Hello stampers. Music is such a big part of Christmas for me. I love all the old religious classics and I have even joined a choir just to be able to sing in Handel’s Messiah! That’s why the Musical Season bundle and the Merry Music specialty paper made me very, very happy this year.

Those of you who know me also know that I can be quite scattered and that whereas I truly strive to be an organized person, it is definitely NOT my natural bent. So I had to scroll through my old posts to make sure I hadn’t already blogged about this great set. Well, I hadn’t and it is better late than never. That being said, if you want these products you better not wait and order them asap before they disappear forever! Be sure to use my host code on the sidebar and I will be sure to pop a card in the mail for you, you can even request a card using a specific stamp set if you like.

Here are some cards that I made for my coffee and a card class a few weeks ago. When a card fits that category, you know it will be relatively quick and easy.

The plaid paper that also goes well with any Christmas cards comes from Christmas Around the World. I am not so into the “cutesy” paper but there were enough classic patterns in there to make it irresistible for me.

The next card is the easiest yet. When the paper is this great you don’t need much to make a very striking card. The sentiment is from the Christmas Pines stamp set in the annual catalog.

The last card uses more of the instruments and the treble clef in red for a great pop of colour. Add some silver glimmer paper and a stitched red circle and you have some very pretty contrast to the black musical paper. The harp is embossed in gold but the lyre is simply stamped in basic black.

If you were planning to make a bunch of these cards I would recommend that you stamp a bunch of harps in versamark and emboss them with gold all at once. This is much more efficient than embossing one at a time. The Merry Music specialty paper is also great for making multiple cards. It is lightweight, has 24 sheets, four of each design and all in black and white. I used every bit of this paper and never got sick of it. I will be sad to see it go!

In the card above I stamped the drummer boy in Memento black and then used a direct to paper technique with Versamark and clear embossed to make it a bit more special. I am including a video at the end of this post to show you how to make this bow and several others.

The 1/8″ silver ribbon from the annual catalog combine with the 1/8″ real red ribbon from the Holiday catalog to make this beautiful triple bow.

Finally, here is a video that will show you how to make these bows yourself. Bows are a great addition to a card and they don’t have to be difficult to make. I had lots of experience raising my three girls tying ribbons in their hair and sashes on their dresses. One of my favourite memories as a little girl was a big red satin bow in my hair whenever I had a half ponytail. So yes, I love bows!

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7G48RbHd90