Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Posh Thank You

Why, hello!  So nice of you to drop by, especially so close to Christmas!  Everyone is so caught up in preparations at this time of year, that it's hard to just enjoy the season! 

My Christmas this year will be very different from my usual celebrations.  You see, since my girls all got married around the same time, we tried to coordinate a "home" year, where they all come home for Christmas, and an "away" year, where they spend their holiday with their in-laws.  I say "tried to coordinate", because it really hasn't worked out the way it was planned from the beginning.  There was always someone missing.  Now that they are beginning their families, it is even harder.  Of course, we are always welcome to go to their homes, but this year, my DH, who's been retired for two years, found himself a retail job that requires him to work both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.  So no travelling for us this year.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I will not be spending Christmas with anyone but my hubby!  I felt mighty sorry for myself for a week or two, but I started looking at it as an opportunity to focus on some different aspects of Christmas.  We are usually so busy with preparations, that Christmas comes and goes without any time for solitude and reflection.  I have all my gifts shipped already, and just have a few stocking stuffers for DH to get and I will be done.  I don't have to cook a turkey.  We will have Christmas dinner at our church with other members of our congregation who don't have any family with them either.  One dish is all I will have to prepare!

I will have lots of crafting time and time to organize my business.  I am really looking forward to being more intentional about what I do in the new year.  I am looking forward to creating projects for you to read about and using all the new products in the Spring Mini catalogue.

But for now, one last seasonal card.  Many people from the community came and offered their talents to make our "One Night in Bethlehem" a success, and I wanted to create some classy cards to thank them for their efforts and generosity.  I came up with this design:


It uses a Stampin' Up product which has been around for a long while, but which I seldom see used on papercrafting blogs I read.  It is a specialty paper called Brushed Gold, and it really is very beautiful.  I don't know why I haven't used it more often.  I brought it out of obscurity to use because I wanted to enter Dynamic Duos challenge this week:
As you can see, the colours are Gold and Basic Black, and we don't really have a gold glimmer paper.  We have champagne which is really not gold at all.  Amazingly, this card also qualifies for two more challenges:  MOJO Monday #272   and The Paper Player's Challenge #126








It's rare that you can find three challenges that work together so well.  Mojo Monday's sketch by Carole Burrage is clean and simple as is Ann Schach's CAS Challenge using a snowflake for The Paper Players. 

Of course, my repeating design was a snowflake from the Hostess Set, Four Seasons. It was stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed with Gold Stampin' Emboss powder.   It is the perfect size to punch out using the 1" Circle punch.  And that fit perfectly on the Postage Stamp punch, used on some Brushed Gold card stock.  On a panel of Basic Black, I also embossed in gold the Thank You sentiment from the Lacy and Lovely stamp set.  I mounted all this on a panel of Brushed Gold and tied a bow around it using 5/8" Organza Ribbon in Whisper White.  This, in turn, was mounted on the card base of Basic Black.


                                  

Simple, but elegant.  Hope you like it!  Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think!  I love to read all your messages.  Let me know how your holiday celebrations have changed over the years.

Stamps:  Four Seasons Hostess set (w12683; c126832); Lacy and Lovely (w122885; c122887)
Paper:  Basic Black (121045) and Brushed Gold (102935) card stock
Ink:  VersaMark (102283)
Accessories: 5/8" Organza Ribbon (114319) in Whisper White; Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder (109129)
Tools: 1" Circle Punch (119868); Postage Stamp Punch (122344); Heat Tool (129053)

7 comments :

  1. Heather, this will be a different Christmas for you - but how wonderful to actually get some quality time with your hubby!
    I love your thank you card. I think it is perfect for a Christmas themed thank you and the gold metallic paper is perfect! I the recipients will appreciate it!
    So glad you joined the Paper Players this week
    jaydee

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  2. I haven't had a Christmas Day with my family since just after Cara was born, and that was because they all came up here! Before that, it was probably three years previous. Since my birthday is in January, and it's cheaper to fly AFTER Christmas, we usually go down in January for a belated Christmas and birthday visit. After Andrew turns 2 in May, we'll have to start paying for his ticket. Chris has said we'll probably start flying in summer months, so no more Christmas or birthday with my family. :( Anyway, this is a fabulously beautiful card! I love the simplicity and the elegance! Nice job!

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  3. The gold and black papers combined with the sketch, the embossing, and the ribbon make this one elegant card! Fantastic! Thanks for playing along with us at Dynamic Duos this week!

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  4. Heather, your card is so beautiful! I bet it really shimmers and shines "in person" too. Love the trio of snowflakes and the fun layout. Thank you so much for joining us this week at Dynamic Duos AND the Paper Players! Even though this year will be different, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy the day with your hubby! Hugs! :)

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  5. I do like that paper it is very pretty. I understand what you mean about having Christmas here or there, especially since we moved about 8 hours drive south of both of our parents! Hope you have time to enjoy the solitude and reflection and have a Merry Christmas!

    Visiting from Mojo Monday Challenge
    xo, Kristina
    Love for you to visit me too <3
    www.pearlgateway.com

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  6. So pretty Heather! And way to wrap several challenges up together - I'm impressed all around! Merry Christmas!

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  7. This is gorgeous Heather! What a beautiful way to feature the gold paper and you've really kicked it up a notch with the gold embossing. I hope you and your hubby enjoyed a peaceful holiday together. Thank you for sharing with us at The Paper Players!

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I love to read your comments and get to know you better! Thanks for adding one!