A Fun Trio of Note Cards

I have a TRIO of cards for you today, all using the cute little Santa's Gifts stamp set.  I haven't even used the Santa in the set.  It was the tree, the reindeer and a darling little bird (for another card/another time) that spoke to me with this set. 

I love little window cards.  The one on the left and the one in the middle have windows and the stamped image is actually on the inside of the card.  The one on the right uses the oval cut from the one on the left:)

I have quite a collection of bells and poms (and feathers) from past school and crafting projects, but I still had trouble finding a red pom that was small enough for his nose.  I'm off to buy some more today.  I want to make this one at my Open House Christmas Party.  He's so cute, I'm sure he'll be the star of the party.

The tree card is my favorite of the trio.  I love the polka dots and the plaid working together.

I 'painted' the tree using puddles of ink in the lids of my ink pads and my Aqua Painter.

I just love this little tree!

To keep the deer from getting too dark, I stayed with Crumb Cake ink.  I like how it turned out.

So... which one do you like the best?

I've been busy designing cards for my November 21 Christmas Retreat, as well as more to display for Christmas inspiration.  Be sure to come back to see what I've been creating to share with you.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

For Giving

'Tis the season for giving and gift cards are pretty much always a hit.  They're fun and easy to give and yet, many people hesitate because they want some pretty packaging to go with it all.

Here are some ideas to help you give your gift cards in style.

I've taken the 2 Tags Die and die cut the tag for the gift card holder.  I tied ribbons around the little hole in the top, to make it easy to pull out of the sleeve.  You slip your gift card into the slot at the top of the tag.  I made a sleeve to go around the tag and decorated it to make it all look fancier.  Now, you can put it in a clear cello envelope or a regular Christmas card and then give it in style.  These would be cute for stocking stuffers, too.  Of course, if you want to go really big, you can still wrap it up in a gift box.  It's less likely to get lost now inside your package.  

Note:
I used the die on the left for my gift card holders.  If you cut your CS large enough to cover the die, you can save the cute scallop-top piece to use for another project.  I'll show you some ideas for this in one of my future posts, so check back often for more ideas.  

My colors are Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green, to coordinate with the Be of Good Cheer DSP.  The base of the sleeve is Crumb Cake.

Check here for some ideas I shared last Christmas.  Here's another post with a super simple and super cute gift card holder.  These are quick and fun to make, fun to give and fun to receive.

Come back soon for more gift giving ideas, to help you get ready for Christmas.

...and now... more projects!

Here are the projects I've made (for the More Christmas, Please class) that I promised to share with you today.  These were so much fun to make.

These projects are quick and easy to create and can easily coordinate with the cards I've been sharing with you.

Before I show you a close-up of each project, be sure you read all the way to the end of my post today.  I have a big news flash at the end that you won't want to miss!!!

The first project is for little gifts that you want to give in pretty packaging, but don't know how to wrap them.  You could, of course, put candy treats in them, too.  Remember the angel card from yesterday?  This has the same gold embossed edges as the card.  They would look gorgeous together.

Here's a fun way to treat a friend or loved one to some sweets --- an embossed treat bag.  This would coordinate well with yesterday's snowman card, too.

These are some of my favorite projects.  I used the Scentsational Season stamp set and coordinating framelits to create the tags.  The treat holders are made using the Petite Pocket die.  I used a jumbo wheel to decorate the outside of the treat holder and 'tied it up' with some of our gorgeous yarn.  If you choose this project, your hardest job will be deciding if you want to use red or green / gingerbread man or Christmas tree:)  These would coordinate well with lots of the cards I've been sharing with you (and more to come) because I've been using a lot of Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green this year.

I love how this little box turned out.  I learned how to make this at the Stampin' Up! Regionals in Chattanooga.  The box is made using the 2 Tags die.  I used the other tag to make actual tags to go into the box.   This would coordinate well with the evergreen tree card I shared with you yesterday.

I cut and scored the CS for this cute little box and the, after embossing it, I added some of our printed tags.  They are already designed for you, so I just added a 'to/from' stamp on them, punched a hole and added some of our fun yarn trim.  I used the silver glimmer paper and Snow Flurry die to help decorate the box.  Again, this would look great with the snowman card and lots of the Cherry Cobbler cards I've been making.

So there you have it... 5 more projects to get you going for Christmas.  I hope you enjoyed these.  Come back soon for more creative stamping and paper crafting ideas to inspire you.  I'm on a roll, getting ready for Christmas!

Happy Birthday, BFF!

I found another sketch challenge that I really liked.  I used the Best Friends Forever stamp set along with texts from the Elementary Elegance S-A-B set.  The papers are from the Everyday Enchantment DSP, along with coordinating ribbons and brads and a touch of pearls.

... a close-up:

I actually created 2 versions for this sketch challenge.  This one features the petite pocket die and the 2 tags die -- cut to fit inside the pocket.  There's a little message stamped on the tag inside the pocket.

...a close-up, showing the framelits I also used, along with the Fun Flowers die:

I spritzed both cards with my Frost White Shimmer Paint/alcohol mixture for some beautiful sparkle.
Here's the link to the sketch challenge I used.  Enjoy!

I hope you liked this challenge and will try one of your own.

More Gift Card Holder Ideas!

Before we get started, here's a reminder:  I have a few spaces and/or kits available for my Everything Christmas class and the Christmas Countdown class.  Contact me today if you're interested.

Today, I want to give you a couple of gift card holder ideas that are super simple, super fast to make, super cute and super fun.  How cool is that?
Here we go!
This first one is super simple.

Here's the inside, along with my faux gift card.

Remember the 8 1/2 X 11" piece of CS that we cut off a piece that was 5 1/2 X 11" for our Top Note gift card holder?  It left you with a piece of 3 X 11" CS.  I told you to save that piece for another project.  This is it!  I love it when you can make multiple projects that leave absolutely no waste at all!  It makes for easy clean-up, too:)

Score @ 3 3/4, 5 1/2, and 7 1/4" using our Simply Scored tool.  Fold in 1/2 and then fold the outer two pieces the opposite direction from the center fold.  It creates a 'w' fold.  If you think it looks familiar, you're right.  It's the same fold we did with our 5 1/2 X 11" CS that we cut into the Top Note gift card holder.

Use the Word Window punch (just like we did with the Top Note gift card holder) to create an opening to hold your gift card.  Center it and nip off the edge of the center of the fold first and then nip a little off each side until it's wide enough to hold your gift card.

Turn it over and attach Sticky Strip or Liquid Tombow glue (I used the Tombow), placing it ONLY where I've drawn the squiggly line.  This will hold the center of your gift card holder together.

See how nicely it holds your gift card.  Who wouldn't want that to pop up when they opened the card!

Now, you're ready to decorate the outside.  My DSP is from our Holly Berry Bouquet product suite.  The DSP  is 2 3/4 X 3 1/2."  I used a snowflake from our Winter Wishes felt pieces and topped it with a coordinating button.  I intentionally kept the 'decorating' of the outside of the gift card holder quick and simple to make because --- my intention here is to show you quick but cute holiday projects.  Remember, out goal this year is to actually FINISH our projects:)

Now, grab some CS and get started!!!  Enjoy!

But wait, you're thinking: "She said there was another one today, too."  Yes, there is!  It is beyond super simple.  Crank up your Big Shot and here we go!

This gift card holder is made with the Two Tags die and the Big Shot.

Start with a piece of 3" X 11" CS.  Score it in the middle (5 1/2") and fold it with a bone folder.

Place the fold on top of your die just UNDER where it would normally cut the bottom of the tag.  I've laid my cut tag on top of the die and you can see how it doesn't cover the entire shape because I wanted the bottom of the tag to be a fold.

Here's why this is such a super simple project.  After you fold the CS and cut the tag, decorate the front with a piece of 2 1/2 X 3 1/4" DSP, insert your gift card, and add a little ribbon to hold it closed.  Done!

I've used the Holly Berry Bouquet DSP on mine, along with another Winter Wishes felt piece --- quick, fun and simple.  The little slit is automatically cut when you run the die through the Big Shot.  This is what holds your gift card.

Here's an added bonus.  This tag/gift card holder + the first one I showed today could be placed into our open ended envelopes (made for 3 X 6" cards) in case you want your gift card to be more secure.

So here you have it --- two gift card holders that are super quick, simple and fun.  Ok, now you can go grab that CS.
Contact me if you need any supplies to make your projects.  Happy stamping!


PS
Be sure you check my blog tomorrow because I have exciting news that you won't want to miss.  Here's a hint: