Hi Stampers!
I am steeped in Christmas nostalgia the past couple of weeks as I've spent some time updating my family Christmas scrapbook which is 2-4 pages of every year's celebration since 1980. My, my... they years fly by don't they? It's so fun to look back and see what pictures I took that commemorated the year and of course smiling and laughing at all the clothing and hair styles. For the most part, things have only gotten better. The bittersweet part is remembering who is no longer with us and what a big role they played in our lives. I'm so grateful for Christmas and the opportunity it provides to focus, ponder, and savor the memories, the traditions and most of all, the reason for it all, Jesus.
Today I wanted to highlight some card ideas I came up with, using this year's Christmas products, that focus on the birth of Jesus, Savior of the world and the true light of mankind. There were several products that were overtly religious so that was helpful and then I co-opted some other products when I could. Here are my favorites, in no particular order:
This first card is nontraditional in color and very Middle Eastern in theme, which is appropriate as Christ was born in Bethlehem, in Israel. The dies are from the "Peaceful Nativity" bundle and I enjoyed using different foil papers to make them pop a little. My background Designer Series Paper is from the "World of Good" pack. You'll notice my use of sentiments for many of these cards is from the "For Unto Us" stamp set!
This card reminds me of the message the angels proclaimed that night, also one of my favorite Christmas Carols. I used the Toile Tidings DSP for this card and made sure to cut it where there were some carolers featured as well as church scenes.
This card features a peaceful sheep and sentiment from the "Yuletide Pasture" stamp set and a card background from the July Paper Pumpkin kit. Our foil paper is perfect for stars and snowflakes, two critical motifs for Christmas! I used some of the "Stitched Stars" dies on this card.
This card focuses on a sentiment shared by most of the world - we want peace, don't we. I used products from the "World of Good" bundle as well as absolutely fabulous "Peace & Joy" bundle. By the way, this was my favorite bundle this year! I'll be keeping it handy long past Christmas!
"Trimming the Town" DSP was perfect to combine with a stamp from the "For Unto Us" stamp set, which features a line from the carol "O Come All Ye Faithful". Again, I wanted to feature the church as well as some people who appear to be caroling and singing their hearts out at the glad tidings of great joy.
This card features all the stamps from the "Peaceful Nativity" set and a die from Stitched Stars. What a pastoral scene, full of hope and good news!
Finally, a fitting ending, reminding me that Christmas begins with Christ. I used the "Peaceful Boughs" bundle for this card and some specialty Poinsettia Place flocked paper.
All of these were an idea that I incorporated using particular bundles or papers. It's not hard to adapt products for different times or themes. I love to think a little outside the box and expand the versatility of what I've bought, don't you?
Thanks for checking in on my blog and seeing this group of highlights from the past holiday season of stamping and creating. I'll be sharing some more so stay tuned!
I hope you are doing well and savoring what there is to savor in a time of big change and uncertainty. Silver linings have never become so meaningful and I'm looking for them everywhere ;)
Happy Stampin' and Happy Christmas!
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