December Wrapping Up December

 

 

Stenciled, inked, and stamped

 December saw a continuation not only of holiday card making, but other crafts as well. As always, I didn’t get as much done as I’d planned due to a short illness. Doesn’t something always mess up holiday plans? (Note to self: this is why you plan further ahead!)

But, no time for digression, Christmas is coming! Lots of wonderful cards got made thanks to the Cricut. Frustrated with the lack of options on the Cricut site, I searched online for SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) files for Christmas cards. I was not disappointed! Here is one of my favorite, whimsical cards in a gate-fold style.

Another style of card I like to make uses patterned paper. This design allowed me to incorporate five different specialty papers. A Facebook group I follow had many wonderful examples of cards using patterned papers and unique folded cards. I found plenty of inspiration!

Because I had so many new designs I wanted to try, I ended up with just one card of each type--Cricut, patterned papers, and stamped. No one will be getting mass-produced cards from me this year, nor did they last year.

I made way more cards than I know people to send them to, which begged the question “What to do with extra cards?” My husband came up with a great suggestion to send them to nursing staff at our local hospital. We can drop them off at the visitor information center to be distributed to different floors.

Mint soap

Cards weren’t all that I worked on. I’m really happy with the mint and orange soaps I made for family.

 

In addition to cards and soaps, this year I tried my hand at a soup mix in a jar. The mushrooms I grew and dehydrated over the summer are part of what make this homemade gift special. 

I had one success at making ornaments (I don't sit still long enough for hand-sewing projects). So I'll end this post with a gold star. 😊