Not even close

Well, today is the last day of November and the end of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2011. So did I get to the goal of finishing a 50,000-word novel in a month? Not even close. My total word count was 11,018. Ha.

I started out on the right foot, but then life got in the way, and there were things that had to take priority over my novel. And once I realized that there was no way I was going to write 50,000 words, I pretty much lost the motivation to keep going. A lame excuse, I know, but it is what it is.

The good news is that I did write a few thousand words more than the last time I tried NaNoWriMo. At that rate, maybe I'll succeed in another ten or fifteen tries!

Quick and easy Christmas cards

I have one more Christmas card design to share with you today:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Word Play
Paper: WinterSong - My Wooly Scarf and Flurry Kisses patterned papers (s.e.i.); Bazzill White, Maraschino and Horizon textured card stock (Bazzill); Shimmer White card stock
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Punches: Large oval, Decorative Label, Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" circle, 1/2" circle; Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine; Accents & Elements - Little Felt Flurries; Dimensionals

These cards started with a page-layout kit I received at a stamping/scrapbooking store. I don't do a ton of scrapbooking, so when I get kits like this one I'm more likely to use them to make cards. This kit included five sheets of coordinating paper: two different double-sided patterned papers as well as textured blue, red and white card stock. I love the shimmer and sparkle in the patterned papers, so I wanted to create a simple Christmas card that really allowed those papers to stand out.

I made six cards with this design -- two of each color card base -- and they all have the same basic layout. A couple of them have snowflakes in the center, and the others have the greeting "tidings of comfort and joy." For the cards with the greeting, I punched a 1/2" circle out of the striped paper and glued it in the center of the ornament.

These cards originally had completely different focal points. I had used a set of rub-on greetings to create the focal point on each card, but the rub-ons didn't adhere to the textured card stock very well (which is odd, because I've used them on materials that had more texture without any problems), and they started rubbing off. So after I thought I was done (and after I'd gotten over my annoyance), I had to go back and redo the focal point on the cards. But it all worked out for the best, because I think liked the revised cards even better than the originals!

Except for the trouble with the rub-ons, these cards were quick and easy to make. And at this time of year, that's always a good thing. Thanks for stopping by!

All creatures great and small

I finally finished my Christmas cards yesterday. Woo hoo! I made a total of sixty-five cards this year, which should be just about right. Now I get a break for a week or two, and then it's time to start addressing envelopes. (I still do all of my addressing and signing cards by hand because I actually like the feel of writing and I think it's more personal.)

I've always loved holiday cards that include animals, so two of the card designs I made yesterday focused on animals.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Zoo Review, Curly Cute
Card stock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray
Accessories: Aquapainter, Snow Burst embossing folder, 1/8" Basic Black taffeta ribbon, 1-3/4" circle punch, Dazzling Details, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals

This is my favorite Christmas card design from this year (and I think it was subconsciously inspired by an adorable bookmark I received from the World Wildlife Fund). For the main part of the card, I embossed a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Pool Party card stock with the Snow Burst embossing folder and layered it on a Basic Black card base. I cut pieces of white card stock freehand to make the snowdrifts, stamped the greeting and added Dazzling Details for a little sparkle.

For the penguin, I stamped the image on white card stock and used an Aquapainter brush and ink pads to fill in his beak, feet and wings. I used the 1-3/4" circle punch to punch out the penguin, and then I trimmed around the image, leaving the circular edge on the bottom intact. I used Dimensionals to adhere the penguin to a circle of Pool Party card stock and also to adhere the entire piece onto the card. When placing the penguin image on the card, I tried to match up the snow line on the stamped image with the edge of the snowdrifts, so the penguin is in a slightly different place on each card I made of this design.

For the last couple of details, I tied a piece of black ribbon around the top of the card (to balance out the black greeting on the bottom) and added a few randomly placed rhinestones to the embossed snowflakes on the background. This card just makes me smile!

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Zoo Review, Peaceful Season
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Ink: Jet Black StazOn, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Circle punches: 3/4", 1-1/4", 1-3/8", 1-3/4"; Framed Tulips embossing folder; Aquapainter

This is a fairly simple card; it doesn't have any layers or (as I realized when I was done making it) any embellishments. But I think the simplicity works well with the message and feel of this card.

To start I stamped the greeting and dove on opposite corners of a Crumb Cake card base. Then I embossed the card with the Framed Tulips embossing folder. When I stamped the images, I tried to leave a little space on the sides to account for the embossing. Parts of the images still ended up getting embossed, but it doesn't really affect the card.

I stamped the animal images on white card stock, colored them with an Aquapainter brush and ink pads and punched them out with different sizes of circle punches. (I used all five of the animal stamps in the Zoo Review set, but they wouldn't all fit on the card. So the cards I made with this design have different combinations of animals.) I stamped the Earth image in Always Artichoke, filled it in with an Aquapainter and Not Quite Navy ink and punched it out with the 3/4" circle punch. I played with the arrangement of the circles until I liked the layout and then glued them down (the Earth image is adhered with a Dimensional).

Honestly, this card didn't turn out how I imaged. It was yet another case of something being lost in translation between my head and my hands. But I'm still pretty happy with the end product.

Now with my cards made, I just need to do my Christmas shopping, gift-making, wrapping, decorating, maybe some baking ... I'd better get busy! Thanks for stopping by!

Thankful thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving!

Although I don't always remember it, I am thankful for many things in my life. Big things like family, a job, food and my home. And little things like books, fleece blankets, beautiful flowers and lots of crafting supplies. And today I'm also thankful for what looks like will be a beautiful warm (for November) and sunny day.

I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful holiday filled with many things for which to be thankful.

Rudolph pennant card

I am slowly but surely finishing my Christmas cards. With a little luck, inspiration and a couple of days off work, maybe I'll meet my goal this weekend. Here is one of the cards I made last Saturday:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Lots of Thoughts
Paper: River Rock card stock, Close to Cocoa card stock, Real Red card stock, Basic Black card stock, Brights Collection Patterns DSP Stack
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Doodlecharms Cricut cartridge (Provo Craft), Perfect Pennants die, 1/8" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Real Red satin ribbon, Christmas Red Stickles (Ranger), Dimensionals

I cut out the reindeer (3 1/2") with my Cricut and the Doodlecharms cartridge. His nose is a 1/2" circle covered with Christmas Red Stickles glitter glue (Rudolph's gotta have a little sparkle, right?), and his eyes are 1/8" circles.

To embellish the pennant, I punched a strip of Real Red card stock with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. Then I cut the strip in half lengthwise and adhered the pieces behind the long sides of the pennant so just a bit of the scallop detail is visible. For an embellishment at the bottom of the pennant, I punched two small scallop circles (from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack). I crumpled one of the circles so it curled up, glued it on the second scallop circle, adhered them to the pennant and then added a drop of Stickles in the center. Rudolph's ready to spread some holiday cheer!

Thanks for stopping by!