Getting a (late) Head Start...

A couple months ago, a sweet friend asked if I would make up some Christmas cards for her...we joked about "Christmas in July"...then real life continued to take up what used to be crafty time, and "Christmas in July" turned into "Christmas in September." But hey, we're still ahead of the game, right? And if I work on it a little here and a little there (which fits perfectly with my schedule these days), there might be a sizable collection of Christmas cards in our baskets, ready for sending at Christmas time.

Here are a couple of the first designs for this year. I usually make 1-2 of each design, with just a slight change in each so they're technically "one-of-a-kind." The first two are pretty simple in design, so they leave room for easy additions and/or changes to individualize them as I construct them.

I love white-on-white designs, so I usually include at least one each season...this was a fun one...

The ribbon snowflake die inspired me to pull out a couple of my curved border dies, and the lines blended pretty nicely. I used some foam tape under each of the curved border pieces so there's a bit of dimension to the card without adding a lot of bulk...

Then I double-cut the snowflake portion of the die, and adhered the second over the first with a foam dot under the center...

Supplies:

Dies:   Poppystamps "Snowflake Ribbon";   Simon Says Stamp "Merry Christmas";   Spellbinders "Curved Borders One"

Scalloped Lace:   TheFunkieJunkie.com             Pearls:   Recollections

The second card is basically another white-on-white with green accents. :)  The green patterned paper is die cut in the center with a scalloped oval, and popped up over the white base with foam tape to create a well in the center.  The pine branch diecuts are adhered to the white base, then the poinsettia and berries dies are adhered to the green patterned piece at the top of the well...

I love to attach single gems to the centers of flowers, but sometimes there isn't enough flower petal surface area to attach them securely. So I resort to my old trick of holding them down with Stickles glue...sort of a two-for-one solution...I get the glitter around the gem, and lots of glue to hold it in place...

The temps are still near 100 degrees around here, but I was in the mood for some snow. :)  I added a bit of glitter and Stickles to the berry and pine branch dies, then put the finishing touch of Snow-Tex over both...

Supplies:

Patterned paper:   Graphic 45 "Twelve Days of Christmas-Patterns & Solids"

Dies:   Spellbinders "Beaded Ovals";   Memory Box "Holly Winterberries";   Poppystamps "Fancy Celebrate";   

Impression Obsession "Pine Branch";   La-La Land Crafts "Pretty Poinsettia"

Gems:   Creative Imaginations             

Miscellaneous:   DecoArt Glistening Snow-Tex,  Martha Stewart Clear Coarse Glitter,  "Star Dust" Stickles

Thanks so much for visiting today...have a wonderful weekend!