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.  

 

 

Quilt #2 - The Bunny Quilt

My goal this year is to finish 10 quilts by December 31.  Today I finished Quilt #2, the Bunny Quilt.  I realize that there is only 7 weeks left until the end of the year, but I have a lot of quilts that are almost done.  Do I think I can finish 8 more in that time?  I hope so, but we'll see.

I had picked up the bunny panels while at a quilt show a few years back.  I put some green fabric sashing around the small bunny motifs and then made them the same size as the larger bunny panels.  

I framed it in a pretty tan and then added another cream border.  The backing is tan, also and I used the same color for the binding.  I quilted it with a stipple free-motion that I did on my domestic machine, a Bernina 550.  

Then I washed it to make it nice and soft and ready to give to the new baby girl.

Here is close-up pic of me working on the quilting.  I love the little bunny quilt and I hope my friend and her new baby love it, too.  

 

Halloween Tote Bag

 

For the past few weeks, one of our local quilt shops has been having a sale from a quilt shop buy-out.  Although a lot of the fabrics were older, I managed to find some cute fall fabrics that I thought would make a little Halloween tote for my granddaughter for a reduced price.

I chose the pumpkin scarecrow fabric for the pocket and focal point, then added some yellow pumpkins for the top of the tote and brown fall fabric for the bottom.

The striped fabric made great handles to finish it off.  I like how it turned out, not too big, not too small - just right for my four-year old girl.

There's still lots of fall fabric left over to make more or to save for next year's projects.

While I didn't get to see her on the actual Halloween night, we had our own "trick or treat" game the next day.  

Here she is at the door trick-or-treating for some candy and little toys that I bought to put in her bag.  I especially like her little hand as she was holding the bag.  No tricks here, just a little treat at my door.  

Life doesn't get much better than this.  :)

Sophisticated Sled Cards

This week I took out one of last year's stamp sets called Sophisticated Sled.  When I ordered it last year, the dies were already gone so I just got the stamp set.  The sled on this card is from Alpine Adventure from a few years back.  

I used a piece of designer paper for the background and added a cut strip along the bottom for snow and three trees from Forest Foliage dies.  After I made the card, I replaced the birds with a much darker paper so that they stand out more.  I got the idea from Tami White.

This cute card with the skates features the sled stamped and cut out.  I used papers from Country Woods to make it look like siding on a porch or a door.  I used the smallest arch die for the saying.  I got the idea from Maria Kelleher.  

For the third card, I used the wreath from Sophisticated Sled for the focal point and colored it in with Stamping blends.  The papers are from remnants from Quilted Christmas.  I love the little bird sitting on the saying.  

I had fun making these cards with the ladies who come over to stamp.  We were feeling in a very festive mood when we were done.