Merry Christmas Cards

Christmas Eve is the main family celebration day of Christmas in Sweden and was always one of my favourite days of the year. This week we don't have a challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show, instead the team is sharing a special Christmas wish to all of you. Don't miss the wonderful projects posted by the team members (and read to the end of this post for a special Christmas offer).

One of the important parts of Christmas for me is making and sending Christmas cards. Making Christmas cards was also what got me into papercrafting about ten years ago. I wish I could see all the Christmas cards I've made in a big pile.

I love the idea of my cards travelling across the globe to their destinations.  I usually make every card different from the other, but this year I had to speed up the process a bit. The cards are still all different, but they have the same post card design and colouring method. I was happy to use a lot of my Christmas stamps.

I simply cut manila cardstock into post cards, coloured on both sides with Distress Stains (the quickest way to colour many cards). I used different combinations of stain, which was also a fun way of experimenting with how they would look together. All the cards have a bit of either Brushed Pewter or Tarnished Brass stain, since I love the metallic shine they give. You get six post card from one sheet of 12 inch manila cardstock, and since there are no embellishments, the cards don't cost much to make and are totally flat, making it easy to send them.

I like all my cards to be different, and I enjoy picking out which card will fit which recipient. I took out a lot of Christmas stamps and stamped the cards using different colours ink. All the cards have some stamping in black (Archival Jet Black), brown (Gathered Twigs) and one more colour.

The edges were inked and distressed.

I coloured all the cards in one session and stamped them in another. I think I used almost every single Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz Christmas stamp that I own.

On the back, I stamped post card at the top, and then used second generation stamping and a snowflake, star, music, or script stamp.

Here are some using Artistic Outpost stamps. I love how the Distress Stains makes every background unique.

And more with Artistic Outpost.

These were made with Hero Arts stamps. I made even more cards, but I think I am going to start boring you if I share them all.

We will be back on 31 January with a fabulous new challenge, you don't want to miss it. Simon Says Stamp also has an awesome Christmas gift for you, a special discount code: 40% OFF EVERYTHING IN OUR end of year sale category, coupon code: CLEAR40, now through December 31. There are over 1000 products to choose from, so don't miss it.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a wonderful year 2013 full of crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surface: Ranger Manila cardstock
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Letter to Santa, Christmas Blueprint, Classics #10, Christmas Time, Mini Holidays, Mini Holidays 2, Mini Holidays 4, Holiday Wishes, Reindeer Flight, Winter Sketchbook, Classics #9; Hero Arts: Starry Sky S5448, Tiny Flakes CG387, Snowy Tree CG370,  Winter Scene, Spirit of the Season CG375, Winking Reindeer H5457; Artistic Outpost: Snowy Woods, Mid Winter, Ephemera Backgrounds
Ink: Archival Ink Jet Black, Olive; Distress Ink Gathered Twigs, Broken China, Victorian Velvet, Peeled Paint, Pumice Stone, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap
Stain: Distress Stain: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Broken China, Victorian Velvet, Peeled Paint, Brushed Pewter, Tarnished Brass, Bundled Sage, Old Paper, Pumice Stone