One of my Favorites...

So far, maybe this card is one of my favorites amongst the ones I've made for this Christmas:

I love the green card, the background paper (I don't know where it's from) the stamp (Feathered Friends from Lili of the Valley), the bell... everything! Although I'm not too fond of traditional Christmas colors like red & green, I love them! I added lots of glitter and rhinestones to make it shine and look as festive as possible.
I made three samples: one for my mom, the others for my Etsy shop. She'll love it. I'm planning to send her many cards this year (ehmm.. I always plan to do so but I rarely manage to...) during the countdown to Christmas: she displays every card she receives on her door and they look wonderful all together!

This card is perfect for the following challenge:

Lili of the Valley Challenge # 121: a Christmas card for someone special
and
Digi Doodle Shop Challenge # 83: red & green

Family

To me Christmas has always meant Family. Family traditions, family dinners and family time.

Now that I am a mom, it's even more family.

Not only I look forward Christmas Eve when we go at my mom's and have a lovely dinner with my sister and her family but I also love to prepare the atmosphere for my daughter.

I decorate the house, we decorate the Christmas tree together, there's always a small Advent Calendar to help us counting down to Christmas, a Nativity to remember the reason for Christmas celebrations.

I wait in bed on Christmas Day for my daughter who wakes up, look in the living room and says: "Santa has come!". Maybe this year will be the last one she believes in Santa but to me it'll always be something to treasure: the magic of Christmas! The lights, the warmth, the time spent together, the astonishment of children in front of these little things, the poetry of Christmas.

To celebrate Family, I made this card:

I actually bought this S.W.A.L.K. stamp to reach a minimum order value in an online shop but once I had it in my hands I had to make something with it and a family Christmas card was perfect.

I used a patterned paper I've recently found at Ikea in a lovely card kit on sale! Felt and paper snowflakes to celebrate winter and ice-skating and a heart charm to celebrate family and love.

And... I remember when I was a young girl I wanted to learn ice skating and sometimes my parents brought me to a rink so I could try: maybe my dad was not too happy to drive a long way on chilly Sunday mornings but he wanted to make me happy...

Treasured family moments I'll always bring with me.

I'm enetering this card into:

ABC Christmas Challenge: W is for Winter Sports

Crafters Comapnion Challenge # 18: Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let it Snow

Fab'n'Funky Challenge # 99: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Moving Along with the Times Challenge # 125: Let It Snow

Sweet Little Santas

As soon as I saw this new release from DigiStamp Boutique I fell in love with these little Santas.

Perfect for card and tags and... for my tiny clothespins.

I was looking for cute Christmas images to make seasonal clothespins: I had chicks for spring, crabs for summer, pumpkins for Halloween and I needed something for the Holidays.

They were just perfect. I chose three images and made these:

They are perfect as place cards, clipped on napkins or glasses, as tags on presents, as party table decorations... I've found a variety of uses for them.

Of course, I put some glitter and a ribbon... it's Christmas!

I've already made a series of tiny tags with these Santas and planning to use them for other projects... they are so cute, I wish I could hug them!

Although I did not plan them for a Challenge, I'll enter them in DigiStamp Boutique November Customer Competition: it's not a card but I hope they'll like them!

This Mouse Makes Me Happy!

It frequently happens that I fall in love with images. I bought many children's books (with my daughter's utmost pleasure) just because I loved the illustrations, the colors, the atmosphere.

And I've recently bought this digi stamp because I love it, it really makes me happy:

It's Mistletoe Jasper from DigiStamp Boutique and I decided to make a happy, bright Christmas card with traditional colors: greens and reds.

I colored it with Copics and used lots of pearls for the mistletoe and the buttons in Jasper's jacket. Glitter of course, a couple of paper flowers and a red satin ribbon. The lovely paper is Holly Jolly Christmas from Echo Park.

I love it! It makes me happy and it's so festive!!!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

DigiStamp Boutique November Customer Competition - Anything Goes

The Stamping Boutique Monthly Challenge - Holidays/Winter projects

Crafty Caz Challenge # 108 - Use a Digital Image

Digital Tuesday Challenge # 136 - Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes Challenge # 94 - Rectangles

Have You Already Started Buying Christmas Presents?

I haven't. Well, that's not true. I bought a Lego house for my daughter a couple of days ago... I've already forgotten...

That's the problem I have when I start buying Christmas presents in advance: I forget what I have already bought, especially when I'm in a shop, see something that could be perfect for someone and buy it. I do stop and think if I have already bought something but I always forget I already have.

I usually use paper scraps to write down wish lists or lists for what I buy but I always lose them in the mess I have on my table...

This is the reason I think a Gifts List Notebook is useful: you can keep it in the bag and bring it with you when you go shopping...

This year I've already made several of them for the shop. This is the last one I've made:

This notebook was created from a mistake: I printed this Scarlette digi image from Bugaboo Stamps a bit too big for a card so I decided to use it for a tall notebook.

She's so pretty and elegant and... so full of gifts! I've used some colors perfect for Christmas but I think it can be use for the whole year.

I'm entering this notebook into:

Bugaboo Catch the Bug Challenge where "Anything Goes"

Since I printed and colored two Scarlettes, I think I'll use one to make a notebook just for me!

Bright and Sparkly!

Christmas in pink: I love it! It's girly, it's sweet, it's festive with a touch of green and red and of course... with lots of GLITTER!!!

I put all of them in this card:

I used a distressed patterned paper from Basic Grey with purple, pink and light blue holly, a striped paper, a pink bow, four pink pearls and... an adorable stamp from Lili of the Valley - Make It Festive. I added tons of glitter: in her apron and dress, in the ornaments, in the holly on the table...

I love it! i love the way it shines according on how the light touches it!

This is one of the first cards I've colored with Copics: such detailed stamps are often difficult to color with watercolor pencils for ink sometimes bleed while Copics are just perfect!

I'm going to enter this card into:

Lili of the Valley Challenge # 119 - Bright and Sparkly
and
Cute Card Thursday Challenge # 189 - Baby You're a Firework!

I've just received a new stamp I want to use for Christmas cards... I'd better go and stamp!!

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!

Can Dinos Bling?

My sweet niece is turning three in a few days. Her latest - and long-lasting - passion are dinos and some weeks ago I bought a set of digi stamps from Doodle Dragon Studios featuring lovely dinos with the idea to make a birthday card for her. I often buy digis or stamp with an idea in mind but most times I end up in buying one... Is it possible that a cardmaker buys cards for friends and relatives?

Fully in my "mass production" mode I found the time to make a birthday card for my niece and make three more for my shop (of for future needs).

This is my card - Girly version:

My niece is in love with dinos but she's also a very girly girl and so I decided to use lots of glitter: balloons are glittered, the gift bow is glittered and the paper (from DCWV) is also glittered. I added a shiny satin pink bow and some pearls.

All this glitter and bling suit perfectly the requirement of Dustin Pike Challenge "All Things Shiny".

But, can dinos be glittery???

In any case, I made also a version for boys, less glittery:

... well, I couldn't help myself and added some bling there too!!!

A Girly Christmas

After trying with Red & Gold for Christmas, I went back to my fav colors: pinks and greens with a touch of red. Most of my Christmas cards this year have these colors. I love the fresh, girly and happy sensations they give to my cards!

This morning I was hopping from blog to blog and I ended in a lovely blog with a lovely card made with a lovely stamp. I immediately followed the link (I apologise but I cannot remember the blog name, I lost it while browsing through the newly discovered store).

The store is Annabelle Stamps an Australian Company which sells cute stamps and craft goods. I already put some of their stamps in my wish list, as soon as I have some funds I'll surely be back to buy some.

Of course, they have a blog Annabelle Stamps Blog and a Challenge and... the theme this week is: "Say it in... Pink, Green and Kraft and... voilà, I made this card:

 I had colored this Jennifer Latte digi stamp from The Stamping Boutique yesterday, while waiting for my daughter's dance lesson. I wanted it to be girly, really girly and pink and... girly! This morning I still had no idea on how to make the card with it but when I saw the Challenge theme I knew it was perfect!

I made the card with green textured cardstock, added a Papermania patterned paper and used some craft paper behind the stamp colored with Copics and embellished with tons of glitters! A luxurious satin bow and a lilac bell add the final touch.

I love how it turned out!

Christmas Owl Card - Version # 2

When I decided to make the card I showed you yesterday for Meljen's Designs Challenge, I had already painted four owls: I'm in the "mass production" mode and I try to make two or three samples of the same card. As I told you, I have a very limited quantity of gold paper and this time I preferred to keep it for future projects.

The painted owls were too cute to remain in my "painted digis stash" and I decided to make two more cards: I kept the same layout but I changed colors a bit. I used a white card, a holly patterned paper, red again to match the owl scarf and hat, a printed sentiment, glitter and again four matching rhinestones.

The impression is of a fresh card with traditional Christmas colors for this cute owl. But I'm already thinking about making a winter card with him, with blues and whites and glitter... maybe soon!