Holly, Jolly Christmas 2021

So I ended up scrambling to finish my Christmas cards, but working down to the wire usually suits me just fine. I really never toot my own horn, but I have to say, I was REALLY happy with how this batch came out. I spent a really long time just copic coloring pages and pages of nutcrackers and penguins but I finally forced myself to cut them out and start assembling. I also have SO many holiday stamps and embellishments that I didn't even come close to using everything. Perhaps I'll actually start next year's batch during the summer so that I could make the amount I want.

I probably won't though. 

This card was made for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law because I just loved the little penguin family and this year is my nephew's first Christmas!

This sentiment is YEARS old. I think it's one of the first Christmas stamps I ever bought but I've never used it! I realized it went perfectly with my stamps from My Favorite Things though so it just goes to show you that you should never throw out anything... haha

I really wanted to create a snowy look and I know a lot of people just use white paint, but I cheated and used the Avery Elle white ink spray. I just let it dry overnight and I really loved the effect.

This one was specifically made for JP. He actually picked out the Nutcracker set from Avery Elle the last time we were at a craft store so I had to make him one!

This is one that took me a couple of tries because I kept screwing up the snow drift effect with the blue distressed background, but when I finally got it, I was so happy with the end product. 

I really hope that if you're reading this, you had a safe and wonderful Christmas. I'm crossing my fingers for continued health and some peace of mind in the new year because thankfully, I'm already surrounded by more love than I probably deserve. I hope you are too. 

 

Better Late than Never

I'm extremely late with this Halloween post, but trying to find a quiet moment to blog has been challenging lately. As a result, I'm going to do my best to remember the particulars of these cards!

This first card I made for a friend of mine who is currently working and living in Paris! I wanted to send him a card and some candy since Halloween isn't really a big thing over there. Of course, due to our crazy postal system, it got there closer to December... But whatever. This stamp was one I bought AGES ago at Michael's and finally got to use. I tried to distress it a bit with Black Soot Distress ink and kept the coloring basic. I don't remember where the background cardstock was from though, but I'm willing to bet that came from Michael's too!

 

My last post had gotten me thinking about the wicked stepsisters from Cinderella and I remembered that I ordered these awesome stamps from Sandra at The Sassy Club last summer.  I played around with some backgrounds and die cut letters. Unfortunately, you can't really tell from the photos, but I was really proud how this coloring and blending came out- especially since I eyeballed all of my combos. (after lots of test swatches) The one thing is that I wish her stamps had accompanying dies because fussy cutting is so hard and annoying. Those corners are tricky!

I'm slowly starting my Christmas cards. Every year I tell myself I'll do it early and every year I'm always scrambling to finish. Maybe I'll get some Christmas magic in the form of free time soon!