Christmas Card Challenge # 12 - Inspiration Photo.

Welcome to a new Christmas Card Challenge!

 

This week we have an inspiration photo for you:

 

 

In detail: Christmas Tree and Ornaments!

 

This is my card:

 

I decided to use one of my favourite stamps from Little Claire and some papers from my stash.

This cute little hedgehog is sooo adorable, right?

 

Have a look here to see the wonderful creations from the DT and let's get started! Christmas is not so far away...

 

 



Christmas Critters

Critters are my favorite subject for cards, at Christmas and in any other occasion. They can be funny, serious, sad, joyful, they make you laugh or simply smile even in the saddest times.

Being THE SEASON for cards, Christmas has such a variety of stamps that it's impossible not to fall in love with one of them. I unfortunately fall in love with most of them, so my wish list is always long.

Last year I discovered some stamps with hedgehogs I had to buy and immediately I made cards which sold quickly. This year I took them out and the first card is ready:

This oh-so-cute hedgehog is from Little Claire Designs and it seems it inspires me to make red cards: I had a look at the picture of last year card and it was red, although a bit different.

The patterend paper is from the new Festive Treats paper pad from First Edition Paper. I added tons of glitters in the lights on the tree and in the baubles.

I will enter this card in the following Challenges:

Little Claire Monthly Challenge # 24 where the theme is "Christmas"

and

Jingle Belles "Not A Creature Was Stirring"

Well, it's holiday today in Italy so I'd better go and spend some time with my family!

I Love Hedgehogs!

I must admit I love hedgehogs!

It started with a couple of stamps I bought to make some charity cards for a girl who asked for some donations for a "Save the Hedgehogs" cause.

A year + later, I must admit I'm addicted to them!

I remember many years ago when I was still living with my parents I met a hedgehog (the only one in my life) and tried to save it from the road: it was difficult to raise it and put it on the grass!

Living in town means these meetings are pretty rare but I still remember that not-so-little hedgehog!

Among my favorites, there are Little Claire's and I'm happy to tell you that they've just started selling digi stamps next to their clear stamp line and so I took the chance to buy a hedgehog digi with which I made this card:

It's a small card I made for Mother's Day: I colored the digi with watercolor pencils and added two light blue rhinestones and a yellow pearl as flower centre. A heart is a must-have in a Mother's Day card!

This card is being entered in Little Claire # 1 Challenge: for their very first monthly challenge the theme is "Anything Goes".

Mother's Day in Italy is mid-May so there's still plenty of time to think about it!

Christmas Traditions

When I was a little girl, our preparation for Christmas started around December 8.

It was a tradition to prepare the tree on December 8: it is a national holiday, schools and offices are closed and most of us spent the day decorating the tree, making our Nativity scenes and preparing the home for Christmas.

Years have passed, Ikea has come and now shops start selling Christmas decoration in October, lights are switched on in November, malls are ready for Christmas shopping just after Halloween (which, by the way, we started celebrating just a few years ago).

Is it good? Is it bad?

Having an Internet shop I now have to prepare Christmas cards and items a long before December and I'm in the Christmas mood and colors since last July, but I'm a bit annoyed to be out for shopping in October when it's still warm and sunny and see Christmas decorations.

On December 8 school and offices are still closed but shops are not. They start their Christmas marathon in November and are always open, Monday through Sunday without any stop.

I must admit that, if I have time, I take everything out on December 1: I love the Christmas tree, the decorations and the house looks so pretty in this period.

In this Christmas spirit, I want to share with you a card that I'm entering to SirStampalot November Challenge:

Christmas Traditions

 

Here's the link if you want to have a look at the challenge: http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/11/november-challenge.html

For this card I used a lovely Little Claire Stamp which I coloured with watercolor pencils, chalks and, of course, some glitter.

I love these hedgehogs and this card represents a Christmas tradition in our family: on Christmas Eve we go to my Mom's, have dinner there and then open presents. When I was a little girl, we went to my grandparents' house where the whole family met and I was so excited to see everybody coming in with beautiful dresses and presents that we were in charge to distribute shortly after dinner.

Well, that's all for today, I have to prepare some more Christmas cards!