Super-Fast Christmas Thank-You cards

Growing up in the Handy household, (yes, that's my maiden name) writing thank-you notes was part of our holiday tradition. Although I sometimes resented this practice as a kid, I have grown to value this tradition as an adult. I have tried to find ways to stay on top of thank-you notes as my dear husband and I establish our holiday traditions. This year, I think I figured it out. I packed a little card-making kit in my carry-on bag as we travelled to TX for Christmas. In a quart-size Ziploc bag, I included:

• 10 Really Red pre-cut cards - I cut the cardstock at home, since TSA doesn't like scissors and paper trimmers on the plane
• 10 Very Vanilla envelopes
• 10 pre-cut pieces of Designer Series paper, Cerise and Dashing (now retired, this was a great way to use up my scraps!)
• 10 pre-cut Christmas sentiments from the now-retired Perfect Presentation hostess set
• 10 pre-cut pieces of Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon
• my mini-stapler
• bone folder
• 1 sheet of dimensionals
• SNAIL

When we had a weather delay leaving TX, I was able to make my Christmas thank-you notes at the airport. It was like having my very own Simply Sent kit! I folded all the cards, then adhered designer paper to the front of each card, using my SNAIL. Then I stapled on some ribbon and added a sentiment using dimensionals. Super-fast and cute to boot! This may become a Shiloh Stamps holiday tradition. That is, if we travel every year...

I also made a similar card-making kit for my Little Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters. She's a crafty gal, so I made her a card-making kit. Inside the pretty box, I put a stamp set, a mini-stamp pad, some dimensionals, pre-cut cards, envelopes, and lots of ribbon. I also included a sample card to give her some ideas. The next day, she presented me with a lovely handmade card!

Also, here's a picture of Gary (my bro-in-law), Jon, me, and my sis in the Santa hats my mom made us. We were all in TX for Christmas together this year, which is a rare treat. Gina's and Gary's have stars, since they are stars of the stage. You might remember from an earlier post that Gina won an Arizoni award for her role in Seussical with Childsplay and Gary was selected to attend an international conference on theater for young audiences. My mom must have taken the Buy Handmade pledge, too, since she made us Santa hats and aprons - fun!

PS - Sorry I haven't been updating the blog lately, although Jon did figure out how to make the page wider (nice, huh?). I've been working on getting my new Stampin' Up Demonstrator Business website up and running. Have you had a chance to check it out yet? You can view it at shilohstamps.stampinup.net. I haven't decided if I want to keep it or not, since it's not free like blogger. Let me know if you feel like it's worth paying for after the 2-3 month free trial period.