My Christmas Cards

This year I have decided to make my own Christmas Cards. 

That is a big and brave statement to make because for those who know me know that I have a very large family and friend base and that would mean a lot of cards need to be made. 

But it is something that I have always wanted to do. 

My usual Christmas Card consist of a picture card from Costco. Now I have to say we do a Christmas picture every year and thanks to my wonderful mom who is a photographer. We usually have several pictures to choose from. Usually I can't pick just one so we do a photo card and send them off. I now find that kinda boring now, even though I just got my Christmas photos back and yet again we have too many to choose from. 

But I am insistent on making all these cards and sending only family our Christmas picture, Also it's a great way to use up all the Christmas stuff I purchased and didn't have enough time to use it all before it goes away. 

I bought the Merry Medley stamp set for this purpose too. Once I saw that stamp set in the Holiday Catalog I just had to have it and was inspired right away to make all my cards with it. I did have some second thoughts on the fact that it will take a lot of work to make these cards but I feel I would regret it if I don't. 

So wish me luck that I survive this! 

Here's some pictures from our Christmas Photo shoot. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

Christmas Gift Card Holder

Now this is a gift card holder! 

I can't take credit for this design. I was relaxing to some YouTube videos and came across one from the wonderful Dawn Griffith from Dawn's Stampin Thoughts. She is such a great and talented demonstrator and I can't get enough of her videos. The link to this project is here and her site www.dawnsstampingthoughts.net

Now this design can be used an any way your heart desires. It can be Christmas, Birthday, Wedding, Graduation... you name it. Even though it looks complicated it actually is pretty easy, just a lot of layering. I did add a few more layers on my card compared to Dawn's. 

What drew my attention to this card is that there is a built in gift card holder inside. Also that this card can stand and be displayed is an even better treat. I did several attempting designs before I finally settled on this particular one. 

Here are my measurements: 

Mint Macaron Cardstock: 

4 1/4 x 11  score at 2 3/4 and 5 1/2

3 1/2 x 9  score at 4 1/2

Cherry Cobbler Cardstock: 

(2) 2 1/2 x 4

5 1/4 x 4

Whisper White Cardstock: 

3 7/8 x 2 3/8

3 1/4 x 4 1/4

3 x 4

Designer Series Paper: 

3 7/8 x 2 3/8

(2) 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 

I really hope this helps. Any questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

Christmas Advent Calendar

I love Christmas. But waiting til the end of the month to celebrate can take a toll. So why not have an Advent Calendar. It's a nice way to count down the days to Christmas. 

My daughter Bella loves her advent calendar every year. I always try my best to have it ready before December 1st otherwise it's a bust. So this thanksgiving weekend I had an extra day off of work and made sure that I had the Calendar done. 

I also went a little overboard on the decorations. I usually just use a circle punch and some numbers and call it day. But this year I wanted to expand my creativity and incorporate new holiday items. 

I love this gingerbread man stamp and I had to add them to the Calendar. It turns out that I don't have any number stamps. How I have been getting along all this time with no number stamps. I ended up bring out an old stamp set I saved particularly for this project. I liked these numbers because they are a good size. This way the number allows you to add something else, like the gingerbread man. 

I'm using a 24 count mini cupcake tin. I got my tin at a Big Lots one year. I had my dad drill holes so I can hang it. Inside I have candy and small toys that I found at the store. And trust me it was very hard to find small enough items to put in these tins. 

A tip for attaching your circles would be to use the adhesive strips. I used to use glue dots and they can hold pretty good if you only have something small like candy inside, but if there is a small toy it's best to give it some breathing room. Placing the adhesive strips along the edge of the tin is pretty easy. They move around the circle cup and stick very well. 

Hope you enjoyed! And please share your Advent Calendars with me! 

Merry Medley Christmas Card (Red)

My main intention for this card was to make a shaker card again. I love shaker cards. They are so fun and add a special embellishment that you know was handmade. 

I used the same style as my last Merry Medley card. 

When I was working this card out I was trying real hard to hide the foam pieces on the edge of the card. I was coming up with all kinds of boarders but they were just hiding what I really wanted to showcase. So instead I just placed the foam adhesive right on the edge. It work out and made itself the boarder. 

The sequence inside the card is kinda hard to see in the pictures but in person they really bring the card together. 

Measurements: 

Basic Black CS: 11 x 4 1/4

score: 5 1/2

DSP: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4

Window Sheet: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4

Whisper White CS (inside): 5 1/4 x 4

Hope you enjoyed.

Shop with me this month and receive a thank you gift next month. 

Merry Medley Christmas (Green)

When I saw this stamp set in the Holiday Catalog I knew that I had to have it. I love the big stamp sets image that can cover the whole paper. 

I had to leap into something different then normal for me when making this card. But my end result is amazing. I really wanted to incorporate this stamp set and a window sheet in some way. I did try embossing but mine came out all wrong. 

First the powder got everywhere other then the stamped areas. The second time I tried I did use my embossing buddy to clear up static but then ended up adding static to the sheet and caused my powder to clump up. 

I ended up using Stazon ink. Now we used to sell the white Stazon and I guess that slipped my mine because when I went to look in the catalog for the item it wasn't there. I apologize for any confusion but I'm sure you can buy Stazon at any craft store. 

You can use he Stampin Up Craft Ink but I would allow to dry over night. And it might not even dry all the way. I haven't tried that way so if it works please let me know. 

Measurements:

Basic Black CS: 11 x 4 1/4

Scored: 5 1/2

DSP: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4

Window Sheet: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4

Basic Black CS (for top of card): 3 x 4 1/4

score: 1 1/2

Whisper White CS (inside card): 5 1/4 x 4

Hope you enjoyed

Holiday Popcorn Boxes

I recently purchased the Popcorn Thinlit. I have no idea why I waited so long to get it. It is a fun box to make and makes your treats look awesome. 

Now these boxes are perfect for any holiday. And they can decorate you table so nice. 

When I had scheduled to take the pictures I had just ran out of regular popcorn. Luckily I had some caramel popcorn laying around. 

Simple Halloween fun with pumpkins, bats and cats. 

Now for the Thanksgiving box I had to improvise. I didn't have any fall leave stamp sets and the one we do have were too large for this small box. So I used the leaves from the Botanical Blooms Stamp set. Since i changed the color scheme to fall colors then you'd never know! 

Cute Christmas fun with trees, stars and candy canes. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

Christmas Shadow Boxes

A few months ago I blogged about these shadow boxes that were too adorable to pass up. I ended up making them for my group and they absolutely loved them.

So naturally I had to create them in Christmas form. 

They came out so freaking cute. 

Now these would be a create gift idea for someone to decorate their house or room with. They can be used for a simple thank you gift that can be displayed every year. 

Now to make these beautiful shadow boxes just head on over to Jan B's blog or video. I have the video link here. This video will show you how to make the simple concept of the box. 

My decorations are found in the list below. 

I did emboss the inside with gold embossing powder. Now that really makes the box comes to life. 

Hope you enjoyed! 

September Thank You Gifts

September was a great month in sales for me. A big thank you goes out to all those that shopped with me in September.

These are the little thank you gifts that I made and mailed out to my shoppers. I had to post this at a later date to insure that everyone received their gift.
These are so cute. I just couldn't get over them. Even my husband liked that. I'm definitely going to make these for my daughter's teachers for Thanksgiving. They are the perfect fall gift. 

These are great holders and can fit a hot chocolate packet for the later months. 

Measurements:

Crumb Cake CS 5 x 10

Score: 3 and 7

After I stamped the outside, I then cut the two outside panels at an angel so when it closed you could see the drink packet. 

I do have to add that the "thanks" stamp and the washi tape punch are retired. At the time is was all I had to work with. I apologize for any confusion. 

Every time you place an order with me you will receive a thank you gift the following month.

Hope you enjoyed