Simple Christmas cards

Like a lot of people, we're on a tight budget this Christmas. In addition to shortening my Christmas card recipient list, i've also been working on some simply designed cards. They're easier to make, less time-consuming, and without the addition of a lot of bulk, they're cheaper to send. Here's a few recent ones:

Ingredients: CS - Kraft, stash; PP - unknown; stamps - Martha Stewart Christmas Tree Stamps; ink - Versafine; snowflake punch; pop-dots.

Ingredients: see above.

i think my dad may be getting this one.

Ingredients: CS - Kraft, stash; stamps - Martha Stewart Christmas Tree Stamps, Limited Edition Distressed Background, Fancy Pants Simply Stated, Papertrey Ink Mixed Messages; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Ranger Distress; pop-dots.

So, your frugal tip for today is make simpler cards! This is especially helpful at the holidays when we're all short on time, need to make lots of cards and can always stand to save some money.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Frugal Crafter and a few Christmas cards...

So, today's frugal tip concerns embellishments. Available today is a huge variety of embellishments for your paper-crafting needs. i sometimes buy these pre-made embellishments for special projects, but whenever i can i make my own using stamps and/or punches. i find it's not cost-effective to buy an embellishment i use frequently, such as flowers, in every color i would need. i make exceptions for those lovely velvet and felt flowers, but for paper i just buy a few varieties of punches to make my own in any color or type of paper/CS i choose.

For this card, i punched snowflakes for embellies and added paper ribbon, another cost-saving technique. Awhile back i purchased a set of ribbon/lace stamps, knowing that they'd pay for themselves very quickly.

Ingredients: CS - stash, Bazzill; stamps - Martha Stewart Clear Pattern Stamps, Autumn Leaves Freestyle Alphabet, Art Warehouse Ribbons and Lace, small snowflake (unknown); ink - Pallette Hybrid, Versamagic; brads - MM.

This card has more homemade snowflake embellishments - this time i added eyelets and some gold Stickles for bling.

Ingredients: CS - stash, Bazzill; stamps - Sassafras Lass Stunning Spirals, Martha Stewart Christmas Tree Stamps, Studio G; ink - Versamagic, Pallette Hybrid, Colorbox Chalk; eyelets - MM; Stickles; pop-dots.

And one more... For this one, i added stamped ribbon to cut down on bulk and keep things simple.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - My Mind's Eye; stamps - Martha Stewart Christmas Tree Stamps, Papertrey Ink Take a Bough; ink - Pallette Hybrid; Stickles.

Most of you long-time crafters know these tips already, but hopefully someone reading this will discover a new idea.

Thanks for stopping by, and i hope you're all having an inspired day!

Autumn cards...

Hi, everyone! i'm finally back online after a couple months with no computer. While trying to add a new video card to our old rig, the mother board was basically fried. A friend of ours with more computer know-how than us built us a new setup, much better than our previous one. We're still limited by dial-up, but i'm just happy to be up and running again!
i've got a lot of catching up to do, not only on my own blog but also looking at what my favorite bloggers have been up to for the past two months.
Tonight i'm sharing a couple of Autumn cards i made back in September.

Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - Inkadinkado Autumn Foliage and Travel Time (script), Autumn Leaves Swirls V.1; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Versamark; Prismacolor pencils; OMS; ribbon - stash; chalk; pop-dots.

Ingredients: CS - stash; PP - Basic Grey; stamps - Inkadinkado Autumn Foliage, Art Warehouse Ribbons and Lace; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Versamagic; Prismacolor pencils; OMS; brads - MM.

Thanks for looking! i'll be back soon with some of the Christmas cards i've been working on. i haven't had time lately to create very often, but hopefully things will calm down soon so i can get back into the groove!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Garden collage...

My garden this year was definitely an improvement over last year's, but the ongoing lack of rain (despite the rain we got from recent hurricanes) really stunted it. i tried my best to keep it wet enough by watering almost everyday, but it just wasn't quite enough. Even still, i've managed to pick a few cucumbers, some tomatoes and a few squash. The biggest crops (as usual) were the peppers - jalepenos and New Mexico chiles. i got in some late season cukes and tomatoes, so i may see some yield from that before the first frost.

The flowers also did well, and my marigolds have exploded. i first planted the seeds 4 years ago and haven't had to replant since. Every year they come back up, even popping up in the yard all over.

The tomato to the left is a Mr. Stripey, the most prolific of all of this year's crop.

See the mantis to the left? It was in my garden everyday for a couple of weeks, and stayed in that one spot in particular for days. i felt like he was my guardian, probably keeping the aphids down.



These pink and yellow snapdragons are my favorites of all the blossoms in my garden. Their colors are stunning, and they are such a joy to me everyday.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you all have a creative and joyful day!

Monday, Monday...

Life has been pretty hectic here in the last few weeks... Add to that a less than stellar birthday (mine) on Saturday, and i really need some art therapy. i hope there's some peace on the horizon soon.
On the artistic front, i've been thinking a lot about art journaling. i love making cards - they're a quick and satisfying way to fit art into a busy day - but i'm craving something meatier, and something just for me.

i made this card a few days ago. i was thinking of my mom when i made it, how she's always there for me, always supportive, and never forgets my birthday. i think this one's for her, and it helps that she loves red and green. i rarely use this color scheme as it's so tied up with Christmas, but this card turned out fine and definitely non-holiday-ish.

Ingredients: CS - stash; stamps - Limited Edition Distressed Background, Autumn Leaves Freestyle Alpha and Manhattan Icons, Inkadinkado Circles and Dots, PTI Paper Tray; ink - Versafine, Versamagic, markers; chalk; felt flower - American Crafts; dimensional glaze.

And your frugal tip for today concerns embossing. Embossing powder can be clingy stuff, and often it sticks to places you don't intend. To minimize cling on your paper or CS, there are products you can rub over your paper that keeps the EP on the stamped areas only and off the rest of your paper. i've never bought any of these products and can't lay claim to their abilities. While searching online last year, i discovered that a sheet of fabric softener works in the same way, so i've been using those ever since. One sheet can last through multiple uses and adds the extra benefit of making your project smell nice, too. Why buy an extra tool when we all have something at home we buy anyway that can do the job? Gotta' love that!

Thanks for stopping by, and i hope you all have a fantastic day!

i was lucky enough to spend time crafting over the past couple of days, and the following cards are a few of the results from that time.

The inspiration for this card actually came from a shampoo bottle! Just goes to show almost anything can spur creativity.

Ingredients: CS - Colorbok, stash; stamps - Inkadinkado Birds Galore and The Garden Variety, Papertrey Ink Paper Tray (remember the little flower?), Heidi Grace Dreamer, Autumn Leaves Swirls V:1, sentiment by Image Tree (?); ink - Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Versafine; ribbon - Offray; Stickles; pop-dots.

i had this card in my head for a few days before i was actually able to sit down and execute it. i'm pretty happy with the results, and i just love this Geisha stamp.

Ingredients: CS - Colorbok, stash; stamps - Inkadinkado Asian Influences and Garden Words, SU! Small Script; ink - Pallette Hybrid, Versafine, Colorbox Fluid Chalk; Prismacolors and OMS; ribbon - ?; brads - MM; pop-dots.

i spent a long time tweaking this card and then realized what it needed was waves. i added 3 layers of waves with pop-dots between them and was so excited by the results.

Ingredients: CS - Colorbok, PI, stash; stamps - Heidi Grace Beyond the Sea; ink - Versafine, Colorbox Fluid Chalk, Ranger Distress; Prismacolors and OMS; hemp cord; ribbon - Offray; eyelet - MM; pop-dots; seashell.

As always, thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day!

New stuff...

i hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far! My garden has kept me away from my craft room for the most part lately, but i have managed to make a few new cards. Here's three:

i've been doing some simple and easy cards recently. i also finally got some OMS and have been using it to blend my prismacolor pencils. i'm still learning, but i like the results so far.

Ingredients: CS - Paperbilities, Papertrey Ink; stamps - Inkadinkado's Flowers by Amy Smyth, PI's Mixed Messages; ink - Versafine; prismacolor pencils and OMS; ribbon - Offray; brads - MM.

Ingredients here are the same as the card above, excepting the ribbon - not sure who makes this.

...and something not so simple, but still quick and easy.

Ingredients: CS - PI, stash; PP - Rob and Bob Studio; stamps - Inkadinkado's Flowers by Amy Smyth, Hero Arts' Friendship Messages; ink - Versafine, Pallette Hybrid; prismacolors and OMS; ribbon - Offray; brads - MM; dimensional glaze; pop-dots.

Now for another frugal tip. In the past couple of years, i have bought mostly acrylic stamps as opposed to rubber. They are very economical and clean up is a breeze. One of my favorite companies is Inkadinkado (as if you couldn't tell by how much i use them...). You can find their sets online for as little as $9.99, which is what you'd often pay for one large rubber wood-mounted stamp. Also, buying acrylic eliminates the need for stamp cleaner because they clean up with soap and water. i don't own a stamp scrubber - instead i keep a small bowl of soapy water on my desk and use cheap sponges to scrub away any ink.

ETA: You can find Inka.'s stamps even cheaper, actually. i forgot i had seen some on a couple sites selling for as little as $6.99, for an entire set of stamps! And i once picked up a couple sets at A.C. Moore for $5.99!

Hope everyone is well! Have a wonderful day!