WOYWW #331 - Merry Christmas!

Each Wednesday we join Miss Julia over at Stamping Ground to open up the doors to our studios and let you see what we are working on. We are always looking for new workspaces to snoop through, so join us! We'd love to have you. 

I'm jumping in this week because I actually made a card (see yesterday's post) and I actually have a surface to work on again. Yay!  Everything you see here is laid out in preparation for making my Christmas cards. I wanted to do them on Saturday for National Card Making Day but I wound up just working on the card list instead. My silly OCD won't let me do anything until all the components are in place. 

Quick photo tour. The ring binder in the foreground is where I keep all the card ideas I've saved from SCS and Pinterest. I try to label them with the original designer so I can credit them when I make mine. 

Across the back, the most recent flyer from Tim Holtz, preprinted sentiments, 2 new punches from WeR Memories that I got off clearance last week, cards in envies I've already completed and the paper keepers holding the Recollections cardstock and all of my Christmas DP.  In the far ground, the card blanks. I my SU cardsstock for my artistic friends who appreciate the love that went into them. 

Magazine Monday!

We all know how crazy March was for me. Needless to say, the March Christmas Card Challenge at SplitcoastStampers wasn’t met on time. So I decided this week I’d find something quick and easy while pairing it with Magazine Monday. I didn’t realize I was going to find something THIS easy.

I pulled out the Winter 2005 issue of Paper Made Easy. I only have 3 or 4 of these magazines but really enjoy the projects they include.

Card designer/ artist (and I do mean artist in multiple mediums) Loretta Mateik 4-page spread on 9 simple cards. The first 2-page layo

ut used a Vintage Christmas Collage Paper from Paper Love Designs. She matted them simply, added a sentiment and called them done. With the exception of one card, her only embellishments were brads to adhere the sentiment mats.

Loretta said she purchased the collage paper and coordinating card stock. Everything else came from her stash. Now that’s the way I like to play! She says, “I hate to let anything go to waste!”

So I pulled out a 12x12 sheet of Vintage Santa Postcards from Flair Designs and matching scraps from a Christmas Slab I’d purchased about 5 years ago. To keep these super simple and perfect for the recipients I know won’t cherish the car

d past the holidays, the only embellishment I added was Christmas Red Stickles (a gift from my Secret Sister back in February).

I made the 11 base cards from Mello Moss cardstock (Retired SU). I used Always Artichoke to accent the Mello Moss for the pine bough punch outs and stamped the sentiment in Mello Moss ink (Retired SU). The sentiment is from SU – Bells & Boughs set. I stamped the greeting on Very Vanilla and matted on the inside.

Now to think about April's Christmas Card Challenge.

Magazine Monday!

Happy Monday, everyone!

After a storm moved through here in the wee hours of the morning, disconnecting my power for a few hours, I'm happy to see blue sky, sunshine and have power again. :-)

Friday night and for almost 11 hours on Saturday I had a BLAST at Virtual Stamp Night (VSN for short) over at Splitcoaststampers. Awesome hostesses put together a series of challenges - one new posting every hour - around the theme, You Make My Heart Sing. I'll try to squeeze in some of my favorites of the SEVENTEEN cards I made for the event. But it was one of the participants' take on a texture challenge that had me thinking. Then when I went magazine cruising for this week's card, the VERY FIRST one I came across lent itself to the technique. I had to do it!

This week I used Christmas Crafts for Kids - a Better Homes and Gardens publication from 2002.

Here's the sketch:

The sky blue background with blue and white snowflakes almost looked like a stamp resist. The mitten on the outside mimics a row of 3 hanging 'clothes line' fashion across the center of the opened card.

What I liked: The busy background and the layers

What I didn't like: Lack of real 'image and lack of texture. The background was busy but it was too flat for my taste.

So I inked up the inside front of my Cuddle Bug snowflake folder with Bashful Blue ink (SU), then proceeded to emboss the front panel with textured snowflakes. I loved how it came out:

Instead of one big centrally located, multi-layered panel I did 2 separate panels to incorporate an image and make it more Christmas rather than just winter. I haven't settled on an inside quote yet. I'm still shopping. But for the most part, I have 12 of these made to complete the Christmas Card Challenge for February at SplitcoastStampers.

Are you thinking Christmas cards? I guess now is as good a time as any to remind you there are only 10 months till Christmas!

Creative Blessings

Closing out 2010

Okay, it was brought to my attention I've not updated this blog since September. It's just been a really crazy, unusual year for me all the way around. But things are FINALLY settling into place and I've learned some things along the way.

Beginning the first week of January I will have specific types of things posted every day. Some days will have pictures, some days not. This will have to be based on the days I'm able to travel to WiFi. I hope you'll follow along on my new journey. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!