A quilted poinsettia...

I made these cards recently using a couple of unbranded dies that I really love!

I cut out my quilted square twice--once on red DSP and once on green DSP. To get my white "border" die-cut, I just had to flip this piece over to the back side. To give it a flatter appearance, I simply ran it through my Cuttlebug with the embossing mat on top. This works like a charm to flatten out the cut edges.

To achieve the pieced look, I laid my white border down onto a same-sized piece of double-sided sheet adhesive. Then I simply placed each colored piece in its place. Once I was done, I peeled off the adhesive backing and stuck it to my card. Easy, peasy!

My banner and tiny holly leaves are also unbranded dies. This banner die cuts the center piece and the outside border at the same time. Once again, I just flipped over the inside piece and stamped on the back. My sentiment is also from an unbranded stamp set. The berries are three tiny flat-backed red pearls.

I used a Penny Black stamp for my inside sentiment and another holly die-cut. For the berries here, I used the little circles left behind when you use a 1/8" single hole punch.

Here is the pink version of my card. I decided to give pink a try, just for fun. It actually looks a lot prettier IRL.

And the inside.

These cards purposely leave off the "Merry Christmas" greeting because we have several friends who have religious backgrounds other than Christian (e.g., Jewish). We like to send them holiday cards to let them know we're thinking of them, but we don't want to push a Christian holiday on them. After all, I'd think it strange if someone wished me Happy Hanukkah, knowing that I am not Jewish. But I still love to hear from my Jewish friends during Hanukkah.

I had a full day of volunteering today at a local thrift shop. It was very, very busy with families buying holiday decorations, gifts and household goods. I am so grateful there are such stores around that serve so many low-income families. The store where I volunteer offers quality merchandise that is always in good condition. If it's not, they won't accept/sell it! The prices are great and there is some sort of "sale" every day. For instance, Wednesdays are senior days with 40% off everything in the store for seniors.

Well, that's it for me today. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl