It all started innocently enough...

(Leslie, I had lots of problems with blogger this morning...now this post has words!)

I purchased this Imaginisce snowman dp at Angela's Happy Stamper to use for winter cards to sell at Greenberry's on my first trip to meet Leslie. In my clean up my craft room by bits and pieces, I found these two metal charms (snowflake & snowman). I decided to copy the cards from my previous sketch. I knew I had metal eyelet snowflakes in my stash, so I prepared to use up the entire sheet of Imaginisce dp...it would make 6 cards. Great!
I originally wanted a more monochromatic card (layered on shades of blue), but I found no matches in my stash. The red & green in the dp match very well with both SU Old Olive and SU Ruby Red. (I just purchased a ream of each last month and I have used it a lot!) As you see above, Santa brought me oval Nesties :)

Now to add charms to the last 4 cards...I'll use 3 as thank you notes for myself, and 3 to sell.

When I went in my metal charms container for those snowflake eyelets, I found none. I now think I recall using them up last year. So now I had 4 cards made, but no metal embellie.

Off I went to Michael's to use my 50% coupon. I found these snowflakes.

I came home, but did not like the blues in the epoxy of these new charms with the blue in the dp. So I left those 4 cards.

I had my epiphany while lying in bed early this morning.

One of the thank you notes I need to write is for my friend, Deanna, who gave me these Winter Jelly embossing folders. I love to try to use my crafty gifts to make a thank you card for the person who gave me the gift, but I am usually successful 10% of the time :) You know I use it eventually...

Deanna is also a great technique junkie. She told me earlier this month how to make faux metal:

1. Run a scrap os cs through your Xyron.

2. Adhere to aluminum foil.

3. Press out any bubbles with your fingers.

4. Dry emboss.

Cute, yes?