inside the way you did. Super cute. I am sure these will be displayed by you lucky neighbors. How wonderful your neighborhood sounds, its great to have friends as neighbors.

Marianne B in AZ said...

Ellen,

I always look forward to your blog posts. You are very creative with your cardmaking! I have been seeing a lot about Nikki Sivils lately and I think we are all just going to be seeing more. Her products are wonderful!

I am a follower and my email is on my profile when you click on my name. Thank you for offering us another chance to win some fun blog candy.

LesleyfromWI said...

Love them both. Super cute bucket!
lfuchs1 at wi. rr. com

Michelle said...

I was just stopping back today to see if you posted anything else that all..
Michelle

mpetrovich23 at yahoo dot com

http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com

Summer said...

Super cute project TFS
Summer
cricutdiaries@yahoo.com

katieo said...

Great idea. Would be good to welcome new neighbors. The paper set is adorable
katieoscreations@gmail.com

Scrappers' Ranch said...

oh WOW, this is really great! I love the bucket house! This looks like such a fun Holiday.
I am already a follower of your blog
TFS and a chance to win
Bonnie
http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com
ascrapabove at aol dot com

Mary said...

What a cool idea!! I'll have to keep that in mind :)

mkbugs.blogspot.com
mkshriver at gmail dot com

Kathy's Kreative Spot said...

Back for day 2, love how you recreated the house for your card.
Kathy
Katsews at gmail dotcom

Jamie said...

How cute!! I love everything, it looks awesome! the bucket is wonderful too. Your neighbors are gonna be so happy with the gift.