Happy first Monday of December! It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

I have yet to address my Christmas cards, but since the tree is up, and most of the presents are bought, I’m getting ready to settle into the fun times of the holidays! Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t procrastinate, and I plan things out meticulously for less stress and maximum enjoyment, so the tree went up a week or so ago, and I’ve already had lots of time to soak in the festivity of it all.

Susan's Holiday Tree

I have two cards to share today. It wasn’t until I had my cards on display in my craft room that I noticed how well these cards complemented one another! I totally did not plan that.

The first card came about after a die-cutting nightmare that I had abandoned. It happens! I wanted to share with you that for the pine boughs at the bottom, I used craft foam! I can’t tell you when the last time was that I pulled that out, but it cuts like butter with wafer-thin dies and adds fun texture and dimension.

Merry Happy Joyful card by Susan R. Opel for Scrapbook & Cards Today

I liked how the pine boughs looked with the striped patterned paper, and then I wanted to add sparkle with die cut sentiments in various fonts.  A simple design and fun to make, too! I’m looking forward to writing something inside, slipping it in an envelope, and sending it to a friend.

In my last Magazine Monday blog post, I shared several cards that I had made with stencils from Simon Says Stamp and Therm O Web products. I made so many different cards with those products, but for that post, I narrowed it down to only Christmas cards. One of the cards I held in reserve didn’t seem quite appropriate yet, but now that we’ve reached the final month of the year (and decade!) it makes more sense.

2020 Happy New Year card by Susan R. Opel for Scrapbook & Cards Today

I used Pixie Spray to tack down my stencil and lathered on some Therm O Web and Gina K Design’s Glitz Glitter Gel. I honestly didn’t even have a plan for this card, but then I decided to use Therm O Web’s Flock Transfer Sheets to make the “2020” fuzzy. There’s even more glorious texture on this card as I used the same stencil to dry emboss the background of the main panel.

Scrapbook & Cards Today - Winter 2019 issue

 

And one thing that makes this time of the year wonderful is that our Winter 2019 issue is coming your way THIS Friday! It’s filled with chilly and merry paper crafting delights, and we can’t wait for you to crack it open and soak in all of the goodness.

Here’s to a joyous December and a phenomenal new year! We’ll be here with many more surprises in store in 2020!

~ Susan R. Opel, Editor-in-Chief

To subscribe to Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine, be sure to click HERE!