Making an Okay Card Better... and a New Card

Last month Hero Arts had the perfect challenge for me in my current crafting frame of mind, since they were looking for holiday cards. So did I flood them with entries? Of course not. :P I put one card in, at the last minute, and it wasn't even a Christmas card. 

I made this card from one of the sketches on offer, posted it at the last minute... and thought it was, well, okay. I looked at it again over the next few days, and then finally decided to take it apart and see if I could make it better. 

The thin black mats just seemed to make the other elements 'pop' more, and the off-white card base brought out the colours of the patterned paper more effectively than the white. It's still not my favourite card ever ;) but I'm definitely happier with it. 
In the meantime, I'm trying to be a little more efficient when it comes to the current month's contest. 

Of course this month Hero Arts isn't asking for holiday cards, but I managed to work one in anyway, using three of the colours in their colour palette -- red, blue and olive. I also added some bling with snowflake embossing tinsel on the reindeer sweater and glitter embossing powder on the tree, as well as the star on top.
This reindeer does look merry, doesn't he? :D
P.S. It's my week off, but the current Crafty Creations challenge looks like a fun one, so check it out! 

Supplies: (thank you) white, mauve & black cardstock, Generations subtles collection card base, Basic Grey plumeria patterned paper, Hero Arts Le Journal stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, clear embossing powder, Martha Stewart border punch, K&Company BW Flora & Fauna Charmers charm; (be merry) white cardstock, DCWV patterned paper, Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer & Get Merry! stamps, Versafine onyx black, Versamark, Stampin' Up old olive craft & real red & Brilliance sky blue inks, clear & glitter clear embossing powders, Ranger snowflake embossing tinsel, recycled star, pop-dot tape