How To: Refurbishing Handmade Christmas Cards

I`ve had someone ask for more details about how I refurbish old handmade Christmas cards.  Some of us save the really nice Christmas cards we receive.  It's hard to throw them out. So you may have all the cards you need by working with a bit of paper crafting mojo.

There are several scenarios so let me go through them.  You will need to provide new card envelopes so that is why I generally refurbish to the standard A2 Invitation size envelopes.

Christmas Cards - Peace On Earth

I added some cards to my Christmas box this week. 
I created this Peace on Earth graphic from several elements.  The large greeting I found on a free vector image site.  I modified it to my needs.  I added a earth to the bottom edge of the vellum. It is a map of North America which I found at Brian Jones Design.  As you can see I`m just using the very top of the image. 
This design was printed on a quarter sheet of vellum in a light grey color which was them embossed with silver powder. It was then trimmed to 3.75x5.00 inches.  
I chose a designer paper with a forest theme with pine trees which was cut to 4.00x5.25 inches.  I picked a pea green textured card.  The designer was adhered to the card front then the vellum was aligned and 2 tiny brads were placed in the bottom corners. 
Then the dove brad was placed above the word of Peace. 

I now have 103 Christmas cards.

Share Your Cup #219 - This Week

This was breaky before I headed off to teach my Be Present for Christmas class.  The dinnerware is all by Johnson Brothers. The mug - JB Cotswold in brown.  I paired it with a brown fluted plate by JB - Watermill pattern on a JB - Regency White fluted plate. The tea is Jade Citrus Mint which is one of the few teas I can drink with no cream or sugar.  A couple chocolate bran muffins and an apple.

Sunrise this morning filled the sky with pinks, purples and blues.  There is just a hint of what is to come coming over the evergreens.


I found this really nice bottle by Avon at the thrift shop this week.  The scent from the lid leads me to believe it may have been perfume. I have not found the exact bottle in my google search.  I loved the ridges on the body of the jar and the fluted shiny silver lid.  The price was right so it came home with me.

Dill is one of my favorite herbs so when they had some bunches of fresh at the grocery store on my trip last week I brought a couple home.  I lined my cookie sheet with parchment paper as they recommend the herb not touch metal.  I turned my oven to the lowest setting and then checked it every 30 minutes.  It took over an hour for each bundle. As you can see, it did not generate much in my dill container.  I`m not sure it was economical to do it, but live and learn.   It may have been better to use the second method which was to place the herb in a brown paper bag with slits to keep the dust off and provide air circulation.  It would likely have taken several weeks to get the same result.



This flower came across my path this week and it really has gorgeous colors.  I may need to use a larger vase for the size of it.  I loved it so I brought it home. 

Sharing with Jan at Daily Cup with Mrs Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #219.

Cuppa Tea Tuesday - Brunch Sandwich

This is the start of brunch this morning.  I set the table with my navy blue table cloth, a white Battenburg place mat, and the large Blue Carnation plate made in Japan.


I made a tomato and cheese open face sandwich on whole wheat toast.  I used fresh garden tomatoes and sharp cheddar cheese. I topped it with a bit of steak spice, salt and pepper.  It was placed on the salad plate from the Johnson Brothers White Regency which was centered onto the Blue Carnation dinner plate.  The sandwich was terrific.

I made a pot of Masala Chai tea and served it in the Johnson Brothers White Regency teacup and saucer.  I added some honey and cream to make it the way I like it.



The teapot is my Cobalt Blue Ikea 365+. I love this tea pot because it pours well and the lid stays in place.

Here's the full photo.  Brunch was very good.  I repeated the use of the Regency White to tie this tablescape together.

Sharing with Cuppa Tea Tuesday hosted by Ruth at Antiques and Tea Cups.

Mosaic Monday #11

This is what Thanksgiving Sunday looked like at my parent's house.  There was at least 4" of the white stuff when I brushed off the vehicles Sunday AM and it was still coming down.  I had to brush my car off again before I left. Driving home was decent all things considered because it did not go below zero so things did not freeze, otherwise it would have not been pretty. I hope that it goes which will the ground a good moisture layer before winter actually comes.  Really puts a wrench into crop picking activities and may just mean no more combining for some farmers.




I picked this rose late last week as just a bud.  With water it has blossomed into it's full glory of deep pink.  We did receive snow here in the city so all plants are going to be done for.  I see it's below zero this morning so that is enough to kill most plants.  Hopefully, there will be reprieve to rake leaves, clear flower beds and generally prepare for winter.  The white stuff this soon is a pretty rude awakening.

I thought I would show my Chocolate Bran Muffins in their pretty Morning Glory Silicone Muffin liners from Steeped Tea.  The black ones in the top right are from Pampered Chef.  Using muffin liners saves paper and ultimately trees.  My regular followers know that I make a batch of these every week and they have been features on posts. 

My sisters have been generous in sharing garden tomatoes.  I received another bunch this week.  Yummy tomato and cheese sandwiches.

This wonderful vase of dried hydrangeas are at my aunt's house.  I was over for a visit on Friday, which when the snow started.  I found the vase in a vintage rose color worked so well with the pink hydrangeas.  Add a vintage ivory crocheted doily and it was a nice photo.  It was a quick put together and it was late so the natural light was missing. 


Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life who hosts Mosaic Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving

We here in Canada are celebrating Thanksgiving today.  I will be spending time with Mom & Dad and several sisters.  I am grateful that Mom is still here.  She is an amazing lady.  I have a friend whose Mom is quite ill, other friends have already lost their Mom and other friends who are very far away from their Mom. 

I am wishing all visiting a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

First Snow - October 7 2016

I was out last night and driving home was wet roads with the expectation that the streets would be icy tomorrow.

This is what the vehicles in the parking lot looked like last night!
I can't believe it.

Traveling will not be fun.

Be safe!

Refurbished Cards - Set 2

Another set of refurbished cards for the church fund raiser.

These are such nice cards to it is satisfying to give them a second life.

Some simply needed a new insert, some need a new card base, some needed to be straightened out and all got new inserts and envelopes.

Refurbished Card - Second Life

I have received many wonderful cards from friends, coworkers, family over the years.

These cards are way too nice to throw away.

When I heard that card donations were needed for a church fundraiser

I refurbished 25 of them and am ready to have them have a second life.

Simple Sentiments Box

I made another set of Simple Sentiments.  This time it was a box I am donating for an auction taking place soon.

I included several different greetings as well a no greeting one.  Thanks so Much, Just a Note, Thinking of You, Hello, and no greeting.

The graphics and frames from the The Graphics Fairy.

This set features my photos from my photo calendars.  They have been trimmed from the calendar sheets and adhered to the card front above the greeting/graphic. A great re use idea.

Share Your Cup #218 - This Week

This was breakfast this morning.  I laid out my new navy tablecloth with a Battenburg lace table mat.  I set the navy and white Blue Carnation large plate with the white IKEA ARV salad plate on top. I chose apples, rye bread toast, couple slices of old cheddar cheese and chai tea.
I drank my Himalayan Chai from a IKEA 365+ Cobalt Blue mug.  I drink my chai tea with a bit of honey and cream.





The apples are from Mom's tree as she brought some back with her this week.



I put together likely the last bouquet of the year with a few small yellow crysanthemums and some Celosia ‘Dragon's Breath’ in the background in a lovely small white vase.

I've decided to change the containers I use to store my eggs in the fridge.  I buy eggs in card board containers but they are getting so flimsy and soft that there is a danger of cracking eggs.  I acquired a couple of these clear containers which will keep the eggs more secure. Also, I can see at a quick glance how many I have when checking for a recipe.  A win win for me.

I had this book on my night table for 3 weeks and could not finish it.  I'm sure the author is representing the atmosphere of the talent shows accurately but it was a most frustrating reading experience.  About half way through I read the last few pages to see how it turned out but I was done with the insanity for Zack of competing, being far away from Reese and the unwanted attention from Zoey.

Sharing at Share Your Cup #218 hosted by Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs Olson.

Be Present for Christmas - Lesson 1 - Come

I have provided a journal for the participants. It provides a central place to organize their experience.

Each week, they can include their prayer lists, the lesson plan, their Random Acts of Kindness, their family activities, and other relevant information.

I have cut a Stampin Up Top Note to be adhered to the front or the inside cover to identify the owner of the journal and the class.  Some journals have stripes, some dots and some chevrons.  Red, pink and grey.

I'm selecting my lessons from The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp.  The book provides 24 lessons for each day of Advent of which I have chosen 6 for this class.  We will have readings, questions, discussion, and an activity each week.

The stump brings forth a small new shoot.  We must come as we are, ready to look at the smallest, find the shoot in the stump, find the broken in the cracks of the world and offer a word of love which will bring about miracles. Because in the rush, in the hurry, in our addiction to speed - it might just be a bit like stepping on the shoot that sprouts from the stump. Advent is made of the moments.

This pink one is my book for the class which I will for this year's classes as well.  I am running a Monday evening and Thursday morning class.

I'm teaching a class I've called "Be Present for Christmas" and the first class is tonight.  It is a class to help people slow down, focus on the reason for the season, and prepare their hearts for Christmas.

I am starting with Gratitude.  I've read Ann Voskamp's 1000 Gifts from which I have taken a small excerpt about this very subject.  Living with an attitude of gratitude changes us. 

Mosaic Monday #10

I bought a navy table cloth last week.  That rounds out the colors I think I need.  I have red, white, navy, pink, yellow plaid, and yellow damask.

I love the ribbed texture on this one and it washed like a dream.  No tag so I'm not sure what it is made of and so no idea how stain resistant it will be.  I will enjoy it.













This glass pepper shaker came home with me this week. It was missing it's partner so I got it half price.  It has a stick of Torre & Targus so I assume it has never been used. It is a challenge to photograph so I will have to work on it.

I found this barn board frame for a song at the thrift store.  I will be framing one of my photos in it for my craft sale season.














With the changes that took place on Blogger September 29, 2016 which we had been advised for several weeks, I lost all my blog lists. 

My Favorite Blog List, Card Challenge List, Favorite Places List, Techniques, Digital Sources and others which I don't remember because I was counting on finding here on my blog.  Shame on me for depending on the internet for securing information I would like to access regularly or only occasionally.  The Blogger Forum says they are working on it.  They may return or not.  Sad for me.  Live and learn.

Our city finally has a full ring road that allows travellers to bypass the center of the city and carry on east, west, south or north. It opened Saturday and I used it yesterday.  It is wonderful!!!!












Submitting to Mosaic Monday hosted by Maggie at Normandy Life.

Mats for Fabric Art

I created some card stock mats for fabric art made by my friend Ada.  The clip frames are 3.5 x 5 inches which is a standard size.  I was able to cut the hole in the center with a die from the Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator Dies - A2 Matting Basics B.  I chose card stock which coordinated with the colors in the art.  Textured green card stock on the top left and felt finish card stock in eggplant on the top right. Bazzil Great Lakes textured on the bottom left and Stampin Up Soft Suede on bottom right. I trimmed the piece of card stock down to the right size after I had die cut the hole in the center.  With the lines on my cutting board I could measure even spaces all around and cut with an x-acto knife.  I like that fact that the die leaves a narrow embossed layer which add a bit of something more to the mat.

She is a fellow artist who will be participating in the Mission Possible sale on November 4-5th.  Check my events page for details.

Christmas Card Challenge - Oct - Black/Polar Bear

The Christmas Card Challenge this month is black and polar bear.  I have always cut polar bears with my Cricut so I decided I need something new.

After a search on line I found this coloring page image at Supercoloring.  I sized it to be the front of an A2 sized card at 3.75x5 inches. I added a black border and printed it on a quarter sheet of white card stock.  I then selected metallic blue, metallic silver and black from my Crayola pencil crayon set and started coloring.  I used the blue for the sky and the silver for the snow.  I added a bit more pressure on the shadow lines and just under the baby bear. I use the black for the noses, paws and ears.  I did not worry about going over the border because I was going to trim later. Once done coloring I trimmed it to the border.  I used the black crayon to color the white cut edge. The image was then added to a warm blue layer cut to 4.00x5.25 inches then onto a black card.  This makes a winter card which works for those on my Christmas card list that don't embrace it the way I do.

I've lost all my lists from my blog when Blogger made changes on Sept 29th.  It will take a long time to recover what I lost and some I may never remember.  It's amazing and silly how we come to depend on this on line world and a reminder how not in control of it I am. 

Baby Boy - Customized Giraffe Frame

My sister requested a frame for her grandson with the colors grey and yellow.  I had a good quality metal frame in stock so I have put together a frame for her.  I made a similar one for my nephew's baby boy.
The frame is not standard size at 13.75"W x 10"T which meant cutting a custom mat.  I chose a medium grey linen card stock and cut it to size. I measured 1.5" from the edges and penciled in the hole on the back.  I cut it with an x-acto knife and metal edge ruler.  The opening is 10.75W x 7.00 T.
The letters were cut with the Cricut from the same card stock.  The cartridge I selected is Base Camp which provides a basic roman letter.  It is not mono spaced so more calculating had to be done to determine the size of the letters.  I cut the name at 2.25 inches. The date was cut at 1.75 inches.  I chose a piece of yellow card stock that matched the frame nicely and adhered behind the grey mat.  I then adhered the letters and numbers with quick dry adhesive which has a very small pointed applicator which works well for small pieces.
I found the giraffe graphic on CLKER.  I changed the colors to suit this project.  I decided to have a Dad, Mom and baby giraffe.  I placed those to leave room for the heart. I placed a line on the bottom to give the images context. I sized the image based on the space available in the middle and I color printed the central panel on a piece of vellum 4.25x 11 then clear embossed it. I punched the heart from the same card stock and adhered it.  This has adhesive behind it to stick it to the yellow card stock.  The ends were tucked under the grey mat and taped down.
The glass and backer were added and it was placed in the frame. It looks great!!!

I was asked to update the vellum.  This is the final version after a couple of versions.