August Christmas cards: Holiday cheer

Last week I took a crafty road trip with my aunt Terry and my friend Lisa to visit Taylored Expressions and Memory Bound scrapbook store in Ankeny, Iowa. We knew we would have some down time for crafting, but I didn’t want to pack a bunch of random stamping supplies. Instead I planned ahead, designed my August Christmas cards, and did a lot of the prep work at home.

Here is the card layout I designed for August. It’s a different layout for me because I was also working with a sketch challenge. When I saw the sketch, with the space for three images along the right edge, I knew this snowman would be perfect. (This is actually one wood-block stamp with the right-facing snowman on one side and the left-facing one on the other side.) I used some patterned papers for an easy background and coordinating alcohol markers to color the images. I added the sentiment on a white strip above the images and finished the card with silver sequins. It’s hard to see in the photo, but I also used a gel pen to add sparkle to the white parts of the hats.

To prep for the trip, I cut, scored, and folded eight white card bases and stamped the sentiment inside them; stamped and punched out 26 snowmen (enough for eight cards and a couple extra); cut two pieces of patterned paper for each card (background panel and strip) and tucked the pieces inside the card bases; and stamped the sentiment on strips of white card stock. I packed all the pieces, as well as the coordinating alcohol markers, the sparkle gel pen, and the sequins, in a small plastic box (an old Stampin’ Up! stamp case). The other supplies, like glue, foam tape, and scissors, went in a zippered pouch. Here is a look at my paper-crafting supplies all packed up:

I also decided to bring a few things to make some Halloween cards, which is the box on the left. (I’ll share those cards in my next post.)

Once we sat down in the hotel lobby to craft, all I had to do for my Christmas cards was color the images, trim the sentiment strips, adhere everything to the card bases, and add sequins. I did make one change from the original card: I decided to use foam tape to adhere the snowmen and then tuck one of the sequins behind the image instead of gluing it on top. Here are the nine finished cards:

I think they turned out pretty cute! If/when I go on another craft retreat, I might consider prepping some cards like this. It was nice to just sit down and get to work without having to think about what I wanted to make. It was much easier to pack, too! I don’t typically make multiples of card designs (except for holiday cards), but I could plan out some card sets or something like that.

We definitely had a good time on our trip, and I came home with waaaay more crafting supplies than I left with! After I share the Halloween cards I made, I’ll do a post with some pictures of the trip. Until then, thanks for stopping by!