Christmas in July

How about a cool down?  We are experiencing very warm temperatures right now and the challenge at The Funkie Junkie is just the trick to take us to cooler temperatures.  The talented Cec is leading the challenge this time and she has challenged us to "Christmas in July"!  Here is how she describes the challenge:

"If you are like me, you are anxious for 2020 to be over and done with. To speed things up let's pretend Christmas is around the corner even though it is only July and get a start on creating shabby chic or vintage inspired cards. This challenge is all about cards so please save other Christmas creations for later."

I have to admit that I always order the Christmas stamps, stencils and dies when they come out but end up sometimes not getting to use everything from the release during the holiday season. I was happy to pull out a few things that never got used! 

I was scrolling through pinterest for a few ideas of things that were Christmas related.  I saw a beautiful card that had die cut Christmas greens.  That had me foraging through my pattern papers and dies to see what I could come up with. 

Along the way I thought what about the Christmas design tape?  I hadn't used it and wanted to play with it so I pulled it out.  I decided to take some scrap cardstock and tape it up to cut some pretty flowers and leaves.

Here are the leftover pieces.  Which I haven't discarded as I can either find smaller dies or use the scraps of design tape on other cards.

I also cut out random leaves and flowers from the Holiday Wallpaper.  

Here are the leaves and flowers left over from the cards.  They are very pretty and will be stored for future accents. 

After I had my various bits I then created two backgrounds for my card with the layering stencils and the crackle embossing paste. 

I stamped the vintage Santa and gave him a slight coloring with distress inks.  The rest was just layering up the cards and stamping and attaching a sentiment.

I hope this has you feeling the chilly wintery breezes and inspired to play along! The winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team.

Suzz

Products:
Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil Plaid,
Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil Festive
Sizzix Tim Holtz Die - Funky Foliage 
Sizzix Tim Holtz Dies - Wildflowers
Sizzix Tim Holtz Dies - Holiday Greens
Ranger Texture Paste Crackle
Ranger Distress Oxide Inks - Aged Mahogany, Black Soot 
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black
Ranger Distress Stain Sprays - Aged Mahogany
Ranger Distress Oxide Spray - Hickory Smoke
Idea-Ology Tim Holtz Christmas Design Tape
Stampers Anonymous Rubber Stamps - Yuletide
Stampers Anonymous Rubber Stamps - Watercolor Trees
Idea-Ology Tim Holtz Christmas Worn Wallpaper