And in plenty of places (our own wee corner of British Columbia included), both versions of November are often intertwined. Autumn holding on for dear life as best it can, only to ultimately succumb to the icy power of the season that lies ahead.

Personally, as a perpetual lover of fall and someone who connects profoundly with this season, I prefer to celebrate the autumnal elements of November for as long as possible.

Knowing that winter will engulf our world fully within a matter of weeks at most, I am mindful to try and spend as much time outdoors as I possibly can during the gentle days of November.

Living in an area that marries farmland and woodland so majestically it borders on being intoxicating, much of that time is spent in the local woods – including the towering swath of birch and evergreen trees that call our backyard home.

Throughout my life, no matter if I’ve lived in close proximity to the woods or not, I have been drawn to forests and the magnificent microcosms of animal, plant, and fungi life they house.

Before the elegant earth and jewel tones of the woods of fall go to sleep under a heavy blanket of Canadian snow, I wanted to make and share a card that celebrates the joy and whimsy that forests spark in my – and many other peoples’ – heart with all of you.

Layers, fussy cutting, a shaker window, and some seriously cute woodland imagery!

Few paper crafting releases have resonated with me, my aesthetic, and even my spirituality (as a nature-focused Pagan witch) quite like P13’s gorgeous Forest Tea Party collection.

P13 is one of my absolute favourite paper crafting companies. Their products are high quality, their designs breathtakingly beautiful, and their wide selection of offerings helps to ensure a good many crafters will find something amounts P13’s various releases that appeal to them.

This post is not sponsored and I’m not on the P13 design team (a paper crafter can dream though!). I simply adore this brand and wanted to shine the spotlight on this particular release from them.

It’s rarely feasible for me to purchase all of the items in a given line (from any brand), and to be honest, I don’t usually feel like I need to do so – even when I madly adore a release.

I’ve long learned that a few products are often more than enough to craft a bevy of different paper crafting projects with – especially if you combine them with other items from your stash.

Thanks to the heart-touching kindness and generosity of a dear friend in the US who gave me a $25 gift certificate to Scrapbook.com last Christmas, I was able to pick up some of the products in P13’s Forest Tea Party Collection.

This is the second project I’ve shared here so far featuring items from Forest Tea Party. The first, as some of you may recall, was this adorable woodland themed birthday card.

As I plan to get as much use as I can out of the items from P13’s Forest Tea Party Collection that I have, chances are today’s project share won’t be the last you see here starring this whimsically wonderful collection.

Like many card makers, I try to create and keep a supply of versatile, multi-occasion suitable cards on hand throughout the year.

Understandably, I often find that as a given year winds down, my stash of such cards has diminished a good deal since January began.

Looking to replenish it, I opted for a sentiment that could be used for a wide array of possible card giving occasions. Birthdays, thinking of you, missing you, congratulations, thank you new babies, anniversaries, retirement, support – the list goes on and on.

The colours tap into fall, while also housing elements of the other three seasons as well. The classic pairing – amongst the other colours in the palette used here – of red, green, and white means one could even send this darling card as a winter holiday season greeting.

P13 and fussy cutting go together like fall and pumpkin spice lattes in my books. I did some here, both for the larger central image (with super cute woodland mouse) and for the layered foliage tucked around it.

A shaker element that houses a mix of woodland-themed wood veneer pieces coupled with sequins and tiny gem embellishments shares center stage with the fussy cut images.

True to form for most of my makes, a number of layers coupled with various embellishments round out this sweet woodland critter-themed card.

Products used to make this adorable woodland critter shaker card

-Red and green cardstock

-Brown wooden floorboard print paper and light grey leaf/branch print paper – Farmhouse 12 x 12 inch paper pad from Craftsmart (Michael’s)

-Green script print paper – The Green Witch 6 x 6 inch paper pad from Recollections (Michael’s)

-Cut out woodland images – Forest Tea Party 07 – from P13

-Large cut out piece (with mouse) – Forest Tea Party – 06 from P13

-Clear acetate (for shaker window)

-Scallop edge circle die

-Elegant scrolling edge style die

-Eyelet trim border punch – Doily Lace Boarder Punch from Martha Stewart

-Corner punch – Corner Punch from Martha Stewart

-“What a Wonderful World” sentiment sticker – Lost & Found 3 Ruby Sticker Accessory Sheet from My Mind’s Eye

-Shaker mix – Cactus Sparkletz Embellishments from Buttons Galore & More

-Small red faceted flatback embellishments/cabochons – from AliExpress

-Small green faceted flatback embellishments/cabochons – from AliExpress

-Small green flatback pearl embellishments – from AliExpress

-Woodland themed wood veneer shapes – from Dollarama

-Mini premade bows – Green-Gold-White Piped Nylon Bow Stickers from Martha Stewart

-Grey crochet trim – Arty-Licious Kohl Splendid Ribbon from Chatter Box

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a shabby chic P13 Forest Tea Party Shaker Card

Begin by making a card base from green cardstock. Next use the Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch to create a strip of red border punched paper the same length as the bottom of the green card base. Attach this strip to the bottom of the card base.

Cut a piece of grey tone-on-tone leaf/branch print paper slightly narrower on the right and left side than your card base and slightly taller on the top than the card base. Use the same Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch to punch the top and bottom edges of this piece of paper. Attach grey paper piece to card base.

Cut a piece of grey crochet trim ever-so-slightly shorter than the width of the grey paper. Adhere just above the bottom scallop portion of the grey paper.

Trim a piece of brown wooden floorboard paper a little smaller than the grey print paper. Using the Martha Stewart photo corner punch, punch out four photo corner pieces from red cardstock. Attach one red photo corner to each corner of the brown floorboard print paper, then attach that piece of paper to the card base layers.

Die cut a scalloped edge circle from green cardstock. Back with a circle of acetate to create your clear shaker window.

Cut (by hand or with a suitable sized circle die) a circle of green text print paper to back your shaker window with.

Fill the acetate portion of the shaker window with wood veneer woodland creature pieces and Cactus Sparkletz Embellishments shaker mix.

Use foam tape, foam dots, or another suitable raised material on the back of the green cardstock circle to create a gap-free border for your shaker window.

Remove backing from foam and attach the shaker window t the green text print piece of paper. Once your shaker is assembled, attach it to the card base layers.

Die cut an elegant flourish shape piece from red cardstock. Adhere it across the centre of the card, overlapping, as you do so, part of the shaker window.

From the two different P13 Woodland Tea Party papers, fussy cut the center (mouse) panel and various foliage elements to tuck around the center image. Adhere all of these pieces to the card base as shown.

Back the “What a Wonderful World” sentiment sticker with a narrow mat of green cardstock followed by an equally narrow mat of red cardstock. Attach sentiment over part of the central image.

Adhere heart shaped embellishments taken from the Cactus Sparkletz Embellishments shaker mix to each of the four red photo corners.

Adhere an alternating pattern of green faceted flatback embellishments and green pearl flatback embellishments around the visible areas of the green scallop edge border of the shaker window.

Tuck and adhere a small smattering of red faceted flat back embellishments around the various fussy cut elements.

Attach four Martha Stewart premade white coloured mini bows vertically across your card front. Adhere a heart shaped embellishment from the Cactus Sparkletz Embellishments shaker mix to each of the bows.

And voila, your cuter-than-cute woodland tea party-themed shaker window card is complete. Ready to send out or give in person to a special someone whose day will surely be brightened by this darling handmade greeting.

What a wonderful world

Let’s be frank, life hasn’t been a bed of roses for many of over the past couple of years. Both globally and often personally as well, these have been times that exemplify words such as challenging, stressful, uncertain, difficult, and, perhaps above all else, unforeseen.

Yet amongst the profound struggles and worries, life marches forward on this planet. Seasons come and seasons go. Days meld into weeks that build months and ultimately etch new years into the history books of time.

Simple acts of kindness and thoughtfulness take on greater meaning than ever, the blessing of rising to greet a new morning holds deeper importance to many of us. And as we continue to navigate the waters of a new normal that isn’t quite so new anymore, we hold onto hope and faith – however we may personally choose to interpret those concepts.

Life is rarely perfect. Sometimes it is brutal or boring or scary or terrible. But it can also be glorious, peaceful, comforting, happy, and marvellous. Naturally, it can be many things in between as well.

It would be pollyannaish to say that things are always hunky dory. Goodness knows they are not for me, nor are they for most folks out there.

However, when the going gets tough or a major curveball comes our way, I try to remind myself of what a truly wonderful world it is that we humans are blessed to live in.

At few points in the year is that message more evident to me than during fall, when even in the face of challenges, stress or any other less-than-ideal element, my heart cannot help but purr like a contented kitty. As for a few brief, magnificent weeks, the landscape is once again alive with the fading warmth and exquisite colours of the harvest season.

And if you ask me, that – much like P13’s gorgeous Forest Tea Party Collection itself – is well worth smiling about and finding no shortage of inspiring joy in.

The post Cute Shabby Chic P13 Forest Tea Party Shaker Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

This kind of deep, strong-as-steel connection is one of life’s great joys.

I’m fortunate to have multiple people with whom I share this kind of bond. One of them is my beautiful sister. She’s six years my junior and is a person I love more than words could ever fully convey.

It’s always a delight when I learn something new about her, as we’re very close and I have a good sense of her interests, passions, talents, hobbies, and dreams.

Earlier this fall, my mom mentioned in passing that my sister really, really likes moose.

Wait, what? How on earth did I not know that already?

Far from minding that I didn’t know as much, I was thrilled to discover something else that my sister is a big fan of.

And before that conversation with my mama had even wrapped up, I was already sketching out my sister’s Christmas card for this year in my head.

Rustic Woodland Inspired Merry Christmoose Card

A while back, I picked up some of the papers from Photo Play’s ridiculously cute O Canada Christmas by Becky Fleck collection, and distinctly remembered one cut apart sentiment square with a darling moose couple on it.

As this card is for both my sister and her boyfriend, it seemed like an even more perfect image to use as the jumping-off point for this festive greeting.

The presence of moose instantly lent my card a woodland vibe – which I was more than happy to lean into.

At the same time though, I wanted the overall design to have some holiday season glitz and pizzazz to it.

With that in mind, I use a large sparkly gold bow coupled with some remarkably similar looking glitter washi tape from 3M, and laid out my background cardstock and paper pieces to resemble a wrapped present.

Hopping back to the woodland inspired them, the lovely dark brown paper layers are both cut from the same piece of woodgrain print paper.

I wanted to repeat the heart that appears behind the charming mouse couple, so I used both a heart border design die set and a classic Fiskars heart shaped border punch.

Some fun and festive printed papers, two matching green plastic buttons, and some holiday season perfect red stick-on rhinestones helped this Christmas card come together.

It’s a sweet, cheerful design that is teems with holiday spirit – and, extra importantly, includes not one, but two moose care of the central panel.

This was such an enjoyable card to whip up. It’s not OTT fancy or intricate, nor does it need to be.

Rustic woodland style often emphasises a few key elements, letting each both speak for itself and compliment the others to a tee (or would that be to an “M” in this case? ).

Putting this fun woodland inspired Christmas card together

To begin with, I created a good sized card base from dark red cardstock. This was topped with a large piece of brown woodgrain paper, to which I added a heart design punched border made from blue cardstock to both the top and bottom of the woodgrain piece.

Next, I backed a piece of cute and colourful Christmas word themed paper from the same Photo Play collection with more of that blue cardstock.

Beneath that piece of word themed paper, I placed vertical pieces lengths of solid green and red cardstock, as well as a long strip of sparkly gold washi tape.

After that, I die cut a piece of the same brown woodgrain paper and a piece of lovely fair isle sweater inspired print paper with a heart edged border set of dies. I then lightly inked the edges of my central moose design panel, backed it on green cardstock, and placed a few red rhinestone embellishments around the main panel.

For the finishing touches on this sweet Christmas card, I added the large pre-made glittery gold bow (it was sold in the gift wrapping section of a nearby home décor store a few years back), as well as the green buttons and the red rhinestones that flank them.

And just like that, faster than you can say “Which way to the North Pole, eh?”, this wonderfully Canadian Christmas greeting card was complete.

Card making tips and ideas from this project

-We often tend to focus on neutral coloured cardstock and/or printed papers, which is fabulous at times, of course, but there is much to be said in favour of solid coloured cardstock as well.

It’s classic and versatile, while also (often) being relatively easy on the ol’ pocketbook.

On this card, I used three shades of rich, Christmas season perfect cardstock (dark red, green, and blue, respectively), with the brown woodgrain print paper almost serving as a fourth swath of solid colour.

Not only can using coloured cardstock add visual interest and weight to your designs, but it can be a super way to put some of those scads of scraps a lot of us have kicking around to good use.

-Bust out the border punches! I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll happily say it again: border punches are awesome!

Sure, manual and digital die cutting machines can be the cat’s meow (err, moose’s throaty bellow in this case? ), but that doesn’t mean that our border punches should be relegated to the back of our craft rooms, never to be seen again.

They’re no less versatile and enjoyable as when they were all the rage (gosh, do I miss those days sometimes!), can be used on pieces of paper and cardstock of many sizes, and just look terrific, if you ask me.

-Keep an eye out for possible paper crafting supplies in other areas of the store while out shopping. As mentioned above, this sparkly gold bow hailed from the holiday season wrapping section.

Gift wrapping items, certain baking and cooking supplies (from printed muffin liners/wrappers to cupcake toppers, mini metal tartlet pans to printed paper drinking straws are just a few of the wonderful kitchen supplies that can be put to use in your papercraft projects), party decorations, seasonal décor, and even some kids toys are all possible spots to find items to use on in your card making, scrapbooking, and other forms of paper crafting.

–Create the look of a wrapped gift on your card – complete with a bow or two, to really drive home the look of a wrapped present. This easy design approach telegraphs oodles of celebratory cheer and can be used for a wide array of occasions.

Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the winter holiday season are just a few of the possible times when this fun idea can suit the event splendidly.

Products use to make this cute moose themed Christmas card

-Dark red, green, and blue cardstock

-Dark brown woodgrain print paper – Mademoiselle Collection Mahogany from Kaisercraft

-Fair Isle sweater print paper – O Canada Christmas Home for Christmas paper – from Photo Play

-Christmas word print paper – O Canada Christmas Polar Games paper – from Photo Play

-Moose sentiment paper – O Canada Christmas Merry Christmas paper – from Photo Play

-Set of rectangular shaped heart border nesting dies

-Heart design border punch – Hearts border punch from Fiskars

-Yellow ink – Street Light Surface Ink from Pink & Main

-Dark brown ink – Dewdrop Rich Cocoa Ink from Memento

-Big glittery gold bow (fabric, cardstock or paper, as desired)

-Green plastic buttons – GOR 356102 Charm Pack from Santoro London

-Red rhinestone embellishments

-Glittery gold washi tape – from 3M

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

Wishing you a very merry Christmoose season

Finding out that my sister is keen on moose made my heart smile. Naturally, I don’t plan on incorporating moose into every card I create for her from here on out.

However, knowing that this generously sized member of the deer family is an animal she likes, expands the “theme pool”, if you will, of inspiration to draw from when making cards for her.

Hard as it is to believe, at this point in December there’s only half a month left to go until Christmas.

With snowy weather having begun here back in mid-October, it seems like the led up to Yule and Christmas has been longer than usual.

It’s all perception, of course (extra days didn’t magically sneak on to the calendar ), but nevertheless, it definitely feels like high time to usher in the winter holiday season once more.

If you celebrate any holiday(s) this month, chances are your festive season may differ in certain ways from years past.

There is little that this brutal pandemic hasn’t touched in one way or another. The impact it has left on society will be felt long after it has (finally) abated from our world.

Yet, thankfully, even in the darkest of hours, the holidays themselves continue to stand tall. Comforting, familiar beckons reminding us of both happier times past and those that may, hopefully, still lie ahead of us.

As for many folks, mine and my family’s holiday season won’t be quite the same as usual this time around.

Gratefully though, it will still house cherished traditions, celebratory meals, curling up with beloved Christmas movies, and wondering if maybe, just maybe, we really can hear the prancing and pawing of each tiny hoof overhead come the night of December 24^th.

Another tradition that we’re holding strong to this year is the sending out of holiday season cards, both handmade and store bought.

This meaningful form of communication is a timeless way to convey our love and best wishes to those near and far, just as it is for countless others around the globe.

While it isn’t possible for me to send each of you a festive greeting (I would love it if I could, though – just think of how many cards that would give me the opportunity to create! ), I can wish you the absolute safest, happiest, and sweetest of holiday seasons.

Not to mention, a very merry Christmoose!

Project share

Pin the image below – or any other in this post – to Pinterest, pop it into your Instagram Stories, post in on Twitter or Facebook, or share it anywhere else you wish to help yourself find it again and to inspire others at the same time.

If you make a project based on or inspired by this card – or want to share any of your other handmade crafts with me – please use the hashtags #WitchcraftedLife and #WitchcraftedLifeMakes on social media so that I see can your beautiful creations.

The post Cute and Festive Merry Christmoose Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.