Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! I made a tag! :)

This is an often neglected part of my holiday preparations, for some reason, so I was determined to make tags this year. This is a Nativitag! :)

I wanted a light background for the little scene, but the white was too stark against my pretty metallic paper, so I went with a magazine page instead and I think it works nicely.

It's my fave reanimated magazine - Food and Wine - because of the matte paper it's printed on.

Stamps: Doodle Factory O Holy Night, Sentiments Christmas Nativity
Paper: Stampin' Up! metallic DSP, Whisper White, Magazine Page Ink: Copper Memento, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copics, Copper Embossing Powder, Stampin' Up! Ribbon Originals

I need to re-subscribe to a few magazines - my supply has dwindled! Hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

It's all About the Gifts

Tis the season of gifts, right? Well today's card started with one of the best birthday gifts I've ever gotten. My friend Lisa gave me a little bag of antique findings she had had for many years. There were beautiful, one of a kind buttons, quilt squares, a gorgeous old pattern, and several varieties of vintage trims, including this one.I hated to even take it out of the package, with its fun retro typography and beautiful yellow label, which I carefully saved. But I promised her I would use it, so I did. It is black and stretchy fine mesh organdy trim, with the most delicate and interesting scalloped crocheted edge. It is a work of art.

It inspired me.

Great, thoughtful gifts like this are so rare and wonderful. Since it tis the season, I thought about three gifts in particular for a special baby boy. I thought I would do a little piece where the givers were not the focal points, but the gifts.

So I took the new O Holy Night set, and colored the wise men in shades of grey Copics. The only color on them is on their gifts, which I carefully glittered.
It's hard to photograph, but they are brilliant and sparkly, I promise.

I added the vintage trim under their feet, and put it all on some Graphic 45 Communique paper. I stamped the Noel and sponged it until the colors blended with the paper.

Remember this holiday season - it's the thought that counts!!

If You're Like My Family...

We went through this phase where we all bought the same books for everyone at Christmas. One year, everyone got 4 copies of The Firm. One year, Into Thin Air. One year, Little Green Men.

It was hilarious. We'd open copy 1, copy 2, copy 3. We'd redistribute to anyone that hadn't gotten the ubiquitous book of the year, but then still have extras.

If this has happened to you, I suggest you make cards out of the book(s). :)

Here's a little Christmas ditty made out of books as homage to the Blakley conundrum.
Stamps: Patterned Pines Ink: Perfect Plum Paper: Very Vanilla, Book Page Accessories: Glitter, Sponge

PS - We've solved this by eliminating all Christmas gifts that are not either regifted - something you already own, or handmade with things you have on hand. Best Christmases ever!!

What are your holiday traditions?

For Jaimie

Thank you for stopping by. If you are stopping by on the Spread the Love Blog Hop, since I'm pretty far down the list, you already know why you're here, and thank you so much for visiting me, and thank you to Denise and Erin - the wonderful women behind this.

If you came here another way, please click here for the first part of this story. I hope this hop inspires you to make a card and send it to Jaimie.

I chose a few things that might make a little girl happy. For the background, a reanimated Hardy Boys Mystery, which I was reading at about Jaimie's age. There's nothing like a good mystery to transport you to another place. Then, I added lots of pink, courtesy of Basic Grey's Indian Summer and Stampin' Up!'s Melon Mambo Ribbon.

The hedgie I chose for its symbolic contribution - most things that seem prickly on the outside can turn out to be sweet and soft and surprising on the inside. I hope that something awful turns into a positive and sweet life for little Jaimie.
This adorable image is from my new favorite Etsy seller - Niko Art. Nicole is an amazingly talented designer and her images are adorable and perfect. I hope it brings a smile.

If you want to help more, please visit the special blog that has been set up for this effort.

It's people like Denise and Erin that really put joy in creating art, and making sure that art connects us to people and not things.

Say your prayers for little Jaimie, and if you have time, send her a card.

Your next stop on the hop is the lovely and talented Amanda Newton.

If you'd like to start at the top of the hop, please click here to see Katharina's Card.