My Christmas Cards

I love the time that I get to spend scrapbooking or making cards. I love the entire creative process so I really enjoyed the rainy Saturday night a few weeks ago spent making my Christmas Cards. A friend and I stayed up until 4am just scrapbooking & cardmaking. She is new to the hobby and is making her first scrapbook. After seeing my cards she is also excited about getting started stamping. I knew which stamp set I wanted to use for my cards (Stampendous) and I had an idea of what I wanted the colors & style to be - it was just a matter of getting it all to work together. Do you ever find yourself thinking about an idea for a scrapbook page or for a card while driving or while going through your day? Many times I can work alot of things out in my head before I ever sit down to actually work on the project. Sometimes the idea does not work but many times it does - or at least a variation of the idea. In this case my idea worked pretty well so putting the card together went pretty fast. I hope by sharing my Christmas card with you that it will inspire you to also Do It Yourself - it isn't too late! In fact, after creating this card I also created another version using different papers with less stamping. I actually think it turned out better than my card & you can purchase it today - in time to make your cards for this year! Just look for the kit in my Ebay Store. It comes with everything you need to create 20 cards including the stamps, paper, inks, envelopes, and more! Need to make more? I also can sell you an additional kit to make 14 more. This kit makes a beautiful card with shimmery cardstock. The stamp set also includes "Merry Christmas" for the inside of the card. Don't worry about getting them in time - I give you a Free Priority Shipping Upgrade if you spend at least $15. Spend $50 and get your entire order shipped Priority Mail for FREE.

New to making cards like my friend is? Here is the process & the products that I used to create my card. Using a beautiful striped wrapping paper as my inspiration for the colors I chose - green & reds with gold & lime green & white - I pulled out all my ink pads in these colors and stamped them on scrap paper to decide which inks would be used. I ended up using several Brilliance inks (for a pearlescent effect) and VersaMagic (chalk) inks (for a matte effect). I used the Stampendous Open Tree Stamp Set & used nearly every tree that was in the set + I used one of the flourishes from my Autumn Leaves flourish set (the gold swirls on the ground). I just stamped different tree designs in different colors on white to create a forest using the colors I had chosen. I then matched some red & green cardstock to use for the card base & the mat around the stamped image. I found red twine also to use. I had some Imagination Project square coasters that are perfect for cards & decided to incorporate those. I brayered Distress Ink in Shabby Shutters over the entire coaster & then stamped one of my favorite trees from the set. I chose a word from another set "Peace". I also colored in the stamped tree to create a more dramatic effect & I inked the coaster's edge in red to make it more dimensional. I added foam tape behind the coaster to raise it and give it an even more dimensional effect.

Some pointers: Remember to plan for your inside sentiment too. If you have a stamp then you can stamp it after the card base is cut, scored, and folded. If you do not have a stamp for the inside then type a sentiment on your computer and print before cutting the cards. I keep a word file on my computer that all I have to do is re-type the sentiment twice & print on an 8.5x11 cardstock sheet so that when it is cut in half and then folded the sentiments are exactly where they need to be. When adding twine across the card plan ahead - if you have several layers on top of the card base wrap the ends of the twine under one of the layers and tape each end, then glue the piece to the card base, this will secure the ends & hide them very well. Add to your focal point by taking a small piece of twine and tying it into a knot. Ink the edges of the card pieces to give more dimension - either use a coordinating color which will add more emphasis, use a matching color (as I did) to create unity, or use a distressing color such as brown to create an aged effect. Using a pearlescent ink such as Brilliance will also add to the card so consider your inks when you are deciding on the design. I wanted both sparkly & matte inks so that my trees were all different even though some are in the same color family.