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.  :)

 

Loving the Snowman

I'm a little behind on posting my Christmas projects this year.  The stamp set and papers that I loved the most from Stampin Up's holiday catalog was the Let It Snow suite.  The snowman with the punch is just the cutest little man ever!  I decided to do a class with some fancy fold snowman cards using the Snowman Season stamp set.

For the first card, I folded the cardstock like you normally would and then cut it at 2" from the top.  Then I cut the remaining piece into a 2" strip for the bottom.  I added the designer paper to the two pieces and then added the red snowman center to hold them together.

This leaves a gap in the middle of the card, but it has a nice look to it.  On the inside, you have to be careful where you write your saying, or it will show on the front of the card.  I got this idea from Cathy Krylowitz, one of my fellow demonstrators.

The next card is cut on the diagonal and the bottom piece opens to the side and the top piece opens up.  It has an interesting look to it.  Before you cut your cardstock into 2 pieces to make your two card bases, cut the cardstock on the diagonal.  Then fold each diagonal piece in toward the center.

You'll see where to put the white piece for the inside.  Then add your designer paper and snowman for the focal point.  I've seen this card on Pinterest before, but I got the idea from another of my demonstrator friends Pat Clow.

Card #3 looks fairly easy on the front, but it has a special surprise on the inside!

When you open up the card, the snowman pops up!

He almost appears to be "floating" on the inside of the card, but he is actually attached with a strip of clear window sheet.  You can make this card using any small image.  I got the idea from Julie Davison for the inside of the card.  Check out her site at: http://juliedavison.blogspot.com/2015/06/video-pdf-half-circle-pop-up-card.html to make this card.

The outside of the card idea is from Jennie M Stamping Spot.

Lastly we made this cute snowman box for candy goodies or small gift items.  I got the idea for this from Angie at Chic'n'Scratch.  You can make it by watching her video here.

It's fun to try new fancy folds.  Which one would you like to try?

Making Buffalo Checked and Rustic Ornaments

This Christmas my daughter decorated with Buffalo checked decor.  It's pretty popular this year and the colors make everything look cozy and warm.  

To decorate her tree, I made some ornaments to go along with her theme.  I love the little Buffalo checked trees the best.  (And yes, I want to make more of these!)  I used a triangle ruler to cut out the shape and sewed them up, leaving a small hole at the bottom for turning and stuffing.  Then I inserted a stick and glued it in using a glue gun.  The bows are glued on and lastly I sewed some red jute to the top to hang them.

You can also see in the photo that I stamped a couple of rustic log slices also.  We made these a few years ago and I still had some log slices left over.  

I used the Snowman stamp from Snowman Season and placed him in the Snow Globe shaker dome for this ornament.  Then I added a Buffalo checked scarf from a thin piece of the fabric!  I had some checked ribbon so I added that to the bottoms.  Doesn't he look so warm and cozy in his checked scarf?

I remembered that I had some sweaters that I cut up to make projects with that were Christmas colors. I cut them out into heart shapes.  They're easy to make because the sweater material holds the stuffing nicely and you can keep shaping them as you fill them.  There's a small hole in the side for turning and stuffing.  I stitched that up, added the bows and some twine to the tops for hanging.  I definitely want to make more of these! I love anything made from receycled sweaters!

I found a nice box at Joann's to give to her to store the ornaments in and to complete the look.  She loved her handmade Christmas Tree Ornament Box!