Keeping Christmas {Merry Mail}

Hello and welcome to the FIRST Keeping Christmas Blog Hop of 2020!  We've got some fabulous new designers on the blog roll this year, so you'll definitely want to head to each of their blogs to see what they've created for today's hop! If you're new here and don't know what "Keeping Christmas" is, well, let me explain! This is actually the beginning of my 4th year of Keeping Christmas and the 2nd year of it being part of the blog hop! I started this series as a way to get my Christmas projects done throughout the year, rather than a mad dash during the holidays! It is so much fun because I get to use all of my Christmas stamps, papers, and supplies all year long! So...without further adieu...here are the links to the other designers' blogs and I will dive into the details of my 2 projects I've made for today's hop!

Kelly Lunceford (Creator)

 Vicki Finger

 Claire Broadwater

 Lori Tecler

 Nance Salkeld

 Nina Forsyth

 Nancy Guse

 Marybeth Lopez

 Nancy Penir

 Carol Hintermeier

I've gone with a postal theme for today's projects because I've been dying to use the Mailbox Gift Holder Die that I got during this last Christmas season and didn't get a chance to use it! I also bought the coordinating stamp set, but didn't choose to use it for today's projects since I was going for a more vintage feel!

I created 3 mailbox gift card holders and 6 "Letters to Santa" gift tags for today using the same mix of papers, which were a gift from my sister so I'm not sure of the manufacturer. 

Let's talk about the tags first; these are actually a slightly different variation of a tag that I made a few years ago, but I used the LAST one this past Christmas and they were a favorite of mine!  I also purchased these cute Santa die cuts during this past holiday season and tucked them away since I didn't have time to use them! They are the perfect addition to these tags!

To begin these tags, I used my favorite envelope template from Martha By Mail that I got in the early 2000's. It's kind of crazy to think it is 20 years old, but that is the reality, isn't it? Anyway, I traced the envelopes 3 times each; twice for the tags, and once for the mailbox out of each of the three pattern papers. Once that was done, I hand cut them and folded them making sure to crease the edges with my bone folder.

The only adhesive I used to secure them is one foam square under the flap. I also used an additional foam square to add to the North Pole "seal". All of the stamped images are from one of my most favorite stamp sets; Santa Stationery. It has been a favorite for years and makes an appearance every year!

I heat embossed 6 of the seals in silver onto black cardstock and stamped 3 of the seals in Pure Poppy ink onto cream cardstock. I used a 1 inch circle punch to punch them out. I also heat embossed the "official letter to Santa" and the "please send to the North Pole" sentiments in silver onto the flap of the envelopes.

I stamped the checklist portion of the tag onto cream cardstock as well but noticed when I was finished with the tags that I used the wrong stamp; I wanted them to say "You've been" rather than "I've been" ! I was so bugged but had already added the holly berry embellishment using hot glue AND the red eyelets and twine! Ugh! Oh well! The mailboxes have the right sentiment, so there's that! LOL! The finishing touch is the addition of the Santa die cuts using additonal foam squares!

I got the sentiment right on these, though! Ha ha! Each mailbox is die cut twice out of the same pattern paper that I used on the tags. Wouldn't a plaid mailbox like this be so cute out on the street? LOL!

The letters are created  the same way that I did for the tags, but I omitted the Santa die cut. I also added a bow embellishment that my sister gave me last holiday season as well, and once again, I didn't have time to use them! That's why I love Keeping Christmas so much because I have time all year long!

You can see the beautiful silver detail on the pattern paper and that was the reason why I chose to use silver embossing powder. For my last set of tags, I used gold so it was nice to switch things up!

I had so much fun working on today's projects and I can't wait to pull them out in December! I store all of my projects throughout the year in my storage room under the stairs. I put the 3D items in boxes and store the cards in plastic totes. For those of you who visit regularly, you might remember the flood I had a few years ago that damaged a lot of my stash. So...I really should be better about keeping it ALL in plastic totes, but I don't! LOL!  Thanks for fluttering by!