Christmas Card Idea #9...An Ornamental Idea

Welcome Everyone!

I hope you've all had a scraptacular Christmas. I know some of you got digital cutting machines from Santa this year. Congratulations on starting the next level of your scrapping addiction!

Although I've had a Cricut Expression for a few years now, Santa (aka Mom) felt I needed one that matched our Sassy Scrapper Studio, so I'm the proud owner of a LIME GREEN Cricut Expression. I absolutely LOVE it and the newly released version of Make the Cut. And not to sound snotty or anything, but now I don't have to share a machine. Mom has one of her own now:) It can be quite tricky coordinating Cricut time when both people are cutting fools like we are!

Now on to our Ornamental Idea...


As much enjoyment as I get from using all the scrap tech that's available to us, it's always nice to go back to the tried and true techniques, like stamping. For these cards, I used both the CTMH Adornments stamp set as well as a Stampin Up ornament set. And no, I don't believe using the two together is some type of scrap-blasphemy:) It's impossible for one company to make everything, so you have to mix it up to get the look that makes YOU happy. Because after all, that's what matters; right?

I began with a card base in red. I used a piece of ivory cardstock as a matte, cutting it the same length as my card base. I then used a Martha Stewart border punch on the edge. I cut a piece of patterned paper and adhered it to the top. The finishing touch for that portion of the card is a piece of CTMH ribbon in a soft gold color. It's only available in the Mistletoe Creative Basics set.

Now, here's the coolest part of all. Do you need at least 30 or more Christmas cards every year? Between my husband's co-workers, church friends, scrapping friends, and family, I need a bunch. But why strain the budget? I purchased the patterned paper I used for this project at Hobby Lobby on clearance. It's made by Paper Studio, and for the insane price of 17 cents per 12x12 sheet, you can get lots of cards done cheaply. Now is the time to start combing the clearance racks both online and at your favorite stores. Some really cool Christmas papers will be on clearance soon after the holidays!

Enough about my bargain hunting skills. Let's get on to the stamping. I used a piece of ivory cardstock scrap. I cut it to the size I needed and stamped my three ornaments in red to mimic the patterned paper being sure to go off the edges with some of the images in order to get the effect I wanted. I then used black ink to add my strings and green ink to add my "So Blessed" sentiment. I then matted it with dark green cardstock and adhered it to my card. Quick, simple, and inexpensive...the makings of an awesome Christmas card.

Here is another sample of the same card. I changed it up a little because sometimes it gets a little tedious to repeat the same card over and over.


I hope you found both enjoyment and inspiration. Have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

8th Day of Christmas...More Snow In The Forecast

It's the day after Christmas and, yes, it is SNOWING! Can you believe it? My Mom, aka The Snow Angel, has been excited all week about the possibility of snow. For those of you in the far north, a little snow may not seem like a big deal, but to us here in the deep south, it's a rare opportunity for sure.



With the flakes falling outside, I felt that we should have another snowy showing. The card idea today was a challenge I gave myself. Create a Christmas card without using traditional Christmas colors and using an all purpose stamp. Here's what I came up with...

I used a script writing background stamp by Heartfelt Creations (http://www.heartfeltcreations.us/) to make my patterned paper. I then stamped a "snowflake" using a medallion stamp from Stampin Up. In the center of the medallion, I added a snowflake tag from the Quickutz Jingle CD Collection and the tag (Merry Christmas) is from the Quickutz Silhouette store. I used Make the Cut software and my Cricut to cut it out. A little bling in the center makes it totally frosty. The colors I chose are a popular decorating scheme, brown and teal.

For my second card, I used some "leftovers." I like to make use of positive and negative pieces when I can. For one thing, the last thing we need to keep track of is more scraps; right? I used the snowflake that was cut out from the center of the snowflake tag and placed it in the center of the medallion with some bling. I also used some Platinum Stickles to make all the little dots around the center snowflake sparkle. You can't see it very well in the picture though.

I'll be back soon with some more ideas. I still have a few left to share, and now that everyone has received their Christmas cards and gifts, I no longer have to keep everything under wraps!

In a few weeks, we'll be gearing up for Valentine's Day! I'll have some sweet ideas to share the love with your favorite Valentine.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

Christmas Card Idea #7...Let it Snow!

Don't you just love snow? Living here in the south all my life, I've had very few occasions to see snow. My husband, whose from Indiana, laughs hysterically at me because I get so excited when I see snow, no matter how small the amount. As we were leaving the grocery store last weekend, and as we were loading up our van, "The Scrap Mobile" (aka The Loser Cruiser) the flurries began to fall. I was hopping around like a four year old gleefully proclaiming, "it's snowing, it's snowing!" I wasn't the only one either. There was another lady the parking lot standing outside her vehicle, arms outstretched, attempting to catch snowflakes in her mouth. Needless to say, my DH, Keith, found this spectacle completely hilarious. He also made fun of me the entire ride home.




But seeing a few flakes fall really put me in the mood to make a few warm and cozy snowy cards.






For these two cards, I cut a snowflake out of craft cardstock using my Cricut Expression and Make The Cut (MTC) software. The snowflake itself is from the Silhouette store. I created a cut file in the MTC software to cut out the entire rectangle and snowflake portion. I then used a scrap of patterned paper behind the snowflake cutout. A bit of distressing with CTMH Chocolate ink and a sponge dauber gave it a kind of rustic, cozy look. I added a piece of embroidery floss for an extra dash of color. You can even use different shape cutouts like stockings, a wreath, an ornament.

Thanks for stopping by and have fun creating!

Card Idea #6...Flowers for Christmas

Hi Everyone!


Don't you just love flowers? They look pretty, most of them smell divine, and they can make almost any papercraft project better, whether elegant or funky. I made a lovely poinsettia card in red and gold, which coincidentially matches my Christmas tree. I was also inspired to create a Christmas ornament adorned with the lovely bloom.


Let's begin with the card...




This is elegant card was so simple I could have made it with my eyes closed. Well, maybe not closed completely. There were sharp objects involved. I began by cutting my card base from red Bazzill cardstock. I cut it 5.5 x 11 so my finished card would be 5.5 square. I cut a gold piece of textured paper to 4.5 x 4.5 and layered a piece of CTMH cardstock in ivory with approximately a 1/4 inch of gold showing all the way around. Then it was time for the fun stuff. I used a poinsettia stamp from Heartfelt Creations (http://www.heartfeltcreations.us/) which I stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with CTMH embossing powder in gold. I then used the Spellbinders Blossom #2 die to cut out the three poinsettias. I then took my Cutter Bees and trimmed half of the leaves off the two top layers, bent the remaining leaves for dimension, and used foam tape in the center underneath each layer.


What? No poinsettia stamp? Well, to make this project even easier and a little more glimmery, use a silk poinsettia from the floral department. Remove all the plastic centers, etc. and spray with Glimmer Mist. Burnt Red would be my first choice. After the flower is dry, shape the petals, add a brad to the middle to hold it together and use a glue dot to attach to your card. See how easy that was!


Now on to the ornament...

During the annual Christmas party at my husband's office, they do a "Dirty Santa" Ornament Swap every year. I decided to make a rosette ornament and was inspired by my card to add a poinsettia to the center for some wow factor. I began by cutting two strips of patterned paper 3 1/4 x 12 inches. I love, love, love the Anna Griffin holiday papers. They are so vintage-y. I then used a border punch to give it a frilly edge. Then began the scoring adventure. I am so thankful for my Martha Stewart scoring board. {If you don't have one, hop on down to Michael's at your earliest convenience and get one. I promise it's the best $20 you'll spend on yourself.} I scored the strips every 1/4 inch all the way across. After the strips are accordian folded and glued together, I added my poinsettia.

The poinsettia is individual leaves stamped with Versamark and heat embossed in gold. I then cut each leaf out using the Spellbinders leaf die made for Heartfelt Creations. After they were all cut out, I used a foam pop dot and layered the leaves. I added a little extra dimension by bending the leaves before I attached them to the pop dot. I then added some bling to the center and attached it to my rosette. The rest was easy. I attached a die cut banner with two tiny gold brands. The gold Merry Christmas is a piece of ribbon I attached to the banner. I added a piece of ivory organza ribbon to the top to hang it by. I actually surprised myself with how good this came out. It's such a vintage-looking ornament. I just love it, but I gave it away. I'm planning on making some smaller rosettes with poinsettia to use instead of bows on some packages next week.

Until next time, Scrap Sassy!

Card Idea #5 - Happy "Ho Ho Ho" To You!

Hi Everyone!


It's time for another sassy card idea. I was up in the scrap studio listening to Christmas carols and singing along with Harry Connick, Jr. I grew up in New Orleans, and Harry, Jr. is a staple, kinda like red beans and rice. I got in a really whimsical mood while jamming out to "Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus" and decided on this really cute and glimmery idea.





I started with a plain white card blank and ran it through my Cuttlebug with an embossing folder. After that, I used Glimmer Mist in Marshmallow to add a little zing to the plain white cardstock. (It's a little hard to see in the photos.) I added a strip of Heidi Grace shimmer patterned paper that I found ages ago at Big Lots. It was 25 sheets for $2. How can you beat that?


The other cardstock is Bazzill Bling. I used a Spellbinders label die. The rest was cut and/or drawn with my Cricut. The "Happy Ho Ho Ho To You" was typed into Make The Cut software with the bezier warp function. I put a black pen where the blade goes and it "wrote" my sentiment. Without unloading the paper, I replaced the blade and cut the circle around my writing. That was such a fun technique, don't be surprised if you see it again;)

The Santa hats are from the Quickutz Silhouette Jingle CD. The pink cardstock is from a Quickutz adhesive paper pack. I then ran it through my Cuttlebug for some texture and used {GET THIS} some pearl cream rub on. Think creamy eyeshadow for paper. It's a really OLD product. It was popular when I first started scrapping about eight years ago. I'm not even sure if it's still on the market. I used sticky paper (http://www.pkglitz.com/) and my soon-to-be famous Snow Angel flock and glitter mix on the hat band and pom-pom.

This is a very whimsical, girly, sassy little card that makes a wonderful girlfriend card. It's also great for a giftcard holder. The design is so easy, making a matching gift bag would be a snap too. Hope this is inspires you in your seasonal pursuits.

Have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

Christmas Card Idea #4...O, Christmas Tree!

I was working in the Sassy Studio yesterday coming up with some cool card designs and everything I did had a tree on it. I guess you could say I had a "Tree-mendous" day. Okay, enough with the silly puns. I made two versions of the same card design. Here's the initial design...




I'm still using the CTMH Mistletoe collection. I promise I'm going to be change collections real soon. There's some Basic Grey calling out to me from my stash. This is a tricky little tree to make, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. It's just a folded half circle. If you're using a cutting system like Coluzzle or Creative Memories, you can cut a whole circle and then cut it in half on your trimmer. Then you have enough for two cards. That's like multi-tasking :)

For the bow (and this is SOOO SIMPLE), just take a length of ribbon and make a double loop (four loops total). This is a NO TIE bow! Hold your pieces together in the middle and insert the ribbon in between the prongs of a brad. You can also use a button and baker's twine or embroidery floss. You would do that by taking the floss/twine and making a knot around your ribbon loops, thread the floss/twine through the button holes and tie a double knot or a bow. Both ways look really cute.

If you'd like more detailed instructions or a folding diagram for the Folded Christmas Tree, please email me or leave your email in a comment.

Now for the second design...



For mass production or the folding-challenged (and I'm one of them), I replaced the folded tree with a diecut tree. These trees are in the Silhouette store. You can cut them out with the electronic machine of choice. I always use my Cricut. I also added a bow to the side for a little different look. (I added the ribbon to the card and then tied a separate piece into a bow and attached with a glue dot.) The shaped layer is one of Penny Duncan's Shaplies sized to fit the card, which you can download for FREE at http://pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com/. It's cut out of plain CTMH ivory cardstock. I took a sheet music background stamp and stamped it in CTMH chocolate ink. I then too a sponge dauber that I'd been using, and without applying more ink, I smudged the edges for a distressed look.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

Third Day of Christmas Card Idea and a Shout Out

I just want to say THANK YOU to all the wonderful ladies that attended the card class and crop on Saturday. We had such a good time! I just love getting together with you all.  Sadly, we're not meeting in January, since the first Saturday in January is New Year's Day.  Being dedicated scrappers, we need to be with family and friends taking pictures and making memories to preserve; right? We'll be meeting again on February 5th, 2011 and there will be some scrap-a-riffically sassy Valentine's Day cards and projects.  I'm so excited I can't wait!

Now on to the matter at hand, our Christmas card idea...

I just adore the new CTMH Mistletoe Paper Pack that's available this year. It really has an old-time, traditional, country Christmas kind of feel to it, and it's perfect for a distressed card or layout design. I used an edge distressing tool to "rough up" the edges, added cranberry ink (with a dauber) to the card base for a little extra touch, and a button with gold ribbon. The card's finished size is 4.5 x 4.5. I just love square cards! I think they're cute, cute, cute!  Another idea would be to use burlap as a photo corner or instead of paper or jute for a bow.  That would give the card a old-fashioned, country feel.

Since I've been really late getting my posts up, I figure you guys deserve a little bonus for being so patient. Here is a layout I finished recently about my husband, Keith. He loves stocking stuffers, all those little silly, cheap gifts like oranges, chapstick, bags of walnuts, socks, pens, candy. I've even put his favorite year-round dessert, Cinnamon Pinwheels, stored in a tin inside his stocking. Last Christmas, while Mom and I were shopping at Kmart, we found this ridiculously large stocking and decided Keith had to have it. We stuffed it with everything and anything we could find, Alabama championship t-shirts, a huge pack of shop towels from Sam's, you name it! And I used my Cricut to create a tag in just the right size for this HUGE stocking.

I used papers from two of Basic Grey's collections, Dasher and Fruitcake.  I just love the distressed look of the papers.  I don't have to do anything to them :)  The acrylic frame and poinsettia are from Making Memories.  I found some olive green silk ribbon which I attached to a chipboard tag.  It was raw chipboard that I painted to match my page.  I stamped the word "Christmas" on it with brown Staz-on.  The journaling block is a stamp from Making Memories.  I stamped on white paper, then distressed with a stippling brush with both blue and brown ink.  I added an American Crafts chipboard tag as well.  The satin stocking is an ornament from Wal-mart.  I like to look in places other than craft and scrapbooking departments for embellishments.  The title "Stuffed" is chipboard glitter letters from Target's $1 bin.  I always make sure to stop by Target at least once a month to see what's new in the bargain bins.  I almost never go away empty handed.  The last time I was there, I found lime green metal mesh wastebaskets for $2.50 each.  They are perfect for my scraproom.  I have two!

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back soon with more sassy scrapper fun!

On the 2nd Day of Christmas Card Ideas...

Hello everyone!

I have to admit I've been busy this week planning some awesome projects for my card class on Saturday, so I'm kinda cheating today with my 12 Christmas Card Ideas. This idea is from my Mom, Joan. When it comes to cardmaking, she's the maven of movement, the fanatic of folding, the princess of pop-ups...

Well, you get the idea. She's always looking for something new to try and recently found this little gem. Finished card size is 4x4, but don't let the small size fool you. It packs a punch of cuteness! The paper for this project is K&Co as well as Santa, cardstock, Making Memories poinsettias, grosgrain ribbon, Jolee's Boutique bling, CTMH ink in Holiday Red and Topiary, acrylic stamp (merry christmas), and a Spellbinders label die. Once you get a hang of the folds, it's really easy. If you'd like detailed instructions, please email me or leave your email in a comment.

$5 for 5 Card Class Information:

Saturday, December 4th, 2010 from 9:30 to 11:30 I will be teaching my monthly card class. Messiah Church, located at 2072 Hwy 14, Prattville, AL is kind enough to let us use their fellowship area. We will be working on a "neat" technique for making glitter ornaments, vintage Christmas gift tags, snowflake and Be Merry cards, and a super sassy giftcard holder. All supplies are provided and the only thing you need to bring is yourself and the $5 class fee. If you'd like to join us, please email me so I can have a class kit ready just for you!

Sassy Scrapper Gathering Information:

Saturday, December 4th, 2010 from 10:00 to 6:00 located at Messiah Church, 2072 Hwy 14, Prattville, AL. The crop is free, just bring a snack to share and your favorite beverage. There is a great place nearby for lunch. Ria's Pizza has a lunch buffet for $3.99. Be sure to try the Loaded Baked Potato Pizza. It might sound strange, but it's delicious. Hope you can join us for the fun.

Have a Sassy Scrappy Day!

The Annual Newsletter - With a Twist!

I've spoken to both authors and receivers of the "Dreaded Newsletter." And I call it that, not to offend, but because those who write them see it as a chore and those who receive them tend to file them away with the rest of the bills and mail because they're just a 8.5x11 sheet of paper.

So after seeing both sides of this issue, I decided to come up with an idea to satisfy everyone...

If it looks like a card, it will be displayed with all cards received that year; and if it has photos and cute captions, it'll be enjoyed for years to come. My idea? A tri-fold card with both a Christmas message and a "year in review" photo montage.

I began with photos and Photoshop Elements to make the insert. If you're a digi scrapper, it's a breeze. For me however, although somewhat PSE savvy, it took a few hours. After that was done, it was off to the print shop for color copies. At 39 cents a copy, it was more economical than printing on my photo printer.

Next, create the trifold card base. I used Close to my Heart cardstock (New England Ivy) for my base and a Martha Stewart scoring board that I just can't live without. Then came the fun! Using the Mistletoe paper from CTMH, I designed the front and the sentiment on the inside, and voila! A super simple, totally sassy twist on the annual newsletter.

If you'd like detailed instructions on this project, please email me or include your email address in your comment.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Sassy Day!