strictly speaking, this ornament is a bit too large for the tree :) :) :)

well hello and happy-almost-weekend! this being the first friday since the official end of our ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ 2012 xmas-card-making year*, i thought it would be nice to start things off with... ahem... ok, yeah, it's still a christmas card, lol!

 (patterned paper: mme, glitz, love elsie, echo park, dcwv + a bit of packaging from the girls' paperie; mini bingo card: jenni bowlin; dimensional ornament sticker: crate paper; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

because let's face it, this is the time of year the rest of the world is really tuned in to christmas cards, and whilst i have the bulk of mine completed, a few "extras" never ever go amiss, do they? plus there are some excellent challenges out there in which i can enjoy being a player rather than a hostess, which is awfully fun! for example, kimber mcgray's saturday card sketch challenge at two peas is rather awesome this week:

and when paired with the palette at colour q it's even better!

of course, for me, trying to do anything even remotely "clean and simple"... (which, ok, admittedly, this card would not be considered by ANYONE ELSE, but for me, it IS, so just go with me here, for the sake of argument, k?!) ...takes approximately 97 times longer than my usual super-embellished style. don't get me wrong, most of the time, i love having the "collage gene" but when i see the pared down masterpieces other people make, i just occasionally wish it came with an off switch. but in the end, i got there, and if my card certainly cannot be called "minimalist" by anyone, ever, i think it's got a certain low-key charm. :)

speaking of C+S masterpieces, you should check out patrice's blog, the old back porch, where she is constantly pulling off the kind of super-sleek style that makes me sigh! oh yeah, and why not link up with 52-card-pick-up whilst you are there?! ciao, darlings! ♥

*we'll start up again for the 2013 jingle belles season on january 1st, and we'd ♥LOVE♥ for you to join us! in the meantime, there's a sort of "anything christmassy goes" linkfest goin' on over there, with a bit of a prize up for grabs... just sayin'...