Be Merry

©CoolMomCreations 2017

I am part of a card swapping group which challenges me to create on a regular basis as well as gives me someone to actually send my cards to.  I love this small faithful group of ladies that I swap with each month and am happy to have found them this year.  Today, I am sharing my final Christmas card of the year.  It was a sketch card that I traded with a friend.

Have a wonderful and safe New Year's eve.
Traci

Silent Night

©CoolMomCreations 2017

I love Stampin' Up Night of Navy card stock.  I find it is one of my go to colors when I need a dark color but don't want to go with black.  It really is a great backdrop for this Silent Night swap card that I made for my Diva group.  This is a CAS card from Pinterest but I cannot locate the original pin to link. 

Thanks for dropping by,
Traci

Wishing You a Season of Joy

©CoolMomCreations 2017

When my children were little, I wrapped their gifts in elaborate wrapping paper, bows and tags.  Then I got Christmas Fatigue, you know that thing you get as a mom where you realize that the kids really don't care how it's wrapped or how long it too you to find the perfect gift.  They just want to rip the wrapping off and start playing with whatever is inside or with the box depending on how old they are.  So, over the years pretty wrapping and even gift tags have gone by the wayside.  If I could do it again knowing what I know now, I would have wrapped the gifts when they were younger more plainly then added the fancy stuff as they got older. 

I do not use gift tags very often but I participated in a swap this year and made these cute tags for a friend.  I had the little envelopes in my stash for a couple of years but they were perfect for the tags.

Have a lovely day,

Traci

Noel Noel

©CoolMomCreations 2017

The gifts are unwrapped and the tree looks bare but I still have a Christmas card to share.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas day with family and friends.  We enjoyed our day with just the four of us opening gifts eating and of course going to the movies as is our tradition.  

I made this card using Stampin' Up card stock and DSP.  The Noel die is Tim Holtz Vintage Noel and the pine if Gina Marie which can be found at Scrapbook Outlet.

Enjoy your week,

Traci

This card is being used as an entry to Hiding in my Craft Room Challenge #332 Any Holiday
 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

I hope this Christmas morning finds you surrounded by family and friends as you celebrate.    Today, our family celebrates the birth of our Lord and Savior.  We have many traditions in our home that we've keep over the years while others we've stopped.  One of my favorite traditions of past was a birthday cake for Jesus, a chocolate cake (our sin) with white frosting (God's redemption) surrounded by green frosting leaves (eternal life) and three candles (the trinity).   I felt it was a way to keep my kids focused on the reason we celebrated but years change things but one year we had 6 desserts for 5 people.  Our extended family had moved away so it was just us celebrating, I felt it was pretty excessive and wasteful to have so much food.  The kids decided the next year that we would have apple and pecan pie for dessert.  I miss the cake so this year although I did not make a birthday cake for Jesus we are having a spice cake for dessert and a pie. 

Enjoy your Christmas,
Traci

Merriest Christmas Wishes

It's a few days before Christmas and I hope today finds you enjoying this festive season. For me the cards are sent, the groceries for dinner are bought and the gifts are finally wrapped and under the tree. 

©CoolMomCreations 2017

Today, I am sharing another of my favorite cards.  This card was made with the Stampin' Up Christmas Magic set with a few colorful touches added.  I made it for my niece who has the most adorable little boys, I thought they might like the train.

Enjoy your weekend,

Traci

Peaceful Snowflakes

©CoolMomCreations2017

My husband travels for work. A lot.  In the beginning it was really hard on the kids and I to adjust to him being gone during the week.  Slowly we've created a new normal on the nights that he is not home with us.  One of the fun things my teenage daughter and I like to do is watch Chick Flicks that we don't want to subject him to when he is home.  

Last week we were making our way through the Christmas Chick Flicks on Netflix and the opening of one had red backgrounds with snowflakes for each of the credits.  I thought wow that would make a cute Christmas card.  So, I set out the next day to find the right stamp and make a card.  You never know where you'll find inspiration for a card or craft.  

Have a lovely day,

Traci

Pretty Pink Poinsettia

©CoolMomCreations 2017

I love pink.  Not just in a pink is my favorite color way but in a Steel Magnolias Shelby kind of way.  My niece shares my love of pink, so as I was creating this card I decided it was for her.  I had gotten the corning poinsettia stamp in a large lot of stamps I purchased a while back and could not wait to get it stamped and colored.  I am in no way a master at using Copics but I am getting better each time I try.  I was pleasantly surprised how well these turned out.

It's hump day! Hope you are having a great week.
Traci

Dashing Through The Snow

©CoolMomCreations 2017

This week I am showcasing some of my cards that I created for Christmas this year.  If anyone had told me when I bought Lovely as a Tree a thousand years ago that it would become my favorite stamp set I would have told them they were crazy.  But this stamp set has to be one of the most versatile stamp sets ever created and there are a lot of stamp sets that want to be Lovely as a Tree but they just don't come close.  There is a reason that Stampin' Up keeps this set in the catalog year after year, I certainly hope the person who designed it gets the kudos they deserve.  

I paired Lovely as a Tree with Jingle All The Way on Night of Navy card stock for this card.  I love the peace and simplicity of this card.

Have a lovely Tuesday,
Traci

Oh What Fun

©CoolMomCreations 2017

Can you believe that Christmas is just one week away?  I am at the stage in my life that I am not as busy with children's programs and running from one thing to another any longer.  It is very nice to actually feel like I can enjoy the season a bit without the worry of what I am forgetting or what is next on the long list of things to do.

Even though I am not running from one thing to the next I still find myself very behind in mailing out my Christmas cards but I feel I am not the only one since I've only received a handful of cards this year.  At least I hope this is just people being busy not a true decline in the lovely tradition of sending cards.  I say that as a person not just as a card maker. 

My card that I am sharing with you is hands down my favorite card that I made this year.  It was is a CAS card from Pinterest as many of my cards are but honestly it turned out so nice that I wanted to keep it.  But cards are not made to be kept they are made to be shared, to bring joy to someone else.  This card was made using Stampin' Up Christmas Magic and Christmas Messages.  

I hope your week is filled with festive fun not stress.  

Traci

Christmas Tea

Every year with the exception of a few we have dinner of Christmas Eve with our friends.  The awesome thing about this dinner is the fact that it is always the same. Our kids have grown up together, my oldest and her only have gotten married (not to each other) and are now starting their own traditions but our dinner is still the same.  My husband goes to the Christmas Eve service at church to play in the orchestra but the rest of us over the years have decided to not attend the service. We each have our own reasons for not going and I love the judgement free zone that her home is for me.  We all need a place where people don't judge our choices.   

While my husband (and now son) play in the orchestra for the people who do attend the service.  My friend and I get dinner prepared.  By prepared I mean call our favorite Chinese restaurant and place our order.  Which we try to time perfectly to be ready when my husband gets there to pick it up on his way to the house from church.  Oh,  we might bake some cookies or we may have just bought some from the store.  

Anyway, my friend cannot drink coffee for health reasons.  I always keep her favorite tea on hand at my house and she always reminds me to bring coffee when we come visit.  This year, I am bringing coffee and tea.  I decided to make her a little hostess gift with packs of her favorite tea.  

©CoolMomCreations 2017

©CoolMomCreations 2017

I figured why reinvent the wheel so I searched Pinterest for an idea and found this easy tutorial by Loven Stamps.  This can also be used for chocolates if you prefer.  All together this took about 30 minutes to create.

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This my final entry into the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  For those of you who prayed for my friend's husband yesterday, I  appreciate your prayers.  He is still in the hospital but out of the ICU.

Traci

Enjoy Your Coffee

Last night I was reminded how precious my life is.  My dear friend posted a status on Facebook asking for prayers for her chronically ill husband.  I quickly sent her a text asking her what was up, I will not go into details but she was at the ER with her three kids waiting to find out if her husband has survived the trip in the ambulance to the hospital.  Thankfully, he did.  But he will be spending a few days in the hospital to try to stabilize him.  

The difficult thing is they cannot figure out why he is having these episodes.  The issues aren't linked to his diagnosed illness and they cannot find a cause even though this is his third trip to the hospital with the same life threatening issue.  I covet your prayers for them today. 

©CoolMomCreations 2017

In light of these events, I have been thinking of how blessed I am.  It's not that we haven't had our share of troubles but we have come through those closer to God and each other.  So, I created a card today using Heartfelt Creations Coffee Talk set.  The steam rising out of the cup says "Enjoy" and is a reminder to enjoy what I have and the days I am given.

 

Thank you for dropping by, please consider following my blog.  This card is an entry into the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  

Traci

Coffee = Love

Today is  Hot Chocolate day, at one point in my life this would have made me a very happy person.  But I when I was expecting my youngest child Gestational Diabetes cured me of my love of overly sweet drinks.  I do occasionally crave a cup of hot chocolate but most of the time my hot beverage of choice is coffee with cream but little to no sugar.

©CoolMomCreations 2017

Today's card honors my love for coffee rather than celebrating hot chocolate.  Peace, Joy and Love are all things that a nice hot cup of java bring me each morning.  

©CoolMomCreations

All the other hot beverages can step aside because all  I need is coffee. 

This card is being entered into the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  

 The card stock is Tempting Turquoise and the ink is Baked Brown Sugar by Stampin' Up.

Stamps used are Stampin' Up Peace This Christmas, STAMPlorations All You Need is Coffee, Lawn Fawn Pumpkin Spice and St. Louis Stamp Design Coffee Bean Bag.

Let's Craft Together

Today is my 25th Anniversary.  I have to say I have the most amazing husband in the world.  I know, most people feel that way but I really do.  I will take a minute to brag about him.  When I came home from visiting my awesome sister in-law, Robyn,  about 8 years ago and told him I was going to start crafting.  He was a bit apprehensive about the space I would need, the cost etc.  But he encouraged me to give it a try.   So, off to Michael's I went to add some supplies to the cool stuff that Robyn sent home.  

©CoolMomCreations 2017

He didn't blink an eye as the supplies multiplied and his space in our shared office got smaller and smaller.  We have a double sided desk that he regularly has to remove my craft supplies from to fit is little computer.  But the real reason I have the most amazing husband is because when I started seeing all these images colored with Copic markers, I knew that was out of my wheelhouseSo, my husband being an artist at heart went to the art supply store and bought a few Copics and began coloring images for me.  I recently got the cute hot chocolate mug image which is colored by my awesome guy.

©CoolMomCreations 2017

If you begin reading my blog on a regular basis (please do!) you will notice that although I have gotten over my fear of using Copics most images I post are colored by my awesome husband of 25 years.  I pray that God gives us 25 more years of crafting together and that they are as blessed as those that we celebrate today. 

©CoolMomCreations 2017

Bonus card for today: this is the card I made from my hubby with his Copics.

Thanks for dropping by.
Traci

Hot Chocolate card entered into the 2017 Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

Cup of Christmas Cheer

©CoolMomCreations2017

I love a hot cup of coffee on a cold winter morning, actually I love a hot cup of coffee anytime.  But there is just something about a fire in the fireplace and a hot coffee cup in your hand to start the morning off right.  Rarely, do we get to have a fire in our fireplace in sunny FL but when the temps drop into the 50s my dear husband knows there has to be a fire.  Thankfully, just in time for Christmas we are having temps in the 30s. For the last two days we've had a lovely fire roaring in the family room while I finished up my Christmas cards.

This card is made with all Stampin' Up items and it is a Pinterest CAS card. When I started stamping Stampin' Up was my go to place to shop because it makes things easy, everything coordinates.   But I have to say I am not happy with these stamp sets, Merry Cafe and Coffee Cafe.  They are large sets with great sentiments but the cup stamps are not solid, it is just the outline of the cup.  While this might be nice if you are using a stamp positioner like the We R Memory Keepers Precision Press because you can add the sentiments at the same time.  But if you aren't it was a pain to get the cup lines straight on the clear block.  

If you are not visiting from the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, please check it out. 

Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Thanks for stopping by,

Traci

Joy. Love. Peace. In a Cup.

©CoolMomCreations2017

It's amazing what power there is in a  warm cup of coffee.  On a cold morning it can warm your hands and your body.  Sometimes, when you are sad, it can bring you a sense of peace as the warm liquid flows through you.  Other times like when it's shared with a friend coffee can bring an overwhelming sense of joy to you.  Such power in a cup of coffee.  

I love this Comfort to Go Unity Stamp because all forms of coffee are truly comfort in a cup for me. 

 

 This card is being entered into the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.  

Thank you for dropping by, please consider following me.

Traci

Coffee. Craft. Repeat.

© CoolMomCreations 2017

Coffee is a mainstay in our home, one of our favorite stories to tell is of my now teenage daughter coming into the kitchen at 2 years old and asking if the coffee was ready.  Yes, I am guilty of giving my toddlers coffee or my version of toddler coffee which was 2/3 milk and 1/3 coffee.  For this reason I was so excited to find Coffee Loving Papercrafters which combines two things I love: drinking coffee and making cards.  I mostly look at all the neat creations other people post but today I am sharing my card because today starts the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. 

This card features one of the stamps sets I found on the Facebook page, the Coffee Ring set by Altenew purchased from Kat Scrappiness.  If you haven't ever shopped at Kat Scrappiness, I highly recommend the site.  

Other stamps used are Fiskers Coffee set and Stampin' Up Perfect blend.

Thank you for dropping by,

Traci