Christmas in July - July 22, 2015

This card has some of my absolute favorite Christmas pieces on it.
I'm using retired DSP - Be of Good Cheer.  I went crazy over it the year it was out, and when I found it on the Stampin' Up! clearance rack, I ordered MANY packs of this paper.  To me, it's the perfect Christmas themed paper I've seen.

 I also added some images from Jolly Bingo Bits, my favorite Merry Christmas stamp, and a bow using the Bow Builder punch.  FUN!!! :)

Christmas in July - July 24, 2014

 

Here's another more detailed card for today's Christmas in July celebration.

 I really like the Tri-shutter card design.  It's not all that complicated for a seasoned card-maker, though maybe a little challenging for someone just starting out.  I first made one of these a year or so into my card making only because that's when I discovered the tutorial. 

 For this card, I used a base of the Gumball Green,  the retired Be of Good Cheer DSP, and lots of other details.  The mitten punch, Scent-sational Seasons stamp (gingerbread man) and die set,  one of the SU ornaments, and one of my favorite stamp sets... Jolly Bingo Bits!

I've had lots of fun with my Stickles the last two days... lots of little touches here and there.  Red and Green buttons on the gingerbread men, holly berries on the wreath, yellow to accent the star.  I also added rhinestones on the ornament, and as holly berries.

One thing about these, every time I make one it never seems to come together well until the end.  I'm thrilled with how this one turned out!

Click HERE to find a tutorial on how to make the Tri-Shutter Card.  No, it's not difficult, it just takes some time and patience.

Christmas in July - July 15, 2014

This card features a background I used in a card earlier in the spring, and during our new catalog event on June 14th.  Here I'm using Christmas colors - Cherry Cobbler, and Garden Green as the background.

I stamped the Jolly Bingo Bits pieces, punched them out with the 1 inch circle, then opposite colors of cardstock for the backing 1 1/4 inch scalloped circle mat.  I like to add Cranberry Stickles to the bingo pieces... and a rhinestone for the tree's star.

Christmas in July - July 13, 2014

It's a Card in a Box!  I really love these, and actually forgot how much!

I have two dear friends that come and craft with me on weekends, but now that we're on summer vacation, it actually works better to meet up during the week.  We sit around for the afternoon and make cards or other projects we have going on.  I usually make a snack or food for lunch - because I like to try out new recipes I find on Pinterest, or that I see on Food Network - and they are my best sounding board if they are keepers or not.

SO, that being said, one of my friends brought her sister along to join us!  It was really great to meet Michelle, and I along with the other girls helped her make her first Card in a Box!  After going through all the directions, I decided to make a Christmas version.

Here it is.

 I'm still using the Be of Good Cheer paper, and broke out the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set and my stickles.

Here I again used the 3 layer punches for the sentiment, but in addition to the Artisan Label, and word window, I added the 1 1/4 scallop circle punch.

These are really so much fun to make!  I couldn't find my transparency sheets, but the red seemed to work just fine.  The best part about these - they fit in a regular A2 envelope!!

Christmas in July 16

Good Morning!
It's July 16th, and we are more than halfway through the month of July! 

The Christmas card for today is a mix... I saw the wreaths in a different form on another card and wanted to play with them a little. They are stamped with Gumball Green ink, and then I used just a tiny drop of Christmas Red Stickles to make the holly berries.  I used the 1" circle punch, the 1 1/4" scallop punch, adhered them, and raised them off the cardstock with dimensionals.  Satin stitched Gumball Green bow, and coordinating cardstock from the Be of Good Cheer DSP helped finish out today's card.

Season's Greetings and the sentiment on the inside of the card come from the More Merry Messages stamp set.

If you look closely, you might see the background is vertically scored at 1/4".

Please enjoy!

2013 Christmas Card Challenge - April!

April!  Has Spring arrived or is Old Man Winter hanging on where you are?  We've got a mix - 80° one day, 30° the next - snow predicted, but the daffodils are blooming, and my grape hyacinths are up in the flower bed in front of the house.  Who knows what's next?  Spring?  I hope so - Christmas might be my favorite holiday, but Spring is my favorite season.

Let me jump right into the theme for April:  Christmas Icons!

Sounds strange, doesn't it, but when I searched online - there were thousands of images!  Then I really started getting ideas!  Put it this way... I didn't make 6 cards this month. ;)

SO, just for inspiration, I have some of the images I found online.  Here they are:

Alright - on to my samples for April's challenge.  I mentioned that I didn't just make 6 cards this month, I actually ended up with 20, or I should say I STOPPED at 20!

We didn't travel this year for Spring Break, so I had the whole week to play in my craft room in addition to some other things I wanted to get accomplished.

OK, for my first 6 cards - a Christmas Door - what's more iconic to Christmas than a door with a wreath on it?  We made these at a Stamp-A-Stack this past November, and I really loved 'em!  Isn't that antique brad doorknob cute?  I used 2 different brads.

 

 The wreath was made with the 'new' 1 1/4" scallop punch and a 3/4 inch scallop punch from some of my green scraps.  Gotta LOVE using scraps when you can! Above you can see my craft table.  NO, it's never clean - I just can't work in clean.  It isn't possible. ;)

For the next set of 6 cards, I got out my Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set and had to choose!  There are 24 in all, and in a moment you'll see how I incorporated a few others for the inside and envelope.  They make wonderful Inchies!  I also added some rhinestones and Stickles to add some interest.

 Click HERE for a link on how to make these awesome, easy, quick bows!

 Here you've got the envelope and inside view of these mini-icon cards.
"No naked envelopes" is a quote I heard from Shelli Gardener at the Regional in Dallas last month - It resonates - 'naked envelops' - LOL


Here is the last set - I actually made 8 of these in total 2 of each design, and one red and one green for each icon.
These are a shameful CASE from another Stampin' Up Demo with some of my own touches added.  I remember clearly when I first saw them.    Enjoy!

 Yes, the gingerbread men, trees, cocoa cups, and candy canes hold the card fronts together!
Below is a picture of the inside - I made an extra die cut from the original cardstock for the backing to give it extra strength.

 Here are the envelopes - giving just a little hint of what's inside.

Please leave a comment. Thanks so much!