Christmas Photo Card with Stand

I've had photo cards on the brain the past few weeks, and today's example is a throwback of sorts to a style card I made a few of earlier this year: the easel card. Those I've made before have been 4"x 4", but I wanted something that would accommodate a typical 4" x 6" picture. Well, this one does--almost. But who will miss the bottom .5" of most of your portraits anyway?

This really is quick and easy and can be gussied up or simplified, depending on the amount of time you want to invest. Since I would bet that a photo packaged this way will get more desk or mantle time than others that arrive this Christmas, I say the time spent is worth it. Again I have to give props to Penny Wessenaur who posted the measurements for the creation of this type of card. My design was inspired by Diana Gibbs.

The base of this 4.25" x 11" card, scored at 2.75" and 5.5" along the 11" length, is Always Artichoke. I was tired of Old Olive and Garden Green's just a little too green for my taste. I cut a second piece of 4.25" x 5.5" for mounting on top of the part that becomes the easel.

I ran a piece of Real Red through the Big Shot twice, once with the Top Note die and a second time with the Petals a Plenty Textured Impressions Folder. Poinsettias! I added a matting of Very Vanilla, 4" x 5.25". It just seemed too dark without it.

I stamped the little Merry Christmas from Season of Joy and added the swirls from that set on either side. I stamped the poinsettia in Versamark on Real Red and popped it up on a dimensional. The Victoria Crochet Trim was added on a piece of Always Artichoke card stock to create a sort of ledge for the easel part to rest against.

The best feature of this design is that it folds flat for mailing. This will mail without any extra postage added. If you'd like to see the other photo card options I've come up with for this season, just click here. Click here and here to see two others that could be used as photo cards. Happy crafting!

Christmas Decor without a Speck of Green

It seems there are no rules when it comes to what is considered Christmas colors. A few years ago, when pink was added, I wondered if people had lost their minds. PINK?! Royal blue and navy have been part of traditional Christmas color schemes, paired with gold and silver, but lately light blue, as in BABY blue, has found a place.

If you can't tell by now, I'm a traditional red and green kind of gal when it comes to decorating for Christmas. But this year, I saw a color combination that changed my views. Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, and Crumb Cake.

I know! Can you believe it? But as soon as I saw it I was lovin' it, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I caved and made something for the holidays with this palette.

This ornament and candle set is the result of that creative catalyst. I received the Northern Frost Decorative Strip Die for the Big Shot Friday, and I knew at once that I wanted to break it in by making Baja Breeze snowflakes. The rest evolved from there.

The base is a Cherry Cobbler cut out of the Top Note Bigz Die. The Crumb Cake layer is also a cut out of the die, but the perforated edge has been removed to create a layer. I also ran a strip of Very Vanilla through the Big Shot with the die and stamped the greeting from Seasonal Sentiments on it to complete the package. Then I added the snowflakes! This strip has 8 snowflakes in various sizes and all have intricate details you'd expect to find when viewing a snowflake, all able to be punched out after they're cut. They're BEAUTIFUL!

The ribbon is a three-layered creation of retired Baja Breeze ribbon, 1/2" Cherry Cobbler seam binding from the current Holiday Mini, and retired Crumb Cake 3/8" taffeta ribbon. I started out with just the CC seam binding, but it wasn't sturdy enough.

The back of the ornament has plenty of space for writing a special message to friends and family. That way, when the recipient pulls it out with the rest of the ornaments yearly, you will be part of their decorating and celebrating! I also think this has potential as a photo card, but the only suggestion is that the picture be in portrait orientation. Landscape orientation works, but it's not the full size of the die.

Now about the candle...I was making a banana run (translation? a quick in and out stop, but not for produce) to Walmart the other day and I came across these little candles--for $1! Who doesn't want a little candle on hand for those times when you need to infuse a little aromatherapy into an environment? Well, I snatched up a few and after the ornament came together, I thought I'd try my hand at snazzing up this little jar. A simple 1.5" x 8.5" strip of Baja Breeze, a thinner strip of Very Vanilla, a few Cherry Cobbler snowflakes, and some hemp twine, and I was in business! The lid is covered with a 1.75" scalloped circle, a 1 3/8" circle, and a snowflake. Seriously simple but simply adorable!

These are going to be mass produced for friends and family this year, as we don't have a lot of money but we'd like to give something in celebration of the relationships we've been blessed with.

A Quickie

Everyone needs a card in their stash that comes together quickly, especially during the holidays. This is a flat 4.25" x 5.5" card that would be suitable as the front for a photo card (who would miss .5" from the bottom of a 4" x 6" photo?) or as a thank you note. We all have need of those, right? There's a lot going on in this simple, elegant card, so let me describe the details so you know what I did.

First, I cut 1-8.5" x 11" sheet of Old Olive card stock into quarters. Then I cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8". Then I took a piece of Whisper White card stock, originally measuring 4.25" x 5.5", and ran it through the Big Shot inside the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder. Such visual appeal this little thing creates!

Then I punched out the corners with my Scalloped Trim Corner Punch. Fancy lookin', huh!

The main eye catching element of this card is the Merry Christmas label from Seasonal Sentiments in the Holiday Mini Catalog. This uses 3 of the Decorative Label punches. The first one contains the sentiment. The Old Olive one is cut in half horizontally and separated slightly. The Cherry Cobbler one is cut in half vertically and spaced to create this unique focal image. I must confess I was inspired by this card on SCS. Doing this with the Decorative Label Punch is brilliant! I added a rhinestone to cover up an unintentional ink spot, and I think it adds a little something.

I wanted to incorporate ribbon into this card, and I ended up using 3/8" Whisper White taffeta ribbon and 1/8" Old Olive taffeta ribbon. I'm super thrilled with this result.

Another Christmas Box & a Photo Card Idea

Whew! Have I been BUSY. I have a feeling it's going to be like this through the holidays, so I may only be able to get to the craft room once a week for a postworthy creation. I'm guessing your life is similar. Since we could probably play "I can top that" with our calendars all day, I'll stop with my sob story and show you what I promised in the headline for this post, okay?

My last few posts have featured different packaging ideas for gift cards, and this post is no exception. This box was designed by Dawn Griffith, and she has a great video that explains and shows how to make it better than I can. It may seem a bit confusing, but just do what she says, and it'll make sense.

I used Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper and scored the 8.5" side at 2" and 7", and the 10.5" side at 2", 5", 7", and 10". It comes together really quickly, once you cut away a few unnecessary pieces, and it only takes two strips of Sticky Strip to hold it together. To decorate the front flap, I punched out a Decorative Label shape (currently back ordered, due to popular demand) in Very Vanilla and layered the tag ornament from Delightful Decorations, stamped in Cherry Cobbler and punched using the Ornament Punch, on top using Stampin' Dimensionals. The box is tied closed using the 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon.

Isn't this cute? The final box size is 3" x 5", which is the PERFECT size for a gift card! There's also room in there for a lot of small candies. My favorite is Dove Dark Promises, if you're wondering.

The other thing I've been playing around with, in my very minimal spare time, is a photo card. This one was inspired by one I saw online. I used the 1.75" scallop circle punch and 1 3/8" circle punch to create a wreath. Then I made "berries" using my .25" circle punch (retired SU!). I tied small white bows for the wreaths using the 1/8" Whisper White satin ribbon. The gate fold card, which you score along the 8.5" side of a 5.5" x 8.5" piece of card stock at 2 1/8" and 6 3/8", is stamped with the Woodgrain background stamp on Soft Suede card stock to create the idea of wood doors.

Inside, there's a generous center panel that will hold a 3.5" x 5" photo, but it has to be oriented in portrait style. You don't want a landscape orientation here, peeps. The two side panels are for your family's greeting. I used a sentiment from Home for Christmas, but you could just write something.

The second version is much more down and dirty, quick and easy. This is a piece of 3 7/8" x 9.25" Cherry Cobbler card stock. It will fit in a #10 business envelope and can be mailed for no extra cost. There is room for a 3.5" x 5" photo, landscape orientation or portrait orientation, as well as a small piece of Jolly Holiday DSP (3" x 3 7/8"). The only embellishment is an ornament from Delightful Decorations, stamped in Old Olive on Very Vanilla and punched out with the Ornament Punch. There's a sweet little 1/8" Very Vanilla satin ribbon bow, and that's IT! Sign them and you're done--bada bing, bada BOOM!

It's not too late to get a neighbor to take a picture, print them yourself, and send one of these photo cards to your loved ones. The little boxes are great for teacher gifts, neighbors, coworkers, anyone you want to give just a little somethin' to.

Enjoy the weekend. I intend to!