Brenda Baker Productions

I am one of those people who still loves sending snail mail. I'd have to be far more organized to do a better job of it--but I still like to try. This means I have to keep my loved ones addresses up-to-date and in a place I can find them. So, I'm kicking off the new year by getting all of my addresses onto a 7Gypsies ATC Spinner. Maybe it will help me do a better job of keeping in touch in 2014! The postal service will thank me for it. On New Year's Eve, I had fun designing a few new cards for the spinner: These little cards are so fun and easy to make. And now, I'll have fun matching them up with my family and friends and adding their mailing info to the back!

Summer is made sweeter with handmade cards. Here are a few I wanted to share with you before August is over and done with. I had a great time making these--the weather was warm and the patio door was thrown wide open to let in plenty of fresh air and inspiration! And, once I was in the groove, these cards were easier to "crank out" than a batch of homemade ice cream! Hope you've had a lovely August. Enjoy! I date-stamped this one and gave it to a colleague with an August birthday. Papercrafting is sort of my "life ring," and I do love red. A tiny little "summer" rub-on adds some life to the polka dot chipboard embellishment. This is probably my favorite card of the whole bunch. (Anything pink is a good thing.) The aqua polka dot edging is ripped self-adhesive fabric.  I date-stamped this one and turned it into a thank you note for a sweet friend. This one is still sitting on my desk but it needs to get in the mail to my cousins who host...

I had so much fun wrapping presents this year. First, you need to start with fun gift wrap--but the ribbon is really important. Most important are the tags. This one also holds a gift card. This one sports a free-hand felt heart. I just stapled the little sentiment to the wool. Although it's hard to see, this one also has a little felt strip sewn behind it for some cozy texture. My sister loves globes, so I was thrilled to find this cute ornament at "The Land of Nod." I date-stamped Santa's beard so he will remember when to make his appearance. There was no confusion who this one was intended for. I love using my Slice to cut oversized letters! This year, I packaged my calendars in these cute polka-dot bags and stitched them shut. It was fun watching people figure out "the proper way" to open them. (There is no right way--or wrong way!) And finally, I stitched these super cute and easy paper "wallets" for my nephews. They ...

It was my goal to blog throughout Christmas break...but that didn't happen. It is my new goal to have more realistic vacation expectations! I'll never learn. All is not lost, however. I still have a few hours left of "break," so I'm going to pull a fast one. I just want to share the first month's calendar page that I made and gave to my sweet friends this year. Thank you to all of you who encouraged me to make calendars again! As you can see, I did keep them simple--but the process is SO enjoyable and SO rewarding. I hope you enjoy displaying them as much as I enjoyed making them for you. Happy January to you all! Wishing you a joy-filled 2013!

Inspired by this weekend's fantastic Broadway Across America production of "Wicked"and with Halloween fast-approaching, I used my day off this week to make a few cards. I've got a good stash of Halloween materials that I was tickled "green" to use! Hope you've enjoyed these cards...my treat!