Crafty Chicks Christmas In July Blog Hop...

It's that time again! 

Time for the Crafty Chicks "Christmas in July" Blog Hop!

 

Haven't been to a Hop before?  Here's the deal:  Every month we have a different theme, and offer a prize to one lucky winner.  If you would like to qualify to win the prize, just leave a comment on each blogger's site.  Then, on the rafflecopter below, click "did it."  That's it!  After you do that, a bunch of other options to earn more entries will appear, if you feel so inclined.  The prize winner will be announced on Elizabeth's blog.  We will also contact the winner, so make sure your comment includes your contact info.  The winner will have one week to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen.

The prize being offered this month is a Christmas in July paperpack, with 20 sheets of Christmas/Winter cardstock and an extra 20 yards of Christmas twine!  Check it out:

 

 And now, on with the Crafty Chicks Christmas in July Hop! 

 

******{{You're probably coming from Heidi's Page, but if you stumbled across this page, and you want to start at the beginning of our Hop, go  here }}******

 

So, I know that Christmas in July is a thing...I'm not sure I really get it, though.  I think it's probably because I work in retail.  People with normal jobs...jobs where you have weekends off...jobs where you get holidays off...they think all the Christmas hub-bub starts in November, so Christmas in July is a fun novelty.  Anyone in retail can tell you...Christmas starts at the end of August, my friends.  Surprised?  Take another look next time you're out shopping...it's already creeping in...Christmas is hiding in the wings right this very minute.  Look past the stack of clearance flip flops and beach décor...you'll see a stray box of ornaments...red and green glitter ribbon hidden on a bottom shelf...snowflakes popping up where they don't belong.  I'm aware that this seems crazy, but people want Christmas available earlier and earlier every year.  I've already had multiple people this year upset that we don't have any new Christmas décor at the store yet.  I can't help it...the masses dictate retail calendars...as far as I'm concerned, from a retail perspective, summer is over...Halloween will be here any minute, and Christmas will start showing up by the end of next month.  It's weird living a retail life...your calendar is all messed up.  I've learned to just embrace retail seasons and forget about how the normal world gauges time.  So, when we go into full-on Christmas mode on the day after Halloween...I come home and put up my Christmas tree...and it'll probably be taken down BEFORE Christmas, because we're already gearing up for Valentine's Day. Yep.  I'm a total weirdo, huh?  Oh well :)  A well-adjusted weirdo, and that's the main thing!

All that said, I decided to go non-traditional for my Christmas in July projects.  I still get to have fun stamping and coloring without getting into full-on holiday headspace ;)  lol.  So here's what I came up with:

I'll Be "Gnome" For Christmas
This guy was fun...I found this stamp a few months ago and had to get it because it was so dang cute.  I had no idea what I was going to use it for, and haven't actually used it till now.  I like how he turned out...simple and cute!
 

Front

Inside

Supplies: Stampabilities Gnome Stamp, Cardstock (Kraft, Coconut Swirl, and Cherry Splash), Copic Markers, Memento Ink, Foam Dots

Santa Baby
I've used this gal on a card once before, but I bought her several years ago.  I have such trouble deciding what to do with fine line stamps that are difficult to cut out.  For whatever reason, I have a desperate aversion to just stamping directly on the card base and doing other stuff around it.  I decided to just stamp and cut, and give the edges a wide berth.  This BoBunny line is from a bunch of years ago, but I hoarded it away when I got a bunch originally, so it's still hanging on :)

Front

Inside

Supplies: Penny Black Stamp, BoBunny Patterned Paper, Copic Markers, Memento Ink, Foam Dots

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how they all turned out.  Christmas in July turned out to not be so bad afterall ;)  lol. 
 



If you're continuing on the hop, head on over to Jessica's Page.  Enjoy!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

By the fireplace...

There's just something about a fireplace, isn't there?  My mom just got one put in at her house, and it's just cozy.  It's relaxing and soothing and the perfect end to a long day.  Since I live in an apartment, I have no fireplace, but I did discover WoodWick candles, which have (shocker) a WOOD WICK.  Doesn't sound like a big deal, but they make a lovely crackling fire noise that's the next best thing to having a fireplace.  Plus they smell lovely, which is good too :)  Anyway, that was the inspiration for tonight's Christmas card.  I used the same Penny Black stamps as the last couple cards, and the same Fancy Pants paper (cut into little rectangles for the bricks, and pop dotted for the mantle).  Cut some free-hand flames, and colored everything with colored pencils. 

And that's all for tonight :)  More soon!

Penny Black, take two...

Another Christmas card with Penny Black stamps tonight.  The same fancy pants paper (the other side of it), watercolor pencils, and glossy accents :)  Woot!

Goodnight all!  :)

Baby it's [not] cold outside...

Wowza...sixty degrees in November.  Ridiculous.  While generally I'd be a fan, that means we're unseasonably warm again just in time for the mall to turn on the heat on November 11th, which means the store will probably be a sauna for several weeks again like it was last year.  Joy!  Anyway, unseasonably warm or not,  I was feeling inspired tonight and made a Christmas card prototype.  I finally decided I'm going to get off my butt and make 10-ish to send out to immediate family and a few long distance friends.  They won't all be the same though, because I get bored easily and I won't finish them if they're all the same.  Probably everyone will get something a little different so I can maximize my playing with stamps time.  Here it is:

Pretty simple...Penny Black stamps, Fancy Pants holiday paper, watercolor pencils, sparkly fluff, and a stardust pen :)  And that's all for tonight...work's still insane, and I still have no time to be blogging, but I'll make a serious attempt to get in one more this week.  Have a good night!

The perfect stamp's triumphant return...

Well, I finally got to bust out my perfect Christmas stamp that I bought last week...yay!  So the card turned out a little non-traditional, but I think really cute.  I wish I had a sentiment stamp for it, but alas...all at mom's house still...but I think the "Santa Baby" is kinda cute anyway.

The card: 

A close up...only to show that I did, INDEED use glitter, which I NEVER do:

And a close up of the written sentiment:

I guess after this, I should get back to my holiday gifts...*sigh.*  That's all for tonight :)

A complete lack of self-restraint...

Okay, so I have a weakness for stamps...and paper...and purses...and watches...and sometimes shoes.  I find that once I start saying "yes" to myself, it just keeps getting easier.  Which is why I have already purchased more Christmas stamps this year than I would need to make cards for the next three years.  Whoops.  But honestly, how could I pass this ONE MORE up?  It's too cute...I couldn't...it is mine now :)  It's perfect!

I'm a sucker.  And I'll be making Christmas cards till the day I die...apparently :)  lol.

Internal calendar...

Working in retail totally messes up your internal calendar.  All your holidays start at least three months early, because people need to have time to shop.  We're practically in full-on Christmas mode already.  The Christmas tree at the store goes up on Halloween for pete's sake!  By mid-late November we'll be on to Valentine's Day.  It's easy to pop into a store when you don't work retail and think "Wow, Christmas stuff is out already???" and then walk back out and forget all about it.  When you're living it every day, it gets confusing.  I'm currently feeling like it's practically Thanksgiving, practically time to put up my tree, and like I might be behind on shopping already.  It doesn't help any when you're a crafter too, because making things takes time...which means it's the first week of September, and I'm working on Christmas cards and handmade gifts.  I love my job, but there's parts of it that are weird and definitely contribute to my OCD and anxiety about to do lists, timelines, and deadlines.  Meh...s'all good.  Anyway, my mom is making her own Christmas cards this year, and wanted me to make her a template to go from...below are the two I came up with (mostly the same in different orientations), and she can just swap out the ribbon and stamps to make them different if she wants to.  They turned out cute...suuuuuper simple, which is good. 

The Christmas Mouse:  Impression Obsession stamps, krafts cards (value pack with envelopes from Hobby Lobby...cheap!), adhesive ribbon (also from Hobby Lobby), and watercolor pencils

And I HAD to use the little mittens on the inside corner, cuz they're just cute :)

Reindeer Games:  Inkadinkadoo Stamps, kraft cards & envelopes, adhesive ribbon from Hobby Lobby, and watercolor pencils (the brown ink is a little too light, and she's using a different one for the final product, but since it was just a template anyway, no need to be re-doing anything...as hard as that was for me...lol). 

And the back of the envelope...it's a really old Hero Arts stamp, I think.

And that's all for tonight :)  Have a great rest of the holiday weekend!