classic holiday inspiration...

Welcome back!  To say that I've fallen in love with these new sets from Papertrey Ink would be an understatement.   I can't accurately express just how much I adore these sets!  Both take stamping to a completely different and very creative level.  My mind has been blown by both the Winter Village and Christmas Critters set....the images and ideas float through my mind as I drift off to sleep :)....it's a beautiful thing.

My first card uses the Winter Village stamp set and dies.  As a child I remember being so excited to receive Christmas cards in the mail.  Once they were open, we'd have a special place on our front door where we would hang them and display them all through the holiday season.  And...I remember very vividly these lovely, vintage villages, coated with glittered rooftops and snowbanks, with horse drawn sleighs, ice skaters, and icy, snowy, trees.   My love for them began right then as a child and to this day, those images take me back to those sweet days as a child.

I couldn't wait to use this new set and create my own pink villages :)....prepare to be bombarded with them.  I grounded my little vintage church on a die cut from the Make it Market: Don't Forget to Write kit, using Autumn Rose in the corners.  I then used a postage image from the Postmarks set.  My church is stamped in Aqua Mist, Pale Peony, and Sweet Blush, with the accents stamped in Soft Stone, Spring Moss, and Fine Linen.

   

The fonts used for the sentiments in this set are spot on....love them.  I stamped mine in Stormy Sea, using images from the Christmas Faith stamp set to embellish.

At the bottom of this card I used the new Holiday Greens Borders stamp set and die, stamping my image in watermark ink, and heat embossing it using Vintage Mint from Recollections.

My love for all things pink, glittery, snowy, and sparkly, began way back when I was tiny....it all makes sense now ;).

Moving on to the darling new Christmas Critters stamp set and dies.  I looooove these sweet little mice!  Who can possibly resist them?  I created a couple of mitten tags using these fun little mice.  Handmade mittens are one of my fondest childhood memories.    My Grandma Haslam would crochet mittens, hats, and slippers each year for us, and present them to us as gifts.  My brothers and I wore them with the greatest pride....how I wish I had some of her lovingly handmade items to remind me of her today.  I'm grateful for the memories though.  Aren't handmade gifts just the best? 

I used the Shape Up Series:  Mitten die and the Fair Isle Motifs and Fair Isle Borders stamp sets to create my mittens, stamping in Classic Kraft and Sweet Blush.

My mice were die cut from Kraft cardstock and stamped in Pale Peony, Autumn Rose, Fine Linen, and Sweet Blush, with the accents stamped in Spring Moss, Simply Chartreuse, Aqua Mist, and Pure Poppy.  I love how colors are transformed when stamping on Kraft.

The sentiments added to both mittens are from the Christmas Critters Additions stamp set...you'll love these!  

I added snow to my mittens, also from Christmas Critters, and created a cuff at the top of both mittens using patterned paper.

Here's a fun mitten garland I hope to make with Sierra once the holidays draw a little closer.  Love how simply made these are....and that newsprint!

And, a couple of our favorite Christmas books around here are The Mitten and The Mitten Tree.  They've been Sierra's favorites since she was just a few years old.  My mom has given her a new Christmas storybook each year, so we've got the best collection going.  What a fun tradition that has been.

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping in!


Melis

Nichole Heady

Kay Miller

Lizzie Jones

Danielle Flanders

Laurie Willison

Dawn McVey

Amy Sheffer

Heather Nichols

Betsy Veldman

Ashley Newell

Comments

[jan metcalf]

Love how you used Don't Forget to Write frame on your Christmas card! Sweet memories!

[lois]

I also love the mice....top of my list. The old cards brought back many memories.
Thanks

[Dee Ann Matthews]

Wonderful village that is so vesatile!

[Dee Ann Matthews]

I love the book Mitten and yours enhance and enspire all the memories.

[Diana K]

PM me your address, I'm coming over to spend the holidays with you! So magical and inspiring and uplifting. Love it all, Melissa.

[Karen Schaefer]

Love the layering on your card, especially the postage cancellation lines in the background. And the mittens and mice are adorable. The fair isle stamping behind the mice is beautiful.

[Jill Norwood]

Oh my sweetness Melissa! I just adore all of your darling Christmas and winter themed projects with these two new sets! I know that these two sets will be some gifts to myself this month! Your mittens are making me smile big! And I love the idea of a mitten garland to hang in my window all winter long! Thanks for sharing your lovely designs all year! You make my heart smile! Hugs!!!!!

[Sue (suen)]

Oh, Melissa, your mitten tags with the mice are so SWEET!! You've made my decision for me--I've been trying to decide between the Winter Village (Heather's church made me want it), or the Christmas Critters set. I already plan on Holiday Greens and the Borders sets, so I'm trying to make sure I stay on my DH's nice list and not get carried away! LOL!! Thank you for your wonderful inspiration posts, always!

[Ruthie Armstrong]

Hi Melissa! Love all the new fun stuff coming out this month! I always enjoy seeing how you work your magic with them. I too love mice and have one some where in my house ( an wooden one). Cause every house should have a mouse!!

[Becky Green]

ADORABLE MELISSA!!! LOOOOOOOOOVE the VINTAGE FEEL of your cards & these sets! sigh! SUPER JOB ON EVERYTHING!!!! (As usual!) ;)

[Nancy Penir]

In love with the pink church card! All trims and borders, stunning! And how sweet are your mitten tags! love the little mice posed with mug and present. It's going to be a warm and cozy Christmas!

[Mary Lou Kemp]

Beautiful.....and I love your personal thoughts about your Christmas as a child and those precious memories. I just love those mittens and I am so glad I have the mittens die so I can cope that adorable card.

[Patty O'Malley]

Lovely cards, Melis. I agree, homemade gifts are the best!

[María Alba Negrón]

Hi Melissa,

Still SWOONING with DELIGHT with these card and Tag, PRECIOUS!!!

Cariños,
María Alba

[Kullu]

classic holiday inspiration... post is one of the most famous and the interesting post which you have done. I like to enjoy the days of my holidays in the best possible way as much as possible.
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