More Christmas cards and a Black Friday tale...

So, did you shop on Black Friday? For the first time ever I went shopping at 5am. Target was my destination (giant Lego set for $$ off) and it was an amazing experience! I had no idea that it would be so hugely crowded here in my sleepy town! The most amazing part of the experience was what happened at the end. When I finally got into the store I found that I had missed the ONE thing I was there for - totally bummed I decided to walk around and see if there was anything else worth buying. Sure enough, a little here and a doodad there - by the time I got to the registers it was a ZOO. I got in line, talked to a nice couple ahead of me, moved around a couple of times (when those little lights on top start flashing - move over!). Finally I ended up behind some women. Then it happened. One of the women in front of me decided not to buy one of the things in her cart... it was the Lego set! When she asked if I wanted it I could have fallen down out of shock! In the end I got what I came for (thanks to that lovely woman) and was in and out in less than an hour. Woo Hoo! Can't beat that!
Enough with the Black Friday story - how 'bout some cards?!
This first one is steadily growing on me. At first I wasn't sure that I really liked it that much, but I'm really liking the window. First I eyeballed where to put the snowflake border (Hampton Art) on the card base & stamped with Colorbox Frost White. Then I tore the bottom piece off followed by the middle piece. Using a piece of acetate I made a window between the top of the card & the bottom. You can't see the glue I used since I adhered it on the inside - but it looked awful in there!. So, using some scraps of white shimmer paper I covered the inside of the card and left a little distressed edge showing through the window. The sentiment (Stampendous) was also stamped in Frost White - positioned so that you could see it through the window. Some Katzelkraft snowflakes & flourishes were stamped with VersaMark Frost on the inside as well.

Next up is this CAS beauty - perfect for mailing! I used my nesties to emboss a rectangle design on the front of the card to frame the sentiment (Imaginisce) which was stamped with Peeled Paint distress ink (the snowflake is part of the sentiment and was inked with Broken China). The holly (Stampendous) was stamped around the frame with Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters DI, then colored in with pencils. I also stamped the Christmas balls (Recollections) with Peeled Paint then colored them in with pencils. Just a dab of OMS made everything look a little smoother. Finally a dab of stickles on the Christmas balls & snowflake made everything more festive! Since there is no bulk to this card it would be perfect for mailing.

Finally I'll show off my favorite card of the year (so far). This gorgeous angel image is from Crafty Secrets. She was stamped on white paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored in with a mix of Frayed Burlap, Dried Marigold, Scattered Straw and Mustard Seed Distress Inks. The background was lightly colored in with a light blue pencil and dabbed with OMS. Over her robe I used a Spica pen in Sand - unfortunately you can't see the shimmer in the picture. I used sketch challenge WSC105 from SCS for the background. These two papers were *perfect* to match the colors used in the angel panel. The one with the glittery swirl is from K & Co and the other is from Basic Grey. The sentiment (from the same package as the angel) was stamped first with black, then with Brilliance Cosmic Copper. Isn't she lovely?! :D

So, back to the crafty table to make more cards. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend and excellent shopping!
Thanks for stopping by!