Well folks, Christmas is just around the corner...

Happy Thursday to all 9 of my faithful followers, my family and friends that I pester to take a look see now and then and of course last but not least to the "just happened by" crowd as well.

Christmas is just days away and as I type this I am looking out my back window at the various shades of grays and browns that I assuredly will loathe by the time winter is said and done. I am saddened by the fact that there is a noticeable absence of that white stuff blanketing all the trees and ground.

For me, Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas without snow. I have always been one to enjoy the snow up until the end of January and then it could just disappear for all I care. Right now the thermometer reads 4 degrees Celsius or 39 degrees Fahrenheit for my American counterparts. Having looked at the long term forecast before I hopped on over here to talk to you it is definitely going to be a green Christmas up in these parts of the world. Ugh!!!

I was hoping that after I finished making my Christmas cards and listening to Christmas music the entire time I would be singing, baking and wrapping presents by now. Sadly though, it still hasn’t happened for me. I am just so off this year. I am not sure if I can blame it entirely on the missing snow or if I am seriously a late bloomer this year. One thing that I do know is that once I am hanging out with my family and smoozin’ with friends over the holidays I'm pretty sure that I will definitely be in the Christmas spirit.

Today I would like to share the card that I made for the people on my Christmas card list who love to receive cards and actually like to keep them. I will mention though that the photo didn’t turn out the best (as usual). Hopefully I will get better at this as time goes on.

I originally learned how to make this card as a photo greeting card. Considering the fact that I didn’t want my mug sitting around someone’s house for a few weeks I changed it into something more festive.

I started the wreath by making a small ring out of green cardstock using my Spellbinder circle dies. Then I used two Martha Stewart punches; the frond and the fir branch to make up the actual wreath. It isn’t that noticeable in the photo but I used two different shades of green cardstock to make it appear more natural. I find that using tone on tone makes certain things look more real but it looks equally pretty in one colour as well. I finished it off with some stickles, a handmade bow and various sized gold balls. Most of the paper came from Stampin' Up and the DP was from My Mind's Eye Christmas Glitter Collection.

I found a tutorial for making the wreath on KittieKraft and then simply adapted it for Christmas. I must admit though that it was impossible to find, and purchase the fir branch punch at any craft store nearby. Fortunately for me good ole Darlene came to the rescue and had one that I could borrow. Isn't it great how we can share things with each other, not just ideas but supplies too?

So if anybody knows where I can find one I would love to hear from you ;) ;) Personally, I think it is a very useful punch and can be utilized for many things in relation to paper crafts.

Well my friends, I must call it a day. Just in case I don't get back on here until after the New Year please let me wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. I will bid you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year because that is what "I" say at this time of the year.

Remember, He is the Reason for the Season. God Bless.

:)S

Finally, a Christmas card to share...

 

Hello and happy Thursday to everyone. With yesterday being hump day I actually found myself dropping some of my completed Christmas cards into the mailbox last night. Don't get excited though it was only 6 and there is a well-intended 4 to follow today.

I have been designing different Christmas cards for different groups of people on my Christmas card list. The Copic cards are very time consuming as you all know, so not everyone gets one of these. I am sure we all have people on our lists that appreciate the "hand-crafted" card so much that they keep them. This group definitely gets a card worth keeping. Then there are the people who love to receive a hand-crafted Christmas card or a Christmas card in general. The card that I make for them is one that they don’t feel guilty about tossing into the recycle bin after the holidays. Either way, any card I make is made with serious thought factored into it, but most of all it is made with love.

Today I have two Copic cards that I made for some very special people, and I can't tell you who they are because it will spoil the surprise. "Is it me, is it me?"

I used the same image, which is non-other than that cutie patootie Willard from the Kraftin'Kimmie stamps collection. (No surprise there eh?)  Each card has its own colour theme going on and I will confess that I did use one of the colour schemes that my fav, Melanie Holtz of Paper Blessings by Melanie used on a card she made last year just because I loved her choice of rich colour blends. I found him very time consuming because of his darn sweater has such a busy pattern goin' on and I think next time when I colour him I will try my hand at paper piecing to speed things up.

 

When it comes to the Copic cards, putting the whole card together takes a considerable amount of time for me, thus another reason only a certain few will get one of these cards. I hope over time and with practice I will get faster at this part. People have told me to buy paper packs where the patterned paper and coordinating card stock come together.

I did purchase one such package with lovely bright colours recently and used it when I made Angie, my winning entry to a Kraftin’Kimmie challenge this past November. I must admit there is truth to that suggestion because it did reduce the amount of time I spent on that card.  The problem is that I am geographically challenged on top of being physically challenged. I can no longer drive, and only have “pathetic” regional bus service available to me so I can’t get to places that do carry these things. I hate paying shipping fees for things that I can buy here in Canada because that just makes things that more expensive, and we all know how expensive this little hobby can be.

I hope you enjoy my cards, and I really must get back to working on them. Perhaps tomorrow I will post the card I made for the “I love a hand-crafted card that I like to keep group".

Thanks again for stopping in at the Creative Express stops here :)S

And so it begins.....

Hello everyone, and a very pleasant December 1st to you all. The countdown is on and I am still working on my Christmas cards. What can I say, I am such a procrastinator when it comes to all that Fa La La La La and Egg Nog stuff, and please please don't get me started on what I think of snow.

There are lots of us Canadian folk that hate snow and the whole winter season to boot (no pun intended there). Which begs the question, why do I still live up here in the great white north? A simple explanation would be to say that where I live is such a beautiful place and even when it gets all cold and snowy it is still  beautiful. So in a nutshell, I would have to say that winter is a small price to pay to live in such a beautiful part of the world. I must say though, so far we have been doing pretty good in the weather department and I will leave it at that. I don’t want to be blamed for jinxing things for us all.

One thing that the fall/winter season brings with it is my birthday. Being a November baby I have always wished that I could celebrate by having either a beach or pool party. Now there isn’t much anyone can do to change their date of birth but there is one thing that you can do. Move “Down Under” you know the “Outback”, or more traditionally referred to as Australia. A friend of mine recently moved away to the land down under and was spending HER November BDAY at the beach, without me! Too bad though that you would have to travel to the other side of the planet to do so.

Speaking of November birthdays, my crazy friend Darlene's birthday is the day before mine and this year we made a Copic card for each other. I haven't had the chance to photograph her card yet but I thought I would show you the one that I made for her. I will post her card over the next day or two, and hopefully by then I will have some "completed" Christmas cards to show you as well.

Well folks, that is about all I have for you today. I am trying not to blab my head off on this thing but it’s like talking to someone. Yikes! Its bed time for bonzo and God willing my feet will touch the floor again tomorrow and I am able to get right back at it! Thanks for stopping by :)S