My friends, I am so sad to say that this is the *final* hop in the little group I put together oh so many months ago. What started as an avenue for bloggers to collaborate, turned into a little community of talented crafters who did their best every month to wow and amaze you, and many pf them have become my closest friends. All the while, they stuck to the premise of using the stash of supplies that we have all collected over the years and not used nearly enough. I have to say, seeing Justine Hovey and others on IG saying they are no longer trying to keep up with all the releases when they have so much they haven’t even used yet… well, it makes me feel like *maybe* we started a trend. *Maybe* we made people think about what they have stashed in closets and drawers, bins and shelves, and even still in the bag we bought it and brought it home in. And *maybe* that sparked a conversation, then another conversation, and another. Now don’t get me wrong, stamp companies aren’t going to slow things down while they still have folks throwing money at them… but if enough people reduced their spending they would reduce their releases so we could enjoy shopping instead of battling between FOMO and a depleted savings account. I can hope, anyway! Here I am, getting all sentimental about the hop, and you are just here for the cards! Wait no further…
I made today’s first card using primarily the Cool Christmas set from MFT, but as it didn’t have a squirrel image I also pulled in the We Must Celebrate set from Stampin’ Up! I thought if I can’t make a squirrel card, I should at least make a 4 snowman card with a squirrel!!! (You didn’t think I’d let the last month go without a squirrel, did you?!?) In case you are wondering, Marie is the red snowman (Christmas is her favorite thing ever (only 2nd to donuts), so I went with red), V’s fav color is Cobalt, Anna’s fav is Turquoise, and I can never decide between yellow or lime green, so I used both. When I realized the color spread, I just knew I had to make our snowman car purple to complete the rainbow along with the orange carrot noses! The images are colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Gamsol. Now for the background, I ink blended a little Distress Oxide Broken China and Hickory Smoke using hill templates I created out of printer paper. I traced over the snow drifts with a thick layer of Crystal Ice Stickles and pulled it out a bit with an old paintbrush to spread the sparkle across the snow. I also added Stickles to the trees for extra snowy sparkle! The images are almost all popped up on foam tape for dimension. I couldn’t have glued them flat if I wanted as the Stickles is really dimensional too. Here’s another look that captures the layers and sparkle of the card better.
And here’s a better look at the coloring… I added glossy accents to the hubcaps and carrot noses. The trees got a double coat of Stickles; Frosted Lace for the opaque white and Crystal for some iridescence!!! The 2nd coat was still wet while I was taking pictures 😊
I know it doesn’t look like it, but this card came together super quick and thankfully Stickles dries fast! It went so fast I actually had time to make a 2nd card. Check it out:
The snowy ground is glitter paper but the snowfall in the sky is BoBunny glitter paste with extra loose glitter added to help it match the paper. This card almost didn’t make the hop because when it was 95% done, I blundered with the sentiment, which was supposed to be stamped directly on the background. I was out of time to remake the background and almost threw it out. Rather than waste the time and effort, I punted and stamped the sentiment on white, die cut it, and matted it on the matching glitter paper. Not what I was shooting for, but still cute, no? What doesn’t show in the pic above is the iridescence of the glitter paper and how much green it has in it, which is why the snowman’s accessories are purple and green. Here is a better shot of the glitter:
I know I’ve spoiled you to expect 3 cards from me, but with Christmas we’re lucky I managed 2! Thank you to all of my fellow crafters who hunkered down and had a project and post ready to go in a week that had so many other demands for our time. I appreciate you more than you know!!! And a really big thanks to anyone who followed along, and maybe subscribed along the way. That totally makes all the work of posting worth it!!!
Happy Holidays everyone!!!
Misplaced Mojo 
[…] Karen Page […]
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Indeed a bittersweet moment that our hop is at its finale. I am so glad that we did this and how we (Marie, V, you and I) have bonded and became good friends. There is so much to be grateful for as the year is coming to an end and this is one of them. See, now I’m getting all sentimental!
I love your cards and all the sparkle!!
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Agreed! Much to be thankful for and our new sisterhood is definitely high on the list!!! Its hard not to get sentiment this time of year! But I’m glad that we will have a crafty fresh start in 2021 to go where ever that takes us! And thank you for the sweet words. I think I am still sparkling today after all the glitter went everywhere!!!
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I’m looking forward to the journey with my Squirrel Sisters! 💕
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💖💖💖
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How fun these cards are! Adorable snowmen and a squirrel and the doggie making his snowdoggie 🙂 As always, your cards are amazing, Karen! Thank you and the other 3 lovely squirrels for these hops 🙂 Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!
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Thanks Bory!!! I have no shortage of cute stamps, I just need to bust them out more often! I’m glad you enjoyed the hop group and I hope you will be open to collaborating again soon!!!
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Your cards are really adorable ! And you look great in snowgirls ! I am really happy to had the chance to hop with you all and it was a pleasure to learn to know you Karen 😉
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I’ll have to share the compliment with the girls! I figured out of the 4 of us, it would would Marie to stick her head out the sunroof or window, but I could see V doing it too! LOL I’m eager to get moving on plans for 2021. Stay tuned!!!
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Both cards came out so adorable! I’m so glad you still managed to work in a squirrel (and all 4 of us are represented in the car!!!!). And I think the way you handled the second card (particularly the “oops”) is shiny perfection! Cheers my amazing squirrel sister!!!!
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Yeah, I had too much time and effort invested to trash the card, so I made lemonade out of those lemons! And I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again!!! Doh! Wish we could go on a girls road trip like the snowwomen were doing in the card!!! So thankful you accepted my invite to plan the blog hop collab! I can’t imagine having to suffer through 2020 without you to keep me smiling!!! So eager to get moving on plans for 2021!!!
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And just WHY did you figure me to be the one hanging out the window? That would TOTALLY mess up my hair! BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Seriously though, your cards are super cute. That top one has my heart, as do my Squirrel Sisters! You 3 made this past year waaaaaay more tolerable. I am thankful that we are all friends/sisters! 🙂
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Honestly, I had the hardest time deciding if it should be you or V!!! After I already colored it I was like, dangit, I should have made that one V! She is more impulsive I think 😁 But I figure after a couple drinks it could be any of us!!! Except for the Designated Squirrel here, of course! 😉
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They are both beutiful. Love how you personalised the snowmen. So special
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Thank you, sweetie!!! I think the snowman stamp set lends itself well to personalizing for a family too… mom, dad, and 2 kids. But it was definitely fun to create a paper road trip for me and my friends!!! Thank you so much for the sweet words!!! You made my day 😊
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