Christmas in July #3 - Santa Bingo Plaque

I don't know about you but I find it difficult to find nice gifty ideas for friends far away.

I mean yes, you could buy something but I think a hand-crafted gift is always so much better.

With the price of mailing items sky-rocketing over the last few years it's becoming harder to actually send little "thinking of you" gifts to friends across the miles.

WELL, today's project is fun, easy to replicate (for multiple friends) and it won't break the bank to mail it either....as long as you don't go too overboard on the embellishments that is ;)  LOL!!

So, I like to use vintage Bingo cards for these plaque bases. 

Many of the older cards are printed on a heavy weight chipboard that will take mediums well AND hold up well when shipped.

Besides that, they have a cool personality that you just don't get with new or faux Bingo cards.

I added a layer of Distress Stain...Peeled Paint in this case ~ I know it's one of the first Distress Colors and there are lots of others to choose from but it's still my favorite green Distress Ink Color.

After I had the card covered I flicked on a nice amount of water then dried it quickly.

I then added a couple flourishes in each corner

(sorry, I can't remember who this stamp is from)

and set it aside for now.

Next I stamped one of my favorite Santa images...

He's so cheery and lovable looking isn't he?

(it's from Inkadinkado) and colored it with my Spectrum Noir markers.

It's time to start embellishing the plaque so I found this tissue paper pinwheel I had in my stash and gave it a splash of color with Aged Mahogany Distress Stain.

Now it's time to figure out what you want to add...

I played around with various goodies I had in my bag of Christmas Tricks until I found an arrangement I liked.

If you're making multiples it's easy to find a general lay-out you like then just improvise with the actual embellishments.  For example I used a few chipboard pieces in the upper right corner but you could use stamped images, German Scrap images, collage images, stickers, die-cuts and so much more!

These are a great way to use up those left over bits and bobs you have just waiting for a good home.

Once you're set on your design

glue it all down and add a few finishing touches.

In this case I added some Stickles Glitter glue here and there

to add just that extra little something for some holiday cheer!

as far as the hanger goes you could use a pop tab glued to the back or punch a hole in each of the top corners and tie a ribbon through them or use a chipboard foldable stand for display on a table-top.

These make fun gifts that are sturdy enough to stand up to the postal service

and pretty enough for someone to cherish for years to come!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!