First Christmas Card of the Season / NAC #2

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a fantabulous day! Yes, that is a word, despite what my spell-checker is trying to tell me. :) I'm soooo excited about today's card! Did you see the sneak preview yesterday? I posted it because I entered it in a challenge and hadn't planned on posting it untill tomorrow or maybe even next week. But I can't wait...

Here it is-

Z-Fold Card featuring
Merry & Type

Do you love it?!? Ooooh, I do! And if you've been around here for long, I don't get overly excited about too many of my own cards. I mean I like them, sure, but sometimes you just sit back and say to yourself, "Wow! I made this." This one will definitely be going in my Christmas in July class. I had Girls Nite Out last night with my friend Brenda (Hey girl!), and showed her this and she wants to make a set of these for her Christmas cards. *Happy Dance* 

Wanna know the best part of this card? Even though it's a WOW! card, (or at least I think so) it was Super Simple to make. No really. Like a beginner class easy.  In fact, you'll be surprised at just how easy it is. 

I have to thank the DT over at Nacho Average Challenge for the color combo. The colors are not ones I would have put together, in fact this was the first time I had even used my More Mustard paper and ink pad. In fact if you're new here, this challenge is only the second real "color challenge" I've done although I did two for it. I don't do them because as a general rule I feel like I'm pretty inept at them. There are just too many possibilities with a color challenge, too many ways to lay them out and combine them and it really just stresses me out! I'm trying to break away from my Scaredy Cat tendencies though, so I'm forcing myself to try. I think I got lucky that they picked a really cool combo. Additionally, I was just really inspired and let's face it, that's not always the case. So I'm going to just enjoy my two little victories (self-proclaimed) and be glad next week's challenge is another sketch. LOL!

Here's the Color Challenge-

I was walking to the slug-line trying to come up with stamp sets I could use (Preferably that didn't include Betsy's Blossoms or Bright Blossoms, isn't that nice of me to try and switch it up for you? Yeah, well that's just the kind of person I am. HAHAHAHAHA!) I thought of this set and then remembered a card my team-leader Robin Merriman had created for us either at a team meeting or a Christmas Card Class, I can't remember which. That card used this layout, but the ornaments were all stamped in Riding Hood Red, there was some Early Espresso c/s and a little ribbon too. So I guess, I should say thanks to NAC and Robin! Thanks! MWAH!!! Well after thinking about this set and card layout I wondered if I couldn't make these colors more "jewel -like" to give my ornaments that old-world, blown glass appearance. I used my Blender-Pens and started out with light washes of color  and then went back and added more to create depth of color and shadowing. After that a little Two-Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds and WOW!!!

Here's a close-up of the ornaments-

Jewel-Toned Holiday Ornaments
So exciting that the dazzle and shine showed up!

I recently met a new blog-pal (Hey Molly!) who confessed to having the same anxieties I do about figuring out the dimensions for cards and especially the separate design elements/mats. So here's the dimensions for the Sentiment and mats. The Very Vanilla c/s in 1.5 x 2.5, the More Mustard layer 1 5/8 x 2 5/8 and the Lucky Limeade layer 1 3/4 x 2 3/4. Hope this helps. Oh and the base is a standard Z-fold cut at 4 1/4 x 11. Scored at 5 1/2 and 2 3/4. I used my Stampin' Write Markers to ink up the main sentiment.

Here's the card opened up-

I used another sentiment from the same set for the inside. I love that even with the decoration down the side of the card, there's still enough room for a nice hand-written note.

Oh, I really hope that you like this card as much I do. I really hope the design team over at NAC like it too! :) I hope it inspires you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. You might just surprise yourself. I know I sure did!

Thanks sooo much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by here today. I love hearing from you, so if you liked today's card and have a minute to spare, I hope you'll consider leaving me a comment. I read them all and try to respond back. They really do make my day! If you liked it and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons here on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

I really am going to post my MDS Scrapbook page tomorrow, so I hope you'll come back and see me then. Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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