As much as I love the holidays, I always get very excited to started making cards that don't have a Christmas theme to it! And since I recently went to a warehouse sale for a local scrapbook company and got some great deals and fantastic papers, I was extra anxious to make some fun cards.

Christmas is over and for the first time in weeks, I've been able to take a break and breathe for a bit! I had awesome sales during the months of November and December which kept me so very busy! I was sending out cards, giftcard holders, or notecard boxes just about every day!

I was finally able to get my own Christmas cards out in the mail just a couple of days before Christmas. Every year I tell myself to get my cards made before the rush hits me, and each year I procrastinate! Maybe one day I'll learn!

Here's just a few samples of the things I made for customers this season:




Eight of these went to Japan for an Etsy customer:


Thanks to all my customers who kept me so busy!

I've had a couple of orders to work on the past few days but hadn't listed anything new on Etsy. I was looking through my latest issue of Creating Keepsakes last night and came across a card that caught my eye. This is my version of it which I really like because of it's simplicity.

Each year one of my best sellers has been personalized Christmas cards for teachers. I just completed my first order for this year. My online friend, Lori, has been a great customer over the years! Thanks for your support, Lori!

I love how pretty this card turned out! I love the chocolate brown/robin's egg blue color combination! In looking through a card making book last night I came across a style that I really liked and decided to recreate it with a few of my own personal touches. The result? An elegant, classy card that could be used for a number of occasions.

I think my kids working on their Christmas lists yesterday put me in the mood to work on Christmas cards today! Here's a new one I listed on Etsy today:

It certainly doesn't feel like it, but the calendar will show you that Christmas is just around the corner! I made my first Christmas card of the season today.

I've been published!

So, last week I got an e-mail through my Etsy shop from a fellow Etsy seller who is also the DIY wedding expert for the Examiner.com. She was writing an article on fashionable colors for spring and wanted to know if she could use my recently listed Wedding Congratulations card in her slideshow. In doing so she would link my Etsy shop in the picture credits.

Of course I said YES!!! The idea of having exposure for my cards is exciting! I'm not sure what her reader base is, and how many will actually see this, but it's a start, right?

Take a look! It's the first picture on the turquoise page of her slideshow.

A few baby cards

Bright, fun cards

What to do, what to do....

For the first time, all my kids are in school all day long! So, with all of this "Me" time I'm going to have, I'm working on building my card business. I've made several cards in the past few weeks and have them listed at my Etsy shop. I have a free giveaway in mind - still working on the details. Check back soon to see the announcement!

In the meantime, take a look at some of my latest creations!

A red, white, and blue project...

that isn't so red, white, and blue-like.

As part of a challenge for SD4U we were asked to create a project (layout, card, craft, etc) that used the colors red, white, and blue. I wasn't in the mood to make a traditional, patriotic project using those colors, so I improvised and made a card using a lighter blue, instead of the typical navy blue.

Friends

My latest Etsy listing:




This card has many special touches. The paper has been embossed with the swiss dot pattern then sanded to give texture, inked to show distressing, and the butterfly is attached with foam dots to give the appearance of flying off the paper.

Challenge Yellow

I belong to a team on Etsy where paper crafters collaberate to promote our creations available for sale at Etsy. Etsy Greetings offers spotlights on crafters, promotes sales, and recently issued a challenge to create something using the color yellow.

This is my creation using the color yellow - a bright, cheery, friendship card.

I've been busy!

Since the beginning of May I had orders for over 50 cards and 14 notecard boxes! Whew! Finally caught up and ready to start creating again! This time of year is usually pretty busy for me. Mother's Day has just passed and Father's Day, graduations, and the end of the school year are upon us. I've had great customers who keep coming back every year for teacher cards and gifts and Father's Day cards.

I won't bore you with everything, especially since I've posted the Father's Day cards previously, but here are a couple more notecard boxes I made.

I had a request...

for a box that would be given to a teacher that liked chili peppers. Found a cute chili to print on the papers and created this:




(The picture with the cards shows the not quite completed product. I needed to get the teacher's name for the tag on the top of the box, but wanted to show what it would look like. Thus the different teacher names on the box.)

Another box set

Here's another set I made today:

Handmade box with matching note cards

Last night I came across this online tutorial for these cute, cute boxes. Today I've been playing! Take a look:

A couple more for Father's Day

Father's Day is June 21st!

Father's Day cards for the special men in your life: