Christmas All Year - January 2021

[Iring]

Happy New Year! 

Thank you for your help in choosing prompts!  I think I have a good mix of tools, techniques and icons to get us through the year.  It's a smorgasbord!

As usual, prompts are optional.  If you're just not feelin' it, post whatever Christmas cards you're in the mood to make.  Please put them in the Christmas All Year 2021 album when it becomes available.  I have a request in to Sadie.  For now, add "Christmas 2021"  as a key word when you upload to the card gallery.

For January 2021 your prompt is to use a die.  You can keep it simple, just use a die, or you can try and use an old die in a new way.

I have a few dies that I meant to use this year that I never got around to using.

A few topics for discussion :

1. Are you in the mood for Christmas crafting or are you burnt out?
2. Do you like to set goals?  How many cards would you like to make each month? 

My answers :

1.  I will start by saying, yes, I'm in the mood ... but I have quite a bit of desk clearing to do to make it easier!

2.  Goals ...  not good at setting or achieving ... so I think I'll set one anyway, what the heck?  I would love to say 10 cards per month, but I will give myself some slack and say 5 cards per month, hoping there will be months when I'm more productive, knowing there will be months where I might not make any!

I'm so happy for this group to share in another year of Christmas card making adventures!

[stampwilly]

I like this prompt, since I have a die series on my blog this year! I will have to find some Christmas dies that I have not used yet, or ones that will go with Christmas.

I will try to make 5 cards per month! I was doing 3, but I nearly ran out of cards last year.

I am ready to make Christmas cards again!

[Yankee]

Ok, I will aim at one a month. i know full well if is easy and I like it, that I will make more than one.
I got a Christmas stamp and die as a gift from DIL.  Now just need to find it.
I have Christmas down and put away, but still finding where I put stuff away at to make room for Christmas.
And I put stuff away differently, and that is a problem!!!
But we have all month, so I will get it done.

[Conniecrafter]

I can get myself in the mood to make Christmas cards when I know I have all my birthday cards made for that month, I am able to be more relaxed and create better that way.
I have a couple more birthday cards and one thank you card I need to make now before I can start.

My goal is 5 cards a month in order to have the amount I need.

Thanks for the prompt, I have some new dies

[stampwilly]

Well I was on a roll yesterday and completed my 5 cards for this month! I used dies that had been in my stash that I had not used yet! Several cards have shiny card stock on them that was hard to photogragh. Now if I can keep up with 5 each month I will be doing well.

April

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5293#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5294#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5295#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5296#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5298#top_display_media

[Conniecrafter]

We don't have a 2021 folder to put our cards into so I put it in the 2020 and just named them 2021
I had made these before you posted the prompt but because I hadn't posted them I thought I would use them although they are for last year not this Christmas.

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5299#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5300#top_display_media

[Iring]

Looks like we're off to a great start!  I'm glad you're still in the mood for Christmas card making!  Connie, I understand needing to finish the birthdays first.  You won't need Christmas cards for a long time.

I haven't heard from Sadie yet about a 2021 folder ...

Connie, no problem posting your snow globes, we haven't seen them yet. 

April, yes you were on a roll!  Woo Hoo!  The dies look pretty with your metallic paper.

Yankee, you can do it!  (DH just got my boxes down from the attic for me this morning.  We got the tree down last night, now I have the inside house decorations, Christmas mugs, etc to put away.  It's a job!)

I think I will use a timer today to make sure I get some fun time.

[djc]

OMG.  My heart sank when I saw the 2021 Christmas cards in the gallery.  I just finished making all those cards for last 2020.  OK.  Deep breaths.  I told myself that this year I would make Christmas cards all year long so I would not have a repeat of the last couple of years.  I really thought I wouldn't get them done last month. 

I did buy some Christmas Edger dies that I haven't used, and it doesn't get much easier than that.  So I will try!  That's all I can promise.

Goals?  Forget it.
Burned out?  Sort of.

As always, I need to organize my craft room so that I enjoy being in it.

Cindi, if you talk to Sadie again, will you ask her if she can move the Winter Holiday Cards in July Challenges (2014, 2015, and 2016) that are still in the Challenge Section to the Cards Section so that all the Christmas cards could be together.  In 2017, I asked her to place the Winter Holiday Cards in July Challenge in the same place as your Christmas All Year Challenges, and that is where they've been ever since.

I couldn't find the Winter Holiday Cards in July Challenge, 2019, in the gallery.  Not there.  Is that the year I was sick?  Nope.  I found the challenge thread.  That's the year I told everyone to post their cards in your Christmas All Year, 2019 Gallery.  Mystery solved.  I'm so glad I didn't miss a year.


BTW, I love the cards that have been posted so far!

Daria

[Yankee]

I finally found the set (now I lost the pkg so I can’t putdown the manufacturer)
But I wouldn’t want you to buy it.  It was terrible.  I must have stamped it a dozen times with two colors ink and embossed it ,only to mess it up in the die cutting.
So I went to my friend who only does die cutting on her cards.  I made four more for her to try and cut out.
She said there was no  registration on the die.  She cut it out, and this is the best she could do.
It is just a hateful die.  I wil not be using it any time soon.
You know how Jennifer is always cutting the same die over and over to glue to her piece to give it hight.
Well after looking at all the messes up cutting, I glued a bunch together instead of pot dot to give it height.
And it felt good to use up the bad ones.
I used a strip of pp, and a stenciled piece from zoom meeting.  Placed it on glittery border and added a glitter bow.

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/albums/userpics/11227/2A557349-0725-4CBB-8B6E-414B0DB81504.jpeg

[Iring]

Daria, you are not behind!  Take a deep breath.  Play with your edger dies when the mood strikes!  I hope you'll join us and I'm glad you seem like you are still interested in hosting July! 

Connie, your sleds turned out really nice.  I'm glad you're using your Silhouette!  Did you cut from paper or vinyl?

Yankee, sorry your die was such a pain!  Usually we stamp first and then die cut, but in this case I wonder if it would be easier to die cut first, put the die in a stamp positioner and then stamp on the die cut piece?  I think Jennifer McGuire has a video on it.  Have you seen it?  Or, just write it off as a pain and don't mess with the die.  Way to go using your extra die cut pieces to add thickness to your wreath!  For all the trouble ... your card turned out really nice.  I like the chimney behind your wreath.

[Conniecrafter]

I used vinyl on my sleds, thankfully that worked well but I tell you when I got done with them I thought I would cut out items for cards and that didn't go well at all, I ended up giving up and packing it all away again.

[Iring]

Bummer, sorry you had trouble with the cards Connie! 

This month feels like it is going by fast.  I'm in the mood to make Christmas cards ... but have a few others, I need to make first.  Hopefully this afternoon or evening.  (I seem to be saying that every day!)

[Conniecrafter]

Well this wasn't a new die but I just had to use my ornament die after seeing Aprils pretty cards.

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5319#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5318#top_display_media

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5317#top_display_media

I am working on some more right now using a different die, need to get done at least 5 or 6 cards done

[howdyheidi]

I have three cards for January.  My goal really needs to be higher but I don’t think I decided yet how many.

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5320#top_display_media

[Conniecrafter]

I managed to get 4 more done

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5321#top_display_media
this one has the info for the card on the left, the one on the right was done with the Nuvo shimmer

http://www.duhnproductions.com/Pics/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pid=5322#top_display_media
This one also has info for the card on the left the one on the right is done with patterned paper, more 4th background I did I didn't like at all so I just used pattern paper