I shared a quick post on Facebook the other day and the response was pretty divided. Is It Too Early for Christmas Cards?
For Stampers Club I like to start sharing one holiday card a month starting with the July-December Mini Catalogue. We made our first card during our last session. I shared a prep photo on the YamStamps Facebook Page…which made some people wonder Is it too early for Christmas Cards?
the photo that sparked a debate…
So the caption was “It has begun….#ChristmasIsComing”. There were a number of comments in either direction – a few thought it was too early, and few loved it. What do you think?
Is It Too Early for Christmas Cards? Well, this is the card we created in Stampers Club. I love the Lights Aglow Specialty Designer Series Paper! It’s a 6″ x 6″ package with metallic elements as part of the design…which means I will be attracted to it because it’s shiny…
There are some patterns and frames that are just pretty and don’t scream “HOLIDAY PAPER” so I like to think that for those of you who answer the question “Is it too early for Christmas Cards” with “Yes”, there’s some options if you grab this paper now!
This is the card we created. Straightforward and simple.
Lights Aglow Happy Holidays Card
To highlight the gold in the Designer Series Paper, it’s mounted onto a strip of Gold Foil Sheet. I cut the label from the centre of the gold piece since nobody will see the hole once the card is assembled. The “Happy Holidays” sentiment from the Brightest Glow stamp set (also available in French – Moments Lumineux) fits onto a strip of cardstock that is the right size for that label. The dies for the label and the detailed punch out are from the glow dies, available in a discounted bundle with the stamp set (English discounted bundle and French discounted bundle available)
The “easy” button for these products is actually the Lights Aglow Suite Collection. Honestly, when I did my demonstrator preorder in June, I did not purchase the whole suite. Now I’m wondering why I didn’t! Well, if you (and I) decide to purchase it this month or next, we will all qualify for Sale-a-Bration benefits too – we get 3 SAB products at the free with $60CAD product level, or 1 SAB product at the $60 level and 1 at the $120 level. So maybe that was my unconscious strategy… Shortcut to shopping is yamstamps.com/shop or you can message me if you’d like to pay by etransfer or need assistance placing your order. Ships to your door in Canada!
Are you making your holiday cards this year? It’s almost time to mail them! I’ve been sending out holiday paper crafting ideas to my mailing list – we are into the last few weeks of the Twelve Weeks of Christmas – so hard to believe! (You can still get in on the last 4 weeks of mailing if you subscribe to my list before Tuesday).
Recently a couple of my “Eh” Team demonstrator group members & I decided to do a little swap of holiday cards. We often do a little “show & tell” during our virtual meetings, but it’s fun to actually get cards in hand! So we each made a holiday card design, enough for the other people participating, and then everyone got one of each of the cards. It’s always great to be able to exchange ideas and see new designs. As a demonstrator, we don’t have to come up with all our designs by ourselves – we get inspiration & ideas from others!
Arlene (Uptown Stamping) made this fun hand coloured card. I call her the Paper Pumpkin Queen for her beautiful variations on the monthly kits, but she also uses regular catalogue product in her projects! Here she used the Delivering Cheer stamp set from the July-December Mini Catalogue plus some of the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper that you can select with Stampin’ Rewards (earned once party orders hit $200). I think that’s my favourite host product available right now!
I enjoyed swapping ideas for holiday cards with my team and I’m looking forward to doing more swaps with my group members in the next while – I love seeing everyone’s creativity (and getting some ideas at the same time!).
If you’d like to join our group of demonstrators, now is a great time!(just ask Ruby, our latest member!) The Start with Savings promotion is running until November 30th (just over a week left). As always, you select $165 worth of creative product of your choice and receive basic business supplies plus a past Paper Pumpkin kit – BUT during November, you only pay $100!!! You save $35 off the “regular starter kit deal”. Whether you’re looking to launch a home based business or just want a creative outlet (and discounted supplies) it’s hard to deny the cost effectiveness of this kit! You can get more information about joining my group here, or message me for answers to any questions you might have. I’d love to welcome you as the newest “Eh” Team member!
I love how easy this Poinsettia Card was to make – using Stampin’ Up!’s Plush Poinsettia Specialty Paper from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalogue.
Poinsettia Card
I coloured the plush portions of the vellum using a sponge dauber, and then adhered it onto a Gold Foil sheet and added the sentiment from Itty Bitty Christmas die cut with a Stitched Rectangle die. When I was colouring, I tried to stay mostly on the plush portions but didn’t get too fussed if it was off a little bit – I figure it’s more artistic that way LOL.
Poinsettia Card
If you’ve been loving the products from the August-December Mini Catalogue, you’ll also maybe realize that they will be leaving us soon! Stampin’ Up! has let us know which products will make another appearance – either in the next Annual Catalogue OR the next “holiday” Mini Catalogue – which will actually be July– December (an extra month vs this year!). You can download the spreadsheet here for the returning products. NOTE that on the returning products spreadsheet there are tabs indicating which catalogue they will be appearing in.
In terms of items that are retiring – Stampin’ Up! has announced a Year End Sale on selected retiring August-December Mini Catalogue products. REMEMBER that “Bundles” typically “retire”, though the individual elements may return in a future catalogue – just not as part of the discounted bundle. Selected retiring products are on sale from December 8 – January 4 – and all items are WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. Here’s a spreadsheet of retiring items; here’s a pdf version if you prefer.
Your best bet is to place your order online at YamStamps.com/shop – it can be delivered directly to you in Canada – or if you need assistance placing an order or prefer me to place the order for you, I’d recommend contacting me ASAP – if you can send me a message by 8pm on Monday December 7th, I’ll do my best to get things organized so that I can place the orders early on the 8th for best possibility of getting things before they’re gone.
Here’s a Curvy Christmas Card that we made the other evening in Stampers Club. It’s also available as part of the current Card Class to Go(message me for purchase information). I think that 2020 is going to be the year of the resurgence of the mailed holiday card! With that in mind, I’m trying to get going on producing more cards right now – how about you?
Curvy Christmas Card
For this card, I used the Quite Curvy Variety Bundle, which is available until January 4, 2021. It includes the Quite Curvy Bundle (Quite Curvy stamp set and Curvy Dies), the Curvy Christmas stamp set and the Classic Christmas Designer Series Paper. The Quite Curvy Bundle (and the individual components of the bundle) will be available in the January-June Mini Catalogue, but the Curvy Christmas set and paper will not be available after January 5th.
The colours in the Classic Christmas Designer Series Paper are Sahara Sand, Shaded Spruce and Cherry Cobbler. For this card, I die cut the Cherry Cobbler and Shaded Spruce pieces of patterned paper with the Curvy Dies. From the Curvy Christmas stamp set, the evergreen boughs are stamped in Shaded Spruce and the sentiment is stamped in Early Espresso, which is also the backing cardstock. I used Crumb Cake cardstock for the cardbase itself because that was what was closest to hand LOL.
For Stampers Club and Card Class to Go, all the pieces are precut, and participants adhere them together and add their own stamps and ink (since we’re assembling in the comfort of our own separate homes). For this card, if people didn’t have the Curvy Christmas stamp set, another holiday themed stamp set would do. If it’s a photopolymer (clear) stamp set, you can also manipulate the stamp when you adhere it to the clear block to get a curved sentiment as well!
If you are making a bunch of cards, and have extras, you might consider sending some on to others – like those in Retirement or Long Term Care Homes, or Armed Forces members – as noted in this tweet:
Armed Forces Request
Any Canadian Armed Forces Member PO Box 5004 Stn Forces Belleville ON K8N 5W6
Cards will require appropriate postage (to Canada). It was mentioned by a friend that glitter and other sparkly embellishments are best avoided – they can set off the security detectors for one thing, and we all know how glitter spreads and sticks and would not help someone trying to be camoflauged.
I have a couple of these Curvy Christmas Card samples, so I think I’ll be sending a few on to share the holiday spirit. Join me in this mailing effort?! Happy Crafting.
While I know that I’ve been doing the Twelve Weeks of Christmas Projects for YamStamps subscribers, I’m still caught off guard with the fact that Christmas is a month and a half away! Today’s snowflake card for a friend was one that I created for a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator only swap featuring products from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalogue. Snowflakes are one of my favourite “themes” for seasonal and holiday cards.
I adhered the Vellum to the cardfront with Glue Dots and tried to place them behind snowflakes so they weren’t quite as visible. I hid a couple of them with the gems, and now that I look at this photo, could have added a few more gems?!
I love the fact that this snowflake card for a friendcould be a holiday card but could also be a birthday card, friendship card or just because card during this season. Burlington is entering “Red Zone Status” for the pandemic as of Monday, so I think it’s an important time to keep in touch with people while keeping socially distanced.
If you’re looking for ways to keep busy, consider purchasing one of my Card Classes to Go – the “regular” versions feature a variety of projects, and the Holiday Card Class to Go focuses on holiday cards only. Each class has the precut materials for four different cards, plus a printout with a photo of the completed project and step by step instructions. You can add sentiments from your own stash or shop the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store (shortcut:YamStamps.com/shop) for the ones I use in the samples. Contact me for payment links and more information. Each class cost is $20 and includes postage within Canada.
I love that the curved edges are 6″ long – so you can cut a 6″ x 6″ piece of Designer Series Paper easily so it will fit across a “landscape” oriented card or a 6″ x 6″ scrapbook page. Next week I’ll be sure to share a card that I designed with this bundle – after Stampers Club members have had a chance to make it! (I need to keep some things a surprise from them LOL).
So instead I’ll share this sample created by the Stampin’ Up! designers…
Curvy Celebrations
I love this card – and I really like the non-traditional colours! I may have to recreate this myself…
How are your holiday cards coming along?! I have a suspicion that we will need to get them in the mail earlier than usual because the workload might be higher than usual this year. Since we can’t easily get together in person, holiday cards will play a bigger role in how I celebrate and reach out to family and friends this year. If you’re looking for help with your holiday cards, contact me to get the Holiday Cards Class to Go! It’s like the Card Class to Go…but only holiday themed cards. It’s the same cost as the regular class to go ($20CAD for 4 different designs and envelopes), but there’s also a bulk card option ($35 for 8 cards, 2 of each design). All the cards will have precut elements, and you assemble them, with the option of adding your own greetings with stamps and inks you have on hand.
If you need a few supplies, or want to grab the Curvy Celebrations Bundle, you can head to the YamStamps Online Stampin’ Up! Canada store (shortcut is yamstamps.com/shop), or contact me if you prefer to pay by etransfer, or need assistance placing an order. Don’t forget that if you place an order for $50 product during November, you’ll receive an exclusive tutorial bundle as my thanks! Happy Shopping!
