March Christmas cards: Woodsy peace

Well, we're almost at the end of March, and I had to make sure I popped in to share my March Christmas card design. I don't typically think of Christmas cards as masculine or feminine, but this one, with its earthy colors and clean layout, definitely has a bit of a "guyish" feel to me.

When I make Christmas cards, I try to mix up the styles and colors so I have a variety to choose from when it's time to mail them. For January I did Santa hats with shiny red foil, and last month was bold gel prints with die-cut snowflakes. So this month I wanted to create something with a nature focus, and this image was perfect. (I love that this background-style image also includes the sentiment -- super easy!)

I used a dark, hunter green for the card base and to stamp the image. I tore the edges around the stamped image to add a bit of texture and interest. I wanted to add a little accent color, and when I started looking through my decorative papers, I knew this woodgrain-textured kraft paper was perfect. I cut a 1" strip for each card, adhered one piece to the left edge of each card base, and glued the focal panel directly on top. (I thought about using foam tape for dimension, but I decided to keep this design flat.)

I did want to add a little bit of sparkle, so I glued three copper sequins on each card. Then I used my Stardust Gelly Roll pen to trace over the pine branches on the stamped image. It's a subtle sparkle -- you can't really see it if you look at the card head on, but it shows up when you tilt the card and it catches the light.

I didn't take a picture, but the inside is stamped with "This season and always" and a small dove image, both of which are from the same set as the main image.

I had wanted to get a few more blog posts done this month, but March has been a little crazy. I decided to turn in my notice at work, and tomorrow is my last day. I don't have a new job lined up yet, but I've been unhappy for a long time, and it's caused a lot of stress and drained all my energy. It's a little scary, but now I'll be able to focus better on finding a new (and hopefully better!) job -- and I'm hoping to get in a little extra crafting time, too. :-)

Thanks for stopping by!