It is sooo very Christmasy Here!

Why I'm starting to sing Christmas carols... and I'm thinking of tasting fruitcake...it is feeling so very

Christmasy around here! Maybe it's these little paper houses I've been making for our open house on Dec. 1st. from 1 to 4 pm.  We've been decorating and trying to get the studio all decked out with holly and tree trimmings. And these little paper crafts seemed to add so much to the look of hosting our first holiday Open House.

You know it's real easy to make these scalloped ornaments... All you need is your scalloped die cutter and a bone folder for them.  

Rejoicing Crafts has posted all the directions on their website. Once you have your scalloped ( 6 or 8) then, you fold in half and attach two sides together. once three are attached, then, do the second set of three. Finally attach the cord for hanging before placing your two sections together. The paper bow is a plus. We hope to have several paper patterns available and instructions for all who stop by on Saturday, Dec 1st.

                Our little houses and trees are used to decorate a winter scene picture box. Some of the Santas are another paper craft using spools or paper towel rollers. A little paper for hats and trims and this is a very primitive looking decorations, don't you agree?    These white minature feather trees were bought and placed in the curio box, but I'm sure some of you who are very clever can figure some design with spools and trims.

I have put other things I want to make on hold so I might get a few cards designs put together too. One of the designs is thinking in terms of "3" as a challenge of Christmas cards. I have had my eye on one of the Fisker punches, it's a little gingerbread man die punch.

 

By using the punch, cut three gingerbread men, adhere them to a red one inch square and add a second background of  one and one half inch of white. To an A2 size card ( 4" X 5.5") We've cut a red check panel and glued it to the outer edge of the card stock. to the folded edge we've added a ribbon with a sentiment and a second ribbon in a brighter red color, leaving a narrow space between the paper and ribbons. I usually get supplies at Micheal's, Hobby Lobby or Archiver's...so I'm sure you can find these trims there.

Here is another design using the theme of "3's". This example was by creator Korin Sutherland for Sweet N' Sassy stamps:

 

 

Our colors and materials have varied from the all reds in the gingerbread card to these bright reds and greens of our more traditional Christmasy colors, but the design

has only added a few additional steps as the gingerbread card.

Punches are nice! But then so is using our Christmas stamps and creating a theme of "three" card. I leave it up to you , what will you make  your "3's " in.... We've so much to choose from 

 Three wreaths, three bells, three snowflakes or mittens, oh sooooooo cute.   Well this is fun for me... how about you.             

 

Who is having fun with these ideas?

 

 This little penguin card used some great ideas with the lime green baker's twine in the sentiment tag...then matching the pop of green in the stamped design and filling in the background for the stamped sectionwith this lime green paper...pair the embossed paper with the same color as it's background. IT really makes this simple design card ---"POP" with fun.

 

Christmas is a special time of year for all of us and for many different reason.

While I was gathering my thoughts of this month's blog

I saw this little poem about the Spirit of Christmas. I wanted to pass along the words to the poem in hopes you might also find them meaningful too.

 

 

I've always said Christmas isn't about a date or one day a year no matter how much the materialistic commercial parade might try to sell us on this idea. It's really all about giving ourselves to others that makes Christ's birth meaningful. Otherwise, we could just simply walk away the day after Dec. 25th and feel empty, like, what happened and where did  all our efforts go? 

By  keeping Christmas in our hearts for family and friends, and charity toward other fellow travelers on this planet --- all year long--then you always have a little Christmas with you.

 That's my paraphase, it's not exactly what the reading says, but that's the essence of it.

Making cards is my way of doing this for real.

It's not just lip service for me--it's keeping Christmas all year through.

When you help make cards for Operation Write Home  you are giving a message to the members of the military and their families that says we keep you in our hearts ( not just with cards at Christmas---but cards all year through!)

In fact, our next bunch of cards will be mailed on Dec. 31st for a Valentine's theme. And let me confess, we may have to combine a little gingerbread men with a heart to tell these heros how much we love them

and make sure they in turn tell

 their family and friends at home.

The next time I post  or  until 2013, we hope you will long on to  this blogsite and share some of your comments. They have been very helpful to us . We look forward to the coming of a New Year so from myslef and Garry and all the card makin cuties of Gestner Studio, we  wish you a happy holiday in a bright and sparkling way.

 

 

Card Makin' Cuties: October Fun, Fall leaves, and Football

Card Makin' Cuties: October Fun, Fall leaves, and Football: The announcer cries out, "Are you ready for some football?" The fans go wild and the game begins. Well, the nip in the air would also ask...

October Fun, Fall leaves, and Football

The announcer cries out, "Are you ready for some football?" The fans go wild and the game begins. Well, the nip in the air would also ask us if we card maker are ready for some fall card making themes. " Are you ready to make some Fall themed cards?"

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Ready, Set, BACK to School Friends!

It's Back to School, Already!

So the question is: Are you ready for school to begin? I must say I was caught by surprise. I may be retired, but my family isn't. They're going off to school as teachers, college students, high schoolers, middle schoolers, as well as elementary students.
Now the question for me is: Where are my back to school card making supplies? Oh my!

      The picture above is a gift set for the teacher.  ---ALL teachers, from the Sunday School teacher, a mentor or friend, need to know you acknowledge their efforts and hard work. This little gift package takes  time to complete.
So what do we have here: Let's start with the card, using your favorite sketch for the front. Then moving to the clip board as a posted note holder, and the final cutie is the paper clip ( used only for the urgent paper work, right!) We take this time to show our appreciation for all the efforts our  teachers provide.  We want to give our teacher friends and mentors as much encouragement as  we do with our children.

     Look at this new sketch! It's just right for your fall cards!

 Operation Write Home www.operationwritehome.org provides us with a brand new sketch design for some simple and easy cards. Try this in an apple design theme paper with a stamped sentiment of "School is Cool!"  ( I like the colors of olive green, cherry red, cream, and brown for the design pattern.)
   For assembly: use the dimensions stated on the card sketch. Cut each band of card stock in the same fall color or in a variety of colors. Remember to stamp our sentiments on a light color band or add a sentiment tag to one of the dark bands. We used an A-2 ( 4.5"x 5.5") for the card stock base.
  As always, OWH provided us with a new sampling of cards. This group can be used for note cards, or just a little lunch box encouragement! I love their use of layers and embellishments. Try making a few of these clip notes ahead and have them ready to slip into a book before their first test.

Wow! Just a little note telling the student you are thinking of them before their test.
Or maybe for the teacher, a little clip board pinned to an inexpensive vase of home picked flowers for the teachers desk, saying "Just for you!" 

       It doesn't have to be much to tell someone that you appreciate all the time they are spending in their class. It is positive time for everyone! We want them to know someone has noticed their hard work is worthwhile and valued by another person. 

      I've noticed another thing that is so special. Many of the fall magazine issues have back to school articles with ideas for healthy back to school snacks. I want to share one of my own finds to that... it's "Nutty Berry Trail Mix."

It's so simple to make. It might be nice to have the kids help you put it together. 

1 ( 15 oz.) can of mixed nuts

2 cups  (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1 pkg. (9 oz.) raisens

1pkg. (6 oz) chopped dried pineapple

1 jar (5.85 oz.) sunflower kernels

1 pkg. (5oz.) dried cranberries

Combine in a large bowl; mix well. Store in an air tight container. Scoop 3 to 4 oz. in snack- size zipper lock bags when you're ready to send them off to school. And look at these little cuties---- they are bag toppers!

Add a little bag topper to the snack giving it a little "punch"(no pun intended).  "Wise Lil' Owls".
Use circle punches in various sizes for the eyes, an oval punch folded in half for the beak, a label size punch for the top of the owl and a scalloped circle for the lower half of the owls face. Use the sizes corresponding to the size bag used. Assemble with glue and attach to the bag.  I hope with some new and refeshing ideas we'll already be wise lil' owls, too!
      Okay. Get all your supplies gathered, begin your assembly process, and make a few items ahead! With this as our plan of action, I'm sure we'll  be loving and supportive as our students and teachers  journey back to school. Have fun and as always you are invited to join us as one of our followers ( look on the right side of the screen--- this is a place where you will always be notified when we post a new finding---once a month.) Thanks for your interest and your visit.

         Happy card making to all! Gloria J.
               

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

"Take me out to the ball game! Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack... Oh, root, root, root for the home team!"     This  seems to be a rally cry for summer fun around here. We sometimes overlook the midwest form of summer fun as a theme for card making. By midwest summer fun, I mean the treats we have here. Sure, the coasts have their beaches and palm trees-- but we have our fairs and baseball games. There are lots of cards we can do with this theme in mind. Operation Write Home needed some summer theme cards to fill in. Cards with the general sentiments of Thank you, Happy Birthday, Missing you, and Love cards. Why not make some summer fun-theme cards. 

We have plenty to choose from: "Any one for Popcorn,Sodas, or  Hotdogs!"

There are some summer birthday cards with this theme that are so very cute. I was recently inspired by this card with a popcorn theme. 

 

I loved the pop-up circle. The major theme was with movie tickets as a birthday present. The sentiment was simply, "Just for You!" We could change this to Happy Birthday and place an individual sack of un-popped popcorn, for some home DVD watching very easily, too. 

Another common theme is a  familiar design with the hot dog pre-print paper in the background, the use the blue paper as a banner with the lace trim paper edging as trim. Cute. Stamp your burger, grill and sentiment to the center and add the utensil as an add-on dimensional."light up the grill"---and this could make a wonderful theme for "The only thing missing is you! " Or you could try this more recent card pattern from OWH with this theme in mind.                

 

Some of these digital graphics were on Flickr and a few we part of a free-commercial product site for vintage ads. I would still steer clear of commercial products like Coca-cola, etc. However, you can use some of the old vintage signs like this one:

Just add some modern embellishments, a tag with your best wishes to this summer theme card and you have just made a hand-made treasure. 

Speaking of treasures, there is nothing that says "Summer Fun" or I miss you" like this little guy and his grandpa enjoying a hot dog at a baseball game. 

I have had this idea for a card from  The Cat's Pajama's design that might be just the right card pattern for the little guy's picture. Make a copy and attach it to the corner with a tag--- then, send it on to grandpa.  ( I think grandma will save this one forever!)  

 Don't forget our heroes and their cards.  These were a new variation on that theme.

 The digital star and hero sentiment is found directly on the Operation Write Home web site. Look for freebies, and download the digis from there. 

We are having a very warm summer here in the midwest. In our area of Indiana, we are experiencing 100 degree weather. I read someone thoughts on this topic, as it reflected our soldiers..." most of us can come out of the heat into our air-conditioning, move around in light weight fabrics and ride in air conditioned cars. We aren't marching through this heat for hours, in full-battle gear, or riding in an open-sided vehicle." They do this willingly so we can remain free and enjoying our summer fun. 

Helping these brave men and women to write home to their loved ones, is such a small token of our appreciation.  Thank you for keeping this freedom and way of life ours.  ~~~~~~~~ "Pop- On!"~~~~~~~~~~

                                                                                                        

JUNE: Summer Leisure or Time to Re-Organize you Stash

It is wonderful to take a break and enjoy some downtime. Most of May was spent on some type of deadline. Maybe that's why we need some leisure time away-- deadlines are called that because they will kill you!

 

 

Garry and I took a break to see family, spend some time with them in the heart of Smith Mountain Lake,near the Roanoke area of Huddleston, VA. www.smithmountainlakerentals.com/utopia)
All You see is this wonderful lake water beneath you and the sky above. It is lovely. Click on their link.
We didn't stop making cards--- we made some Hero cards for OWH (Operation Write Home.org) and had fun sailing and fishing.

This photo was great! Did you ever wonder what to do with those old  blurry photos? Well, I can get inspiration from it and  do a Father's Day card. Now you have a new purpose for them.

I took some time to make three cards with one of our CMC partners, Marie, and using one of the OWH sketches # 85... we went to work.
The three design elements were used, a pair of scissors, a picture, a "bird's foot" ribbon tag in the center and a wish inside for Dad to have a wonderful Father's Day.

                  ----------Or
perhaps you might like a 'digi' that is: a downloaded image from one of the on-line sources, such as this one: pinterest or other photo sites.
  Most of the design owners  have some restrictions on their usage, but seldom do they restrict for a person from a private use for your own cards.
The ruling on sales and duplication is up to the owner of the property( picture, digi, stamped image or other) They usually have something in place on their web page called an ANGEL POLICY--- you can find it somewhere on the footer of their page. Be careful to heed their wishes on this policy, it has the same penalty as violating a copyright if you don't.

Most of our original work is not yet available through our blogspot. We  borrowed  our sketches and design ideas for this media from OWH. Our intent is to help others learn to make cards for this organization and thus we are a non-profit organization ourselves.
               Speaking of Organization---the other kind.
One new idea I have for all us "newbies" in the field of stamping with clear acrylic stamps is get a CD jacket or case. Place the stamps from one design or theme in a case. They stay neat and safe; the small pieces you will want later will be right there. CD cases?Who knew?

I have my Christmas acrylic stamps in a red CD case, Easter in a purple, green are spring stamps and their sentiments. Yellow ones for Memorial Day on into summer and clear cases for other occasions.

I did get a comment on what do you do with scraps... how big a scrap to you keep or toss out? OK my rule of thumb is keep a scrap that is bigger than your smallest die cut---/ can be used in a collective design like this one. We used 3--- 1 1/2"x2" scraps and one--- 1 1/2"x 4" panel with a piece of twine, some buttons and our sentiment directly stamped to the card stock.

Have fun going through all your scraps ( under a shade tree, with a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade in hand, and organizing your clear stamps in cases.
AND
Happy Father's Day to all the supportive, wonderful men who make cards and all those who support our habit!
Have a Great Month--Gloria J.

Wonderful Spring Beauty

I just love our card booth!
I think of how much fun it was to work in the paper crafting and cards. I thank you all for all the work that we did on this. It was great!

I'm having some problems getting inspired, our weather has been so great, so  I haven't wanted to stay in and work on cards.
 I have however, looked at all the different techniques and the new challenges in making cards on OWH         ( www. operationwritehome.org . Take a look, they have some great ideas. Cards, tags and more.


I loved the idea of these newly laid eggs on Easter morning---a friend sent me this photo and it just seemed to say Happy Spring! Happy Easter! A real, for real  surprise Easter eggs! I love it ---thank you for the picture Cinder.

I could see some thing like this picture or with a stamp of a nest of bird eggs ( e.g. Stampin' Up has one) that could be in the center of this sketch and add the light blue paper to the background or light green and a darker blue or green in this banner, with the sentiment line saying "Spring is here" or "Missing you".

        Speaking of "Missing You," How about using this sample colors and stamps from OWH archives. It's cute and it would say so much to a friend far away.

This is a different spring-themed card, with a few adjustments, I think it would make a wonderful  "Happy Mother's Day" card...remember we have some amazing women in our lives; some of them are our mothers, others are daughters, friends, and mentors ...whoever they are they can be celebrated for the love we share with them.
      Our card making group, Card Makin' Cuties, recently sent our hand made cards to OWH's for their Mother's Day deadline. The deadlines help our deployed soldiers have time to choose a card and send it home all free of charge to them.
I am so very grateful and very fortunate to have a group of women who works along with me on these challenges because they care so very deeply for our troops.
   New Challenge:
    How many themes can you think of for Father's Day cards? Golf as a theme has been the toughest stamps for us to find. We must be looking in the wrong places.
       What themes did you think of? Sportsman? Wood hobbiest? Mr. Fix-it, Grilling chef?  (oooh! Get out  the red, checked paper!)

 Now, take a look at this little "free digi" find. What color would you use on the back ground to make it pop? Look at the shape and where would it set on the card? Would you want to stamp a fishing pole behind the digi? I think there's room for a hook in this fish's mouth. 

This is another sample sketch for a good card arrangement from a website called,  The Cat's Pajamas. They might sound familiar to you if you go on www.splitcoaststampers.com
( this is the egg Mc Muffin of the stamping ideas sites). The Cat's Pajamas has their own link on their page and they have some really cute ideas and products. I think I might use the above sketch for Fathers Day with the number #1 in each of the banners, the fish digi inside the circle. To the card front, I'd add a darker blue( 3 3/4"x 5") card stock and attach it. Then, to the background cdsk, add a light lime green ( cut it 3 1/4"x 4 1/2"). Use a butter lid for the circle if you don't have a punch that size, and copy the free-digi in a download and print.
 Once you have the digi glued in place on a white circle, add the front banner across the bottom edge as seen on the card.  Then place "Happy Father's Day" on the inside as a sentiment placement.
   Ok, this is what I needed to get me up and running again.  Use this sketch, your own theme and tell us how many themes you thought of...we'll visit soon.(Check the corner box over on the right hand margin, if you want to become a follower. It will guide you on how to go from there.)
Happy Spring! Happy Card Making!

Spring: Making New Card Discoveries

I don't know when it happened, but we are in the midst of Spring. I love it. I get excited when I see my first robin of the spring or find a few flowers breaking through the hard ground.   Look at this little cherry tree branch and think of all the stamps you've seen with just this motif on them. ( I am so ready for spring to be here, how about you?) Wow! We need to get out the pastel pinks, baby blues, soft yellows, lavenders and mints. I feel a shopping trip coming on.
    Our group, the Card Makin' Cuties, had our first field trip of the year. We wanted to see the Heirloom product show. We wanted to meet the stampers we've been reading about in our stamp magazines for years. This show had the folks from Our Daily Bread, Outlines Rubber Stamp Co., Prickley Pear, Lost Coast Designs, 100 Proof Press along with paper companies, products including ink supplies and we were going to be here. As I walked through the pavillon door, I was so thrilled I was like a kid in a candy store. It was great.
       Some of the most interesting styles, make and takes, and selection of stamps you could ever imagine. The vendors were so willing to answer some of our questions on their products and styles. Such nice people! Stampers are  friendly wonderful people.
       Our main emphasis remains with making better cards ( well-made) for our deployed soldiers. This month's Operation Write Home (www.operationwritehome.org)  has some new ideas for easel cards; a card project for a round format. Just click on our link above and then go on the Stars and Stripes button at the bottom of their homepage for more card making ideas, tutorials and information about the "easel" style card.
Also, here is another sketch ( OWH sketch #111) for you from

our friends. I think it would make a lovely spring design for a birthday card. Try the design and let us see it.

 Here is one from OWH's gallery  with a lovely spring theme. It uses the same dimensions as Sketch #111----Imagine, everything is worked out for you from the sketch#111 shown. Like I said, try this sketch pattern for your next card.  What if you don't own a tulip stamp? You can down load these crocuses as a picture centerpiece.

(Click onto the image and download the picture, or  click and when the image is loaded, print a print preview under your "file" app. ) Use the print and make a lovely spring card with  pastel cardstock in the OWH sketch#111. That's just  one change in the design if you don't have a tulip stamp.
          Then, look at this little adaptation--- what about a little card with a sheep stamp--and you have  A miss you-("ewe")- card. This is so sweet.  

I'm so totally excited about all the new products, Rangers has so many new pens and inks--Tim Holtz wasn't at the show in person, but he's made such an impact on this industry. No show would be complete without a mention of his style and product creations.
Well, I hope this has inspired you to take a look around at some of those store we saw and  click on to their websites for a little tour. This can be your own little sample for a spring product show. Happy carding! Let us know what you're doing and download our followers app. thanks. God bless---Gloria J