Every Christmas I hold a card exchange and event! This year I had 7 ladies participating in the card exchange. I had a mini album project, posted earlier, that was a big success! This year we also had a cookie swap. The ladies brought cookies and the recipe to share, it was delicious!
Where to start?? I'll save the best for last...the gorgeous artwork. So first up is a collage of the treats!
I decided that we would need something to drink with all the cookies. I set up a Hot Chocolate station. I made the hot chocolate in my crockpot so it was hot and ready and so easy to do! For the buffet of toppings and add-in's I had vanilla & peppermint marshmallows, crushed peppermints candies, Hershey kisses {milk chocolate and peppermint} and whipped cream. It was really yummy!
We had a fantastic variety of cookies; sugar, gingerbread, samoa truffles, dipped pretzels, almond cookies, butter cookies, low fat lemon and holiday snowballs. We sampled them all and took home recipes with us! Can you say sugar rush!!?
Now on to the art! I made a little gift bag for each of the girls to take their cards home in. They were all set out on my table and the ladies placed their own cards in front of their bag to display them.
There were so many cute and creative ideas this year. Sparkle & Shine papers were popular, but then there were some great older papers used, some surprising color combinations, interactive cards, fun puffy applications and paints, lots of glitter, and some Washi tape too!
This first card is mine. I used the Candyland stamp set. I made a boy and girl gingerbread people and stamped a sweet sentiment. I chose a different color combination and added some glitter and Washi tape. The bow on the gingerbread girl was my favorite! It was cut at the tiniest measurement possible on the Artiste Cartridge! I folded it carefully and added a teeny tiny pearl in the center.
This next card is by Stacie. I love that she included some older but still loved Jingle papers. Plus I'm a sucker for birds! She used a unique puffy paint application around them as well as her hand stamped sentiment. So cute!
Tommie used the awesome new "m" sized stamp set for her sentiment and added some color and liquid glass to the letters. She also had lots of fun ripping her Washi tape creating a very unique background! Her card is a perfect example of what you can create on a limited budget.
A step card from Pat! This card easily turns into art when you prop it open on a shelf or table. She used the bling around her tree and star and again a little Christmas birdie...{heart that}!! The extra cuts and folds may be a little time consuming, but it is so worth it in the end, this card is darling!
Nanette's card is so warm and welcoming. I love her simple details and embellishments. A classic color combination truly makes it feel like Christmas!
Next up is Barbara's card. Her card is a stunning blue with just hints of sparkling silver. I love the window cut out for her sentiment and the silver bird is a gorgeous addition! The blue was truly a stand out among the rest!
Janet's card was a fabulous surprise! The front of her card is covered in my favorite design of the Sparkle and Shine papers. That fun red, white and silver stripe. Then she embellished with sparkly snow flakes and swirls of bling. But the fun did not stop there. We were pleasantly surprised to find a mobile of dangling snowflakes on the inside! How clever is that?!
This is my talented crew of ladies. Not pictured is a new gal that joined us for the fun and project. We will reel her into our group and eventually she may want to participate in our exchanges too!
Here is a picture of the gift bags I created for the ladies. I used the big Merry & Bright sentiment stamp from the Sparkle and Shine Workshop on the Go. I cut strips of the other matching paper and layered them into banner shapes below. Inside each bag the ladies found a little surprise from me.
I saw these ornaments at Walmart and thought they would be perfect for the left over curls from our paper wreaths we made last month. I added some snowflakes inside and tied them with some gray gingham ribbon. Just a small gift to say that I appreciate them and their loyalty to my little crafting business!
Wait! That's not all! I had one more little project to share. Come back soon to see a special project I shared with all the ladies when they were here!
