Elf Themed Christmas Party and Exchange

This past weekend I held my annual Christmas party with my Close To My Heart customers. We usually do a card exchange, eat some goodies and like last year offered a Hot Cocoa buffet which has become a favorite tradition now! This year instead of cards we decided to do an ABC challenge project. We exchange cards in our monthly card all year long, so I thought it would be fun to make a project that is Anything But a Card! Boy! Did we have a mix of fun projects!

Last month in a search for another project I came across a SVG cut of witches legs and boots. I knew immediately that I wanted to turn them into Buddy the elf legs with his iconic yellow tights and curly elf shoes. I thought it would be whimsical to throw them upside down in a pop-up box. From that project I decided to make the entire party an Elf theme. We had lots of yellow and green decor, chocolate, candy canes and sugar. The only difference is that the Cocoa wasn't crappy, it was delicious!! Here is a collage of some of the pictures from the party.

After we snacked a bit and filled our hot cocoa cups, we got to work. Look at all of the fun projects we made.

First, is the pop-up box I created. I hope it would be Elf approved!

Look at this cute purse of chocolates! Yum!

Perhaps you would like a tin of chocolate!

These nuggets of chocolate are not only sweet, but deliver a special message! You might say they are nuggets of wisdom!

A fancy pillow box can hold all sorts of treasures for your loved ones!

This darling snowman holds something yummy in his tummy!

All of those packages and bags need some tags. These are decorated beautifully and ready to adorn those special gifts!

Lastly, I wanted to make a final little gift for all of the ladies. I used the holiday treat bags and dressed them up in the Elf theme. I filled them with some kisses and an assortment of enamel and glitter gems. Don't they just make you smile...smiling is my favorite!

{I am submitting these Elf treat bags to the Heart 2 Heart Challenges Blog as they fit their challenge this week; gifts from the heart!}

Besides the goodies bags, my customers were also treated to a sneak peek of the new Seasonal Expressions Idea Book which goes live on January 1st of 2016! What lucky girls! I'll have some sneak peeks here on my Blog of some of the projects I have created soon.

I'd say this was a fun day and reminds me what the Holidays are all about....being together, laughing and getting crafty!

Laughing Lola Card Kit

Let's talk about card kits! The Autumn/Winter Idea Book offers two Workshop on the Go card kits. The first is Laughing Lola that works perfectly for a variety of occasions. The second is the Frosted kit that is great for the Holiday season. These card kits come with just about everything you need to create 15 beautiful cards. You will need the recommended inks and some basic tools to complete them. Everything else is provided including: D-size stamp set, B&T duos papers, cardstock, card base and envelopes, embellishments and a how-to instructional brochure.

With everything provided you simply cut, stamp and assemble! You can create your cards exactly as instructed in the brochure or feel free to add your own touches to the cards to personalize each one. That is what I did here with the Laughing Lola kit.

This is a sample of the cards exactly as directed per the brochure~

There are 3 different designs and you will make 5 of each, giving you a total of 15 cards. In the picture above I have shown the cards as they are in the brochure starting with card 1 on the left, card 2 in the middle and card 3 on the right. As you scroll down you will see how I changed each design just slightly giving it a different appearance. Perhaps I flipped  the B&T paper, substituted another color cardstock, stamped another color ink or varied the embellishment. Each one is unique and I can guarantee that not one recipient will get the same card!

Let's talk about value! Not only are you creating 15 cards with the best papers and embellishments provided in the kit, but you are also getting a D-size stamp set to keep and reuse for many more projects. The retail value of the kit is $36.78, but you pay only $24.95! That's a savings of $11.83!

Laughing Lola Kit G1064
Frosted Kit G1063

These kits can be ordered through me or on my website here.

Come back soon and I will show you some ideas I created with the Frosted Card Kit!

Perfect Fit Holiday Cards

I love when you find a group of items that all work really well together. The cards I'm sharing today is a "perfect" example of those products. The Perfect Fit Frames MyAcrylix stamp {D1527} works well with the Perfect Fit Halloween stamp {B1413} and the Perfect Fit Holidays stamp {B1412}. Plus, all the shapes contained on these stamps can be cut easily on the Close To My Heart Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges.

Halloween~

Holiday~

 

 

Perfect match wouldn't you say! Card designs were inspired by the new Make It from Your Heart How-to Book. These stamps, how-to books and cartridges can be ordered here.



Festive Frills

Festive Frills was my first "must-have" holiday stamp from the current Idea Book. This card features the wreath and is layered with lots of dimension. Enjoy!