Wanda's Top 10 Favorite Crafty Things for Christmas 2016!

Howdy crafty people! It's Black Friday! Shop til you drop! I loooooove shopping and having fun this time of year. It's a 20 year tradition now for me and my husband to go out and shop on the day after Thanksgiving! We have a good time and drink lots of coffee and enjoy watching the ice skaters at our local rink and, well, all of it! We had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving, and I hope you did too! 

A few years ago I did a post about my favorite things for Spring crafting, and I thought it would be fun to do it again with a Winter theme. I have been 'wowed' this year by all the beautiful and innovative craft products released for Christmas. So... Today I would like to share with you Wanda's Top 10 Crafty Things for Christmas 2016! I love a good top ten list... I have a new project to share today too - made with some of the items on the list. Links to everything are at the bottom of my post. Have fun! 

PRIZE ALERT! PRIZE ALERT! (Edited 11/28 my winner is LC from Ottawa Canada! Congrats LC!)

Leave a comment on this post and tell me what is YOUR favorite crafty thing for 2016? That way, we can all share, and maybe find more cool crafty things we need! I will choose a random winner to receive a fun prize package of Christmas stamps and dies valued at more than $75! Leave your comment by Monday, November 28th at 9pm PST. I will notify the lucky winner via email on Tuesday the 29th. Good Luck! 

Before doing the top ten list I want to share a retro Christmas card I made with #3 on the list - Kitsch Christmas from Avery Elle! In my mind, when I sat down to create this, I was going to make a clean and simple card to showcase the cute stamps. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up using silver glitter paper, an embossing folder, Distress Ink, Wink of Stella, a white gel pen, Copics and twine! LOL. So much for this old girl making a clean and simple card! I do love how it came out though! 

 

I colored everything with Copic Markers and then accented with white gel pen and Clear Wink of Stella. I used some pretty pink twine as an accent. The background was inked with Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink and then embossed with the Taylored Expressions Snowfall Embossing Folder!

 

These two remind me of Rudolph and Clarice! She thinks I'm cuuuuuuuuute! I adore that big pink bow!! 

 

I love all the color going on here! I used a pink card base and layered silver glitter paper, cuz, you know, glitter paper!! Why not?!

That's it for the new project for today!

Let's get on with the Top Ten List! 

Number one on my list is the Simon Says Stamp Magical Christmas Stamp set and dies! This stamp set was part of the holiday release for 2016 and I love it so much. I made one of my favorite cards ever with this stamp set! It is fun and masculine and pretty all at the same time. Not even sure how that is possible but it is! There are many beautiful samples made with this set. Here are the two cards I made with it. It pairs perfectly with woodgrain and plaid and snowflakes. Sigh..

Number two on the list is the awesome sentiments stamp set from Tim Holtz Called Mini Doodle Greetings. These sentiments are perfectly vintage Christmas as only Tim can do. They are the perfect size for cards and tags both. I LOVE them! Just released for Holiday 2016. I made a card for one of my Weekender With Wanda posts using this stamp set! To see how I made this card CLICK HERE!!

Number three is the SUPER cute Kitsch Christmas stamp set from Avery Elle! This stamp set totally reminds me of growing up in the 60's and watching Rudolph and Clarice on TV! The moment I saw this set I knew I had to have it...but it sold out so fast! It's back in stock now at SSS so get it while it's hot! 

Number four on the list is actually a product from last Christmas! But I didn't buy it until the very end of the season last year, so it's new to me again! It's the Take A Bough Dies set from Concord & 9th. This is such a cool and innovative product!! (Like everything they make). It's so easy and fast. WOW. I want to make pink ones, and white ones and blue ones.... CLICK HERE to see their awesome product video using these dies!  

Number five on my list is a GORGEOUS new Eyelet Cover Panel Die from Reverse Confetti! This die is so beautiful! It has a kind of mod flair to it, but also very feminine and pretty at the same time. This time Jen knocked it out of the park! So clever! CLICK HERE to see Jen's blog post about this gorgeous card!

Number six is actually three things! My three favorite 6x6 paper pads of this season. Lawn Fawn Christmas Plaid, Simple Stories Winter Wonderland and Echo Park I Love Winter! YAY for card sized paper pads. This is practically the only size paper I buy now. They are easy to store and inexpensive too. Perfect. 

Next up is number seven! The cutest dang penguin stamps you ever saw in your life! It's the Chill Wishes Stamp Set from My Favorite Things! These guys really make me smile big! 

 

Now on to number eight, which has nothing to do with stamping! I learned to crochet recently, and so of course I totally fell in love with yarn.... And then TOTALLY fell in love with making Pom Poms! In the old days I used to make these with my mom using a donut made out of cardboard. Boy, things have changed and now there are official Pom Pom Makers! So quick, fun and addicting! 

                                                                                                                  {photo credit for deer photo}

Now we're down to number nine already! Are you having fun with me? It's actually two products from Close To My Heart! Their Sea Glass Glitter Paper (YUM, my favorite color) and the Joy To You and Me stamp Set! One of my friends is a CTMH demonstrator and I already bought both of these cute items! Now I just need to use them! I'm thinking I need to make some sparkly green snowflakes or something!

Last, but not least, is number ten on the list! I went kinda cray cray when I first laid eyes on this gorgeous stamp set from Papertrey Ink! It's called Cozy Christmas and it's, of all things, thermoses! WHAT?? Yes, the funkiest, coolest thermos stamps! You're kind of getting the hint that for Christmas especially I love all things vintage and retro and funky! I think it's because I grew up in the 60's and 70's and these things have so much warm nostalgia for me! My friend Kay made the card featured in the photo below. CLICK HERE for her post about it.

Whew! I hope I've shared some new things with you that maybe you hadn't seen yet...or maybe let you know about a new company! I had a lot of fun compiling this list for you today. Best wishes for delightful happy Christmas crafting!! I will see you soon! XOXO

 

SHOPPING LINKS FOR THE TOP TEN! 

 

InLinkz.com

 

 

 

Comments

[Janet Ingraham]

This years great discovery for me was Hero Arts and Altenew starting layered stamps to make my stamps look more dimensional while I'm learning.

[Meg]

Love your blog, Wanda. Found you on the Simon Says Stamp site when I saw one of the card examples for a stamp set I wanted to buy, and I thought, "Holy cow! That card is gorgeous!" I don't normally follow blogs, but I do follow yours. I was inspired by one of the previous comments about Concord and 9th. Had never heard of that company before, so I checked them out to see what I was missing. I bought a couple of stamp sets from them and cannot wait for them to arrive. While I love my MISTI and don't know how I lived without it, I have to say my favorite crafty thing is the inspiration I get from blogs like yours and the fun I have looking at all the cool tools and stamps out there. (And the holiday sales have been pretty awesome, to be honest!) Keep up the great work. You have a fan in me!

[SarahT]

I love everything about this post Wanda! The cute retro vibrant card and your top ten list! I have to laugh because may favorite thing for this Christmas is all the retro paper I found while attempting to get organized over the weekend. Oh and the holiday cards I couldn't find that I made last year!

[Mary-Anne V.]

What a great list of favorites! My favourite crafty thing is Zig Markers...so fun to colour with.

[Donna Kalinowsky]

My favorite things for Christmas crafting are snowmen, penguin, snowflakes, Christmas scrapbooking paper, Simon says stamp cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest white cardstock, ink pads by Ranger, Tim Holtz and Memento (by Tsukineko) and various embellishments like brads, ribbons and rhinestones.

[LC]

I am always in awe of your talent and I aspire to make cards that are as beautiful as yours. I had my favorite craft item all picked out in my mind, then I got to reading some of the other posts and now I have several :) I have loved all the fabulous plaid papers this year. Any color, any style, if it's plaid, it makes me happy! I agree with the many others that mentioned Nuvo Crystal drops. They are fantastic! And last but certainly not least are the sweet and ever fun Doodlebug design collections. Their products always put a smile on my face!

[Janice M]

I love your projects Wanda, especially the ones with plaid paper! This Christmas I am loving the Christmas Cuts dies and sentiments from Papertrey Ink. They make such cute gift tags!

[Janet Sisk]

I love them ALL, but if I had to pick just ONE it would have to be the Tim Holtz mini greetings. I can never get enough greeting stamps for my Christmas cards. Thanks so much for the chance to win. :D

[Carmela Hubler]

Thanks for your post Wanda. My favorite craft item that I have are framelits dies. There are so many different ones to choose from and I love them all. The favorite item I would like to receive is the Mini Misti tool. I do not have one but it looks like it really makes stamp placement easy and that is definitely something I could use help with! Thank you.

[Becca Yahrling]

Awesome Top 10 list! I love Concord & 9th's Take a Bough set you showed; that looks like fun and I've put that on my wish list.
My favorite crafty item this year is really very simple: Winter Stag die from Whimsy Stamps. I never thought I would get on the deer/buck bandwagon, but I did. And I'm having so much fun using it this season.
Becca
[email protected]

[Christy Q]

That AE set is just adorable, Wanda, and your card is just so sweet!! It does remind me of the Rudolph Christmas special. I love the charming layout of your card and the colors you used - you captured the retro look/vibe perfectly!

I've added some new items to my wish list as a result of your favorites... I think my wish list is longer than Santa's naughty or nice list at this point! LOL My favorite crafty thing at the moment is Chibitronics - wow!!!

[Maddie Mc]

I really love your blog and wonderful inspiration!!! My favorite crafty item is definitely the Misti:)

[Allison]

I really enjoyed your top ten list. Great ideas! My,favorite crafty thing at the moment is GLITTER. Glitter everything, including glitter pastes, glitter covered card stock, and glittering pens.

[Maria]

Your top ten favorites are awesome, Wanda! Love your deer card..super cute!! My favorite product this year is Mama Elephant's Meowy Woofmas stamp/die set. The cat and dog are so cute! And, the door opens so you can reveal a cutie inside...so fun!!

[Rachel]

Your deer card came out so beautifully!! I saw them as Rudolph & Clarisse too lol. My favorite crafty product this year is Tim Holtz's Distress Crayons, so much fun to play with 😃

[Erica]

Such beautiful cards!! My favorite crafty tool is my Big Shot. Happy Holidays!

[Jeanette in Illinois]

Thanks for sharing such delightful, inspiring products!!! I love the stamps you've selected!
I'm really enjoying using the Misti tool and my Big Shot lately! Of course, I adore everything from Simon Says Stamps too!!
Thank you for this generous opportunity. Hope your holidays are spectacular!
Best,
Jeanette

[Helen Gullett]

What a beautiful card, Wanda! Love the deer :) My favorite crafty things in 2016 are Distress inks, Spectrum Aqua Markers, Inktense Pencils, Prisma Colors Pencils, Koi watercolors, Gansai Tambi Watercolors, Versafine Onyx Black ink pad, Ranger Archival ink, Dostress Crayons, Faber Castell Gelatos, Micron & Faber Castenk archival ink pen, Signo ball White gel pen, all my stamps & die set, acrylic paint, watercolor brushes, Gelli Plate, MISTI Silhouette Machine, WRMK Evolution Advance die cutting machine, Tombow liquid glue and adhesive runners, and Wink lf Stella glitter brush... :D I cannot pick only one... hehehehe....

[DeAnn O]

I love your picks and the adorable reindeer card. My picks for 2016 are definitely the MISTI -love it for my cling stamps and I am also loving the new stitched dies from Stampin' Up - love the little added detail that it gives when I use them on cards!

[Flo]

Those are some great chooses. There are so many things to choose from this year. How to decide where to spend your money.

[Linda S.]

Your winter picks are great especially the retro reindeer and the thermos stamps. I've been having fun making pop up cards with the Lawn Fawn Dies. It's made some of my old Christmas stamp sets look new and different.

[Linda Carson]

Your reindeer card is adorable and so fun! My favorite crafty thing has to be the mini Misti!! it's just made stamping easier and faster!

[Sharron Moerke]

What a darling deer card, Wanda! They are so sweet! It's so reminiscent of vintage cards from my youth (yes.....I'm vintage too.....lol).
My favorite crafty thing this year is acquiring the mini MISTI. I hope to gets lots of use out of it.
Hugs,
Sharron

[barb macaskill]

Great picks! I am going to haave to sat that the mini MISTI is my top favorite crafty thing for 2016! Althpugh all the wonderful watercolors that are coming out are pretty awesome too!
Happy Black Friday! Fingers crossed and thanks for the chance to win some goodies!

[Carolee mccaslin]

Love your blog and wonderful inspiration!!!!! I would have to say that the Misti is my favorite crafty item this year:)

[CJ]

Wow, 20 years of after Thanksgiving shopping. Kudos to you and Mark.
Love your crafty cards, they make me smile.
Love the retro Thermos! Remember having a small one in the vintage lunch box for soup. Dad took one to work for coffee.

Slowly making cake creations again. Love working with modeling chocolate and rice cereal treats. Made the Halloween mummy and pumpkins.

[Tania]

I love the whole Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous release, but especially the mini set with the deer head.

[Carol Blaisdell]

I'm in love with the Nuvo drops and the reindeer from the MFT Merry Everything stamp set. They crack me up!

[Maureen Hayes]

I adored the reindeer card with the Avery Elle set! As a big fan of Rudolph and Clarice (she thinks I'm cute!!!) you totally won me over. I plan to steal you colors for that, love the retro look! As far as a favorite crafty item/tool I would have to choose my Teflon bone folder. I know that isn't very "sexy" or new, but I use it every single day and it has made things so much easier for me! Thanks for the chance at the generous giveaway.

[Shopgal]

I love my Misti! For a new cardmaker, it's the best thing since slice bread!

[Mindy Bruce]

I love everything in this post!!!! My favorite crafty thing for 2016 has got to be the Misti Mini! It has changed everything for me and made stamping so much fun and not as messy! I adore so many products, but the Misti rules this year!

[Nikki Brown]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your husband, most if the items you mention ate new to me as we in the UK don't get alot of the fun items you get. I love the Take a Bough die set and Paper trey Cozy Christmas. .. I think this year my must have would be a misti, I've not bought one yet (am hoping Father Christmas might have one for me). Loving all your inspiratipn.....

[Denise Bryant]

Beautiful card! Love the color combo and those adorable retro deer!
My favorite crafty thing this year has been the mini MISTI that I got! Such a handy tool and so fabulous to re-stamp solid images to get good coverage. I also love it for placing sentiments and knowing they will be straight! Yay!

[Mary Faith]

My fav thing for 2016 is the Nuvo enamel to make dots any shape I want. And the colors are just beautiful!

[fresh crafts]

I love that your list is Christmas specific! And I had not seen those Take A Bough dies...they are so cool! My must have this year is a Memory Box deer die that I am using for my Christmas cards. Thanks for all the fun!

[Kay Miller]

What a fun post Wanda!! I love all of the wonderful products you're shown here! Thank you so much for mentioning me and showing my card! I'm honored :) That really is a fun and unique stamp set! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season my friend! :)

[Laraine R]

Love your list! I love my misti I got this year!

[Tona]

Love, love, love your retro card!
Thanks for your favorite things list. I saw a couple of things that I didn't even know existed. (Maybe my husband won't be thanking you, lol ;)
My favorite thing for this year is the Tim Holtz craft thread. I used it to hand sew on a card...fun stuff.

[Caryn]

Gosh Wanda - another masterpiece (totally honoured that you included the Kitsch Christmas set in your top 10 - WOW)! I love your list - the Magical Christmas set is amazing, agree with you 100% there!
Thanks for sharing
Big hugs
Caryn xxx

[sharon l]

I, like you, love the plaid papers. I can't get enough ofm them. Another product I love is From Stampin Up. It is a cable knit embossing folder. I get warm and cozy every time I see this.

[Julie]

My new favorites are the Nuvo crystal drops and my new mini Misti. On your list, I love items 1, 2, and 10 (wish list?). Have fun shopping. We like to hang out and eat leftovers.

[Jean Bullock]

My favorite thing I acquired this year was the mini MISTI! I need to somehow acquire more of them to use in my Art classes at school. My middle school students tried it earlier this year and loved it.

[Liz McAllister]

There were so many fabulous thngs this year, but the best thing I purchased this year was my MISTI!

[Vinita Jain]

I love your top ten favourites! You are such an inspirations for Crafting World!
This year I just love my Zig Real brush Markers, perfect for watercoloring!
Happy Thanksgiving!

[Teresa Doyle]

A great list Wanda!I always love to see your beautiful cards...
I used to make pom poms with the cardboard donut you speak of! Just dated myself! LOL Oh my goodness, remember the days of red & black plaid thermos's? They were so cool and made with such quality! ♥ them!
Due to budget restraints, I have nothing on your list (but would love to!), however, my fav. tool this year is a Fuse Tool {I fully realize this is not new, only to me}. I FINALLY got myself one and have hardly had time to use it but hoping to soon.
Glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[Chris Smallcomb]

I love this card....it is SO cute! I would have to say my fave crafty thing this year was the wreath I made for your birthday. It was pretty much the ONLY thing I did this year. My New Year's resolution for 2017......Have more fun crafting!

[Cindy]

Wanda, you make the best cards! You are truly an artist1 I love my Misti-it really came in handy this year when I made multiple cards for Christmas.
Of your favorite things, I like the penguins the best-they are so dang cute!

[Celeste Goff]

Great list Wanda! I know it's a small and insignificant item but my fave craft item that I found this year was the Tombo Mono sand eraser. I would love to say that I am a neat stamper but the sad truth is that I frequently smudge or smear ink on my projects and that tiny little item has helped me save quite a few of those projects from the scrap heap!

[Eva Wierzbinski]

Wanda...the reindeer card is adorbs!!! My favorite crafty thing that I just learned in 2016 is shaker cards! I attended Taylor Expressions Stamp Joy in October and took the class. Love it!!!

[Anne Sturgeon]

WOW Wanda. Great list. I do love a top ten list. My favorite things this season were two embossing folders by Richard Garay. Knitted Pattern and Pine Boughs. Created amazing backgrounds for my cards this year. I love embossing folders, and use them a lot. But, I do also adore Lawn Fawns plaid 6x6 pads. Thanks for sharing.