Sweet Stampin' ~ Christmas in July

Hello my lovely crafty pals. It's time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' and since we're racing through this year so fast, we've decided to get ahead on some Christmas crafting. Have you been making Christmas cards throughout the year? Or do you leave yours until just before Christmas? I'm known to be still making them Christmas Eve! So I take every other opportunity I can to get ahead with my Christmas crafting. I've rather fallen in love with Unity Stamps this year. I discovered this stamp company late last year and let's just say, I now have a lot more red rubber than I ever previously did! I used a really fun and cute Christmas image called Cool Little Christmas from Unity Stamps for this creation and the sentiment that comes with that set.

I've seen crafty pals using this 'white border' technique for some time in their creations and always thought it looks utterly stunning, so with this simple image, I thought I'd give it a go. The watercolour paper I used was actually a really cheap one from my local $2 store, as I was just having a play and paper is so expensive in New Zealand, I didn't want to waste 'good paper' on an experiment. But I ended up being so pleased with it, I took it right through to completion. I don't know that I'd get the same patchy cool finish on better paper that I did with this, but I really liked the effect! My brother saw it and commissioned this card for a friend of his. 

I liked the way the colouring came together so much, I didn't want to do anything to detract from it. So the page with its notebook edge, was torn straight out of the watercolour paper pad and added to a 'Christmas Red' notecard, no embellies, totally CAS and I utterly love it! So did my brother which was fab, because he usually really loves the more embellished creations I make. It's so lovely, he often asks me to create cards for friends and he's very artistic, so I count it a real compliment.

I have a thing for the Scandinavian Christmas gnomes, known as Tomtenisse. They are Santa's helpers, but not in the way we know elves to be. They are based on deeper Scandinavian folklore, they are the keepers of the farms, of the animals and nature. I have such a love for them and started my collection when I visited my Swedish bestie, so took the opportunity to use them as my Christmas props. I've been hunting down Tomtenisse stamps ever since I discovered them, and may have a couple of makes to share closer to Christmas. So watch for those if you like them too!

I love that the Unity Stamps sets, often come with their own sentiments, and I happen to think this was a rather fun and 'hip' Christmas sentiment for this fun card. Stamped just in Memento Black Ink rather than white, as I wanted to keep the watercolour just around the image itself.

Come on over and join us for some Christmas crafting fun this week and if you enjoy crafting for Christmas all year, remember that Sweet Stampin' also has a Monthly Christmas Challenge, which runs all year long, so you're welcome to join in anytime! Pop into the main challenge blog for some awesome Christmas crafting inspiration this week, the DT have some awesome Christmas creations to share. I'll be back again before long with another crafty adventure, but not for a week or so, as my kiddos are on Winter Break right now, so we're having some holiday fun. Hugs to you all, Wends xoxo

P.S. If you like this 'white lines' technique, go check out the amazing Elise, whose creations I've been swooning over for years! You can find them here at Paper Love Affair. Thank you Elise, for your constant source of inspiration xoxo

Challenge Entries:
Aud Sentiments: #184 ~ Christmas In July
613 Avenue Create: #199 ~ Anything Goes

Always Fun Challenges: #14 ~ Anything Goes
Colour Crazy Challenge: #28 ~ Anything Goes
Crafting From The Heart: #167 ~ Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge: #159 ~ Christmas In July

Shopping Our Stash: #311 ~ CAS for Simplicity Day
Creative Moments Challenge: #122 ~ Christmas in July
Christmas Cards All Year 'Round: July ~ Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations: #279 ~ Anything Goes (For The Summer)

Update: So excited to see I made the Top 3 at Deep Ocean Challenge! Thank you so much ladies. I'm so thrilled!! :) 

Second Update: I just saw that I made Top 3 at Colour Crazy Challenge too. Whoop Whoop. Doing a little happy dance, so glad you liked my Christmas card. Thank you so much!