SSS Monday Challenge "Celebrate!" and A Vintage Journey ends with a "Merry Little Christmas" December Challenge ... Part 1: It's a 2020 Christmas Carol of Cards!

     

   Merry CHRISTmas!! No, I don't think it's too late to say that, not because it's only 2 days post, but because the very fact that CHRISTmas celebrates the birth of The King of Kings means that we proclaim His birth- as well as His sacrificial death and Resurrection- every single day of the year. Immanuel means "GOD with us", and HE is! Let's face it, folks, like it or not: if you celebrate Christmas, then you are celebrating the above Holy Birth, and aaaaall the rest. Yep. But that's not meant to be boastful; only praising! And when anyone celebrates with, the more reason to be merry! 

     Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog chose to make Celebrate! their theme for the week of December 21st, and it's perfect for what I was busy with in the background of the holiday. I've stopped making Christmas cards altogether, since it took literally a full month to get them done and out. They were not handmade as most Crafters would think, but rather works of photographic art. I would compile a file on my computer of "Best of" photos that included all the happenings of our family during that year. If the photo didn't 'say it all', I'd add a bit of text (yeah- that was a real stretch for me to keep the text simple, lol!) someplace next to the pic. It really did fill an entire half-fold card since our family not only did quite a bit, but our boys were pretty successful all around in everything they did. That's not a brag; we were BLESSED and we know it! It was a huge undertaking; the creating of the template, the card itself with it's printing, folding, enveloping/licking, and stamping (I spent several years doing all these 3 things while on my treadmill, no less!), and the ultimate addressing (eventually printing after years of hand-addressing), pre-sorting for the US Post, and finally....the cost of a single stamp beat me out. Actually, it was the death of my late Mom-In-Law that helped it come to an end, since most of our cards can be hand-passed at church. I even made up an alphabetized box for church, so that everyone could easily find their own cards, as well as pass them out. It was my MiL who loved the cards I made. It was actually years before I knew this. I was sitting with her and mentioned thinking of ending the work it took to make the cards, when she said "Oh, but I LOVE your cards!" I was floored as she went on to explain how the usual 'Christmas Letter' became a thing of bragging words, whereas the photos I showed helped her be a part of 'reliving' the year in it's best places. So I kept on, and her unexpected death in February 2011 just helped my decision to end the cards. All of this comes to mind with the 10th year we miss her- in 2021.

  Meanwhile, A Vintage Journey has issued a message along with the December Challenge, that this will be the last. Ever. For now?? I mean, c'mon, people...I'm feeling like every Challenge Blog I've tried to enter in 2020 (getting out of my 'only this one' box) has stopped in one way or another. (Previously was Mini Album Makers Challenge which stopped mid-year.) I can honestly see the point, though: I am totally awed by the amount of sheer work that goes into making up a challenge- let alone going through all the entries via social media in so many forms now. I cannot imagine how anyone would think it "fun" to do that kind of workload just for everyone else to have all the fun creating just one (or more if they choose) project. These crafters/Lead Designers/people-with-the-patience-of-a-saint are just downright AWESOME!!!! But then....Crafters are just that, and more. So, while I just got the gumption earlier this year to join this elite group of Challenge makers/takers, who am I to say plans otherwise? I can only give a huge shoutout of 

                                           THANK YOU!!!

for the memories of all the stunning work- which still appears not only on Pinterest, past blog posts of A Vintage Journey, and - I am totally unashamed to admit; my own files of photos of the makes along with the names of the makers, which I can refer to and look up their latest for more inspiration or help. I am grateful ALWAYS for the Journey in which I have been BLESSED to be able to tag along- even if it was considered by Twitter as "creeping". I PROUDLY CREPT on your makes!! (LOL) I wish I could type in every name here- but I know I'd miss someone. So there you are: if you were somewhere along with me in A Vintage Journey...I THANK YOU! Please accept my humble last offerings...

    Part 1 of my Cards... "A 2020 Christmas Carol of Cards"

(And MANY THANKS to all the Tim Holtz Addicts folks who made ATC Cards from a deck of playing cards- or their own ATCs from which the inspiration came! You know who you are!)

I started out by playing with a full deck.

;)

I really wanted to keep the backside the way it is: pretty old and well used.

The gesso job I wanted needed to be LIGHTLY done.

I really wanted the card itself to show through- at least for now.

I did the entire deck- thinking if I wanted to cover any of them more, I could do it as I crafted them.

So here's the first batch lightly covered...

you can see I was fighting my usual "coat it thick" habit.

Not only did I forget all about those end-of-year-finds from last Christmas,

but the new TH Stencil Deco Arch came in from an order to The Funkie Junkie Boutique

Also in that order was TH CRACKLE PASTE!!!! 

Can you tell I am excited to finally get my pallet knife on this stuff?!

It's already got a good hunk used out of it at this typing.

I went through both drawers of my inks to pick out some faves that would layer well together-

in my own humble opinion, anyway...

...and started layering up.

This was the result of the backgrounds so far.

I had saved most of the scrap pieces (the inverted cuts) from the We Three Kings Tags

from the TH Alterations Die Cathedral Arch in hopes to use them for later projects like this.

And from the ending photos, below, I can't wait to use more of them in 2021!

The TH Paper Dolls were chosen at this point since each had to fit inside the

cards and also be able to show the backgrounds a bit in each.

I set the pieces up according to what the card was planning to show as part of the story-

as well as match the Paper Doll in each.

Here's a point where I finally just did what Paula Cheney suggested: simply DIP IT!

It's been a fight for me- the Tim voice kept saying in my head

"C'mon, you know you want to..."

as if reading it in his CCC Volume 1 for the first time.

So I did it.

And that was EASY and FUN!

I cannot say if it should be done with every project- but this one used similar shades of color.

Then....the TH Embossing Glaze came out again.

The backgrounds before adding any embellies- here you can

see the darker colors of TH Regular Inks of Forrest Moss on the green for some depth. 

Some Freebies! Everyone's gotta love getting freebies from The Funkie Junkie Boutique !

And these little paper embellies came in handy for this make.

While I do have the TH Alterations M&S Die Set Mini Clock/Camera,

I chose to use the one that came with my order from Linda.

Adding some embellies along with colors for the Paper Dolls.

That light set FINALLY sees use, and after I found out it was not a 'sticky';

I want more for next year! It came as a clearance at Hobby Lobby, so...we'll see.

And this is the story...

It seemed to fit this very strange year of 2020.

The Card of Christmas Past: Pre-COVID19, we gathered together and ate off each other's forks.

The Card of Christmas Present: COVID19 pretty much put a stop to the little girl's

lit-up bus ticket trip to her Bestie's house for Christmas.

That's why this is a 2-fer-1 Card- it must be correctly socially distantanced.

The Card of Christmas Future: We WILL gather again!

We will- GOD willing- celebrate together once again. Perhaps not in time for 2020, 

but that gives us all the more reason to celebrate CHRISTmas every single day!

Just in case you're wondering if I did anything to the backsides...lol

Part 1 ends here- but not before I comment

THANK YOU!

for all the nice comments on ALL my projects throughout the year!

Every little thing adds up and even those peek-ins are a boost of inspiration!

THANKS to everyone for all the wonderfully SWEET prayers, thoughts, and wishes

for my ChiefHubby's new life adventure of Retirement...

I sometimes wonder if I should try paying someone to hire

a handicapped, sickly worker (aka ME)

in case HIS retirement drives me crazy?? In any case, I yelled to him the words

of wisdom I've often shared with anyone who needs to hear them:

"GET A JOB OR GO TO SCHOOL!!"

My own kids love me for that imparting of words to them. LOL!

Stay Tuned-

for Part 2

and - as always-

Stay Safe, Wash the HANDS, Wear the MASK, &

HAPPY BLOGGING!