I’m a little late getting to my Christmas cards this year.  All my good intentions have run away!    So I’ve decided to design my cards this year in My Digital Studio and print them rather than hand making them.

Here’s a few of the ideas I came up with.   The first one features my lovely pug Sadie.  She’s such a good sport.  Ahem, I mean model.

Front

Inside

I think she kept the Santa hat on for about 45 seconds.   She’s really not much of a hat lady.

Here’s a couple of more ideas. . . .

Front

Inside

Front

Inside

Front

The last one is a variation on a suggestion my mom made.   My hubby likes the first 2, but not the third one, and he hasn’t seen the last one.

What do you think?  Is he right?  Hmmm, time to make  a decision . . . .

I’m so excited!    I came home from Thanksgiving today and guess what was in my mailbox?

This came from my Secret Santa!

Isn’t it soooo cute?!  I cannot wait to hang it!  It was made by Sandie at Crazyboutquilts.   It’s as cute in person as it is in the picture!

The only hard thing about receiving it is that now I’m second guessing myself on my Secret Santa gift.   I’m a new quilter, so sometimes I get these bouts of insecurity.     I finished my gift this weekend – It’s the first time I’ve made something without a pattern.  I’m happy with most of it, but it’s not as perfect as I was hoping.  I keep thinking I ought to take the binding off, resquare it again and bind it again. . . .    I guess  I need to decide soon, huh.     I’m also thinking now, it’s not enough, I mean I just got this really awesome wall hanging.

So, here’s a couple of shots of what might be my Secret Santa gift. . . . (unless I change my mind and change it yet again. . . .)

The front

The Back

It’s so hard to make decisions!  I think I’ll take a break while I decide and  go take care of my pug,  Sadie.  She’s got pug dog encephalitis (at least that’s the tentative diagnosis) and she’s 11.  So she’s not feeling well right now and we just got back from the vet.    Anyone with suggestions on how to make my candle mat better?  Please share!

And THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH to SANDIE!   You may my day.   My hubby has been sick all day while I drove the 5 1/2 hour trip back from Thanksgiving, then we picked up the puppies from the Kennel and Sadie was seriously  sick.   It was so nice to open this when I got home and it truly lifted my spirits.  I absolutely love it and am looking forward to displaying it during the holidays.  I’m so thankful that you shared it with me.  I know it had to have been hard to let it go.  It’s gorgeous.

By the way, did I say I LOVE IT?  ‘Cuz I do! 

You know how sometimes, you see a card someone else has done and you just love it so much that you have to copy it almost exactly, detal for detail?   Well, that’s what happened with this lovely card.   I changed the color, but really almost nothing else from the original.  This technique is called Magic Snowflake – and the instructions for how to do it are on Julie Dinn’s Blog.  I loved this so much  that I did it for a shoebox swap.  Thanks Julie for sharing it with us!

Rich Razzleberry Magic Snowflake

So here’s the recipe for my version:

Stamps:  Serene Snowflakes, Snow Swirled

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, White Gel Pen

Paper:  Glossy White, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry,  Pale Plum Textured CS

Accessories:  My Way Punch, Clear Rhinestone Brads

I am so excited about this card!   I got in this swap at the last minute, when someone else had a conflict and I’m so glad I got the opportunity.  I’ve seen this called a number of different things, but most commonly called a Tri-fold shutter card. It was so easy to make and it makes such a striking card.

Here’s the card when it’s closed.

front of card

Okay, brace yourself,  here’ s the card opened.

Tri-fold card open

And here’s a close up of the inside panel.

Close up

The tutorial I used to learn how to make this card can be found on The Craftiblog.   If you haven’t tried one of these cards yet, you really should.  You’ll be amazed at how they turn out!

One of the great things about going to convention is getting to actually meet some of the wonderful ladies I’ve been chatting online with.  Not only am I getting to meet them this week, I get to swap with them too!  Stampin’ Addicts is hosting a Meet & Greet on Friday night, and of course, we’ll be swapping to beat the band.   One of the swaps that I’m participating in is a Christmas Card swap.

Here’s my card for this swap . . .

Snow Swirled Christmas

Recipe:

Stamps:  Snow Swirled

Paper:  Cottage Wall DSP, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Whisper White cardstock.

Ink:  Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, White Craft

Accessories:  Ribbon Originals – Elementary, Stampin Glitter – Cosmo

Sorry for being brief this week, but Convention Calls!