Christmas cards, just the beginning...

These are some of the Christmas cards that I've made so far...but this is just the tip of the iceberg...I have tons of gorgeous new stamp sets from Papertrey and others that I haven't even had the chance to get inky yet. But now that my husband's 40th birthday party has come and gone, and I've finished my Thanksgiving cards, it's now full speed ahead to my stacks and stacks of Christmas cards! I can't wait to start cranking them out.

Some of these here were made for Operation Write Home. Their deadline for Christmas cards is Oct. 31st, so that project is done for now too. The rest of the cards are just part of my growing stash to use for my own Christmas card list as well as ones to sell.

These are some of the ones I made for OWH. I just LOVED how they turned out, even though I was not crazy about these particular patterned papers...I ended up liking them quite well once they were used on my cards. I used one of my new favorite holiday stamp sets from Papertrey: Holiday Photo Finishers.



A set of cards made with cute patterned papers from the Basic Grey Wassail collection and the Eskimo Kisses collection.





These cards are so cute because of October Afternoon's adorable Very Merry paper collection and the 2008 Holiday Tags stamp set from Papertrey.







That's it for now, but I'll be back later with lots more!

Thanksgiving cards

Just a quick post to share some Thanksgiving cards...not making a TON of these, as I usually just end up sending these to family and not selling a whole bunch (not too many people send out Thanksgiving cards, it seems). But I had a lot of fun creating with these stamp sets, and for the most part, I am happy with the results!




Cardstock: Dusty Durango, More Mustard (SU)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Meadows (retired DSP from SU)
Stamp Set(s): Thanksgiving (Crafty Secrets)
Ink/Colorants: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine); Copic markers
Embellishments: Autumn Terracotta organdy ribbon (CTMH); Vanilla Hodgepodge frame & brads (SU)



Cardstock: More Mustard (SU)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Meadows (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Thanksgiving (Crafty Secrets); Fall Elegance (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copic markers; Cocoa embossing powder (CTMH)
Embellishments: Gold Rush organdy ribbon, Hemp twine, Waxy flax (CTMH); Wood buttons (Oriental Trading);
Tools: heat gun




Cardstock: Naturals Ivory (SU)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Meadows (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Friendship Jar Fall Fillers (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copic markers; Copper Pearl Pen (Viva Decor)
Embellishments: Hemp twine (CTMH)
Tools: Notch tool (Basic Grey)



Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, More Mustard (SU)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Meadows (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Fall Elegance (PTI); Thanksgiving (Crafty Secrets)
Ink/Colorants: Autumn Terracotta, Olive (CTMH)
Embellishments: Vintage copper brads (SU)




Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, More Mustard (SU)
Patterned Paper: Autumn Meadows (SU)
Stamp Set(s): Fall Elegance (PTI); Thanksgiving (Crafty Secrets)
Ink/Colorants: Brown Bag (CTMH); Tea Dye (Ranger Distress Inks); Marina Mist (SU)
Embellishments: Brown felt ribbon (SU)
Tools: 1-3/4" circle punch (SU)

40th Birthday Party goodness...

Well, I have been absent from my little ol' blog for quite some time now...I was frantically pulling all the pieces together for my husband's 40th birthday party which took place on the 22nd. It was a lot of work and organizing, but well worth it for the fun that was had by all. I had engineered a couple of surprises with regards to his birthday, and I pulled them all off!!! Yay!

This post is just to share a few photos of my paper crafting work that I put into the party.

Place cards:



Cake topper: (Note that it this was extra poignant because it was surrounded by 40 flaming candles...lots of HOT!! ;)




Favors:



And of course, the actual birthday card: (invitations were posted separately in a long-winded post here)



An interior detail of the card:


And a close-up so the glimmery brown paper can be seen more clearly:


And here's just a little bit of fun to share (not paper crafted, but wonderful just the same)...I had asked guests to bring small & creative gifts that related to 40 somehow. My awesome grandma thought & thought until she came up with something super fun & creative. She hunted high & low on the net to find candy rocks, then ordered up a TON of them. Then she found a marble-looking box and loaded it up with these candy/chocolate rocks of all shapes/sizes/colors. She typed up a paper in WordArt that said "40 Sucks...don't you believe it!" Then on the inside of the box filled with rocks there was another paper that said, "40 Rocks!" It was so fun that I'm putting a picture here:



Well, I guess that's about it for the 40th birthday party stuff and my paper crafted contributions to it....whew! Luckily, this kind of labor need only happen every 10th milestone birthday... :)

If anyone happens to read this post and is interested in what supplies I used, feel free to email me or post a question in the comments.

Mojo Monday #209 - Christmas card

I decided to jump in with this week's Mojo Monday challenge...I don't always have time to do their challenge each week, but I'm trying to get around to using all of my stamps, so it helps to have challenges from each company that get me in the right frame of mind.

I'm trying to make all cards from here on out (for awhile anyway) Christmas cards. When I make a card for a challenge, I will make at least one more, and duplicate it or make it a different variation. I'm realizing once again that although bulky Christmas cards with buttons & bows and other such chunkiness look wonderful, they sure are a challenge to mail. So with every elaborate card I make for a challenge, I'd like to try and make an alternate version that is flatter and easier (cheaper) to mail.

Here's this week's sketch:

And my candy cane inspired cards:


This is the one I will actually post for the Mojo Monday challenge ~


I hope that the little bit of dimension on the poinsettia can be seen clearly...

To simplify the card and maker it easier to mail, I reversed the colors on the pendant focal point so that I could simply stamp the poinsettia in red and leave it at that (instead of partially trimming out the leaves with my craft knife). I also cut out patterned paper "buttons" using my PTI button dies. I also simply left off the bow so that the whole card would be flatter.



Supply list:

Cardstock: Sweet Blush (PTI); White Daisy (CTMH); Real Red (SU); pink scraps (various)
Patterned Paper: from the Everybody Loves Christmas collection (Echo Park) {at time of posting, their web page isn't working for this collection; hopefully it will be fixed and you can see this adorable collection in it's entirety!}
Stamp Set(s): Poinsettia Christmas (Verve)
Ink/Colorants: Satin Red, Crimson Red (VersaFine); Black (CTMH)
Embellishments: Buttons - Peppermint Candy (Oriental Trading), Red (stash); Fresh Snow luxe satin ribbon (PTI)
Tools: Simple Circles border, Buttoned Up, Double-ended Banner dies (PTI); Fleur de Lis Accents, Standard Circle dies (Spellbinders)

H2H Sketch Challenge 10-3-11

This has got to be a super quick post, because I'm swamped with getting other things done today and running out of time...fast! (as always...) This week's H2H challenge is a sketch:

I bought the Mistletoe paper last year but didn't get around to using it, so I pulled it out, as I prefer it to the new Christmas paper (called Believe) from this year's Fall/Winter catalog ...

I whipped this card together pretty quickly, and didn't deviate from the sketch very much or add too many embellishments, but the paper is pretty, and I love the new stamp set - Glory to God...it's sometimes a little challenging to find Christmas stamp sets that have a Christ-centered theme (sadly, as isn't this what Christmas is supposed to be all about?), so I love this set that CTMH put out this year. Grabbed it up.



Supply list:

Cardstock: Garden Green (SU); New England Ivy, Cranberry (CTMH)
Patterned Paper: from the Mistletoe paper packet {retired} (CTMH)
Stamp Set(s): Glory to God, Jingle Borders {retired} CTMH)
Ink/Colorants: Crimson Red, Vintage Sepia, Olympia Green (VersaFine); Gold Pearl Pen (Viva Decor)
Embellishments:
Tools:

WMS Sketch Challenge #67

This week's sketch challenge from Waltzingmouse was the following:

Now, I'm revving up to start producing my Christmas cards en masse, for my own purposes, and hopefully some to sell (CAS for sure!! ;), so this was a little step away from that, but also a very cool inspiration for a gift tag.  I just happened to have recently purchases Papertrey's Tag Sale #4 die, which is exactly this shape, and I was looking forward to busting it out, so this was the perfect first opportunity. I used colors from Playdate Cafe's color challenge this week, but unfortunately I didn't get my post ready to enter their challenge in time. Oh well...there's always next week...

Here's my gift tag:



Now that I'm looking closely at the photo and how it has shown up here, it looks like the little banner is crooked, but I think that I just didn't get the tag hung up perfectly straight. duh. ;)

I used a product that I bought long ago and have tons of in every color of the rainbow (and then some) but haven't used in a long time: Metallic Rub-Ons...these are just kind a creamy, shimmery product that you rub on with your finger or a Q-tip or little sponge or whatever. That is what created the shimmery, kind of aged effect over the whole tag.

Supply list:

Cardstock: Smokey Shadow (PTI); Brown Bag, Parchment (CTMH)
Patterned Paper:
Stamp Set(s): Big Blooms - Poinsettias (WMS); Sign Language, Polka Dot Basics (PTI)
Ink/Colorants: Vineyard Berry (CTMH); Metallic Rub-ons (Craf-T Products); Copic Markers - R02, E00, E15; Cherry Cobbler marker (SU)
Embellishments: Button (SU); Hemp Twine (CTMH);
Tools: Limitless Labels, Double-ended Banners, Tag Sale #4 dies (PTI); Standard Circle die (Spellbinders)

Make It Monday #34 & Operation Write Home Blog Hop

It's World Cardmaking Day!! To celebrate, I decided to participate in a blog hop with one of my favorite charities, Operation Write Home. They collect and distribute handmade cards to soldiers overseas, who can then have them for free to send home to their families with whom they can't be with on holidays and for long periods of time! I so appreciate the sacrifice they make, and so I love the idea of making cards for them to use. Sending a handmade card home is not the same as being there, of course, but it's a little piece of special that maybe, in a tiny way, helps to ease the burden of absence.

The hop today was supposed to feature holiday cards, so here are two I made that were inspired by this week's Papertrey Make It Monday challenge...to include a thick chipboard accent on a card that was cut using their dies. I had recently received their new Damask Snowflakes dies and couldn't wait to use them, so this was the perfect opportunity.

 
Supply list: 

Cardstock: Soft Stone, Vellum CS (PTI); Riding Hood Red (SU); 
Patterned Paper: from Wassail collection 6x6 paper pad (Basic Grey) 
Stamp Set(s): Friendship Jar Holiday Fillers, Friendship Jar, Holiday Photo Finishers (PTI) Ink/Colorants: Cherry Cobbler (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento); Cocoa (CTMH); Fresh Snow, Vintage Cream {sponged on vellum snowman piece, on back} (PTI); Copic Markers - R59, YG97, 100; White gel pen (Signo) 
Embellishments: Coasters, for thick chipboard accent (PTI); Chocolate & Pure Poppy Baker's Twine (PTI) 
Tools: Damask Snowflakes, Holiday Photo Finishers dies (PTI)