Wednesday, November 28, 2012

♥ Wrap it Up with Make It Merry ♥

good morning!  i am up on the OA BLOG with an idea dressing up your Christmas pillowboxes using the new Make It Merry line.  This line is so perfectly Christmas, vintage, fun, perfectly October Afternoon. 
 look at this tape, i could use it on EVERYTHING

To.from oa washi

and these cuuute journal cards that are perfect for layering with the gorgeous buttons and brads in the pack

Oa miscellany make it merry
it make is all too easy and fun!

here's the pillowbox i created, layering and layering (i didn't want to stop)


Make it merry pillowbox danni reid 2


don't these little embellies, tapes, brads, buttons, trims make the cutest wrappings?  i am going to be using them a LOT this year.  i love to give gift cards so this year it will be fun to pretty them up!

Make it merry pillowbox danni reid details

aren't these ribbons, buttons and trims that come in that pack the perfect little touches?  i just love them and can't wait to see what you do with yours!

Make it merry pillowbox danni reid details 2

and joining me today is Marcy with the cutest of boxes, so we hope you'll hop over and join us!  thank you so much for all your incredibly kind notes, they make my day every day and i am so thankful for the friendship every single day!
hugs & so much love!
danni

Friday, November 16, 2012

♥ MME Christmas card you can give or mail ♥

Hand Deliverable vs. Mailing - Christmas Cards by Danni!

Good morning! I am here to share just how easily you can create Christmas cards that can be mailed or hand-delivered using similar MME supplies.
Creating hand-deliverable cards is relatively easy with every single product released from MME. From the gorgeous layered stickers, chipboard pieces, buttons, brads, twine, you can create a unique, individual, gorgeous Christmas card in no time at all.
I love creating embellished cards and will be sharing just how easy it is to use these elements on hand-deliverable cards, ones you would give to family/friends/co-workers. But what about using all your supplies to create cards in MME style, that you could easily and affordably mail to your loved recipients?
There are a couple of tricks I use and would love to share them with you today.
HAND DELIVERABLE CARDS
First I will share a couple of embellished cards, cards ready for you to hand-deliver to loved ones and friends alike.
Danni Reid for MME 




As you can see, it is so much fun to use the layered stickers along with the gorgeous twines and buttons to add the extra special touches to your cards you plan on hand-delivering.
MME really takes the "work" out of creating/designing when you use these layered stickers. I added a little stitching along the layered sticker on the top block of the card so as to draw attention to the embellishment.
Danni Reid for MMEAnother way to add the extra special touches to hand-deliverable cards is to layer your chipboard embellishments and to add a pom pom or two to the snowflakes on the patterned paper. It now "feels" like snow!
Danni Reid for MMESo many of the patterned papers in the gorgeous All is Bright collection have amazing patterns and designs that you can layer with chipboard embellishments.
I adhered a strip of the chevron stripe to the "Joy" paper and stitched the chevron, added chipboard to the design and of course a pom pom to birdie's hat. I am so excited to give these cards this Christmas!Danni Reid for MME
Now...what if you have loved ones that live afar and you love the MME Christmas collections? Being able to create cards that can be affordably mailed is important this season too.
CARDS SUITABLE FOR THE MAIL
How do you add embellishments that won't add a lot of bulk? How do you create/design a card that still "feel" layered and embellished without creating a lot of bulk to the envelope?
I usually follow four simple rules:
1. Choose several patterned papers to layer (choosing several adds interest to the card through color and patterns without having to add embellishments).
2. Cut designs from the patterned papers or punch shapes from the pp to layer (layering pp die-cuts still keeps the card flat/mailable but allows for the designs we love in the papers).
3. Stitch, stitch, stitch. Stitching adds an embellishment interest without bulk. If you don't want to add a lot of stitching or haven't pulled out your machine...hand-stitching one criss-cross stitch, an "x", if you will, across one of the embellies or sentiments will draw the focus to the stitching.
4. Add layering through using machine thread underneath one of your focal embellies, it adds a special touch while laying flat
On my "All is Bright" card above, I stitched sections of the various patterned papers which added a lot of interest to the various patterns, but to add even more interest to the focal embellishment, I stitched up one side of the birdie's hat and used a couple of mini staples on the sentiment.
Danni Reid for MMEThese are all flat embellishments that add visual interest.
Danni Reid for MMEOn my Happy Holidays card, I added pops of red  to add interest to the snow scene and the little sticker. In the sticker, there are touches of red, so to draw the eye to the details of the sticker, I decided to add more pops of red with my heart punch and stitching a sentiment sticker.
Danni Reid for MMEOn this mailable card, I decided to use the big "Joy" in the patterned paper to be my focal sentiment and the beautiful cherub rests beautifully above it.
To add visual interest, not bulk, to the sentiment, I cut the bird circle from the patterned paper and layered it onto the sentiment in place of the "o".
Danni Reid for MMETo add emphasis to the cherub focal, I adhered a white thread tangle behind the wings. The gorgeous tag, cut from the patterned paper, was stitched to draw attention to the beautiful little girl.
Finally, choosing several patterned papers, stitched, draws interest to the colors in the designs and makes the card feel "bigger" than it actually is!
I hope all of you have taken some tips and ideas away from today's post...it was a joy to share these with you today!
Enjoy your weekend. :)
Danni-signature-copy.jpg
card supplies: Merry Christmas card: All is Bright: chevron, collage and ephemera frames patterned papers, layered stickers, twine, buttons MISC: scallop die and machine stitching Christmas Snowman card: Winter Wonderland: Christmas trees, Polka Dots, Presents, In the Neighborhood patterned papers, 12x12 chipboard elements, buttons MISC: pom poms and machine stitching Joy card: All is Bright: chevron and joy paper, chipboard buttons MISC: pom poms and machine stitching All is Bright card: All is Bright: joy, christmas tag, linen, bright, and collage paper MISC: Tim Holtz mini attacher staples, machine stitching Happy Holidays card: Winter Wonderland: presents, in the neighborhood, polka dots, christmas trees papers, stickers MISC: Martha Stewart heart punch, machine stitchingJoy card: All is Bright: joy, christmas tag, linen, joy, and bright paper MISC: machine thread, machine stitching

Monday, November 12, 2012

♥ christmas gift card holders and a thankful heart ♥

good evening.  today is monday CARDS post on the jillibean soup blog and i shared a card using the new Pumpkin Chowder Soup line.  i am absolutely smitten with this line, it is deliciously and perfectly jillibean♥


a thankful heart is a happy heart card


isn't that sentiment just the sweetest?  i love this wonderful die-cut and wish i had 3 or 4 on my sheet, i am always creating "thank you" cards.
i decided to stitch a large heart so as to give the wonderful sentiment some punch, just love it!


i was also up today on the october afternoon blog with a new challenge:

create a project (card, layout, alterable, gift item) using the new sew fun banners in a unique and fun way.

these new products are just that,  "sew" fun and i loved playing with them.  to create with this fun, new product, you simply stitch a straight stitch just below the top of the banners you would like to use, in a straight line across the number of banners.  when finished, you simply lift up the first banner and tear out the stitched banner.  these could not be more fun or easy!


 and i chose to create my projects today using the new Make it Merry Sew Fun Banners.  I chose to layer my banners and create Christmas Gift Card Holders using my stitched banners.


I created a short tutorial to demonstrate just how easy it is to create one of these gift card holders using 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" gift enclosure envelopes.

snowy "december" gift card holder


december 25 gift card holder


  



joy pillowbox




layering these sew fun banners are just that, "so fun"

 

 love, love, love this little doggie




snowy december gift card holder


and there's a tutorial on creating this gift card holder on the OA Blog today.  we hope you'll give this challenge a try.

hugs & so much love!
danni

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

♥ OA Make it Merry blog hop ♥




welcome to the October Afternoon Make it Merry blog hop

you should have arrived via Michelle's blog, if you did not, you can start the hop on the October Afternoon blog for a chance to win a lot of amazing OA Make it Merry prizes!

today, i will be giving away some Make it Merry Washi tape!  i love, love washi tape and this is the cutest tapes for Christmas cards, tags and wrap.




aren't those cuuuuuuute?



the Make it Merry line is filled with the most adorable vintage images, the cutest embellishments and the most amazing papers!  i decided to create my card with a die-cut as a focal because i absolutely love, love the die-cuts in this line.




special delivery card





i cut the santa from the die-cut block and adhered it to the journal tag


 

 i love the new chipboard bundles too, check out all these amazing numbers



i decided to stitch mine with a deep red thread and can not wait to use these on more projects!




next up on the blog hop is the incredibly talented and sweet

make sure to leave comments on all the blogs for a grand prize, a MAKE IT MERRY collection kit, and you can start the hop over on the OA Blog

Comments will be left open until Wednesday November 14, 2012. The grand prize winner will be announced on.
thank you so much for visiting me today!
hugs & so much love
danni

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

♥for the love, love, love of jillibean soup♥

i know i have shared with you how much i love jillibean soup but have we really "shared" our jillibean soup together?  well, i can't wait to get started.  i would LOVE to see your projects with the soup too, so link me up in the comments section each jillibean soup post k?

today i am sharing with you a handmade card and a "harvest basket" i created, and a tutorial to create the tree on my card.  yay, a quick, easy tutorial to create fun tree in very little time.

let's get started with the card that was posted on the jillibean soup blog yesterday in this post.


hello card




 hello card (details)



and a quick tutorial







stitch leaves (if desired) and adhere to card around the "hello" trunk, embellish with twine, heart and pumpkin sticker

now for the project that is up on the soup blog.  i had purchased a basket last year on clearance, after "fall" and couldn't wait to embellish it this year with the Pumpkin Chowder Soup line.  i created my cluster with ONE punch, my Martha Stewart Maple Leaf punch and layered the leaves to create the clusters and "leaves"




here is the original basket




i love this basket, it has a very autumn/fall feel

and a little cluster of jillibean goodness was just the embellishment to make it feel complete

 

 as you can see, i layered the leaves starting with a base of leaves and working my way upward until desired cluster had been achieved.  i then punch four more  for the "leaves" in my cluster, layered with epoxy buttons and stickers.







and make sure to check out the soup blog this week with all new projects from the 2012-2013 design team.

and please make sure to "link me up" if you are creating with your newest jillibean soup goodies.

hugs & so much love!
danni


Friday, November 2, 2012

♥ layering oh my! ♥

 
good morning!
i'm up today on the scraptastic blog with a new card created with the NOVEMBER kit "Farmer's Market"
November means cooler weather, comfort food and lots of layering as we venture for outdoor activities.  so, with the thought of cooler weather, let's practice some layering on our projects this month.  there are lots of ways to layer on cards and layouts, some simple, some more complex, but all feeling warm and fuzzy.

here's the card i am sharing today with layers and fun

hello card


an easy way to add layers is to embellish stickers and of course stitching adds dimension and another layer without adding a lot of bulk



another way to add layers is to use layers of patterned paper and add "character" using punches and pop dots


do you like layers?  do you layer regularly?  this kit screams "fall", "november" and layering and we can't wait to see what you will do, link us up!

thank you so much for your visits, friendship and love, it means the world to me♥

happy creating♥
danni