Happy Hanukkah!

There is still one night of Hanukkah, so technically I am not late yet...

OK, well, I mailed those out late so they won't make it on time, but you know what they say "It's the thought that counts"! :-) Sorry the pics are bad because I took them in the sun, I had to mail them right away!.... The cards are very simple, there was no time for more! I embossed them with gold or silver embossing powder on beautiful shimmery cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I know in the pic you can't see the shimmer in the paper, but IRL it is really gorgeous.

Everything is really late this year, I am way behind, but baby won't!! ;-)

I hope everyone had a happy Holiday! :-)

Mini briefcase gift-card holders

I made those little briefcase gift-card holders for Noah's teachers and therapist. They were fun and easy to make, no need for a template or anything. They are closed with velcro, and I just stamped and wrote my little message in there instead of making a card.

The inside is pretty much the same for all 3, I just colored the cat in different colors.. :-)

The only problem is I discovered when I uploaded the pics, that the Prismacolor markers bled through the cardstock and made stains on the front of the light blue holder! :-( Luckily the paper has kind of an uneven color pattern so it almost looks like it's part of the paper pattern!... Phew...

Wouldn't those look cute hanging in a Christmas tree with little name tags attached to the handle?...

Winter wonderland...

This one is a quick "wink" for my friend Sandrine.

She used to be my "card-buddy" for a year and we would make cards together almost weekly, then she abandonned me last summer to move to New Jersey... :-(

Her kids must be extatic to see snow again but I'm sure she misses Florida and her pool, and the walks on the beach in the winter a little bit, so I couldn't resist making a cold winter card because I never make any of those... ;-D

I used gift-wrap (the snowman and the blue panel) and basically just added some Stickles here and there (that you can't really see on the pic, aside from the big blob on the snowflake that wasn't dry when I took the pic...!), and stamped the white panel randomly. I glued my snowman on cardstock and popped him up. All that was missing was a big cup of hot cocoa, but I don't have that in my stamps collection yet! :-D

Stationery set with My Timeless Templates

First let me tell you my pictures are horrendous, they're night pics and the colors are totally off and I can't seem to be able to fix that, so my apologies!... I want to gift-wrap this tonight since it's a gift for Naomi's teacher (to accompany some Ghirardelli chocolates) and I want her to take it with her to school tomorrow or I'm afraid I'll forget later on in the week!...)...

So, I made a little stationery set, using Lauren's template for the box (My timeless templates, available through PaperTrey Ink). By now you know how easy those are to use... ;-)

The card at the top of my post, with its "not-so-holiday-colors" is my card to go with the gift. Then you have the box closed, then the box opened (I used "Polka dots basic" to stamp my contrasting strips), and finally a sample of the cards and enveloppes. I made 4 of each, 2 different coordinating colors.

The polka dots strips on the cards are run through the Cuttlebug then inked, the little monogram circles and initials are from PaperTrey Ink.

It is a very simple set but I don't know the teacher very well and I think she isn't into frilly stuff... so I went with what I would like to get!! LOL! ;-) I hope she likes it, if not she can always use it to light up a fire in the fireplace while eating the chocolates! ;-)

Holiday card? *gasp*

Yes, I know, I don't do Holiday cards!!! ;-)

But this year being as crazy as it is, I decided there would be no "real gift" *gasp* (well, aside from our kids obviously! ;-)), only gift-cards or even checks... so I need to put those in a card! And since our Holiday card consists of a pic of the kids, and with everyone being really sick we haven't even taken said pic... You see where I am going with this! Hanukkah is in a mere 8 days and Christmas barely 10!...

So anyway, this is a card I made for my brother & family. I really like the mix of blue, white and gold for the Holidays, I am very anti red+green! LOL! ;-)

(Sorry the pic is a little blurry but you get the idea...)

Everything gold is heat embossed with gold powder, it adds a nice texture. The dove stamp is from Stampendous.

I used my new papertreyInk set "basic polka Dots" that I had been coveting for a while... the enabler was the baby to come, since I have plans to use this set for the birth announcements or most likely for the thank-yous matching the birth announcements (more about those another time, I don't want to spoil all the surprise yet! ;-)...)

Seriously...

Am I really expected to part with those? To use them on cards and gifts leaving my house? For real!??.... But...but.... they are so beautiful, how can I?

I am officially a "Primas' hoarder"... *sigh*

Any support group out there?... ;-)

Little secrets Pocket Book

This is another one of Lauren's templates (My Timeless Templates).

(You can actually download this one for free on PaperTrey Ink's website.)

Those little templates can become addictive you know ;-)... and I started with this one just to see how it would work out but without a definite idea in my head... These days this kind of creative spontaneity is very rare since I am always looking for time and my "to do" list isn't quite empty...

After a little bit of brainstorming with Naomi, we decided to personalize this pocket-book for my parents. They are coming in January to watch the kids while I go deliver the latest addition to the family and to help afterwards (Thank God for caring parents!♥). I like to make little projects with Naomi for them, because I always think it will be nice to look at her drawings and sloppy handwriting in a few years from now! ;-)

So basically the little pockets here are designed to hold little secret messages/love notes/drawings she will make for them during their stay and I'll make more blank cards (like the ones here in the picture) if need be... That way they can keep everything together in the same place, and can just open the booklet and look at those when they are back in France, miles aways from us, and missing their grandkids! :-(

I kept it pretty simple because I expect it to be all nice and colorful once it's filled with Naomi's artwork! :-D I just used Martha punches for the scallops and flowers, and scalloped scissors for the brown spine. The flowers' centers are buttons.

Fluffles and his sweater...

Well you know me and my Fluffles... I have a soft spot for the little fur ball...

This is a card I made for my brother whose birthday is next Friday.

Yes I'll admit, shame on me, I never made a card for my brother before, I am pretty much paralized at the thought of making cards for guys!! :-S... This is a very new venture for me, I made the 1st card for my Dad not that long ago! ;-)

I used my new Cuttlebug Argyle folder (love it!), added some white Brilliance ink afterwards, and then unfortunately I assumed my ribbon was thick enough that the glue wouldn't sip through... well it did a little bit but I had already finished the card when it became obvious... According to my hubby those little mistakes make my cards look more homemade, LOL! ;-)

Thanksgiving memory booklet

This is another version of the little brag book, this time I made a little Thanksgiving memory book. Sorry the pics are bad, I took them at night and it's a little blurry and over or under exposed! :-(

The left booklet is for Naomi, she made little drawings of what she is thankful for on paper doilies cut with square nestabilities and wrote on the opposite page about it.

The right booklet is for us parents, we didn't get a chance to jot down our thoughts yet but we will soon... :-) Maybe we'll write a little note for Noah since he cannot yet, something about what he really seems to enjoy in life right now, so we can remember later on!♥

I had fun working on this with Naomi, she was proud to be included in it and I will love looking at this when she is a teenager! LOL! :-)

The little squirrel on the cover is from PaperTrey Ink, the stamps inside are a Holiday set from Martha Stewart at Michaels (lots of cool images in there).

(Sorry for the bad pics, but I took them in the sun...)

Baby Brag Book

Still not much creativity going on here since the whole family is super sick!! We all spent Thanksgiving in bed, the turkey is still in the freezer!... With all the coughing involved I'm surprised my little one is still safely tucked inside!! I had to take a little trip to the ER a week ago for an asthma attack, I am still not back on my feet but hope I will soon. Realizing it IS December freaked me out big time!!...

Anyway my little project here is a mini brag book for a friend who had a baby girl a few weeks ago. The inspiration is from a kit I bought last year, I can't remember the brand but everything came on a 12X12 sheet and was pre-cut. I made my own little version and will make more of those. (I'm working on one with Naomi as a little Thanksgiving keepsake, and I hope I'll find the time to make one with our new baby...)

I'll try to make a mini-tutorial if anyone is interested.

Basically it is 2 mini booklets nestled together in a cover, you can decide on the size or the number of pages...

This one here has 3 double pages in each booklet. I made little mats with the Nestabilities where she can just add her pics (wallet size works perfectly for those) and on the opposite pages I stamped a spot for journaling where she can add the date, who's with the baby or where it was taken etc... I made a little 4X4 (somewhat) matching card with the pea (from Stampin'Up).

The little giftbox is made with Lauren's template "Music Makeover" My timeless templates. If you haven't heard about My timeless Templates yet (is it possible?) they're available through Papertrey Ink, you download them in your computer and just print them, it doesn't get any easier than that! I obviously kept mine super simple, (didn't want Lauren's box to steal the spotlight of what's IN the box! LOL ;-))