Christmas Alphabet - Y for You and Z for Zero Temperatures

Evening Everyone,

Well, here they are, the last two cards in the Alphabet series. First up is Y for You.

This is for my sweetie. The digital stamp is another of those I coloured in with ProMarkers (sorry, once again I can't remember the colours) whilst on holiday in Wales. I really had no plans for it at the time, however, when I saw this paper, from Memory Box (in the pack included in the recently won blog candy from Jude) I remembered the image ... and it has all come together perfectly to make this card ... serendipitously, you might say :

My rediscovered B-C-E layering template has been pressed into service again to mat the image using a scrap of brown card and some of the co-ordinating paper. The same paper together with a second co-ordinating paper have been cut into strips and scalloped with a border punch to form the trims.

And that is about it - some glitter, gems, card candy and an embossed greeting finish the card off.

The trim is repeated inside and on the back just to finish it off.

Materials Used:

• Cardstock: Stampin' Up 12"x12" card, Whisper White, trimmed to make a 6" square card base; Neenah Solar Smooth white card for stamped topper; Papermania textured card, brown for matting
• Design Paper: Memory Cox 6x6 paper collection, Mistletoe
• Stamps: Digi Stamp Boutique, Henry & Zoe Xmas Kiss; Docrafts Penelope & Percy Christmas Greetings
• Tools: B-C-E Layering Template, Baby Nesties Square; X-cut scalloped border punch
• Sundries: ProMarkers; VersaMark; Sheena Wow EP, Burgundy Red Regular; Iridescent Glitter; Card candy, Vintage Berries red, Anita's tiny gems, red

The only snippet used in this card was the brown card in the matting, I wonder if  this qualifies for the snippet challenge? It does prove that even when I'm creating yet more leftovers I'm still trying to make something of a dent in the snippet mountain.  I'll let the lady herself decide by submitting it to:

Jules Crafty Snippet Challenge - Week 46

Last, but perhaps not least, here's the Z for Zero Temperatures card.

This shaped card was printed from Joanna Sheen's CD-ROM, Jane Shasky, From the Heart of the Garden, onto Neenah Solar smooth white card.

The front is decoupaged and embellished with Polar White Flower Soft, iridescent glitter, snowflakes punched from holographic mirri card, and Anita's gloss for the holly berries.

Although the finished card is A6 in size from the top of the red cardinal to the bottom, the inside is actually about half the size. To reduce the insert to fit I imported it into a graphic programme and re-sized it to fit the inside, then printed it onto copy paper.

The instructions on the CD-ROM do not include decorating the back but when the card was completed I was not happy with it. The back of the 'fence' was just white card and and, to my mind, did not look good so what to do? Well, what I did was to capture the front of the card using the snap tool in Adobe and import it into the graphic programme too. Once there, I was able to re-size and flip the image, then cut out and adhere it to the top half. If I were to make this card again, I would do this bit first before attaching it to the front ... having left it to the last, I had to nudge the bottom edge of the 'fence' down below the back - very fiddly!

The bottom half of back is simply decorated with part of an insert cut to size.
It might have taken twice as long to make as anticipated but it's a cute wee card and I love red cardinals ... I wish they came to live in this country during the winter as, with their vivid red colour, they are a pleasure to watch. However, I'm not sure what our very own little robin redbreasts would take kindly to such stiff competition in the colour department :)

So that's it - the Alphabet Series is complete for 2011 and, added to the one/two a week I've been making since Week 1 this year, I now have a sizeable stash of cards ready to send/hand out to family and friends - yeah!! I'm so pleased to have finished early this year because I can now concentrate on making some handmade gifts - there's 5 weeks left in which to do this ... hopefully, I'll be able to complete a few nice projects in that time.

In the meantime, the weekend is almost done, Russell has been voted off Strictly and we are left with the real contenders, and the lights were switched on in Ayr tonight ... and I missed it :(  I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend, and if you haven't, I hope tomorrow is a better day for you.

Take care everyone and happy crafting,