Gearing up for Christmas

I know, the kids just went back to school and it is just September.  So why think about Christmas cards and holiday projects now?  Because if you are like me somehow the holidays always sneak up on you.  Each year I swear no more midnight baking or candy making or card addressing and each year that is just what I end up doing all over again.  So this year I am challenging myself to be done with the cards (including the family letter and addressing them), the gift purchasing and wrapping by December 1st so I can actually enjoy the holidays.  I actually started planning Christmas cards and projects several months ago and will be hosting a mega workshop in October where we are going to make 24 Christmas cards in one day (4 each of 6 designs).  One of the things I plan to do is make some beautiful boxed card sets for gifts for my family and friends.  You know everyone needs cards and people my mothers age have everything they need and can use but cards are something that she loves to receive, so each year she asks for them.  This year I am going to try some different ideas out here and I hope you will give me some feedback so I know which way to go with the cards.  But I digress, so here is one of the Christmas cards I created and I love the clean simple lines, let me know what you think (oh, and this is super simple to make).

Ok so I started with a card base cut from ruby card stock to 5 1/2 x 8  1/2" and folded to the standard A2 size of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2".  I then cut a piece of daisy white card stock to 4 x 5 1/4" and embossed it with the Damask embossing folder.  I cut a piece of the ruby card stock to 2 x 4 1/4" and punched the scallops along the bottom using one of my punches in my stash.  I then cut a pieces of daisy white card stock one at 1 1/2 x 4 1/4" on which I stamped the sentiment (from the Holiday Tags stamp set) in the bottom right corner with topiary ink.  I added a bow and ribbon (more stuff from my stash) around the white daisy card stock before attaching it to the ruby base.  The next piece of daisy white card stock was cut to 2 1/4 x 3 1/4" and it was stamped with an evergreen tree (from the Always Grateful stamp set).  For the trees I did a technique where I started with the trees in the background and to create that look I inked my stamp and stamped off on scrap paper and then stamped on my card stock (giving it that ghost image).  I did that three times across the back and then I stamped the trees in the foreground using normal stamping (I did however stamp off the card stock both on the sides and at the bottom to give the trees the look of differing sizes.  This was mounted onto a piece of ruby card stock that was cut to 2 1/2 x 3 1/2".  Now everything was assembled, note here though, when attaching embossed items or items that have ribbon wrapped around them you need to use a strong adhesive so the pieces don't pull apart (I used score tape).  I hope you like this simple yet elegant card, it is fun and easy to make and would be a great one for mass production.  

Below is a list of supplies used to create this card, they can be purchased on my website at www.craftwithronnie.ctmh.com or by clicking the shopping cart at the top of this blog.  Happy Crafting!!!

Supplies:  White daisy card stock (1385), ruby card stock (X5927), topiary ink (X5635), Damask embossing folder (Z1927), Always Grateful stamp set (C1559), and Holiday Tags stamp set (D1560)