2 Types of Ink - Dear Santa

I'm a sucker for Christmas.  While I just got out my Halloween decorations last night with the kids, I'm deep in prepping for all my Christmas in October classes and hearing Jingle Bells everywhere I go.

When it comes to the holidays, I'm not just about the crafty creations and the photography.  I also love holiday books.  Like LOVE them.  I'll read an adaptation each year of A Christmas Carol and I read holiday books non-stop to the kiddos.

When sent a link to Dear Santa by St. Martin's Press to read and provide feedback on, I was excited.  When things get stressful prepping, I love being able to turn to a good story that allows me to escape for a bit and find the magic of the season.

Dear Santa by Nancy Naigle follows the plotline of You've Got Mail only in a holiday sense.  We have Geoff, the owner of the Big Bad Christmas store called Christmas Galore, and Angela, the shopkeeper for the Heart of Christmas that is in danger of closing it's doors.  The books transpires after a Dear Santa letter is sent asking to save her shop.

The story is romantic, with all the butterflies and none of the graphic imagery, and you want them to find each other and be happy.  The author does a great job capturing the personalities of all the townspeople and describes the scenery very well.

I really enjoyed this read and it definitely helped provide some smiles when I needed a break from prepping.

In honor of this book, I'm posting one of my favorite Santa projects that I've been teaching this season.  This project uses the Santa's Workshop Memories and More cards and envelopes from the holiday catalog.  They are the best buy in my opinion (10 cards and envelopes of each size for $8.50) and they work perfect for sending 4 x 6 photos or making gift cards like I did below.

This gift card holder features the Signs of Santa stamp set and is colored with the Poppy Parade and Mango Melody Blends.  Once colored, I cut him out with the coordinating Santa's Signpost framelits and mounted him on the 3 x 4 flocked candy cane striped paper.

On the inside is a 4 1/4 x 1 piece of designer paper that is adhered on the left, right, and bottom.  You just slide in the gift card to that pocket and put it into the little envelope.  Quick, easy, and sure to delight for the holidays!

Supplies:

• Cardstock/DSP: Santa's Workshop DSP (3x4, 4 1/4 x 1), Poppy Parade (4 1/4 x 1/2) 
• Stamp Set: Signs of Santa
• Ink: Memento Black
• Big Shot: Santa's Signpost Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Big Shot, Cutting Mats
• Embellishments: Santa's Workshop Memories and More card and envelope, adhesive, dimensionals, Dark and Light Poppy Parade Blends, Dark Mango Melody Blends.

Come back and visit tomorrow for another new release and some spooky Halloween creations!

Take care and have a craftastic day,

Stacy