My Card Bag entry....

Each year, the local stamp club I below to has a contest to see who can decorate the best bag for our annual Christmas party.  These bag are used by club members to deposit Christmas cards to each other   So you decorate your own bag and others put their cards ro you into your bag.  And everyone votes on the best bag and the winner gets a small gift.

This has become quite a fun challenge for me each year--how to decorate my bag.  I won in 2008 with my singing reindeer bag.  I did not remember it until I got to the party, but my 2009 "Merry Christmoose" bag won last year, too.  I was in a quandry about how to decorate my bag thisyear.  I have these paper hand towels in my bathroom and thought it was cute--and you KNOW how I've been on a cardinal bird trip lately.  So this became my inspiration for decorating my bag.  We each get a white lunch sack to decorate.

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 Here is my bag decorated with the snowman with a cardinal on his carrot nose.

 I used Baja Breeze cardstock for the background.  I stamped snowflakes from two different stamp sets for the background.  The snowman is cut using 3 QuicKutz circle dies.  I added a black and red border at the top, just to add more color and interest.  And it supports the ribbons I added for the handle, held on using glimmer brads.  The same ribbon is around the snowman's neck.  We have to have our own name on the bags somewhere, hence the tag that has a bird and says, "Laura". 
                          
The hat is cut from black cardsock using the Curly Label Punch.  For the brim, I used the Wide Oval Punch.  And of course the little cardinal is made using directions I've given in previous entries on my blog.  I used a ribbon around his neck.  The arms are from the Snowflake Punch. 

I was surprised and please that my bag won again this year!! How exciting!  The prize I won was nice, but the bragging rights were the best!!  Three years in a row, wow!

Then I thought if the bag was a winner, why not make a card using the same snowman.  Here is the card I made.

 I just left one "snowball" of the body off---otherwise, the card is the same as the bag, only shorter.  I did put the PEACE ON EARTH in the black and red border, rather than under it.   I think it turned out cute, too.    Here is a close-up of the snowman face and bird.

 Thought I'd share a couple of the other bags in the club contest.  This one was made by Judy Thompson.  Love her ornaments!!  Wish you could see them in person--they are so shimmery and beautiful.
                                          
 This bag with the cute Santa was made by Diane Gardner.  She does beautiful work, too, and creative.

 And here is Linda Epperson's bag.  Look closely at all the layers on the tree!  Those are each cut out separately. 

As you can tell, I was in some stiff competition!  You can see why I was so thrilled to win this year!!

Thanks for visiting today.  Smiles,Laura