Making a List

Do you make lots of lists at Christmas time?  How about others in your family?  One list we often make is a list of who to thank for what as we open our Christmas gifts.  This year I decided to make some little notepads for the family so they can easily make and find their lists.  They are similar to ones I've made previously and shown on this blog. 

I started with notepads that were 3 1/2" x 5" in size.  For each I cut a piece of card stock 8 1/2" x 5 1/4", and made 4 score lines at 3 3/8", 3 5/8", 7 1/4" and 7 1/2" as shown below:

Then I inserted just the longer flap into an M-bossabilities folder and ran it through my Big Shot (note how the rest of the cardstock just hangs out the end):

Some of the folders I left this way:

For others, I took a sponge applicator and a stamp pad and lightly rubbed ink over the embossed areas (you'll be able to see how this looked when I show some other finished ones at the end of this post).  Next I glued my notepads in place using my ATG:

I used small pieces of sticky-backed velcro to hold them closed.  Then decorated the fronts as desired.  Here are a few other examples:

As you can see, this embossed background was sponged with red ink.  For the focal I used a fancy label cut with a Spellbinders die for the mat.  The stocking was a Small Stamp from Hot Off the Press.  I stamped it in black on some red paper, added silver and green accents with glitter gel pens, and a dazzle star on top of the snowflake.

This was another HOTP Small Stamp stamped in red onto a piece of white card stock that had been cut with a Spellbinder's die.  The red mat was made by tracing around the die and then cutting it out of red glimmer paper.  In addition to adding a bit of color to the stamp with my gel pens, I used a fairly clear colored Stickles and fun flock to cover the beard, and fur areas.  Then I added red Stickles for the holly berries and for little dots around the frame.

This one uses the Spellbinder's Holly Motifs (I think it was) and another Small Stamp from HOTP.  Once again I colored with glittery gel pens & added red Stickles.

This one uses a die from the Spellbinder's Decorative Labels Twenty-seven.  The stamps were from Studio G and came with some adhesive backed gems that I added.

Once again I'm using a Spellbinder's die and a Small Stamp from HOTP.  This time I stamped it twice - once on the mat and once on a separate piece of card stock.  Using the die as a stencil, I added chalk lightly around the inside edge for a frame on the mat. After coloring the second bird (using glitter gel pens & my Dove blender pen), while the ink was still wet, I sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and embossed it for a shiny look.  I then cut around the bird and mounted it on foam tape above the other one.  I added a few dots of red Stickles for berries.

Here's another Small Stamp from HOTP stamped in green on a die-cut piece (Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles).  For the snow on the branches, I used Stickles covered with Fun Flock.  I added a couple of 3-D Dazzles snowflakes above the tree.

This stamp came from Inkadinkado. I stamped it on a white die cut and colored it with gel pens.  Next I ran some silver thread stitches around the edge of the mat, threaded a silver ribbon through at the bottom, and tied a bow.  This was matted on another diecut - this one in silver.

Here's another stamp from Inkadinkado. I stamped it in white opaque ink on a piece of blue glimmer paper.  After the ink dried, I added color with chalk and gel pens, and then used some red Stickles to add some "pop" for the sleigh and the holly berries. This one is matted on white card stock (colored around the edge with silver ink), and a dark blue glimmer paper (cut with Marvelous Squares dies from Spellbinders).

This is another Small Stamp from HOTP stamped on a white piece that was cut with Spellbinders Label Twenty-seven and then matted on a piece of silver cut with a scalloped rectangle die. I colored the stamp with my gel pens & the Dove blender pen. For the snow at the bottom I added Stickles. For added interest, I drew around the outside of the white label with a red gel pen.

This one is also a Small Stamp from HOTP that was stamped on a piece of white card stock that had been cut with a Spellbinder's die.  Once again it was colored with gel pens and chalked around the edge.  I used a snowflake Dazzle on top of the original snowflake to enhance it.

The penguin one at the top of this post was another Inkadinkado stamp colored with gel pens.  The dies were Resplendent Rectangles from Spellbinders.

Let It Snow!

Today I have two cards, both of which start with this cute little snowman (a "small stamp" from Hot Off the Press).  I'll talk more about coloring the snowman when I talk about the 2nd card.  First, I'll just point out a couple of quick things with this card.

The snowman itself was stamped on a pre-cut piece of white card stock (die from Spellbinder's Splendid Circles).  I took a post-it note and cut it to protect the border because the stamp would have covered a bit of that lovely lacy look.  I placed this on another piece I had cut from a lightly patterned purple paper (the papers were all from a set of Christmas papers from Hot Off the Press).  Both this piece and the one with the sentiment were cut using a Spellbinders die set (Fancy Ribbon Threader).  The rest is pretty evident. If I remember correctly, the background is actually one piece of patterned paper, even though it looks like it would have been two.

A quick word about the bow.  I wanted to be able to mail this card and knew that if I tied a regular bow, the knot would be pretty bulky - so I simply formed a loop and ran a piece of ribbon around it, securing it with adhesive.

For this second card, I used my M-bossabilities folder (2 different embossing possibilities) to emboss the background.  The dark blue was embossed in one design, and the glimmer vellum in the other.  Together they make a striking background for the focal.  The focal itself is matted on a blue glimmer mat cut with one of my Marvelous Squares dies (Spellbinders).

To color the snowmen on both cards, I used a mix of glittery gel pens and pearlescent chalks.  I love using the Dove Blender pen with my gel pens to soften the effects.  For instance, the scarf was done that way.  The darker stripes are my gel pen, and the lighter stripes are color pulled from the darker stripes with my blender pen. I love the glimmer from the pens and chalks!

For this second card, the sentiment was stamped on a piece of white card stock that had been shaped by drawing around the smallest die (in the Marvelous Squares set) and then cutting it out with scissors.  A lovely silver-edged ribbon finishes it off.

Let it Snow!

Today's card is a fun little one that started with a gift tag I received on a package last year.  It was just too cute to throw away.  It's little body is glittered and looks really cute in person.  I added a bit of ribbon to it, and though it's a little hard to tell here, the snowman is popped up on foam tape for dimension.

The papers are from a Hot Off the Press Christmas card kit.  I stamped the greeting, and then went around the outside of the word SNOW with an opaque white gel pen.  The "snowflakes" are from a new "Fold and Tuck" die set I got from Spellbinders - called "Octagon Strips and Accents". It's so much fun to cut and emboss these little shapes and get the lovely 3-d effect as you fold back the little pieces.  I added a bit of Stickles to the words and the snow flakes, so they glitter like the snowman does.

Birds, Holly, and Poinsettias

Well, Christmas is coming fast and I need to be getting my cards finished!  Here are a couple more I made using the bird stamp I've shown previously (from StampinUp) for my focals, and my new Poinsettia embossing folder which I've also shown previously (from Sizzix).  As you can see, I started with a piece of red patterned paper which I glued to the front of the card, then added a slightly smaller piece of iridescent vellum that had been embossed in my poinsettia folder.  After stamping and coloring the focal, I cut it with a die from my Resplendent Rectangles set (love that set!).  I matted it with a piece of red, and ran a ribbon around it before attaching it to the background.

This next card was done in a similar manner, except there is no ribbon, and I used a nestability die to cut out my focal.  As you can see, this time I stamped on a colored piece of card stock and using the die as a stencil, lightly added a golden brown color around the inside edges.  The sentiment is a piece of art from a Christmas Cardmaking Kit from Hot Off the Press; the background strip is from them, too.