Mistletoe Christmas cards

I want to show you the first design of my Christmas cards this year. I love the packages from Close To My Heart that come with 4 different paper designs for a total of 12 sheets (12" by 12") and matching ribbon. It makes it so easy to do bulk cards which is incredibly handy at this time of the year. Plus, what I love about it is that the package only costs $9.25 and I can make 30-40 cards including ribbon! For those math wiz-kids out there, that's about $0.23-$0.30 per card! Great deal, right?

Plus what I did to spice up this card a bit is use 3-D dots for the green ornament on the right side of the card. I also added pearls to the card for extra bling!

Want to check out this paper and ribbon package? It's on page 88 of the Winter Idea Book. It's call the Creative Basics Mistletoe Collection. The stamp set I used is on page 47 and is called Holiday Trinkets.

Want to know a little secret? I used this same stamp set last year. Shhh! Don't tell anyone my secret, ok? It's how I have learned to stretch my dollar! But I'm guessing anyone of my friends who got a card last year won't guess it's the same stamp set because I used a totally different set of colours and patterned paper. That's how Close To My Heart helps keeps things fresh! Love it!

Expect the unexpected, how Project 365 became Project 352
I've been very unlucky with technology lately. First my iPhone died then my computer crashed and I lost all data on my hard drive. Gone! Vamoosh! Just like that. So, I'm sure you can see where this is heading... I lost photos from my Project 365. I'm so disappointed but I also know it could have been so much worse. I only lost about two weeks of photos. Not bad at all, right?

I guess that I can't really complete Project 365 in 365 days so maybe my project will now be named Project 352 since I lost 12 days.

It's interesting how lost I feel without those 12 days of photos. It was only two weeks but I have recognized and realized that everyday there is something worth capturing with my camera. Now that I've lost those two weeks I feel I'm missing some important stuff. But, of course this is all with a fresh mind and I'm sure in a few years from now it won't matter as much...I hope.

Moral of the story? Do you know what your back-up plan is? What are the things that are most important to you? What are you doing to protect them? At the moment I store my photos on an external hard drive and on two separate DVDs and on snapfish.com. That may seem like a bit much to some people but it's because of this system that I didn't lose more than two weeks. However, currently I'm re-assessing my frequency of back up and I'm thinking that each time I download my photos to my computer from my camera, I should have a copy in at least one of my back up locations.

Oh technology gods, I've meant you no harm but if there's something I've done to upset you, please let me know.

My latest creation - less paper and more light

So I'm stretching the term "creations" out of the "Caroline's Creations" title of this blog. This weekend I created something that I've been dying to do for ages, maybe at least a year! I finally got around to making my own light box. What? A light box? Yes. It's the most awesome, inexpensive toy...okay, well maybe not for everyone, but it's awesome for me and you! (How do you fit in? Keep reading!)

I have been wanting a light box for ages so I could take better pictures of the cards I create so I can have a better sample to show you on this blog. See...that's where you fit in! So this weekend I did some reading online and found a great website that described how to make a cheap light box. The price was right so I was ready to give it a try! I got a box I had around the house (well, okay, I had to reorganize another section of my closet but I got the box out of it!), some tissue wrapping paper, masking tape, white poster board and an exacto knife. Ta da! That's all I needed.

Here is the before and after shot of my light box.

BEFORE

(Yes, shameless advertising for Close To My Heart scrapbooking supplies)

AFTER

A special thank you to Stobist website for the instructions! http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

Oh and P.S. This is also my Picture of the Day for my Project 365 post. Another two-for-one.

Flare your peacock colours!

Peacocks are trendy right now so I decided it would be a perfect theme for our Crafty Club this month. Together we made a multi-coloured peacock tail. It was easy-peasy and everyone was really happy with how it turned out. It's such a simple and impressive technique! Plus, this post is a two-for-one, it's my post on this month's Crafty Club and my picture of the day!

The supplies to make this card are:

Magnifique paper pack - level 2 (X7127B)

My Acrylix Circle of Love stamp set (D1438)

My Acrylix Say it in style stamp set (D1283)

Garden Green stamp pad (Z2120)

Juniper stamp pad (Z2165)

Moonstruck stamp pad (Z2134)

Sponge Daubers (Z726)

and don't forget the bling! Sparkles blue and green (Z1327)

Maybe it's time for a "Creativity Bootcamp"

I went to a crop this past weekend and was feeling so blocked creatively. It was unbelievable how long it took me to finish anything. Instead of being sucked into this sense of being overwhelmed and creatively stuck, I took a few small projects and didn't let myself get caught up in how much I accomplished in the day. I thought whatever I can do, I will do and I will be happy with that.

Knowing how tough it was for me to feel creative this weekend, my wonderful husband sent me a link from the woman who wrote the book The Happiness Project. The link he sent me is all about putting yourself in a creativity bootcamp and doing your "craft" (whether it's writing, or knitting or scrapbooking) everyday for a full 30 days. I thought it was very inspiring and what a great idea! You can read more about it here: http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2010/10/put-yourself-in-creativity-boot-camp.html

Have you ever done a creativity bootcamp? Let me know if you have or if you're interested in doing one!