Tuesday 11 December 2007

Christmas is coming...

I'm sure it's not escaped your attention that Christmas is on its way. This year - for the first time in YEARS - I decided to make all my own Christmas cards. I took part in a challenge with a group of stampers around the world to produce half a dozen cards every month, starting in January (which seemed very weird at the time). So I do have quite a selection of handmade Christmas cards to send but, sadly, not quite enough.

So I threw together a handful of these at the weekend - they were really simple and quick to make; just a standard design with a bit of doodling thrown in for good measure. I love doodling - it's been one of the hot trends in papercrafting this year and it's so easy and fun! Just do what suits you; lines, dots, crosses, squiggles... whatever you feel comfortable with.

I coloured the night sky with Stampin' Pastels - which are basically chalks. They co-ordinate perfectly because they come in all the 48 Stampin' Up! colours, plus neutrals. The applicators that come with the set are ideal for tiny areas but for larger areas like the sky on this image I prefer a piece of torn sponge; I use the cheap decorators' sponges from Wilko. To get nice bright mittens and scarf, I used a marker.

Stamps: A Tree for All Seasons (p44).
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Night of Navy.
Ink: Basic Black.
Accessories: Stampin' Pastels (p82), Stampin' Write markers in Real Red (mittens and scarf) and Night of Navy (doodling) (p70-71).

And here's another quick card I made with the same set:



On this one I chalked all over the image, and highlighted around the snowman by removing some chalk with a rubber (American readers stop sniggering at the back please - you know as well as I do that I mean an eraser!).

Stamps: A Tree for All Seasons (p44).
Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Whisper White, Real Red, Night of Navy.
Ink: Basic Black.
Accessories: Stampin' Pastels (p82), Stampin' Write marker - Real Red (p70), Gingham ribbon - red (p86), 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon - Real Red (p86).

(All page numbers refer to the UK Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue 2007-2008)

6 comments:

  1. Hi Helen,
    I'm lovin' your blog. I'll be visiting often. Congrats on the new demonstratorship. I've found SU to be a very rewarding experience. I too wish we had the same catty. It is kinda nice to see some of the different sets though. Especially when it's time for a new catalog and we're getting antsy. Till later.~Beth

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  2. Rubber? Eraser? Snicker, snicker!

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  3. Love both these cards - very simple and very nice. It also helps that I LOVE snowmen.

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  4. I really like your first card in this post. I keep forgetting I have this set ... ;-)

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  5. These are great! I like the doodled frame, and the red, white, black color combo a lot.

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  6. Really like the simplicity of these cards - especially the white one with the doodling.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.

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