Christmas is Coming - MAKE CARDS!!

Yesterday was a puttering sort of day. It was my day off from the Spa, so I played a bit in the Paper Spa - making cards for a couple of challenges and working on one for the 365 Card Blog Challenge for yesterday as well. I didn't finish the card until this morning - but the stitching was done yesterday. Did I say STITCHING??? Yeah - that was the challenge for yesterday - to use stitching on your card - and not just any kind of stitching - but a particular stitch - BLANKET stitching. A stitch often used to reinforce the edge of thick materials.

It is really quite a simple stitch and I had considered hauling out my sewing machine and doing it that way, however, it was just easy to pierce my paper all along the edge and then grab some of my embroidery thread and stitch away. Thankfully I hadn't packed THAT away yet! :) When I first saw the challenge for Day 225, I wasn't sure what I was going to choose as my image - but then decided that a Christmas card was needed (for the troops - the deadline is the end of the month to get the cards to the shippers at OWH). So I pulled out one of my favorite new sets and stamped this beautiful image. I started coloring with my pencils - and didn't like the way the small flower on the left was turning out - especially when I finished the other flowers and liked them so much better. So, I stamped another image - colored that one flower and then cut it out and popped it off the one that I didn't like.
I am not sure if you can see the layers real well from the photograph. It is only subtly popped off the original image. In real life it is pretty cool. I have these VERY tiny pop squares that I got at a LSS. The store sells these sheets of images that you layer and layer and layer - so the image becomes real 3D - it is kind of neat and one of these days I will pull out the sheets that I bought and make one to share here. Anyway, back to my card - I used my favorite DP this season to mat my card base and then I was able to find some more small pieces of the Early Espresso. I really like this color - it is so rich and beautiful and it goes so nicely with the Cherry Cobbler - another of my favorite new colors.I had considered using ribbon - tied in a bow - on my card, but it just didn't seem to fit anywhere, so I settled for these pearls from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek at my card for YESTERDAY'S challenge - now on to see what they are challenging me to do today and wondering whether it is something I can easily do - you know, with all my stuff getting packed away. :)

Enjoy your day - wherever you are in the world.

~Paula~