Ah, Bank Holiday weekend. The end of August, and the start of the Christmas crafting panic.

The August Bank Holiday indicates the end of summer being nigh, which means nights are drawing in, which means Christmas will turn up sooner than you think. And I’ve only been back in the craft room properly for about a month.

It also doesn’t help with the festive crafting that the descent to Christmas is paved with birthdays, which demand their own crafting time. I’d say so inconsiderate, but Tiny’s birthday is among them, so it’s not like I managed any better.

To be fair, I do have quite a few left over from last year, which for one reason or another I didn’t end up using. Which does cut the pressure somewhat, for the festive cards. But it’s always good to have a stash. Just in case. Still working on building the birthday-stash.

Also, each year brings new supplies. New ideas. New things to play with. I would say, like the dies I used for these cards, but I actually got them in Hobbycraft’s after-Christmas sales last January. But I’ve only just got around to having a play with them.

The snowflake die was easier than the sleigh die. That one took me three attempts to get a clean cut. (To be fair, the second attempt was foiled by me failing to line it up properly and missing parts of it.) It’s also bigger than I’d anticipated. I don’t normally make larger cards – 5×7” always feels just a bit too big for a card. Also, then they have all that blank space.

The other trouble I had with the sleigh was finding the right spots on it to stick it down. Not going to lie, the snowflakes die was much easier in that respect.

On the other hand, I think the problem with the snowflakes is going to be in finding other ways of using it. Not that I dislike what I’ve done, but I get bored if I make too many copies of one design. Always a downside to scene stamps and dies, although they are useful for quick and easy cards, when I haven’t the time or inclination but I need a card. Although given the faff of the sleigh die, maybe that won’t be one of them. The snowflakes, yes. I can probably come up with variations, too, but I’m not so sure about the sleigh. I might not even keep it.