Christmas Cards: Catching Up

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars 

and open a jar of it every month.  ~Harlan Miller

Making Christmas cards all year long is one way to bring a little Christmas spirit into your life and that's what participants of the Jingle Belles Challenge have been doing since January.

I've slacked a bit over the summer, but by the end of July, I was caught up with my Christmas cardmaking thanks to a crop night at Mindy, The Determined Scrapper's house.

There's a mix of recycled elements, old products, gift card holders and a vintage postcard within these nine cards...and that makes twenty-five Christmas cards so far! 

Want to get a head start on your holiday cards? Follow along with Jingle Belles and get them made. ~Danielle

See more Christmas cards:

Fa-La-La-La-La!

Peace on Earth(Day)

Neutral Noel

Quote Source: Quote Garden

Christmas Cards: Fa-La-La-La-La!

There are less than 200 days until Christmas and I've been slacking in the holiday cardmaking department. For most of you, I'm ahead of the game, but for those of us playing along with Jingle Belles this year, I'm weeks behind! 

To start making up for lost time, I've created three "musically inspired designs" to go with the Jingle Belles "Fa-La-La-La-La" challenge.

I cut apart a few pages of Christmas-themed sheet music and used gift tags purchased at a garage sale for each of the cards. To help inspire me a little further, I consulted one of those tear-off project idea sheets from Jo-Ann's:

Let's take a closer look at all three of my musical Christmas cards:

Even if you haven't started making Christmas cards yet, you can still join in the challenge anytime this year. Head on over to Jingle Belles for more information! ~Danielle 

Additional Christmas Cards:

Peace on Earth(Day)

Happy Hybrid Holidays!

Neutral Noel

Christmas Cards: Peace on Earth(Day)

After missing the last round of Jingle Belles, I decided to create three cards that upcycle "or in some way 'rescues' a bit of...well, SOMETHING" according to the most recent Jingle Belles Challenge: Peace on Earth(Day). 

I rescued several vintage holiday cards during a recent trip to an antique mall for 50 cents each and three of them were recycled into the cards you see above. 

For each card, I continued using the pack of blank white cards of purchased last year, added a few paper scraps, ribbon on two cards and stamped on one. 

This is my favorite Christmas card:

I just love the color combo on that one.

My least favorite card is...

I feel it's too plain and I could have added a bit more color, but I still enjoy the "Yoo Hoo!" lady. And I most certainly got a chuckle out of the original sender's name...

Go ahead, take a moment to shorten the name (as I giggle like a little school girl). I kept the inside of the card the same and attached it the the inside of my card using a couple Glue Dots Glue Lines. I'll eventually cover our harry friend's name. Until then, this is what it looks like:

My final card doesn't seem too Christmas-like:

until you read the inside:

I still have a couple more vintage Christmas cards to play with, so you'll be seeing those ones within the coming months. You can see more recycled holiday cards over at Jingle Belles! ~Danielle

Related:

Christmas Cards

Christmas Card: Happy Hybrid Holidays!

You know what's a really good feeling? Holding a stack of ten handmade Christmas cards at the beginning of April. I'm fully enjoying the Jingle Belles Challenge this year and by December, there will be no worries or stressing over last-minute Christmas cards.

The current challenge is to create a hybrid card and I was lucky enough to receive a free digital image from Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps. This is what I made:

I saved several copies of the image to make a collage using Picasa. I printed the collage, deleted the extra copies, then cropped each image into a square. I attempted coloring one of the images to see how it would look, but that's not my strong suit. Since I ruined the one image, I had to change the design of my card to what you see above. No biggie. Just need more practice. And I still like the finished card.

Supplies: Robyn's Fetish "A Bell for Christmas" digital stamp, white cardstock, Simple Stories cardstock, ribbon, black ink, adhesive.

Stop by Jingle Belles to see more Happy Hybrid Holiday cards. ~Danielle

Special Announcement: I'm hosting an Earth Day Blog Hop and looking for other craft/scrapbook bloggers to participate. You'll share a project and/or how you are trying to live a green life, schedule your post for April 22 and include links to the other participants. You may do a giveaway if interested, but it's not required. Email me (ecoscrapbook at yahoo dot com) or find out more information here. Hope you'll join me!

Recent Posts:

Easter Craft Tutorial: Toilet Paper Roll Gift Boxes

Wine Cork Bird House

Christmas Card: Neutral Noel

Christmas Card: Neutral Noel

For Jingle Belles sixth and most recent challenge, Neutral Noel, I made this card:

I can't take full credit for the design as my card was inspired by Jules Hollis. When I spotted the cards she made for a similar challenge, I have to admit I wanted to "cardlift" her creations. 

See her cards here and feel free to browse her blog for plenty more creative inspiration. Don't forget to swing by Jingle Belles for more Neutral Noel cards too.

Supplies: DCWV cardstock, Simple Stories stickers, Sew Easy tool & floss, Pop Up Glue Dots, square punch.

Additional Christmas Cards:

Stuck on You
All Buttoned Up
Sketching Through the Snow
A Banner Holiday

Christmas Card: Stuck on You

I wish Christmas morning looked like this...

The snow looked so beautiful as I was running errands earlier today and I had to snap that pic. Add in a family of deer and it would have been perfect.

I've got Christmas on my mind as I just completed card #8 for the recent Jingle Belles "Stuck on You" challenge.

My "stuck on you" was a Jolee sticker that I'm happy to finally use...

Not only do I love the way the sticker looks, it also came in reusable packaging that I'm sure you'll see again in the future...

Other supplies include an old & unknown paper, doily, ribbon and staples.

Stop on by Jingle Belles to see more Christmas cards!

P.S. My upcycled button card was recently featured at Jingle Belles. Check that out here! ~Danielle

More Christmas Cards:

All Buttoned Up
Sketching Through the Snow
A Banner Holiday

Christmas Cards: All Buttoned-Up

Today's post will be a quickie as I keep the chit-chat to a minimum and share my latest Christmas cards. The current Jingle Belles challenge is to create a card using buttons. I didn't make one. I made three.

My favorite of the bunch is the upcycled greeting card:

And the next two started from a cut-apart sheet I've had for at least four or five years:

I have always liked the look of these buttoned-up candy canes, but they never made it onto any scrapbook pages over the years. I used DCWV paper for both cards and still have plenty of Christmas-themed paper from that stack.

Still in the holiday spirit? Check out more Christmas cards over at Jingle Belles! ~Danielle

Related:

Christmas Card: A Banner Holiday

Christmas Card: Sketching Through the Snow

Making Christmas Cards in January

Christmas Card: A Banner Holiday

What do jingle bells and a little bling have in common? They are both elements of my fourth Christmas card this year and inspired by the Jingle Belles blog banner.

Jingle Bells & Bling Christmas Card

I was in a square-kind-of-mood and completed this card in less than twenty minutes. I'm happy to have used up a little bit of old holiday paper that was unlikely to end up on a future scrapbook layout.  

That's what I love about this Christmas card project - unwanted scrapbooking stash turned into the cards I'll be sending out at the end of the year.

There are plenty more holiday cards to check out at the Jingle Belles blog! Feel free to make one yourself and link up.

Supplies: Provo Craft paper, JoAnn's sticker embellishment, Studio18 rhinestones, assorted Christmas themed paper.

Related:

Christmas Card: Sketching Through the Snow

Making Christmas Cards in January

Recycle Old Greeting Cards into Party Invitations

Sketching Through the Snow

It's only January and I've already made three Christmas cards. I'm aiming for forty handmade cards by mid-December and determined to complete my goal by joining in the "year-long group project" at Jingle Belles.

The second Jingle Belles challenge of 2012 is Sketching Through the Snow and based off this sketch by Kirsty Vittetoe: 

This is my take on the sketch:

I don't use rhinestones very much, but I do love the look of them:

Supplies: Melissa Frances vintage gift tag, K&Company decorative paper, Ranger distress ink, Studio18 rhinestones, Simple Stories sticker, ribbon (from last Christmas - my mother-in-law always uses real ribbon to wrap her gifts and I always save it).

Swing on over to Jingle Belles and have a look at all the fun cards. You have until Wednesday (1/25) to link up your card. ~Danielle

Related:

Making Christmas Cards in January

Recycle Old Greeting Cards into Party Invitations

I can't stop crafting with Cosmo Cricket and made a retro girl birthday card

Making Christmas Cards in January

When do you start making your holiday cards? More often than not, I wait until December to create mine. This year is different.

Thanks to Jingle Belles, I made two Christmas cards the first week of January!

Last year, I had so much fun watching card updates by Lisa of Recklinghausen Musings and wouldn't stand for just being an observer again in 2012. I have plenty of holiday supplies (including a pack of 50 blank cards and envelopes) and will not be buying anything new for this year long challenge. What better way to use up my stash?

The first Jingle Belles challenge, No Time Like the Present(s), was to use gift wrap or showcase an image of a gift on the card. What? Wrapping paper? Yep, that's a perfect challenge for this ecoscrapbooker!

Card #1:

 

Supplies: Wrapping paper, DCWV paper (Christmas Stack), Provo Craft paper, stickers (Walmart, Simple Stories). Card inspiration from Cards Magazine (December 2011).

Card #2:

Supplies: Wrapping paper, Provo Craft paper, Creative Imaginations diecut cardstock, Walmart stickers, silver wire ribbon.

 

There's still time to make a card and link up. Join in here.

Related:

My 2012 To Do List

Upcycle Frame for Holiday Photo Cards

Melted Record Bowl Gift Basket