It is THAT time of year...

It is THURSDAY again! WAHOO!! I'm actually posting. I'm afraid that if it wasn't for Lindsay's amazing creations I wouldn't be posting at all. I feel like such a slacker.

However, I've had a little birdie whispering that I'm going to get a laptop for Christmas (thanks Mom and Angie) and I think that will help me to post more often. I won't be stuck at the desk to do posts. I can sit on the couch having "quality" tv time with my hubby and still be working on crafty bloggy goodness. WAHOOO!!!

Now, on to more important things! The above cards... I really tried to get a photograph to show how lovely and sparkly the first one is. I used glimmer mist on the three trimmed circles and they are totallllllly glimmery. Plus, after I copic(ed) the ornaments, I put some lovely stickles on top and the sparkle is not showing there either. I have GOT GOT GOT to figure out how to photograph sparkly things better. I need to rearrange (or get brighter bulbs for) the lights on my homemade light box. If you have any photography tips, please please email me at diana.stout@gmail.com immediately for my undying gratitude! The second card also has sparkles, but I think they showed up a little better.

Details on each card individually!

Number 1 - I saw a card with these cute windows with ornaments showing through. I cheated and made little faux windows. I shrunk and printed the awesome circular christmas sentiment that Lindsay created at my request (that I mentioned last week). I am not sure if it is in her shop yet, but go check the store HERE. After I cut them out, I coated them with three different shades of glimmer mist to match the ornaments. Then I resized and printed a bunch of the SNAZZY NEW ornaments you can find right HERE and punched them out with 1 1/4 inch punch. I colored them with copics, then coated them with stickles. I cut a little tree and trunk and poof! Lovely Christmas card!

Number 2 - I saw this card a long time ago on someone's blog and I LOVED LOVED it. I was dying to copy and tweak it for my own Christmas cards this year. First, the tree. I took strips of green paper, tore them, then glued them together. I left the rough edges unglued, then I roughed it all up a little more with an emery board. I ran a white (fluid chalk) ink pad over the top to get the "snowy" effect going. Then I tore a little piece of brown for the trunk. For the snow, I tore two pieces of white cardstock, crumpled them up, then inked them with cream brown (fluid chalk) ink, then put some random smears of stickles over the top of that. I wanted the awesome circly sentiment to go around the tree - sort of like a little halo - and I wanted it to shine. I coated it with a red shade of glimmer mist. In person, it sparkles. (Sigh, poor photography skills.) Then I used my stickles to make a shining Christmas star up in the corner. I'm not 100% pleased with this star. Maybe next time I will try using actual glue and a fine glitter. Or if I can find/borrow a good star stamp, I might try a little embossing.

Anyhow, that's the info on the cards. I hope you like them. But if you don't, please tell me what to do to improve on them, as I send about 50 cards a year so I'm going to make a lot of these. Any advice would TOTALLY be appreciated.

Now, onto the important Lindsay info!

SHOP IS HERE

LINDSAY'S SUPER DUPER KILLER AWESOME BLOG IS HERE

Design team links:

Janet Rossi
Shannon Neparko
Margie Visnick
Lisa Jurecek
Erin Bailey
Tracey Allen

Melissa Craig
Leanne Garner
Tamara Bennett
Cindi Hooks
Here is the new Junior Design Team, look for their projects on Mondays!
Kristen Hamlin
Joy Stagg
Karin Martin
Jennifer Bliss
Cheryl Gorka
Anette “Nettie” Robins
Cassandra Cushman

finally, have a GREAT holiday if I don't post again before we all stuff ourselves with Turkey!