happy new year... let's make xmas cards!

let's start 2018 off right, with a christmas card to kick off our eighth season at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥! the very first prompt of the year is called, "look what santa brought me" so this seems like a great time to break out those goodies you were given (or perhaps treated yourself to?!) over the holidays. if santa somehow neglected to bring you anything crafty, you can either use something that you've had for a bit and never opened... OR... consider this your pass to hit the after-xmas sales for a bargain or two! here's my first card of the year:

patterned paper: stampin' up, love elsie, basic grey; stickers: american crafts, october afternoon, hambly; kraft cardstock: recollections; glossy white cardstock: the paper cut; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

my ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ partner and crafty bff stephanie (who is also a stampin' up representative) gave me a gorgeous double-sided SU collection called, "quilted christmas" which i just couldn't wait to use! i'm not sure how both the green stitchy pattern and the glorious red gingham wound up as mats, but i love how they look. meanwhile, those handsome reindeer and the fun holiday trees are from an american crafts sticker sheet that came in a big bundle of xmas stickers i bought from one of my favorite daily deal sites... just a little too late to use in the 2017 JB season. i've added in some ancient love, elsie paper and hambly snowflake stickers to round off this fun winter scene.

it's NEVER too early to start thinking about christmas, especially if you'd like to spend december enjoying all of those fun holiday events instead of mass-producing cards. why not join stephanie and me at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and have a great time all year long? we'd love to see you there! ♥