Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah!

One of our favorite evenings of the holiday season is celebrating the lighting of the menorah with our DSIL.  He cooks a delicious traditional meal and serves it elegantly in the dining room.  We always have to grab the latkes before Master J devours them all!

Way back in Spring, I bought some beautiful blue holographic foil with the idea of incorporating it in this year's Hanukkah card. When I pulled it out, I realized that the circles and dots would present a challenge in the design of the card.  In the end, I kept it very simple and used a card from Artfully Sent.

The innies:-

Not too many details today as I broke my wrist and typing left handedly is excruciatingly slow!  Boy, do I have rotten timing or what?  Thanks for visiting today.  : )  Christine

80 + Santa's Sleigh Treat Boxes - Check!

Fifty or so report cards due to be carried home in little Kindergarten backpacks midway through December meant that I never had time to craft any of the cute treat holders that land in my Pinterest feed.  How I longed to make the Peppermint Patty snowmen or the Santas with candy filled dangling legs for all my Kinders!

When I retired, I began a new tradition - The Great Pre-Christmas Craftathon and this is my third season of treat making for friends, co-workers and the OHM children.   : )  : )  : )  This year I really, really wanted to make a sleigh containing chocolates and candy and here it is!

And here are my Notes To Self on mass production treat crafting with the Explore!

*  Keep the container simple.  There are some beautiful sleigh svgs available with wonderfully ornate runners.  Choose a relatively simple design like the one I used this year from Lori Whitlock.  The runners are glued on the side of the sleigh body rather than supporting it from underneath.  Much easier to mass produce!

*   Choose a design that does not waste paper even though there may be extra construction steps.  Since the sleigh side pieces are separate from the body, I could get 3 small sleighs from one sheet of 12x12 card stock.  Gluing the pieces together was easy and worth the paper I saved.

*  Choose a design that 'ungroups'  in order to save yourself from the work of eliminating pieces by using the 'hide contour' button.  I liked using different patterned paper for the body of the sleigh and this was very easy to do by changing the color on the Design Space canvas.


*  Do not try to cut ALL the pieces at once.  My browser/router/DS/computer configuration does not like me to make more than 9 project copies so I go back and re-cut a mat as many times as needed by clicking on its icon and making 9 at a time.

*  Add embellishments punched from scraps of paper and don't forget the MISTI for stamping the sentiment.

*  When selecting the candy for the treats, include DH's favorite kinds so he'll volunteer to pack the treats for you.  LOL!

Thanks for visiting with me today.  Happy Holiday Crafting everyone!  : )  Christine

First Batch Done!

Just popping in to share the first (overseas!) batch of cards. 



This design comes from Mary at SVG Cuts and was a lot of fun to put together.  



Thanks for visiting today.  : )   Christine