It is that time of year isn't it.  The carols are playing at the shopping centres, the decorations are out, the preparations are underway (hmmm or on the mind for those of us not quite so organised!)  

Christmas Blog Hop

Today a group of my stamping pals and I have a Christmas Blog Hop for you.  Grab a cuppa and have a hop around our blogs if you'd like some ideas for festive themed projects. 

You may have come from Judy May's  lovely Christmas project (I do so love her stunning cards), or perhaps you are starting your hop here.  There are 11 stops this month.   Have fun!

My card features one of the designs from the Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper packs (DSP).  Riding Hood Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla are the coordinating colours I've used in my card, plus I've included some Crumb Cake with embossed dots using the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. 

A little sponging is useful when you're using DSP as it covers the white core that shows sometimes on the cut edge.  I've used a sponge dauber with some Old Olive ink.

Did you notice the ruffled ribbon?  This is a trick I learnt at Stampin' Up Melbourne regional training day recently.  You rough up the end of your ribbon (this is Vanilla Taffeta) to fray the threads.  Then find the middle thread and give it a tug.  This is a little fiddly but once you have the centre thread pulled, it is easy then to use this to gather the ribbon.  Once you've gathered the length that will fit on your card, just adhere the 2 ends to the reverse side of the card. 

I used a couple of glue dots to secure the ribbon at the front so it didn't droop.  Remember not to pull your thread ALL the way through or you'll lose your gathers.

A nice easy way to add a little texture and dimension to your card.

I used some of the 5/8" Vanilla satin ribbon too - it has such a gorgeous lustre.  It looked a little bumpy placed over my dotty embossed cardstock so I added a trim using the Scallop Trim Border Punch and some Cherry Cobbler offcuts.   And of course, some pearls are always a lovely finishing touch. 

And that's it from me.  Thanks for stopping by.

Next Stop on the hop .......

is Amy Buchanan  who always has such creative cards and projects on her blog. 

Have fun on the rest of the Christmas Themed blog tour and have a great weekend. Perhaps by the end of the hop you'll be right in the mood for some Christmas card making!

Cheers, Sue

PS Just in case there's any glitches along the way, the other stops on the hop are Gardenia, Alisha,  Ros,   Christine,  Nikki,  Kristine,   Tina,   Di,  Judy,   then you're back to me and have done a full lap.