Why do I never finish my Christmas cards on time?

Every year I teach Christmas card workshops. I design multiple cards and cut literally hundreds of Christmas cards...for everyone else. It's a classic case of the shoemaker's children going with out shoes.

Every year I vow to get my cards addressed and mailed out early. I'd settle for on time even. I think about them, plan them, cut them, stamp them, design a computer printed insert with pictures and everything...and every year they seem to be mailed out the week after Christmas. Sigh...

I should accept my fate and bow down to the wisdom of my friend Leigh Anne and her no stress New Year's greeting card/letter instead. Every year I look forward to getting her letter and enjoying the fab and funny letter inside. Does it bother me that it comes after the holidays? Nope - I love the thrill of getting actual mail (not bills or ads) ANYTIME, for any reason!

Yet something in me clings to the deluded hope that one of these years I'll get my cards addressed and mailed off on time. Yes, this is my card for 2011. The other side is a cute pic of the boys and our change of address for the new house. I cut an acrylic sentiment apart to build my Joy and Peace Sentiment (something I love about acrylic stamping - I control the image!). I sponged the edges of every two step stamped wreath (and each door panel), and glitters the wreaths with Glitter Glitz Gel. I set the door handles (Bigger Brads) and embellished the computer printed insert with a stamped swirly border and Believe Paper. And I thought I was keeping it simple!

Tonight I finish addressing the envelopes and finally mail off our cards. Does it mean less because it's a wee bit late? I hope not - because we have a lot of Love and Good Wishes for our Family and Friends. Especially since we live so far from most of our Family. Which is why last week it was way more urgent to spend time with family (visiting from out of state) then finishing my pile of 99% finished cards....It doesn't mean we don't love you, it just means that when there are actual lovely family babysitters in town, you take time to smell the roses (or mass produce homemade gluten free cheese crackers without a 2 year old monkey clinging to your hip).

Hope you had a Merry Christmas, Friends and Family! And a Happy New Year...now where did I put those stamps?

P. S. The design for my card was inspired by a photo from Heart 2 Heart challenges (twiggy wreath, red & green), lots of sparkle!

Believe Workshop for December

Woo - I have been stamping the midnight oil getting ready for the Black friday holiday Hoopla this week...but in the mean time I did find some time to get the Believe pages together for December! I already have the perfect pictures in mind for the first Layout, which is my take on the CTMH Believe WOTG layout (added some dry embossing, StickEase, extra metal/bling, and GLITTER!). We just had the goofiest Santa pics taken with the munchkins (Go see them!) and as soon as I get to Costco those pics will have a cozy new home!

Workshop details below - RSVP by December 9th to reserve your kit. Bring a new friend with you and get FREE Glitter Glitz gel!

Believe Workshop: Tuesday, December 27th

6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

6 PRECUT pages - bring your pics and finish your Holiday scrapping, easy peasy!

Basic Kit: $25

I Want It All: $35 (includes a C sized stamp set!)

This post linked to the Heart 2 Heart Time Challenge!

Black Friday Holiday Hoopla!

It's that time of year...time for crafty chicks to think about handmade, from the heart holiday gifting and cards! Not sure you have the time? Come to the annual Black Friday Holiday Hoopla and let me show you how!
What is a Black Friday Holiday Hoopla? It's a fabulous holiday themed day of projects - instead of fighting the crazy crowds, you could be sipping cocoa and stamping the day away! All the projects are precut and ready to stamp/assemble for stress free crafting time. You'll have the whole day to spread out and create your projects. Light lunch and snacks are provided. Plus there will be goodie bags, prize drawings, and lots of giggling!

Choose one project, multiple kits of a single project (in case you need to gift to lots of family/friends), or take one of everything - the choice is yours. You can bring outside projects as well - all are welcome (well, at least up to 20 for seats!). The first ten stampers who pre-order the I Want It All package will get the Holiday Brag Book project pictured above for FREE (retail value $20)! The Bonus project has ten adorably decorated pages inside for adding 4x6 photos and journaling, and will not be made available to purchase separately.

Holiday Hoopla!

Black Friday, November 25th From as early as you feel like arriving to 5 p.m.
Super Saturday, November 26th Bonus Crop/Class time, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.


Lunch and snacks provided on both days.
Can't attend? To Go kits available IF ordered by the RSVP date, to be mailed directly to you!
RSVP by Monday, November 14th!

Class Choices:

Awesome Advent Activity Box ($20): Create this box chock full of ideas for daily holiday activities through the month of December. Add a picture to the back of each activity card to easily transform your activity box into a memory keeper your family will cherish and enjoy!

Terrific Tree Decor ($15): Craft this sparkly set of two paper trees for your mantle this holiday season. They coordinate nicely with the Advent box for display, too!

Pretty Picture Calendar ($15): Designed by my talented friend Ginni, this perpetual calendar will brighten anyone's day! Add 12 of your 4x6 photos for a wonderful (and easy) year in review. CLICK HERE to see a sample of an inner page layout!

Charming Card Tree ($25):  I can't wait to hang this gorgeous holiday Card tree (designed by Ginni) up in my entry way! The "ornaments" on the tree, made with Cricut and our new Icings Clear overlays, are on clips so you can add your holiday greetings to the display as they arrive bringing cheer and love to your home.

Stamp-A-Stack ($1 per card): It's back - the most popular card workshop of the year! Choose from 4 pretty holiday card designs and order the exact number of cards you need at just $1 per card! CLICK HERE to see my post with pictures of all the choices. For each order of 25 cards you'll get FREE glitter glitz gel in the color of your choice!

The I Want It All Option!
Can't decide which projects to choose? Take the full day of classes! For $100 you'll get one of each project including your choice of 25 Stamp A Stack Cards, PLUS the Free Glitz Gel AND (the 1st ten who RSVP with payment) will receive the bonus Holiday Brag Book project. Not to mention bonus tickets for the drawings that day. Some substitutions available - contact me for details!

Card Patterns 138 - October SOTM!

Hello there, Stampin' Friends! I can't believe that October is almost over! I've been stamping a lot lately, but I've had ADD of the stamping project or something...ten projects spread across my room in various stages of almost done and then I'd move onto something else. So I'm gonna try to post something every day this week and share what I've finally been finishing!

Tonight, I just have a quick card I whipped out today when I was cleaning up my creative mess so my team can come to play at Monday Motivations tomorrow night. I got the sketch for this card from the Card Patterns blog - love their sketches! So many cute ideas too. Check out the sketch and, if you play along too, leave a comment here so I can go peek at YOUR stamping goodness!

I have been addicted to my Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge this month (as you'll see in my projects this week), and there's barely a lick of stamping on this card. I cut the stocking and the White stocking accents, the scalloped bottom piece and the sentiment mat with my AP cartridge. The paper is from the Believe Paper packet - how cute is that star/polka dot sky blue paper? I added Stardust Glitter Glitz gel to the Stocking accents and the stripes of the stocking bodies. I tried them onto the card with Waxy flax and 3-D Foam tape, and polished off the sentiment with some Red Sparkles. See ya back here tomorrow for TWELVE more cards!

Sneak Peek: Christmas Card Swap

Ooh - Mojo Monday took the week off and I guess I lost my mojo! Between Gabe's freakouts over Kindergarten and getting everyone settled into the new routines, my poor stamp pad upstairs was super neglected this week. I did get to hang with my scrapbook club gals on Friday and that invigorated me into getting started on the 1st of four cards I'm doing for my friend Tina Lovell's swap this month. I love it when the scrappers are here!

The card itself was inspired by a circle card I saw on Pinterest done by a talented gal named Shari Carroll. Her lovely scattering of circles down one side of the card made me think of the new Countdown set that was already sitting on my desktop (since I'm working on a adorable Advent Calendar box...coming soon!). I cut out all the circles and that scalloped/punched border with my new Cricut and CTMH's awesome Art Philosophy Cartridge. I added some extra bits of the new Believe papers that weren't in the original design and a lot of the new red Glitter Glitz gel plus BLING! I used pearls, 2 kinds of Sparkles, and one of the fabulous new Bling Buttons, which I love more than chocolate. OK, not more than chocolate, but it's a pretty tight race.

More cards and artwork is coming - I feel the creativity wheels a-turnin' again!

Also linked to Running With Glitter's cool Linky party - check out the fun!
H2H Challenges Virtual Holiday Card Swap

Mojo Monday 205

Whew - I think that's a turkey of Mojo cards completed on an actual Monday! I had my team meeting tonight, so I was stamping and chatting CTMH all night - then after I hit my Mojo card in earnest. As soon as I saw this MOJO 205 sketch I knew I wanted to use the Believe Papers along with that adorable snowman from the August special Pair-A-Phrase Set. I've been percolating a card with those anyhow, and this sketch was just the thing I needed to set off to creation-land!

I stamped the Snowman from Pair-A-Phrase in Sky ink. then I made him a cozy little post-it mask and stamped the Index card from September's SOTM (sneak peek!) over top of him in Grey Wool ink. I used my Versamark pen and Winter Chalk palette to lightly shade my snowman. Then I detailed him up with Red and Stardust Glitter Glitz Gel. He even has little pink cheeks, and a swipe of glitz all along his tummy!

I stamped the heart on a bit of plaid scrap and sewed on the clear buttons. Then I trimmed off one of the scalloped stripes from the stripey B&T to make the border along the right side of the card. stitched cranberry ribbon for the bow, and the new Green Pompom ribbon for the bottom border.  I sewed on the rest of the buttons, and curled up the ends of my waxy flax on the main big button using my piercing tool like a curler. A few more touches of glitter gel and now my card is ready to warm someone's heart!