Fast and Easy Holiday Cards

I recently participated in the Caring Hearts Card Drive (making cards to send to seniors in nursing homes) and needed some quick ways to make cards.

Here’s one set that was surprisingly easy to do:

I set out my cards in an assembly-line manner, then simply stamped away! (The stamp set is an old one from Impression Obsession.)

Here’s another set of fast, easy cards.

The tree (an old one from Hero Arts) was gold embossed on purple card stock, cut out and mounted on poinsettia shimmer card stock (Paper Source.) The rest is easy to figure out!

Have a great week!

Cool Crafty Gifts

My goodness, Christmas (and Hanukkah) are right around the corner. So here’s a post that should be considered for Fabulous Finds Friday, because these are all fabulous.

Still looking for gifts for the crafter in your life? Here are three cool tools (in no particular order) that make great gifts:

1.  I am always looking for a better way to organize my supplies, especially my dies. I’m trying out the Wall Box, a new shelving system from Best™ Craft Organizer.

The plastic containers hook onto a mountable bar and are easy to take on and off. Some come with magnetic sheets, perfect for dies. Here’s a video to show you how it works. I was sent one as a promotional sample, and I think I’m ready to invest in a set! (I already have the mini stacker from Best Craft Organizer and love, love, love it, so I’m a fan of their organizing products.)

2. The Hobby Holster® is so handy for so many reasons! It’s a soft, flexible silcone pouch that clings to any non-porous, smooth surface, such as the edge of a desk or a shelf. Because it’s heat resistant, it’s perfect for my heat tool or glue gun.

Here it is hanging from my desk, freeing up valuable desk space while being always at my fingertips:

Yes, you can put your heat tool in while the tool is still hot. I’ve had it a year and love it. There are several holsters for other uses, including a curling iron or to hold bath needs.

3. And last … but definitely not least! … I want to start a fan club for the engineers who design tools for We R Memory Keepers (part of American Crafts.) I am crazy for their Punch Boards (I have several … I’ll show you why later) and am anxiously waiting to try out the new Precision Press, a 12″ by 12″ inch tool, similar to the MISTI, but less expensive, that helps you with precision placement of inked stamps. (This is a strong hint to my family.) There are several good videos online that compare the Precision Press and the MISTI.

But back to the Punch Boards … here are some gift card holders I created using the Envelope Punch Board:

How cute are these? (Most of the paper is some old Basic Grey cardstock; the reindeer and gingerbread man are Stampin’ Up! stamps; the scalloped circles are old dies from Lifestyle Crafts (and may not be available today); the word stamps are from Hero Arts (old sets!).

I hope that special someone gets some great crafting tools this year!