Delightful Inspiration

I was perusing blogs yesterday, trying to relax, and I checked in with Laurie Schmidlin of Just Give Me Stamps. She had posted a little Christmas card design that made a lightbulb go off in my head. I was too tired to pursue my idea yesterday, but today, after I'd done some other stuff that was deemed productive, I played around with the idea she'd inspired.

The idea was to use the center of one of the ornaments in the Delightful Decorations set to create mini ornaments for an evergreen. I pulled out Peaceful Wishes, which has said branch, and inked it up with Mellow Moss. It really doesn't photograph nicely, but it is a pretty, soft green. Then I set about to create the little ornaments. I chose Ruby Red, Summer Sun, and Bashful Blue as my ornament colors. After I'd stamped each ornament, I used my 1" circle punch to extricate just the decoration from the center of each paper globe. Then I inked them with Versamark and embossed them with Clear Embossing Powder to give them shine, like a real ornament. (Almost burned my finger when I picked up the first one; that stuff can get HOT!)

Then I needed the ornament topper so they could be hung on the tree. There is no stamp for this, so I applied Versamark to a 1/4" scrap strip of Whisper White and embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder. A little snip here, a little snip there, and I had a topper! Next, the loop. Two glue dots and a little noose of silver elastic cord, and I was in business! I applied one more glue dot to the back so it would stick to the base and positioned them where I wanted them on the branches. Then I applied a glue dot to the top of each ornament, and a Stampin' Dimensional to the main part of the circle to compensate for the thickness created by the topper, and I had what I'd pictured in my head. Thanks, Laurie!

One last note: the greeting is from Many Merry Messages, a set that I think will be retired after this catalog year. If you like it, don't put off purchasing it. It has 8 great greetings in a variety of beautiful fonts that coordinate with each other. It's a fantastic investment you'll use for years.

I know it's only October and seems really early to be thinking about Christmas, but it's something that has to be done if you're considering making your cards this season. By getting started now, you have a prayer of enjoying the process, instead of waiting and having it end up as a dreaded task to complete. Don't become a Scrooge--think and plan and have some fun!

All items mentioned in this post are available for purchase through my online Demonstrator Business Website. Click on the Shop Online button in the upper right of the blog and then click on the SHOP NOW button at my site. You can have it all delivered directly to your door and get the same prices you would if you'd ordered through me via email or by phone.