Christmas Scraps

I always have good intentions with Christmas cards. In fact this year I have been pinning Christmas card ideas like crazy. I had every intention of making really elaborate cards this year. Obviously, that fell through. I have such a full container of scrap paper that I just wanted to use some of the leftover paper scraps I had there. I was actually able to make 32 cards using predominantly scraps. I did have to cut the base of the card using brown paper, but all the rest could be found in that overflowing drawer.

I rarely use stamps on cards. I feel like I just do not know how to make the most of them, but I do think these turned out nicely.

The cards are A2 in size. I used the brown paper as the card base and the background for the stamps. On some of the cards I added red bling for a Rudolph effect. I could not decide if I liked the cards better with or without the red nose, so I included it on only about half of the cards. I also used ribbon on the cards. I have an abundance of ribbon that I never use, and I really wanted to incorporate that on the cards as well. I was able to use about three rolls of ribbon to make these cards thus opening up space on my ribbon dispenser for one of those many rolls that reside in my closet.

I really think that my resolution for the New Year needs to be to use the plethora of supplies that I already have. I have been trying to break myself from buying whatever paper, stamp, etc. that I see on sale. It is getting easier, but wait, what is that I see? Christmas paper on sale. I really have to have it. Wow, this might not be easy.

Sunburst Cards

Tried a new card technique recently -- sunburst cards. They process looks more complicated than it really is. I used the following video to learn the process.

Putting the cards together was pretty easy once I got the hang of it. One of the biggest problems I had was with my paper cutter. It just is not cutting very straight, and seems to be worse since I replaced the blade. Might be time for a new cutter, and this was obvious while putting together these cards.

I had a pack of 6x6 paper in coordinating colors, so it was easy to pick matching papers. After putting the cards together, I just stamped them on the front with the greeting.

I really like the way these cards turned out. It could be a great way to use scraps in the future. 

Baby, Baby

I recently attended a baby shower for a good friend of mine. They don't know the gender of the baby, so gender neutral colors were in order. If you have ever looked for shower decorations in greens and yellows, it is harder than you think. Anyway, I decided to tackle two new projects. I created my first banner and bouquet for the shower.

I tried taking a picture of the banner hanging, but the light from the window made it impossible to see. 

The background shapes for the banner were created using Accent Essentials and the letters are from George and Basic Shapes. I used a brown marker to make the dots around the edges of the shapes, and everything is tied together using a sheer yellow and light green ribbon. I used grommets for the outside center portion to run brown ribbon through to hang the banner. An important lesson emerged from this experience..... Do not, let me repeat, do not run the ribbon for hanging the banner through the center. This makes it very difficult to get the sections to hang correctly. I would definitely run the ribbon through the top next time. I added stickers that I purchased at Michael's to embellish the banner.

The bouquet was much more challenging. I did not use my Cricut on this project. I used stickers that I already had and cut paper to match the size. I also added ribbon for embellishment. Since this my first time creating a bouquet, I tried to keep it simple. I purchased the bucket at Wal-Mart for $1 and inside I placed floral foam. I attached each piece with tape to a skewer and arranged.

You will notice there are also sugar cookies I made to match. Don't look too closely. Eventually, I will make an icing that does not run. Sigh....