Keeping Christmas - September 2019 Edition

Hello there!  Welcome to this month's edition of Keeping Christmas!  There are several stops along the hop today and you should have started at Kelly Lunceford's Blog.  I'll have the full list of blog links for you below.

In case you haven't been here before, the Keeping Christmas Hop was developed to give you ideas, tips, and tricks to make a few cards each month so that when December1st comes around, you are ready to mail your holiday cards to family and friends.

Way back in April, I created a single card for the Keeping Christmas Hop as time was short for me because of the number of grandkids, nieces, and nephews who were graduating in May or had a significant birthday that month.  I also created an unusual sized card that month and I really loved the look.

Around that same time, I saw a die used on a card that was similar in size and shape.  After a little investigating, I purchased a set of dies for creating this size and shape of card that I just loved, so I splurged and got them from somewhere in Europe.  It took a couple of weeks for the dies to arrive and they had been sitting on my desk since around the middle of July.  I finally got them out and used them.  The card builder panel dies are from Paper Discovery, but as far as I know, they are not available in the US.  They are available at a store called Craft Stash if you want to check them out.  Keep in mind, that this does not make a standard A2 or A7 Card so I also purchased special #8 sized envelopes for mailing.   

The main thing I liked about this set was the insert panel and the card that was not a typical size.  I like this particular insert so much that I have not tried any of the other ones yet. There are inserts for diagonal stripes, tall stripes, short stripes, and even plaid.  There are also dies to cut the paper in the exact size to make the card, but since I use high-quality cardstock, I find it easier to cut my own in a 7 x 8 size, scoring it at 3.5 inches. This makes a card that is 3.5 by 8 inches and is different from most of the A2 sized cards that I usually make.  I use the extra piece of cardstock for the other elements on the card as you will see shortly.  This is really the only information that you need to know in order to recreate this card.  I searched for them on Amazon, but they are not available.  I can find plenty of items right here in the US but this set of dies was different than anything I had seen.

This particular color combination is one of my favorites and pairs Pinefeather Cardstock with Tropical Teal Cardstock from Papertrey Ink.  The shadow layer for the word die is cut from Stampers Select Vellum, also from Papertrey.  I haven't decided if I'm going to add "In The Magic of Christmas" to the word die or not so I tried to leave room to add that on most of these cards.

If you have a large supply of cardstock scraps like I do, this was a great way to get some use out of them.  As you'll soon see from my images, I made several variations of this same card.    I still have plenty of cardstock scraps left to make many more.  I usually make about 3 or 4 at the same time and add them to my growing stack of holiday cards and tags.

You could make these cards in any number of color combinations, adding touches of metallics, shimmer cardstock, or other specialty papers.  Since I plan to make all of my personal cards in this size this year, I went ahead and ordered a package of #8 envelopes to mail them in as well.  That is not a standard size, so be prepared to have some difficulty finding them if you choose to do that.  I didn't think that part through beforehand, so I want you to know going in, that they may be hard to find.

My daughter loves blue with silver and white at Christmas so of course, I used that combination a couple of times.  

This card uses shimmer cardstock from PaperPapers.com in Electic Blue, and Iceberg with Silver Cardstock for the insert.  

This card uses Pinefeather with Scarlet Jewel Cardstock, from Papertrey Ink/Ink to Paper.

This card uses Lovely Lady, Pinefeather, and Ocean Tides with gold metallic cardstock.  

Here I used Pure Poppy with Pinefeather and some New Leaf Ink Blending on Linen Cardstock.  I love the texture these leaves and poinsettias have on them.  

This card uses Vintage Jadeite with Pure Poppy.  

This card uses Vintage Jadeite with Hawaiian Shores, Autumn Rose and Ocean Tides for the leaves. 

Another personal favorite combination is Hawaiian Shores with Lovely Lady, Autumn Rose, and the same New Leaf Ink Blended Linen Texture cardstock from Papertrey Ink.  

Here we have Ocean Tides with Scarlet Jewel Cardstock.  

This card uses Pinefeather Cardstock with Red Satin Shimmer Cardstock from PaperPapers.com.  

As always, you can also use white card bases by making your own.  I usually prefer a white card base, but on this particular style of card, I prefer them on the colored cardstock.  If any of the cardstock is a dark color, I just pop a white insert inside for my note.  So far, I have 12 of these cards made, but it's time to move on to other designs and spread the love among my supplies. 

Don't forget to check out all the stop along the hop and leave each of the ladies some love.  

Kelly Lunceford

Anita Madden

Claire Broadwater

Julee Tilman

Kim Heggins

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Vicki Finger (You are Here)

Nancy Guse

Thanks for stopping by today!  Only two more months of Keeping Christmas ideas for this year and then it will be time to mail out your cards.  Christmas is just 90 days away.  Wow, that year flew by, didn't it?