A10 Money Holder Holiday Cards + The Best Gadget EVER

So my brother in law commissioned some holiday cards for me. He loves to give cash to his nephews and nieces, so he needed larger cards, and asked me if I could make six of them - two for Hanukkah and four for Christmas.

It was cool to do something that was just for fun, and in a size I don't normally work with.

I don't know what everyone else does for A10 or "slimline" cards, but I cut them so that they are 9.25" x 3.75" when folded, so you cut the paper to 9.25 x 7.5. I did a little poll on Stamp Junkies, and it seems like lots of different terms and sizes exist for this type of card. I've been stamping a longggg time and have never heard a commonly accepted term, so now's our chance! I hesitate to make that A10 because those paper sizes are so different in Europe than what cardmakers here use.

ANYWAY - come up with a cute name and let's make it happen!

So for the Hannukah cards I was inspired by a post in Stamp Junkies by Adam Karle. He used strips of cardstock for a blue striped Hanukkah card and it was gorgeous! I decided to do my take with Life Changing Blender Brushes, Post-It tape and create an abstract menorah. That's why there are 9 blue stripes and the rest is white. I just randomly taped off areas and used Sea Glass, Blue Raspberry and Blue Denim ink with the brushes to create the abstract candles. I used the no-shed glitter paper, the happy die and the Hanukkah from this sentiment only set to finish the card. 

 For the second one, I just used a different glitter paper for the greeting.

 I've had this hilarious set of Santas for MONTHS and just now had a chance to use it. For the rest of the cards I also had a common element - snowy hills. I hand cut them from masking paper and used Life Changing Blender Brushes and Sea Glass ink for the skies for the next four cards. I stamped and die cut my crazy Santa, and made some Copic shadows for his skis before gluing him down. Then I stamped the sentiment from the same set on the hills.

 The next card features the adorable deer from On a Christmas Walk, and the sentiment is from the same set. I gave him a little shadow too. I reused the same mask.

 The tiny Merry Christmas here is the same one from the other day, and I just made the adorable birdies from this set opposite colors.

All the envelopes got the same treatment - I used this stencil (10% off all stencils there with code LydiaFan10) and brushed Sea Glass over almost half of them, because there's nothing more boring than a white A10 envelope, right?

The last card features the sweet bunny from this set, and the sentiment from this set. Stay tuned below for supplies and the COOLEST home gadget I've ever owned, which you might think is the most boring thing in the world, but it's not, I promise.

Circle Stripes - A Colorful Life Designs [ CLD ] The Season of Giving - Picket Fence... [ PFS ] The Season of Giving Coordinating Die... [ PFS ] On A Christmas Walk - Picket Fence... [ PFS ] On A Christmas Walk Coordinating Die... [ PFS ] Wishes Stamp & Cut [ HA ] Happy Message Fancy Die [ HA ] Your Gift - The Cat's Pajamas PaperArts [ THC ] Sketchy Santa Bundle - The Cat's... [ THC ] Post-it 658 Labeling & Cover-Up Tape,... [ AMZUS ] Avery Removable Label Paper [ AMZUS ] Life Changing Blender Brushes. 4 Pack... [ PFS | ELH | SSS ] GKD Color Companions Ink Pad- Blue... [ GNK ] GKD Color Companions Ink Pad- Blue... [ GNK ] GKD Color Companions Ink Pad- Sea... [ GNK ] Neutrals Glitter Paper Pack - Concord... [ C&9 | SSS | ELH ] Amazon.com: Kamenstein 5204110... [ AMZUS ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ HA | MSP | SSS | MFT | ELH | UNT ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding... [ AMZUS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Mermaid tidy towel case and glue... [ ETS ] Ink Off Cloth [ INK ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ]

So you ready for the coolest version of the most mundane gadget ever?

At my fall retreat, I went to get a paper towel and as soon as I grabbed it, my life changed forever. YES, I AM BEING DRAMATIC.

I HATE my paper towel holders. I have two of them. One had that little stick thing that's supposed to hold the towels flush, but it was too tight, so when you grabbed the paper towel the whole holder came flying off the counter with it and you STILL didn't get a paper towel.

The other one that works has a stupid thing on top that takes 45 minutes to unscrew every time you want a towel.

So when I went to get the paper towel, I heard a clicking sound - there's a RATCHETY thing inside, and that means you can get paper towels off this thing with ONE HAND. The roll doesn't spin loose on the base, the ratchet just responds to you pulling, whether you want a half towel or a full towel and it's MAGICAL. So in the midst of all that beautiful art, I was the one in the corner, surreptitiously taking photos of a paper towel holder.

It's not cheap, but I've suffered long enough with the cheap ones.

So Merry Christmas to me - I have two now! It's 100% perfect for your art room because you can grab it one handed when you're covered with paint and not get the whole roll all messy which I inevitably do! You can get them here on Amazon in time for Christmas. I love this thing so freaking much. I'll add it to my favorite things list (if you're on mobile, hit the menu to see that page) as well. 

I guess I'm "get excited over a paper towel holder" years old today!

Loveyameanitbye.

From Coffee to Vodka and Everything In Between

We all have those categories of stamps we can't resist. I have many - florals, cute animals, birds and one of the most important - coffee and tea.

I remember one of the very first Stampin' Up! sets I bought (still have it) in 2001 - I probably made 100 cards with that set - and it was coffee themed, and had the most beautiful coffee bean border stamp. It was called What's Brewin', circa 1999.

If you don't like coffee - you're in my prayers. But if you DO like coffee, you know the strange, overwhelming joy even the word can set off in your lizard brain. It's as much a ritual as it is an amazing, life-giving beverage.

I actually feel equally strongly about tea. I've been drinking hot and cold tea since I was a wee tot. Cold tea - gallons of it - unsweetened, of course, you weirdos - is an actual necessity in our hot climate - and you rarely see a Texan without 32 ounces of iced tea clutched in their paw. But from a very early age, I loved black hot tea with milk, and still do. For some reason, in the summer, hot tea is not as "hot" or heavy as coffee. On my death row meal request list is definitely a London Fog - steamed milk, Earl Grey tea (probably my favorite black tea - this is my favorite brand), vanilla extract and a tiny bit of demerara sugar. I had one this morning, as a matter of fact, and walked through the park before the sun started to beat the will to live out of me. It's a divine drink, and one of the many reasons you should love Captain Picard. But I digress.

So all that to say - if someone makes a coffee or tea stamp - I'm buying it.

One of my favorite things to do with these beverage stamps is just to color the cups abstractly.

The newest Stampin' Up! coffee suite is divine, and I got to finally play with it a bit - just with some no-line watercolor. (I have been listening to the Book Thief this week while I paint.)

On this one, I wanted some twisted complementary colors, so I used Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors - Rose of Ultramarine, which gets some cool granulation between magenta and blue, Amazonite Genuine (in honor of my two favorite companies getting married this week), Quinacridone Gold and Neutral Tint. I put a little of each color in the shadow. I just made a card base of watercolor paper to stamp the image in Antique Linen on, and so there's no layering. Then I popped it in the MISTI to stamp the sentiment from the same suite.

But let's say it's Monday - or in this case Tuesday, which is my craziest day at work each week. And you've got software issues, cranky people or just a task list longer than a list of elected officials who have been jailed at some point in their careers....

That might call for something stronger than coffee, my friends!

My sweet friend Alma - the genius behind The Cat's Pajamas stamps, has a solution for you. It still involves a mug, but....

Hopefully those two cards take care of ANY beverage situation you might have working today. :)

If you need something to go with either beverage, I recommend my peanut butter banana bread, which won all my personal awards this week.

Please be sure and leave me a beverage themed comment for your chance to win the This Might Be Vodka stamp set - I liked it so much I ordered two so I could give one away! Leave me a comment with your favorite beverage or beverages, and I'll draw a winner on June 30th!

And stay tuned for two new online classes coming in the next few weeks!

Loveyameanitbye.