Christmas – Oops :)

Ahh – well, it’s just getting to be my usual these days – 3 miles behind myself so once again didn’t get any posts up prior to the big event.  I was SOOOO far behind this year with C. cards after last year’s wedding – I lost 2 months out of my cardmaking schedule which I never really managed to recover so started this season with much less than usual.  Then I had the same problem I have every year – starting in July it’s just so hard to make C. cards with the sun splitting the sky.  I refuse to start playing the music any earlier than October although that may change but I do need some sort of help to get a shade more inspiration much earlier in the season.  Invariably iI only really ever get going by mid October with just 2 weeks to go before I stop making, and start finalising (inserts/envelopes etc).  So there you go – what can I say.

These 2 cards are just a couple of my nicer ones from this year as I found myself doing a LOT of repeats from last year for speed.

The first was one of my quick cards made using diecuts which I loved.  I used an A6 landscape/portrait card if that makes sense (fold at the top rather than the side :).  Another slightly smaller piece of single card was then cut and I printed on my various scripture texts.  I then diecut a circle out of the top end to make a frame.   On a small piece of scrap card (just enough to fit behind the circle) I coloured a background using dewdrop chalk inks to provide a little backdrop to the diecuts.  This card has 2 shepherds with their lambs where others had a few more or a different setting.  But they made a great quick and easy card to make.

 

Added on some stars and a nice glitter border peel off and that was it.

Then the 2^nd card was another very quick and easy one as I got an unexpected order for solely Christian cards at the end of October and was in a flap as to how to produce more (most of the rest were already allocated) plus I wanted something that would really stand out too.

So this was the solution.  Another A6 card – this one a landscape one.   Corners were punched and a piece of mirri paper (I used all the colours to make my set – this one is purple) was die cut with a Spellbinders A2 border die before having it’s corners punched also.  An S/B small silver floral frame was put in the middle and a scripture text cut to size to put into it.  A couple of snowflakes and a peel off greeting to complete.  

These are being entered into:
Word Art Wednesday 214/215 challenge.  
Crimbo Crackers
Crafty Creations 

Finally back :)

Ok - where HAVE the past 7 months gone to - I seriously cannot figure how so much time has passed since my last entry.  But as ever, it takes a WordArt Wednesday to get me kick started into action again.

I've been making Christmas cards (or at least trying to) since mid-July and now near the end of October I'm coming to an end temporarily for this season as it takes me weeks to 'finalise' each of them ready for collection by those who've asked for some.  I rarely get paid for these ones much as most go to family but I do thankfully have 1 or 2 friends willing to buy £20 worth which is great, but given I can only charge about 50p max per card means I don't get much profit.  Regardless, I continue to make for my pain relief & distraction therapy rather than profit anyway.

So onto my offering for the Challenge this week & possibly my last of the year unless I get a half hour to put something up before the end of it.

The card I've made is one of my favourites for this season - a Joy diecut on red mirri paper which has a border cut with Spellbinders A2 curved borders.  I then did the same on the card front while cutting the back straight to ensure it sits up properly. 

Just finished off with peeloffs so is a nice quick & simple card - and very effective I think. I've done some more in different colours which all look wonderfully striking and have gone down well.

Enjoy!

 

First card, first challenge of 2015

First card of 2015 and a great one for making lots of quickly – something I’m always trying hard to find as some of the cards I make for Christmas take me ages to make & thus really not worth repeating.  But this little one is perfect.

I’ve a friend who just adores black/gold on any type of card so these were made with her in mind. It’s an A6 landscape card with black pearlescent paper backing and a shaped gold mirri paper cutout stuck on top.

Then the fun part comes – just using peel off snowflakes & stars along with anything else that goes with the design.

Finished off with some black peel off border to cover the edges and a peel-off greeting.  I’m coming down with P/O’s so it’s great to have a card that will use up a good few, but of course I went & bought yet more snowflakes – obsessed or what LOL!!!

Apologies for the photo - haven't got time just now to do my usual clean up of it - rough & ready but keen to get it up before anything else distracts me.

This is being entered into the Merry Monday Christmas Challenge which was for a card with snowflakes.

Merry Monday Christmas challenge

Wowee – how rare is this – a whole 2 (!!!) posts in less than a week??  But I just couldn’t resist making up this Christmas card for the MerryMonday Christmas challenge this week.  With a great challenge of making a card to reflect the wonderful Silent Night hymn, it was really a doddle.

I adore easel cards when I can get the time to make them & in particular if I can make them without flowers so they’ll be easier & cheaper for recipients to post.   And for that purpose, I find pyramid designs are great as they add a bit more height without being excessive (you can determine the height better).

So this card uses stash background paper on front & base with a contrast panel of Craft Creations silver wording paper.  Then I diecut a couple of silver border strips from the Spellbinders Ironworks die set. 

I pyramaged up the Christmas image and matted it on some silver mirri card.  The “stop” bar with the Silent Night text is computer printed and then run through a Xyron before coating in plenty of holographic glitter.  I’d often cut similar strips off old Christmas cards before thinking I could probably make my own, & since discovering how easy it is, I’ve run wild!!

The inside as usual is decorated to complement the outside and a tag provided for the message. :)

This is a card I know will please its recipient immensely & I hope you like it too.

Blessings. :)

So this card is being entered into:

Merry Monday Christmas Challenge #130

Word Art Wednesday #154

Oooohhh where IS the time disappearing to?  How can it possibly be October already & also halfway through the month too?!! 

Apologies to all my blog friends who enjoy seeing my creations as while I’ve been kept fairly busy making, I’ve just not had enough time to get posts written & put up.  But as ever, the wonderful Word Art Wednesday challenge blog captivates me enough to go & get some cards done & up.

So this month’s offering is a couple of Christmas cards from a set I’m making just now – a friend had lent me her Spellbinders A2 scalloped die set two & I just had a ball playing about with it.  I’ve got landscape ‘templates’ as well cut (had to give her back her dies last wk L), so have the chance to make more designs yet.

I made these as A6 landscape fold cards and used the diecut as a topper so that I could mat it onto some mirri card to coordinate.  Then I used some ribbon as a border at the top along with a bow.  Finally diecut a S/B medium Floral Oval to mat the printed verse onto and that was it.  Nice & quick which is what I need.  I’m ridiculously far behind in my volume despite having started in August, but I’d cards to do for my brother’s wedding in Sept & pretty much up until 2 wks ago with the Thank You ones, so along with having had other general cards to add on which I’d normally not do, I really just haven’t got many C. cards done.

BUT if I do manage to now get into a groove & churn out a reasonable quantity no doubt I’ll share some of them with you all.  All I can say is thank goodness for WAW or I’d probably not have got many made much this week at all!!!

So this is going to be entered into:

Word Art Wednesday Challenge 154

Blessings!

 

The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. 
Exodus 15: 2