Merry Christmas!
I know for many of us, this holiday has brought disappointments, and for many, sorrows due to the COVID pandemic. I hope that you've been able to find some joy or hope in the Christmas message today. We're celebrating in a much quieter fashion this year. Inside of a crowd of family members for Christmas dinner, it will be just us and Matt's family. For that, we are truly blessed. We'll FaceTime with Sarah and her family, but we had hoped to be there for Christmas this year.
Grandchildren certainly bring excitement and joy to the holiday. I've long admired the interactive cards I've seen on blogs over the years, and now that my grandchildren are old enough (ages 4-9) to appreciate them, I've started to have a lot of fun creating them. I waited until all the other Christmas cards were in the mail, but in the last week, I've made a slider card for both sets of grandchildren, and interactive cards for three gift card gifts.
This set was released by Simon Says this year, and I held off buying it for awhile, but finally caved when I saw some variations I knew I could use in the future for more adult cards. I pretty much followed the designer's tips in making this card---an ink blended snowy sky, textured snow, and a colorful village scene. I used a Simon Says stencil and Gina K Glitter paste to create the glittery snow--which I think could also be seen as stars. Santa and his sleigh ride across the sky thanks to some "spin and slide" discs by My Favorite Things, and two pennies.
I colored the little town with Copic markers and added some Glitter Glue along the eaves and the snow drifts. I'm never quite sure how these cards will be received, but yesterday I gave the three little girls their card, and they all were quite taken with it. Ella, the six year-old, was particularly entranced, not the least of which was due to the fact that she could read the inside greeting ("Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!) by herself. The sentiment came from an older Papertrey Ink set.
The little girls will be getting Apple gift cards this evening. Because of remote learning this year, they all have iPads. They frequently request additions for some of the apps, which are typically refused. Betsy thought they'd be thrilled to be able to purchase some extensions for the apps. I've used this slider card die a couple of times already, and thought it would be perfect for "hiding" the cards. All the images are from My Favorite Things Jingle All the Way set, and the patterned papers are also from My Favorite Things.
Off to enjoy the fireplace for a bit before the girls and their parents arrive for early dinner. I'll be back in a day or so with a few more Christmas cards to share before I move on to cards for winter birthday, and thinking of you cards for my single friends who will find it more difficult to get out during the winter.
