Don’t open ’til Christmas!

When you wrap your gifts in these papers, you won’t want them to be opened until December 25.

When I was a little girl my grandmother would save all of the gift wrap after the presents were opened, carefully pealing off the cellophane tape, folding the paper on its already made creases, and storing it away for another Christmas future.

That was a time when you saved and reused just about everything. Well, I too have a hard time throwing away perfectly good gift wrap. For me it is mostly because I look at it as a work of art, and that not just the gift inside the wrapped box is something to treasure, but the gift wrap itself. And, like my grandmother, I just hate to throw things away.

Well, I wish I had saved many of those abc (aka: already been creased) wrapping papers that grandma had stored away, because I just love the artwork of that time period.

Which brings me to Swell Noel, a collection I have designed with all of the charm, fondness and retro-kitsching that those mid-century years bring back to my memory.

The designs from this collection have been made into ornaments, scrapbooking supplies, cards, wrapping papers . . . and now are brought to you by Lettering Delights.

The papers available in the Swell Noel collection with LD have been put into two sets, with 12 designs each. They are great for scrapbooking, card making, backgrounds, and of course for gift wrapping. This is my favorite way to use the paper pattern designs. The photos show many of the paper designs and some ideas on how to wrap with them, and the gift tags that are also available on LD.

So, if you haven’t finished wrapping those Christmas presents, and don’t want anyone to open their gifts until Christmas, you will want to get the Swell Noel paper packs and tags  from LD ~ but don’t wait until December 25!

Oh, Christmas Treat!

The stocking may be hung on the chimney with care, but have you taken care of your handmade ornaments with the Swell Noel paper crafting collection now available on Lettering Delights?

This year, I have been making ornaments for the tree with the Swell Noel ornaments and medallions sets on LD. These are not difficult to make.

They require six sides per ornament (which means you will print and cut the same ornament (bell or medallion) six times. Once you have all six pieces, you will fold each down the middle, place one half of one piece directly in line with another half of another piece and glue those two halves together.

Repeat this until you have all but one folded piece left to finish the complete ornament. At this time you will glue the ornament hanger (ribbon, baker's twine, etc) into the middle of the set, making sure it is secured, and then glue the last ornament piece into its position. Once they are dry, it will be time to trim the tree with your own handmade creations.

To make the long ornaments that have the white deer and the “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” ornaments, I cut out only four pieces to create the 3-D ornaments. I used the red with white deer for two sides and the green with white deer for the other two sides. In the case of these examples I chose not to crease the shaped directly down the centers, but rather bend them, and glue along each edge with the matching shape on either side, remembering to add the hanging string before glueing the last piece in place.

I did not add glitter to these 3-D paper ornaments, but that sparkle would be a great touch and bring a little glistening snow into your cozy home for the holidays!

The bells and medallions were made like the ornaments with six sides. For the bells, I chose to trim off all of the balls that dangle from the bell, expect for one. I then took one of the trimmed balls and glued it to the back side of that remaining ball, so both sides would have the colored ball visible.

To get these and other files for your own tree trimming, go to the Swell Noel collection on Lettering Delights so that you can be home-made for the holidays!

Party on . . . you’re invited

Get these free party invitations to compliment the theme of your swank and stylish holiday party, or your cozy little get-together. 

I have two free party invitation designs for you to download, print, trim, stuff into A7 envelopes and mail to all your party guests this holiday season. You might even want to have two parties, just to be able to use both designs. Of course I do expect to be invited to at least one of the events. :) 

You can find these free invitations by clicking here, or by going to my U-Pick button on the right (the file name is SwellNoelPartyInvited.jpg). Simply download the file, print on 8.5 x 11 card stock, trim and send in A7 envelopes, and just see how many people join your celebration this holiday season.

Make your party decor, holiday gift wrapping and all-around cool crafts with the Swell Noel collection on Lettering Delights to complete the look. The guests at your party might just think they have traveled back in time . . . and want to stay!

Reindeer Games

Are you ready for a swell freebie? It’s a reindeer game that any age can play and everyone knows how. Use it at the Christmas party for the little ones, or for your own swank holiday get-together.

If you want an old fashioned favorite with a cool yule twist, you might want to have your guests pin this one on. It’s “pin the nose on the reindeer,” complete with 15 glowing red noses and one dashing deer. If you’d rather add you own dimension to the game, just get little pom pom balls to use for the noses and give each player a different color, then add a bit of tape, and get this party started.

You can get this freebie to coordinate with all of your other Swell Noel crafting and decorating creations this holiday season. To find the complete Swell Noel products on Lettering Delights click here and see the holiday frenzy that awaits you.



To download the free Reindeer Game click here or go to my U-Pick button on the right (download the file named ReindeerGames.jpg). This “pin the nose on the reindeer” file with deer and noses will print well on an 11 x 17 sheet. Once you have the game printed, trim the red noses from the bottom of the  sheet and cut each out for your players to pin on the deer. Let’s see who hits the nose on the spot!

Merry Christmas and happy pinning!

It’s a Swell Noel season for creating!

The Swell Noel Collection is now available on Lettering Delights! This collection has a little something for everyone, from young to old. For those who like a cool yule and those who like the days of yore. There are graphic sets, cutting sets and print and cut sets, all to help you create a magical winter wonderland for you holiday celebrations this year.

There are gift boxes and gift tags, (see images above) There is an alphabet and garlands spelling out “Merry Christmas” and “Season’s Greetings,” see images below.





There are papers for scrapbooking and papers for gift wrapping. There are two sets of paper packs, both with 12 delightful and festive designs. See both sets below.





In case that isn’t quite enough for crafting, you will also find a set of 24 Christmas sayings, phrases and song lyrics to embellish your holidays crafting with, see image below.



In addition to all of this you will find your favorite Christmas characters ~ Santa Claus, reindeer, snowmen and holiday mice, as well as snow white trees and village scenes. They will be available in graphics, print and cuts, and cut-it files, see three images below.







And Christmas wouldn’t be complete without bells and ornaments for the Christmas tree, so we have a large selection of these, as well as medallions; for many holiday crafts you’ll enjoy creating, see images below.





This holiday season is about to get swell! So get on over to LD now and join in the fun of a very Swell Noel!