All I want for Christmas is... Love, Hope, Peace

I haven't made many Christmas cards lately, so I joined in the challenge at Christmas Challenges (with sketches) #24 to use red, green, and white/cream with the following sketch:

Inside I combined two sentiments from older stamp sets to make this new one:

(All of the supplies are from Close To My Heart unless noted.)

6.5" x 5" Christmas Card Recipe:

Paper - "Mistletoe" paper pack

Stamps - I Believe (Santa); Festive Thoughts, Christmas Memories (both retired, sentiments)

Ink - Cranberry, New England Ivy

Other - Red button collection, Colonial White Waxy Flax, Olive Organdy Ribbon; Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Oval; Sizzix embossing folder "Frost"

Winter Scene for Christmas Challenges with Sketches #21

This stamp set was included in a set of winter stamps that I got a couple of years ago. I hadn't used this one yet, but when I saw the sketch at Christmas Challenges with Sketches and their challenge to make it for winter, I knew I could use this stamp and combine it withWinter Wonderland's challenge to make a winter scene. Since the house looks a lot like our brick home (minus the garage) I thought this would be a good card and message to send either to our daughter in Ohio or son in Kansas to remind them of home. The house with sidewalk is taller than any of my other stamps for a scene. I stamped it on Colonial White and again on White Daisy. I used the Colonial White image as my base, then did paper piecing from the White Daisy to add snow to the bottom. I stamped the snowman and tree on the main image. The tree trunk overlapped the snowman, but that was OK because I stamped him again on White and cut out the snowman body and hat and glued it over the first image. All of the snow in the image and the three snowflakes were highlighted with a Sakura Glitter Gel Pen, but they don't seem to show up in the photo.



5" x 6.5" Christmas Card Recipe:
Paper - My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Portobello Road;" Basic Grey "Little Black Dress;" Bazzill (teal cardstock); Close To My Heart Chocolate, Colonial White, White Daisy cardstock
Stamps - Close To My Heart "Homeward Bound"
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Other - Copic Markers, Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Close To My Heart baker's twine; Sakura glitter gel pen; Cuttlebug (large, snowflake) embossing folder

Christmas Challenge Sketch #18 for a Child

Five of my grandchildren are boys, so I always appreciate challenges to make a card for a boy. Crimbo Crackers has a challenge to make a Christmas card for a boy. I used this sketch from Christmas Challenges (with sketches) #18 to make one for five-year-old Aidan, who looks like the boy in this image. I've been stamping (and collecting) for so many years that I really have a lot of clear acrylic stamps, mostly Close To My Heart, but I can't allow myself to get rid of any, hence the use of retired stamps not available anywhere. Besides, when that stamp was available, I didn't have this cute five-ear-old grandson.

The paper and snowflakes are actually glittery, even though the photo doesn't reveal much. I made the resolution to make Christmas cards all year so I'd be ready in November and December. Now I should also make the resolution to make more masculine cards!

5"x 5" card:
Paper - Recollections "Naughty or Nice" collection, CTMH Colonial White and Desert Sand CS, Bazzil dark brown CS
Stamp - CTMH retired "Christmas Memories"
Ink - CTMH Juniper, Chocolate (both sponged), Memento "Tuxedo Black"
Other - CTMH buttons "Red Collection,"Colonial White Waxy Flax, Glitz Glitter Gel, sponge; various circle punches, Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Copics E33, E35, RV29, Prismacolor pencil

Non-traditional Christmas Colors

Christmas Challenges with sketch #17 was my inspiration for this first card:

I thought the color palette from CRE84FN was bright and cheery for a snowy Christmas Card and the orange-definitely not a traditional Christmas color. I used 2 retired papers from Close To My Heart (blue and orange) and the yellow was Basic Grey from "Nook and Pantry."

My second card is black and white, suggested by another Christmas Card Challenge - Crimbo Crackers. I always think black and white are classy so I challenged myself to find one of my stamp sets that could be interpreted that way. The sleigh with music pattern was my choice along with a scrap of white I had previously embossed with snowflakes and the black and white dots with text in the dots reminded me of snow.

All of the stamps I used on these projects were from Close To My Heart.