inspiration, please! :)

we've got a photo inspiration this fortnight at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and we're basing our cards on some aspect of this gorgeous, vibrant, non-traditional, glittery, fabulous holiday table:

image source is this page at lushome which has LOTS of other gorgeous xmas tablescapes and decor inspiration for that matter!

you can use as many aspects as appeal to you in the photo, whether it's the neon colors; the shapes of the tree, the reindeer or the baubles; the fancy flourishy patterns on the placemats; the glitter, the snowflakes... or all of the above! i went with the colors and the ornaments:

only NON-xmas patterned paper was used on this card-- most of it scraps!-- and manufacturers include: creative imaginations, kay and co, cosmo cricket, doodlebug, best creation and sei; white glossy cardstock: paper accents; white glitter snowflake stickers: martha stewart; snowflake brads: doodlebug; tiny brads: queen and co; silver ball-bearing-esque bling lines: recollections; decorative scallop scissors: michaels; ink: colorbox; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape

i have to confess when i first saw this photo, as much as i liked it, i came *VERY* close to psyching myself out of making a card. because honestly, my first panicky thought was, "i don't have ANY christmas papers in those colors!!!" a search of my stash soon revealed that in fact, i *DON'T* have any christmas papers in those colors, but it turned out i didn't need them, since i had quite a few ordinary papers in those colors, which i used in conjunction with clipart to fussy-cut the bauble shapes. then i added snowflake stickers and bling and some fun shiny silver pearl borders to act as hangers and called it good. for the record, the blue text paper is upside down; a decision i stand by since the position of the flourishes kind of looks a bit like the branches of an abstract christmas tree. i shall send this card to someone my age, and feel confident that without their reading glasses they'll have NO IDEA that tiny text is facing the wrong direction! :)

need a bit more inspiration? be sure check out miss stephanie's gorgeous card at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ before you start planning what *you* will make! ♥