9/30/2011

Paper Crafts Magazine Presents: 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop

Happy Friday and welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop! I am glad you are stopping by today! This will be another inspiring blog hop with fun giveaways! I can't wait to get my hands on my copy of this:






The projects on this cover are amazing, don't you think? This magazine can be purchased here. I can tell you, I have been stalking my mailbox all week long, because this is one of my very favorite Paper Crafts issues! As you can see, there are a lot of quick'n easy holiday cards in it. And this blog hop will provide you with even more ideas! I couldn't stop after I made one card, so I have a set of four cards for you today. Here they come:




When I am trying to mass-produce cards, my go-to-recipe is: coordinating patterned paper, some dies, sentiment stamps and a bit of bling. For these cards I worked with one 6x6 paper pad from the My Mind's Eye Collection Lost & Found Christmas. (You will have the chance to win the coordinating stamp set, but more about that later!!) So, let's look at the cards closer:




Here I just covered a card base with patterned paper, die-cut various shapes from patterned paper, adhered them to the card, stamped a sentiment and added the gemstone. I would have stitched the edges if it wasn't a quick'n easy card. Here is a closer look at the tree:




Although this is a quick card, I wanted to add a bit dimension and bended the edges of the tree pieces slightly. And they are adhered with foam tape. And because I used a die that cuts two trees at once, I already had another little tree to use on the next card:




The label is the other half of the label I used above. Pretty much the same design and even faster than the first card. And another one:




I didn't even stamp on this one. I just trimmed the pretty patterned paper, added some strips of other patterned paper and the three gemstones. Done. And the last one:




Like the one before, I let the pretty paper work on its own. A little gemstone, the ribbon and voilà. 


Now to more fun! Do you want to win a copy of the new special issue Holiday Cards & More? Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, October 2. And I am quite sure you would love to win this:




Ha, I would want to! For your chance to win this amazing giveaway, be sure to leave a comment on the Paper Crafts Connection blog. Good luck!!


Now let's see what the other designers came up with! Can't wait to hop! Here is today's blog hop list:



Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful day!

Hugs and Love,
Vanessa

    Supplies:
    Cardstock, Stamps, Dies, Ribbon: Papertrey Ink
    Patterned Paper, Gemstones: My Mind's Eye
    Ink: Tsukineko

    183 comments:

    Isha Gupta said...

    Fab set of cards Vanessa. Love the colors too. TFS

    Sandie said...

    Love the colour combos - the cards look great. Luv Sandie

    rush said...

    nice and simple cards. thank you for sharing.

    Karen Dunbrook said...

    what a lovely set of classic style cards...great job...

    richardbreaks said...

    This is an amazing collection! Love the colors and shapes you used, and the simplicity of it all is so great! TFS!!

    Brenda said...

    These are absolutely GORGEOUS! I love that patterned paper! Love thse perfect and yet simple designs!

    Hussena said...

    all three of your cards are so pretty love the dimensional tree on the first one so cute:)

    Renee V said...

    These are perfect, love that you let the paper do the work! The last one is my fave, so perfect with the pretty ribbon bow :)

    Donelda said...

    ooooh, I totally adore all these cards and especially the stripes and holly!!

    Cyndie said...

    Delightful! These are such fresh and easy ideas--thanks for the inspiration!

    Jen W. said...

    I love when you can showcase a gorgeous piece of patterned paper! :)

    Kelly Massman said...

    really pretty!

    CinnamonSally said...

    Wow Vanessa all these cards are beautiful, I really must get my hands on a copy of the magazine. Thanks for the chance to win.

    Maria Stanley said...

    I fell in love with MME Lost and Found Christmas a week ago so I'm happy to see your cards with all that holiday goodness. I just love them. They are SO beautiful and that Santa is awesome!

    Unknown said...

    lovely cards !!!!

    Crazy8farm said...

    WOW! Your Christmas cards are adorable! I love the fact that they look like they took forever to create, but they actually didn't!

    Houses Built of Cards said...

    Great cards!!! And I love how you mass produced them, but they are all unique and special!!! Thanks for the tips!!!

    housesbuiltofcards@gmail.com
    www.housesbuiltofcards.blogspot.com

    Detra said...

    Love all of your cards. Very simple but just beautiful. Thanks for the tips.

    Annette Allen said...

    aww these cards are absolutely adorable... Thanks for sharing..

    Scrapycandy said...

    Very clever...and just lovely! Thank you.

    Agata said...

    A beautiful set! Love those colors!

    Lindzie said...

    Love the background paper you chose. These have a great vintagey feel to them!

    Marie said...

    Such a great set of cards! Love the one with the santa in the corner =) TFS!

    Pam said...

    Oh! I have that paper collection at home. Had to buy it but was stumped about what I wanted to do with it. Now I know. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Miriam Prantner said...

    So pretty, I love the papers you chose

    JuPooh65 said...

    Oh! Beautiful! I especially love your choice of colors! The 3-D christmas tree is so Cute! Thank you for sharing your talent! :D

    DonnaSue said...

    What a different color scheme--I like it!

    Jessica said...

    these are all so pretty! love the papers and dies you used, so vintage and fun! :)

    Linda S said...

    Your cards are lovely!! Thanks for taking the time to explain how easy it was!

    Cathy Fongjoyo said...

    ooh my gosshh.. these are so beautiful! love the pattern paper and how you design these cards

    Unknown said...

    All of your cards are wonderful! I especially love your 3D tree! What a fun idea!

    Cheryl Lynn 2011 said...

    I like how you used text as the backgrounds on your cards - one of my favorite things!

    Gerri K said...

    Love these cards!! My Minds Eye paper is beautiful! You made perfect use of these papers. Can't wait to try some of these ideas.

    jengd said...

    Great cards! SO simple and expressive at the same time. Imagine. Letting the paper do the work! Brilliant! I HAVE to give that a try! :)

    Betty said...

    What a beautiful card set! Thanks for sharing! I love using my 'scrapbook' paper with the embellished corners for making cards!

    Emily Keaton said...

    Thanks for some great ideas for easy Christmas cards!! I loved all four of these. :)

    Janet a.k.a. swanlady21 said...

    Love your set! They are so elegant with a vintage feel. Great tips too. Thanks

    KathyK said...

    Love that Santa stamp! Great vintage feel to these!

    Lynn (toomanycrayons) said...

    Wonderful holiday cards -- that paper line caught my eye too ! Appreciated your advice on how to assemble quickly.

    elcrafty said...

    your cards are beautiful!! love that paper pack too!

    Margie said...

    Quick but beautiful!! Love them!!

    Geri said...

    Beautifully quick, simple and gorgeous! I have been so inspired by this blog that I am pulling out my Christmas stash today, popping in some Christmas music and I'm off to create! Thank you for that.
    :)

    Queenie said...

    LOVE LOVE LOVE these cards!!! I like how they coordinate, but are also distinct which makes them fun! TFS

    Rachel said...

    beautiful! I love the way you included the music note stamp :) So traditional.. now I want it to be christmas!! (but without the snow, please)

    -rachel w k
    rwkrafts.blogspot.com

    Gregsgirl's crafty corner said...

    they are all gorgeous, but the jolly Santa gets my vote! Great cards!

    Lee said...

    I love the vintage look of your cards! thanks!

    Jingle said...

    What a gorgeous set of cards!

    Nikki said...

    Gorgeous Cards and with 2 of my Fave colors I think I need to make some with this pallet :)
    thanks

    Diana said...

    Love your cards, a bit of a step away from the traditional holiday card with the newsprint and music notes backgrounds, but I really like the look.

    Vera Yates (Ling) said...

    Vanessa, I love your cards! Really love the text/print background.

    Jessica K said...

    Beautiful cards, love the colors!

    Paper Sewn Visions said...

    Wow love the cards. I loke the simplicity of them and the color theme. Thank you for sharing.

    Unknown said...

    The Christmas trees look simple enough to mass produce, yet have a lot of dimension and look so sophisticated. I am SO making those!

    marymac said...

    Love the use of purple on your beautiful cards

    diana said...

    Great cards! Thanks for the tips to make easy holiday cards. ;-)

    Nancy L. said...

    such pretty cards!!

    pcm said...

    Great recipe :)

    Elena said...

    they're all so pretty! thanks for all the tips :)

    LauraAnn said...

    Love the Christmas trees...simple but elegant!

    Michelle Looi said...

    Now I know what to do with distressing! Great cards

    Casey said...

    I love that they coordinate so well together, but yet they are all different! Beautiful!

    Sylvia said...

    What a lovely set of four cards, Vanessa! Have a wonderful day!

    Marlena M. said...

    Beautiful combo of colors and images! ;)

    Denise Turner said...

    Fun blog hop and great inspiration for cardmaking! Love the cards.

    Unknown said...

    clean, simple & lovely cards!

    Heather Jane said...

    The ruffled tree is ADORABLE! Your photography of your items is fabulous too!

    Tammy V said...

    Love the cards and the paper you used on them.

    Shanon said...

    Simple and classic! Fantastic cards!

    Shelly said...

    What a cute little set of cards! :)

    Tanya said...

    What a gorgeous set of cards! Love your ideas, I am going CAS this year!

    Sue D said...

    Very nice set of coordinating cards.
    slrdowney at hotmail dot com

    Tiffany Ervin said...

    Super gorgeous set of cards, Vanessa, I love the vintagey feel of those yummy papers!

    Pamela Haskin said...

    Thanks for so many ideas! Beautiful cards and great color choices!

    Cindy said...

    Very cool cards!

    Swedie said...

    I love the faded red and gold against the background of words and music! Very effective!

    Noreen
    www.make-homemade-gifts.com

    Lin said...

    Hi Vanessa! I am SO drawn to cards with text or music for a background, so of course I adore all of yours! And I so agree that having good papers makes making Christmas cards so much easier! Thanks as always for your great inspiration!

    Pegg S said...

    I like your recipe ! I don't like making 1 card for the holidays so it's nice to see you vary it up! Very inspired!

    Linda Kunsman said...

    Hi vanessa, I love not only how you used coordinating papers but that you used bits of the leftovers for another card-clever!

    Tigriswillreign said...

    These are gorgeous! Thanks for the tips on mass-producing! Looks like a recipe that will work for me!

    Lillian Child said...

    This is FABULOUS! The cards turned out beautiful and would be fantastic and lovely for my holiday cardmaking!

    mommakatx6 said...

    Great cards, the colors are fabulous.

    Barbara said...

    All of these are simply spectacular! Wow!!!

    Pat said...

    Oh my! These are so nice! LOVE the design!

    Laura Evangeline said...

    I love holiday hops! They put me in the crafting mood!!! :-)

    Jennifer Rzasa said...

    Just stunning...I adore each one!

    Kris in Alaska said...

    You make it sound so simple and look so fabulous! TFS!

    Kris in Alaska
    funamom at yahoo dot com

    NatQuebec said...

    I love your cards ! so nice :-)

    Chunyuan said...

    Love the holiday card set. Thanks.

    jimlynn said...

    All of these are fabulous!
    Lynn

    Anonymous said...

    A good idea to use the same basic color scheme but change the basic design. Doing a mass production gets tiresome if you can't change things around some. Great idea.

    Kathy W said...

    Great cards, and I love how quick and easy they are. I like this designer paper; thanks for the inspiration.

    Unknown said...

    So love the look of these cards!

    Mokinita said...

    OMG! Could your cards be any cuter?
    I absolutely love MME and the collection is gorgeous, I can't wait to get my hands on those papers.
    TFS your creations.
    take care,
    Monica

    Lindsey said...

    Wow! I love this set of cards! Just enough colour to catch the eye, and rich-looking while being CAS.

    JuliaP said...

    Thanks for showing your great talent. Love the simplicity and color combination of your cards. Thanks for giveaway and for a fabulous blog hop!

    April said...

    Thank you for the mass-production tips! :)

    mcgeechs said...

    Love your simple, yet elegant cards. So pretty. Thanks for sharing. jeannett_mcgee@comcast.net

    Carol's Ink Spot said...

    Lovely cards and even better using PP to help you get it done faster!

    Judy1223 said...

    Vanessa, each card is so sweet! Love how quickly they can be made...so awesome!

    Priya Mohan said...

    Nice set of cards!.TFS

    Savannah O'Gwynn said...

    All of these cards are beautiful! LOVE the music background--but that santa card is my FAV!! LOOOOVE:) Thanks for the chance to win--sbmmhoover at yahoo dot com

    *Alison* said...

    love the vintage feel of your cards.. thanks so much for the chance to win..hugs

    Yvette said...

    Nice and simple, but oh so beautiful!

    Cris said...

    Great set of cards! So elegant!

    Stacy H-W said...

    These are all so pretty!! What a wonderful group of cards! Thanks for the inspiration.

    Anonymous said...

    I like how you used the same product to 'mass produce' cards. Great idea! The Chrismas Tree is my favorite - thanks for sharing.

    cutiephinphin said...

    wow great cards. Love the color combi.

    Anonymous said...

    Thanks for the inspiration with these simple cards! It doesn't make the holidays quite so daunting. The papers are lovely and provide a nice variety!

    Samantha Mann said...

    great set of cards! i love that you didn't even stamp on one, but it still looked amazing!!! and the tree on the first card is super fab! i love how it's curled up a little! thanks so much for sharing the cards!

    HawaiianLibrarian said...

    Beautifully coordinated set of cards! Mahalo for sharing how to economically design cards for the season.

    Unknown said...

    Vanessa, these are gorgeous cards! thanks for the inspiration!

    joy said...

    I love the idea of making cards that are similar to each other, but not exactly the same. Less boring and, also, all of your family/friends don't receive the same card. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Shauna K said...

    such great LOs!! that newsprint is fantastic :D

    Dawn T said...

    Love your set of cards Vanessa... just shows that quick cards can still be awesomely elegant and beautiful!

    Add Ink and Stamp said...

    I think your cards are gorgeous! I love the colors, the design, everything!

    Unknown said...

    wonderful set of cards

    Michelle said...

    I really like the vintage looking paper that is the background in the cards.

    Susan said...

    What fabulous cards -- and you made it sound so simple! Love that tree die cut!

    sharon g said...

    I love your cards. The colors are wonderful, and I love the patterned papers!

    Carol said...

    Love your card projects! The colors and design are great!

    Carol B
    ciaoitalia2007(at)gmail(dot)com

    Natasha Kara said...

    Wonderful cards Vanessa:) I love how easy they are, yet look like so much work was put into them:) Thanks for the great ideas :)

    Chark said...

    sweet cards!

    Lynne said...

    Love this card set - so totally awesome. Thanks for sharing.

    Jessie said...

    oh oh I love the idea of the gem for a star on the tree! :)

    POSH said...

    Vanessa....WOWWWWW....what fab cards!!!! So elegant and yet so simple!The cards look like you spent lotsa time on them....they are beautiful...I luv the sweet lil Christmas tree.
    Thanks for sharing your wonderful cards with us!

    Tina said...

    Love the cards!

    Tina

    slbt17 said...

    wonderful! Love them all!
    Sandra ltb

    Debbie said...

    Your cards are beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

    Carol said...

    I just love these classic Christmas cards. The Santa is my favorite but all are beautiful. Thanks for the chance to win.

    blupixy said...

    What great cards! Love the new MME christmas paper you used!

    Denise Bryant said...

    Great card assortment! I love that dimensional tree! So sweet!
    DeniseB

    Krysta said...

    I love that they all match but are all so different. Great variety with limited supplies!

    Amanda M said...

    I love that collection. It does the work for you. It's pretty great how you made such beautiful cards so simply. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Erin (Homemade Cards by Erin) said...

    Fabulous cards, love the vintage feel of the text.

    b.c. Gurl said...

    these are amazing! love them!

    Mary W. said...

    Great idea to use the already great patterned paper. So easy! And effective with your finishing touches.

    Karen said...

    Thanks for giving us permission to "cheat" by using printed paper instead of stamping.

    Sandy said...

    What a great set of cards! Thank you so much for the instructions. I may finally be able to make cards this year!

    Neha said...

    Beautiful card idea!!

    Tricia said...

    Vanessa, I love your cards!

    Lorraine said...

    Ooh, love your cards and those MME papers!

    April said...

    I love each and every one of these cards. Love the vintage look to them with the look of "newsprint" in the background. Thanks for the ideas for my own cards this year. April H. akirb78 at yahoo dot com

    margaeli said...

    love the paper & colors; LOVE the die cut embellishments!!! Love cards that can be done quickly. Thanks for your lovely inspiration!!

    Pippa67 said...

    Love your cards and I wouldn't mind winning a copy of the Holiday Cards magazine. Love to watch what other created.

    Penny said...

    Beautiful cards and look so easy to make! Thanks for the inspiration and the chance to win!

    Larissa Heskett said...

    WOW!! What BEAUTIFUL creations!! THANKS for sharing and have a FABULOUS WEEKEND!! =)

    sheila said...

    i would love a copy so much

    Sandi said...

    what great ideas and so simple and clean

    Laurie said...

    What a cute quick set of cards. Love the tips for creating quickly.

    Natalie Winterstein said...

    Your card set is amazing! I love them all. So cute and perfectly balanced design. Thanls for sharing! :)

    Marcia Dehn-Nix said...

    Your cards are so beautiful!

    kat78 said...

    These are GREAT! (;

    RAP said...

    I LOVE these cards. I love the contrast of the paper in the background with stamps, patterned paper, die cuts, and ribbon.

    Unknown said...

    great cards...

    Tren said...

    Love the stamp sets, love the cards, and these are great ideas for mass producing.

    krash1717 said...

    Love the cards!!!

    Melissa said...

    I love the cards. They are great!! I love the music notes and text. That is one of my new favorite things!!

    Anonymous said...

    Pretty cards! Mass produced, but each one still has its own special touches! And thanks for the chance to win a copy of Holiday Cards!

    Darla said...

    These are fabulous!! They are quick and easy but look like it took hours!!! :) great job.0

    Leanne said...

    Lovely cards!

    karahoward said...

    Sure, use some PTI dies that I don't have but have been debating over. I'll tell my husband to speak with you about my upcoming purchase :) Love your simple yet elegant cards!!

    Tara said...

    What a lovely simple set of cards! Thanks for the chance to win a great prize! Love that magazine issue as well!!

    newbie said...

    Just love, love, love your card design ideas. They sound so easy peasy, I'll have to find that paperstack so I can do these on my own! Thanks for the chance to win.

    mitz said...

    ...what is not to Luv about these... simply a fab job.. wtg.. thanks for the opportunity.. mitz_zee@yahoodotcom

    Anonymous said...

    Love this paper - and you've made some beautiful cards with it !!

    Jeanne Kelly

    Teresa Zuehls said...

    Love your set of cards! Thanks for all the ideas.

    Veronica Z said...

    Your cards are beautiful! I love the clean design. Stunning!

    Ravengirl said...

    These look fabulous! I love quick and easy cards!

    calamity jane said...

    These are my type of cards to make, esp. to mass produce!! I love using patterned paper and this collection is my fave!! I really REALLY want to win this issue!!

    Katie Ann Brooks said...

    these are all so lovely!

    Anonymous said...

    this I can do....loving your whole style!

    Anonymous said...

    Hallo Vanessa, Du hast ja wieder so viele tolle Sachen gemacht seit meinem letzten Besuch, wundervoll. Ich hoffe, Deiner Kleinen geht es wieder gut. Der Tag war wohl wirklich zum in die Tonne kloppen.

    Ganz liebe Grüße, Tina

    Jeni said...

    Great cards! I definately getting in the mood to work on mine.

    Angela said...

    Great cards! Love that you used the paper designs and the layered tree is super cute!!

    Marge said...

    OK -- I'm soon off to buy this Mind's Eye paper pad -- can you say "LOVE"??? I also LOVE each/every one of your fabulously GORGEOUS creations and will shamelessly COPY each/every one (as close as I can) -- between you & Maile, I'm in Holiday Card Heaven!!! TFS your wonderful talent!!!

    Lea L. said...

    This is a lovely card set!! I just adore this MME papers....some of my faves! And you used them wonderfully!

    Tanya C. said...

    Love all of your cards. Very vintage!

    Michelle M said...

    Hope you don't mind - but I am definitely going to scraplift this set of cards. Thanks for sharing!

    Melissa said...

    Very pretty cards!

    Anonymous said...

    I love your cards! A set of those would make a great Christmas present themselves. Thanks for the inspiration!

    CraftyRia said...

    Thanks for the great ideas and for the chance to win!

    Katie said...

    Great cards, love the little detailed areas in all of them. Thanks for sharing!

    Katie B.

    Kimba's Kreations said...

    Love the cards! Thanks for the chance to win!