Now that we have all received our gifts, it’s time to make some easy Thank You cards to send, especially to those people who maybe mailed a gift to us or we didn’t get to see.  I suppose email is better than nothing, but it’s not nearly as acceptable, in my mind, as a handwritten thank you note!  I think we are losing these “old-fashioned” niceties with the ease of computers, email, and text messages.  What is nicer, to open an email on your computer or find a handmade card in the mailbox?!

You don’t have to make an elaborate card.  In fact, the Stampin’ Up! Note Cards & Envelopes would be very handy to have on hand.  Simply stamp a “Thank You” on the front or a pretty image and write your note inside.

This card I made for this post, is simply a leftover generic piece of Christmas designer paper that looks seasonal but doesn’t say “Christmas”.  You could use any pretty designer paper. I stamped a Thank You greeting and layered it on a scalloped oval.  There is a strip of Copper Foil along the side to match the copper accents in the paper.  You could use ribbon or leave it plain.

Even if it is a simple card, make and send at least one written thank you card and message to someone after the holidays. It will be much appreciated.

These are a selection of the designs of Christmas cards I made this year and mailed out!  I wish I had another month to make even more designs and cards because I didn’t get to use everything I wanted to!  So many ideas, so many stamps!

I sure used my Stamparatus a lot this Christmas, as I anticipated last year when it was on order! It is perfect for making multiples or just making sure you don’t mess up. The worst is when you have a card all made and then stamp the inside greeting and it doesn’t stamp properly or it’s crooked up upside down or something!  With the Stamparatus, you get perfect placement (I usually stamp on a window sheet first for a greeting to make sure it is straight and placed where I want it) and if you didn’t get part of the stamp inked up properly, you can stamp it again right in the same spot.  Just be careful with those magnets!!  It’s hard to remember they are so strong and REALLY want to be together, no matter where you place them!

My children all arrived last night so all is well with the world!  Today we are looking forward to a special lunch, my son’s gift of corned beef and pastrami from Katz’s Deli from New York City, where he just visited last weekend.  Tonight after dinner I guess everyone will frantically finish wrapping presents after Amazon makes its last delivery!!!  Life will be boring after this week with no packages arriving on the porch and in the mailbox every single day!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas Eve!  Growing up, Christmas Eve was my favorite because that’s when we opened presents at our house with our grandparents and maybe other out-of-town relatives visiting. Afterwards, we would eat chocolate chip cookies that my mother baked and any that my grandma brought over that she made. On Christmas Day Santa would have come and set out presents and filled our stockings. I remember getting a blackboard one year, one of my favorite things ever, and one year my brother and I each got Etch-A-Sketches that Santa even drew pictures on when he left them!!  Then we would go to my grandma’s house for Christmas Day dinner and krullers that she made (a German deep-fried in a knot pastry-type dessert topped with powdered sugar) and open the presents from her so she wouldn’t have to bring them over to our house.  Nothing compares to those Christmases when my brother and I were kids! Of course, once you have your own children, then it’s a different type of Christmas as parents!

And what to do when you are putting out Christmas decorations and find that the pumpkin from Halloween is still sitting on the fireplace??  Put a Santa hat on him, give him some eyes, and set him out as a Christmas decoration!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Need a few last minute Christmas card ideas? Here are some from 2017, just to refresh your memory.  Maybe you have these stamps or paper, or you can use the current supplies you have, just copy the layout.

You could make this card with the Buffalo Check background stamp from this year.  Just add a greeting and a little bling with the sequin trim or some ribbon! Click the photo or HERE to see the details on my blog post.

Here’s an easy card, much like the first one, but with the punched Decorative Ribbon Border as an added feature.  Click HERE  or on the photo to see my blog post.

Here’s that designer paper from last year with the check, but you can make your own this year with the Buffalo Check Stamp. Everyone loves it and it gives such warmth to your card! Click HERE or on the photo to see my blog post. This card uses the classic Lovely As a Tree Stamp Set, but we have trees in this year’s stamps. Or substitute another image.  Just use the basic design!

Whether you use last year’s trees and die cuts or the new ones we have this year, put a few trees on one side and a greeting on the other.  Maybe add a little ribbon or some sequins for some bling!  Try out an unusual color or cardstock for a Christmas card that stands out!  Click on the photo or HERE to read this blog post.

Clearance Rack Updated with new products the other day!

Stampin’ Up! Year-End Closeout Sale Going On!

It’s a Christmas card factory at my house this weekend and this Snowman Christmas card is a slight variation of one of my favorite Christmas cards I am making.   Much earlier, I made this card.  The snowman image is die cut from the Santa’s Workshop Specialty Designer Series Paper.  Some of the sheets in this package have flocking on them which you might be able to see in this photograph of the snowflake on the snowman image.  The red and white striped paper strip on the side of the card also has the flocking.  The snowflakes are punched from the Santa’s Signpost Framelits Dies. Unfortunately, these products are no longer available due to their popularity, but maybe you already purchased them or you can use the idea with something else you have!  The greeting is from Itty Bitty Greetings, a must-have stamp set if you ask me.

I’m making 10 cards of each design I choose because there are so many fun ideas!  Actually, I could probably make cards from now until next Christmas from all the ideas I’d love to make! I posted this card because I only had enough of the background paper to make 9 cards!  So instead, I chose this green paper, but I like it pretty well!  Also, the snowman and elf are facing a different direction.

I have to say, I am LOVING having my Stamparatus® this year to make Christmas cards!!  I can set up the stamp on the Stamparatus and stamp a bunch of images one right after the other without any concern of getting the image crooked or not stamped well, etc.  If you don’t own a Stamparatus, put one on your Christmas list and order it in January during Sale-A-Bration!  Then you will all set for next Christmas!

Here is my original card on which I just changed the designer paper.  You can easily make variations of your cards even if you don’t run out of paper!

Which card do you like best?

Don’t forget about the Stampin’ Up! Year-End Closeout Sale going on now through January 2, 2019.

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Time is getting short and maybe you want to make some simple and basic Christmas cards! This Simple and Easy Labels To Love Christmas Card might fit the bill!  Even if you don’t have the exact paper or stamp, you can use the basic idea with what you have.

The card base is Cherry Cobbler, layered with a piece of designer paper from the All Is Bright collection.  Before adhering the designer paper to the card, I wrapped around some Cherry Cobbler 1/4″ Double-Stitched Ribbon.  The greeting is stamped with the Christmas stamp in the Labels to Love Stamp Set. To make it super simple, just stamp in the Cherry Cobbler ink pad.  Since I wanted green trees on it, I colored in all of the stamp with the Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Write Marker and the trees in Shaded Spruce.  You could also stamp the whole stamp in Cherry Cobbler and then remove the ink from the trees with a Blender Pen. I cut out the stamped image along the lines so I could layer it on a punched piece of Cherry Cobbler, punched with the Everyday Label Punch.

Since the card base is a dark color, you probably will want to add a piece of Whisper White Cardstock layered inside the card for your stamped or written message.  Maybe add a strip of the same designer paper inside.

Now this card is pretty basic, so if you wanted to jazz it up a bit, you might want to try adding some small punched or die cut gold stars, maybe sequins, or maybe some Red Rhinestones. Maybe just a couple rhinestones on the greeting would be enough.  Just play around and see what you think!

If you shrunk this card down, in your mind, you could make a cute tag with the same basic design! Sometimes a tag is just a very small card!

Be sure to shop the Stampin’ Up! Year-End Closeout Sale!

This All Is Bright Christmas Ornament Card actually sends an ornament to the recipient!  Maybe it is just a little paper ornament attached to the front of this card, but you never know!  Someone might be happy to save it and hang it on their tree next year! I remember growing up we knew a couple who were very wealthy and their Christmas card always had something on it that could be saved as an ornament! It was a very expensive card!

My card is not very expensive but I think it does have a rich look to it!  I turned the greeting into an ornament by leaving it unattached from the card and adhering a ribbon to it which is tucked in over the top edge of the card layer. If a person wanted to, they could tear open that top part of the card and remove the ribbon from the back…..or they could simply cut off the ribbon at the top of the card and separate it from the card like that.

The card base is Whisper White cardstock with a layer of Gold Glimmer Paper. If you want to save a bit of the glimmer paper, cut out the center portion, essentially making a frame of gold glimmer to adhere to the Whisper White card base. Just make sure you make it wide enough! Nobody will ever know!  Then I layered on a piece of the All Is Bright Designer Series Paper with the pretty ornaments. On a scrap piece of Whisper White, I stamped the images from the stamp set Making Christmas Bright in Versamark Ink and heat embossed with Gold Embossing Powder using the Heat Tool. This is punched out with the 2″ Circle Punch even though it is a close fit, and then layered on a piece of Gold Glimmer Paper punched out with the 2 1/4″ Circle Punch.  The beautiful ribbon is the Gold 3/8″ Metallic-Edge Ribbon. The bow is tied and attached separately and held in place with several Glue Dots.

Take a look at another card I made using this ornament pattern from the All Is Bright DSP.

If you don’t want the “free-swinging” ornament, then just tack it down with some Stampin’ Dimensionals.  See if you can think of another card design that would leave the recipient with an ornament to be saved! It’s time to have fun making these special Christmas cards for friends and loved ones!

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This Signs of Santa Z-Fold Christmas Card is a fun card for the holidays!  Z-Fold cards look so impressive, I think, yet are SO easy to make! The Signs of Santa Photopolymer Stamp Set IS still available to purchase even though most everything else in the Santa’s Workshop Suite sold out.

To make a Z-Fold card, simply make a basic card, but then score the front of the card at the center mark (2 1/8″) and fold back. Stamp a circle, square, or oval shape to adhere to the front and you’ve got it!  When stamping a greeting inside, make sure it is completely hidden by whatever you put on the front.

I used the striped flocked pattern in the Santa’s Workshop Specialty Designer Series Paper which is no longer available, but perhaps you already purchased it! Just a little bit of it on each side of the card added a little something, but not too much.  If you don’t own this paper, just choose something else that matches your colors. Or skip the designer paper element!

I stamped the Santa with his list, the elf and the North Pole sign using Memento Ink and then colored in with various colors of Stampin’ Blends Markers.  I LOVE these markers and doing coloring and blending with them.  They are die cut with the coordinating framelit dies, which are also sold out.

Certain Stampin’ Blends Markers (plus regular Stampin’ Write Markers!) are available TODAY on the Online Extravaganza page in the Online Store.  Today is the last day for the Extravaganza!

I die cut a large Whisper White circle (sponged with a little Balmy Blue) and a larger scalloped circle out of Shaded Spruce for the focal point of the card and popped up the Santa and elf with Stampin’ Dimensionals®.  The little North Pole sign I just glued right to the card so it could be seen from the front or inside.

Try your hand at a Z-Fold card if you haven’t already.  Any time they are fun, but even if you make a lot of them for your Christmas cards, they won’t be any more trouble than a regular card and will look like you made a masterpiece!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE TODAY!  LAST DAY FOR ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!

The Santa’s Workshop Specialty Designer Paper is special with the white flocking on one side of four of the sheets, so many cards you make are going to have that special effect!  What a treat for the recipient!

This card starts with Poppy Parade Cardstock for the card base.  You might wonder about Poppy Parade for a Christmas card, but it works!  I cut just this little strip of elves carrying packages out of one of the sheets and placed it at the bottom of the card, layered on a piece of Garden Green Cardstock.  The candy cane paper is actually the opposite side of the elves paper.

I used a greeting out of the coordinating stamp set, Signs of Santa Photopolymer Stamp Set, die-cut with the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies and layered it on a die cut scalloped oval from the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies.   It seemed like the card still needed “something”, so I added a little bow with the Whisper White 1/8″ Sheer Ribbon and a couple of Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

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