Gifts

This week I got my order of magnetic snap closures.  I was all excited to try a new pattern for a card folder.  After I had it finished, except for the snap, I decided I didn't like it.  So I went back to StampTV to watch the video on making a Memory Keeper.  I'd made one this summer, but just tied it shut, and I gave it away.  So I decided to make new ones.  I love how easy they are.  With the snap closures, they're even better!  I also have several of the All-in-One stationery boxes.  These are a little more time consuming, but very nice.  This time when I made them, I used scraps to create matching cards and tags. In the past I've made random cards and tags to include.  They look much nicer with everything matching!  I decided to post both types on my Etsy site.  For the card box, I listed them at one price without cards, and another price with cards. I chose photo cards that went with the "theme" of the box.

  

Busy, Busy

  

Things have been hectic the last few days.  I had a wonderful holiday party here on Friday with our Italian Dinner Club.  18 people in attendance.  We had a great time!  I haven't been prone to card making this week, though, as I've spent time getting ready for the party.  Also, winter weather makes it a little harder to convince myself to get to the basement to work.  I much prefer a good book in front of the fireplace.  However, I got some new toys in the mail yesterday, so maybe today I'll play just a little.

For the dinner party, I made a fabulous dessert from Kraft's Food and Family magazine:  triple-chocolate mousse cake.  Fabulous!  I do recommend, however, that you warm both the cream cheese and milk before using for the mousse part.  I didn't have mine warm enough at room temperature (since the air temp is much cooler this time of year), and my chocolate seized.  I had to dump it and start over.  But it ended up coming out perfectly!  And it looked just like its picture.

Now it's decision time:  nap or play?  What a choice!  I love these lazy winter days!  

More Christmas

Well, I was very disappointed this weekend.  I had a table at our church's annual Cookies Galore.  I only sold 7 cards and a couple of gift tags.  And no one even looked at the stationery boxes I made.  Oh, well.

So, here are a few more Christmas cards that I made. Some are from a few weeks ago that I'm just now posting.  I also made about 40 photo cards (thinking I wouldn't have enough merchandise this weekend).  I think I need to take a break for a while now.  I have enough cards to last for every imaginable occasion for about the next 5 years!

Both of these cards used stamps from SU!s Holy Triptych. The one at the left also used  Gina K stamps.  The image and sentiment were stamped over a text stamp (Gina K).  The angel was then embossed in blue, with dazzling diamonds wings.  The BP was made from images of vintage Christmas angels that I put into a table and printed.  The card at right is also embossed.  The BP is a color core paper that was run through in a Cuttlebug folder, then sanded.

The card at the left used no stamps.  The patterned paper is divided with a piece of ribbon.  The music is a piece I copied from a music book of mine onto a piece of parchment colored paper.  The snowflake was die-cut and embellished with a green stick on jewel.

At the right is a tag made with a combinations of stamps and embossing.  The stamps are all Gina K.  The BP is embossed with an SU texture plate, then rubed over with red and gold stamp pads.  The
poinsettias were stamped in solid, then the veins were embossed with Red Dragon embossing powder.  The end of the tag is punched with an SU! punch.




These three cards all use the Gina K. Heirloom Ornaments set, as well as sentiments from Fanciful Tags. The BP of the focal image at the left is another piece of scanned music.  For the bottom card, I stamped in red on SU! wedding paper, then clear embossed it.  Then I brayered over it with Glorious Green ink.  The sentiment is embossed in red.  Pearls add embellishment
                                                      The card at right is just stamped.                      

 These cards are both made with SU!s vintage Christmas stamp.  I stamped in versamark and embossed in gold.  The card on the left was then colored with ink and sponge, with the ribbon held on by an antique brad.  At right the BP is a dictionary page I scanned and printed on parchment colored paper.  The sentiment is embossed in red, with a red & gold ribbon added for accent.

 Both these cards are made from copies of vintage postcards.  I then used versamark on the tops of them to be able to add gold embossing powder.  The card on the left has a gold border also made with embossing powder.