Near and Far, Follow His Star

{CAROL Y - yoyo - If you are reading this and have not yet received a card from me in the mail - STOP NOW!}

Now, I'm leaving lots of white space, so if Carol hasn't received her card, she won't see it.

The rest of you just need to scroll down a little!!

Recently I was visiting a dear friend (and cardmaking fanatic) when she commented on her all-time favorite card that I had made.  It was early in the life of my blog, but is still my most visited post - see it here.

Between coffee, conversation and a little bit of knitting, she also showed me some tags she was making for a swap and I told her about my all-time favorite tag die.  So, of course, for Christmas I had to pick up one of these dies as a surprise gift for her!!

So...these two things have come together to create her card...

You have to see the snow in close-up.  (Be sure to check out Kristina's video on how she flicks on the snow vs. spritzing.  You can also drool over the most amazing poinsettia that she has created!) I knew that I wanted the trees on her card, but I credit the star idea to this week's CASology challenge. I have to admit that this card would not have been simple had I not done it before.  But, having done the trees and the sponging on a previous card, and being able to use that blog post to remember all of the colors, this card was under 10 minutes!!

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If you haven't seen this yet, be sure to check out Amber's amazing Drawn Together program.  Amber is collecting craft supplies and cards for the surviving children in Newtown to be used as a creative coping mechanism.  Her initial plan was to create 50 kits, but not surprisingly, the cardmaking world has rallied together in love and generosity and the numbers have soared.  If you are feeling called to be part of this program, be sure to start with the most recent blog posts on her blog, Damask Love, and read the updates as to the needs.

I read a lot of blogs and so many people are joining Amber's effort.  And many others are passing along the details to their children's school classrooms and their Sunday School programs.  This is truly an amazing idea that will have a long-term impact. 

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• Stamps: Stampin' Up Lovely As A Tree, A Star-Studded Season
• Paper: Stampin' Up Old Olive, white
• Ink: Stampin' Up Soft Sky, Old Olive Daffodil Delight and markers in Old Olive, Always Artichoke and Crumb Cake, Versamark
• Accessories: Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #3 Die, Sparkle 'n Sprinkle Chocolate Sparkle Embossing Powder, Mr. Huey's Calico White and Calico Shine mists, Stampin' Up embossing folder, Old Olive seam binding and silver cord.