Embossing

It's been awhile since I've blogged.  School work seems to trump hobbies unfortunately.  I needed a little creative time this weekend and decided it was time to start Christmas cards.  It's my third year making them and it seems every year I enjoy the tradition a little more.  

It's hard for me to admit this, but I had never embossed before these cards!  If I only knew what I had been missing!!  I was at the craft store shopping for my card supplies and I stopped at the embossing supplies.  Why the heck have I never done this before?!  Just what I need, one more expense at the craft store!

Supplies needed:

Paper

Ink

Empossing powder

Embossing heat gun

Now watch and learn!  This. is. so. simple!!!

Step 1 - Stamp.  Make sure you have plenty of ink so that the embossing powder will stick nicely.

Step 2 - cover with embossing powder.  I'm using clear, but you can get pretty creative with layers.  Put the excess back into the embossing powder container for later use.

Hold the heat tool a few inches from the paper (you can leave burn marks on the paper)  and evenly cover the stamp.  You can see the needles on this stamp.  They pop once they are embossed. 

Continue your design....

and we all love blurry pictures!

I added mittens to this design

and a little gold glitter to the pine cones

I also added some snow (white glitter) to the card.  I haven't decided if it was a good idea or not yet.  It's beautiful under certain light, but not so pretty under other light.  It's a little too late to decide against the idea!

 

 

I wish I could take credit for this design because I find it to be absolutely adorable.  While trying to come up with ideas,  I googled hand made Christmas cards and a card very similar to this one came up.  Of course I put my own spin on it.  Warning - embossing is like using glitter.  It's very messy!

Friends and family - sorry to spoil the surprise!  This is the card you're getting this year!  They will be mailed shortly after Thanksgiving.  When is the appropriate time to mail Christmas cards anyway?  When does everyone else mail their cards?

Be Thankful

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house for our friends that don't have family in the area.  It's turning out to be quite a big group!  Last year we had about 8 and this year we are up to 12.  I've been working on a few Thanksgiving crafts over the last few days.  My first project was to make a sign for the Fireplace.  I considered the phrase "give thanks" but decided I liked "be thankful" better.  It serves as a reminder to all of us to BE THANKFUL not just this week, but every single day!!

I decided on the size I wanted my letters (400pt) and printed them off on my home computer.  I cut them out and planned to use them, but decided I wanted thicker paper, so these letters ended up being used as stencils.

Here are the letters before adding the finishing touches...

 

Here is the finished project.  I'm happy with the results!

And here is our Thanksgiving table setting.  I'm thankful for warm food and good friends!

2011 Holiday Card Design

I had a lot of fun designing our Holiday Cards this year!  We enjoyed an extra long fall here in Portland and I wanted a card that gave a feeling of a little fall, winter and warmth.  Each card is made slightly different of course, but here is an example: