Here it is, this is the class I have been asked by so many people to teach.  Attend my Mega Christmas Card Class and make a load of Christmas cards, gift cards and tags.

The materials provided to you in this class will allow you to create approximately 35 Christmas cards and 20 gift cards/tags.  You will during the class make as many of the cards you can (depending on how fast/slow you are) and will then take home the rest of the materials to make more cards.

Please email me on angelasargeant@gmail.com to book a spot.  Places are strictly limited so email me now to secure your place at this class.

All materials and tools to make these cards are provided during the class, no need to bring anything with you.

Date: Friday 30th October 2009
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Lane Cove, Sydney.  Email me for exact location.
Cost: $60.  Includes all materials and use of tools during class plus refreshments

Date: Wednesday 28th October 2009
Time: 10:30am
Location: Lane Cove, Sydney.  Email me for exact location.
Cost: $60.  Includes all materials and use of tools during class plus morning tea

It’s coming close to the time when cardmakers around the world are starting to think about making Christmas cards.  Some of us have already started while others are busy gathering their supplies.  One thing I’ve noticed is that while cardmakers love to send out handmade Christmas cards, they also want to make them ‘time efficient’ in order to be able to make lots of cards and spread the love around.  So here are my Top 10 Tips to make your Christmas cards faster.

1. Use a scrapbooking kit

Scrapbooking Kits are great for cardmaking because everything comes coordinated in one neat package.  Choose a Christmas themed scrapbooking kit such as Stampin’ Up!’s “I Wish” kit and whip up 30 cards from the one kit in no time. (see photo at the end of this post)

2. Start with a card sketch

Like to make your cards individually rather than production line?  You can start with a card sketch or two and base all your Christmas cards around that sketch while changing the colours of your cardstock and using a variety of rubber stamps.  Having a couple of sketches to base all your Christmas cards on will speed up the process while still enjoying the creative process.  Not great at making your own sketches? just find a card you like the look of from a magazine or a blog (like mine!) and copy the layout of the card to make your own.

3. Add Glitter

Even a simple Christmas card will attract attention with a bit of sparkle & shine.  Use a glue pen to add glue to appropriate spots on your Christmas card then sprinkle on some sparkly glitter for extra pizazz in a hurry with no drying time.

4. Use punches

You can make a quick Christmas Tree for your card using punches.  Try punching out some small star shapes out of some scrap patterned paper or metallic cardstock then arrange them into a triangle shape onto your card to form a Christmas tree.  A bow made from some scrap ribbon can be placed at the bottom of the tree in place of a pot.

5. Use a Wheel Stamp

Wheel stamps are awesome for creating quick cards.  A wheel stamp such as “Soft Holly” by Stampin’ Up! (page 33 of the catalogue) will give you a lovely quick background or secondary image for your Christmas cards.  If you don’t mind doing production line, you can speed up the stamping by laying out all the cardstock pieces or card bases on your table and wheeling each one in turn.  Use an ink cartridge in your wheel handle to stamp all your cards without reinking!

6. Use stamps with solid images.

Unless you enjoy the relaxation of colouring in images, save those stamps that require lots of colouring for making Christmas cards for those select special people in your life.  To make quick cards for everyone else that you’d like to share some Christmas spirit with, use stamps with solid images that do not require colouring.

7 . Use patterned paper

While making interesting backgrounds with a variety of techniques is huge fun, it does take some time.  To speed up your Christmas card making, use patterned paper to add backgrounds or strips of scrap patterned paper for a fun background.

8.  Go monochromatic

Gather your supplies in one colour that you’d like to use and add a neutral colour to make your Christmas cards elegant yet fast.  Choose cardstock, ribbon and an inkpad in one colour, add white/vanilla/kraft plus some metal brads.  Going monochromatic means you won’t have to keep cleaning your stamp to change ink colours and you will have all your supplies ready to go without having to think about colour schemes.

9. Wide Ribbons

Choose a wide ribbon and tie it around your card into a big bow.  Wide ribbons add a bit of lavishness to your card and make a great focal point.  And because they take up a lot of space, you only need to add a Christmas sentiment to complete your card.

10. Enlist some help

Have your children help you punch out some simple shapes that they can add to your card using Dimensionals (foam dots).  Crafting with children is an excellent activity to share some special time together.  If you don’t have children or they are much too young to help, then get together with a friend for a relaxing and social day of stamping.  Making Christmas cards with a friend or a group of friends is a great way to socialise while sharing ideas and tools and gets those Christmas cards made in no time.

These 16 Christmas cards and 9 gift cards/tags were made with half a Christmas scrapbooking kit.  Kraft cardstock plus scraps of ribbon and several gold brads added.

I hope you’ve found this post helpful, I’d love to hear your ideas and tips on creating Christmas Cards fast.  Of course, if you have any questions about my Christmas cards or anything in this post, please feel free to post your comment or email me. Read more…

The eternal quest for a quick yet attractive Christmas card continues!  Although I’ve used heat embossing for this card it was still quick to make.  There’s something about heat embossing that gets me every time – just seeing that powder melt while it races across the cardstock is just magic to me.

I will give credit for the card sketch I’ve used to Splitcoast although it looks a little different as I’ve made the card on it’s side and the original card sketch has it as a vertical card.  If I’m ever feeling a little lazy I just go there and pick up a sketch then make my card to suit me.

To make this card I simply swiped the white cardstock with an anti-static pad then stamped the “Joy” stamp in Versamark on white cardstock then embossed it in gold.  This was then mounted on some Purely Pomegranate cardstock.  The base of the card is Wild Wasabi and I’ve stamped a Linen background stamp onto it using Wild Wasabi ink.  I then layered some patterned paper onto the base card and adhered some ribbon to the left and right of the card.  There’s also a of sponged Wild Wasabi card on the right hand side and finally I added three gold brads to add a bit more shine and interest to the card before mounting the main image onto the card.  Hope you like and that it inspires you to make your Christmas cards.

Here’s a list of products I’ve used:

Illuminations Stamp Set
Linen Background Stamp
Wild Wasabi Cardstock
Wild Wasabi inkpad
Whisper White Cardstock
Holiday Harmony Designer Series Paper (from the Stampin’ Up! Australian Spring Mini Catalogue)
Versamark Inkpad
Heat Gun
Anti-static pac
Gold Embossing Powder
3 Gold brads
Double-Stitched RIbbon (Wild Wasabi)
Sponge Dauber (to sponge the Wasabi ink onto the cardstock)
Glue Dots (to secure the ribbon onto the card)
SNAIL Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals (to mount the main image)

All products by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com.  Please feel free to also email me if you have any questions.

It’s almost July so that’s close enough for me to start making Christmas cards. I must admit I don’t like making them early because come December 1st when I mail them out, I look at the cards and think “ugh! I don’t like this anymore”. Anyway, I’m participating in this scrapbooking sketch class at www.gosketch101.ning.com and today there was a card sketch so I thought I’d give it a go – the sample was of a card with a flower but I decided this would make a good Christmas card.

To make this card I stamped the Christmas tree image onto some watercolour paper and watercoloured it using Old Olive and Real Red markers then added some definition using the fine ends of the markers. The gold star is simply Gold Encore reinker applied with a fine brush. The circle is a piece of chipboard onto which I glued some patterned paper and then cut around it, I then adhered this to the top of my stamped Christmas tree and trimmed around the circle. The base of the card is more patterned paper, there’s three sheets there, the top one which is striped the bottom with the circles and the middle is striped with dots and this was scalloped to add some interest. If you haven’t ever done scalloping you should try it, it’s so simple… all I did was use my corner rounder (it has to be a corner rounder like Stampin’ Up!’s – the Creative Memories one won’t work for this purpose). So just remove the base of the corner rounder which is the black plastic guard and then working with the underneath of the punch facing you, hold your strip of paper flush with the bottom of the punch and give the punch a squeeze. You’ll see that it’s created a ‘U’ shape… move your punch along a little so that the edge of the punch shape (it looks like a little smile) is matching with the punched out edge of your cardstock and punch again… keep going along. Okay, that sounds complex – so here’s two photos to show you how super easy it is.

Corner rounder with guard removed

Punch upside down, facing you as you punch.
The sentiments at the bottom of the card are also super easy… I just stamped the sentiment from the Crazy for Christmas stamp set then cut it up with scissors (didn’t worry about it being straight), adhered it to some Real Red cardstock and then cut it down again to leave a 2mm border.

So. Have you started making your Christmas cards yet? I’ll post more Christmas cards as I make them. In the meantime, here’s the list of items I used to make this card:

(All products by Stampin’ Up! images copyright Stampin’ Up! 1990-2008. All products available for purchase through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com)

Fun & Fast Notes stamp set
Crazy For Christmas stamp set
Real Red cardstock
Watecolour paper
Confetti White cardstock (for sentiment)
Old Olive marker
Real Red marker
Close to Cocoa marker
Aquapainter
On Board Lots of Letters Chipboard (circle)
Dashing double-sided patterned paper
SNAIL Adhesive
Paper Snips (scissors)
Encore Gold Reinker

So usually I start my Christmas cards nice and early in February (not January as I’m all Christmas’d out then) but this year I made a late start. Like really late start. Like only now. Oops!

So here’s a card I made today that’s loosely based on a design that I found on the internet.

This is a simple card to make. I just stamped some of the circle stamps from the Stampin’ Up! “Little Pieces” stamp set in Old Olive ink on a piece of Old Olive cardstock and then sponged the edges using Old Olive ink and a sponge dauber and then adhered the card to a folded piece of Cranberry Crisp cardstock which is my base card. The main image is from the “Glad Tidings” stamp set and is great used both as a background stamp (stamp repeatedly across a card) or as a main image as I’ve done here. The ‘Cheers!’ stamp was stamped in Old Olive ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock and then I coloured in the word with a Blender Pen and Cranberry Crisp ink. Again, the edges were sponged with ink and then the piece was adhered to some Cranberry Crisp cradstock. Just under the stamped image I made 3 holes and inserted Antique Brass Brads. Next I cut a piece of Cranberry Crisp cardstock and adhered some of the “In Thyme” patterned paper to it and tied a length of stitched Cranberry Crisp ribbon to it. The “Cheers” piece was adhered to onto the In Thyme paper using Stampin’ Dimensionals and then the whole piece was again adherd to the base card with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it some pop and lift (which unfortunately you can’t really see in this photo but it is there!)
All Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 1990-2007. Card made by Angela Sargeant. All products used to make this card available for purchase through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com

Here’s a comprehensive list of materials that I used:
Glad Tidings stamp set
Little Pieces stamp set
In Thyme Double Sided Designer Paper (don’t forget this paper will not be available again after 15th December 2007!!!)
Cranberry Crisp cardstock
Cranberry Crisp inkpad
Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon
Old Olive cardstock
Old Olive inkpad
Antique Brass brads (Hodgepodge Hardware)
SNAIL Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals (double-sided foam tape)
Sponge Dauber
Blender Pen

If you’d like to ask any questions about this card or anything to do with the products, please feel free to email me on angelasargeant@gmail.com