More Stationery Fun!

Along with creating personalized stationery gifts for Christmas, I also wanted to do an assortment of flat notecards for different occasions.  Creative Memories is always releasing new content, and I've noticed that more and more art is geared towards creating cards, which makes designing them super fast and easy! Here are the three sets I've created...  

 

"Birdy Birthday Digital Kit"



 

  "Personalized Stationery Digital Card Kit"

"Thank You Digital Card Kit"

 

 

Contact me if you're interested in a particular set (or an assortment)!  I find that notecards always come in handy and make great gifts. 



Personalized Whiteboards

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I had a ton of fun creating personalized white boards on Storybook Creator a couple of weeks ago.  I was so excited when my order came in... Here's a sampling of the boards that I created for gifts. The smaller size is 5x7, while the larger size is 8x8.  I hope the whiteboards provide organization and inspiration for their recipients!

My "shopping list" and "verse of the day" boards.

December Workshop Update

We had a great time this past Sunday putting together Bliss' Christmas Cricut creations!  The colors she choose were bright and bold, giving a fresh look to traditional Christmas images.  It was a bit of a puzzle piecing together all the tag layers, but the result was well worth it...

We also put together a few treat containers, along with a stand up tree.  Fill them with some yummy chocolates, and then you have a quick gift to share this Christmas season!

December Workshop: It's Santa's Workshop!

"Santa's Workshop"

Sunday, December 9 from 1 to 4 pm

Nishida residence in Aiea

Kit Cost: $15
RSVP by December 5

bring your tape runner!

 

 

Bliss will be using the new Cricut cartridge, "Holiday Frames and Tags," to create gift tags, treat boxes, and even a card or two.  Let's enjoy this Christmas season together with an afternoon of crafting... Take a break from shopping! 

2013 CD Case Calendars

One of my favorite items is back!  Although I decided not to do craft fairs this season, I did create my CD case calendar in limited quantities.  Email me if you interested in this compact calendar that will keep you organized at your desk or on the go.  Simply slip the card to the back of the case when the month is complete.  Cost: $7.  Available in the following designs...

"Life is Beautiful"

"Life is Fabulous"

A Digital Weekend

The long Thanksgiving weekend afforded me time to work on my to-do list of digital projects.  The project I checked off first was installing Storybook Creator 4.0.  Whooohooo!  I was not looking forward to the upgrade, as I was afraid that would have to re-learn everything that came so naturally in 3.0.  However, I was surprised to find that everything flowed similarly to 3.0, and I was so excited to try out some of their new text features.  And guess what? SBC 4.0 is on sale, now through November 30.

One of the main projects I tackled this past week was creating my very first photo panel through the digital center.  What's great about the photo panel is that it also duals as a dry erase board.  So through SBC 4.0, you can create your very own personalized whiteboard.  I created several for Christmas gifts.  Check out this CM blog post for more ideas about the types of dry erase boards you can create.  The possibilities are endless, but here are a few of my ideas...

A whiteboard to write down your grocery list - perfect for the kitchen!



A prayer board to jot down prayer requests and praises.



 

I was also inspired to make a desk calendar for my dad's Christmas gift.  With CM's free templates that you can download, you just drag and drop your pictures for each month.  I was relieved that most of the design choices were already made for me!  This is also a great gift if you don't have enough pictures to create a 8x12 or 12x16 calendar. 

Sample templates from the free download.

My last project was creating our Christmas card.  I decided to go the simple route and choose a new Luxe Card template from the digital center. These 5x7 cards are uniquely shaped and are printed on high–quality cardstock with a lovely shimmer finish (and they are also on sale until January 1!).

Here are some sample templates... I can't wait to get my order!

So overall, it was a very productive week.  Hope this post inspires you to tackle your to-do list and create some unique gifts this Christmas!



November Workshop Update: Finished TY Cards

It's been a challenging week, but designing these cards was a great stress relief.  And I always feel a sense of accomplishment after putting my creativy to work!  I decided to embellish my set of cards with paper flowers and titles from the "Thank You" digital kit.  Meanwhile, Bliss enhanced her set with fun Cricut letters and shapes... I love how we always come up with different ideas and implement them with different styles.  It makes learning and creating even more fun. Hope you can join us for our workshop tomorrow or are inspired to create your own notecards!


My set.

Bliss' set.

 

Another Digital Project

Back in September, I was able to put together this invitation in Storybook Creator on short notice for a work event.  Even though the design is quite simple, I found myself going back and forth on the positioning of different elements, fonts, and color.  Sometimes I have to restrain myself from using all the different features of SBC in order to make sure the information doesn't get lost in the design. But once again, another design project was simplified (and successful) with the help of SBC!

November Workshop: Thanks a Bunch

"Thanks a Bunch"

Sunday, November 18 from 1 to 4 pm

Nishida residence in Aiea

Kit Cost: $15
RSVP by November 13

bring your tape runner!

Join us for an afternoon of crafting, as we'll complete a dozen or so thank you notes using the "Just Because" card set.  Because the notecards (and envelopes) are preprinted, we'll keep the designs simple and quick.  As we approach the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm sure these notecards will come in quite handy!

Signage in SBC

A couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to make a sign for the game booth our Sunday School class would be hosting for our annual church "Pumpkin Fest."  We decided to go high tech and have participants challenge each other in "Just Dance" for Xbox Kinect.  Initially, I was planning to just create it in Microsoft Word, but when I realized that I wanted to use lots of colors and mirror the design of the game, I turned to Storybook Creator.  Because you can design a project of any size and then save it as a jpg, I could upload it to Costco and have it printed as an 11x14 photo for about $3.  I was excited when I found the perfect artwork to match our theme, as I used one of the backgrounds from the "City Streets" digital kit.

Loved how professional the final product turned out (and that this project took me less than an hour to complete). This is another example of how SBC can meet all of your design needs!

Crafting with Mom

Crafting is always more fun with you get other people involved.  Last week, my mom needed a quick favor container for her traditional get together with her friends... our paper tote project came to the rescue as I pulled various colors and prints from my scraps for these five totes.  I paired them with matching metallic cardstock (straps and base), while paper flowers with a touch of bling added that final touch.  Mom filled up the bags with candy wrapped in clear bags... We were quite pleased with the end result!

 

October Workshop: Recipe Album

Bliss and I were so excited to finally put together another compilation of recipes using the Nancy O'Dell Recipe 8x8 Quick Kit.  It was a new twist on our old PicFolio favorite...

 

However, when I started to work on my sample page, I noticed I had a slight problem, as a 4x6 recipe card and a 4x6 photo would not fit on a 8x8 scrapbook page.  Hmm...

I really wanted to include pictures of my recipes to share, so I knew I had to come up with a solution.  Thankfully, I remembered that Costco does a 5x7 print of four (4) wallet print sized photos.  Perfect!  I wouldn't have to crop my photo, and Costco would do the resizing for me.

 

 

So here's my finished page... There was even enough room to add an embellishment. The pages look great in the protective sheets of the album, as it can be propped up on its own. This perfect for following the recipe as you're cooking and your hands are either full or dirty.  Can't wait to finish putting together the rest of the album and start making everyone's recipes!

 

 

 

September Workshop Update

Earlier this month, Bliss and I spent a Saturday morning trying to prep for this month's calendar workshop.  We knew we were going to use the Cricut for the designs, but sometimes the hardest part is narrowing down all our favorite images and selecting the best one to represent each month!  I was also tasked with producing samples and testing out different sizes that would work on a 4.5"x6.5" photo mat.  Sometimes it takes a little trial and error, so be sure to use scratch paper for your initial cuts.

This is the Cricut 2 Creative Memories offered for a limited time.
I'm so bummed I didn't get one...

Part of the art of "Cricut-ing" is understanding how to work with the different layers.
Trust me, I'm still learning. 

Last week, Bliss got started on her samples, so here are her first two months.  Our goal is to try to incorporate short phrases or sayings into each month to give our 2013 calendar a different look.  I love the bold colors of the Color Vibe stack pack and the funky artwork of the "Be Young" Cricut cartridge... so excited to work on my samples!

September Workshop: 2013 Calendar

"2013 Calendar"

Sunday, August 30 from 1 to 4 pm

Nishida residence in Aiea

Kit Cost: $30 (includes 4x6 PicFolio album)
RSVP by September 15

bring your tape runner!

We are excited to finish 2012 strong with a fun series of workshops.... For September, we'll be getting ready for the new year a little earlier, as we'll create a 2013 edition of our PicFolio Calendar tradition. Our inspiration for this calendar are the hip designs of the "Be Young" Cricut cartridge.  Hope you can join us to make a calendar for yourself or as a gift!  

 

More Personalized Stationery

Another month, another birthday, another happy recipient (I hope!).  We celebrated Joy's birthday last week, and luckily, I had printed her set of cards earlier in the summer, so they were all ready to go... I used the same Be Mine Valentine digital kit that I used for Malia's cards, but I tweaked the designs a little bit.  They provided the perfect backdrop for some whimsical and fun stationery.  I have one more set to give out... stay tuned! 

 

 

 

End of Summer Sale

So excited for another CM sale!  Nearly everything is on sale, ranging from 10-40% off.  Just in time to start thinking about gift giving for Christmas.  (Yes, I really do start making my list now!)  Click here to check out all the wonderful items on sale, from now until August 27.

August Workshop: Sweet Baby Cards

"Sweet Baby"

Sunday, August 12 from 1 to 4 pm

Nishida residence in Aiea

Kit Cost: $15
RSVP by August 7

bring your tape runner!

Replenish your card collection with a new set of baby cards, perfect for showers and congratulating an expecting couple.  Here is the baby girl sample for my designs... Don't worry, you'll make a baby boy set as well!

Bliss once again put the Cricut to good use, which resulted in these adorable cards...

July Workshop Update

It was another productive afternoon of crafting... Along with Bliss' Christmas themed tag wallet, she created several styles of post-it holders.  There seems to be infinite ways of cleverly concealing a pad of sticky notes!  Take a look...

Join us next month for baby themed cards.  More details to follow!

July Workshop: Christmas in July

"Christmas in July"

Sunday, July 15 from 1 to 4 pm

Nishida residence in Aiea

Kit Cost: $15
RSVP by July 9

bring your tape runner!

We'll be crafting a few Christmas themed projects for this month's workshop, including tags, gift card holders, and more...  I wanted to do something different, so I designed a few simple stationery sets (paper with matching envelopes).  During the Christmas season, you can never go wrong with extra stationery on hand!  Here's a peek at one of my samples...

Birthday Bash

Creative Memories is celebrating its birthday this month, too! Save 25% on the Top 25 Picks.  The savings lasts for 25 days, from July 1 to 25.

Products on sale include essentials like the Custom Cutting System, 12" Rotary Trimmer, and the new Tape Runner.  The Reflections Power Palette, Storybook Creator 4.0 (yay!), and 12x12 & 8x8 Hardcover Storybook product credits are also on sale. Order your favorite items directly on my website... I'm enjoying this year of sales from Creative Memories!

Personalized Stationery

I've been tossing around the idea for a while now to create personalized stationery sets as birthday gifts for my high school friends.  (I was originally inspired by this CM blog post.)  I loved the look of the samples from the blog, so I decided to also use the Be Mine Valentine Digital Kit on Storybook Creator.  I played around with the different 12x12 papers and some cute embellishments to create this set for Malia...

I sent them away for printing and then placed a set of 10 (with envelopes) in an acetate box.  It adds that "store bought" finishing touch.

So happy to finally execute a fun and practical idea.  I'm thinking of taking special orders for the Christmas season... stay tuned!