Christmas thanks

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.I finally went downstairs today to witness the "craftermath" of the holidays. Ha ha! The few days leading up to and including Christmas Eve were a whirlwind of crafting and baking! I had so much fun, though! We don't usually leave our neighbor gifts until the last minute like we did this year, but I thoroughly enjoyed baking and packaging up all of the goodies.

Every year, I feel the sadness as I pack away the Christmas wrap and tags, the Christmas crafting supplies and papers. I try to relish the time as I create thank you cards for the special people in our lives who have given us gifts. I took some time this morning to get started. I decided to use this cute little mouse set that I didn't have a chance to use yet. I can feel some fun Valentine's designs coming on as well. 

I paired it up with "Fair Isle" prints as well for a sweet, cozy feel. The sentiment (which gave me fits) is from Tree Trimming Trio and is my go-to set for my holiday thank yous. I embossed it using detail silver embossing powder and a heat tool. I COULD NOT...no matter how much I tried...get the embossing powder to not clump. It is supposed to be for details but it wasn't working. I just went with it and even though they're not perfect, they look ok. I actually decided to add a little bit of ink splatter around the sentiments to give it a purposeful look. wink wink. I hpoe you all have a Happy New Year! Thanks for fluttering by!
P.S. Wish me luck as I work my way through my mess!

O Tannenbaum

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope you are all having a wonderful and beautiful day with friends and family! It wouldn't be Christmas without making a few gift card holders. One of my favorite go-to designs begins with a pillow box. It's the perfect size and they always look so darn cute, too! I used the "O Tannenbaum" stamp set for the focal images on both the boxes and tags for continuity. I just love this little rustic tree! 

The tags were cut from a circle nestabilities die. I just love stamping on Kraft cardstock. The sentiments on both the tags and boxes were heat embossed using gold powder.

I threaded baker's twine through red eyelets I added at the top. It's such a tiny addition, but I love the effect. The stars at the top of the trees on the pillow boxes were leftover from the glittery snowflakes I cut last week. I set them aside knowing that they would probably come in handy...And they did! These are going to my boys' school teachers and Principals along with other goodies! Thanks for fluttering by!

Have a holly jolly Christmas

What do you do when you've bought a bunch of Bath and Body Works lipgloss? Make little mittens to put them in for gifts, of course! I had so much fun stitching them up and embellishing them. I think I will make some for Valentine's Day as well. Wouldn't they be cute with hearts? 

I die cut two of each mitten and machine stitched around them using white thread because I really like the contrast. I also stitched the wristband in place as well, which was also cut from the mitten die. I used the medium sized "Fancy Flakes"die to embellish the front. I added a few dots of hot glue to tack it down and the jingle bells were hot glued as well.

I used the holly sprigs that I found at Hobby Lobby that I also used on the boxes for my hand warmers. I only had six left so 6 of the mittens have holly and are embellished with the "have a holly jolly Christmas" sentiment from the new Critter set from PTI. I still have yet to ink up the adorable mice, but they are on my "to-ink" list!  The ribbon was tied around the wrist and then the bow was hot glued down for security.

After I had used up all of my holly sprigs, I still wanted to make a few more mittens. I was also tired of die cutting the wristband portion so I changed things up for these next two mittens. The wrist band embellishment was die cut using a border die that I have had for quite a few years. I thought it looked really cute on these more feminine looking mittens.

The sentiment is from "Santa Stationery" and I REALLY like how it turned out on this. The one on the pink and white mitten is just stamped in black, but for the red mitten, I heat embossed it in gold. I added a gold jingle bell on that one for continuity.

Each mitten has a tiny candy cane and the yummy lip gloss inside. I was hoping to fit a few more treats inside, but they looked a little too bulgy. I guess you could add something like a Ghiradelli square.

And just a few more pictures because it looked so cute nestled in my kitchen Christmas tree! They would make darling ornaments as well.

Thanks for fluttering by!

Have a {cup of cheer}

I'm back today to share a few tags I worked on over the weekend to include with some yummy mug cake mix I've packaged up. Last month, I helped put together a "mix and mingle" activity at our church. My job was to share some different ways to present and package different christmas "mixes" of various types. I happened upon a simple recipe for a chocolate mug cake and knew that it would be festive and fun. I am thinking of gifting these to the secretaries at my sons' school...a quick treat to eat when you need your chocolate fix! 

I took all of my color cues from the mugs that I put the mix in...sage, red, grey and white. First, I die cut all of my tags using Stamper's Select white cardstock and sponged some Sage Shadow ink onto the front. I also added some flecks of grey using the color spritzing tool and a Going Grey Stampin' Write marker.  Next, I die cut all of the little cups, greenery and pots and quickly stamped them in varying colors.

Before I began assembling my focal images, I quickly stamped the "Have a cup of cheer" sentiment in black onto the bottom of each of the tags. I used the sentiment as the anchor for each of the designs.

Some of the tags have wonky stacked cups, sprigs of greenery and others have the pot with a cup and a festive poinsettia. I had fun making each tag different and unique. The smaller poinsettia images have a small self-adhesive gem in the center for some shine. The finishing touch was a sprinkling of crystal clear sequins and a knot of red baker's twine. I hope your holidays have been as festive and full of spirit as mine! I don't want it to be over! Thanks for fluttering by! Follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford 

Peace, Love & Joy

The first Christmas cards of the season! I don't generally make handmade Christmas cards anymore because I have opted for the printed photo cards that showcase my adorable children. I do, however, need to mail out a few to some friends in the neighborhood and I haven't even taken pictures of my kids yet to include in a photo card! Eeep! Hopefully I can get that taken care of early this next week and pop them in the mail! 

We took a most glorious, snowy drive up the canyon last Sunday that totally inspired these neutral snowflake cards. How I wish we had a little bit of snow....but yesterday's rain completely melted most of the dwindling remnants. Oh well....I've created my own little winter wonderland with these cards. LOL! I dry embossed the Kraft cardstock using a Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder and then "frosted" the edges using white ink. The edges were also dusted with a little bit of chunky glitter for some extra sparkle.

The snowflakes were diecut using the "Fancy Flakes" die cut from PTI using "Gilver" glitter cardstock. It's my favorite...not gold, not silver...the perfect combination that's a bit like the color of champagne. I saved the star that was left over from the center of each snowflake that I am hoping to use on another holiday project.

I always like incorporating sheet music pattern paper into my holiday designs because I LOVE Christmas music. These designs will be mailed, so I tried to make them as flat as possible, but I did add buttons to the center of each snowflake. The sentiment was stamped in Black Palette ink onto vellum and then secured behind the snowflake panel. A simple taffeta bow finishes it off and they're ready to go. Thanks for fluttering by! Follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford

Warm Winter Wishes

Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens...these are a few of my favorite things! I'm working on packaging up my HAND WARMERS today and as promised, I'm sharing what I've come up with. I thought the mittens would be so cute on a box because they fit the "hand" theme. 

I diecut each mitten using Kraft, Pure Poppy and Aqua Mist card stock. These colors coordinate nicely with the different fabrics that I used for the hand warmers. I stamped one of the images from "Fair Isle Patterns" using Versamark ink and heat embossed it with Vanilla powder. I love the texture it gives it; almost like a real mitten. I added bits of trim, lace, buttons and holly to the wrist of each mitton for some extra detail and holiday flair. 

The holly berry sprigs and fluffy trim were purchased at Hobby Lobby and are part of their "Make it Christmas" craft line. Our store is almost out of everything, so I have been grabbing as many things as I can that I still need for my holiday crafting. The sentiments are from "Two Feet Deep".See, I told you that it would be making quite an appearance this year. It is one of my favorite sets. I think I've used the last of my red jingle bells as well. I think that was a dollar that was worth every cent. LOL! The polka dot clothespins were found at Walmart last year and they finally made their way onto a project and I think it is the perfect touch. I added some chunky glitter around the edges with liquid glue for that "frosty" feeling. I just love how they turned out. After I made all of the mittens, I made a quick open ended box to tuck the handwarmers and a packet of hot cocoa down into. I also included the "heating" instructions on a quick tag attached to the ribbon.  Thanks for fluttering by!

Holiday Sparkles

 It's SNOWING! My older kids were just saying yesterday that it didn't feel like Christmas because the snow had melted. It totally feels like Christmas to me, but the snow is ALWAYS a welcome addition. Everyone has been delivered to school and it's just me and the little one enjoying a cozy morning at home. I thought I'd share a few more tags I've been working on this week. 

 I found these darling towels at Walmart for 88 cents and I got the soaps from Bath and Body Works for a steal! Cute and inexpensive gifting!

 The only thing missing is a cute tag, right? I got to work creating something fitting and festive! The tag was diecut using a PTI tag die out of candy cane striped pattern paper from Hobby Lobby. The focal image was stamped using the cute bird from PTI's "Tremendous Treats: Christmas". It's one of my go-to holiday sets, especially when I am in the mood for some coloring. After everything was colored, I added some stardust Stickles to the white portion of the hat and the bird's wing. Each circle was diecut using a nest abilities die. I added a mini clothespin tied up with red Baker's twine. I stamped the sentiment using white ink and then heat embossed it with some Hologram Highlights embossing powder from SU!. 

Once they were all made it is time for packaging! I sent my husband to buy the soap and he forgot to ask for cellophane bags. They will give them to you for free with your purchase and they are bigger than anything you can buy in a regular store. I made do with a smaller bag. I added a red jingle bell into the bow as I tied them up. This is a perfect gift for anyone who has lent you a helping hand during the year.Oh....gotta go....the doorbell rang and it's the postman with a box of crafting goodness but thanks for fluttering by and stay tuned to see what projects I'll be creating with my new supplies! Follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford!

{Let it Snow} holiday gift tags

 Thank you so much for your positive response to my Holiday Handwarmers I shared yesterday. I have created a tutorial for you HERE that I hope will answer the questions you asked. They are super fun to make and in no time at all, you will have whipped up a whole bunch!  I wanted to share with you how I have spent my "crafternoon"! Ha Ha! 

 Each year as I package up my homemade holiday goodies, I attach a tag to the bag of cookies and these are this year's design! They were so fast and easy and I just LOVE how they came together! Don't you? I made them assembly line style, which is always best when mass producing.

I first diecut the Kraft cardstock bases using a PTI tag die that I use all the time. If you haven't invested in a few tag die cuts, I highly recommend it. After they were all cut, I stamped the 3 sizes of snowflakes from the "Two Feet Deep" stamp set from PTI. The sentiment is also from that set and I just LOVE it.

Once that was done, I wrapped the "evergreen" pipe cleaners around a bottle of liquid glue to achieve the perfect round wreath. I cut the ends with wire cutters. I was able to get two "wreaths" from one stem. I picked them up at Hobby Lobby this year and they are part of their "Make it Christmas" line. The "Let It Snow" sentiment was stamped using white ink onto Pure Poppy cardstock. I hot glued the jingle bell, which I bought at Dollar Tree this year, to the top of the wreath. After all of the pieces were ready, it was ready to assemble and it was all attached with hot glue. The finishing touch was a piece of red baker's twine for a festive touch, especially for baked goods. Thanks for fluttering by and I hope you will join me again for some more handmade holiday projects!

Holiday Handwarmers

ETA: I've posted a tutorial for the handwarmers HERE. A few years ago I stitched up a generous amount of hand warmers to give to family and friends. This year I'm back at it and ready to gift them again. I thought I would show you a few of them sewn up and ready to be packaged up in some papercraft-y goodness. I will be sharing that in a day or two. These are the perfect size to slip in your coat pocket as you head outside to enjoy your Winter Wonderland! Thanks for fluttering by and join me again as I continue my holiday crafting P.S. follow me on Instagram @kellylunceford

A tisket, a tasket....

A tisket, a tasket, simple gifts in my basket. I wanted to pop in today to share a simple Thanksgiving treat I'm giving my kids' teachers today. I like to give them something for each holiday and when I saw these cute single serving caramel cups, I knew I could come up with something festive.

I chose to use an oldie but goodie stamp set from SU! called "Simple Thanks". I love it and I especially loved coloring the buckets of apples.  I colored them with Copic and Prismacolor markers. I added some Glossy Accents to the single green apple outside of the bucket for some extra detail.

I packaged one apple and caramel cup in a cello bag. The tags were diecut using one of the tag dies from PTI. I just recently purchased 2 different styles and I don't know how I lived without them. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks for fluttering by!

"Frozen Fever" inspired gifts

My son was invited to a "Paw Patrol" birthday party for a little girl in the neighborhood. He was VERY upset that I didn't buy her a "Paw Patrol" gift, but bought  "Frozen Fever" Anna and Elsa dolls instead. I explained to him that we don't ALWAYS have to buy a gift directly related to the party's theme, and especially in this case, because I REALLY wanted to do something girly. He was so funny and was REFUSING to sign the card because it was girly and NOT "Paw Patrol"! LOL! It was really cute, even though he was being a stinker. I always like to include something handmade with my gifts so I decided to make a few things for her hair.

I've made hair ties like this in the past, which you can see HERE . You will need to scroll down a bit to see them. If you are interested in a tutorial, let me know. I took pictures along the way so I could put one together in a snap. I used ribbon I had on hand, but I thought it coordinated nicely with the colors from the dolls. I created a cute little card to package it up on for a boutique-y feel, which I love. I diecut the kraft paper using a spellbinders die and then gold embossed the border using gold powder. It was stamped using a PTI border stamp, which I can't recall the name of. It's quite old, but is so timeless and is a definite go-to set. I then added some white snowflakes from the "Two Feet Deep" stamp set from PTI as well. It is one of my all-time favorites and will be making a big appearance in this year's Christmas crafting.

Of course I needed to create a few felt covered clips for her as well. I've made quite a few of these in the past and I love how fast they work up. I thought that this color combination would be very versatile for a little girl and would be sweet paired with pink or purple. I wanted to make teal clips with yellow flowers, but I didn't know if they would match anything she had.

The sunflower image from "Rosie Posie" and "Rosie Posie II" was the perfect focal point for the card. I love having the coordinating dies for this set, but there isn't one for the sunflower. I chose to use a spellbinders scallop circle die, but it wasn't a "perfect" fit, but it worked out okay.

I stamped a snowflake image from the "Two feet deep" on the center of the flower, I thought it was such a fun "Frozen"ish addition. The background was created by stamping white snowflakes onto vellum. I layered the vellum over a teal piece of paper to soften it a bit.

The honeycomb image is also from "Rosie Posie" and I stamped tiny sunflower images into each center to continue the theme. A few crystal clear sequins finish it off. I had a lot of fun putting this ensemble together. When "Frozen Fever" first came out, I wanted to plan a party SO bad, but Emma was too old. I'm glad I got a chance to put something together to scratch a little bit of my itch. Ha ha! Thanks for fluttering by!

Rejoice in the Lord... Always

 I thought I'd share a non-traditional Thanksgiving design I put together earlier in the month. I made 6 of the same design to send out to a few friends. I really love this "New Every Morning" set. It has some really great and inspiring quotes and scriptures that I can see myself using again and again. I also used a scripture for the inside about "giving thanks", which is perfect for a Thanksgiving card.

 I stamped circle images using white ink onto vellum, which was the starting point for the entire design. I then chose the colors I wanted to use and was thrilled to find some cute pattern paper that coordinated perfectly. It's from Authentique, I believe.

The background was embossed using a folder from The Paper Studio that I picked up at Hobby Lobby a few years ago. A few crystal clear sequins finished the design off as well as a little bow of black baker's twine. These will be popped in the mail today to reach their recipients just in time for Thanksgiving! I'm hosting for the first time this year and I'm super excited! Happy Thanksgiving to you and thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I spent yesterday evening cleaning and organizing my desk and studio so I can dive headfirst into my Christmas projects! I'm so excited! I love crafting for Christmas so stay tuned for some fun projects!

BOO to you!

 I'm finally ready to accept that Fall is really coming! It is one of my favorite seasons, yet I still have such a hard time saying goodbye to Summer. Making cute, Halloween-y projects always helps, too! One of my friends in the neighborhood asked me to make a card for her darling baby nephew who is dying from a tragic illness. They are hoping to celebrate a few holidays before he passes. My heart aches for this sweet family. I thought this "Spooky Smiles" set would be perfect for a fun Halloween card.

I've been on the "notify me" list forever, it seems, for the spooky tree and fence. They finally came, as well as a few tag diecuts that I couldn't live without. The fence and tag were the starting point for my design. I couldn't decide if I should have the jack-o-lantern peeking out from behind the fence or the cat. As you can see, the cat won and he's perfectly placed on his gate ready for a spooky night. I added a bowtie and witches hat, (which I am just realizing as I am typing) is kind of strange, but definitely cute! The bat is hanging around as well and it looks like a trick-or-treater might have dropped a piece of candy. Ha ha!

All of the images were stamped using Palette Noir ink and colored with Copic and Prismacolor markers.The sentiment was stamped using Fresh Snow ink onto black cardstock. The tag was tied with a bow of black baker's twine and a few sequins finish it off. I added the darling little Jack-o-lantern to the inside as well as a strip of pattern paper and another sentiment. Thanks for fluttering by!