Christmas continues ....

 

Continuing to make loads of Xmas cards  for charities, in lots of different styles and techniques to appeal to different people.

but even so, deer seem to crop up in many of them!

Christmas is a coming!

 

I make it a point never to start making Christmas cards until after the 1st September - surely 3 1/2 months is long enough to be covered in glitter?

It also seems wrong to make Christmas cards when it is still hot and sunny. So, earlier this week the weather cooled down and I went and rummaged in the cupboard under the stairs to dig out my 3 boxes of Christmas goodies. Really I have so many stamps, papers, dies and embellishments, that there is no excuse to buy anymore this year.

Some Cute Christmas Cards

Whilst I prefer stags, reindeer and snowy scenes on my Christmas cards,  you have to make some in lots of different styles to suit different tastes

So here are some cute cards!

More Christmas cards .....

All made with bits from my marathon die cutting session at the weekend

And like so many of my cards they might feature reindeer!

More Reindeer this year ..

Reindeer and stags are a perennial Christmas favourite of mine and have started to appear on this years cards.

I have several dies and stamps that I have collected over the years

You can also see them appearing last year here and in 2017 too!   In fact, I could even find a reindeer  Christmas card back in 2011

Stags & Reindeer at Christmas

Again, many of the Christmas cards I am making for 2018 feature a stag or reindeer on them - some cute and others realistic!

I just can't resist making them, especially as I have so many deer stamps, toppers and dies in my stash!

Last Reindeers of 2017 ..... Promise!

Reindeers and stags have featured rather heavily in my 2017 Christmas cards - so these will be the last posted this year, but I couldn't resist showing off the lovely bauble die that came from AliExpress.com- it only cost £2.55 and the fir tree die was £1.35 - real bargains and well worth the wait for delivery from China! 

I cut them out using black card and layered them against sparkly white glitter card - really pleased with the effect.

Let It Snow!

Like the rest of the country we have snow today! First of the year for us, as we live in Sunny Suffolk and have a milder climate than most areas.

No only is this a photo of my snowy back garden, but it is also my first picture of my lovely new wooden fence which was only finished on Friday! They also trimmed the beech tree at the end of the garden and took away the old shed that was on the left hand side of garden

I wish I had taken a 'before' photo to show how tumbled down and rotten the fence and shed were - at least I have a nice and secure garden now!

Making Cards Magazine

I wasn't going to buy any more Christmas Stash but spotted the Christmas Special edition of Making Cards Magazine - it has some cute animal stamps.

But before I break open the stamps, I've made some Christmas cards with the freebie papers!

Stags & Mermaids

I'm pleased to say the Christmas card making is going well, with over 100 given to charities to help with their fund raising and plenty made for family & friends. 

But you can get a bit sick of Santas, Snow and Reindeer, so I occasionally take a break and make other cards like this Mermaid one!

Sorry - more Christmas Reindeer cards!

Yes, I'm afraid here are more Christmas cards made with  the  X-Cut Winter Forest die. 

I love the black silhouette - it even works well as a border when you cut out the stag & deer!

More Recycled Reindeer

A couple more cards featuring Stags and Reindeer- this time using recycled Christmas cards from last year!

This Years Christmas Theme - Reindeers

Every other Christmas card I have made so far this year seems to have a reindeer or stag somewhere on it

I've used lots of different colours, layouts and styles, but those deers still seem to sneak in to most cards!

Let It Snow

Yes, it's another Christmas card featuring a reindeer I'm afraid. I have used this die a lot this year! 

Plus I have added a small black cat padding through the snow

A Herd of Reindeer

 Now that the Christmas Card production line line is in full swing, I've made sure that a few of them feature a reindeer.

I love seeing them in a snowy scene and have several reindeer and stag ornaments that I bring out every year

What's your favourite Christmas character?

Christmas is Coming

I know many of you started making your Christmas cards ages ago - some even make them all the year round!

I could not get started until the weather started to cool a little, I just can't get in the mood when it is so hot!

Anyway, this weekend I finally dug out my Christmas craft box out from under the stairs and started to get a few ideas. In the end I made 11 cards, a good start, but I do need to get a crack on so that I can make enough to give some to a couple of local charities too!

Decembers Reindeer ATC Swap

I host a monthly theme swap over on Docrafts for ATCs - this months theme was Reindeer and here's a few I have made ready to go out at the end of this month.

If you would like to join in 2015, there are very few rules - you can use any style or techniques, the cards must measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches and up to 4 can be swapped every month

January's theme is Cars and further details can be found on the Docrafts ATC forum

Stash Busting Christmas Cards

The stars on these cards were all made from odd bits of scrap card that I have had in my stash for ages along with some old backing papers. Mind you - I still have a large pile of scraps to use up!

Yuletide Greetings Winter Wishes Cards for Pagans

I know several people who are either pagans or non-Christians, so I always try to make a few cards for them at this time of year. 

I've gone for 'Winter Wishes' as the sentiment. The top card has an image from Joanna Sheens 'Dancing with Shadows' CD.

I now have a blog where I sell cards suitable for Pagans to send or receive over Christmas time at Pagancards.blogspot.co.uk

I would like to wish you all a Happy, peaceful and contented Christmas and if Santa visits you, that he brings lots of crafty presents!

Christmas Theme 2013 - Traditional & Reindeers?

Looking at the Christmas Cards I have made so far this year (approaching 200) a distinct style is appearing - traditional or reindeers, and sometimes both!

Last year I made far too many cute cards, and with lots of older relatives, they just were not suitable. Hopefully this batch will be better. 

The papers and embellishments from crafting magazines and shops also seem to be favouring an old fashioned, distressed and Victorian style. What types of Christmas cards are you making this year??