So Christmas came and went and I thought I was prepared for all the cards I wanted to mail out. I was wrong. This year I mailed out about 120 cards just before Christmas – short of the 170 on my list. I told myself that I had to come up with a new system. So I spent a while trying to figure out how to tackle making all my cards. Normally I start creating Christmas cards late in the fall just before the holidays start. I’ve never been a Christmas in July person. But this year I’m trying something new – making Christmas cards all year long!
Here is my plan:
One day each month I’ll design, cut, stamp, and assemble a set of Christmas cards. If I plan to make 12 cards (one design) each month, in December that would give me 144 cards. Then I’ll add the normal cards from my classes leading up to the holidays. So each month I’ll share my card and if you’d like to join me in this card challenge you can copy my card or create your own. Let me know how many you are making. Let’s start with January’s card.
This card I cased from another demonstrator – Ashley VanCamp. I had saved her version and decided to tweak it for my 12 Cards of Christmas project. I wanted to stick to current products. And yes everything I used on this card is current – so if you don’t have it you can order it and make this card too. I gathered up all my supplies, worked on all my pieces, and then sat and assembled everything – including stamping the inside of the card and a matching envelope.
The front layer is Shimmery White card stock. I started by using my Aqua-painter filled with water and getting the front wet. Then came back with the Aqua-painter loaded with Balmy Blue ink and water colored the background. To speed up the drying I used my heat tool. I stamped Shaded Spruce trees from the Perfectly Plaid Stamp set. Those were punched with the Pine Tree Punch and a vellum tree and a white tree. Using the Word Wishes dies, I cut “Merry” out of Gold Foil. Christmas comes from the A Wish For Everything stamp set – stamped on a scrap of white and I just cut straight around the word. The card is finished with Linen Thread and Gold Metallic Pearls. You can order all the products that I used for this card in my online store – the supply list is below.
Supply List
- #149418 Perfectly Plaid stamp set
- #149521 Pine Tree Punch
- #149320 A Wish For Everything stamp set (available as a bundle)
- #149629 Word Wishes Dies (available as a bundle)
- #146982 Balmy Blue card stock
- #100730 Whisper White card stock
- #101910 Shimmery White card stock
- #101856 Vellum card stock
- #132622 Gold Foil Sheets
- #107301 Medium Whisper White envelopes
- #147088 Shaded Spruce classic ink
- #147168 Balmy Blue classic ink refill
- #104199 Linen Thread
- #146282 Metallic Pearls
- #103954 Aqua Painter
- #129053 Heat Tool
- #104430 Stampin’ Dimensionals
- #144108 Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals
So that’s Card 1 of the 12 Cards of Christmas Challenge. Now to start thinking what I want to use for February.
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What a great idea! Good for you! Love your card.