A third Frugal Christmas card

Here's another entry for Nessa's Frugal Christmas challenge, where you should create a Christmas card using 'non-Christmas' goodies - although Christmas sentiments and backing paper/card are allowed:

I used:

- 4" x 4" square white card blank

- snippet of 'snowflake' backing card

- snippet of white sparkly mulberry paper, torn and layered  to resemble drifted snow

- snowman made using two buttons, a little snippet of bakers twine and two teeny snippets of black card for his hat :)

- sentiment is from LOTV 'Christmas Grungy Messages', stamped onto a snippet of white card using 'Real Red'

I'd spotted this snowman idea in Quick Cards Made Easy magazine this month - but had no idea how much sorting through the button boxes it would take to find two compatible buttons. But it was fun reminiscing - I even still have the huge orange buttons from a Mary Quant trouser suit, and that sure dates me!

I had a really concerned email from a lovely bloggy pal the other evening, wondering if all was OK as I hadn't posted anything that day. Things are busy here right now with some 'teacher training' coming up - so posts may well not appear on a daily basis. As my pal and I both observed, why do we go into a frenzy of cleaning before these things?

BUT, the Playground will continue as usual, although I may have to 'tweak' opening and closing times in a couple of weeks and you'll be kept up to date about any slight changes for sure.

Di
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Rudolph Day September 2013

This is my offering for Rudolph Day, run by my lovely buddy Sarn over HERE:

I used:

- 4" x 4" square cream card blank

- backing paper from a pack I bought in New Mexico by The Paper Studio called 'Cozy Little Christmas', cut carefully to make sure there are four squares running each way of course with the four middle ones hidden, OCD strike again!

- square of cream card

- snippet of green toning patterned card

- Scrabble letters from a free download here - in real life they do look like wood but the light here was dreadful for taking photos so they now look pink-tinged. The sheet of letters, which I just printed onto card (another time I might cover them with Glossy Accents), happily had three of each of the letters N,O,E and L - so I made three cards the same while I was at it :)

I've seen this idea in Blogland in a few places, but it was Helen over at It's All Fiddle Fart who recently reminded me in this post. Thanks Helen!

It's also for Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for September, where it's always anything goes.


Di
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Frugal Christmas card

One of my newest followers, the lovely Nessa over at The Crafty Laydee, has set a little challenge, it runs until 29th September and there's a lovely prize to be won too.

The challenge is to make a Christmas card using goodies which are not Christmas-specific. What a fun idea, and I knew right away what I wanted to make as a particular die set here, Spellbinders Nested Lacey Pennants, has always screamed Christmas trees at me:

I used:

- 6" x 6" scalloped square white card blank

- the front of a black card blank which came with a silver double frame but the outer edge wasn't very well 'silvered' so I chopped it down to the inner silver frame

- Spellbinders Nested Lacey Pennant die and a snippet of white card. I then ran the die cut 'tree' shape through the Cuttlebug using my Quickutz 'Vines' embossing folder - which shows up much better in real life, sigh

- the little red pot for the tree was made by punching an oval from a snippet of red card using SU's 'Large Oval' punch and then cutting one end straight across

- you know all those 'almost used' little acetate sheets of small gems we all seem to have? I gathered all those together and found a surplus of red and clear crystal gems so I popped red ones onto the body of the 'tree' following the embossed 'vine' lines and then added clear ones round the outside

- and in a little box of sequins I even found a silver star shaped sequin for the top of the tree

Job done! I loved thinking outside the box rather than just grabbing Christmas stuff to use. Thank you Nessa for a fun challenge - and why don't you girls have a go?

You are allowed to add a 'real' Christmas sentiment if you wish, that's one thing it's OK to use that's specifically Christmas. I didn't add a sentiment as I quite like the clean and crisp look of my 'frugal tree' :)

Oooer, and I can also link this card into Craftyhazelnuts Christmas Challenge where you have to hand cut, punch or die cut this week - and also Craftyhazelnuts Christmas Challenge Extra where it's always 'anything goes'.

Di
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