The Big Event!! {Christmas card exchange 2013}

This may be a very lengthy post and I still might not be able to cover everything from this year's Christmas card exchange!

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!

Lacey Boot Socks

Yesterday I shared with you the jar of vintage inspired spool ornaments I made for my sister. I mentioned that she had also hand crafted a gift for me. I prefer to play with paper, while she makes wonderful quilts and is pretty crafty with any fabrics or materials.

Back in November I emailed a picture of frilly boot socks I'd seen on Pinterest. I asked her if she could make these. Well, yes she can and they turned out soooo cute! She said it was a little tricky to sew the lace and ribbon, but eventually got the hang of it! That's good, because I want more in every color!!

Gifts From the Heart

I am one of those people that really enjoys watching others open their gifts! Especially when it's a gift that was made from the heart, something special that was created with just that person in mind. Here are some ideas that you still have time to make!

 

A homemade ornament for the tree. I like to add something new to my tree every year. I make sure to put the date on the back so that each December when we pull out the ornaments we look at them and remember the prior years. My kids each have their own ornaments on the tree and one day when they have families of their own, they will take these ornaments to place on their own trees.

 

 

 

A set of cute gift bag tags/cards. Make them simple, but make them cute. These little cards become useful and the recipients with a homemade tag will appreciate the handmade touch.

 



 

Giving a gift card is a great choice for some of those on your list. Rather than just a card tucked away in a card, add the card and some homemade cookies to an inexpensive container. Homemade sweets are a great gift for those that don't cook or have the time to prepare goodies. I have some folks on my list that requests certain sweets & cookies every year! {I tried some new recipes this year that were delicious, I will share them with you soon!}

Speaking of packaging! This is a set of gifts I have already mailed off. I like to make them all coordinate. To do this I used some kraft wrapping, red twine and Santa tags.

I stamped directly on the paper a little clue to what they might find inside. Homemade gift from my home to theirs~

And some "fun" to be had in this package. There were also lots of cookies with the boxes stamped "freshly baked"!

Take a look at this wrapping. Using the kraft paper again, I wrapped some packages in teal twine and some in red. I made little postage like stamps and adhered them to the gift. {inspired by Pinterest of course!} However, I did not write who they are to and from! It has my kids baffled!!! They see them sitting there by the tree, but curiously wonder who they are for. Only momma knows the "color code"!!! {Boo-hoo-hoo, ha, ha, ha}

Mini Mystery Gifts 2012

Yesterday I posted all the wonderful cards from my Christmas card exchange held this past weekend. Not only do the ladies bring their lovely cards, but some also choose to participate in a Mini Mystery Gift exchange. They bring a small handmade gift in a plain brown sack which we then draw for. These items are just as amazing as their cards. You can see the gift we exchanged last year here.

For my project I wanted to showcase the fun gable box from the new Artiste Cricut cartridge.

Inside were some fun tags that I made from the Dimensional Elements In Color -Holiday chipboard, Pear and Partridge paper, cardstock and ribbons.

This is a little coffee container that has been recycled and covered with some felt including the beautiful flower embellishment. Inside were some peppermints!

This gal chose to make a set of cards. The most darling welded paper mitten cards! They were all together in a beautifully wrapped container. So cute and practical!

Homemade gift does not necessarily mean that it has to made of paper. One of the ladies is known for making these delicious peanut clusters. She wrapped them all together in this cute tree jar.

How about a handmade ornament? Two years ago our exchange was specifically handmade ornaments. You can see that post here.

This year a very talented lady brought two gorgeous ornaments with lots of fun details. I love the red and pinks with the snowflake center, but those blues and the leaping reindeer is so cute too!

Next post I will share just a few "goodies" that were made and the project we created!