Woodware: A Fistful of Fabulous Quick as a Wink!

If you are the type to start your Christmas cards in August, then you've have plenty of time to go all-out on your cards,  each one individual and special, with multiple layers, and oodles of embellishments. However, if you are like most paper-crafters, you will be past the first week of December, and in panic-mode...unless you've been smart enough to check out this week's Woodware team posts with the theme, "Speedy Cards for Christmas". I'm up first this week with four cards, all of which could be completed in five minutes each, and quick for multiplying.

Each uses a color card which you can purchase in packs along with envelopes from any of the shops listed on the Woodware site. Each uses one panel of ivory cardstock, which has been run through an embossing machine (Big Shot, Vagabond, Cuttlebug, etc.) held within one of six of the new embossing folder designs from Dreamweaver. Each folder provides perfect, crisp detail.

Now, simply grab a gold pigment ink-pad and a large stencil brush, and swipe the ink across from top to bottom, and left to right, and reversed, to catch all the edges of the embossing with soft shimmery gold. Adhere those panels to the cards, and you can easily be done there. However, if you feel the need to spend another minute on each, you can quickly add some Mark Richards' Self-Adhesive Crystals or Pearls, some Card Candi, and/or a ribbon bow. Each of these panels could also be adhered to the front of a paper gift bag for a quick and simple festive touch to your Christmas gifts.

Remember to check the Woodware blog each day this week for more speedy inspiration!

Woodware: A Collage of Christmas for Cardmaking

This week's Woodware challenge is definitely not CAS (clean and simple), and yet it can be simple. Working with collage at Christmas is a fun way to use more of all the fun images and products available in your local stores, and at home in your crafting stash for this time of the year.

My card features the Stampendous Snowy Post image, stamped twice, with the second oval piece cut out and adhered over the first. This panel is ink-distressed and aged around the edges before being layered over a panel from the Cardworks Christmas Post 8 X 8 square pad of paper. The "25th" from the "Mixed Numbers" set was stamped in red ink, and again offset in light brown ink over the base and post card panel. The ornament from the Woodware's Clear Magic Little Christmas Bird was stamped on the light blue paper, along with the sentiment, and die cut with Dreamweaver's Nested Ornaments Die. A double-bow of striped twine on the topper, several stamped snowflakes from the Woodware "Nutcracker" set, and sprinklings of additional Stampendous Shabby White Embossing Enamel finished my collage card. This type of design-work is also a great way to use up any bits and pieces that you've saved from previous craft sessions that weren't perfect at the time, but will be now!

Don't forget to see what the team has been collaging all of this week on the Woodware Blog!