Christmas Treats & Jingle Banner

Not only did we exchange Christmas cards and mini mystery gifts this past weekend, but we also shared some treats and created a Jingle banner! What can I say, when I throw a party, it's a good time!

Our project was a beautiful Jingle banner similar to one that I made last year for my mom. I love the unexpected color combination, the great big snowflakes and the silver bells that actually jingle at the bottom.

I am also entering my banner in the Heart 2 Heart Christmas challenge this week! Be sure to stop by their blog for Christmas inspiration!

Every time I walk by this banner I start singing the Frank Sinatra song! {I love those J-I-N-G-L-E bells, oh those Holiday J-I-N-G-L-E bells!}

Up close you can see there is also some sparkle and glitter on the entire tag! So many of the shapes were cut using the Art Philosophy cartridge.

 

After we created our projects we had time to indulge in some sweet treats. For my treat I wanted to showcase the cricut cartridge fry box. It's the perfect size for a Ghirardelli square!

One of the ladies made these darling chocolate trees, filled with nuggets and kisses. Are they just the cutest!! I almost don't want to eat the chocolate inside!!

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.

Whooo's Your Valentine ~ Pinks!

I gave you a sneak peek at the darling little valentine kit available this Thursday in celebration of National Paper Crafting month. For that card I used some sky and lagoon blues for those "guys" in our lives. Today, I'm sharing a card that's definitely for the girls with lots of pinks!! I also used the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.

Later this week I will share the little treat tubes I made to match the cards! So cute!!

DE Holiday ~ Snowflake Ensemble

The last shape to use up on the Dimensional Elements In Color Holiday chipboard is the pretty smoothie snowflake.

 

My very first thought was to use this gorgeous scalloped snowflake in the center of a popular 3D ornament from another stamping company! But, then I had this beautiful lonely card still sitting on the shelf from a recent sketch challenge. Why not create an entire gift ensemble!

It all starts with this great little box from Birch Box. Not only do you get a variety of goodies to try from this company, but they come in this sturdy, handy box that's super easy to recycle into a gift card box!

I simply adhered the card to the top of the box. I made 4 more cards on a smaller scale to fit inside the box. I also used some more of the Pear & Partridge paper to dress up a pen and embellished it with some pretty ribbons.

I searched for a video on how to make this awesome ornament and one of my customers had some written instructions. I cut the assembly time in half by creating it the "Close To My Heart" way! When you cut everything out on the cricut and already have a beautiful centerpiece you can create this beautiful keepsake in no time at all! I forgot to take a picture of the back, but it has a Christmas sentiment and the year 2012 stamped on it.

I hope you enjoyed my week of Dimensional Elements Holiday cards! I am busy creating lots more homemade gifts for Christmas. Come by often to see more creations and get some gift ideas!

DE Holiday ~ Noel

Earlier this week you saw Joy, today I'm sharing Noel with you. Again, I have kept my card design fairly simple as the chipboard ornament is beautiful all on its own!

 

The smoothie embossed background really makes this card pretty and soft! Be sure to stop by tomorrow as I will share the last shape from the Dimensional Elements Holiday. It's a gift ensemble that you'll want to see!



Mojo Monday Owl Valentine

Just shifting gears a bit to some Valentine fun for this week's Mojo Monday sketch! I just received the new Whooo's Your Valentine kit that will be available to customers December 13th. It's part of the National Paper Crafting Month celebration. It's a fantastic kit filled with goodies like, treat tubes, glitter paper and a darling little stamp set filled with heart images, little owls and catchy "love" phrases.

The kit features your typical Valentine colors of blush, hollyhock and ruby red. However, if you want to express your love to the 'guys' in your life, they may not dig the pink color combination! The sky blue and lagoon colors are awesome with this glitter paper!

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!

H2H Sketch Challenge {Christmas Birds}

Here is an extra little card for you today. I used the sketch on Heart 2 Heart challenges and the adorable little birds from the MyAcrylix Perfect Fit ~ Holidays stamp! I used some older Elemental papers that were not Christmas papers, but as you can see they worked perfectly!

DE Holiday ~ Joy

I absolutely love the little ornament shapes found on the sheet of Dimensional Elements Holiday chipboard. There are two, one that says Joy and the other Noel. For my card today I chose the Joy ornament and another design from the Make it from Your Heart how-to book.

I'm using up some more left over Pear & Partridge papers including that handy little zip strip. I did a bit of dry embossing on the cocoa cardstock and added just a touch of cranberry ribbon. All products are Close To My Heart!

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!



Dimensional Elements Holiday Cards

This week I decided to share some Holiday cards I created using the Dimensional Elements In Color~ Holiday! These are fantastic adhesive chipboard pieces perfectly ready to apply to your Christmas creations. Since they are all so beautiful on their own, my cards were made very simple. Why fuss with them!!

The first card I am sharing with you today uses the sketch on Freshly Made Sketches! Minty!

I was having lots of fun creating some texture on the background of the cards. I can't decide which one is my favorite?!

Inside message~

Big Deals Online!!

Hello December! Only a few days left for holiday shopping! You will want to be sure to check out the "while supplies last" section on my CTMH website. There are some fantastic deals on there starting today!

Right now if you place an online order of $50 or more, you will receive a Bonding Memories Glue Pen for free. ($4.50 value)

What kind of deals can you expect?

Paper packs as low as $2.50
Stickease for only $1.50
Ribbons for $2.50
Accessory assortments as low as $1.00
4x4 Acrylix block for only $5.00

Plus more! Hurry and get them before they're gone!
Shop here.