Last minute gifts

Two last minute gifts you can make for those people on your list that have everything!!
Monogram cards for their notes of congratulations or thanks! Everyone can use these! I colour printed an initial on a panel card that fit into a set of envelopes I had handy. Consider stamping and embossing instead or hand lettering them and then adding colour - lots of possibilities!!
I also did up some address labels!! Used some of the photos I took last year, added names & addresses and printed on labels! Quick and easy and everyone can use them! Always nice to have some special ones for those special cards!!

Have a wonderful Christmas season! I expect I am pretty close to having my prep done so I can enjoy the season. My cards and newsletters will go out tomorrow, bought my baking at the bake sale last weekend, gifts are bought and only need a bit of wrapping! Have been listening to the Christmas music too!! Do enjoy your holiday activities and take a bit of quiet time in the new year to set a few goals, think of areas that need work and make a plan, do what is important and plan so that things don't get too urgent. We all struggle with something and a "one step in front of another" approach is best if you are going in the right direction!!
Therese

Winter Solstice Fat book page

Another Fat book page for our T&T mingle!! Doing research on this day I started to realize that we need to build traditions that help us reconnect us to our lives. The Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere is overlaps so many holidays celebrated at this time of the year. Many entwined their event with the festivals already celebrated for the Winter Solstice. Very early on, people lived close to nature and on the land. They observed that the days changed in length and with diligent records ascertained on which day the earth started back towards the sun!! It was a reason to celebrate, a time to pray for spring's arrival, good crops and fair weather.
The celebrations of this time of the year regardless of their origins encourage us to join with family and friends, to eat and make merry, to give gifts, to support those in need, to make peace, spread our love and be grateful for the blessings of the year. This year I encourage you to SEE with new eyes the celebrations that are familiar to you. Change up what no longer works but do take the time to celebrate as our ancestors did long before these traditions overcame those of the Winter Solstice!!

Therese

Another card that features gift wrap!! Do not recall exactly where I acquired this paper but it was too beautiful to be left!! This paper is quite thin so it was best to apply the glue to the cardstock and then lay the paper over the cardstock! I cut the paper just a little oversized and then trimmed to the edge of the card with scissors. I tied the two ends of the ribbon in a double knot and then cut it!! Estimated where I wanted the knot on the card before I cut the ribbon. I stamped the greeting in navy on the right hand bottom of the card!!

I expect this paper would be great used in collages and serendipity pieces as well. Love the watercolour look!!


Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

I CASEd this idea from somewhere on Splitcoast. The original had been trimmed to the edge of the Cuttlebug design. Instead I layered a white embossed layer over a white card! Happy with how that turned out. Created a colour printed tag to go with the ribbon. I cut a piece of ribbon that would overlap both sides of the card (6"-6.5") and glued the ends to the inside of the card on both the top and bottom. Tied a shorter piece (3"-4") to the first with an overhand knot. This technique saves ribbon and looks just as elegant if you provide an insert in the card. I trapped the tag's gold cord in the knot. You can glue the tag in place if you want or leave it dangling.

I always include inserts in my cards to allow them to be reused by simply removing the old inset that has been written on and replace it with a new one. I think it would be cool to see how many times a card could be reused!! Handmade cards are so beautiful that I think they should have more than one life. Besides it is a very green and environmentally friendly thing to do. I refurbish all the handmade (sometimes some of the commercial ones as well) cards I receive and donate them to a local non profit organization!! They really appreciate the cards!! You could donate the refurbished cards to seniors homes or retirement residences, any non profit, or package them up and donate as prizes for a fundraiser. Be creative!! It goes without saying that it is inappropriate to refurbish a card and then to present it as your idea and creative work!! Whenever possible I retain the creator's credits on the cards I refurbish. It works out perfectly when they have added an insert to their card!!
Therese

This card features duplex cardstock. This one is navy on one side and white on the other!! I stamped the frame, added the greeting and then embossed the whole thing in glittery embossing powder.
I made my own mixture with clear embossing powder, some fine prisma glitter and a little Iridescent Ice (SU) embossing powder as well. I find that the glittery embossing powders have a lot of glitter in them and I prefer a higher percentage of embossing powder to glitter. I usually mix right on my catch sheet - 1/2 teaspoon or so depending on how much embossing I have to do. It does require that you find another container to put your mixture in if you have leftovers so you don't contaminate your original embossing powder. I sometimes mix my leftovers together and end up with some very interesting combinations. For some of the cards I mixed copper and gold with some gold tinsel embossing powder with great results!! So have some fun and mix yourself a few to see what you get!!
Back to the card. I layered the image onto a coordinating layer and then to accentuate the duplex paper I cut off half of the front to allow the inside colour to show. Glued my accent piece to the left hand piece on the front of the card. Another fast and easy card you can make with duplex cardstock!!
Therese

This card features some holiday gift wrap I bought on sale last year after the holidays!! It is a very subtle pewter with shiny gold leaves. Very nice! I layered this onto a dark pewter cardstock and added a greeting I laser printed on oatmeal cardstock. Added some stitching with a black marker and two gold eyelets. The heart is a fun foam stamp! I made it myself by cutting out the shape out of fun foam and mounting it to a small clear acrylic mount with double sided tape. As you can see it stamps very nicely and the cost was almost nothing!! I also cut a fun foam stamp for one of my snowflake stamps for my OSW class. Stamped the snowflake on fun foam and then cut out the part I wanted to stamp in a solid colour! Worked wonderfully!! So save yourself a few dollars by making your own solid stamps! You will have the advantage of being able to make coordinating solid stamps for some of your other stamps - lady bug, flower, star, etc. More money for rubber!!

I have been checking out the gift wrap in the stores I visit! There are some very nice pearly ones at Michaels as well as some very elegant and funky ones that would be great for cardmaking all year round!! A gorgeous red and silver swirl that would be great for Valentine's! Consider getting together with a group and buying a few rolls to share!! There are, of course, a lot of wonderful Christmas papers that would be great for your Christmas cards next year and will be deeply discounted on Boxing day!! I am always on the look out for getting supplies for cardmaking at a discount. I am hoping to find a nice snowflake paper for next years cards!!

Therese

Always like to have my Thank you cards ready before the rush of Christmas so my December cardmaking session featured Thank you cards. Here a quick and easy featuring my Baroque Motif swirl (SU)!! I added two flower punchies with a gold brad over the swirl which was stamped with Chalk Memories in chocolate brown on a tan speckled cardstock. The greeting (SU) was stamped with coordinating ink. I love this swirl!!!

I would highly encourage everyone to acknowledge the gifts they receive this holiday season. Acknowledgement is a very strong relationship building tool and in comparison to the time invested it reaps large rewards. So start your New Year off well, by investing some time in your relationships with friends and family by acknowledging the blessings they are in your life!!

Therese

Marble coasters make a wonderful gift! I made a set of four of these for a gift exchange. I stamped the central image (SU) first with black StazOn. Created a paper mask and then stamped the French Script around it in the same ink. I then "watercoloured" the image with watered down acrylic paint so that it would be permanent when dry. Did give the tiles a bit of a spray of matte acrylic once everything was dry. Added little cork feet, tied with a nice ribbon and I was done!! If you are needing some inspiration there are LOTS of coasters in the gallery on Splitcoast Stampers!
Great as last minute gifts. The marble tiles are available at Home Depot here and maybe other home improvement stores in your area. Definitely recommend Staz ON ink for crisp and clean lines if you are going to stamp and colour your images. I have used Memories Inks for images I wanted to be a certain colour like green leaves, etc. I would definitely recommend a permanent ink so the colours don't run into each other when you spray on your clear finish (Krylon Matte Acrylic spray). I bought the cork feet at Stockade Craft Supplies but you could use rubber, felt or clear plastic ones instead. Or consider covering the whole bottom with self adhesive cork or felt. Quick and easy.
Therese

Added this card to the repertoire for this morning's class. This is one of my favorites that incorporates handmade paper in it's design. I really love the texture and simplicity of it!! I layered brown naturals handmade paper onto a ruby red card with hot glue. The pressed cedar sprig and the red raffia bow are also added with hot glue. Regular glue stick could be used as long as you put the card under pressure to dry to keep all the elements in contact with each other until the glue has dried!!
One branch of cedar and a few hours to press them will yield enough sprigs for your Christmas cards for the year!! Consider doing this in the spring or fall when you are trimming your cedars anyway. If you have no cedars talk to your neighbours who do! They would be most happy to let a few branches go to a good cause!!

Have a great weekend!!


Therese

Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

Another ornament idea from Splitcoast! Used circles and a punch for the middle hole! Consider using gingerbread men, stars, oval or diamonds!! Lots of room for creativity in these ones. You need four circles. Fold each one in half then use a punch to create the inner shape in each of them. Glue the flaps to each other until you have have only one set to glue. Insert the hanger (doubled over string with a knot at the end) and glue the final set of flaps. I added beads to the sample I made which takes a bit more time but adds a little glitter and sparkle to them. There is so much wonderful paper out there that these could be made in a rainbow of colours!! Can be folded flat to store!! If you use only two circles instead of four it makes a flat ornament and does not require folding. Have fun!!

Therese

My Art - ornaments

Cute little ornaments that are really fast to make!! Had a class this morning for a teacher looking for some ideas that she can adapt for her kids. I found these on Splitcoast. Really like the ones made of vellum. I stamped the inside of the one with the aqua ribbon with aqua snowflakes. I found that double sided paper worked very nicely to give a bit of a hint of something inside. Of course, they could be embellished with charms and/or beads as well!! If you are looking for a quick and easy craft to make with your kids over the holidays this would be great. Consider using scraps because all you need is 7 pieces of 3/4" x 4.25" paper. Punch a hole at each end and thread a knotted ribbon through both ends and "squish" to be the right shape and tie another over hand knot. Then just spread the strips apart until they form a ball. Could even be used as gift embellishments!! Enjoy!!

Therese

This little Santa card is so cute!! It was a perfect use for the red 3.5" circles I cut from the front of one of my previous cards! I completely cased this one from a Papercrafts magazine from 2005. The designer is Caroline Lau! It uses a white slide mount (cut from Bristol board with my Sizzix die) as the main element for the face. The mustache is two heart shapes glued to the back of the nose (1/2" circle). I used a black marker to create the eyes and red ink stippled through a hole (1/4") punched in a mask to create the blushed cheeks!! Caroline had used black stitched ribbon for the hat and the belt - I substituted black cardstock. The greeting on the bottom is embossed with white embossing powder!!

I am starting to have a little pile of Christmas cards here to send out. Though as the pile grows I am thinking of more and more people who I would like to send cards to. So in the I imagine it will all work out!!

Enjoy!!

Therese

These gift tags are for an exchange I am having with a group of friends! You will notice that these little snowmen are very similar to the ones I used on one of my cards!! They are from the same piece of fiber basket wrap I bought at Liquidation World. These are the smaller ones. I used the green 3.5" circles that cut out of the cards as the backers for the tags!! Very happy with how these worked out!! I still have quite a few snowmen so they may show up yet in another project!!

Therese

A fat page for my mingle! This is late but I did get it done today and mailed off!! Pretty happy with it!! I created a little spinning wheel that features four different countries. Put a slot in the back where you can see how to say "Hello" in the language of that country. I created flags on my spinner and added postage stamps to indicate the country. The spinner is just visible on the right hand side of the front. Added fiber to each corner in the colour of the flags!! I think I will consider adding one of these spinners to a card! It was less difficult than I had expected it would be. I added an acetate layer between the spinner and the front because there are so many pieces glued to the spinner which I did not want to get caught anywhere as the spinner was used. Lots of fun! It was a good change of pace to be making a fat book page!! Til later,

Therese

Queen Anne's Lace! Just love these natural snowflakes!! Here I used the large ones I had pressed. I layered it onto some of my own handmade paper using the back so that the texture would be subtle. Layered a nice olive and gold ribbon onto some twill tape to keep with the natural theme. Added an off white snowflake punchie with a soft gold brad.
I used a glue stick to add the pressed botanical. Applied glue to the handmade paper in a star pattern then placed the Queen Anne's Lace over it. Apply a little pressure to make sure the pieces are in contact with the glue and leave to dry. The glue will dry clear and will be invisible.

I hope you have found some inspiration for Christmas cards here!! There are many of you who are already finished and are ready to get yours into the mail sometime next week. I will continue to aspire to that goal and take inspiration from you!!

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!! Find some way to be creative in your everyday!! We will continue to inspire each other!!

Therese

Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

A simple card with gold elegance!! I embossed the gold foil cardstock with a special blend of gold embossing powder!! I mixed regular gold embossing powder with one that had gold glitter in it. I found the glittery one too chunky used on its own but mixed about 1/3 to 2/3 of regular gold it gave a little extra sparkle without any chunkiness to the images. That slick surface was a little tricky when using pigment ink - Gold Encore Metallic! REALLY easy for the stamp to slide!!
I also gold embossed the poinsettia image. I could have coloured the image but liked it more simple so left it as it was. I layered onto ivory and then onto a very light taupe colour for just a little contrast!
Happy with the look and gold was a good change of pace for me!!

Therese

Another card that uses a piece of One Sheet Wonder. In this case I cut all of my half sheets into five strips just a little less than 1.75". Layered onto a coordinating colour and added a ribbon. I just tied the three pieces of sparkly fiber to the ribbon!! Layered that onto the trimmed CB Snowflake background!! The snowflake is a retired SU punch cut with the 1.25" punch layered onto a 1 3/8" punchie!! I really like creating my own little tags for my cards with these two punches!! This cardstock is the light blue in the Michaels pastel packs which is very close in colour to the new In Colour from SU called Soft Sky!!
I am seeing that snowflakes have been an underlying theme to my Christmas card designs this year!! Fun!!
Therese

A snow angel!! Really love this image but have only used it sporadically in the time I have owned it. This year it seemed to speak to me and this card came together pretty easily!! On navy I layered a rectangle of silver gift wrap which I tore on the right hand edge. The right hand part of the card was stamped with silver Encore Metallic ink with a script stamp. I stamped the angel with Memories Midnight blue on white and trimmed it close to the greetings. Added to the lower right hand corner a snowflake accent. I used a silver brad to layer a small white fiber snowflake over a nicely detailed blue confetti snowflake. Gave the card just a little 3D element and worked perfectly with the other colours. I bought the confetti at Michaels and the white fiber snowflakes at $1 store. I was lucky to be in on the day they hit the shelves because I have not seen them there since!! Quick and easy!!

Therese

Another Christmas card class!! Bought this "fabric" at Liquidation World last week for less than $2 a roll. The rolls are sold as basket wrap and resemble printed organza!! Very nice. These little guys are flocked with white, printed with red and green and highlighted with silver sparkle!! Of the wide selection available at the time I thought it had the most potential for making cards!!
I decided to sandwich the snowmen image between two layers of cardstock so I cut a hole in the front of my card big enough for the image. Cut the snowman images just about 1/4" larger all the way around. I layered white in behind because it seemed to provide the best look for the snowmen. Highlighted the edge of the circle with a gel marker - white for the red card and silver for the green. The greeting is embossed and the snowflake a punchie I just glued into place. I have all sorts of scraps of smaller snowmen that maybe will show up in tags later on!!
So I encourage you to challenge yourself to use a variety of supplies for your card making!! These cards turned out cute!!
Therese

Another U&ME class!! We created calendars for the new year!! The pocket calendar I bought retail and simply changed the inside cover to coordinate with the others. It is very easy to do and you can do your cheque book cover the same way! You will look at it all year and it will cheer you to see your own art work there! So be creative!! A coordinating set is also nice to give as a gift for someone who likes to be organized or wants to be!! The set also includes a coaster calendar with a magnet on the back and a perpetual birthday calendar to keep track of all those special days of the year!! I used a small bull clip to keep it togeher and added a rare earth magnet for anyone who will be putting it on the fridge or filing cabinet!! For the kids I created a small calendar on a key chain which was very popular!! Sorry, there is no scan or photo - it is hanging on a belt loop as we speak!!

Therese