Thank You

In the age of all our technology, the thank you card almost seems to be a lost art. I have encouraged my children to send these cards for Christmas and birthdays... and other appropriate occasions in between. The simple act of sending a thank you card was responsible for landing me my current job. It was a card that said “thank you for the opportunity to interview”, that brought my name to mind when another position came open in the same company. 

Not only is this card a first in many “thank you” cards that I will make, it is also a THANK YOU from me to you... for coming here to look at my cards, for reading my blog, and to those who follow my blog. I do this not only to satisfy my creative side, but to encourage other like minded people, and maybe even inspire a future crafter or card maker with one of my creations. Thank you for making this a great year and I hope to see you in 2018. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

None

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Dark Indigo (PTI)

Floral Boutique DSP (Stampin Up Retired)

Ink:

Night of Navy (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)
Thank You (Xcut Dies)

To The Point Edgers Die (PTI)

Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (SU)

Sponge Dauber (SU)

Christmas Quilt

I had this warm and cozy quilt card designed in my head from the moment I saw the die and knew I wanted to buy it. It makes a great Christmas card as seen here, but paired with pastels, can also make a great baby card too. I love buying items with more than one purpose. It’s like the word “congratulations”... it covers a multitude of events. 

A few years ago, Stampin Up carried adhesive sheets, and I am happy to say we now carry them again. They are excellent to use in small projects like this quilt frame. The hardest part for me with this card would be finding a color scheme I would be happy with. It took a few tries, but once I got this arrangement set up, I knew it was the one I wanted. A few dots of liquid glue in each space as I was assembling this card and it was finished. The adhesive sheet was truly the key to making this card come together quickly and easily. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Greetings of the Season (Stampin Up Retired)

Paper:

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Garden Green (SU)
Patterned Paper (Miscellaneous Scraps)

Ink:

Garden Green (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Quilt Square Cover Up Die (My Favorite Things)

Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets (SU)

Tom Bow Multipurpose Liquid Glue (SU)

Reindeer Games

I love designing cards and then having the creations come out exactly how you sketched them. The credit for lining up the background stamp on this card goes to my Tim Holtz stamping platform. The trick here was sliding the cardstock to the left while my stamp stayed in perfect position. The alignment was spot on and I was able to get it right on the first try. Yet another reason why I am such a fan of this stamping tool. 

I prefer non traditional shades for most occasions, so I naturally looked for alternate choices when creating this card. Blue is not my favorite color, but it is usually my first choice when going against the grain of mainstream holiday colors. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Dash Away All (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:

Dark Indigo (PTI)

Blueberry Sky(PTI)

Stampers Select White (PTI)

Cocoa Bean (PTI)

Ink:

Soft Sky (Stampin Up)

Marina Mist (SU)

Night of Navy (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Stylish Stripes TIEF (SU Retired)
Dash Away All Die (PTI)

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Ruby Slipper Stickles (Simon Says Stamp)

Silver Poinsettia

This card was created as an entry for the Unity Holiday Card Challenge. The caveat to this challenge: no red, no green. Red and green is traditional... but I have always been a fan of adding metallic hues to my holiday cards. I love gold, silver, copper or bronze accents this time of year. Christmas cards are my favorite to make, so I will always take extra time and effort to make them look elegant and special. 

On this card I choose the same layout as the one on the card I featured in my Friends of Unity blog hop post which you can see here. I choose navy and silver for this card, but unfortunately the navy did not photograph well and looks black in this picture. There are so many techniques you can do with vellum and/or a heat embossed image, but I stopped here as I felt any addition at this point would take away from the elegance and simplicity that I have obtained in this card. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

...Poinsettia with Love (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Dark Indigo (Papertrey Ink)

Brushed Silver (Recollections)

Vellum (Stampin Up)

Ink:

Versamark (SU)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat tool 

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Silver embossing powder (SU)

Friends of Unity December Blog Hop

Welcome Unity fans to our Friends of Unity December blog hop! This month I am featuring my favorite new reindeer stamp. I wasn’t sold on this one until I started seeing all the awesome creations from other fans just like you! 

When I decided to use this stamp set for my design, this idea popped in my head. I loved seeing the reindeer heat embossed, so I knew that would be one element of my card. I went back and forth on the color choices between gold, silver, or copper... then what colors next? I loved the elegant and simplistic look of the gold with the black so much that I didn’t attempt any other color combinations. I debated on the red nose... and as you can see Rudolph decided to make an appearance.

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

...Cheerful Prancing (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Vellum (Stampin Up)

True Black (Papertrey Ink)

Brushed Gold (Recollections)

Ink:

Versamark (SU)

Accessories:

Tim Holtz Stamp Platform (Blitsy)

Marvy Heat Tool

Gold Embossing Powder (SU)

Christmas Red Stickles (Simon Says Stamp)

FRIENDS OF UNITY BLOG HOP MEMBERS

Crystal O. Minkler

Wynne Grob

Eileen Mathys (You're Here!)

Robyn Jordan

Jeanie Hays

Amber Trubiak
Dawn Fields

Mistletoe Kisses

I have very few stamp sets in my collection in which all items have been inked. I am a self admitted font junkie... and when I first saw this one, it grabbed me right away. The words are easy to read and fun, covering a variety of December holidays. They are all sized nicely for a variety of projects... and perfectly for tags, as the name implies. 

On this card I choose a similar layout that I had used previously, this time to maximize the retired and soon to be retired green colored cardstock I had on hand. I seem to carry so much retired paper over from year to year, that I neglect the older colors in favor of the new releases. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Tin of Tags (Stampin Up Retired)

Paper:

Early Espresso (SU)

Whisper White (SU)

Cherry Cobbler (SU)

Emerald Envy (SU)

Mint Macron (SU Retired)

Presents& Pinecones DSP (SU Retired)

Ink:

Cherry Cobbler (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Large Scallop Circles (Spellbinders)

Pumpkin Season

Pumpkin season could be best described as the period between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. Where not only flavors burst on the scene with pumpkin, or pumpkin spice... but the decor does as well. I think you either love it or you hate it. I don’t believe there is a group of people who are just so-so in this area. I am a BIG fan. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, pumpkin spice lattes, but I draw the line at body lotion and similar. I like it, but I’m not that in LOVE with it. 

I choose a simple layout with this stamp, because I wanted the sentiment to take center stage. The colors and patterns in the designer paper are simply beautiful and hard to choose just one. I purchased this stamp late in the season, and am going to explore many possibilities with it next year. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Neat and Tangled Pumpkin Everything (Simon Says Stamp)

Paper:

Old Olive  (Stampin Up)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Dark Chocolate (PTI)

Echo Park Fall is in the Air (SSS)

Ink:

Pumpkin Pie (SU)

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot (SU)

Petal Burst Embossing Folder (SU)

Ornate Fall Greetings

Fall is a beautiful season. In Northern New York we are well known for the colorful display in our leaf bearing trees. With all that inspiration around me, this is the one time of year I seldom make fall themed cards. I seem to skip right over Halloween and Thanksgiving and start making Christmas cards. 

The stamps used were part of Simon Says Stamp ‘Stamptember’ product line. The background stamp has lots of potential with the henna type style. I can see that being used in a variety of ways... from a Copic colored birthday card to an embossed resist card with distress oxides. The ornate leaves also nicely coordinates with the same pattern and can easily be used for a fall thru Thanksgiving card. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Ornate Background (Simon Says Stamp)

Ornate Leaves (SSS)

Paper:

Crushed Curry  (Stampin Up)

Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Ink:

Versamark (SU)

Crushed Curry (SU)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat Tool

Clear Embossing Powder 

Corner Rounder Punch 

Hampton Arts Stamp Perfect

Full of Fall

Distress oxides are so fun to play with, and this fall color combination paired with this large leaf stamp is no exception. The leaf has so many possibilities... I just started this one since I am on an Oxide kick at the moment. 

I love large stamps... Ones that can cover almost the entire card front.  Especially designs that can be quickly colored in or embossed. Stamps that can make quick and simple cards when needed. These are my favorite... a design that is so simple and elegant that you can whip some up on a rainy afternoon. Having cards that just need a sentiment added is a great way to always have something on hand to send, regardless of the occasion. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

Full of Fall (Unity Stamp Company)

Paper:

Terracotta Tile  (Papertrey Ink)

Stampers Select White (PTI)

Vellum (Stampin Up)

Ink:

Versafine Black

Fired Brick Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz)

Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide (TH)

Peeled Paint Distress Oxide (TH)

Accessories:

Marvy Heat Tool

Clear Embossing Powder 

Silver Christmas Tree

Getting the finishing touches on my holiday cards for my BIGGEST craft fair of the year. This craft fair attracts buyers and sellers from miles away. In a good year, we can see upwards of 3000 people. This is an event where I make sure I go in well prepared. I check the weather leading up to this day like a bride would for her wedding day. Seasonal weather brings out extra shoppers, sunshine drives in bigger crowds yet, while rain may keep some people away.

I CASE’d this card from the Simon Says Stamp website. While I didn’t copy their design exactly, I took the basics from the card design and added a little of my own flair. I love the shadow/word bubble that comes with this die, because I feel using the vellum adds just a touch of depth and dimension. In this card I love using the softer colors as it is a break from the traditional red and green color hues. 

Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:

None 

Paper:

Hawaiian Shores (Papertrey Ink)

Brushed Silver (Recollections)

Perfectly Plaid Winter (Lawn Fawn)

Vellum (Stampin Up)

Ink:

None

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot

Believe Wafer Die (Simon Says Stamp)

Corbel Tree Collage Wafer Die (SSS)

Making the Cut

Making cards is one of my favorite outlets…  I was invited to a Close to My Heart party almost 20 years ago. That single invitation has cultivated into this wonderful hobby. 

When I make my cards, I rarely make just one. If I do, it’s because the card was a disaster and I will not make it again. I find that when I have my supplies out it is easy to make multiple cards. Four just happens to be my default number. Partly because then you need a base layer, you can get four from one single sheet of cardstock. If I like the card and am likely to make it again, I save it in a box marked “master cards”. Sometimes I will reproduce these cards, other times I will use the measurements or just duplicate the layout. It’s nice to have the measurements already done for you. 

I work a full time Monday thru Friday job plus I am an avid runner and reader. So in order to fit all these things in, I sometimes have to do my cards in stages. This is where it may take me 1-2 weeks to get my cards done for a craft fair. I will figure out how many cards I need to make, and make my samples and set them aside. I start by cutting out my card bases and other base layers. This also helps me figure out if I need to order more paper or if I need to change a color scheme to suit what supplies I have on hand. I try to use up colors that are going out of circulation (with Stampin Up, it would be retired or retiring colors). From there, I proceed to move up the card.  I will move on to embossing layers, punching out pieces or die cutting, stamping, etc. Once all the pieces are finished, it is not uncommon for me to spend an entire weekend assembling my cards. This is the best and easiest way for me to get this done, especially when you have a four legged fur baby that wants to help. Did I mention that crafting and audiobooks make a great pair?

Let’s start with ways to save money when making cards. My biggest one is… if my card needs a white, black, or cream colored layer I use Michael’s brand cardstock. It is the one that is commonly on sale 5/$10. Why use name brand card stock that is going to cost you five times as much? This can really add up and take away from your profit. Only you will know the difference.  

I keep all my sizeable paper scraps… white scraps go in a separate box and have multiple uses. For example look at this card… I did not have to cut full piece of white card stock to make the penguin, snowman, or their accessories. It was all scraps. Colored cardstock are stored with in different place.

When using glitter, mirror board, or other shimmery paper… make it a faux layer. What this means is that if your fancy paper has a layer over it, cut out other images from it to use on other cards. Does the image below help you understand better? Your recipient will never know there is a piece missing!

I have a very specific storage system for my paper that keeps my colored scraps with the full sheets of cardstock. This organization system has reduced unnecessary purchases by allowing me to see my inventory at all times. I also keep my cards to the A2 size, so I can get two cards from one sheet of 8-1/2 x 11 cardstock. Again, keeping my cost down and paper waste to a minimum. 

I don’t use pop dots, bling, ribbon, or other items that add height when selling my cards. These items could add extra postage, get damaged in the mail, and it simply takes extra time to make. I keep my cards minimal. No one has ever complained about the lack of “pizzazz”… because the never missed it to begin with.

I hope this information was helpful. Feel free to follow my blog as I post weekly card creations and blog posts about crafting. If you have further questions, please leave them below and I will happily answer them for you.

Thanks for reading!