I need an elf...

Happy hump day everyone! I honestly can't believe it's Wednesday already and I am beginning to feel a bit breathless about how far behind I am, both at work and at home! My tree is up and lit, but not decorated, no lights outside, no other decorations yet; 2 swim meets and 3 parties to go to this weekend;  school parties and recitals over the next two weeks; and a book chapter that is so late it wakes me up at night with stress!

Somehow no matter how well I plan, this is where I end up every year! Knowing this would happen, made this card over the TG holiday and figured today was the day to share it. This image from MFT tickles me every time I see it- it was so me last night (only there was an empty wine glass next to me!). This card was fun to make, but was a bit labor intensive on the cutting side, as much of it is paper pieced- explanation to follow.

The image was first stamped on Whisper White card stock then stamped again on the colors/patterned papers that I wanted different parts to appear in- it gives a bit more texture to the image instead of simply coloring. I downloaded and printed some digital paper from SEI - this is a fun way to expand your paper repertoire without having to store it! Stampin' Up also has a whole line of digital papers, stamps, etc which are really convenient when you need a particular color patterned paper and you don't have it on hand. I stamped the image on the blue stripe for the wallpaper, pinkish-red for the chair and deep yellow for the carpet. I cut out the sections and adhered them over the white image- note to self: color the parts you are not paper piecing first so it is cleaner (mistake made on the first card led to much frustration and gnashing of teeth!).

After the image was colored and paper pieced, I covered the Christmas balls on the tree with Crystal Effects glue to give them a shiny appearance. I used this same technique on the martini glass to make the appletini look like liquid-yum! I added the greeting on the bottom and some satin ribbon and she's done- wish I was!

Hope you're having a great day- I'm off to make some lists and work on that chapter!