Holiday greeting card

A holiday greeting card for a couple we know who does not celebrate Christmas. I used textured shimmer paper for the poinsettia, added some detail to the petals and leaves using a stylus and used a brad to hold all the layers together. Added the leaves and a swirl to the back and mounted it on an embossed (Swiss Dots - CB) layer along with a piece of silver ribbon. Mounted this embellished layer to a white card front.

I have very little prep left for Christmas - most of the cards were mailed on Monday, parcels mailed last week and only a few last minute items to prep!!

Remember the spirit of the season - peace and love - when you go about your life this coming week and if possible leave some "stuff" aside and spend time with the people you love - make some memories!!

Therese

Photo album

A photo book for my grandson! He is just over a year and likes to carry things around so I made him a book with photos of his family - Mom and Dad, sister, pets, grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. I used a commercially made album and changed up the front and the back to personalize it and filled it with photos!!

Am on the home stretch of having my Christmas gifts ready for sending out in parcels. Christmas letter today!! Parcels should be out today!!

Cards are just waiting for the letter so by Monday I should all the cards on their way!!

Therese

Christmas tag

Christmas tags for my exchange tonight!! Bought this Sizzix die at Sweet Sentiments last week and wanted to use right away so I decided to use it for my tags. I cut two - one red - one green and put them back to back. I used red glitter on the green one and green glitter on the red one. I cut two sticky label when I cut out the ornaments which I used to make the glittery ribbon. I like using labels for glitter because it is a dry glue and does not make a gluey mess with glitter. Once the glitter is applied the sticky side of the label is not longer sticky and has a paper back. I just glue it in place with regular glue. I added glitter to the bulby ends of the ornament as well. I glittered the center using labels as well. I cut the tree - removed the backing selectively - first the tree stem - glittered that, then the snow - glittered that and finally the tree and glittered that (MS). I cut a sticker oval just larger than the opening in the ornament and applied it to the back of the oval opening in the red ornament, placed the glittered tree in the middle of the sticky oval and applied blue glitter all around it. I used a simple white oval in the back of the green ornament/tag to give a place to write and added a red cotton string!!

The rounded oval from the middle of this die is a perfect match to the large SU oval so it will be great for layering!!!!!! I love it when tools coordinate!!

Hope you are well on your way to being prepared for Christmas. We have a bit of shopping to do, some wrapping and a few parcels to prepare for shipping. Hopefully by the end of the week it will be all done!! If your list is too long, check it and see if there is anything at all that can be reduced or completely eliminated. If so, take a break and enjoy the sights and sounds of the season!!

Therese

Altered heart ornaments

A challenge to alter "something" was put out on one of my groups so I decided to see what I could find around the house. I found this small heart shape chipboard board book and it seems perfect for making altered ornaments for a community project called Evergreen Memories - similar to Festival of Trees elsewhere. I cut the binding off and trimmed the pages to round them out nicely. I covered the edges with red tissue paper and used gift wrap - red with snowflakes - on the front and back. I traced the hearts, so, after cutting they were just a bit big to fit really nicely so I crumpled them up and glued them down with wrinkles in them which gave them lots of texture and alleviated any issue of not having a perfectly cut outside edge. Once both sides were done I pressed them under weight to make sure the paper was well glued and to keep them flat. I decorated them today using colour printed vintage images, snowflake punchies, and scraps of lace, tulle and ribbon.

I am very happy with how they turned out and I am sure they will make a welcome addition to the tree. There are over a dozen trees that will be decorated by different organizations on the theme of Peace and will be on display at the museum for a couple of weeks. Over the course of the two weeks the public can drop by, enjoy the sound of music provided by local groups along with a tasty treat and get dose of holiday spirit. After wandering through the display they can choose to buy tickets for the ornament raffle. All the ornaments on all the trees are raffled off at the end of the display in support of local charities and programs. So these ornaments are off on an adventure which will ultimately find them a new home. I send them off with blessings!!

Therese

Cardmaking - December - sanded and resist!

Love the look and feel of this sanded embossed cardstock!! Sanding highlights the embossing and gives the cardstock this wonderful texture similar to suede!! It works only with cardstock that has a different core colour. Check out Core' dinations which a cardstock with a coloured core - very effective for this technique. Several different companies - Close to My Heat and DCWV - sell white core cardstock which is what I used. Just emboss as usual and then sand the embossed side with a bit of sand paper. Do as much or as little as you like!!

Thrifty Tip: you can easily make your own white core cardstock by painting a sheet of white cardstock with any colour of acrylic paint. Once dry, just emboss and sand!!

The main element features a clear thermally embossed flower image that has had a watercolour wash added to it! Once the watercolour has dried you simply buff the embossing with a cloth or tissue to remove any that may have dried on it and the image "pops"!! Great little technique!! Added a colour printed greeting punched with the SU word window punch!!

Love the simple elegant look of this card!!

It is the beginning of December and we had a wonderful snowfall yesterday!! Huge fluffy snowflakes falling gently to the earth!! What a treat to see the great snowman built by the neighbors and their kids when I got home from class!! Went over and took a couple of pictures after I shoveled the drive way!! I may take another couple today in case he melts away in the next couple of days!! So it is, life is filled with little blessings, everyday!!

Therese

Cardmaking - December - glittery!!

Glittery cards!! This sketch features textured paper, a corner rounded embossed rectangle, three flower confetti with glittered centers, some fiber and a decorative strip that was created using blue pigment ink and Star Dust embossing powder!! I created the decorative paper to help the turquoise paper to coordinate with the sparkly fiber, and then, the flowers were screaming for some glitter of their own!! In the end, it all came together but it was a bit of a process to get it there.

The confetti was selling at the craft store last fall as part of a Paula Dean table ensemble. The little bags have a lot in them!! I used only half the bag on this set of cards - I have another bag!! So come spring there will be more cards created with these little turquoise flower confetti!! I added blue glitter glue to the centers. The fiber I added as the last element by centering the glittery accent in the middle of the strip and wrapping the two ends around the brads trimming off any excess afterwards.

Cards with glitz are just fun!! Some of the girls brought their own shimmer spray to class so theirs got an extra layer of shine as well.

Therese

Cardmaking - December - tag cards

Another shaped card!!!! I trimmed the corners on the decorative paper first, glued it to the card front and then trimmed the card!! Much easier than cutting the card first and trying to get the decorative paper right!!

This sketch features a decorative paper background (right hand one is pieced from scraps), a ripped greeting "snow" layer and a tree die cut!! I love this little tree - Marianne Design - which you can get at Ecstacy Crafts. It is so versatile!! I will be using it for Christmas cards next year!! I added double layered circle punchies (3/4" and 1/2") punched with a 1/8" hole at the top of the card, punched through the card front and threaded through some fiber which I tied on the front with a double knot. This gives less bulk at the top of the card which makes it easier to insert into the envelope. Again, if you preferred not to make this a thank you card you just could reverse the greeting layer and glue the plain side up.

Therese

Cardmaking - December - pleated paper

At my cardmaking class last night we made thank you cards for blessing those who will bless us over the Christmas season!! It is really nice to have your cards ready to go so you can immediately acknowledged a gift, a great meal and the thoughtful gestures that will come to you over this wonderful time of year!!

This card sketch features a piece of decorative paper, some pleated tissue paper, ribbon and a stacked flower embellishment attached with a brad. I provided coordinating colour printed greetings as well which allowed the participants more flexibility - without it the card can be used for another occasion!!

Thrifty tip: I have seen quite a few cards with pleated ribbon lately and love the look so was wanting to add this accent to one of my cards. I read on Andrea's blog that she had used brown paper from lunch bags to pleat so it started me thinking about using paper!! I finally decided on tissue paper because that is what I had that was the right colour and it is super flexible. I crumpled the tissue, ripped it into strips - some thin others a little wider. I layered the thin ones over the wider ones and used my sewing machine to sew them together adding pleats as I went along. I created a very long piece by just adding pieces where I needed them as I went along and cut it into smaller sections later. FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will definitely be doing that again!!!!!! It is great because tissue paper comes in so many colours and designs and is relatively inexpensive!! Be sure to be saving any of the great tissue paper that shows up over the holidays for your cardmaking!! So versatile!!

Be grateful for everything in your life - friends, family, getting together, gifts, kindnesses, love, laughing, joy, fun and all that happens!! Christmas is a special time of blessing - both in what you give and what you receive - do both!!

Therese

Altered CD - vintage Santa

An altered CD for a swap in one of my groups!! The theme was Vintage Santa so I dug up some scraps of decorative papers and got started. First thing I did was make a sketch of each section - front cover, inside cover, inside back and back cover. I decided which elements would go in each section - images, decorative paper, cardstock, etc. After working out the layering on each section I started cutting paper and gluing it into place. I used LOTS of double sided tape to make sure all the pieces will stay put. The front cover features a colour printed vintage Santa, a stamped "memories", decorative paper, a little strip of lace, olive ribbon with a burgundy "bow" and a piece of burgundy cardstock. The lace and ribbon wrap to the back of the cover and are hidden by the pieces on the inside front which is why I worked out all the layering before I cut and glued anything to the CD.

To the left you can see the front and back in one scan. The back features coordinating decorative paper, an ivory cardstock strip trimmed with scallop scissors and embellished with dots and a line in burgundy marker, a strip of olive cardstock and some burgundy cardstock at the very top. Went with cardstock because I wanted the back to have very little that would interfere with the CD laying flat. The inside cover (left) features burgundy cardstock, a scallop border punched piece of olive cardstock embellished with burgundy ribbon and a layered strip of decorative paper. I cut little notches for the plastic edging so that all the piece fit in neatly. The back cover (right) features a layer of decorative paper, a burgundy strip of cardstock trimmed with scallop border punch and an accordion book which has been embellished with some decorative paper and a little boat sticker which I received this week from my Secret Santa and it was the perfect colours for this project!!!!!!!!

On the left a photo of the accordion book inside the CD. Four and a half pages in ivory cardstock embellished with decorative paper and two more stickers!!

All of the pages and sections were stippled with ink to give them a nice vintage feel.

The recipient will be able to add a few photos and have a cool little album for her 2010 Christmas memories!!

I loved the challenge of creating this project and am very happy with the finished product. Would make a wonderful gift for grandparents filled with photos of their grandchildren. Certainly done in other colours would make a cool little brag book for any event!!

Therese

Home for Christmas tags

Created these house tags for a swap on one of my groups. Theme was Home for Christmas so I searched for images on a clipart CD until I found a couple that spoke to me and I created tags using them as inspiration!!

The first one reminds me that Christmas, at one time, was all about the basics - friends, food and family!! People were grateful to be home with a fire burning and loved to prepare good food and plenty of it so when friends and family dropped they could share from their bounty. Stories were told, experiences were shared and a year's worth of blessing would be acknowledged. It was all about getting together and sharing!!

To create this tag I applied white gesso to a book page and stamped it with a large background stamp to add texture. Glued it to the house shape and trimmed it to the edges. Outlined the house with a black Sharpie and added yet more texture with a fine tip Sharpie marker to the interior surface of the house. Added the heart and framed photo with 3D foam tape and wrote the words and hearts by hand.

The second one reminds me of Christmas when I was a kid. It was always exciting to see cars pull into the yard one by one spilling people, food and presents as they came. Often, people had traveled distances in cold and less than desirable weather to be part of Christmas at our house. Cars would be plugged in or run several times during their stay so they would start, in the well below freezing temperatures, when it was time to head home. We would go to church and open presents when we got home. We always hoped that our one big present would be one of the items we had picked out of the Sears catalogue after months of perusing and making lists. We played board or card games, ate sweets, played outside and went for walks or ice skating!! It was about family and getting together.

For this one I added a bleached navy cardstock to the top and bottom and layered colourful scraps in between. Over the center section, I added a strip of sheet music. I coloured the frame black, mounted the image and added it to the tag with 3D foam tape. Added stitching with a black sharpie on the light areas and with a white gel pen on the dark areas. The heart is also mounted with 3D foam tape and the words are hand written.

I am getting into the Christmas mood. Have been creating Christmas card all year long and just all kinds for classes during the month of November. This was a fun little project and I am happy with the way they turned out!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas Santa

I love this swirl embossing folder (Crafts Too)!!! You can check it out along with several others I have used at Ecstacy Crafts!!

I do find that you have to cut your cardstock just a slight bit over the 5.5" so the swirl pattern doesn't fall off the edge of the card but it is such a versatile design!! I used it last month for this card. I colour printed a vintage Santa from a clipart CD that fits nicely in the opening. Created the scallop greeting using a scallop punchie (SU) and a 1 3/8" punch (SU) to cut out the colour printed greeting. The metal embellishment used to be a brad but getting it properly positioned was going to be difficult so I snipped off its tangs and added 3D foam tape to the back which worked perfectly!! Another quick and easy card!!

Therese

Mitten card template!!

If you would like to make your own mitten Christmas cards here is the template I used to create mine. Click on image and download to your computer and print on a 8.5"x 11" sheet of cardstock!! Enjoy!

Angel policy: you can make cards for sale with this template. Please send your friends to this post on my blog to download their own copy for their use.

You do not have permission to copy and distribute this file in any manner and/or claim it as your own when submitting cards for publication!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas mittens

Mittens!!!!!!! Have been wanting to make a shaped card for quite a while and finally just did it!! I created the mitten shape in a layout program (Corel Draw) and printed it on the back of the cardstock. Folded the card with the printing on the outside and cut out the shape. Added an embossed rectangle to create a cuff and added a snowflake border in white to jazz it up a bit. The colour printed greeting was distressed and mounted with 3D foam tape. Added snowflake punchies and a stitched border to the edge using a white gel marker!! Love it!!!

To top it off I added a "snowball" (white cardstock circle) to the inside where you can write your message!!

These are cute!! It is a real change from the standard Christmas card and would be great for those who are young at heart on your list!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas snow scene

I have been using my new tools!!

Here I used my largest Oval Nestibilities to cut out a winter scene I stamped in brown on white cardstock. I added a bit of chalk and a dotted border around the edge to just define the oval and highlight the image. Layered the image over scrapbook paper on a warm red card and added a colour printed greeting layered on brown with two silver brads!! Quick and easy!!

Themed packages of scrapbook paper are great for creating cards that have a coordinating look for making sets of cards!! Consider making a few sets for giving to those on your list that are hard to buy for or have everything. We all like to send special Christmas cards to our best friends and handmade ones certainly fit the bill!!

Therese

Cardmaking - November - Christmas poinsettia

Christmas cards!! Had a great class last night and they loved the cards!!

For these ones, I started with decorative scrapbook paper, added a red layer below, an ivory decorative strip trimmed with decorative scissors and a green ribbon!! The poinsettia is stamped in red and clear embossed on an ivory scallop (N)*. I added some green watercolour to soften the image a bit. The top one also has gold glitter glue added to the center of the flower and on each scallop for a bit of bling. It is mounted to the card front over the ribbon using 3D foam tape. The NOEL greeting (Quietfire) is gold embossed and punched out with an oval punch (SU). They are also embellished with watercolour to soften their look.

I like the soft muted look of these traditional Christmas colours!!

*Thrifty Tip - to save time when prepping for this class I embossed the poinsettia images in the oven!! Heat oven to 325F and place your stamped images with embossing powder on the back of a clean cookie sheet. Place in oven and 30 seconds later they are all embossed - a dozen at a time!! You have to watch very closely because if left too long the embossing powder will melt into the paper!! Great if you are embossing images for cards made in lots - Christmas, invitations, etc.

Therese

Christmas exchange cards & contest

Decided to create a card for Class Act's contest and while I was at it made several - one for my group exchange on Tuesday and a couple for my CCE card exchange!

I love this snowflake image!! It is a Class Act image and they are having a Christmas card contest right now!! You just need to create a card with a Class Act or Chapel Road stamp and send in a scan. The prize is a rubber stamp - so in the end it is a win-win situation. You have one more card for your Christmas card stash and you could win more rubber!!

I stamped the snowflake on a white circle, embossed it with Stardust embossing powder, used my fun foam stamp* to add colour to the center and layered it on a blue scallop (Nestibilities). Started with a white card and added a greeting. The "let it" is a font to which I added a flourish and then colour printed on the white card. The "snow" is a Quietfire stamp which I stamped and embossed with the same Stardust embossing powder. I layered over that a decorative paper which I created. I first printed an all over pattern of snowflakes in blues like the one I used for this card and added blue watercolour washes using ink from my stamp pad. I ripped the bottom edge to reveal the greeting on the card. I added a layered white snowflake border (MS) over the scallop accent to finish off my card.

*Thrifty Tip - you can create your own stamps using fun foam!! Just cut out any shape, mount to wood or acrylic with double sided tape and use with your ink pads!! For the snowflake center I stamped the image on fun foam and cut out the center section. Works really well for highlighting that area. Consider using the precut fun foam shapes - snowflakes, snowmen, stars, hearts, etc!!

I am well on my way for having all my Christmas cards made for this year. There is lots of inspiration here if you need some quick and easy ideas. More coming in a bit!!

Therese

Christmas Zentangles

Another fun swap on one of my lists!! I spent a couple of hours quietly drawing - adding lines to create shapes into outline letters I printed with a chunky font. It is great to have a good outline to follow. After that, it is all about deciding where the lines need to be, adding texture and varying the light and the dark for good contrast in the overall image. I have never zentangled words before but I have created zentangles in letters for monogram cards and some in squares!!

I am sending these off to my partner for this holiday themed swap and look forward to the ones I will receive in return!!
Christmas is a great time to be creating zentangles!! I have created these large enough to be framed so she can use them as art in her home every holiday season!! I have not added any colour because it keeps the art more graphic and black and white can be framed in any colour to coordinate with the current decor. So I challenge you to create a few zentangles for the holiday season! Print a whole bunch and add them to your holiday cards, frame a few to adorn your home or make a set of cards or some framed art as gifts for those who have everything!!

Be creative this Christmas and add a bit of your art in your home!!

Therese

Heart Ornament

Thanks to a friend of mine I have a few of these die cuts to play with - adorned heart Nestibilities!!

I created this ornament using two die cuts - there are three in the set - and simply inserting the red into the white and adding a backer to keep them nested. White embossed the word love on the red heart.

The Love stamp is a new one! Won it at a class on Quietfire's community two weeks ago!! Suzanne makes rubber stamps from her wonderfully calligraphed sayings!! I am looking forward to incorporating the rubber stamps I won into my projects in the next little while!!

Sending off this little heart with some love to a special person!!

Therese

Christmas - tags

Tags are always fun for Christmas!! Here I have teamed them up with a little bit of ribbon and some snowflake punchies!! The background paper is decorative paper - light blue and white - which has been colour printed with an all over pattern of snowflakes!! I also added stitching with a white gel pen. The snowflakes are a font (WWflakes) which I cut and pasted one at a time, duplicated, coloured and resized to create this all over pattern. The embossed greeting has been cut from cardstock embossed with the greeting embossing folder from CraftsToo from Ecstasy crafts!!

Therese

Christmas cards - Queen Anne's lace

I love the look of pressed Queen Anne's lace for Christmas!! These surely are the snowflakes of summer and once pressed can present your holiday greetings most elegantly!! I created this card so the central scalloped element can be removed and used as an ornament on a tree!!
The main element features an ivory scallop (Nestibilities), a pressed flower attached with a single glue dot in the center and a clear scallop, cut from packaging, that protects the flower. I have attached the clear scallop using a small piece of double sided tape beneath the hanger (green crochet thread) which securely attached the two scallops. I punched a 1/16" hole at the top of the card to pass the hanger to the inside of the card where it is attached with invisible tape. This will allow easy removable once it has arrived at its destination. The two snowflake punchies (MS) help to keep the scallop ornament situated on the card and provide a link to the colour printed greeting. The background is gift wrap that has been stamped with an all over snowflake pattern.

So consider using pressed botanicals in your Christmas greetings - small cedar branches, small ferns to simulate Christmas trees or small red oval shaped leaves (euonymus or contoneaster) to create poinsettias!! They are really great combined with handmade paper!!

Therese