Christmas Themed Gift Card Holders

I had the need for a couple of gift card holders here at the last minute for Christmas and Birthday gifts.  What easier to use than my Spellbinders April 2019 Large Die of the Month?  I cut the pieces from kraft cardstock and then stamped with my Concord and 9th Plaid background stamp using WPlus9 Warm Wool ink.  Perfectly matched, this created a backdrop for my Spellbinders Poinsettia die cut flowers and Magnolia Doohickies die cut poinsettia leaves.  The flowers were splattered with white gouache and centers made with Art Glitter's Earth Elements.  My favorite way to make a poinsettia. 

I think these turned out perfect and were easily made in a couple of hours of die cutting and arranging.  I'm almost ready for Christmas.  Hoping your celebrations are almost ready too.

Christmas Treats

Well, it's been a lag in getting posts up.  I've been feverishly finishing Christmas gifts - almost done, though not quite.

I did snap these quick photos of a Christmas treat that I made for the ladies at work.  Nothing overly fancy - just thoughtful to let them know I was thinking of them.  The poinsettia is made using my Heartfelt Creations (ancient!) poinsettia stamp in Moonheart blue Close to My Heart ink and die cut with my equally ancient Spellbinders poinsettia dies.  The leaves are die cut using my Doohickies poinsettia leaves die.  An equally simple sentiment stamp from my W Plus 9 Drummer Boy stamp set finishes the simple front.  I used my paper trimmer to create the kraft paper envelope and stapled a clear treat bag inside, trimming the extra bag top off at the top.

I'm hoping to squeeze in some more photographing and editing for a few quick posts this weekend.  I also hope this finds you joyfully enjoying these last few days before the holiday celebration.

Last Minute Christmas Cards

Apparently 50 Christmas cards needs to be my old goal.  I made 50 of my unique designed Christmas cards and was so proud of myself.  Then I addressed and wrote a kind note in each of them only to find I was about 12 short.  That means that my new goal (my 2014 goal!) must be to identify a Christmas card design that I can relatively easily make 65 cards!

Brandy was a very best friend this year in that she purchased for me a new stamp and die set for my birthday.  It was Papertrey Ink's Rustic Wreath stamp and die set.  I made up a few of these lovelies to finish up the Christmas card list.  The wreath was stamped with brown Archival Ink and then cut using a window technique similar to the Heartfelt Creations method I usually use for flowers.



Then I simply colored the leaves using my Peeled Paint Distress Marker.  The poinsettia is cut using my Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die.  The center is created with Crystal Accents and some Art Glitter's Good Earth Texture elements.  The leaves are cut using my Magnolia Doohickies Poinsettia Leaves die.  A couple of red gems (which I didn't get a good photo of) to accent the wreath and this simple design is complete.

On the inside, the Papertrey Ink stamp in emerald green creates a simple, yet elegant finished look.  Again, sorry for the poor picture, but those are three green gems on the card.

One of the vendors that my husband and I work with is very responsive and we have a great working relationship.  Our small business supports a thankful heart at Christmas, so we were able to get a gift card as a thank you to Kai (the consultant we work with).  I wanted something nice to deliver the gift card in so I made this card.  Here's the details:

• Burlap cut in a strip and folded over.  The sides are sewn with some maroon embroidery thread through both layers.  The top is only sewn through the top layer creating a pocket for the gift card.

• Wreath made exactly the same as the card above.
• Poinsettia made with maroon cardstock this time.  I think I like this flower even better.  I sorta wish I'd added a little white paint flecks for snow-- it would have fit so well here.
• The inside had a sentiment on the computer for our work team to sign a happy Christmas wish. 

I've almost caught up with the Christmas projects.  Just a couple more posts.  I hope your year is starting off with warmth and cheer (despite the temperature outside for most of the US).

Merry Christmas!

Again, behind posting.  Trying to squeeze in.  Yikes!  Merry Christmas two days late!

This is my Christmas card this year.  When I saw the Heartfelt Creations Shepherd Scene stamps three years ago at the scrapbook convention I fell in love.  I resisted the purchase- times were financially tough then and I couldn't afford the purchase and attending the scrapbook convention too.  In 2012, I could resist no longer mainly because I got a free stamp set for taking a Heartfelt Creations class.  Still, the 2012 Christmas card design was already in development and this stamp set didn't make the cut. 

2013 seemed just the right year to make this card the highlight.  I wanted to play with watercoloring- not my forte.  Here's the details:

• The Shepherd Scene is stamped with black Archival Ink.  The shading is done with a Faded Jeans Distress Marker.  A water pen was then loaded with a little Faded Jeans Distress Ink and washed over the entire image.  This is what created the "cloud" like effect over the image.  It might be hard to see in the picture.
• The star was enhanced with a glue pen and some microfine silver glitter. 
• The image was cut out using Brandy's Nestabilities Labels 4.  It was a perfect fit for the card.
• The frame image was cut out using Brandy's Nestabilities Romantic Rectangles using a blue cardstock.  Truthfully, this cut and that color of paper simply made my Christmas cards this year.  It also sold me on getting a Grand Calibur which I achieved much later in the year after I borrowed all these supplies from Brandy.
• The poinsettia was stamped with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and cut using my Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies.  The poinsettia leaves were cut using a Magnolia Doohickies die.  The size is just perfect for the Spellbinders/Heartfelt Creations Layered Poinsettia dies.
• The branched leaf was cut using my Spellbinders Foliage die.  The posies were cut using my Heartfelt Creations Posy Patch die.  The centers of the posies were created using a white Pearl Pen. 

• The inside was embellished with a sentiment stamp I found at Hobby Lobby, stamped in Faded Jeans Distress Ink.

All in all, I am most proud of this year's Christmas card.  I think I say that each year, but this year I really mean it.  It will take some thinking as to what I'm going to accomplish next year.  The layers/height of this card was probably borderline appropriate for the post office.  It was a pleasure making all 50 of these cards.  I can't hardly wait to start on next years!