Template for "Secret Santa" Christmas Card

In my last post, I shared with you my free Secret Santa e-card. In addition to e-cards, I will be giving out some printed cards as well. I made a template of the same design for letter-sized media (card stock recommended) and the PDF files are available for download below. Each page will print two cards. Follow your printer's directions for proper layout and do a test print to make sure that all sides are aligned. Once the card is printed, write in your special message and jazz it up! For my cards, I hand drew the snow on the ground with a silver coloring pencil. Then, I used a small paint brush to dot glue (I used Mod Podge) on the front and back for the falling snow and sprinkled fine glitter dust over it. I also did glittered zig zags in the snow. There's many ways you can personalize yours and I'd love to see how yours turns out!

File 1: This is the front and back of the card.

File 2: This is the inside of the card.

I had a lot of fun doing this, aside from a little glittery mess I made. I think it's awesome to receive custom or handmade cards and I hope that my recipients think so too!

Free Animated "Secret Santa" e-Card

I've never been a huge fan of Christmas cards. I always felt like they were a chore and always had a hard time finding cards that seemed right. So, this year I decided that it would be fun to design my own card to reflect me. The printer was setup, test prints were done, and then a light bulb with on. Why not just do e-cards?! For the particular story that I was trying to convey in my design, an animated e-card would be the most effective. I was practically halfway there already... And so, I represent to you- "Secret Santa".

What do you think? If you like it, then feel free to save it and send it as part of your holiday greetings to your friends and family. Especially your cat-lovers and it might be a good chuckle to those who don't like cats! Right click the image to save or share this direct link: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1yWWtl3IBY3Z5YMUfNXrEa2m_xW4nf9ep6wgeEr9oblXDx0LKiqkLTZVXr2o8qK1oH7Smgx6G5dweCeqcM8JYk05woGR-vtdvZByjT3iTEUgxPAzbUjmSC41u7cWTFUy9u-CG45vFyI/s800/eCard_CupofThreads.gif. If you use the image, please be respectful of my work and DO NOT alter the image.

I created a greeting that would be appropriate for the general public. However, I'd be happy to do a personalize greeting upon request to the first 25 people! To request this, please comment or send me an email with the information below and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

• Email
• Short message (~30 words or less)

If there's enough interest and I have enough time, I'd love to do more! I'll keep you all updated via this post. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Reversible Placemats

I finally finished my Christmas present for Mike's mom. Yay! It is a set of eight reversible placemats. One side is for fall and the other for winter. I used prints that didn't necessary scream Thanksgiving or Christmas but had the essence of it. It's quite simple to make but I'd be lying if I said that it was quick. I've been working on it here and there for a while now... changing fabric choices and insulating material, putting hours into making tons of bias tape, and then struggling to attach the bias tape. I originally started with fusible interfacing to add thickness, but thought it was too thin. Then, I got Insul-Brite but hated the "crunching" noise the material made and how the insulation stuff would come off in speckles on everything. I considered fleece and batting, that would be a tad thicker than I'd like and require quilting stitches. I settled with felt, but you should use whatever you feel comfortable with to achieve the thickness you want.

Materials:

• 14x18" front fabric per placemat
• 14x18" back fabric per placemat
• 14x18" material for insulation per placemat
• 5.5 ft of bias tape per placemat (buy or make your own, see: Homemade Bias Tape)

Costs:

• front fabric ~ $3.25/yd, Joann
• back fabric ~ $2.50/yd, Joann
• felt ~ $0.75/yd, Joann
• homemade bias tape ~ $2

Instructions:

• Lay your pieces in this order: back (right side down), insulating material, front (right side up).
• Sew zig zag stitches along the edge. Trim if necessary. (I prefer this method over having to turn the layers right side out after sewing. This method produces cleaner, less bulky edges and crisper corners.)
• Attach the bias tape (Here is a good tutorial on how to do this: (Bias Tape: How To Make It & Attach It).

Sew away!