Black Series Christmas Cards

Last year I started doing a black series of Christmas cards.  I found that they were very elegant.  So this year I brought back two previous designs and added a new one.

ORNAMENTS CARD

 I call this one my ornaments card.  The ornaments are embossed in bronze, silver and gold.  The threads are hand drawn and the small "Merry Christmas" sentiment is also hand written.

CARDINAL SEASON'S GREETINGS CARD

 This is my favorite of the black series cards.  I got this concept from a convention I went to a couple of years ago.  It is a gate fold card.  (Meaning it closes in the front like a gate.)  It is a very elegant yet festive card.  The sentiment is layered on shiny gold cardstock which gives it an executive look.  Then the background has clear embossed hollies to give it a subtle decoration.  The card is held closed with a burgundy ribbon to match the stamped image of the cardinal.

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

This is the newest edition to the black series cards.  This is a rather simple card, but still very elegant.  The border is embossed with "Stampin' Up!" Tulip embossing folder on black cardstock.  The trees are actually one stamp, but I arranged them so that they looked like trees covered in snow in the wilderness.  It seemed natural that the sentiment would go under the trees.  It reminds me of a forest on a snowy winter night.  The only difference between these two, is that the bottom one has the border sponged in white ink to make it more defined.  I also like the way it looked without the sponged edge so I made this version as well. 

Vintage Style Christmas Cards

A couple of years ago I made some solid colored cards with a Christmas themed paper layered on top.  I didn't like these cards all that much.  As a matter of fact, I almost threw them out because I didn't think I could do much more to them to make them look better.  However, I gave them one last try this year.  I put it through the Big Shot using the "Stampin' Up!" Square Lattice Textured embossing folder and it gave the card a whole different look!  I added a sentiment, some lace or ribbon and some pearls or rhinestones to embellish it and voilà, it looks fancy and vintage.  Wow!  I really didn't think there was hope for this card, but here it is.  It also inspired other versions of it.  I used the same technique with other prints and they came it very nice, if I say so myself :)  These are also $2.00 each or 6 for $8.  Enjoy!

 

Christmas Time is Here!

Wow!! Can you believe that the year is already coming to an end?  Time goes by too fast!  The past couple of months have been busy for me.  Despite how fast the time has gone, it has felt like Christmas since October for me.  I started making Christmas cards in October to prepare for all the holiday craft shows I would be doing.  I have lots of goodies still left over from the shows. So if you still need Christmas cards, why not give beautifully handmade cards?  (I also have beautiful handmade bags.  I will put those on another post.)  Here are a few of the cards of I have.  I also have vintage style cards and what I call my black series cards.  I will post those later today if I have a chance.  In the meanwhile enjoy.  And if you are interested in purchasing any please contact me via email or facebook. 

Ornament Card $5.00 each or 3 for $12.00

 

This is my Ornament card.  I wanted to create something a little different to the traditional Christmas card.  The front is embellished with an accordion circle lined with champagne colored glass glitter from "Stampin' Up!".  There are two dimensional pieces in the front as well for some texture.  The sentiment reads: "Wishing you and your family a wonderful and blessed holiday season and a prosperous new year!"  You can write your own message on the back side.  These are great for teachers, bosses, family members and anyone else you want to give an extra special kind of card this Christmas.  Your recipients can hang this on their tree, in their office, or anywhere at home.  Like I said, it is not your traditional card. 

Happy Holidays antique style card, blank inside - $2.00 each or 6 for $8.00  make it a set or mix and match them!

Happy Holidays creme card, blank inside - $2.00 each or 6 for $8, make it a set or mix and match them!

These are my "Happy Holidays" creme cards.  There are two versions.  Both have been an embossed border made with "Stampin' Up!" Tulip embossing folder, and both have the same stamped images.  The differences are small, however they make a great impact on the outcome of the card.  (Top) One has the edge sponged with Chocolate Chip from "Stampin' Up!" and some Tattered Angels' Sapphire Glimmer Mist.  These elements give this card an antiqued look.  (Bottom)  While the other does not have these elements and has a clean corporate look.

My First Video Tutorial!

I finally finished my first video tutorial.  I hope to make many more in the days and months to come.  I think that I am going to do one as soon as I finish a project so that I can get them out asap.  It's not perfect.  It is my first and I will get better at it.  lol  You can hear my Sophie in the background.  I tried to record it before she woke up, but as always with children, things don't always go as planned :) However, I am very glad that I can work on this from home while keeping an eye on my daughter. 

In this tutorial I show you how to make the Valentine's Day treat holder.  This could be modified to fit any occasion.  Hope you like it.  If you try to make it and change the color scheme and sentiment share a picture of your project.  I would love to see it! Enjoy :)

Great Start in the New Year!

The new year is off to a great start.  My Open House was a hit!  I had several ladies come by and make a couple of projects.  They enjoyed themselves and had a good time.  Some said it was relaxing.  I had a great time spending time with them and being able to share Stampin' Up! with them.  I have decided to hold an Open House every other month.  It worked out well because it gave the girls a window of time so that they could come when it was most convenient to them. Only thing I didn't do was take pictures :(  I will take some for sure next time and share them.

My Valentine's Day workshop also went well.  We made four cute projects.  We decorated a candle with the Filled with Love stamp set.  We decorated a mailbox with the Love Patterns designer series paper.  We made a cute heart shaped Valentine's Day ornament with Stampin' Up! cardstock flowers.  Lastly, we decorated heart shaped cups and filled them with m&ms.  My guest was very pleased.  I kept reminding her that she had made the project I just supplied her with what she needed.  She is finding the creative person within her :)  I look forward to holding more workshops and starting a monthly club.  Many good things in store!!

Working on our heart ornament.

My guest, proud of her work :)

Making flowers out of scallop punched crumb cake, chocolate chip, and pretty in pink cardstock.  Our heart ornament is covered with paper from the Love Patterns designer paper.

My display table.

Stampin' Up! catalogs

Some food and refreshments.

My Digital Studio and a vinyl decor element.

Putting the finishing touches on the candle we decorated with the Filled with Love stamp set.

Used the Love Patterns dsp as our background for our hearts.

mmm...m&m filled heart cups.

A little red glimmer heart and some Real Red grosgrain ribbon.

A little Valentine message on the back.

A little bling on our mailbox project :)  We used the Filled with Love Stamp set for this project as well.

Perfect for all the Valentine sweets and cards.  We used the Love Patterns dsp for the mailbox and the lid/door and some Real Red grosgrain ribbon.

Pretty fanned circles to decorate the front.

Valentine's Day Heart Ornament. This one quickly became my favorite project.  It did not require a lot of materials or work and it just looked fantastic.

We used Love Patterns dsp, Chocolate Chip cardstock, and Crumb Cake cardstock to make these cute flower embellishments.

Real Red grosgrain ribbon for hanging.

All of our finished Valentine's Day projects.

This is what we started with :)

Sale-A-Bration has begun!!

I am very excited the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration event!  This is a great time to purchase what you have been wanting.  Right now through March 31st when you make a purchase of $50 you earn one FREE Sale-A-Bration product of your choice!!  If you host a workshop of at least $300 you earn one FREE Sale-A-Bration product PLUS the hostess benefits, that is: two hostess stamp sets, one free Sale-A-Bration product, PLUS $35 in free product.  In addition to that, right now is a great time to join Stampin' Up!  The Starter Kit is 15% off AND you get a bonus bundle of $50 for FREE!!! 

To start things off right I will be holding an open house event this weekend (January 29th) from 1pm to 5pm.  I can't wait to share the great news with all my guests!

To start earning free product go to

http://lovewhatyoudo.stampinup.net click on products and select shop now.

To see what fun products you can get for free click on the Sale-A-Bration catalog image to the right or click here.

Enjoy!

Back to the madness!!

My first workshop went well.  The ladies had fun and made some cute projects. I look forward to doing more workshops.  I have a potential workshop on the 29th so I am very excited about that.

My classes have started again, so it's back to balancing, home, school, and crafting!  It is funny how managing my time has been the most challenging part of my master's program.  The workload and the coursework is a bit heavy, but the real challenge has not been the content nor the assignments, but in making sure I manage my time well enough to get it all done.

Anyway, I know you want to see what we made at my workshop so here are some collages I created of the projects we made.  

 

Valentine's Day Basket

These cute little baskets could be 

filled with candy, cookies, or a small pastry.

Ooh, some small heart shaped cookies would be cute and delicious :)

Valentine's Day Party Favor

These could be filled with a piece of chocolate candy, 

but I chose the tea because of the sentiment: 

"Thoughts of you warm my heart"  

I thought it was cute :)