Drunken Stampers Celebrate Christmas!

So, this is Christmas... almost anyway, and the Drunken Stampers would love for you to join us in our last challenge before Santa's big ride: Christmas, Drunken Stampers' Style!

I know what you're thinking. "So, I just need to down some heavily spiked eggnog and let myself loose at the craft table? SWEET!" And, that's okay, if you're able to craft under the influence (personally, all I can do under the influence is sleep.. ). By "Drunken Stampers' Style," we mean, do something Christmas-themed that incorporates the things you personally love most about the season.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, do Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or the Winter Solstice, or just make something wonderfully wintery. Or, celebrate the idea of eating all the sugar you can possibly consume under the guise of "holiday spirit!" Mostly, just have fun! That's what the Drunken Stampers advise, after all, as often as possible. 

I was one of the lucky and delighted winners of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas this year, and when my amazing prize package arrived, I knew I had to use those products inside right NOW! Tim and Mario very generously sent me a complete set of the brand new Ranger Color Wash Sprays! You should have seen me, jumping around with what can only be described as full-on glee when I opened that box. I love Color Wash and have used it many times in the past, but these new bottles make a HUGE difference in how it works. It's easier to control and you can get a nice, fine mist, if that's what you want. 

Anyway, the background here was created by stamping snowflakes onto white mulberry paper with Distress Embossing Ink and embossing them with clear powder. I then sprayed over the snowflakes with  Denim and Sailboat Blue Color Wash. After it dried, I placed the mulberry paper between two sheets of newsprint and ironed it until the embossing powder melted away, leaving behind a batik-like snowstorm. I learned this technique from Tim's DVD, "An Altered Journey," where he uses it to make gorgeous silk scarves. It's really fun and kind of magical. 

I used the adorable Alterations Townscape die to cut the little houses from metallic silver cardstock, dabbed them with Rock Candy Distress Stickles, and filled the windows with black Ranger Enamel Accents. The lyrics came from an old Christmas songbook, and if you heard about the day I'd had, you'd find them hilariously ironic*, as Spike did when I told her about it.

I know everyone is SUPER busy, and Christmas is coming like a freight train on crack, but I hope you'll find a few minutes to share one of your favorite holiday creations with us at Drunken Stampers. We're stretching this to two weeks, so you have all the way until Friday, December 31 to play along!

Hugs,

Linda

Okay, so, on Friday, Scott finally got that Wii he's been wanting forever, and we were playing Ping Pong for the first time. I got a little over-exhuberant and... wait for it... knocked my glass of water over onto the table where my three-month-old Macbook was sitting. The little computer made some pathetic flashing gestures, then gave up. I was beside myself. So, "all is calm, all is bright," is sort of the antithesis of the un-silent night during which I made this card! The happy epilogue is, after a night in front of a fan and some very careful handling, the Little Macbook That Could is working fine. My heart is still racing, however...