Christmas Crafts 2009: Handmade Embellishments

{Candy Cane Embellishments, 2009}

{Star Embellishments, 2009}

{Holly Embellishments, 2009}

{Embellishments Drying, 2009}

{Hand Carved Lino Stamps, 2009}

Every year I send out handmade Christmas cards and every year it seems that the process becomes more streamlined. It always feels good to figure out something that will work better to create multiple items. Creating the embellishments for the first step of my Christmas cards went fairly quickly and I thought I would share them with you! Plus, I love the way they look all piled together. I used a Martha Steward Craft Punch to make the scalloped circles. The stamps were carved with Speedball products and stamped using StazOn ink. I added a little glitz with glitter glue, seed beads and Michael's craft candy canes. I hope you'll stop back soon to check up on the progress of my holiday cards and other fun projects!

Warm Hands, Warm Heart

{Lino Cut Stamp, 2008}

This is the stamp I created today. I will use it for my Christmas cards that I plan to send out. I thought of it as a play on the saying, "cold hands, warm heart", except this would be "warm hands, warm heart"! I was excited when I printed it in my sketchbook, and it looked like I wanted it to. I can't wait to post the finished cards, so you can see how my overall vision turned out.