Monday, July 4, 2016

OLS29: Christmas in July

How grateful I am that Heather chose to make the One-Layer Simplicity Challenge a Christmas in July challenge! I need to jump-start my Christmas card production, and what a wonderful way to get me going.

My first Winnie and Walter set is The Big, the Bold, and the Merry. This "christmas" stamp is huge, so I went with an oblong card that fits a standard envelope from Marco's Paper, a brick-and-mortar store near me.


Card size: 3.5" x 7.5" (fits a premade envelope from Marco's)

Generally speaking, I leave the insides of cards blank, mainly because I like to handwrite messages inside rather than rely on some stamp to get the message across. But for Christmas cards, well, it's a different vibe. Nothing on the inside of a Christmas card feels weird to me.

Still, my tendency is to finish the front of a card and move on...so impatient to create the next card! This leaves me just before Christmas scrambling to put something on the insides of cards. I'm trying to "do simple things well" and finish every aspect of a card these days, including occasionally a custom-stamped envelope and a "hand-stamped" image on the back with my signature or initials.

My commitment to thoroughness is inconsistent, at best, but I really tried with this one!



What's your policy for stamping envelopes and insides of cards? Are you consistent in stamping on the back of your cards or signing them?

And after you answer those questions for me, click on over to the OLS Challenge. You know you'll appreciate getting started on your holiday cards early!


Supplies
stamps: Winnie and Walter The Big, the Bold, and the Merry; Hero Arts Holiday Petals and Leaves; Papertrey Peaceful Poinsettia (inside sentiment)
ink: Hero Arts red royal, green
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: envelope from Marco's


13 comments:

  1. I am consistent with two out of the three. I do stamp the envelope (it has almost become second nature now, don't have to go get the stamp set back out nearly as often). I always stamp the back of my cards with a calligraphy L & small butterfly. If I don't have a specific person or event in mind for the card, I don't stamp anything inside. Once I know where the card is going, I may stamp a greeting, or just hand write a note. The exception to this is Christmas cards. I always stamp a sentiment inside, and usually end up hand writing a note as well. I love that 'christmas' font, so fun! Interesting card size.
    Lu C

    ReplyDelete
  2. My cards sometimes have a stamped sentiment inside. Sometimes I write a personal note. It just depends on the occasion and/or the recipient. I always sign the back of my cards, sometimes using a stamp above my signature. My signature varies with the recipient - I'm sometimes Granny, Auntie, my family nickname, first initial & last name or first name and initial of last name. That's a bit complicated, but it works for me. Finally sometimes I decorate the front or back of the envelope, it just depends. I like doing do, but just don't always take the time 😍

    ReplyDelete
  3. I always stamp the back with a "made by Karen" stamp, but I usually send my cards blank with a note for the recipient to add a note and send to another person, so hopefully they will enjoy it too. Like a "chain" letter card.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I stamp the backs with "handmade by Cindy O." There's usually a short sentiment or die cut word on the card front. The insides are almost always blank and I write a note.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I prefer to write personal notes on the inside, sometimes including an appropriate verse or quotation. I sign my first name (very tiny) someplace on the front of the card and include the year, as some friends like to keep the cards. And FWIW, I take a photo of each card to keep in a folder on my computer—it keeps me from making a duplicate card for the same person the following year! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  6. I stamp inside on occasion cards, others maybe not. I do have a "signature" for the back.It's a cancer awareness ribbon( mostly because I've had cancer twice)& I put my initial 'P' in the middle & year along the side. Seldom stamp envies- I should start. Now that I've joined Google+, I can comment on your posts. Susan, I've been following you for a while thanks to Leslie H.-I so miss The Crooked Stamper. You are so awesome & that's all I'll say about that. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. BACK: always, now that I have a set called Handmade by Pink & Main. INSIDE: always for Christmas, always for birthday, usually not for thinking of you cards unless its just perfect, always for sympathy cause I suck at finding the right thing to say, usually for everything else; if I don't have a stamp I computer generate it with Silhouette
    ENVELOPE: pfft, never... they're lucky if I remember to add postage at that point! I'm notorious at getting it ready to mail and leaving it on my kitchen counter for a week and getting it there late despite making it early. Ugh!

    ReplyDelete
  8. PS, I love Heather... really I do, but Bah Humbug! Its 90 degrees here and I can't think about Christmas under these conditions! Besides, this year is already going too darn fast. My summer is almost over cause my 15 yo is going back to marching band camp in 2 weeks, then school starts, and I lose him for the year to his busy schedule. I've only got 3 more years of that as it is. No, no, no... I am not rushing ahead to Christmas even if it does mean getting to play with paper :-P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hear you, Karen. It is sweltering here so it takes some serious mind games to get me stamping snow. I am definitely not wanting to wish our summers away!

      Delete
    2. I've waited until cooler weather to start in the past and deeply, truly regretted it. Remembering how unhappy I was then helps me overcome the heat and humidity right now!

      Delete
  9. I am like you, Susan, I rarely stamp anything inside my cards so at Christmas I end up stamping the same sentiment inside 'assembly line style'! I think I will try and follow your lead here and stamp the inside when I finish the card. I love your bold 'Christmas' on a wide card.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I only stamp the insides of Christmas cards (and it's usually assembly-line style) and hand write the message on every other card. If I make a card specifically for a special friend or occasion, I might add a stamped verse inside on the top or left side of the card, and then add a hand-written note on the other half.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I only stamp the insides of Christmas cards (and it's usually assembly-line style) and hand write the message on every other card. If I make a card specifically for a special friend or occasion, I might add a stamped verse inside on the top or left side of the card, and then add a hand-written note on the other half.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking time to comment!