Christmas Crafting in Review

*If you are visiting from a challenge site feel free to hit the "end" key on your keyboard if you'd rather not sift through the blather. The card you are looking for is the very last one.*

Shhhh.....I'm hiding. Well not really hiding. I am in plain sight but I'm tucked away in a corner at my in-laws crouched behind a laptop pretending to be completely oblivious to everyone around me. And it's not that I don't like all my in-laws.....it's just that I'm an introvert. And they're very, very loud. And I'm outnumbered 25 - 1. And, I'm an introvert. Hence the hiding.

So I thought I'd take a look back at some of the stuff I made this Christmas. And, I guess since I'm making a blog post out of it you get to come along for the ride...

I made approximately 30 Christmas cards this year and 4 gift card holders. And again this year I was finishing my last card on Boxing Day morning but at least I actually liked it this year. Last year that last card was so butt ugly I was extremely embarrassed to have to give it. I also branched out a bit this year and made....

AN EXPLODING BOX!!!

My first one ever. It was a great little box to deliver the message "check your email" to my brother as an eCard was sent to him on Christmas Day to let him know that my kids had bought him some Rapidly Producing Rabbits from Plan Canada (and yes, they're actual rabbits, they're just delivered to a needy family somewhere in the world).





I also made some Sock Snowmen. Joanne from Two Scrapbook Friends showed me how to make these and I literally ran from her store directly to Walmart to buy some white socks.



And a layout of the Grinch of Christmas Past (my dad)....



For my cards this year I got major inspiration from Kittie at Kittie Kraft. I've already posted this and this but I also made this



and this.



I made a couple of fun cards, including a shaker card, with the red/blue colour scheme that seemed to be predominate in Christmas paper pads this year:



Digi is a freebie from The Stamping Boutique.



Digi is from Sassy Cheryls.

And some cards in traditional Christmas colours...



Digi was a freebie from Tiddlyinks.

Also, these next two were actually redone from the ugliness that was their first attempt...



Digi is from Squigglefly.



Digi is from Stretch N Bubbles.

And finally, a vintage-y card using un-traditional Christmas colours...and vellum, another first for me.



Well, that's it. Christmas crafting done for another year. My craft area looks like a tornado went through but that's okay. I got some great crafty gifts for Christmas so I'm looking forward to creating something that doesn't have anything to do with Christmas. At all.

Thanks for looking!

Last card pictured is for:

Dream Valley: Christmas
Pile It On: bling it on
Two Sisters: snowflakes
Allsorts: blue & brown
Speedy the Cat: anything goes
Secret Crafter: anything goes
ABC Christmas: zingy colours
Cooking It Up With Katie: anything goes
My Mum's Craft Shop: anything goes
Scrapbook Sisters: anything goes
Papertake Weekly: last Christmas card of the year
Incy Wincy: winter wonderland

Merry Christmas

Hey all, you all ready for tomorrow? I'm not. But instead of making the last 2 1/2 cards I need to make, baking the shortbread I need to bake and cleaning the house that has been very ignored during the Christmas rush I'm sitting here, typing to you. Wow, bet you feel special now, eh? (You do know to read that last sentence sarcastically, right?)

Seriously, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to let you know how much I appreciate all the comments you've left. I truly do treasure every one of them (Well, except for the odd one with the spam attached. Really spammers, nobody wants to buy your laminated businesses cards or your camper trailers.) and I thank you for taking the time to leave them.

So, one last card before the big day.....



I hope you have a lovely Christmas and I'd say "Happy New Year" too but who's kidding who, I'll be back before then.

For:

Celebrate the Occasion: shaped card
Bunny Zoe's: shaped cards
Incy Wincy: circle cards
The Crazy Challenge: Christmas

Have You Been To Kittie Kraft?

Well, have you? If you haven't you really must go. She makes amazing cards and has wonderful tutorials. That's how I was able to make this:



Here's a question for you: Is it cheating to enter a card into challenges when you got major inspiration or if pretty much completely CASEd another cardmaker? Please leave a comment with your thoughts as I'd like to know if I'm making a hideous faux pas. Thanks!

So for:

Little Red Wagon: Christmas + pink & green
Friendship's Garden: winter holiday + no stamps
4 Crafty Chicks: Christmas
Crop Stop: Christmas + non-traditional colours
Christmas Card Challenges: Christmas + non-traditional colours
Paper Sundaes: celebrate
Pile It On: bling it on
The Squirrel and the Fox: Christmas
Lexi's Creations: untraditional Christmas colours
Crafty Cardmakers: use it three times

Hey look. Bells!

Yep, real ones, right on this card here. Yep, bells.

Yeah, that's it. I got nothing else to say.

Digi is from Tiddlyinks. (Guess I had one last thing to say.)



For:

Really Reasonable Ribbon: anything goes + ribbon etc.
Scrappin Chic Challenge: anything Christmas goes
Tuesday Throwdown: for someone special - card is for my son
Ribbon Carousel: tangled twine
Truly Madly Crafty: Christmas images & colours
Come And Get It: red & green + one other colour
One Stitch at a Time: use a digi
Penny's Challenges: Merry Christmas
The Sisterhood of Crafters: Christmas
The Paper Variety: anything goes
Southern Girls: let's celebrate
ABC Christmas: anything Christmas
Crafting For All Seasons: Christmas
Crafts and Me: Christmas
Divas By Design: Merry Christmas
Crafty Ribbons: traditional Christmas
Paper-Crafting Journey: Christmas
Paper Play: Christmas
4 Crafty Chicks: Christmas
Art Impressions: buttons
Aud Sentiments: winter holiday sentiments
Raise the Bar: Christmas
Stampin For the Weekend: Christmas
Card Makin' Mamas: Christmas
Crafty Catz: Santa's hat

Two Scrapbook Friends Christmas Blog Hop

First a reminder.....

Beginning on December 10th at 8 am, you can begin the hop at the first Friend's blog (who was Joanne) where you can be inspired and leave a comment. That blog will then tell you where you need to hop to on the next day!

You will need to hop from blog to blog leaving a comment on each in order to qualify to be in a draw for a special prize from Two Scrapbook Friends! Also, you will find a SECRET word on each blog which will make a special phrase at the end of the Blog Hop! Once the 12 days of hopping are complete you can email the phrase to us and we will enter you for another ballot to win!



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Hello everyone, welcome and Happy 15th or 6th Day of Christmas! I was so excited to be included in the Christmas Blog Hop hosted by Two Scrapbook Friends that I decided to do a tutorial - my very first one (so be gentle).

Okay here goes......

Today I thought I'd show you a quick and easy way to create a gift card holder. These are an especially great way to add a little personal touch when you give a gift card.

So the first thing you need is an envelope. Any standard card-sized envelope will do (though you might want to make sure the gift card you're giving fits in one half of it if it happens to be a non-standard size). I thought it would be fun to have a coloured base rather than white so I'm using a Doodlebug Envelope. This particular envie is 6.5" x 4.75". Now the great thing about this size of envelope is that if you re-fold that little card-wraparound-envelope-thingy that comes with a Tim Hortons card so it's in half then it fits in this envelope perfectly.

Got your envelope? Just go ahead and fold that in half.



Now you can use your bone folder if you want but my bone folder and I aren't on speaking terms right now. It was quite a row, it scored my card wrong so I called it a nasty name and we're both still stewing about it so I just went ahead and folded the envelope without it.

Now flip your card over and open up the flap. You need to cut a small triangle out of the fold on the flap so everything folds up better. You know what I mean. Like this:



Next your going to cut off that top half-o'-flap. Now your envie will look like this.



You'll want to stick that bottom flap part down so you ahead and licky-sticky or use whatever adhesive you like to use. That bottom part is where your sentiment/message will go. Since it's an envelope I like to use a bit of patterned paper to make it look a little cleaner. I used some paper from the 6 x 6 Echo Park Winter Park paper pad and then I added a Doodles Cardstock Sticker for the sentiment.



All that's left for the inside is to slide the gift card you're giving into the top part of the envelope. And do yourself a favour, go ahead and sign it now so the inside is all ready to go.

Now it's the outside's turn. And you don't really need me for that except for one thing. You need something to keep your gift card snug and secure inside the holder. So grab some ribbon or something like this piece of awesome trim I got at Two Scrapbook Friends (It's like baker's twine but much thicker - delish!) and tie it around the whole card so it's completely tied shut, like this:



Now you just need to decorate the front any way you like. I used some more of that fabulous paper from that Echo Park Winter Park 6 x 6 pad, some Lily Bee Jingle ABC stickers (just love the size of these, perfect for cards!) and some wooden snowflakes.

Another thing I'd like to mention...when I'm attaching paper or cardstock over ribbon or twine I like to use Scor-Tape. That way I'm sure the paper will stay put when there's something bulky behind it.

And that's it! One gift card holder ready to give.



I hope all those instructions made sense. If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them.

Speaking of comments.....don't forget to leave one so you can qualify for the draw from Two Scrapbook Friends. And you're also here looking for a secret word, aren't you? Okay, so the secret word for today is:

A

Yep, that's it. Hey, it can be a word too, not just a letter.

So keep collecting those secret words. And tomorrow (the 16th) make sure to hop over to Joanne's blog (Jayne is sick and had to drop out of the Hop, poor thing! Jayne, do feel better!) Scrapping Outside the Lines for what I'm sure will be another fabulous project. (Did you guys see her altered project which was the very first stop on the Hop? It's wonderful!)

Thanks for visiting!

Clean & Simple Holiday Theme @ Squigglefly

It's that time of year again. You know what I mean, getting down to the crunch, knowing you still have X amount of gifts to buy and wrap, a whole bunch of baking to do and if you're like me, you've left your Christmas cards to the last minute again. *sigh*

Well, this week at Squigglefly we're going to help you out with those getting those cards done because this week's challenge is "Clean & Simple Holiday Theme."

Here's my über-simple card:



I might just have mass-produce a few of these babies. I used Rotund Santa, which actually comes with two images, in one of them the hat and suit are shaded black so there's possibilities there to make an even easier card! You can get Rotund Santa right here.

So why not take a bit of a break from all that holiday hustle and bustle and schedule in some crafting time? Just make your way over to Squigglefly and enter the "Clean & Simple Holiday Theme" challenge. You don't need to use a Squigglefly image but if you do use one you'll be eligible for this week's prize. There's lots of great images at the store if you'd like to purchase one, or if you'd like to try before you by, check out all the freebies right here.

Also for:

Paper Makeup Stamps: digi paper piecing
Paper and Such: CAS

I Take No Creative Credit For This Whatsoever

I found something cooler to do with that black sparkly felt rather than snowflakes. (Though snowflakes is still something I might try.)



Pretty neat, eh? I did not come up with the idea or design at all. I CASEd a card from Mama Dini's and she also shared this template so it was easy-peasy.

For:

Jingle Belles: Christmas
Crazy Challenge: anything goes
Unstampbelles: Christmas with no stamps
Come and Get It: anything Christmas
Pile It On: bling it on
ABC Christmas: anything Christmasy
Belli Challenge: winter and Christmas
Divas By Design: anything goes
365 Cards: Day 285 - Touchy Feely - Use 3 different textures - felt, crimping and cotton

Christmas Blog Hop with Two Scrapbook Friends

The countdown to Christmas is here and with that in mind, your friends at Two Scrapbook Friends invite you to countdown the 12 Days of Christmas Creations with them. Each day a member of the Two Scrapbook Friends team and a few special friends will share with you some of the projects and inspiration that they have created to celebrate the Season.



Beginning on December 10th at 8 am, you can begin the hop at the first Friend's blog where you can be inspired and leave a comment. That blog will then tell you where you need to hop to on the next day!



You will need to hop from blog to blog leaving a comment on each in order to qualify to be in a draw for a special prize from Two Scrapbook Friends! Also, you will find a SECRET word on each blog which will make a special phrase at the end of the Blog Hop! Once the 12 days of hopping are complete you can email the phrase to us and we will enter you for another ballot to win!

The hop will remain open from December 10th to December 22nd at midnight (EST). Winners will be announced on December 23rd on the Two Scrapbook Friends' blog.



The master blog list is listed below so you don't miss a single inspiring creation!

1st Day of Christmas: Joanne (10th)

2nd Day of Christmas: Audrey (11th)

3rd Day of Christmas: Avril (12th)

4th Day of Christmas: Christa (13th)

5th Day of Christmas: Dee (14th)

6th Day of Christmas: Jan (15th)

7th Day of Christmas: Jayne (16th)

8th Day of Christmas: Sharon (17th)

9th Day of Christmas: Shelby (18th)

10th Day of Christmas: Tammy (19th)

11th Day of Christmas: Carolyn (20th)

12th Day of Christmas: Two Scrapbook Friends Blog (21st)



Have fun celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas Creations with the Two Scrapbook Friends team!

P.S. I'm so excited! I've never been in a blog hop before. Be sure to check out all the wonderful projects each day, I know I will be!

Colouring on kraft...

...for the very first time. It's something I've wanted to try but have been too chicken. I had originally had coloured up this fabulous freebie from MelonHeadz Illustrating on regular white paper but I'm soooooo not skilled with shading white so I finally decided to take the colouring-on-kraft plunge.



I knew there was some reason I had bought that white Prismacolor pencil.

Yeah, I'm not claiming it's fabulous or anything but I had fun with it. Really wish the inking around the image hadn't turned out looking more pinky than red.

Oh, and that sparkly black circle is felt. It's pretty yummy. I'm thinking about maybe punching out some snowflakes from it for another "artistic license" card. We'll see if it turns out.

For:

OCC: sketch
Celebrate the Occasion: Christmas with no green
Creative Card Crew: tis the season
Sassy Cheryl's: it's Santa
Try It On Tuesday: it's all about the big guy
Ooh La La: lots of sparkle
Truly Madly Crafty: Christmas images & colours
Come and Get It: anything Christmas
Creative Inspirations Paint: felt
Dream Valley: sparkle
Jellypark: fa la la la felt
The Paper Variety: inspired by a Christmas song - "I Believe in Santa Claus"
ABC Christmas: anything Christmas
Penny's Challenges: Merry Christmas