October's Christmas cards

Yes, you read that title right. This month I have not one, but two Christmas card designs to share. I created both of them during a scrap day on my birthday. And without further ado, here they are:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Merry & Bright
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla card stock, Very Vanilla note cards and envelopes, Wood Textures Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: Early Espresso; Blends/Blendabilities: Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Frost White shimmer paint, Clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen, rhinestones, baker's twine trio pack, rhinestones, 1-3/8" square punch, Dimensionals, sponge dauber

I made twelve cards of this design, and I'm going to include them in the little treat bags I make for the mail carriers and various delivery people who stop at our house during the holidays. I wanted a simple design that was a general wintery card, so I pulled my Merry & Bright stamp set, which I've had for years. I just love the style of these images, so I try to use this set every few years or so. This card design ended up being a little more detailed than I expected, but I love the way it turned out.

I stamped the main images several times on sheets of thick Very Vanilla card stock and colored them with alcohol markers. It's hard to see in this photo, but I also added clear Wink of Stella to the uncolored parts of the snowman's hat. Once everything was ready, I punched out the images with a square punch.

For the card base I used Very Vanilla note cards and envelopes. I used Frost White shimmer paint to repeatedly stamp the snowflake cluster on the top part of the card base. Using Dimensionals I adhered the three images across the card base. Along the bottom of the card I added a strip of Wood Textures DSP with a green twine bow. A few rhinestones add a sparkly finishing touch.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Cheery Chirps, Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper: Thick Very Vanilla card stock, Tropical Surf card stock (My Colors Cardstock), Very Vanilla note cards and envelopes
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; gold paint pen (Sharpie); Blendabilities: Soft Sky, Old Olive
Accessories: Washi tape (Handmade Modern - Target), sequins (Paper Pumpkin leftovers), Dimensionals

The Cheery Chirps stamp set has three large bird images. I used one of the images for a few Christmas cards last year, so I wanted to use one of the other images this time. I love that this bird is the perfect size to fill the front of a note card.

I colored the bird images with Soft Sky Blendabilities and a gold paint pen and then cut them out by hand. Once I had the birds done, I couldn't figure out what to do with the rest of the layout. I had the perfect color sequins to use, but I also really liked the wide gold-printed washi tape. I just couldn't get them to play nicely together. (And I tried a lot of different possibilities.) I compromised by making a few cards using each embellishment. I also added a few bits of shimmery light blue card stock to bring in a little more color. (I hadn't brought any colored card stock with me to scrap day, but since we were at a giant craft store, I just brought my bird image out to the sales floor and found a piece of card stock that coordinated.) Which of these two cards do you like better?

I think I might be finished with my Christmas cards now. I still need to get out my card box to double-check my list from last year and see if I have any leftover cards, but for now I need to get started on other holiday projects. Thanks for stopping by!