it's january 1st... time to start on CHRISTMAS CARDS!!! :)

ok, yeah, admittedly that sounds like a CRAZY statement, and maybe it is; but it seems like i, personally, can only manage *two* ways of achieving enough hand-made christmas cards for everyone on my (50+) christmas card list, and those are:

1. spend the weeks between thanksgiving and mid-december engaged in a frenzy of rushed and repetitive holiday card-making... ugh. (this is crazy and also stressful!!!)

OR

2. start on new year's day and make one unique holiday card per week with my lovely and amazing friend stephanie, not to mention the wonderful company of my fellow ♥JINGLE BELLES♥! (this is perhaps equally crazy... but totally inspiring and FUN!!!)

having spent more decembers than i care to admit in pursuit of method one, in 2011 and 2012 i opted for the relative sanity of method two, and i am here to state publicly: i NEVER want to go back!!! :) if  you can relate to any of the above, or even just find yourself at a loose end on this new year's day, why not come along with us and give it a try? we usually think up and post a new inspiration every other friday, and then stef and i "remind" you what the prompt was on the following week so you still have time to play along if you haven't yet... or play again if you're trying for 48 cards at the end of november. we invite some lovely guest stars to join us throughout the year, and occasionally even have a fun sponsor or little prize of crafty goodies! so whaddaya say, are you in? awesome! let's go!

for our inaugural outing of 2013, we're tossing you an extra-easy prompt AND extra time to accomplish it; that's right, for "look what santa brought me!" all you need to do is create a holiday card using any kind of crafty goodness--tools, paper, stickers, etc-- you received over the holidays... and i know you got swag galore, so there's NO excuse not to play! here's my card:

(NEW stuff: gorgeous almost-real candy cane from ros; color copied page scan of vintage "night before xmas" book from gina; basic grey "kissing booth" papers from stephanie; xmassy mulberry paper from prima's "12 days of xmas card" prize; plus not-so-new: webster's pages fabric ribbons (from leslie, last spring!); crate (non-xmas) paper; prima flower spray (cut down); fancy pants border sticker; red silky ribbon from a holiday package; inks: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, hot glue, sewing machine)

i have to say i'm pretty pleased with this one, but then, it's got LOADS of new stuff from loads of lovely friends, so how could i *not* love it, eh?! the centerpiece is a (slightly reduced) scan of a page from one of the two new-to-me vintage copies of "the night before christmas" that gina gave me! i think this might be my FAVORITE version in my collection-- i have about a dozen different copies of the clement c. moore book, which has been a favorite of mine since childhood, but the illustrations in this one are just soooooooooooooo irresistible, don't you think? i really wanted the picture to be the centerpiece of the card, so i didn't add in too many embellishments... but ros shared some of her gorgeous i-can't-believe-i-can't-eat-them candy canes with me, too, so i had to sneak in one of those!

and now i really think you should head over to  ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and see what miss stephanie made, because i assure you it is well worth the trip! while you're there, you can also check out the prize that's on offer for one lucky (random!) cardmaker who links up with us, so grab your new goodies from under the tree and get CRAFTY, darlings!!! ♥