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!

Annual Christmas Card Exchange

This past weekend I held my annual Christmas Card Exchange. I believe this is my sixth year hosting the exchange. There are girls participating that have been with me from the beginning and some new ones too! Every year I am always so excited to see what they will create!

My exchange rules are pretty simple. I ask that they create identical Christmas cards using as much Close To My Heart product as possible and that they include envelopes. This year all eight of us had something in common! You would almost think that I made a rule that they could only use "traditional" colors?!!

How funny is that! All the cards were red's, green's and neutrals. Some other common trends were dry embossing, using or stamping on kraft cardstock, bits of bling and the popular Pear and Partridge papers!

First up is my card~ I used some older background papers and the lovely wreath stamp set. The little bird is from a the more recent Perfect Fit Holiday stamp. The shaped piece in colonial white was dry embossed using a wood pattern folder.

Next is Nanette~ She also used some older background paper and an older stamp set. I told her that the sentiment and holly berry was so cute! She reminded me that it was an older stamp set that I had sold her!! I replied that maybe I want to borrow it then! Ha, Ha! I love that her card is clean and simple!

Janet's card is so fancy~ She incorporated various papers from the Pear & Partridge paper kit. She must have about 6 layers on her card including some dry embossing and glitter! Way to use that zip strip too Janet!

Christmas tree by Julie~ One of my favorite trends this year is stamping white or colonial white ink on kraft cardstock. It has such a stunning look! Julie's green tree with red bling really stands out against it. What a clever ribbon tree stump too!

Joyful embossing from Tommie~ A beautiful script embossing on red cardstock is the base for this card. Which is perfect for the red and green hanging JOY banner. Tommie was having fun with her Cricut shapes, but not so much fun with those bitty pearls!! But, they are worth it, they're the perfect touch to your letters!

Peggy's little stocking~Ahhh! So darling! She really knows her way around the Cricut craft room as this little stocking is welded to reveal a message inside. The glitter, ribbons and holly on the cuff is the perfect finishing touch!

Let It Snow by Aysa~ Her card reminds me of refreshing peppermint! She has dry embossing on the background as well as the center snowflake, really making it the star of the card!

Last is Pat~ She has created a quilted masterpiece! This also has been a recent trend in paper crafting, giving cards such a dynamic look! She used some of the Pear & Partridge papers and also embossed some kraft cardstock. Pat says all of the paper piecing was time consuming. I'm glad she is patient, because her card is gorgeous!

We also had a Mystery Mini Gift exchange, made a banner and had other treats to share. Come back soon to see these items!

I am always grateful to these ladies for their participation. They inspire me and I hope they have inspired you today.

DE Holiday ~ Little Packages

My Christmas card today features some little packages wrapped with an Artiste bow! These were not really "gift boxes" on the chipboard, rather they are just little decorated squares. The paper bow makes them look like a gift though, so cute!

This time I used the zip strip from the Pear & Partridge paper as the sentiment that begins on the front of the card and continues on the inside! I got this idea from Katy Taylor's card here, which is gorgeous by the way!

Dimensional Elements and Banners

This card design has been very popular this year. The use of banners and pennants is very eye catching and fun! It's also a great way to use those left over paper scraps! The sentiment is simple with the Dimensional Elements In Color Holiday chipboard!

I did an olive and smoothie combination, so that one is more feminine and the other is...well... not as feminine! :)

DE Holiday ~ Oh Christmas Tree

My second holiday card using the Dimensional Elements In Color incorporates the darling little Christmas tree! Again I've left the card fairly simple as the DE chipboard is just so cute all on it's own!

 

 

The design for this card comes from the Make It from your Heart how-to book. I was also able to use up some left over paper from previous projects as well as that little zip strip!



Pear & Partridge Frame

Tomorrow is my Pear & Partridge frame class. The bracket frame is a new item from the Winter Idea Book. With the Cricut and some beautiful Holiday Dimensional Elements, this frame becomes a lovely Christmas decoration quickly! All that's left is to add a family photograph.

 

Joy to the World

I really love the sketch on Mojo Monday this week. For my card I wanted to use the Pear & Partridge papers and one of the dimensional Holiday chipboard pieces. With the added lace ribbon and button, my card has sort of a vintage Christmas feel.

Pear & Partridge Cards and Box

This weekend I will be hosting the Pear & Partridge card making workshop. As an added bonus the ladies will also be making this cute little box to hold all the cards from the kit. The magazine holder style box is cut on the new Artiste cricut cartridge.

My box was created very basic and simple. The ladies will have the opportunity to decorate their boxes however they choose.

A workshop cutting guide is provided in the kit. These are the cards as they are shown in that guide. I also made several more cards with little variations in the paper placement and the stamped images to give them more creative options!

 

I am excited to get together this Saturday for this fun class! If you would like to order the Pear & Partridge card kit go to my online site here. You'll have fun making these cards while getting a head start on you Christmas "to-do" list!

Christmas on H2H

Getting ready for Christmas in September? Not a bad idea, since the time always disappears so quickly! That's the challenge on Heart 2 Heart this week. This is just "Part One"!!

I decided to get a head start on my scrapbooking pages. I used some of the dimensional embellishments left over from my Pear & Partridge frame. It's a simple layout and the embellishments make it super easy to add the right amount of details.

Other easily added details were some journaling lines from the background and textures stamp, the zip strip from the Pear & Partridge cardstock and a chocolate felt branch from an older promotional item. All product used is Close To My Heart.

Pear and Partridge Projects

At my Open House I gave guests a look at a variety of projects from many of the new products in the Autumn/Winter Idea Book. This season's Christmas papers are absolutely gorgeous! I love all the new home decor items and I am also impressed with the card workshop on the go offered in this book.

You can make your Christmas cards quickly and easily with this affordable kit. I created the cards exactly as shown in the instructions booklet included. I simply added a card holder cut on the new Cricut Artiste Cartridge.

I also created the new bracket frame in the Pear & Partridge papers. I was able to cut the bracket shape on the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. I embellished around the frame using the coordinating dimensional elements. These are gorgeous by the way, they add so much dimension and are self adhesive. I added a background layout with some cardstock and one of the zip strips. I can simply add a photo from our Holiday celebrations later.