Christmas Cards

Well, I didn't manage to really make Christmas cards this year except for immediate family. Next year I'll have to start earlier and factor in the possibility of commissions and several illnesses! As my mom said about my plethora of supplies, "There'll be another Christmas!" The last card shown is also a gift--you'll see what I mean. I was trying to find a way to dress it up...

--LJE

Christmas Table Decoration/Photo Album/Scrapbook

Dear Readers,

I had this idea to sort of try out a bunch of card designs and save the trials. Then, the idea bloomed into a great idea! Why not combine the card designs with family photos and make a mini scrap book! And why not make it as something I can pull out and set on the dining room table during the Christmas season? With only 24 5x7 sheets available (only 12 which face front) in this nifty frame I bought on Amazon, I decided to carefully curate and make this album about Christmases with Dr. A. 

While testing out my card designs I discovered that the glitter paper I had chosen to work with would not be tenable for actual cards, so I decided to use it generously here when I had album sheets to contain it. I even reused parts of some old store bought Christmas cards I never sent which now had damaged corners. 

I love the finished product so much, I think because it also reminds me of a frame like this at my grandma's house that I used to always look through as a child. 

I love you, Dr. A. So happy to spend another Christmas with you, part of my chosen family! 

--LJE 

DIY Advent Calendar

Howdy, 

I wanted to make a sugar free advent calendar for Dr. A, and found this great idea on Pinterest. Thank you, Better Homes and Gardens! It's kind of huge, but was super fun to make with card stock, stamps, magnet paper sheets, and muffin tins! 

--LJE

Vintage Style Patterned Cards

Howdy, Readers,

Those of you following me on social media may have seen that I sold some of my cards at two recent events. Some of you even visited me! It was great to finally get out there with my cards! I can't thank all of you enough for all of your support. I made a group of cards for the events, and I showed them in the last few posts. The unsold cards have made it into my etsy shop. Please consider checking them out there, too!

Today: Vintage style birthday, hello, and thank you cards.

--LJE

Nautical Cards

Howdy, Readers,

Those of you following me on social media may have seen that I sold some of my cards at two recent events. Some of you even visited me! It was great to finally get out there with my cards! I can't thank all of you enough for all of your support. I made a group of cards for the events, and I showed them in the last two posts and will continue to show them in the next post. The unsold cards have made it into my etsy shop. Please consider checking them out there, too!

Today: Nautical themed thank you and birthday cards. The anchor has several layers to create some added dimension which you can't really see in the photo.

--LJE

Happy Floral Cards

Howdy, Readers,

Those of you following me on social media may have seen that I sold some of my cards at two recent events. Some of you even visited me! It was great to finally get out there with my cards! I can't thank all of you enough for all of your support. I made a group of cards for the events, and I showed them in the last post and will continue to show them in the next few posts. The unsold cards have made it into my etsy shop. Please consider checking them out there, too!

Next up: Happy floral cards, blank and with hello and thank you sentiments. 

--LJE

Ornament Holiday Cards

Howdy, Readers,

Those of you following me on social media may have seen that I sold some of my cards at two recent events. Some of you even visited me! It was great to finally get out there with my cards! I can't thank all of you enough for all of your support. I made a group of cards for the events and will show them in the next few posts. The unsold cards have made it into my etsy shop. Please consider checking them out there, too!

We start with some holiday cards in non-traditional Christmas colors. 

--LJE

Thanksgiving Cards, Part 2: Making Stamps with Dies

Howdy, Readers,

I was floored after I saw this post by Jennifer McGuire. In the embedded video she demonstrates creating stamps from fun foam with dies. I tried this with leaf and tree dies and was amazed by how well it works. The foam took the ink very well, and I may have finally found a way to make that naughty tree die more useful!

--LJE

Thanksgiving Cards, Part 1: Shaking with Thanks

Well, yeah, addicted to the shaker card--can't help myself. But, I had been wanting to use leaves forever! Here I also show a water colored panel, an ink blended panel, leaf die cuts colored metallic, and and my first use of an embossing folder. 

--LJE

Halloween Cards, Part 4: Our Favorite Abstract Die, Salvaging Mistakes, and a Journal!

Howdy,

Here I show some cards made with my favorite die that you've seen a bunch here, but also what I did to fix a mistake I made.

When I cut all of the paper for these cards assembly line style I didn't pay attention to the orientation and didn't realize that the owl paper had to go one direction so that the owls wouldn't be upside down until after I had glued the frame down on a folded card. To salvage this, I cut one more sheet from the die, flipped it over, and made a little journal for my friend's daughter. 

--LJE