Christmas Cards

So I haven't posted for awhile due to focusing all my free time on our Christmas Cards. Yes, I make all of our cards. I know sometimes I should just let it go and send them out to Costco and be done with it, but I caaaannn'tttt. It is something that I just HAVE to do. I have been making our Christmas cards since I attended my first Stampin' Up! workshop over 7 years ago. I am hoping to finish my cards by Wednesday. Above is the photo we took while in Mammoth to use for our cards. I am using Old olive and whisper white since I think the monochromatic color scheme will work well with our picture. I am adding a little glitter and using the Petals-A-Plenty impressions folder to add a little interest.

Stamping lots of Delightful Decorations - after I punched these I added some dazzling diamond glitter to the swirls.

My card list and piles of cut paper ready to be assembled once I finish the Delightful Decorations ornaments.

So Boo is not in the Christmas picture, but she is ALWAYS on my worktop demanding attention. The dogs just peek their head in every once in a while to say hello but this little girl is relentless. She is in my lap as I type this out.

I hope everyone's holiday preparations are going well.

PPA8 Challenge - KISS

This weeks challenge was a great one in theory, in execution a little more difficult. KISS ( keep it simple sweetie) I started with the red and white card using only real red and whisper white along with the Serene Snowflakes stamp set. - Did I like this one ? - not so much. I really wanted to add richer colors so I made the "Joy" card which I was happier with.

I started with very vanilla, chocolate chip and red card stock and combined it with the Merry Moments DSP. I love this color combination! The chocolate chip paper was embossed using the Big Shot texture plates. I stamped the "joy" ornament from the Delightful Decorations stamp set in real red and added dazzling diamonds glitter to the swirls on the ornament to give it a little sumpin' sumpin'. A small amount of floss was adhered to the back of the ornament in order to hang it around the greeting on the ribbon. The greeting is also from the Delightful Decorations stamp set stamped in real red and punched out with a circle punch. Of course there must be ribbon so I added real red polka dot ribbon. The greeting was added to the ribbon and the ornament mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals to finish the card.

Here is the card I will be taking to a swap this weekend. I kept imagining Christmas elements in the center of the Medallion stamp and this is what I came up with. I used the new Shimmer Paint in champagne mist to stamp Serene Snowflakes on the bashful blue card stock. I used iridescent ice embossing powder with old olive ink on the Medallion with dots of red glitter. I applied dazzling diamonds glitter with the 2-way glue pen on the ornament for more sparkle.

Of course I have to have dimension so I used dimensionals to mount the ornament and punched chipboard ( in this case an oatmeal box) with my modern label punch to mount the Merry Christmas greeting from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set. To finish, I added my favorite accessory - ribbon - Whisper White Satin.