It's a beautiful October morning in my valley.  Perfect for beginning Christmas cards!

I recently  ordered  some of Tim Holtz' Christmas '23, and  created a card

patterned after Barbara Schiassi's beautiful card during the release. Barbara  used

the Halloween moon and Forest  Shadows trees, and I was smitten!

The bright moon's glow on Santa's sleigh and reindeer is my favorite. 

Looks like he's just taking off on his yearly run...

Another of the Tim Holtz' new release is this Christmas tree, all decked out 

with ornaments. 

It's so hard capturing all the glittery goodness on the embossed background  and tree.

Fun to use my Stickles and glitter paper!

It's hard to see, but I first embossed my sentiment (The Greetery) onto heat resistant

acetate, cut around the image before adding it to my card. 

Both cards are 5"x 7"'s to  fit the larger die cuts.

I'm really loving the Sizzix cardstock with the retro images... lots of vintage 

colors too!

Cozy Cabin

 

Hello! Enjoying some craft time with the Greetery's Sitting Pretty die set, making it into 

a Christmas card. 

All the stamps and dies I used are from the Greetery, including the banner from

their first holiday release, Christmas Eve. The little details  are from Speed Tagging.

Precious kitty is our own Miss Frizz, so named by my daughter-in-law because she

was a mess when she showed up in our yard. Abandoned and starving, dear Miss

Frizz became a favorite. You were never alone with Miss Frizz. Gentle. and cuddly,

she trained the kittens I brought home (also abandoned), and kept our home mouse free!

The tree is from Tree Trimmings.

Lots of snow from embossing paste and sparkle spray.

Hope you enjoyed a little Christmas inspiration today. Stay crafty!

Serene Scene

 

I'm having more fun with this Sizzix die set, making #2 Christmas card, and thinking about

different looks for the shadow box effect.

All die cuts for this card. Every item you see is included in the set, right down to 

the tiny candle greenery.

Hoping this closeup shows the details when you cut out the dies. Eyes on the animals,

details on the tree. The 'woodsy' paper is from Memory Box. 

Once again, an envelope for each card! 

Enjoy your day. Hope your summer is going craft-i-ly!

A Favorite Tree

 

For the last post of 2020, the Card Concept Challenge asks us for a picture of our 

favorite tree/decoration and or card from the past year. 

Each year I post a tree in our home, but this year I decided to show one of 

my favorite decorations on display. 

This Christmas tree, along with Father Christmas is handmade, created by me,

over a dozen years ago.

It's over 3' tall, and rests on our piano at Christmastime. 

Each and every mini piece was selected or created for Santa's scene.

Even the tiny presents were beribboned and sprayed just for this piece.

The story of this particular Kris Kringle (I made dozens!) is dear to me, and I

just couldn't part with him. Many others went to homes  and shops all over the country,

Decorating my home at Christmastime is a way to bring joy to my family as we

gather together to celebrate our Lord's birth. I cherish the memories spent 

together with bright and colorful pieces collected over a lifetime.

What about you, do you have favorites for holidays?

Tradition and celebration with purpose is the greatest part of life, especially

with those you love!

Follow the link below to see what the other designers have shared with you!

Merry Christmas! 

And May the New Year be blessed for you!

The Card Concept #HOL20 {Christmas Tree, Holiday Decorations or Fav 2020 Card}

Day 17: 25 Days of Christmas Tags

 

Day 17 and the 25 Days of Christmas Tags is on a roll! You have to check out Tracey's 

blog, and all the sponsors with their gift certificate prizes, and even some 

surprise sponsors too! The tags have been over the top fantastic, both designers and

designers on line. Really the best year so far!

Today's sponsor is Picket Fence. I have no  picket fence stamps or dies, and 

was taken with their Christmas line. So much diversity, fun stamps and

elegant stamps, lots of dies too.

I chose Angela Bode's beautiful tag below for several reasons to case.

1st off, it's beautiful. 2nd the tree... I have a wood mounted tree in my stash from 

years ago from Hero Arts. It hasn't been inked in forever, and I've always loved

it's graceful image. And 3rd, the bold red snowflakes! Had to give that a try.

The result was such a fun tag, I made 8! 

The only difference between them is the largest snowflake on the bottom, just

couldn't decide which I liked better, so I used all three! 

My tree is silver embossed, and I added a sentiment also embossed on a black strip.

25 Days of Christmas Tags 2020 - Day 17

PTI: Tagsale die

Hero Arts: Evergreen

Memory Box: Snowflake Trio

Keeping Christmas: July

Christmas in July!

Welcome friends to 'Keeping Christmas', July's post. So happy you stopped by

for a visit... I have a pair of Christmas cards, hopefully to bring you some cheer.

1st in frosty blues,

2nd in Petal pinks.

All stamps and dies from the Greetery today. 

Look close, and you can see some Fairy Sugar Glitter Glue (Lavender Ice), from

Memory Box, just to add a bit of sparkle.

A single jewel for each card, on a snowflake.

And a matching envelope for each card, will make it easier during the 

busiest time of the year.

Hope a bit of Christmas cheer brightened your day. Need a bit more?

How about Angela Landsbury singing, We Need a Little Christmas,

from Aunty Mame...

Angela Lansbury - We Need A Little Christmas (from the Broadway musical MAME)

Honestly love that woman!

Here's a list of the other Keeping Christmas designers:

Be sure to stop by and see what they have for you today.

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

 Claire Broadwater

 Lori Tecler

 Nance Salkeld

 Nina Forsyth

 Nancy Guse

 Marybeth Lopez

 Nancy Penir

 Carol Hintermeier 

And a list of Supplies:

The Greetery: Frosty Corners Dies, Fir & Foliage, Nordic Frames,

Pine Blossom (Sentiment), Envelopes, EnvelopeFlap Stencils

Open Studio (Memory Box): Fairy Sugar Lavender Ice

Altenew: Inks

Ranger: Distress Oxide Inks (sponged)

Christmas in July

It's Christmas in July at the Card Concept! And we have this holiday themed photo

as inspiration:

Now, our challenge to you is to create a card with a style in mind.

The inspiration photo, with it's prominent tree was my starting point.

The Card Concept #138b {Christmas in July}

The clean white background, the tree is where I began for my graphic

and layered card.

Hope you find some time to play along. We love to see how you were 

inspired. 

Have a wonderful week!

Supplies:

PapertreyInk: 

O'Tannenbaum, Nesting Basics: Oval Die set, & Nesting

Basics: Pierced Oval Die set. Pure Poppy Pattern Pack.

Tremedous Tags: Star

The Greetery: A2 Envelopes, Striped Stencil

Card Concept: My Christmas tree, and a whole lot more!

Do you have a favorite card you made this year? We all have that special card

that turned out just right! Won't you share it with us at the Card Concept?

Or would you like to share your Christmas Tree?

That's our challenge for the end of 2019. Share a favorite card or a 

photo of your tree. 

I'd like to welcome you to the Penir house, all dressed up for the holidays!

Welcome to my home!

Much of what you are going to see is handmade. A gathering of Christmas

ornaments and decorations over many years of crafting and collecting.

As you walk through the front door, you are greeted by Santa in his finery, with a frosty 

tree and reindeer on our front table. 

This jolly guy greets you as you enter the great room. I'm not sure why it's called the 

'great room', except it's supersized and holds the whole Penir clan when we get 

together.

Directly ahead in the 'great room' is our main tree, a 9 1/2 footer. 

So many ornaments on this tree, with birds and cotton branches

and hollyberries and lots of ribbon!

This sweet red and white ceramic one is a favorite, bought from a Christmas store on 

one of our trips. 

The tree is never done the same. Sometimes I go heavy on the silks and

greenery, sometimes I go natural and rustic. This year it's a bit more formal

than usual with ribbon and lots of ornaments.

This Santa and tree sits on a Christmas quilt, also in the great room.

Our nativity sits on the fireplace mantle every year. It's opposite the big tree.

I love this felt shoe ornament, handmade too!

From there we head to the dining room, better known as the Nutcracker room.

The dining room has 2 trees, one in each corner, decorated with little nutcrackers and candy.

The grandkids help with these 2 trees. They love bringing out the tiny

nutcrackers and super sized candies!

Here's a closeup of a tiny Santa chef.

A bigger Santa chef sits atop the dining room plate rack.

Some of these are musical, but all are loved by the grands!

The family room is next, with a miniature village tucked into a cabinet.

More Santas and trees on a table behind the couch in the family room.

One of my favorite Santas was made from my mother in law's old 

mink stole. Did I mention I made all the Santas and miniature trees?

Santa's coat was a set of silk drapes in a former life.

Our cards are on display around a door leading into my craft room. This time of

year the room is off bounds to the family, as there is major wrapping going on.

That's Ella my new puppy in the doorway. My present came with 4 legs and a

waggly tail!

Above the family room fireplace.

This mantle is above my cooktop, and is one scene that never changes. 

Truthfully, I don't think there's an undecorated spot in the house!

I hope you enjoyed your tour, and my hope is that you feel the joy

that comes with the celebration of our Savior's birth! 

Merriest of Christmases

and

Blessings for a happy New Year too!