Gift Card Holders, part 2

I worked on my gift card holders tonight with a simple goal...get them done in less than an hour. I need 15 all together and managed to finish 10 within the time I allotted. I also broke out some stickers I have been holding on to for that "special" project. I think some of the stickers are two or three years old. My New Year's Resolution is an easy one I can keep--use the supplies I have.  

Rushing to get everything done...

With the exception of a few odds and ends, I have finished my Christmas shopping. Thanks goodness because I need to get in gear if I'm going to finish all of my holiday cards and crafts in time. I have several people I have purchased gift cards for, including my brother-in-law who celebrates his birthday this weekend. It is a simple card to make, just a 12x4 piece of card stock scored at the 4" marks and diagonally in the middle. I used Christmas themed paper to decorate and a Sizzix holy berry die and bingo...gift card holder. I need to sign the inside and may add one more piece of patterned paper to the inside to finish it off.

Christmas Decorations and Holiday Cards

I managed to get a round of Christmas cards done today. Four of "Holiday Happiness" cards and all but the final assembly on eight of the Manger cards.

I really wanted to use puffy stuff on the windows to look like snow but the transparency I used as the glass in the window wouldn't hold up to my heat gun. I used Stickles instead and while it doesn't show up well in the pictures, it looks nice.



It seems like this is version 37 of this card. I've tried different mediums to color this, different papers and different embellishments. When all was said and done, I decided less was more. I like "bling" as much as the next girl but shied away from it on this one so that the stamped image of the Baby Jesus was the star. I should be able to assemble the rest of the cards in less then 20 minutes. I would have finished them today but I had an impatient six year old waiting to decorate our Christmas tree and put out all of the other decorations.

Black Friday and Beyond...

I will admit that when my local Kohl's opened at 4AM on Black Friday I was there. When Target opened two hours later, I was there and more importantly, I was at Michael's before 9AM so that I could happily received 25% off my entire purchase, sale items included. My goal is to be done all gift buying before December 1st so that I can slow down and enjoy the wonder of the season with my son. Last year I spent so much time rushing around trying to get things "done" that I never really got to enjoy the time with my family and friends until it was almost time to usher in the New Year--of course, we ushered in 2007 with Scarlet Fever--Russell (my six year old) had it over Christmas Break.

I need to stop rambling and add my new SBS2's to my list so I can start getting to know them. It is after 11PM so it may not get done until morning but I am looking forward to checking in with them.

Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers (Group 2)

I was tooling around SplitCoast looking at the galleries and had wandered into the forum section when I came across an interesting post from Alana about looking for stamping friends who have blogs--the end result being an online stamping support group. She started a new blog for the first group that signed up and when it reached 30, started the second group. I happily added my name to the list. The blog address is: http://sisterhoodofthebloggingstampers.blogspot.com

I've been checking out others on the list and have found several wonderful women with awesome things to share--I am one very happy blogging stamper!

Thanksgiving Card for a Swap

I was kind of sad to give this card up because I liked it so much. The background paper is one I've had around forever and finally decided to use it and the stamps are from a clear set made by Fiskars. The leaves are die cuts from Cuttlebug and the strip behind the leaves is embossed (Cuttlebug again).

I've picked up a couple of Christmas paper slabs from assorted companies and have enjoyed playing with them in conjunction of my stamps. This card is for a swap I am participating in on Wednesday. It is from Splitcoaststampers' sketch challenges (I'll post the number later.)