Goodbye Muse, Hello ABC Christmas

A fun challenge came to a close at the end of 2018 when Muse: ChristmasVisions held its final challenge. I really enjoyed my year working with Ardyth and the rest of the design team, but all good things do seem to come to an end eventually. 

It's so helpful come December to have been making Christmas cards throughout the year, and being on a Christmas challenge team is a great help in accomplishing that. So I'm excited to announce I've been accepted as a new member of the ABC Christmas Challenge team! 

ABC Christmas Challenge runs through the alphabet with two or three letters per month to spark your creativity. For January we are starting, not surprisingly, with A and B. First up is A for Anything Goes:

This is the last card I made before Christmas, with this challenge in mind. It's got a fair amount going on compared to my usual cards - a stamped background with some additional green sponging around the edges, watercolored and die cut evergreen branches, a sparkly die cut jingle bell, and a stamped sentiment. All that plus a panel of patterned paper to ground the sentiment and cluster of images. Oh! There's also some red twine for the jingle bell and a few star sequins. :) 

The second challenge theme for January is B for Berries:

And this is my first Christmas card destined for 2019 mailing! I had given a quick try to these Sunny Studio layering holly stamps in November when I was making tags, with absolutely zero success. When I was able to take the time to look at the set more closely, I discovered a few of the stamps are labelled incorrectly! It wasn't just my fault. :P Using the right trio of stamps for each holly leaf produces such beautiful results. I chose to use them to frame this big sentiment, layered on a die cut green panel. Perhaps before Christmas I would have decided to bling this up a lot more, but I just added a little sparkly *frosting* to the berries. 

While you still have the lingering aftereffects of your 2018 Christmas spirit hanging around, why not be inspired by these two prompts, make a Christmas card or two or three and join us! For more inspiration, be sure to check out the beautiful cards of my new teammates. 

Supplies: (Tis the Season) Stampin' Up very vanilla, garden green & real red glitter cardstock, Teresa Collins Noël patterned paper, Hero Arts music collage background & Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamps, Stampin' Up garden green & several green distress inks, Paper Smooches Wreath Builder, Lil' Inkers Jingle Joy & Winnie & Walter Katherine cutaway dies, Hemptique red twine; (holly) Neenah white & Stampin' Up garden green cardstock, Sunny Studio Christmas Trimmings stamps & dies, Simon Says Stamp Peace on Earth sentiment stamp,Versamark,  Memento bamboo leaves, Stampin Up garden green, Simon Says Stamp green leaf & Altenew crimson & velvet inks, Wow clear embossing powder, MFT stitched scallop rectangle die, Gelly Roll clear sparkle pen