My Official Holiday Card & A Giveaway!

Well, well, well.  Did you think I was ever coming back?  It has seriously been a while.  I've noticed that a lot of the blogs I follow haven't been posting much either.  Boy, I would just love to sit at my craft table and craft and blog to my hearts content, but things have been a little hectic and overwhelming at the moment, like I'm sure it is for you too.  Also, my computer got a nasty virus and my husband finally had enough of it, so we bought a Mac.  I'm in love with it, but still learning how to do some basic things.  


So, today I'm finally sharing my official Christmas card for 2011.  The last of them went out yesterday so it's safe to share them here.  


For those of you that are not into card making, you may think that making your own holiday cards are cheaper than buying them, but we card makers know that this is not the case.  I really don't even want to think about the money that went into these babies, much less all the time and energy.  I made 80 cards.  Yup, 80!  


Here's the breakdown:
-Card stock: Two packs of light blue, 1 pack of navy, 1 pack of white
-Ink: Navy ink pad, Watermark ink pad (only because the kids played with mine and got eb powder on it.)
-Embossing Powder
-Envelopes 
-2 Stamps Sets from PTI (eek, that was a big one)
-Photos printed of my kids to go inside each card


I'm not going to put a dollar figure on this because quite frankly, I don't want to think about it.


So, here it is!  Unfortunately you really can't see the lights so well.  I tweaked and tweaked this photo and couldn't get them any darker without throwing off the other colors.  The light bulbs are the exact color of the card base (trendsetter blue from CSS).  If you think this card looks a little familiar, it's a CASE of this card by Nichole Heady.  I changed the colors and type of lights, but the layout and stamp placement is the same.

Here's a close-up so you can see the shiny silver embossing and you can see the light blue bulbs a little bit better.

Things I have learned from making Christmas cards this year:
-People will not appreciate that each light bulb was individually stamped, they don't know this and you can't assume they do.  
-Heat embossing gives a really elegant look to your card, but you will wish you didn't do it in the first place at around card number 7, or after you've gotten the heat gun a little close your fingers one time too many.
-Starting your cards on December 3rd is not good.  You'll be working on cards every night when you are supposed to be in the couch snuggling with your husband, unwinding after a stressful day of Christmas shopping. (I think I'm going to start in February this year.  Okay, somebody please remind me I said this when February rolls around).
-Try to use stamp sets you already own or borrow one from stamping friends so you can eliminate that large cost
-Get a family picture taken by a professional so you don't end up with a photo like this one that you took yourself:

(Don't worry, I didn't use this one)

I will be taking all this into consideration when choosing my card for next year.


If you'd like to see the cards I've sent out in years past, you can check them out right here: 2010, 2009, and 2008.


Giveway
So, since I've been doing all this talk about getting ahead.  I thought I would help you get ahead for next year by giving one lucky commenter the 8 cards that I had leftover.  That is, as long as you are okay sending out a card that someone else made.  All you need to do is leave a comment before the end of the year saying how much you missed me while I was gone anything.  I'll announce the winner on Jan. 1st.  

Have a great day and Happy Holidays if I don't make it back on here before Christmas!!!

{Christmas Card 2011}

Stamps: Holiday Lights, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday

Card Stock: Trendsetter Blue, True Blue Fan, A Blanc Check (CSS)

Ink: True Blue Fan, From an Anonymous Source, Trendsetter Blue (CSS)

Accessories: Silver Detail Embossing Powder, Foam Dimensionals