Runs with Scissors and Season’s Greetings!
Ho, Ho, Ho and Merry Christmas! Here I am among the glitter and glue and glossy bits left from a very busy week at Penny Black! The elves have been busy playing working with the new Christmas release of Penny Black stamps, dies and stencils. I can just imagine they are still finding traces of glitter and ink in places where such things don’t belong.
Are you on your best behavior? Have you smashed your piggy bank? Have you made your wish list? As always, Penny Black’s Christmas release has something for everyone’s style. Your Christmas cards can be traditional, sweet, elegant, elaborate or clean and simple. The beautiful Creative Dies make it so easy to produce multiple cards of the same design. You will be so pleased with the detail in these dies.
Warning: once I began making Christmas cards with the new release I had trouble stopping. This will be a photo heavy Runs with Scissors.
I began by using the new Creative Dies.
Christmas card making is no time to be conservative! Bring on the glitter and gloss, I say. This gorgeous, substantial die is called The Gift. I just flipped my paper over to create the mirror image.
This die is Leap of Joy and I love how large it is. I was happy to rediscover my hoard supply of long-ago-purchased rich glossy card stock. The gold, silver, red and glitter papers add so much to the classic designs. This card would be perfect for making in quantity and is flat for mailing.
How about a change from the glitter and gloss traditional designs? For this card, I’ve used the negative diecut from the largest Crystal Trio die. I mounted it with dimensionals and love the shadow pattern this created.
This snowflake card was the result of a day of desperately trying to photograph a different card I made with silver glitter snowflakes against a white background. No matter where or how I photographed that card, I could not capture the sparkle, which left the card looking boring in the photo. A good night’s sleep brought me to my senses and I made this card instead.
We are at the halfway point in the card sharing and I think an INTERMISSION is appropriate. Refreshments are available in the lobby.
If you are up for it, I will tell a true story while you sip your drinks.
At one point in our marriage we were finally down to one child at home. I was determined that our mini-family needed to establish new Christmas traditions, just for us. I thought that joining a Christmas Light Tour offered by a local tour bus company would be something we could do together to jostle our Christmas Spirit. Not so little Miss Thirteen. If it involved being seen with her parents, she was not interested; more like stubbornly opposed. I was not to be deterred. It wasn’t quite “over the river and through the woods’, but being December in Wisconsin it was over icy streets to the other side of town to board the bus. Expensive tickets in hand, we got on board and sat back as the bus carefully made its way to the chosen decorated neighborhood. My husband and I began sharing questioning looks as we started to figure out where the bus was headed. Even Ms. 13 unfolded the arms she had kept close to her chest as she, too, realized the impossible truth.
Yes, it really did happen. The bus was driving through our very neighborhood, on our very street, right past our very house – which unfortunately was in total darkness because I forgot to turn on the Christmas lights before we left. Perhaps a traditional approach to Christmas is over-rated anyway.
I am blinking the house lights now: intermission is over.
I stamped and embossed the lovely poinsettia image Sparkler onto ivory textured cardstock (channeling my inner Birgit) and colored it with Copics. It seemed to be lacking something. I then stamped the flower again and embossed with white and colored it using distress inks. I cut out the flower and mounted it onto the original poinsettia using dimensionals. See how the darker flower peeks from underneath: a happy accident.
And here she is .. one of the loves of my life – Mimi in her cute ear muffs and scarf with her Winter Friends. You can be sure she lives where winter is serious and she has dressed for the weather. I left her little legs bare as she protested wearing snow pants this early! She’s stamped and cut out and placed on embossed paper that is at least 15 years old! When I hoard, I do it well!
And my final card: relating to my personal belief of what the Christmas holiday means. These three wise men (We Three Kings) are great to color: rich jewel tones seemed appropriate. I fussy cut the image and mounted it on the blue circle background which was placed on an embossed starry sky. I added one glittery star to guide their journey.
What fun it has been sharing my cards and story with you. My hope is that you find some ideas and inspiration for making your own cards. I am so happy to have access to the Penny Black workshop and the goodies stored here. I don’t even mind that the leftover glitter and embossing powder finds its way into my hair and clothes. I am sure that happens in your craft room, too.
I brought Cooper along with me today, hoping he would just lie at my feet adoringly while I played with scissors and stamps. I know there are dogs out in blogland that do that. Well, I guess it’s only fair if I am allowed to run with scissors that Cooper can be mischievous, too.
I guess the only way to avoid further trouble is to put away the scissors, clean up the sparkly stuff, turn out the lights and call it a wrap! I’m happy you stopped by and love reading your comments. I’m always sure to answer your questions in the comments, too, so don’t forget to check back for my reply.
As I said at the start: Ho, Ho, Ho and Merry Christmas!!
Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies:
- Stamps: 40-338 Sparkler, 30-252 Winter Friends, 40-347 We Three Kings
- Creative Dies: 51-070 The Gift, 51-067 World of Wishes, 51-062 Leap of Joy, 51-066 Crystal Trio, 51-060 Exultations
