Compost Studios

...but today I finished my Christmas shopping. Yes, I even got the gifts for the teachers, mail carrier, doctor's office, and my hairdresser purchased. I bought hostess gifts and "emergency" gifts to have on hand if needed during the month of December, and I got my immediate family and the few other people I buy gifts for covered. I kept things simple, kept my list short, and I had fun shopping. Best of all, I bought everything within my city limits so all the sales tax revenue will go back into my town's coffers. Woo hoo! 

(During the holidays, remember to support local businesses, artists, and crafts people whenever you can. I hit the local galleries and found some very cool stuff at every price point, including under $25.)

Now that I will be able to avoid the madness that is shopping after Thanksgiving, I have time to make my own Christmas cards. I send out quite a few, and because I have neither unlimited time nor energy, I knew I needed designs that I could reproduce relatively quickly. No cutting. No pasting. No painting. No coloring. No fussing with ribbon. These two sweet and simple cards fit the bill.

The central image on this one is embossed in evergreen and rather than using a star-shaped brad, I chose to use a puffy star sticker to keep things easy. The Christmas tree stamp is from an old set from Close to My Heart. I don't know who manufactured the zigzag border stamp.

The second design uses a set from Stampin Up. I Versamarked the background with small snowflakes and then embossed the central image with silver powder. I wish you could see how it shines because in the scan it just looks grey. Then I added one of my puffy star stickers. Voila! I've since bought some stick-on rhinestones so future cards may be a bit more sparkly.

I'll be working on some more designs over the holiday weekend. Stay tuned.