Countdown to Christmas 2011

I confess--I let Christmas 2010 preparations slide off into the pile of "good intentions" and never got my cards made even for friends, much less co-workers.  I of course used the excuse of renovation, then of NaNoWriMo and lastly of work, but in reality, pre-planning and less procrastination would have done wonders.

I already knew of (and visited from time to time) the great Christmas challenge blog, Bah! Humbug! (I had even played once) but I always let other things come before crafting last year.  Now, I have found a second Christmas challenge blog has just started (thanks, Sue for pointing us to this one on your great blog).  Jingle Belles are a couple of very talented women who are encouraging us to make a card a week (that's now 48 before Christmas--more than enough for my office and close friends LOL).

I had already decided to play at Bah! Humbug! and had decided on a gift card holder featuring holly.  Adding in the Jingle Belles challenge of inchies on a card seemed reasonable, so here's what I am entering for both blogs.  All papers, stamps, and punches are Stampin' Up!

This is the front of the holder; it is based on a great video tutorial from Holly over at Rubber Redneck but with several changes...the Always Artichoke inchies on the front are mounted on a belly band made of Crumb Cake.  The patterned papers are the recently retired Deck the Halls DSP and the stamps for the front are from the Tags for Christmas set which was also in the just-ended Holiday Mini.  Sorry I don't have measurements for anything--one of my best friends says I am way too OCD for my own good when I make cards and has encouraged me to "loosen up" and that's what I have done here.  I eyeballed everything, once I made sure the interior pockets would be nestled in well.  Speaking of the interior...

Here is the inside bottom flap (yes, I know--I need a photography class fast LOL...I promise to read my camera manual soon and also get a lesson in using my light box).  The green strip is actually the front of the bottom flap...I tried folding the top flap back all the way so it wouldn't show in the photo but couldn't seem to get it to hold still long enough to take my hand away, so pretend the top holly piece isn't there, okay?  You'll see it for real when you look at the inside picture below...

And finally, the inside.  The pouch is a Very Vanilla medium envelope that was sealed shut, then cut in half, so where the finger hole is on the middle panel, there are two pockets--one for a gift card and one for a hand-written note (or if the recipient is really special, a gift card in each pocket LOL).  The stamps on the bottom are from the Bells and Boughs set (again, recently retired--I still had all these things out so before storing them away, I decided to use them).  The red I used throughout is Cherry Cobbler--I love that color; it is a true blood-red and gorgeous!

So, I have one Christmas card/gift down for 2011...come join us at Bah! Humbug! and Jingle Belles, then we can all rest easy after Thanksgiving knowing we have our holiday cards done ;-)

Boss' Birthday Card (and a Challenge Entry)

My boss' birthday is today, so I threw together a quick card that had nothing wintry on it--when you have a birthday so close to Christmas, it's easy to get tired of red and green or winter-type cards.  These are the Stampin' Up! In Colors for 2010-2012--Peach Parfait, Pear Pizazz, Concord Crush and Poppy Parade, along with the Flower Brads and the Circle Circus stamp set on a plain Whisper White card blank.

I used a font on my PC (Matisse) and the Modern Label extra-large punch for the sayings which are edged in Poppy Parade (one of my new favorite colors).

I seriously need to learn to set up and use my light box properly--the Concord Crush circles are a beautiful rich purple but they sure look almost navy here, while the Poppy Parade items resemble a pumpkin orange color.  Oh, well, the card looks much better in person.  A quick FYI--with the weight and size of the brads, I mailed this in a padded outer envelope--and it required extra postage.

Then, as I was blog surfing last night, I realized one of my favorite challenge blogs, Stampin' Royalty, is celebrating their first birthday!  How cool--they are some very talented folks over there and I had wanted to play last year, but we all know where that idea went in 2010, LOL. So, I took to heart the fact that their challenge this week is for a birthday item, and I am entering this card there (if I can figure out how to link this post onto their blog).  Happy Birthday to your blog, ladies!  Go on over and get inspired ;-)

Let's Celebrate!

And what are we celebrating?  I am entering my first Challenges!  One of my BFFs over at GottHeartArt has said for ages that I make challenge-worthy items, so here goes.  Of course, speaking of challenges, photography is a huge challenge for me.  Trust me, this little pouch looks much better in person; it seems anywhere I am in my home that has blank wall space ends up with a green or yellow tint to the background.  If I am going to post more challenges, I need to do two things--1) learn how to use all the features on my camera and 2) set up a spot with a decent easel to take post-worthy photos.

Anyway, here it is.  A small gift pouch based on a great You Tube video from Monica's Passions (I love her accent too).  I made my pouch bigger by using a 8 1/2" square of paper.  The SU! Sending Love Specialty Paper (from the Occasions catalog) is glittered on one side, so instead of simply folding the pouch, I also used some SNAIL to keep it all folded neatly.  The Chocolate Chip edge was glued to each edge of the back side of the front flap and the brad holding the bow goes thru the front flap and the two folded sides, but not all the way thru the pouch front which keeps the inside of the pouch neat. 

I put a slight curl to the back edge (my idea) and crunched the bottom as Monica suggested.  Since I am bow-challenged, Monica's idea for affixing bows using brads absolutely ROCKS!

Other products used (all SU!) are the wonderful Pretty in Pink Sending Love Epoxy Brads, both Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip Classic Inks, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, and one of my all-time favorite punches, the Curly Label. 

And although I have always liked the wood-mounted stamps from Stampin" Up! they are truly rocking it with the new clear-mount, red rubber stamps, like this "With All My Heart" set.  That's where the punched label's background came from, while the saying belongs to the "On Your Birthday" wood-mounted set.

So, in for a penny, in for a pound.  Now, if I have figured out the Mr. Linky thing (another challenge for me--I sometimes get totally baffled by some of the simplest PC tasks), this seems to fit three Challenges:

1)     Stampin' Royalty -- Birthday Theme Challenge (Their first challenge)

2)     2 Red Bananas -- Banana Split Sunday Challenge "Think Round"

3)     52-Card Pickup --  Make It Count

52-Card Pickup is a totally new blog, and I had originally thought to enter this in their first challenge but they have already posted #2.  I still think it fits the post theme of aims and goals and choices, don't you?

Stampin' Royalty is new, too.  Somehow, new challenge blogs don't seem to be quite as intimidating to a challenge newbie LOL. 

I'm hoping the round edge to the stamp on the tag and the curved bottom help qualify this as "Think Round" for 2 Red Bananas--if not, well, there is always the brad and I will have lived and learned.