Christmas Creating All Year - January Challenge

I know what you might be thinking..."Seriously, Lea. Christmas is OVER." Lol! I know, I know. But I mentioned a few posts ago that I was going to start hosting a monthly Christmas card challenge and today is the day for the first one! There will be a link up at the end of the post for you to create along with me, and of course, I've got a giveaway for one lucky participant! Before I get to all that, how about we check out my cards first?

I am using a collection called Oh What Fun! by My Mind's Eye - this was one of their 2017 Christmas collections. It's unlikely that it is readily available any longer, but that is okay! This challenge is all about using what you have, and creating for Christmas all year long so that come November, we aren't a big ball of stress! And maybe, just maybe...you will have enough cards to send out to all your family & friends!

This is my first set of three - you will notice that I take a similar approach to all of my scrapbooking style cards. I typically start with a patterned paper background, then build the front with doilies, diecut ephemera pieces, and accents. I did some simple sentiment stamping on some of the cards, and for those I used Tiny Words Christmas by Simon Says Stamp, and onyx black Versafine ink. I also added some shimmer here & there with my Tonic Aqua Shimmer pen.

Another thing that I try to do when creating cards in batches like this is use up as many single colored card bases as I can. I don't really have a great place to store them, but I also don't get rid of staple items. So, I try to pull as much as I can from this pile. I did have to cut a couple of card bases in white & pink for this set, as I ended up not having as many great matching options as I would have liked. But I was able to use up around 4-6 of them in that pile, so that is a good start!

I also tie double bows from May Arts ivory burlap twine to add dimension to the card, plus it's a good way to use round accents like brads & epoxy stickers from the collection. I also add bits of lace trim here & there. My great aunt and my gramma gave me a lot of lace trim years ago, and I still have a ton of it! It's a perfect little accent on cards like these, and they really give it a homemade feel. Paper doilies are also another great addition to layered cards like this!

Those are all my cards for this first challenge! I hope that you find them inspiring, and a great jumping off point for your creations this month! You can also see the card that I created using the paper strip scraps from all of these cards HERE. How about we get to the challenge info?

CHALLENGE RULES

1. Your creation must be new - no backlinking.

2. Post a direct link to your blog, Instagram post, or gallery to the link list below.

3. Cards must be Christmas or Winter themed.

4. Have fun!

You can use any type of product that you want. Your cards can be scrapbooking style, stamping style...whatever you please! And for January...I am throwing you a bone, and allowing Winter themed cards. ;) You have until Thursday, January 31st at 5pm CST to link up your projects. I can't wait to see them!

GIVEAWAY

One winner will get this Oh What Fun! cardmaking kit, so you can make your own set of cards like this, plus a $15 gift card to Simon Says Stamp! You can grab the Tiny Words Christmas stamp set, or whatever you want!

Well, it's time for you to get some Christmas/Winter creating done! Link your projects up below, and have so much fun!

An InLinkz Link-up