Jumpin' Jehosephats Frog Birthday

I first cut the frogs out using chipboard to add dimension and then cut the same frogs out in green cardstock. To add color depth, I sponged over the green paper in three different shades of green paint (Making Memories Scrapbook colors in Evergreen, Meadow and Honeydew) and then used Making Memories Scraphbook Pearl Glaze on top to add a nice sheen. Cheeks were made by using a combination of chalk ink, a blush shade of standard chalk and then standard white chalk to soften the color a bit. I also used bright yellow chalk to accent the hands and feet, slapped on some eyes and a green magic marker to trace the mouths. I also used a dark shade of green chalk ink on the outline of the frogs. I'm impatient, so you can see where my chalk ink smeared on the paper a bit. Oh well, that's how crafting goes; nothing is ever really perfect, right? Slapped some eyes and put the frogs on blue bubble paper in an up-and-down motion to make it look like they're jumping and printed Jumpin' Jehosephats on vellum and here you have it!

The inside of the card says, "You're THAT old?!?!?!?!"

Card measures 6 1/2" x 5" (duh!)

Daisy Chain (Modern)

By now, you've noticed I interpret "every day" things in an abstract manner. This is a modern version of a daisy chain. The muted yellow, orange, taupe and brown tones compliment each other and create depth of field on a very busy pattern. The design element appears distressed and also features a yellow "inked" border. I mounted this on orange cardstock and accented it with a hand-sewn zigzag border in cantaloupe floss. Card measures 5" x 5 1/16 and comes with envelope for mailing.

Christmas 2008: Reindeer

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is probably the first holiday song we learn as children. It's easy. It rhymes. It transports children (and adults) into a magical fantasy world where reindeer's are Super-Heroes. It is the ultimate in stretching the imagination and we all might as well admit it; we actively searched for reindeer, specifically Rudolph, and believed for the longest time that Rudolph and Santa existed and without that magical combination, gifts simply would not arrive in time for the morning delight.

I'm drawing a blank as to where the words, "Merry" and "Bright" in terms of the holiday season come from. I can't remember if it's from a movie, song or story, but I do know somewhere in the tradition of the winter holiday, there's a line stating, "All is Merry and Bright." Playing off of those five little words and finding the most perfectly understated paper with trees and "snowflakes" and having the two perfect reindeer, I created this card. The card features two fawn brown reindeer (they're kissing!), complete with red glittered noses (a la Rudolph), silver and gold glittered antlers, and black, glittered hooves. Topping off the entire design is the crushed velvet flocked ears and tail of each reindeer and a pair of "googley eyes." The word, "Merry" is written in silver pen on the left reindeer and "Bright" is written in gold on the right reindeer, tying in the color of their antlers. The inside of the card reads, "All is Merry and Bright this holiday season. Happy Holidays!"

Now, isn't this better than the 15 boring Santa cards you'll receive this year???

Christmas 2008: Sugar Plums

As kids, regardless of religion, we were all exposed to the famous story, "The Night Before Christmas," by Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston. One of my favorite lines from the story is, "...the children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads." I always wondered exactly what dancing sugar plums looked like and hoped that one Christmas Eve, I would be able to see them in my head, too.

As I shopped for paper this summer, I found two lovely shades of purple, but wondered how in the world I could associate those two colors with the holiday season. I stared and stared at the paper until finally --after about 15 minutes-- my favorite line popped into my head.

Here, on paper, is my interpretation of dancing sugar plums.

I did my best with my camera to capture the light reflecting off of the sugar (literally, a very fine glitter with the texture of grains of sugar) against the rich plum colored circular pattern. The pattern itself is hand-painted with lavender, gold and silver paints before being "sugared." The pattern is layered on iced-amethyst cardstock with the words, "...the children were nestled all snug in their beds," above the design, and "while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads" below it. The inside of the card reads, "May visions of sugar plums dance in your head all season long. Happy Holidays!"

Christmas 2008: The journey

It's no secret amongst family and friends; I put out a yearly supply of handmade (of course!) holiday cards. I do my best to stay religion-neutral, as not all of my friends and family believe in "Christmas," "God," or "Baby Jesus." That doesn't make them right or wrong; each person is entitled to their own personal belief. What it does make them is the recipient of season-neutral HOLIDAY cards from me. Granted, some of the images or designs could be read into as "Christian-based," but that's for someone else to decide. Personally, I just want to make holiday cards that people can enjoy, regardless of how they feel about religion or "seasonal" imagery.

With that being said, I did not make cards last year, as I got caught up with buying my first home, moving, etc. There was simply no time to put into card making for the holidays. I start my cards in August, complete them by mid-October and have them in the mail by December 5th. This year, I started well into September and planned to complete by November 1st, but that didn't work out, either. I am happy to announce that they are completed and are now sitting on my craft desk in their envelopes.

I have a list of 85+ recipients each year. I added the '+' because I make a few extra for people who didn't make the first list and to account for the inevitable, "oops, i forgot about person X," or when my husband asks me --on the 23rd of December--if we have any more cards because he just ran into person X whom he hasn't seen or heard from in a million years."

So, here goes. My 2008 Holiday cards. I always make more than one design. As I mentioned in previous posts, I thoroughly enjoy making different designs so people can ask, "which one did you get?," and it cuts down on the monotony of seeing the same card in every house you visit. In previous years, I have made as many as four different designs. This year, I cut it down to two: Sugarplums and Reindeer.

Why? Why not? I hope you enjoy them!!