Christmas Story Favorites

There were soooooooo many clever and beautiful cards based on Christmas books, films and television shows this fortnight. What a joy to see our favorites represented so lovingly, and to hear about some new stories, too! Here are a few cards we found especially inspiring:

Leslie of The Crooked Stamper

...created a card that's not only well-designed but references the film "A Christmas Story" in a way that's as impressive as it is hilarious!

Brenda of Brenda's Scrappy Blog

...proves that you don't need licensed merchandise, or even an image, to embody your favorite film (in this case, "Elf"); a beautifully showcased quote will do the job perfectly!

Lisa J. of Snowy Moose Creations

...had a little help from an expert (her son!) in creating this lovely card based on their favorite holiday book, "The Polar Express"

Once again we thank everyone who participated, with an extra helping of thanks to our lovely and talented guest star, Irene Sprick, for thinking up such a fabulous idea! We'll be back at midnight with a brand new prompt we hope will make you want to dash to your stash!

A Storied Holiday

We're still celebrating all of our cherished stories of Christmas, whether they be in book, film, or television form, and we're loving the cards in the gallery so far! Here's what we made this week:

Irene's Other Card

...is based on a wonderful book, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg; which has also been made into a film starring Tom Hanks.

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "For me, another must-watch Christmas story is A Charlie Brown Christmas.  I found this digital image on a sheet music cover and built my card using this week's Paper Players Challenge Sketch.  The sentiment is CatsLife Press."

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "Stephanie and I are pretty close to the same age, so we share similar tv-watching memories from the 1970's. As a kid, I went back and forth (still do, actually!) between favorites; usually a tie between A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The latter may have had a slight lead because it was the first stop-action animation I had ever seen (not that I knew it was called that) and I was fascinated by trying to figure out *HOW* it was being done. My brother, however, had one consistent favorite every single year: Frosty the Snowman. So I dedicate this week's card-- which is based on Retro Sketch #120 and uses an October Afternoon Miscellany card as focal point-- to Frosty, and also to brother Bill!"

Remember, you have until Wednesday at 6pm EST to share your Christmas story with us.

A Christmas Story

This fortnight we are lucky enough to have a lovely guest star with a most inspiring prompt! The very talented Irene Sprick... (whose blog, A Serendipitous Retirement, you really need to check out!) ...wrote in to suggest we base our cards on one of the many wonderful holiday books we all adored in childhood... and secretly, I think we all still love them now, as adults, don't we? Just in case reading isn't your thing, we've expanded the idea to also include the films and television specials which have become beloved over the years. After all, they're all Christmas *STORIES* aren't they? So whether you love "A Christmas Carol" or "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" or "It's a Wonderful Life" why not sit down and consider how that could be embodied as a greeting card, and then c'mon over and link up with us! (Be sure to tell us what book or film inspired your card!)

Irene's Card

Irene says, "As a retired elementary school librarian, I have always enjoyed children’s books. Each year I still read through the holiday stories I love. Why not start making cards to go with these stories? This card is from The Wild Christmas Reindeer, by Jan Brett. I love her illustrations and the realistic portrayal of the reindeer, as well as the countdown calendar in the signature borders on each page."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I've mentioned before that as a child I adored Clement C. Moore's poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and as an adult I collect vintage copies of the book. For this card I've scanned one of my favorite pages, made it small enough to fit on my not quite 5x7" card, and added some papers and embellishments to match. I think I'll save this card for my niece and nephew, who love the story as much as I do!"

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "Growing up, I couldn't wait to watch the annual Christmas Specials on television (can you imagine in this world of DVDs & DVRs only getting to see them once a year) ... especially Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ... and as an adult, I still love Bumble the Yeti.  I found a foam ornament featuring both of them and created my card around it using the layout from Wanna Sketch?"

Now it's time for you to start thinking about ♥YOUR♥ favorite Christmas stories and what sort of card they'll inspire you to make! Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keyword for galleries and our Flickr group is JB:14:13.

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