Christmas Thank You Cards - Round 2

Here's the second gift wrap paper I used for Christmas thank you cards. Traditional red, green and white.  This paper was heavy prism paper so it was great to work with.  I cut it to 4.00x5.25 inches and adhered it to the front of a white card. I added 3 white snow flake punchies along the bottom of the card using the lines on the paper for alignment.  I then added an oval punchie with the sentiment in the top right hand corner. 

I made several so that completes what I need to express my appreciation to family and friends for the gifts of many kinds I received this Christmas season.

Christmas Thank You Card

I started my Thank You cards for the gifts I received during the Christmas season.  I generally like to use the gift wrap from the packages in my cards.

This paper was very cute with rows of colorful little houses.  I have to select my pieces carefully as there are places that were folded, had been taped and of course at times the paper was ripped.  I found card stock to really match this gift wrap.  I cut the paper with the Stampin Up Top Note die, then I cut the turquoise in 2 pieces so that I could make sure the full back of the paper was supported after I had offset it.  Then I layered this onto a piece of navy card stock then onto a hot pink card.  I chose a piece of turquoise card stock and stamped it with the Hero Arts gratitude stamp in navy ink.  I ripped it above and below the sentiment and then glued it across the card.  I made several so I well on my way to having the number I need.

I'm getting together with this friend tonight for our annual movie night following the holidays. 

Mosaic Monday - Inside and Out

I took a few outside pictures recently.  The pine trees line a drive way and stand straight and snow covered.  The deciduous trees in the background are catching the sunlight and look lit up providing a contrast for the dark green evergreens.















I am working on still life photography right now.  This is a clear glass tea pot with pink tea inside.  I was looking for a tea that would complement the red charger plate and turned out to be the Oprah Chai Tea.

















A picture of train tracks curving off into unknown parts. As I enter 2016 not knowing what the year will bring I look forward to new experiences.

Friday's Hunt - V1.1

I'm joining Friday's Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills where we can post photos interpreting the prompts for the week.

The prompts for this week are:

• Starts with A
• This week's favorite
• Celebrate

Starts with A: I chose Alone
I found this horse alone in the paddock.  He's looking at me like "What are you up to?" The frost on the trees was really nice.

This week's favorite:
A wool hot spot which I received this week from my niece (a late Christmas gift).  Sunflowers are my favorite flower and now I will have one sitting on my table all year till my Christmas stuff comes out. I love it!!! The photo was taken on my red Christmas table cloth.

Celebrate:
I took a picture of the Christmas cards I received this year.  Actually, they are not all in the photo because I had more than I could fit on my card holder.  This is something to celebrate that many people wanted to share Christmas greetings. As a card maker that make my heart happy!!!

2016 Hot Tea Month - Blog Give Away

Did you know that January is the Hot Tea Month? Yes, according to the Tea Association of Canada it is confirmed.
Enjoy a cup today!

I am working on a collection of tea related photos. (Keep an eye out here for those later this year.) This prompted me get started right away. I set up a navy blue place mat on white table cloth with a bone china teacup and saucer set which repeats the blue.  I set up a clear glass plate topped with goodies.  I made Roobois with Tulis - Lemon Tree tea in my clear tea pot.  This was part of a herbal tea gift set from Tea Desire.  It smells and tastes great!!!

Here's a few excerpts from a Times article.
Real tea is derived from a particular plant (Camellia sinensis) and includes only four varieties: green, black, white, and oolong. Anything else (like herbal “tea”) is an infusion of a different plant and isn’t technically tea.
But what real tea lacks in variety, it makes up for with some serious health benefits. Researchers attribute tea’s health properties to polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) and phytochemicals. Though most studies have focused on the better-known green and black teas, white and oolong also bring benefits to the table.  You can view the full text here.

My favorite loose tea is Roobois Chai.  I've purchased some from nearly every tea company around. The Tazo Joy tea is my favorite Christmas tea.

What is your favorite tea?  Leave me a comment.

At the end of the month I will choose 2 people to receive one of my 4x6 Up Close photo calendars.

2016 Christmas Card Challenge

Here are the challenges I have set up for my Christmas Cards making in 2016. I have learned that making Christmas cards each month ensures my sanity in December when by the 1st all I have to do is address them and send them off.  In order to achieve this goal I create guidelines for my card challenge each month.

Each month has a Color and Element.  You can choose one or both to help you stretch your creativity. I will keep the following techniques in mind and see which I can included in my designs:  Painting, Die Cutting or Embossing.

I hope you will join me in making cards each month.  If you do, please post a comment with a link to your card so all can enjoy it.

2016	Color	Element
January	Gold	Star (5 or 6 points)
February	Navy	Snow (bank, flake)
March	Purple	Wiseman
April	Green	Foliage (Wreath, Poinsettia)
May	Red	Sled, sleigh
June	Silver	Large Words
July	Turquoise	Ornament
August	Light Blue	Winter
September	Lavender	Bethlehem
October	Black	Polar Bear
November	Copper	Jesus Nativity
December	Brown	Tree

Happy New Year 2016

Wishing you a very happy new year in 2016.  I'm looking forward to the changes which will take place in life this year.  I'm glad to leave some of the events of 2015 behind and move forward with optimism and gratitude.

2016 Scripture Calendar

I made this Scripture Calendar for my pastor.  I filled it with scriptures that I color printed onto vellum and then clear embossed.  I trimmed the vellum as needed.  I adhered the vellum on 2 corners then covered them with the pink punched photo corners. 

Mosaic Monday - Glass

Glass is one of my favorite materials.  Over the last week I have had the following pieces come across my path.  The left is stained glass windows at a church and the smaller one is the colors appearing on the wall inside.  I love my little blue stained glass nativity.  I received a glass Christmas tree onto which small ornaments are placed.  That is very cool.  During a Christmas Eve activity where items are wrapped in newspaper and those in attendance unwrap the treasures, stealing 3 times is allowed.  I stole this glass globe paper weight from my brother.  I managed to keep it till it was mine.  You can see the reflection of the light in Australia. Very happy with the new addition.

Submitting to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.  

Merry Christmas to You!

Merry Christmas to all!  

Wishing you all the joy, peace and hope of the season!

Mosaic Monday - Getting Ready

I bought my Christmas CD this week.  Mariah Carey singing "Baby Please Come Home" hooked me this year.  As per my tradition, I had supper with a friend this week, we had a chance to visit and catch up.  It was great. She gifted me some tea from Tea Desire.   I've been enjoying my bubbling night light.  We had these on our tree when I was a kid.  I found this one at a craft sale a few years ago so it comes out every year.  My nativity has been set up.  The snowman bag represents the many bags of caramel popcorn I make each year.  I have started but I am not finished.  This week will be a busy one.

Submitting to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.

Gold & Burgundy Nativity Panel Card

I mentioned the other two designs in this post and here's the selection the couple made. 

As mentioned earlier, this is a 5x7 panel card with a 4x6 photo adhered in the center of the frame printed on the front of the panel  The image is a nativity I photographed several years ago to which I applied a filter to soften the image a bit.  I also applied a photo edge in white which provided an uneven edge to the image which I think works well. It had lovely velvet curtains in the background so I chose to repeat that color for the frame on the front. 

The back of the panel was customized with a scripture verse, a sentiment and the name of the couple. 

Gift Card Holder - Smaller Pop Up

Another gift card holder. I tried making the pop up smaller 4" W x 4.75" T.  It helps because there is less to match up but I'm not sure if it's the final one.  I chose double sided paper from Creative Imaginations. Design by Helen Dardik. There are light blue stars on a dark blue background on one side and the other has white and red stripes with a 6x6 of white hearts on same dark blue.  I cut the base with the Card Base Pop 'n Cuts die from Stampin Up.  Then I placed the Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts Magnetic Insert Die - suitcase and placed my heart paper on it and ran it through the Big Shot.  I folded it in the right places then trimmed the handle off with scissors.  I adhered it onto the fold.  I wrapped a piece of red cotton ribbon onto the join and tied it in a knot on the front.  I took the scrap from the 12" length and trimmed and placed at the top of the card front.  I added a light blue greeting below the striped piece.  I had flagged the right hand end with the SU Banner Triple punch.  Again, I tucked the tabs into the slots to keep it closed. The gift card is held in place with a Zot.

Challenge Card - Paper Garden

I made this card for a challenge at Paper Garden. They are running a 2015 Holiday Card challenge.

For my card I started with an olive green card.  I chose the BoBunny Blitzen Sentiment paper which coordinated well with it's vintage feel.  I chose to repeat the word idea and decided to cut a word for the accent. I wanted to highlight the warm blue color in the DSP so I chose Stampin Up Blue Bayou card stock. I cut an oval with the SU Sizzix Ovals die (retired). I then aligned it with the Tim Holtz WISH Mover Shaper magentic die and cut the word from it.  I then cut an identical oval from ivory to back it.  I adhered these together with quick dry adhesive.  I then cut a scallop oval from warm red card stock with the Spellbinder Nestabilities - #4 from the small oval set.  The wish accent was glued to this layer.  I applied 3D foam tape to the back.  I cut a piece of the same card stock as the card to 4.25 x .75 inches.  I placed 3 lengths of ivory cotton thread across it and taped the ends to the back.  I then adhered it to the card front. I adhered my WISH accent over the strip aligned to the left.  I tied a trio of short lengths of ivory cotton in the space I had left next to the red scallop oval. I trimmed the thread ends even. 

Check out the cards submitted and vote for your favorite.

Gift Card Holder - Version 2

Another Gift Card Holder still using the Stampin Up Card Base Pop'nCuts die.  I cut this one from a Dill card stock. This time I used the Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts Magnetic Insert Die - Suitcase, 3-D (Pop-Up) for the inside.  I cut a piece of designer paper with triangle trees on it.  It was trimmed to 9 inches tall and 4 inches wide.  I trimmed the suitcase handle off with scissors. I chose this insert die because it was so close to the size of a gift card. The gift card is held in place with a Zot.I've added a sticky note for my sentiment which will allow it to be reused.
The front has a piece of ivory card stock embossed with the Stampin Up Vintage Wallpaper folder.  I adhered that to the card front then added a red cotton ribbon along the fold.  I cut a red scallop oval with Spellbinder Nestabilities then a smooth oval with the corresponding die.  I cut a triangle tree from the scrap of the designer paper.  Added a gold glitter star cut with the Sizzix Star die.   A SU Modern Label punchie with the Word Window greeting punchie. Not sure the straight edge of the embossed layer is the best but I will continue to tweek the design.
Again, the fact that the card keeps itself closed with the tab/slot is great.

Pop Up Gift Card Holder

I'm working on gift card holders for last minutes gifts.

For this one, I used the Stampin Up Card Base Pop'n Cuts Die.  The card stock is River Rock with Holiday Thyme designer paper cut with the Top Note die.  I added an Ornament punchie stamped with the Delightful Decorations ornament in Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla.  I added a bit of Cherry Cobbler twine.  I created the dip in the pop up with the Word Window punch.  I added a piece of DSP which matched the front then a sentiment from the Festival of Trees stamp set. I followed up with the rest of the sentiment on a piece of Very Vanilla which I cut again with the Top Note.

I love the way this card closes with the tabs in the slots. 

Community Christmas Concert

I attended the Community Christmas Concert last night.  The weather cooperated so driving was good.  I met my friend at the church early and we managed to find good seats. 

There were several songs from different cultures and in different languages.  Unity with diversity is what is all about. 

It was very good.  There was a drime which was young people doing a bit of drama to a song about Ebenezer Scrooge which I think was a great addition.

We were discouraged from taking pictures which is too bad because these a most school choirs and all the parents are really proud of their kids.

You Don't Have to Work for Christmas Freebie - Ann Voskamp

I taught an Advent Class - Be Present for Christmas this fall.  The lessons were based on the book by Canadian author Ann Voskamp - The Greatest Gift.  The message on the left is the most important message I got from the preparation and presentation of this class. I gave one to each of the participants in my class.  I included several more in my Christmas cards to people who I thought needed the message.  I printed it  3.5x5 inches so they would fit inside my card envelopes.

This is one of Ann's free resources available on her website.  A Holy Experience. She has several really good books. I have her on my blog roll so check out her website if you like.

Monday Mosaic - Busy Weekend

I had a very busy weekend so I have included a few photos from it's activities.  It snowed.  I have put up my Christmas decorations which includes my small ceramic tree which my aunt Irene made for me many years ago.  I choose to put only white lights. The telephone table was cleared to make room for the nativity.  I attended our Women's Ministries Christmas Brunch Saturday morning where the decor included turquoise ornaments.  I took an hour to take some pictures at the Conservatory.  I almost missed the nativity scene because it was so similar in color to it's surroundings.  I found a small blue bowl which matched my new dishes. It contains nuts, which points to my purchase of my supplies for caramel popcorn for the season.  I have many batches to make.  Also, it contains some Lindor Chocolates from lunch on Sunday where a friend and I had lunch for her birthday.  I managed to get back home in time to attend the 3rd Annual Community Carol Sing at the Lutheran church in the neighborhood.  I enjoyed it thoroughly!  We had good singing then hot cider and baking afterwards.  I met some new people from Brazil and Argentina.

Sharing at Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith at Lavender Cottage.

Christmas Cards - 5x7 Panels

I received a last minute Christmas card order.  These are two of the three options I presented.  They are 5x7 panel cards with a 4x6 photo placed in the center of the frame. 

For the one on the left I used my Alphabet Photography with JOY to the World featuring burgundy accents in the frame around the letters, in the words of the greeting and the printed frame on the panel front. 

For the one on the right I designed a Christmas sentiment with a selection of words and graphic elements.  I added color with a yellow star, the burgundy JOY and the green in the Christmas.  It is very graphic and will not be everybody's cup of tea.

The back of the panels were customized with a scripture verse, an appropriate sentiment and the couple's name.

I will reveal the one they selected a little later.