PIF Christmas Gift Bag and Card

Although Thanksgiving was yesterday, I want to let someone special know that I am thankful for her friendship and thoughtfulness; she is Monica from Sweden. This precious gift arrived just in time for Christmas; it was promised as a PIF (pay it forward) gift a few months ago. The card looks like it's 3-D because of the background and the texture of the paper, but it isn't. I can imagine myself walking through the snow covered ground at Christmas time, can't you? You can check out more of Monica's artistic talent on her blog. I feel blessed knowing some wonderful new friends who live in Sweden; hopefully we can meet one day while Efraim and I are in Europe this summer. Thank you, Monica, for the bag that will come handy for keeping things organized and for the first Christmas card received this season! As soon as Efraim and I get settled into our new home, I'll get to work on a PIF gift for someone special.

Gigi

A Beautiful Birthday Gift

This birthday gift (chipboard FAMILY spelled out album) was made by a very sweet and caring friend, Naoma, who lives in Texas, which is so far from northern Virginia. The day it arrived in the mail, I had spent some time that particular morning thinking of my family in Texas, especially the grandsons, who are growing by leaps and bounds. I even became teary-eyed because I was missing everyone so much. When I opened up the package, containing this beautiful album, I immediately began to cry because it touched my heart tremendously and because I know how much time and effort goes into making something by hand. This gift is probably one of the most treasured and thoughtful ones I've ever received and will always remember how much it means. Another thoughtful touch was using some of my favorite design paper, Lime Rickey; I love BRIGHT colors and Naoma remembered. I amazed at how well she cut out and adhered paper to the chipboard letters; I can't make a chipboard piece look anywhere as nice as she does. Each page contains pictures of my family in Texas; the first page has a picture of my grandson, Jackson, and me; isn't he a cutie patootie? Thanks, Naoma, for making this birthday so special; you really know how to touch a sister paper crafter's heart!

Gigi

Recycled Christmas Cards

These two card images were sent last year to hubby and me for Christmas; I kept them because they're really cute and because I could see using them again :-) The santa and background paper are from the original card; everything else is new. I added some glitter to the white beard and fur for some bling ;-) The snowman is adhered to a foil background and Stickles were added to the ribbons on the packages. I plan to send them back to the friends who mailed them; wonder if they'll recognize their cute cards this year :-) There are some other cards I want to use, but since we're in the process of packing for a move, I have to start putting paper craft supplies away...waaaaaaah, I don't want to stop crafting :-)

Thanks for stopping by today!
Gigi

Friday Sketchers Challenge #78

The Magnolia Christmas stamps haven't arrived yet, but I still wanted to participate in a sketch challenge this week, so here is an image from Michael's $1 bin :-) Hopefully I'll receive the stamps in time to make a few holiday cards and get them into the mail; there quite a few family and friends who love receiving Tilda cards.

Recipe:
Stamps: Michael's $1
Paper: Pure Poppy, Select White (Papertrey Ink); holiday dp (Me & My Big Ideas)
Ink: Red pigment ink (Colorbox); Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Square scallop die and Poinsettia dies (Spellbinders); grosgrain ribbon (Papertrey Ink); buttons (Papertrey Ink); Utee embossing powder (Suze Weinberg); lace; sheer ribbon; rhinestones,

Papertrey Holiday Button Bits and Rustic Snowflakes Paper

This group of cards uses Papertrey Holiday Button Bits. Holiday Wishes and/or Rustic Snowflakes holiday paper; there is one SU! sentiment included :-) I have really had a lot of fun using Papertrey's Button Bits stamp collection; I really have fun applying buttons on cards, so these are perfect for what I enjoy doing :-)

Some special notes: The little gingerbread men were stamped with a glue pad and Martha Stewart's brown flocking powder was applied for that "real cookie" look. To seal them, simply spray a sealer of some sort; otherwise, the powder will disappear when it's touched. I tried to find instructions on how to keep the powder from sticking; there are several products you can buy and try on the market, including something from SU! The Santa Claus image was stamped with dye ink first and then UTEE embossing clear powder was added to give that glassy appearance; this step was done about three times, but you can add more powder. I also used the new Background Basics Text Style II on the bottom half of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today; I really appreciate it!

Gigi

Spellbinders Poinsettias Christmas Cards

The past week was a busy one when it came to making Christmas cards; I loved using the Spellbinders Poinsettias die cut, which was purchased at Scrap-Mart using a 40% coupon. Each card looks completely different, texture and color wise. I found a wonderful tutorial for the poinsettias here; it's easy to follow. A special shout out to my friend, Mita, over at Altheas Mix for the beautiful photo corners; this is my favorite from the Cuttlebug die package. Thank you for stopping by and taking a look; hope you have received some inspiration. Gigi

Mojo Monday Challenge 112 Merry Christmas!

Today I went to work on a card order that needs to get delivered by the end of the month. Why? We're moving and I want all orders completed before the heavy duty packing begins :-) I have worked on cards for the past few days, but none were meant for challenges, so when time permits, I'll upload them and show them on the blog. There were two packages delivered today; one from Papertrey Ink and one from Scrap-Mart, which contained the Spellbinders nested poinsettias. I got to work using the poinsettias dies because Sherry Cheever has a terrific tutorial on her blog posted a few weeks ago using snowflakes dies. If you have some time, please stop by her blog and see her beautiful watercolored poinsettia card that is posted for today. Now back to why I'm writing :-) I wanted to participate in the weekly Mojo Monday sketch challenge. If you look closely, you'll see that the poinsettia was colored with SU! Bravo Burgandy while still in the die, stamped with Versamark, and then colored with Pearl Ex powder to give it the shiny finish; it was sealed with lacquer to keep the powder in place. It was layered with two sided tape and attached to the card with a foam dot.

Thank you for stopping by and taking a look; I really appreciate your time.

Gigi

Recipe for today's challenge:

Stamps: inside sentiment is from SU!

Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versamark

Paper: White (Papertrey Ink), wine (Bazzill), dp (Bo Bunny Believe/Noel)

Accessories: Green Leaf ribbon (PTI), wine (unknown), half pearl (SU! Hodgepodge), dies (Spellbinders), circle paper punch (SU!), Pearl Ex powders