Now that the holidays are over I can start revealing some of the handmade gifts I gave!
Every year for Christmas, I make my mom a set of handmade cards for her to use throughout the year. I usually try to pick the obvious themes for cards (birthdays, babies, thanks yous, sympathy) and mix in a few uncategorized cards for her own purpose. Back in August when Hurricane Irene came barreling through, I spent the weekend crafting in which I was able to craft her Christmas present a few months early!
Handmade cards are not only a great handmade gift to give but making them is also a great way of using up your scraps! I have this big bin of paper scraps that I’ve sorted by color. I keep it under one of the table legs of my Ikea table and it’s always at an arm’s reach to be able to grab and go when crafting.
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I was able to use many of the techniques I played with in earlier weeks on some of these cards. Using strips of patterned papers with edge punches (supplies: Punches – EK Success, patterned papers – Martha Stewart Crafts, stickers – Jolees):
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Using a negative space – like the card at the right in the below photo (supplies: Patterned paper – K&Company, Stamps – Hero Arts & Inkadinkado, Punches – EK Success and Stamping Up):
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Using up die cuts (supplies: Diecuts – K&Company Amy Butler, Stamps: EK Success Image Tree):
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And I also played around with a fun stamp set to create these uncategorized cards for her own use. The flowers and leaves are all stamped shapes that I cut out and arranged! (supplies: Patterned paper – K&Company, Stamps: Inkadinkado):
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