Thursday, February 27, 2014

February Christmas Cards

Hello!  Today I have my February Christmas Cards to share.  As most of you already know, I play the Splitcoaststampers Challenge where we make Christmas Cards all year long so that were not stressed out during the busy holiday season.  I make five cards a month so that I will have about sixty Christmas cards at the end of the year.  This year I decided to make only CAS cards limiting them to no more than two layers and as little 'lumps and bumps' as possible to make them more cost effective to mail.  I also decided to make five identical cards a month instead of five different cards a month, to take the stress out of coming up with five new designs every month.  In addition, the size of my cards was changed from A2 to a long 4 x 8 so that I can fit a photo card inside the card.

I've been very pleased with my new changes so far.  My only dilemma is finding a new CAS layout every month that still has a 'wow' impact.  This is what I came up with this month:

I used a retired Stampin Up! set called 'Celebrate the Season'.  I stamped the very large sentiment on an angle in black, then I used a sparkle black embossing powder.   I then stamped the light wire in Handsome Hunter and the light bulbs in Rose Red and Summer sun.  For extra glitz, I put Crystal Effects on the bulbs so that they are nice and shiny like real light bulbs would be.  Finally I added three green sequins to finish off the card.

 Here is a close up of the light bulbs covered in Crystal Effects.
 And here is the black sparkle embossed sentiment.  I am having a problem with the embossing powder rubbing off.  I used Versamark, which has always worked well for me before.  Has anyone else ever had this problem, and if so, what did you do to fix it?
 This was the 4 x 8 photo collage I used last year.  I really love the new photo cards where you can include snippets of your family or what you did last year plus include a personal message.
 And finally, to proved I made my quota this month, here are all five cards.

Have a good day!  Amy

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5 comments:

  1. EllibelleFebruary 27, 2014 at 6:15 PM

    These are great Amy! Love the shine you added! About the embossing powder coming off...I would try heating it up again, that usually works for me. Or if you didn't get enough versamark on the stamp, you can try going over the words again with a versamarker, add a little more powder and heat again.

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  2. Patti JFebruary 27, 2014 at 7:22 PM

    Great cards, Amy! You go girl...I'm so impressed with those of you that make your cards up in advance! These are really pretty! I agree with Ellie's advice! Let us know how they turn out!

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  3. Lau WFebruary 28, 2014 at 4:51 AM

    Oh superb ! Love the glossy effect !
    Have a nice week-end Amy !
    xxx

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  4. Glenda AtkinsMarch 5, 2014 at 10:17 AM

    Wonderful cards, love the look of the 'glossy effects', makes the bulbs look realistic!
    hugs
    Glenda

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  5. Sandy KayMarch 6, 2014 at 3:51 PM

    Hi Amy Love the idea of using the old SU set. I still have that one too! That's a cool way to position the bulbs (with the smaller tip at the wire) I still always stamp them the conventional way with the bigger end at the wire, but yours are cute - I'll have to try that sometime!

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