Let's Have a Little Talk ..... About My Upcoming Open House/Christmas Party

Each and every time I host an Open House Party, I try to make it as special as possible.  I keep what works and change what I want to make even better.  The creating with friends is always there, but I think it gets better each time, too.   You'd better study your holiday catalog because you'll be trying to guess a few of my favorites from it.

Some of what you can expect:
- Fall ideas and inspirations --- cards, decor and 3-D projects...  just a taste.
- Christmas ideas and inspirations --- cards, decor, 3-D projects, and gift ideas...
- Refreshments, of course...
- Make and Take projects...
- A special gift for those placing orders of $25. or more...
- A special coupon for those placing orders of $25. or more...
     The coupon will be for a discount toward my 2017 Christmas Retreat Class!!!
- My Christmas Boutique, where you can shop for gifts and stocking stuffers...
     Bill will be my cashier and I will help with the party.
- Prizes and/or coupons may be earned for participation in various activities...

Here's a sneak peek at a few things.  Enjoy!

I have already finished a lot of fun, new displays to share with you featuring some really cute Christmas critters.

I have K-cup holders, mini pizza boxes, mini coffee cups and holders...

... and lots and lots of medallions.  You'll just have to wait to see how I used these.  Believe it or not, I took my glue gun on vacation and made them during my rest times.  It was so much fun to sit and enjoy seeing and hearing the ocean while working on super fun projects.  I was really glad to have them finished when I got home, too.

Remaining classes / events for 2017:

November Classes / Events:
November 5 -- Open House Christmas Party / 2:00-5:00
November 13 -- Scraps and Prayers
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 / Home Decor Project for Christmas
November 18 -- Christmas Retreat
     10:00-3:00 / $45.00 / 18 Cards: 6 Designs - 3 Cards Each
     Fee includes materials, light lunch, and a ton of fun. 

December 11 Scraps and Prayers Class:
     5:30-7:30 / $15.00 / Christmas Cards and Tags
This will be my only event for December.

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

- Come back often for more creative inspiration.

- Let's create something beautiful today.

Bunches of Box Card Treats

Happy Boxing Day!  I thought this would be a good day to share my 'box cards' with you.  I thank Julie Davison for this idea.  As you can see, I made a bunch of these and have enjoyed sharing them throughout the holiday season.  I gave them to my Christmas Retreat participants and to lots of friends and special recipients.  It is so much fun to spread the joy.  During this week, I'll be sharing several other fun treat ideas with you that I created to share during the holiday season.  Enjoy!

The drawer holds some fun treats!

So... it's a box! ... it's a card! ... all in one!  It's a box card:)

Updates:

- I'll have class schedules coming out soon for 2017.

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

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Gingerbread Man Card

Does this little guy look familiar?  He was inspired by the bookmarks I shared in my last post.  The joy of using a die (for the layer behind him) and the punch to cut out this cute little guy, is that you can mass produce cards such as this (and bookmarks) and end up with a lot of really cute projects to share.

I love the embossed background.

Each of the top layers are attached with dimensionals, to add a lot of depth to my card.

I'm finding that I'm using the Tin of Tags stamps a lot more than just for tags.  This is a great set to have on hand at Christmas time.

And yes, it would be nice to give a card and a coordinating bookmark to a special someone.  Who will you surprise today with some extra Christmas cheer?

Updates:

- I'll have class schedules coming out soon for 2017.

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

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Gingerbread Men Bookmarks to Share

I made a lot of Christmas bookmarks this year, using our cute little gingerbread man and coordinating punch.  I just love him.  I gave these out at my Christmas Open House Party and have been sharing them with lots of others.  I decided this was my year to enjoy making cute little Christmas projects, sharing them and spreading Christmas joy.

I made quite a few:)

These plastic bookmark sleeves are nice to keep on hand for lots of various bookmark projects.  I ordered them online., after doing a search, but I cannot remember the source.

The embossing adds a lot to the background.

The gingerbread man and label to which it is attached, as well as the scallop circle greeting, are attached to the outside of the bookmark sleeve.  It would be too much bulk to try to get it all inside the sleeve.

Ready to share ...

Updates:

- I'll have class schedules coming out soon for 2017.

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

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Open House/Christmas Party, Project 2

Here's our second project we made at my party.  This one, as with my previous project, can be used for giving cash or a gift card ... or a special note ... to a special someone. 

I made 2 versions of this project.  Each has a 'flagged' strip of DSP on the front, a greeting, and a cute little reindeer attached to a belly band, to hold it closed.

This project starts with a Crumb Cake envelope.  Score it at 2 7/8" and fold in half.

Open the flap and cut on the score line down to where it folds over to seal the envelope.

Fold down the left side and seal it shut.  Tuck the right flap inside the remaining open portion of the envelope.  You can add a piece of DSP to cover the closed side.  Decorate the inside however you'd like it to be.  The tag (and the cash or gift card) will slip into the open side.

These would be great to tuck into someone's Christmas stocking or place in a regular envelope and mail them to a special someone or two.

Special Reminders:

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

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Open House/Christmas Party, Project 1 ... and our Party Prize Winners

We had so much fun at my Open House/Christmas Party yesterday.  It's always so much fun to visit and catch up with friends.  Everyone wanted to hear about our 'interesting vacation' and all.  One person said:  "Well, you'll always have these stories to tell.  Life is a series of stories."  I love that!  Life truly is a series of stories.  

Here's the first project everyone got to make for their Make and Take projects.  Everyone really liked this one. 

I've made these apron style cards before, but made them where you seal up the sides and just drop something in from the top, such as a packet of seeds for a garden themed card.  I decided to make this one open like an actual Christmas card.

The background stamp worked great to decorate the entire front of the card.

The little gingerbread man adds the perfect finishing touch.  
Scroll on down to see my lucky prize winners from our party.

Special Reminders:

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... and now ... drum roll please ... our lucky prize winners:

There were 4 lucky winners from our guessing game and I gave out 5 door prizes (in the spirit of Christmas) so here we go -----

Lana's favorite new Christmas stamp set:

Marsha W.

Jeri W.

The stamp set was Christmas Pines. 

Lana's favorite new accessory:

Marsha W.

Elaine B.

I actually had 2 favorite accessories ---

Stitched Shapes new framelits

Starlight Thinlits

The 5 door prize winners:

Cherie L.

Jessica B.

Sy M.

Elaine B.

Priscilla S.

Congrats, ladies.  Your prizes will be in with your orders when you pick them up.  Thanks for participating in our little games and our party activities.  I'm glad you came!

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

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration.