Sweet Visits With Santa!

I absolutely *love* Graphic 45's Nutcracker Sweet paper!  It is so beautiful it was hard for me to actually cut it!  I knew I had to make something special with it so after a lot of pondering over different projects I finally thought of the perfect one.  But before I show you the pictures, I want to tell you how my project came together. 

When my son was a little boy, I would take him to have his picture taken with Santa at a quaint, little, outdoor shopping center in Tulsa.  Santa sits in his own tiny cottage surrounded by a cute, white, picket fence.  As you make your way to Santa's house, you are told the story of the Nutcracker Suite by several different encased displays with mechanically moving characters from the magical ballet performance.  I can still remember my parents taking me there when I was a child and how much I loved watching Clara, the Nutcracker, and the Mouse King "come to life" right there on the sidewalk under the twinkling of hundreds of Christmas lights hanging in the trees above us.  My family and I have carried on the tradition of visiting there during the holidays for at least the past 18 years. 

I loved incorporating my son's photos with this beautiful paper to make a mini-album that I will always cherish.  I plan on taking a few photos of the Nutcracker displays this year to add to the blank pages.  I hope you enjoy my pictures and have a Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

I'm dreaming of a pink Christmas!

My favorite color is pink, but I'm a traditional, red and green Christmas kind-of-girl at heart.  I bought this pink Christmas paper on impulse just because I thought it was cute and not really thinking ahead as to what I might do with it.  Well, a friend of mine also loves the color pink so I thought I would make her a special, very girly, pink snowflake Christmas card.  It turned out beautiful (if I do say so myself)! 

She's a fellow card maker so I know she is not only going to love it, but she will also appreciate all of the TLC I put into making it for her. 
  

Fun Christmas Cards

I started working on my Christmas cards last week, but I still haven't made much progress despite spending most of the weekend at a crop!  Here is what I've got so far...

 

 

 

 

I used a 9 X 6.5 piece of white cardstock and folded it in half to make a 4.5 X 6.5 card.  I cut a 4.5 X 6.6 piece of green cardstock and glued it to the front of the card.  I cut a 4 X 6 piece of patterned paper and glued it to the top of the green paper.  I used the Wild Card Cricut cartridge for the little envelope and liners.  I cut out various designs (from the same paper pad I previously used for the top of the card) to be used as cute little inserts for the envelopes.  I attached the ribbons with a glue dot and then glued a piece of either red or green cardstock to the back of the insert.  The buttons are attached with 2 glue dots.

 

 

I think I will use a stamp for the inside sentiment.  Then I can make the envelopes and get them in the mail.  I guess I better get busy if I want everyone to receive their cards before Christmas!





  

Thanksgiving Day Cards

I don't usually send Thanksgiving cards out, but I ran across this paper while looking for something else and it sparked an idea.  This is nothing fancy, just a simple card to let a few special people know I was thinking of them at Thanksgiving.

I used kraft cardstock for the card itself and glued the patterned paper to the front of the card.  I made the pumpkin with the Close To My Heart Artbooking Cricut cartridge and added a jute bow.

I made the envelope with kraft cardstock using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  I made the envelope liner with a piece of patterned paper and glued it to the kraft cardstock before I glued the envelope together.  I wasn't sure how to seal the envelope before I mailed it, so I just put a pretty fall leaf sticker on the point to keep it closed.  I hope everyone enjoyed their cards as much as I enjoyed making them!