Saturday, December 3, 2011

Christmas, oh how I love you!

What a month I've had! I did get my preparation done in time for my interview and it certainly paid off as I got the job! I'll be teaching at a brand new school next year that is still being built! It's so exciting! Yay!

I also finished all my Christmas cards yesterday, thank goodness. It's taken me 3 months on and off to get them done. I tried paper piecing and I'm pleased with the results. The colours pop more in real life, I just couldn't get a decent snap of the card today, sigh.


I made 50 plus some spares. I used different patterned paper (as I've posted in a previous entry) so each card is different from the next one.

Materials:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, patterned paper is called December 25th by Kaisercraft.
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Basic Black marker.
Stamps: Ornate Ornaments by Lawn Fawn.
Other: Basic Rhinestones, sponge.

Tips and Tricks:
1. Since I was making so many cards I did it all in stages like an assembly line:
  1. Made a prototype.
  2. Paper pieced the ornaments.
  3. Cut the base cards and card layers.
  4. Sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla with Crumb Cake ink.
  5. Stamped images on the Very Vanilla.
  6. Attached paper pieced ornaments.
  7. Stamped sentiments on base cards.
  8. Wrote messages in all the cards.
  9. Attached layers to card fronts and added rhinestones.
  10. Addressed envelopes and now they are ready to post!
2. Paper piecing took a long time! I stamped the baubles on patterned paper and cut them out. I stamped the baubles again on patterned paper and cut out the bands and topper pieces. Then I ran the edge of a Basic Black marker around the edge of each paper piece to hide the cut edge.
3.  I use my scissors to help me attach the sticky back rhinestones accurately. I find it easier than using tweezers.

Stuff Ups:
1. Lots. When making so many cards, mistakes are easy to make. The most mistakes were to do with stamping, the image smudging or not stamping fully, etc, etc.

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