My New Year's Resolution

... .was to start making Christmas cards in January and make two a week, every week, all through the year. We usually send between 80 and 90, so allowing for holidays and times when life just gets in the way, it would see me with enough cards ready and waiting when it was time to start writing them. I've done this a few times and it's been brilliant; it's meant I could devote time to each card rather than relying on a last minute assembly line rush.

However something seem to have got in the way, because it's now the middle of July, we're half way to Christmas and how many cards had I made before today?

NONE.

So it's time to knuckle down and make a start, and that's what I did today. I made this little collection from papers and toppers in last year's Making Cards magazine Joanna Sheen Christmas Special, which I deliberately kept unopened so it would be fresh and new to me this year. I also have a CD of all the sheets from it, so that if there's anything I fancy extras of, or want printed on a different surface, I can easily do so.

My first card is made from Kraft card. with the topper mounted on a die cut label and the background made using a richly detailed Spellbinders embossing folder. The remainder are made according to my interpretation of the "serving suggestions" in the magazine. I used my beloved Hougie board to score the card for the final design.

Since navy and kraft is a very unusual combination for Christmas, I'm playing along with Christmas Cards All Year Round  where the July challenge is non-traditional colours

And  I'm also joining in with Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for July.