Christmas

No Peeking

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

Planning ahead and definitely working ahead is what works best for today.  As this posts, I will be heading back home from my wintery holiday with family back to sunny California.  Not really good timing to let myself enjoy early morning blogging like I do.

No Peeking

For a simple card, there is a lot of dimension going on.  The ribbon and thread work great together with the tag duo and still manage to lay flat.  Three strands of ribbon were poked through the tags and then bound in linen thread.  I left the lengths of linen thread rather long and just curled them a bit with my bone folder.  Love it!  The ribbons were cut at different lengths to add interest and that finished the tag.  I thought it would be an adorable gift tag too.  Might have to make more of those.

Well, of course I sponged this lovely plaid paper before adding it to the card base.  A few wraps with even more thread were just what I needed.  I certainly have enjoyed this holiday card series, but we aren’t done yet!  Still five more cards to share.  So much fun!

No Peeking

Have a creative day!

Moana

Holly Jolly Ho Ho Ho

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Another Christmas card is ready to go!  I think this one is adorable.  I wasn’t sure about these dots, but they turned out pretty cute.  It is hard to concentrate this morning as I need to drive down to Provo and it is snowing, and sticking.  Such a pansy anymore.

Holly Jolly Ho Ho Ho

Either way, I love this little card.  I actually got a little brave and did a little curving with the photopolymer stamp.  The ‘ho ho ho’ is actually straight, but I wanted a circle punch and it had to fit.  So now it does.

Holly Jolly Ho Ho Ho

Have a creative day!

Moana

Happiness and Cheer

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

A simple card like this can be so lovely too.  I really like the look of a ‘wrapped’ sentiment for a Christmas card.  Some of my favorite holiday elements are in this card.  I will be sad to see them go.

Happiness and Cheer

It is really just the paper and embellishments that will go, the metallic thread is a keeper!  I use that all of the time.  Maybe too much sometimes.  It was perfect for today though because it didn’t take over, but definitely made itself known.  I wrapped it a bunch to give more shine and couldn’t be happier.

This card series started out as a gift set but has turned into a reminder that simple can be so satisfying.  I do love having lots of tools and product to work with, but I really enjoy simple beauty.

 

Happiness and Cheer

Have a creative day!

Moana

Wishing You a Sweet Season

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving!  It feel odd being surrounded in snow, but that is how it is working this year and it is rather pretty.  Just not fun to drive in.  I have gotten soft over the years and have lost most of that snow driving confidence.

11-25 (1)

Either way, I love this card.  Talk about simple elegance.  I thought it was kind of adorable that after I tied on the gold cording the strands fell into a large ‘s’ shape.  Totally unintended, but it made me giggle.

I stamped and layered my sentiment on the heavy whisper white cardstock.  I absolutely love that stuff.  I wanted the edges to show a bit, but didn’t want the uneven look of sponging.  I just put the edge directly onto the inkpad and got the most crisp even lines possible.  Not too dark and it didn’t bleed into the paper.  Thank you!  It turned out wonderful!

11-25

Have a creative day!

Moana

From Santa

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Another wonderful day in Utah.  I sure could get used to this vacation thing.  My girls are fast asleep and looking adorable.  I took a photo of them, but they would not be happy if I shared, so it stays with me.  So cute. However, here is one of the adorable cards from my gift set.

11-26 (1)

This is definitely a clean and strong look with these wonderful stripes.  They are the focus of the card for sure.  So I kept the sentiment simple and stamped on a strip of velum.  I backed it with another piece of paper from the same dsp set, only one set of paper used in this series, and wrapped them together with silver metallic thread.  I just love that thread!  The ends were punched with the triple banner punch and it finished it off quite nicely I must say.

11-26

Have a creative day!

Moana

Christmas Card Gift Set

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I have the pleasure of visiting my children and family during this Thanksgiving holiday.  Well, when I see my daughter I like to give her card sets.  So, I thought I would share them with you.

Christmas Card Gift Set

It couldn’t just be simple for me though.  I gave myself a challenge.  I let myself have one set of dsp and access to coordinating cardstock and only two stamp sets.  The challenge was to use these things, keep them simple but elegant, and make ten cards.

Christmas Card Gift Set

She is a young stamper and has loved having access to my supplies over the years.  But being at college she doesn’t have all of that, but does pretty well of course.  I thought I would make a set that she could see as doable for herself.

 

All of the cards are basic in shape, so they would fit in the card holder, with only one layer of dsp as the front.  A series of single stamping, sometimes an accent, and tag punches.  I am going to share her gift with you over the next week, so enjoy!

Christmas Card Gift Set

Have a creative day!

Moana

Wonderful Wreath Noel Set

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I certainly am in the mood for Christmas cards that is for sure.  I am also working towards a goal though.  The other day I blogged about a service project I was involved in.  There turned out to be twenty four advent gifts to share.  I thought it would be appropriate for the young women who had worked so hard on them should write a personal Christmas card to accompany the gift.  So, I need several cards.

Wonderful Wreath Noel Set

I am notorious for a matching gift bag though.  I love putting a treat or two in a little bag and sharing it, so I call this a win.  How simple is this card though?  A simple layering of designer velum on a card front made just smaller than the base, love my 1/8″ narrow borders.  It was accented with a single strip of ribbon that I didn’t even make a bow or knot or anything!  Unheard of really.

Wonderful Wreath Noel Set

The Wonderful Wreath framelit set has this lovely ‘Noel” die in it that was just perfect.  Blackberry bliss is one of those colors that goes in almost any season, but Christmas is a good one most certainly.  Glue dots were hidden behind the silver dots so the adhesive wouldn’t show.  I used tombo on the ‘Noel” and it stayed put quite nicely.  On to the next project!

Wonderful Wreath Noel Set

Have a creative day!

Moana

Joyful Season

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

This little red cardinal has eluded me a few times over, but today was my lucky day.  I wasn’t sure just which bird I wanted to create, but decided to stick with the cardinal.  Call it Christmas whimsy.

Joyful Season

The red inside was stamped first and then I added the outline in black.  It was easier for me that way.  I tried to do the outline first and then the inside, but wasn’t happy with my efforts.  I managed to get the extra front stamp pretty good giving the darker black around the face and I even got the beak color in the right spot.  Woo hoo!

 Joyful Season

The oval framelits worked nicely to frame the image.  I decided to frame it in early espresso to match the branch.  Again, nice results for sure.  These were layered up with dimensionals over another layer of real red.  That layer was put through the softly falling snow embossing folder and sanded a bit to add interest to the flakes.  A simple bow with a snowflake embellishment and the card was done.  How nice is that?

Joyful Season

Have a creative day!

Moana

Sparkly Seasons Ballerina

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Doesn’t everyone get enchanted with a pretty snow globe?  This particular stamp set has a few options to make one happen, but this pretty ballerina might be my favorite.  She is so delicate and lovely.

Sparkly Seasons Ballerina

The base is stamped in sahara sand and the globe is in soft sky.  That is also the card base and background color. I stamped her in sahara sand as well to give a hint of skin color without having to make it happen.  I did water color her tutu and slippers though, couldn’t resist that.  Her hair just had a touch of marker coloring.

Sparkly Seasons Ballerina

I stamped the ‘sparkle’ inside the globe with versa mark ink and then covered it with dazzling diamonds.  Loved it.  But I needed more.  So I used the 2-way glue pen to color a layer around the bottom of the globe and used more dazzling diamonds.  I liked that a lot better.  Of course I had to put a bunch of rhinestones around as well.  Sparkle means sparkle.  I even put a few inside.

Sparkly Seasons Ballerina

Have a creative day!

Moana

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

A card that looks like a gift, but is a card, or is it?  I guess you could use this when you want to give a gift card and don’t just want to use the tiny envelope provided.  Either way, I like the look of a present shown here.

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

It has a hint of masculine with the color choices, but with that much ribbon I hesitated to give it the full masculine stamp.  You could probably get away with it though.  And I have to be honest, this is the first time I have used this adorable Christmas tree punch.  I guess I needed this awesome paper to inspire me to get it out.  It fit nicely as the gift tag.  So, I guess I will get to use it on other gifts this holiday season as well.

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

The DSP is layered on a piece of sahara sand cardstock with a narrow border showing.  I wanted to have a little more strength as I tied my ribbon on.  I do very much like a snug fit and probably winch it in a bit much sometimes.  I got the look I wanted though.  Why not give it a try your self?

Merry Moments Gift Card Set

Have a creative day!

Moana

Hearth & Home Thinlits Fun

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

After a full day of workshop excitement, I finally have a few minutes to share the third project we did.  This one just about did my ladies in, but they managed though most of it.  I didn’t have to help too much really.

Hearth & Home Thinlits Fun

The base of this candle holder is made with old olive from one sheet of cardstock.  Two card bases with 1/2″ cut off from one side and 1/2″ score on the other with a score in the middle.  With two of these joined together, the box frame was made.  Four panels of heavy whisper white cardstock were put through the Bigshot in the Brick Wall embossing folder that had been brayered with old olive ink.  It gave the perfect mix of a soft brick wall that coordinates nicely with the base.

Hearth & Home Thinlits Fun

Cherry cobbler was used to create the window frames.  The Hearth & Home Thinlits set is simple, but what a great look right?  The window frame is a great focal point that I chose to back with velum to allow an opaque look in.  I had provided fun battery operated candles that fit nicely inside.  When they flickered it made it look like there was a very colorful set of Christmas lights going on inside.  So pretty.  A couple of buttons, some twine with a simple saying set the front panel apart from the others.  Along with a few little shrubs made from mossy meadow paper punched with a scalloped circle punch.  Really, a cute project all in all, even if it was a bit of work.

Hearth & Home Thinlits Fun

Hope your day was creative, mine sure was!

Moana

Oh What Fun Gift Box

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I actually started out with a different stamp set and a card in mind.  But I just wasn’t feeling it, so I changed gears.  I do really love what ended up in its place.  I love a pretty holiday box like crazy!

Oh What Fun Gift Box

I used a whole 12 x 12 from the Merry Moment DSP pack.  Of course I migrated to the huge dots.  I love all kinds of dots.  And I couldn’t stay away from these beautiful ornament framelits.  They are so wonderful.  I think that these will be all over my Christmas gifts this year.

Oh What Fun Gift Box

The Oh, What Fun stamp set is so full of fantastic sayings to make any holiday crafting one step better for sure.  They will make gift giving and card making quick and easy without looking that way.  Just yummy.  Oh, and these little embellishments are so adorable!  With twenty in a box they will find there way just about everywhere.

Oh What Fun Gift Box

Have a creative day!

Moana

Christmas Advent Book Service Project

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

I did think I would get to blog yesterday, but this project completely took over my day.  The absolute, entire day.  Seriously, from 6:00 in the morning to after 9:00 in the evening.  And yes, there is still more to be done.

Christmas Advent Book Service Project

What is going on with all of this?  Well, it is a service project that a friend of mine and I designed for our church’s young women to work on.  So many peoples lives were turned upside down with all of the fires this year.  My friend teaches with another woman that is from one of the many areas devastated by fires.  We made a goal to do something for a dozen families that could help them enjoy the Christmas season a bit more.

Christmas Advent Book Service Project

These are advent books that will have an activity, scripture, story and a Christmas song in each of the twenty-five envelopes.  They are designed to be all inclusive.  Additional materials are not needed to enjoy the activities, just your family.  Since there are so many people still displaced, Christmas might not feel the same.  Maybe this will help a dozen families find some comfort.

Christmas Advent Book Service Project

There is still work to be done, but it won’t be long now.  They will be delivered before December begins so they can start on the first.  Serving others makes even something as fun as paper crafting even more fun and rewarding.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Embellished Ornaments

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

This started out as a pretty darn good morning, but I am having quite the head cold, so my time management isn’t the best.  I think I am going in kind a slow motion mode.  The results still show nicely though, don’t you think?

Embellished Ornaments

New product, new product, new product!  I so enjoy working with new product!  Today was the first time for three different newbies to my collection.  Two stamp sets and one framelit set.  They are sure to get a lot of use this holiday, for sure.

Embellished Ornaments

My photos don’t let you know very well, the colors look off, but I am working with Sahara Sand and Not Quite Navy.  The ornament on the left is backed with a deep navy blue and it looks so pretty.  The smaller ornament is backed with Crumb Cake just to give a better contrast.  The stamping is all done in Sahara Sand, as well as the sponging.  I used the new gold cording to “hang” the ornaments and it worked great.  I have been waiting to use this set, and it was so worth it.  Be patient, you will be seeing it a lot.

Embellished Ornaments

Have a creative day!

Moana

Wonderland Snowflake Treat Favor

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I guess I am on a gift bag kick again.  This one is all ready to go though, candy inside and everything!  But, is it okay to just give it back to me?  I love it, and the yummy candy inside.

Wonderland Snowflake Treat Favor

Stamping with stazon  is the only way to go with window sheets.  Easy and crisp images, and doesn’t slide everywhere.  My stamp was from the Wonderland set, just the snowflake one, and isn’t very big.  Believe me, it was so easy to stamp, I don’t think I saw one little goof.  Came together great.

Wonderland Snowflake Treat Favor

My piece measured 8 x 8.5″ and was scored at 2″, leaving 1/2″ for adhering the box together.  Then turned a quarter to score along the bottom to create the bottom flaps, or the bottom of the gift bag.  Pretty direct work here.  I burnished the score lines really well and used tear n’ tape to seal it up.  You can see my seam, but it doesn’t look bad.  I think it is adorable, and easy enough to make a bunch for party favors.  And how about that tiny little snowflake embellishemnt!  So adorable!

Wonderland Snowflake Treat Favor

Have a creative day!

Moana

Christmas Lighthearted Leaves

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What a crazy morning!  However, slow and steady wins the race, right?  Like I said earlier in the week, I planned on casing myself from another project that looked like Christmas to me.  Here it is, my ‘Believe’ card.

10-19

As I stamped these leaves last time I kept thinking about mistletoe.  Of course, by the time I got done painting all the leaves green, I kept thinking of seaweed.  So now I want to do an ocean project.  What a great stamp set, right?

10-19 (1)

I painted the ‘berries’ real read and went with cucumber crush for my green.  It is such a fun, bright green.  When I trimmed my cardstock down I was left with a few narrow strips and decided to put them to work.  I thought about using some quilling techniques, but kept it simple instead.  I did decorate one of the leaf images with rhinestones for a little bling and loved how it turned out.  So, just like all of the other retailers out there, I have made some Christmas happen before Halloween.  It was fun though, definitely fun.

10-19 (2)

Have a creative day!

Moana

Final Holiday Swap Share

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I have thoroughly enjoy sharing some of my favorite swaps, but I am ready to get back to creating some of my own work.  It is nice to step away from your own style and see product through someone else’s eyes though.  I have two of the stamp sets used here and didn’t see these options at all.

Final Holiday Card Swaps

I also tend to purchase to the likes of my club members so that they can work with product they are more interested in.  Makes good business sense.  Letting myself experience it differently gave me permission to try different things. Some I liked, and others gave me relief that it wasn’t money poorly spent.

Final Holiday Card Swaps

I do love Christmas and all of the fun, love and sparkle that comes along with it.  It will be a bit of a challenge to not go directly there with my projects.  However, it does frustrate me to go shopping in September and be overwhelmed with all of the holiday items to purchase.  So, I will do my best to go through each one patiently and enjoy myself.

Final Holiday Card Swaps

Now I get to enjoy getting ready for my own card workshop this weekend.  My ladies are so going to enjoy looking at all of these swaps.   Fun, fun, fun!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Planning Ahead for Christmas

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

These cards feel like such a cozy Christmas, don’t you think?  We are making plans for a sunny holiday this year, but peeking out a window to a snowy scene is more than inviting.

Planning Ahead for Christmas

This window framelit set is sure to be one of my favorites.  Peeking through the window, could this snowman be any cuter?  I don’t think so.

Planning Ahead for Christmas

I love inside stamping.  It makes the card feel so much more complete.  Sometimes we need a place to write a nice long note, but other times it is just wishing someone a happy day, or a happy holiday.

Planning Ahead for Christmas

Most people enjoy displaying their holiday cards as part of their seasonal decorations.  These two swaps would definitely be a welcome addition to anyone’s Christmas decorations.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Too Early for Christmas?

~ moanaj ~ 1 Comment

Well, it may be too early for Christmas, but not if you are a card maker.  Getting your holiday cards in progress is the only way to get them out on time.  I actually know a lady who has 160 people on her list and they all get a hand made card.  Yes, she has already begun.

Too Early for Christmas?

If you had a list that long, clean and simple is the way to go.  Just like these two swaps.  My Christmas cards tend to have a bit more going on, but their simplicity is quite lovely.

Too Early for Christmas?

I think I do prefer the white card to the gray, not entirely sure why, but I do.  Perhaps it is the banner layering, or how cute that tree is with the plaid and few ornament rhinestones.

Too Early for Christmas?

I love that this tree punch carried over.  I get to use it for another fun season of holiday stamping.  I haven’t even thought about my own holiday cards.  Oooops.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Let It Snow

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

I know it is only the beginning of  September, but I do love seasonal cards, especially winter scenes and Christmas.  Not to mention that the Stampin’Up! holiday catalog goes live today.  So much fun!

Let It Snow

I have used several new products in today’s project.  New stamp set, new framelit set, new embossing folder and then comes a new card.  How cute is this little snowman?

Let It Snow

I stamped the image where I wanted it along with the sentiment.  Then I embossed the card front.  At first I wanted to have all the snowflakes sky blue and thought to use the brayer.  But I decided to be more selective and yes, I did water color select flakes.  It didn’t take that long, really.  The effect is nice.

Let It Snow

I had an extra ‘snow’ die cut from Saturday’s event project and knew just where to use it.  Actually, that is what started the card out.  I added in a little silver metallic threat and layered it all up on dimensionals.  Just my speed.

Have a creative day!

Moana