Christmas Card: Rejoice!

Will I ever be sick of making Christmas cards?  Maybe, but not today.

After a while of trying to meet the deadline of the Christmas fayre by making several identical cards, I grow little bit tired of it.  I am just not a very commercial person, and even with the "identical cards I made, I try to change the colour, shape, or sentiments as I possibly can.

Because crafting to me is to creating different styles of me, to be unique and personal, as opposed to commercial, mass production, and cost down.  But don't get me wrong, I also love to be recognized and make a little profits along the way (who doesn't?)  It's just not to the point where I am forced to give up my own style.  Still I am trying to find it, and a lot of times doubting if it's actually good enough. (laughs)

Today I'm completely disorganized.  I let/make Peter take Ashley to school's 12 Days of Christmas (Dubai version) rehearsal and swimming lesson after, so I can just sit down on my craft room floor thinking what that I want my card booth table to look like.  I spend a good hour researching on Pinterest and stacking my boxes, mini wooden easels, trying to get that same ethereal, je n'ais sais quois feel of a lady's display table.  I give up eventually.

Fear is seeping through the walls and try to get me.  I came back to my true self, randomly picking up a 5 by 5 inch card base, using what's left on the table, which is pretty messy by the way, and just started stamping and assembling a card.  Then it is done.



Not the most complicated nor technical, but it is a lovely card.

  

Done for now.  I know I'll be tossing and turning, thinking about the props for the Christmas photo booth.  Oh why did I get myself into all this?!

Christmas Card - Blessings

When I saw this die at SimonSaysStamps.com and placed the order, I didn't think it would look so stunning beautiful on a card. But it did, and I'm glad I can make a modern and unique card with it.

Originally I made one with white card base without the twine, and I was quite happy with it already.  But then given that I don't have much white card stock left, I decided to make a different version using craft paper card stock, and it works just great.  

Very happy now.  

From our Home to Yours - a Lovely Christmas Card

Yet another busy week.  I'm sure most of us often wonder how, after we had kids, our lives begin to fill with errands, chores, routines and other bits and pieces.  Luckily with only one child I can still get some breaks before she finishes school and my husband comes back from work.

Making cards is definitely one of the many joys during my breaks between dropoffs and pickups.  Through stamping, cutting, and gluing I actually regain a short moment of peace.  It is almost therapeutic and makes you feel happy.  Amazing.


A week ago I picked up this set of WPlus9 Christmas stamp set bought last year, and finished a card with it.  I'm surprised again with so many variations the stamp set can create.  And this is one of them. The only thing is I haven't gotten the coordinating die set yet so have to hand cut everything.  (the die set is on the way though, yay!)

The best thing about this stamp set is that you can mix and match them anyway you want and still make a great card.  It's lovely with a twist of country style but still look modern.


I'm happy that a good friend of mine had actually ordered one from me.  It is so rewarding to see not only the creation but also the fact that there are people who really love and would pay for it.

Simple Distressed Christmas Card with Wreathe, and a Twine

I have just made a series of Christmas cards recently for some of my friends.  They are amazing mums and are flexible, knowing that I don't have many stock due to the pricey supplies in Dubai.

More are coming, but here's one of them.

It's actually very easy.

Distress the white base card with distressing ink(Colour: scattered straw).
Stamp wreaths on two diagonal corners. Decorate with red liquid pearls randomly around the wreathes.

Cut a strip of white paper and knip off ends with scissors to make it look like a label. Distress edges.   Stamp sentiments and leaves, and decorate also with liquid pearls.  Use foam tape to adhere the strip onto base.

Finally tie the twine on just below the sentiment strip and you're done!

Thank You Card with Heart, Wings, Crown and Little Quirkiness (Part 1)

So it is the end of school term, the beginning of summer break and sleep-ins, the moment when mum's coffee/happy hours come to a halt, and the time not knowing where to take the bored kids to exhaust their inexhaustible energy...(which is impossible)

Still, some are happy, perhaps most happy of all are the faculty who finally do not have to handle our brats for a good period of time.  Come to think of it, during the whole term the teachers teach our little 4 year-olds common sense & knowledge, guiding them step-by-step to be good girls and boys, making sure they enjoy their school hours.  It's one of the hardest jobs in the world, and we all should be thankful to the teachers and their hard work.

Therefore last week, we parents decided to give the two teachers a present that everyone can chip in a little as well as Thank You cards that I volunteered to make. Very happy that my skill can be part of the token. :-)

This time no distressing at all.  I should stitch around the wood grain panel, but haven't even started reading the manual of my brand-new sewing machine yet.

Love the details on the blue embossed strip and the twine.

The gloss (clear embossing) on the crown could be done better with glossy accent. Need to buy it.

Love the golden music notes! 

Valentine's Day Card made with just ribbons and twines - No punch, no stamp, no tool needed. Super easy!

Remember back in my home I had tons of washi tapes and I made all kinds of cards such as this one?

Cards like this takes little time to finish, and usually with simple lines washi tapes make great CAS cards.  Therefore, when I saw CAS-ual Friday's challenge this time, I knew my one hundred and one washi tapes will make it work. 

And then what do you know?  I forgot to pack any washi tape with me for travel this time.

So I looked around and found some ribbons I got from the local scrapbooking shop right before leaving Singapore.  And so I made this card. :-)

What I did was to position the two ribbons and fixed with double-sided tapes.  Then I hand-cut the hearts and stacked them together with foam tape, tied a twine, (notice that I cut the bottom of the bigger heart so the twine stays in place) and adhered with foam tape on the card.

Style-wise, since this card is for my husband, I want it to look modern and masculine.  I picked a geometric patterned paper and then use one pink and one chevron heart.  I think that pink heart is all he can take LOL.

And a close-up look at it you'll see the laminated crowns on the pink heart.  Cute!  :-D

So you see, no punch, no stamp, no tool. With just scissors it's surprisingly easy.  Happy card-making! (when you travel light :-D )

Distressing a Feminine Greeting Card Using a Nail File

First of all, I have to say...  I'm officially sick of staying at hotels or serviced apartments. 

I have, since moving out of my old house, stayed at a hotel followed by a serviced apartment for more than three weeks.  And it's really not good for my health. It's all about eating too much, meaningless window shopping, being claustrophobic in the room and the the constant need to get out for some fresh air. (but still have to return to the small space)  And the bloody white sheets, how can they make them so bleachy white?!   And don't get me started with intro every time I turn the TV on.  I just can't wait to move into our new home on Feb. 10, which is 10 days away.  YES! Just 10 days!  Maybe I should make an advent calendar to remind myself of it, and tear off every day, one by one.  Or should I make a mini album to record all this. But why should I record this when I'm NOT enjoying it all?  

So, while I still retain some senses, I made a card using what I had at hand this morning.  Still no distressing or embossing tools.  But fortunately I used the free background inserts in this magazine to do some trimming and cutting.  As my article subject says, I've used a nail file to trim up the edges a little bit to make it look scuffled. But not too much. 

And it just happens that the latest challenge on Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is anything that goes with twines or strings, 

ANYTHING GOES WITH TWINE OR STRING

so I came up with this card

  

How does it looks?  Here's the close-up.

 I hope the soft and feminine tones appeal to some judges. But then again they probably have seen thousands of more beautiful and creative projects.  I'm happy to join anyway to keep my mojo coming.  Happy stamping!