Hi there!

I'm so jazzed!!  I just finished a Skype conversation with my son and daughter-in-law.  How cool is that!!!  He's in the USNavy and stationed in Sicily.  They are pretty much settled in now and looking forward to visiting all there is to see in Europe.  You can bet that my husband and I are busy tucking away the $$ so that we can visit them.  My husband is really itching to go...he was stationed in Sicily some years ago when he was in the USNavy and has many happy memories of the time he spent there.  We've been speaking to my son on Skype since he and his wife arrived in Italy a few months ago, but this is the first time that I was able to speak to my daughter-in-law and it was so good to see both of them at the same time.  What a great birthday present!

OK, now back to work.  Today's post is the second of the five cards I designed for my annual Christmas Card class.

(click on card to see larger image)

This card features the Delightful Decorations stamp set and the Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper.  We begin with a card base of Riding Hood Red cardstock.  Adhered to the card front is a panel of Old Olive cardstock embossed in the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions embossing folder.  The edges of the panel were sponged with Old Olive ink.  Near the top of the panel is piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock.  Adhered to this panel is a piece of Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper matted with a piece of Early Espresso cardstock.  Wrapped around the top of the Early Espresso cardstock/Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper is a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots ribbon.  The starburst ornament from the Delightful Decorations stamp set was inked with Old Olive ink, stamped on a piece of Whisper White cardstock, and punched with the Ornament punch.  The ornament was adhered to the Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper with Stampin' Dimensionals.  A 5mm Basic Rhinestone was adhered to the center of the starburst.  Note that the top of the ornament was tucked under the ribbon.  A second piece of Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots ribbon was formed into a bow and adhered to the wrapped ribbon at the top of the ornament using Mini Glue Dots.

A scrap piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock was punched with the Modern Label punch and adhered near the lower center of the Old Olive panel using Stampin' Dimensionals.  The "Merry Christmas" sentiment, from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, was inked with Old Olive ink and stamped on a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock, punched with the Word Window punch, and adhered to the center of the Riding Hood Red cardstock Modern Label using SNAIL.

(click on card to see larger image)

The inside sentiment area of the card was lined with a panel of Whisper White cardstock.  The ornate snowflake from the Winter Post stamp set was stamped three times at the lower left corner and once at the upper right corner of the panel using Old Olive ink.

(click on envelope to see larger image)

The ornate snowflake was stamped three more times near the lower left front corner of the Medium Whisper White envelope.  The "Merry Christmas" sentiment was stamped among the snowflakes using Early Espresso ink.

The piece of Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper used for this card is 2 1/4" x 3 1/8" which means that with careful cutting you can cut 18 pieces from one 12" x 12" sheet.  If you used both sheets in the package, you'd be able to make 36 Christmas cards very quickly since this card design is perfect for bulk production.

Stamps:  Delightful Decorations, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Winter Post; Inks:  Early Espresso, Old Olive; Cardstock:  Early Espresso, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White; Designer Series Paper:  Letters to Santa; Embellishments:  Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots ribbon, Basic Rhinestones Jewels; Adhesives:  SNAIL, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals; Tools:  Paper Cutter/Scorer, Paper Snips, Bone Folder, Ornament punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Big Shot w/Standard Cutting Plates, Multi-Purpose Platform, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions embossing folder; Other:  Medium Whisper White Envelope