Snowy Christmas

Quite appropriately, it is white with snow outside my window as I type this...now if only we could have a little over Christmas to keep things really cozy! Family, a cozy fire in the wood stove and a winter wonderland outside. That's the stuff memories are made of.

But now - on to my snowy Christmas cards.

Lili of The Valley carries some truly beautiful stamps, honestly it is so hard to narrow my wishlist down. I opted for digital stamps but they also carry clear and rubber stamps and cross stitch patterns.

Since I like my cards to be displayed and they were going to travel internationally (actually 'back' to the UK!) I decided to once again make easel cards.

I started by sizing the images and sentiments in Photoshop, preparing a document for printing.  Still undecided about whether I wanted to use the car or the church scene I included both.

Once that was set-up I could print multiple copies as needed. 

The church scene was quick to colour, using coloured pencils, after which I trimmed the image out and attached it to card front which was prepared with patterned paper.

The inside of the card is also lined with a snowy paper, while the sentiment strip is edged with a holly punch (Fiskars) I added a couple die cut and one punched snowflake. Some puffy fabric paint (Tulip) gives the snowflakes on the panel dimension and while the paint was wet I sprinkled on a small amount of super fine light blue glitter.

It was a quick make and I'm very pleased with the result!

Next up was the mailbox - very appropriate for an 'across the miles' greeting.

I used coloured pencils for the colouring as well as a silver Sharpie pen for the metal details on the postbox. Another print of the same picture provided me with a mailbox to trim out and pop up on foam for dimension. I also popped the birds and some of the holly leaves up to add a bit of depth.

Once again I used the puffy fabric paint for my snow and added glitter for that frosty sparkle. I also added glitter to the berries and some of the leaves. This card did take more time and more 'fussing' with all the trimming and layering, but I enjoyed every minute of making it.

I thought the envelope shape on the patterned paper made a very fitting place for the stamped sentiment. Some punched holly leaves and glittery berries was all I needed to add.

Some understated green patterned paper and a couple die cut snowflakes provided the final touches.

Both cards are on their way right now and will hopefully remind dear people how much they are loved...