It's Beginning to Look a lot Like.......

Christmas?! Okay, okay I know that we are still in November but in all seriousness Christmas is only 32 days away! *Gulp* and this year I am determined to not only make Christmas cards I am actually going to address them and get them in the mail.

I am sure a lot of you are in the same boat, you would like to make your cards but every year the days seem to slip away and before you know it it is the middle of December and those cards are yet to be mailed or like me to even be made! So this year I have teamed up with Toni From Designs so that I had some one to hold me accountable to actually getting those cards made and sent. 

We are going to be "Holiday Helpers" and offer up designs that can be made quickly and easily. 

This week we are both using the super awesome Cool Yule stamp set designed by Cathy Zielske and we focused on making mailable cards.

Now I will admit that I definitely have crafting ADD. I can not focus on creating the same thing over and over again and I get easily distracted. So when I sat down to create these cards I knew I wanted to make 3 different cards but using all the same supplies. I also find it more productive to pick out want I am going to work with and stick with it as I have such a hoard  um I mean, collection selection of products that I could easily get pulled off task.

Both of these cards use the same supplies and dimensions but I created one vertical and one horizontal. When creating cards that are easily mailable you want to stay away from bulky ribbon and embellishments. Using Patterned Paper is a great way to quickly add interest and colour. (which by the way these designs are a little sneak peek at something that is coming to Studio Calico for the Dec. release;) Another way to add a little depth without adding bulk is to stamp on top of images or words. You can see in the second card that I did that with both the words along the bottom as well as the main sentiment.

For this card I used the left over patterned paper from the first two cards. Even a little left over piece of paper can create a little banner. Creating a design using scraps is a great way to make the most of your supplies. On this card I didn't use an image but rather a bold sentiment that was stamped 3 times with out reinking. Generation stamping ( The Color Theroy Inks are perfect for this tecnique) is another easy way to add interest to a simple design. And I simply can not leave out adding a little sparkle to a card is a great way to make a sentiment or image "pop".On the first card I used one of my favourite products ( Zig Wink of Stella Gliiter Brush)  to make the deer stand out a little more. I also used it on the above card to hilight the middle "merry". And last but certainly not least adding some Mister Huey's Mist to any project will add a "little something extra" to it. For this card I used Calico Shine.

Well I hope I have given you some quick and easy designs to help you get started or finished those Christmas card:) And be sure to check out Toni's Blog too for some great ideas!

 Oh and December is only 9 days away! So that also means I better get busy and start setting up my album for Ali's December Daily. As musch as I really wanted to buy Ali Edwards amazing kit  (if you have the budget for it I recomend getting it because it is definitely worth the cost) I just couldn't swing it. So I am putting together my own kit with the massive amounts of Christmas themed products that I have. I kinda blew my buget on stamps;)

And the good thing for me is I will be taking the wonderful 25 days class taught by the brilliant Stephanie Bryan over at the Studio Calico Classroom. I am hoping that by taking the class that I will actually finish my album that year, although I do still have high hopes of completing my 2013 album too!

Here's a peek at the digital printables and cut files included in the class. In the classroom the boards are already buzzing with lots of creative ideas.

Comments

[Toni From]

Your cards are adorable Jen. I love that we both picked different color schemes, stamps, and styles. I will definitely be referring to your card to make a few more this season.