CHA and Buyer's Remorse?

Does CHA make you wish you had waited for a product instead of jumping in already?  Sometimes it does.  I don't even buy products right out of the gate but although I have made some fabulous envelopes, I wish this had been around earlier!  Is that buyer's remorse or just wishing the improvements had come quicker!?!

So CHA has come and gone and now I want (notice it is a want and not a need) the 1-2-3 Punch Board I came across on YouTube.

They must have done their homework and actually listened to the comments crafters made about their original Envelope Board.  The 1-2-3 Punch Board is probably on my Christmas wishlist for 2015! or as you know me, wait for a 50% off coupon for 6 months after it is released!!! LOL

Christmas 2014 - the main card

Extreme Close UP!!!!  Yeah, because that entire image is very small.  I tried to make this card last year and wasn't happy with it.  I only revisited it after failing with my first choice card this year.  Sometimes you just can't force it.

And here is the load I made - I forgot to take the photograph before I had addressed them to go out, but wanted this photo for prosperity!

In the end I made around 80 nearly identical cards for my mass production.  Even streamlining as much as possible, I guesstimate that each card took around 30 minutes to complete from scoring, cutting, stamping, coloring, embossing, masking, stamping, embossing.  All those little steps take time.  I think I timed the coloring taking me about 7 mins per card.  That's why I had to do the extreme close up to appreciate the little bit of shading and texture I did in that image.  Even using warm grays for the fur and cool grays for his beard.  Then coloring the whole Santa image with Versamark to emboss it.

I did some test runs before I decided on the final finish of the card and although to be honest the embossing was a pain in the bum, it definitely needed it to give that final finish to the card.
Ingredients
Card size -  4 1/4" x 5 1/2";
Cardstock - Recollections 110lb white;
Stamps - Whispers;
Ink - Memento: tuxedo black, cottage ivy; Versamark pen;
Color - Copics (warm gray, cool gray, skin tone, blush tone, green, 2 reds (one for shadow), gold tone, darker gray)
Accessories - Clear embossing powder, Stamp-a-ma-jig, small T square.

A Niece So Sweet!

Now just how fun is this card and it is rocking Non-traditional Christmas colors whilst being completely Christmas at the same time!  The background is stamped with Clear Dollar stamps and clear embossed.  The Gingerbread man is paperpieced with a bit of clear embossing to help the colors and peppermints pop.

And just how yummy is that banner with the "glazed" gumdrops to emphasize just how sweet we think our niece is!

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2";
Cardstock - Recollections 65lb white, kraft;
Stamps - High Hopes stamps: Lg. Gingerbread Man; Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family; Clear Dollar Stamps - various sweets; Studio G alphabet;
Ink - Gina K Color Companions: Black Onyx, White; Copic Multiliner;
Color - Copics;
Accessories - Sakura white Souffle pen; Sharpie - white; Glossy Accents; Clear embossing powder;

Mother's Mittens

When I was making this card I was thinking about the patterns trend at the moment and seriously thought this card was going to be for our Niece.  Once I finish it, I liked how traditional it felt and decided I would send it to my MIL. Instead.  Yeah, if you look at it you can see placed where the pattern doesn't line up correctly, but isn't that sort of the point of handmade at times.  I could have stressed out and restamped that line of stamps on another background and had the same problem again.  I decided to just go with it.  

I decided that the mittens had to match and then to add the satin and velvet ribbons from my stash.  That velvet ribbon is an off cut from Christmas bow decorations I made.  I decided it wasn't that different to the flocked paper I have bought in the past and I think it adds the right level of luxuriousness to this card.  I love this card even with its imperfections. 

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2";
Cardstock - Recollections 110lb and 65lb ivory
Stamps - Gina K Designs: Warm Woolen Mittens; Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family;
Ink - Memento: Love Letter, Toffee Crunch;
Accessories - Velvet ribbon, Satin Ribbon

Updated Snowman

Sometimes you have to alter a card after you publish it.  Here is the link to the original version - sparkleglitter-snowman.  I even pointed out that it needed the greeting.  Funnily enough when I made this I thought it was going to go to my MIL but I changed my mined.  I like this card a lot more now with how the salutation/greeting helps to ground it by echoing the color of the sky and there is something wintery and ethereal about the script of the words as well.

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2" x 5 1/2";
Cardstock - Recollections 65lb white, blue, kraft;
Stamps - High Hopes stamps: Gimme A Hug! Snowman, Snow Background; Kitchen Sink Stamps: Whole Family; 
Ink - Gina K Color Companions: Black Onyx, White; Distress Inks: Broken China; Memento: Danube Blue;
Color - Copics
Accessories - Stickles: Diamond; Recollections: Red, Black; Martha Stewart glitter: snow