We had a wonderful time hosting my side of the family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We enjoyed that everyone could be with us. And we LOVED that my parents (shown in this photo below) stayed overnight and woke up with us on Christmas morning. It was a wonderful holiday!
Today I thought I’d share with you several hand-crafted Christmas cards and gifts that I received. I wish I could share them all, but I’m thinking 36 photos is already too many for one blog post.
This first one is from Betty Mueller. I love the pearls and shimmer!
And look at how she added the cute Seasonal Chums reindeer from behind on the inside.
This is the coin purse from Guatemala that she sent me with her card. It’s so pretty! I keep it in my big purse and it holds my business cards.
This card is from Susan Greer. I love that she embossed the sentiment from the retiring Snowflake Sentiments set and all the metallics she used from the Year of Cheer suite!
This fun one featuring the Star of Light set is from Marciene Ingram.
The middle star shows from the front through a “window” AND on the inside.
Speaking of that event, this is the gift that I got in the gift exchange. Isn’t it incredible!? Dawn Richard made it with the Crafting Forever stamp set and the Large Letter Framelit Dies.
And since I’m sharing hand-crafted gifts, I just have to share Vicki Spicer’s that she gave me when she came to assist me with some projects recently. Isn’t this stocking ornament chapstick holder adorable?! She used the Labels to Love set and the retiring Quilted Christmas Designer Paper.
This card crafted in traditional colors from Carolyn Serviss is so precious. And the images in the Hearts Come Home stamp set are some of my favorite!
Here is another stunning card from Pat Frank. This card features the Card Front Builder Dies very well. I’m bummed that these dies are also among the list of retiring products. I’ll be sad to see them go.
This beauty made by Verla Carpenter looks so good, I could eat it. Doesn’t it look as if it is sprinkled with sugar! I love all the details she put into it. The clear and gold accents on top of that beautiful blue watercolor wash is amazing! Thank goodness that Snowflake Sentiment stamp set is not retiring. I think I need to purchase it now.
This card by Elaine Mitzel featuring the retiring Quilt Builder Framelits is the perfect example of how you can replicate a digital photo card with our Stampin’ Up! products. And it’s even better than a digital photo card, because it has texture and it was hand-made with love.
I couldn’t quite capture the beauty of this one made by Susan Campfield. She used glimmer paper with the Large Letter Framelit Dies and the Swirly Snowflakes Dies for the “Joy” so it is much more sparkly than how it looks here.
And I love how she layered her sentiment on the inside.
Anita Dickson always sends beautiful cards. And this one is no exception. I adore the Pretty Pine Thinlits peeking out in the bottom left. This Merry Patterns set is a retired stamp set now, but it was available in a promotion back in September & October.
Another pretty card!…I love how Mary Spelbrink carried her colors from the wreath over to the inside of her card, too. This stamp set is retired now, but I had to share.
And oooo!!! Another star card made with the Star of Light set. Thank you JoAnn Pollock. I love these images, the color combo, and your layout.
In this Christmas card, I adore how Jeanette Harrelson shadowed the bells from the Seasonal Bells stamp set with a gold foil layer. I looks like the bells are actually moving and ringing.
This card by Tami Woolley was super fun to open up. Yay! She made me a bridge fold card with the adorable Hometown Greetings Edgelits.
Brenda Cardinal’s card is very warm and inviting with her simple black and vanilla color combo and her strong focal point image that she stamped with the retiring Merry Little Labels stamp set and punched with the Everyday Label Punch.
And this last card by Carol Tyler stamped with the retiring Feeling of Christmas stamp set was another I was super excited to receive. It’s beautiful! And I love all the shimmer.
Thanks for stopping by today to see all the creativity I had to share with you.
Just a couple notes & reminders…
Sale-a-Bration and the new 2018 Occasions catalog debut January 3rd!
The Holiday catalog ends January 2nd. Grab up any retiring products you may want.
I finally had time to open my December Paper Pumpkin kit yesterday. My alternate project ideas will come much later than usual due to the fact that my kiddos are home for the holidays and won’t get back to school until January 2nd.
January 2nd is the last day to sign up for any product shares you may be interested in getting, because January 3rd is the date I will be placing that large order.
On Tuesday evening Nick, my oldest performed in his first band concert. I was such a proud mommy! I could tell he loved being on stage. He’s pretty passionate about being in the percussion section of the 6th grade Brass Band.
Then on Friday Luke’s entire elementary school dressed up, attended a play put on by the high school students, and came back to a fancy lunch. Volunteer parents pretended to be wait staff, and turned the lunch room into a classy restaurant experience. How fun! I wanted to be there, but I gave myself that day off to wrap all the boys’ presents.
Later that night Nick got to bring a couple friends to the Theater Department Holiday Party at the middle school. He brought his brother, Luke and friend, Jeg. His friend, Ruben (also in theater class) came too. And I chaperoned! It was fun watching all the kids dance, sing karaoke, play board games, make sugar cookies, and just act silly and have fun.
Friday ended a little differently than we had planned, though. Sebastian, one of the 8th graders wasn’t looking where he was going during the clean-up time after the dance. He ran into a concrete support structure in the cafeteria. Thankfully his mom was there (she was a chaperone, too). The boys and I drove them to the emergency room. And I found out yesterday after finally reaching her that he suffered a mild concussion and had to get 6 stitches.
Strangely coincidental Carter, a little boy the we care for in the mornings before school also had to get stitches in his eye brow area that morning, too. He fell on the coffee table at his house when they we getting ready to come over. So we didn’t see him and his sister Friday morning since they had to take a detour to the emergency room instead.
Please send good, healing thoughts to Sebastian and Carter. Poor kiddos.
Not sure what it was, but I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday after doing the last minute grocery & gift shopping and wrapping a few more gifts. I slept 10 hours last night and feel back to my normal self again now, though. I think I ate something that didn’t agree with me. Or…maybe it was the craziness of the week catching up with me?
It’s Christmas Eve Day. And since I personally had to whip up a last-minute gift, I thought I’d share the idea with all of you… Give a bundle of your hand-stamped cards!! Most of you who follow my blog are card makers, so I’m guessing you have a few cards you can gather up if you need a last minute gift. And most people would love to get greeting cards.
I put mine into an embossed & embellished acetate card box. This is super easy to make if you have these supplies on hand.
Keep your acetate box flat and insert your embossing folder so the image of the snowflake will be centered in the front panel of the box.
Run it through the Big Shot.
Add a Clear Faceted Gem (or other embellishment) to the center.
Open it up, and fill it with your fabulous cards and envelopes!
And if you don’t have any spare cards lying around, fill it with something else. Cocoa mix and a couple candy canes arranged just so will warm someone’s heart.
OR… how about putting in some new Stampin’ Blends markers!?
I love Christmas, and I actually don’t mind all that I need to get done to prepare for it and all the festive activities that make the week before even busier. But I AM ready to just sit down and enjoy my family now. I’m sure many of you can relate. Happy Holidays!
Stampin’ Up!’s Year End Sales Event!
Stampin’ Up! is ending 2017 with a bang! This is your opportunity to take advantage of special year-end deals on retiring and surplus items. The items in the sale are last-chance and limited-inventory, so take note that these items are available only while supplies last! Click Here to learn more.
Product Shares available for the New 2018 Occasions Catalog!
I’ve planned out my new product shares (ribbons, paper, embellishments, etc.) for the upcoming Occasions catalog that debuts January 3rd. I also have included FREE bonus Sale-A-Bration products in EVERY share. Click here for information & sign up opportunities. This really is THE BEST WAY to gather up lots of new product for less money. And the sooner your name gets on the list, the sooner you get guaranteed a spot in a share. (Invoicing will begin on December 27th.)
Introducing the NEW Stamparatus Positioning Tool!
Did you see the incredible new tool that Stampin’ Up! is bringing forth to us paper crafters?! It’s an amazing positioning tool that will allow you to get your images exactly where you want them. Click Here to learn more and find out how you can reserve yours this month so that you’ll be among the first to get one.
I HAD to make one! And I’m so glad I did!! Have you seen this cute idea?…You take the mitten dies (large or small), overlap them, and add some “punch art” to get an adorable penguin.
My little guy is the embellishment on the wrap going around a container of Ghirardelli peppermint bark treats.
Die-cut two large Basic Black mittens and one large Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer sheet mitten.
Die-cut a Pumpkin Pie 8-point star, then cut it in half.
Emboss a strip of 1/2″ x 1-1/2″ Real Red cardstock.
Punch half of a 1-3/8″ Real Red circle (or die-cut this from one end of a mitten shape).
Punch a Pumpkin Pie bow and trim off the part shown using the Holly Berry Builder Punch.
Punch out two tiny Basic Black circles from this same punch.
Then trim the thumb off the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer sheet mitten.
Overlap and connect the two Basic Black mittens as shown using Fast Fuse. Notice they don’t overlap completely.
Attach the Glimmer Paper “penguin belly” with Fast Fuse.
Flip the penguin over and add the feet and the top of the hat with Glue Dots.
Then add the brim of the cap with Mini Dimensionals so it comes out a bit from the rest of the penguin.
Punch out two Emerald Envy holly leaves.
Color three small and one large White Perfect Accents with the Dark Cherry Cobbler Blends Marker.
Add the eyes, holly leaves and beak with Glue Dots, put a little “shine” in each eye with the Chalk Marker, then add the berries and top of the hat to the penguin.
Wrap the Ghirardelli treat box with Whisper White vertical 10-1/4″ x 2-3/8″ belly band that is scored at 2-3/8″, 3-1/2″, 7-3/4″ and 7-7/8″. Secure the belly band with Fast Fuse.
Stamp and punch out “Merry Christmas”, then attach to the top of the box with Fast Fuse. Then either trim off the excess or fold the remaining portion of the circle over.
Attach the penguin with more Mini Dimensionals. And gift to someone sweet. 😉
If you don’t have these supplies on hand now and you want to make this yourself, gather up what you need (since the Mitten dies will be retiring in just days) from my online store by clicking on the supplies above. Then be sure to make these treats either when Christmas rolls around next year or even sooner to celebrate a winter birthday or the New Year.
Stampin’ Up!’s Year End Sales Event!
Stampin’ Up! is ending 2017 with a bang! This is your opportunity to take advantage of special year-end deals on retiring and surplus items. The items in the sale are last-chance and limited-inventory, so take note that these items are available only while supplies last! Click Here to learn more.
I combined elements from both the October and November “made-to-coordinate” Paper Pumpkin kits and came up with these alternate ideas that I’m super excited to share with you today.
This first card is pretty straight forward. I cut each banner in two, embossed the word “joy” on the blank one, and added them to the card front popping the bottom of each image piece up on Dimensionals.
For the pop-up section, I scored this large circle window piece so the circular area folded in half.
Then after folding, I scored again (on both sides) so that I had areas to put adhesive on to secure this piece to the inside of the card. (See the ruler in the images for where to score)
I inserted and adhered a window sheet, attached this pop-up piece in the crease area of the inside of the card, covered the ends with Cherry Cobbler Cardstock layers, and then added two punched-out snowflakes on the front and back of the window sheet.
I stamped the snowflakes and sentiments. And then the rest I just assembled as shown.
Measurements:
Cherry Cobbler cardstock: 11″ x 4-1/4″ folded in half for card base & two pieces that are 3-3/4″ x 5-1/4″
Gold Foil paper: 3-3/4″ x 5″
Basic Black cardstock: 3-5/8″ x 4-7/8″
Whisper White cardstock: two pieces that are 3″ x 4″
This third one, my moon card is my favorite, because it’s just so different from the rest of them.
I sponged one of the circular frame pieces and the circle that punches out in Dapper Denim ink. I made the outside edges darker by sponging them with even more ink. This way the moon appears to be casting a glow in the night sky! 😉
I then attached the circle behind the frame piece to create a “crescent moon” window making sure the stitched embossed lines matched up. After attaching these pieces to the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper layer with Glue Dots,…
…I added branches to the front (to give the appearance of a tree protruding in) so they discretely concealed the area of overlap.
To give the tree branches a more realistic look I curled a few of the leaves with a Bone Folder. Fun, huh!?
Measurements:
Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper: 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″
Basic Black cardstock: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ folded in half for card base
Whisper White cardstock (for the inside layer): 3-3/4″ x 5″
The last three projects are ones I created with ONLY kit products – no added embellishments, cardstock, punches, dies, ink… I only used my snips & trimmer. OH! And a little Fine Tip Glue to attach a few star sequins. My challenge was to use ONLY what came in the kit. These projects were featured along with others made my a couple fellow demonstrators during a live broadcast on Facebook on November 21st. Click here and here to view the live broadcast.
For this first one I turned one of the stockings into a hat by trimming off the toe area of a stocking and tying it up with some twine.
It’s the perfect treat holder and would be great as small gift to a co-worker or to decorate a place setting at a holiday dinner gathering.
These adorable Hershey Nugget holders below are super simple to make. To make one just cut one of the plaid card base pieces to 1-3/4″ x 8-1/2″. There will be a crease in the middle, but don’t fold it. Instead use your trimmer to add two more score lines parallel to and a 1/2″ away from each side of the middle crease. Fold on those creases.
Glue Dot a Hershey Nugget to the bottom inside middle area, stamp the “to/from” image, fold up and clip with a mini clothes pin.
Cut a tree or snowflake image to 1-1/2″ x 1-3/4″ from a banner piece. Add a strip of Cherry Cobbler cardstock to the bottom (use the scraps in the kit for this), and then embellish the front of this treat holder by attaching it with Glue Dots at the top and a strip of foam adhesive at the bottom. Don’t forget to glue on a few star sequins and tie on some twine on the clothespin.
This last card is the “wow” of the three. On the front I stamped the sentiment image on a banner omitting the bottom words so it would fit on the piece. I added the white sequins to the branch piece with Glue Dots to make it look like mistletoe, attached all these kit element pieces as shown,…
…and then decorated the inside with another sprig of mistletoe hanging down from the pop-out section! Yay!
To create this pop-out section, I first cut one of the envelopes in the kit to make two plaid pieces measuring 2-1/4″ x 5″. I scored 3/8″ in on the long right edge of one and 3/8″ in on the long left edge of the other. Then I scored down the middle of one of the circular window pieces. I folded the 3/8″ portions up, and connected the three pieces together (forming an “M” if you look at them from the top). Then after using this connected piece as a guide so I could first stamp the “merry and bright” in the right spot, I attached it to the inside of the card. (Hint: Lay the card base and the connected piece flat to line up the crease in the middle of the circular window piece with the crease in the card base, and then bring in the adhesive to secure the plaid pieces in place.)
The mistletoe on the inside hangs down from just inside the right side of the top of the circular window with a rolled up Glue Dot.
This way it will fold flat when the card is shut.
I sort of went crazy this month with Paper Pumpkin. And tomorrow is the monthly blog hop! So if you are a fan of thinking outside the box, be sure to stop back again. (I got goofy with the projects I’ll be sharing in the hop tomorrow, so be ready to giggle.)
P.S. I am putting together another Online Paper Crafters Club and am looking for a few more members to join in. The commitment is to place an order each month for 6 months in row. In one of those months you would get the Stampin’
Rewards (the free goodies) based on the collective orders from those in the club. The other perks would be free catalogs shipped to you, a set of 6 free hand-stamped cards at the end of the 6-month commitment, and exclusive project ideas emailed to you each month. I’m hoping to start this club at the beginning of January. You do not need to live near me because there is no monthly gathering. Let me know if you are interested!
CLICK HERE to see my how-to video for how to make the Gift Card in a Box that I shared on September 14th. These directions will help guide you into making today’s project.
(Note that after cutting out the top 2″ square portion from the top of the card as shown in the directions in the video, I flipped the card base around and decorated the other side as the front instead. So my box is situated on the left this time.)
Here are the dimensions for the décor pieces on the front of this card:
Merry Music designer paper: 1-1/4″ x 5-1/2″
Garden Green cardstock: 7/8″ x 5-1/2″
Red Glimmer paper: 3/4″ x 5-1/2″ and scraps for die-cutting the instrument shapes
Whisper White cardstock: 5/8″ x 5-1/2″ and scraps for stamping and die-cutting the string instruments
I decorated the top of the box with a Green Sprig that I had dipped in Embossing Paste (see the list of supplies for this card below), sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, and tied with Real Red Mini Tinsel Trim.
After it dried, I used a big dollop of Fine Tip liquid glue to get the sprig to attach to the top of the box.
One last tip…use Glue Dots to attach cardstock to the Glimmer Paper. Other adhesives don’t work as well.
I hope you enjoyed today’s project! Thanks for stopping by.
I made more with the November kit! And today I have my second tutorial video ready. (Did you catch my first video? Click here to see what I shared a few days ago.)
Watch this video to get measurements, directions, and tips for these projects…
several card ideas featuring the new Stampin’ Blends
a fun “Santa’s belt” card
and a 12×12 scrapbook page layout just in time for the winter snowfall photos
Then scroll down to see close-up photos and a list of extra supplies I used to make all these projects.
I hope you enjoy what I have to share with you today. I made everything with the contents of the November 2017 Back in Plaid kit and a few extra supplies/products (which I have listed below and linked to my online store).
And here are the alternate projects I created and shared in my video.
SIMPLE BRANCHES & BANNER CARDS
LIT UP CHRISTMAS TREE CARD
If you are loving these Stampin’ Blends, consider joining my Blends Club. I currently have a group of three looking for one more person to join them. More information about my Stampin’ Blends Club is at the very bottom of this post.
FALLING SNOW CARDS
SNOWFALL 12X12 SCRAPBOOK PAGE LAYOUT
SANTA’S BELT CARD
Of course I’m still creating (it’s like an addiction – lol) and will share several more early next week that combine supplies from both the October Pining for Plaid kit and this month’s Back in Plaid kit. Oh!…Did you catch Stampin’ Up!’s Facebook Live broadcast this past Tuesday? You’ll want to check out those ideas if want to see even more creative ways to combine both kits. Then on November 30th check back to see all the creativity in the Paper Pumpkin Blog Hop. And don’t forget if you are one of my personal subscribers, you’ll be emailed a bunch more fabulous exclusive ideas – 11-13 project sheets (tutorials with photos) on December 2nd.
Not a subscriber yet? Want to know more about Paper Pumpkin kits and how to get in on the fun? Click here for more information. Or if you are ready to start your own subscription, click here to get signed up. Want to see a ton of alternate ideas? CLICK HERE to be connected to the Paper Pumpkin Fan Club on Facebook or CLICK HERE to see what I’ve been pinning on Pinterest.
I hope you enjoyed what I had to share today. And thanks for visiting!
Product List… (things you might need/want in addition to the November 2017 Paper Pumpkin kit to make any or all of the projects in the video.)
Online Extravaganza! Now – November 26th & Then a Flash Sale of FREE SHIPPING on November 27th!
Are you ready for amazing deals? Online Extravaganza runs November 20 – November 26. And this year there are some great surprises in store for you! Want a peek?! CLICK HERE to learn more.
Save an additional $5 off Marker Holders (on top of the 15% off sale) with coupon code MARKERS5. This even includes the latest Marker Holder for Stampin’ Blends™.
OR…Purchase them in the Starter Kit! Get all the markers (and another $3.50 in product if you wish) for only $99 + tax. Shipping is free! And then take advantage of all the other perks that come along with being part of my Stampers With ART Community including the discount on future products!
Stamp Your Art Out! Rachel Tessman Independent Demonstrator 763-502-6813
This is the best way to enjoy all that Stampin' Up! has to offer. Plus it's fun to be on the demonstrator side of things!
Subscribe to our monthly Paper Pumpkin crafting kits through me to enjoy exclusive ideas shared in PDF tutorials from the our PP Creatives team of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an affiliate with Stamp-n-Storage which means I may get commissions if you click on links I provide and decide to purchase anything from this company. I love their products and recommend them because I own several myself and believe my readers will benefit from them.
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