A Christmas Village Valentine?

First, I just have to say...

Yeah!  I love these guys.

Alright, so now on with my post!  I don't think I can quite tell you how much I adore this card.  I used the gorgeous example from our Autumn/Winter Idea Book on page 50 to create my own version.  Did you know that is what our Idea Book is for?  IDEAS!!!!  It truly is!  If you need inspiration, you can be sure to find it there...trust me!

I wanted to try to use this awesome stamp set called Christmas Village in a new way for a non-Christmas card.  It was really easier than I thought! 

Another good place to find inspiration are the two volumes of Close to My Heart's Make it From the Heart Pattern Books.  I chose a pattern from the second volume for this card.

This particular sentiment is from Flakey Friends, and I added the heart over the "o" in love from the Lifting Spirits Stamp set.  Any little heart stamp will do, really, if you didn't pick this one up last month.  Of course, if you tune in to my blog in February, you just might win it for yourself!  ;)

Ok, where was I?  Oh, yes...the sentiment.  I added a couple of Pink Glitter Gems to each side of the banner for a bit-o-bling.  ;)

This sweet shoppe was just too much fun to color in with my NEW CTMH Watercolor Pencils.  I just got these awesome pencils to try out, and so I am linking this up with the first challenge over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges in January:  New Beginnings!  :)  I "knew" I couldn't stay away from there for long! *eyeroll*

I adore this paper packet that I used from Carta Bella...

It happens to match perfectly with my CTMH Cranberry CS.  Score!

You probably wouldn't have noticed this heart on my card was upside down, but I did...

Of course, my papers were already all attached nice and stuck-like, lol, so I improvised.

Presto, change-O!

I hope you like how I re-purposed the Christmas Village My Acrylix.  I love to get the most out of my Close to My Heart stamps, and this is just one way to do that.  :)

Hey!  Did you see the January Stamp of the Month?  It is SEW adorable!!!

Did you know you can get it only THIS MONTH!?  You can even get it for just $5 with a $50 purchase on my website!  Yep, you can...that is a huge discount from the regular price of $17.95!  Check it out this month...or it will be too late...mimimyselfandi.ctmh.com

Flakey Friends Christmas Cards

I am not quite ready for snow yet, but snowmen I can handle!  Here are a few of the Christmas Cards I have made using the Close to My Heart C1506 Flakey Friends My Acrylix Stamps.

These first two are made with the Wonderland Bulk paper from Close to My Heart which is retired.
I colored them in with our awesome Alcohol Ink Markers.  Then I added some Glitter Glitz to the snowy parts of the picture for some sparkle.  I used CC1015 Holiday Wishes for both sentiments.

The cardstock with my snowman friend is popped up with some foam tape for dimension.

Some shimmer trim was inevitable...

For the second card, I changed up the color scheme for the picture a bit and flipped the background paper to the other side.  A new sentiment gave the card whole new possibilities.

Here is that Glitter Glitz...

Finally, I wanted to do a more traditional color scheme.  I embossed our Sweet Leaf cardstock and sanded it to reveal the white core.  I LOVE using our cardstock to do this easy but powerful technique.  I stamped some White Daisy snowflakes onto Cranberry cardstock to break up the red.  The simple sentiment sums up my wish for the recipient.  It is from the D1492 Christmas Love My Acrylix set.

A bit of organdy ribbon and twine wrap this one up just perfectly!

You can find these adorable snowmen in my Etsy shop now just in time for Christmas or on my CTMH website to make your own!