Snowmen from Sweaters

For the past few weeks I have been preparing for my annual Ornament Exchange.  Every year my crafty friends each make handmade ornaments to exchange with each other.  This year we had 9 ladies participating.  

I decided to make some snowmen from my sweater stash which is taking over the craft room.  I drew up a snowman shape, sewed and stuffed them and then embroidered a face and X buttons onto them.

Then I added a fabric scarf and a little stamped saying that says, Let it snow.  Each one comes out so differently and they take on their own little personalities.  

I wanted to add a black felt hat to them and went over to Michaels to get some felt, but forgot it once I got there!  So I added a paper hat.  But I'm still going to buy some black felt for the next ones that I make.

It's hard to find cream colored wool sweaters so I took some creative license and made a couple of pink and a purple snowman.  It's a little unusual but I like how they turned out.  

The sweaters that have wool or animal's fur in them make nicer crafts than just cotton ones.  The fibers with the wool melt when washed and dried in the heat and they tighten up, giving the sweater a tighter texture.  They don't unravel as easily, either.

I got the idea to make them from Cynthia Chapman on Pinterest.  I'm happy with how they came out and I'd like to make more for next year.

Here they are sitting underneath the Christmas tree waiting to go to their new homes.  :)

 

Christmas Stamp Camp

If you know me, you know that I love having people over.  Last week I hosted a Christmas Stamp Camp, and six of my stamping friends came to make 6 cards each!

I had to work on cards that didn't take too long to make.  Here is the first one - an older die for sure, but I love the simplicity and how it turned out.

I ended up finding just the perfect piece of designer paper to put under the circle focal point that really made the card come alive.  Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of that one.  

Even though it was simple, the ladies all loved this card.  The deer is cut from glittery silver paper.

Why do I sometimes use older stamp sets and papers?  Well, because I have them!  I have lots of papers that I love to use up so it doesn't go to waste.  They're still perfectly fine to use and I love giving the older images a new look.  

I don't always have the money to buy all of the newest items now that I'm retired, so I get a few new things and mix them in with some items that I already have.  I seem to buy more than I can use before they retire, so sometimes it is like using a brand new set even though it has already retired.  

This card features a cute little snowman just enjoying his snowy day.  It was one of the fancy fold cards that everyone made.  He is from Snowman Season stamp set.

Didn't he turn out so sweet?

We put a white panel on the inside to write on for your sentiments and signature.  I added some little jade snowflakes to tie it all together.  

He glistens with Wink of Stella, although you can't tell in the photos.  

Cute, cute, cute.  

This next card has a shiny ornament cut from Lovely Lipstick shiny papers.  The colors looks funny in the pic, but in real life it matches the cardstock quite well.  

I used a border embossing folder and stamped the sprig from the Embellished Ornaments set.  We colored it in and then added a dimensional to the top of the ornament to let it "hang" on the card.  

The saying is from the same set and cut with the small arch from the Arch dies.

Lastly, this cute card features older papers and some cute mitten cut outs to decorate the focal circle.

I almost got rid of the mittens stamp set and dies, but now I'm glad that I kept them.  

The other two cards from the Stamp Camp are in the previous post.  I kept the cards simple to make and everyone in the class had lots of fun.  

If all goes well, we'll probably do it again next year.  I can't wait.  :)

 

Peace on Earth DSP & More Christmas Cards

I love the designer papers, Peace on Earth.  They feature some pretty blue colors that are easy to work with.  They can be for Christmas or for everyday.  

This card features those pretty papers and the Dove of Peace, alone with an older bird image that I embossed with gold powders.  The bird really comes to life on this card with the pretty blues in the background.  And check out how I layered the doves in the side panel!  This is one of the cards that I offered in my Christmas Stamp Camp last week.  It was everyone's favorite.  :)

This second card also features the pretty papers.  I used an older set of houses die for the focal image on this card.  You can't see in the photo, but the snow is glistening with the Wink of Stella glitter.  Easy and beautiful!

This third card I've already showed, but it is made using the Peace on Earth papers, as well.  I love using these blues in my Christmas cards.

I've pretty much used up the whole package of these papers.  I'd better order more before they are gone!

Have you tried them yet?  

 

Zippered Ornament Keychains

Last year I had made some cute little zippered "bulb" ornaments that you can hang on the tree, use as a keychain or carry around small items such as earbuds, cell phone connector, tea bags, lip balm, etc.  

I took them out the other day to start rounding up items that I can make for Christmas gift ideas.  Because they have a zipper, you can put a gift card in them or some small candy canes for decoration and hang them on the tree.  

They make a cute little "something" to give to everyone on your list.  I was disappointed that I only had five of them.  I'm off to get some mini candy canes and small gifts to put in them.

They're a fast and sweet gift for a little something to give someone.  I need to make some more!

 

Hope Your Christmas is Festive and Fun!

For one of my Christmas card classes, I took out the stamp set, Festive and Fun and made some cards with it.  Honestly, the images are just so darn cute.  I haven't had a chance to use them yet, even though I bought them a couple of years ago! 

I had fun coloring and making these cards.  It's the first time that I ever paired Pool Party with Garden Green, but I like the color combination.  

I added a small strip of designer paper to "ground" the two images.  Otherwise, they looked like they were floating on air!  

For the second card, I added a rectangle to the inside panel and folded it so that it covered part of the front of the card.  To open the card, open the rectangle to the right.  The inside of the card looks like a normal card.  It makes a cute fancy fold.

You can kind of see how it opens here.  I strategically placed the rectangle to reveal part of the saying, "May your season."  Then when you open it, you can see the entire saying.  This little rhinoceros pulling a sled of presents is so adorable.  I will definitely be using this cute little set again.

For the third card, I took out some older designer papers called Nests of Winter.  We fussy cut the birds and put a saying on the card.  I love how it turned out.  

What do you think of these Christmas cards?  Which one do you like best?  I love all three.