Christmas in February

I know it sounds insane, but bear with me a moment! We've all had some time to recover from the Christmas chaos, right? And even though much of the country is still locked in a deep freeze, and the LAST think you want to think about is winter holidays (come on Spring, for heaven's sake!), if you create beautiful hand-crafted cards (and you send out about 90 of them, like I did last year), you really need to make a few every month. Otherwise, you'll be running around in a panic at the last minute trying to get them finished, signed, addressed and mailed. Where's the fun in THAT? Creativity is supposed to be a fun, relaxing activity, is it not?

Therefore, I give myself the month of January off to recuperate, and am ready to face the task again in February. The Christmas Card Club meets monthly from February until November. That gives us ten months to get the cards finished, and plenty of time to write personal notes and sign them, address the envelopes (I've taken to printing the labels now to save time), and get them in the mail at the beginning of December.

If you can't make it to our Christmas Card Club, why don't you have your own "club" once a month? Just figure out how many cards you need, divide it by ten, and make that many cards every month! Put it on your calendar. Make a date with yourself! You could even invite a friend or two for a fun few hours of crafty time. And just think of how you'll feel when you have that stack of beautiful cards all ready to go without stressing about it?

This card uses the Best of Snow stamp set (available through March 31st), but you could use any of the holiday stamps sets that are still available to order, even though they aren't in the current catalogs.

STAMPS: Best of Snow, Teeny Tiny Wishes
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Gold Foil Sheets, Old Olive DSP Stack (retired)
INK: StazOn Jet Black, Real Red and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Window Frames Collection Framelits, Banners Framelits Dies, Decorative Dots folder, Rhinestones Basic Jewels

It's CHRISTMAS on the Tour de Freaks!

Welcome to the Christmas 2013 edition of the Tour de Freaks! It's the most won-der-ful tiiiime of the year (you sang that in your head, didn't you?), and we're excited to show you some terrific ideas for your holiday.  If you started at the beginning and have been hopping in order, then you just landed here from Mindy Backes' blog, Bada-Bing! Paper-Crafting!  If you're starting here, just click on the links at the bottom of each blog and they will take you full circle back here, so you won't miss a single stamptastic thing!

My first project is a little gift for nectar of the gods coffee lovers.  I've been seeing these tiny hot cups with lids popping up everywhere on the 'Net, and just had to get them to make some quick gifts.  They're filled with Espresso, Coffee, and Latte candies for a quick pick-me-up. Wouldn't these be cute teacher or co-worker gifts? (ETA: These will hold 5 Starbucks Via packets, folded in half.) They're big enough for a tea bag or two, as well. (Don't know about a cocoa packet, though.) The base was covered with Winter Frost DSP, and the lid was topped with a 3D snowflake.

STAMPS: Festive Flurry, Christmas Tagables  CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Silver Glimmer, Winter Frost Specialty DSP  INK: Island Indigo  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Festive Flurry Framelits, Simply Scored, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Rhinestones Basic Jewels

Here's a close-up of the snowflake topper. I was inspired by the Festive Flurry Ornament Kits, making my version small enough to fit on the lid.

For my card projects, I had a hard time choosing which stamp set to feature, but finally decided on Best of Snow.  I just love that little snowman, and the hedgehog is so sweet!  So, let's start with my little snow buddy. He was super easy to color; just a few quick swipes of the markers. And you can't really see it, but the Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter really makes the snow sparkle.

STAMPS: Best of Snow, Lovely as a Tree, More Merry Messages  CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler  INK: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Garden Green plus Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green (In Color set), and Soft Sky Stampin' Write Markers  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Perfect Polka-Dots folder, Designer Frames oval folder, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Extra Large Oval Punch, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Rhinestones Basic Jewels

And here's my little hedgie buddy. I acidentally stumbled on this color combination when some Early Espresso and Soft Sky cardstock was laying next to each other on my *ahem* very messy desk. I was struck by how well they complemented each other. For the Deco Labels mat, I first tried Silver Glimmer Paper, but there wasn't enough contrast. The Red Glimmer sets off the red scarves better, anyway, don't you think? The hedgie was colored with a blender pen to get a lighter shade of Soft Suede. I think the marker would have been too dark.

STAMPS: Best of Snow, Snow Day  CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Shimmery White, Early Espresso, Soft Sky DSP (Subtles stack), Red Glimmer  INK: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, plus Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, and Soft Sky markers  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Deco Labels Framelits, Circles Collection Framelits, Perfect Polka-Dots folder, Red Glimmer Brads (Brights collection), Blender Pens

Well, that's all from me today. Thank you for stopping by! Now on to the next stop, Justin Krieger's blog, JK Cards. I'm sure he has something fabulous cooked up!

Best of.....Snow(man)!

I was so excited when I saw the new "Best of" stamp set for November, because every stamp was devoted to snow! The snowflake is absolutely gorgeous, the snowman couldn't be any cuter, and the hedgehog building a snow-hedgie is adorable! Top it off with a 'Let it Snow' greeting, and the stamp set couldn't be any better, in my book.

Today's card features the snowman, obviously. You could turn it into a snow-woman just by adding a tiny punched flower to the hat! The image is easy-peasy to color, and it fits perfectly in the Extra Large Oval punch, which fits perfectly in the Designer Frames oval embossing folder. (Imagine that!)

I added some sparkle to the snow with a swipe of the 2-Way Glue Pen and a sprinkle of Dazzling Diamonds glitter*.  The buttons on the snowman became rhinestones and a rhinestone was added to the center of the white heat embossed (on vellum) snowflake. The snowflake was then cut out with a Festive Flurry Framelit.

*I've heard glittter referred to as 'the herpes of the crafting world', which is kind of sad. I love the sparkle that it adds but, I admit, it can be messy. My solution is to keep the Dazzling Diamonds in a medium stamp case like I use for my embossing powders.  I sprinkle the glitter on with a plastic spoon (kept in the case), tap the excess back into the case and let it dry for an hour or so.  Then the dried image is brushed off with a stiff brush, over a waste basket, so any loose bits are removed. This method really helps keep the mess to a bare minimum.

Stamps: Best of Snow, That's the Ticket
Cardstock: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, White Cardstock Vellum, Season of Style DSP Stack
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky, Pumpkin Pie, Gumball Green (2012-2014 In Color pack)
Accessories: Big Shot, Designer Frames (oval) folder, Snowburst folder (retired), Festive Flurry Framelits, Heat Tool, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Extra Large Oval Punch, Ticket Duo Builder Punch, Blender Pens, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Best of SNOW!

I have to admit, I'm really going to miss the monthly "Best of 25 Years" stamp sets when they are no longer available, especially this month's set, Best of Snow. It is extra adorable! You know how I love snowmen, but the hedgehog making a snowman in his image takes the cuteness factor completely over the top!

This is the month to get your holiday cards finished, so you aren't rushing out at the last minute to buy storebought *shudder* cards! And what a great set to use - you can go all crystal elegance on your cards with the snowflake, and make some whimsical cards with the snowman and hedgehog. And the greeting would work on any of them! The Bracket Label Punch makes quick work of adding the greeting, too.

Check out what my friend Jennifer did with it on the Stampin' Up Blog. She's so talented!!!