A New Monthly Tradition! 10 Months Till Christmas!

Hello there! Sorry I have been MIA for a little bit, my day job seems to keep getting in the way of my fun time..grrrr! LOL.

This blog is a little lengthy but I hope that you will take the time to read it through as there is some information you may be interested in.

Back in December when I was trying soooo hard to get all my Christmas cards completed in time (which did not happen) I made a decision/resolution for 2012 - "Make at least 2 Christmas cards each month of the year and post on my blog every 25th of the month" (excluding January, needed a break) and by December I should have at least 20 Christmas cards completed!

I told this story to my BFF Heather and she loved the idea so much that we decided to make a MINI blog hop for you to see our Christmas creations =).  Both Heather and I love to colour with our Copics and use our Cricut machines so we decided to make one card using our Copic markers (as you know I use A LOT) and one card using our cricut (which has been collecting dust in my palace).

After you finish viewing this post, if you are interested in getting a head start on your Christmas cards and would like to join us each month, please send me an e-mail to shari.green@live.ca with your blog address and then I will be in touch with the details.  This mini hop is just for fun, to help us complete our Christmas cards on time and to remove the excess stress that the holidays bring.

Here is a picture of my two cards....yeah two cards made for Christmas 2012!! 

Here is a picture of my COPIC card....

 SUPPLIES USED:
4 x 5.5 card and envelope
Copic Xpress Paper
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
House Mouse Designs stamp: Footloose & Fancy Free
Christmas Spirit sentiment stamp:  Kaiser Craft Christmas Sentiments
Spellbinders Nestabilities:  Distressed Rectangles
Pattern Paper:  First Edition Paper 6x6, Festive Treats
Green Cardstock: Bazzil
Red Cardstock: from  my scrap bin
Red Ribbon from Stampin' Up
Sakura Clear Glaze Pen
Sakura Silver Glitter Pen
Scissors
3D pop dots
ATG

Here is a close up of the coloured image....Copic colours used listed below...

COPIC COLOURS USED:
Small Mouse skin colours:  RV10, RV000, RV0000
Small Mouse fur colours:  C9, C7, C5, C3
Large Mouse skin colours:  E00, E000, E0000
Large Mouse fur colours:  W7, W5, W3, W1
Christmas Tree:  G29, G28, G07, E15, E13, E11
Ornaments:  R29, R27, R24, R22, Y19, Y17, Y15, Y13, B16, B14, B12 + Sakura Clear Glaze Pen & Silver GlitterPen
Ground: E53, E51, E50

Here is a picture of my Cricut card...I don't use my Cricut card nearly enough since I found out what Copic markers were, so Heather suggested to make a Cricut card as well so that I get back to using my fun toy...

SUPPLIES USED:
4 x 6.5 card and envelope
Snowman on a sled was cut from: Jolly Holidays Lite Cricut cartridge from Wal*Mart
Happy Holidays sentiment stamp fromthe $1.50 bin at Michaels
Close to My Heart Cranberry Ink
All papers usedwere found in my scrap bin
Snowflake punch: Martha Stewart
Red & White Twine: Martha Stewart
2 x Black mini brads for the eyes from Michaels
White button is from my stash (think it was an extra button from a blouse I bought)
Grey Creative Memories marker to outline the snowman
Creative Memories Tearing Tool to make the snowy hill
Zig Glue
Glue Dots
ATG

Here is a close up of the Cricut Image....

CRICUT CARTRIDGE USED:

Jolly Holidays Lite Cricut cartridge

I hope that you enjoyed this post and are encouraged to start to make your Christmas cards early and maybe join in on the fun on March 25th and every month through to November 25th! 

Please now go over to Heather's blog to check out her two Christmas cards:  http://princesspaperprojects.blogspot.com/

Also, My friend Mary has just started a blog this week and will be joining us next month with this fun mini Christmas card hop, please pop over to her blog to welcome her to blogland: http://maryshappyplace.blogspot.com/

I would like to enter these cards into the following Christmas Card Challenges: 

* Jingle Belles Rock

* Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge (CHNC#61-Use Ribbon and/or Charm)
I have used red ribbon on my Mouse card!

* Sassy Studio Designs (DTBST #113Make a Christmas card with traditional colours)
My Mouse card is Traditional Colours: Red & Green =)

Thank you for visiting today and I hope that this post was not too long for you. I hope that you will e-mail me to join in on the fun for March 25th!

Until next time, happy crafting! (& Merry Christmas, LOL)

Shari