Christmas Pine Branches Card

Blessings to you this Sunday.  It looks like the rains might have passed on for a while and we're back to sunshine.  I still find it amazing to be standing outside in November with no jacket on just feeding our fish in the pond and enjoying the afternoon.  I can't believe the temperature is 75 degrees!  I have to admit that so many leaves have fallen in the last two days though that I can't even tell where the driveway is!!  How crazy is that?  But the weather today is just gorgeous, and I'm enjoying it.  In fact, it's so enjoyable that I don't want to come inside and get back to work.  But here I am ready to go, so let's get creating!  The card I'm sharing today is one that I made for my Hostess Club ladies to make themselves.  I hope they like it even though the colors are non-traditional.

Here's the card I sent to each of them.  The colors I used are Sweet Sorbet, Soft Succulent, and Basic White.  Sure, it's still a red and green sort of, but oh my, the difference!

To make this card, I started with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Sweet Sorbet cardstock that is scored at 4 1/2" and folded in half.  There are two pieces of Basic White cardstock cut at 5 1/4" x 4" - one each for the inside and outside layers of the card.  The outside layer is embossed with the Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder which is found in the 2022 July - December Mini Catalog on page 23.  This is a carry-over item from last Christmas so you might already have it.  I used the coordinating die for this card a little later on in the process.  

After embossing the white layer, I used a Blending Brush and Soft Succulent ink to go over the embossed areas.  This really makes the images stand out more in my opinion.  Considering the plan for a design I had, the embossed design would have been lost under the other layers.   

I could have stopped at this point, but why not add more to make the card really pop?

Next, I used the thicker Christmas Pinecone Die to cut some Soft Succulent cardstock.  This gave me oodles of pine branches to use for the next layer.  I cut apart the die-cut piece of Soft Succulent into all these separate pieces with only the pinecones on the right left over.  As I was cutting, I was arranging them on the embossed layer to see how it looked.  When I was happy with the look, adhesive was used to attach the cut ends of the pines onto the rectangle center of the card layer. The outer edges remained loose so they stand out from the layer a little.  This layer was attached to the folded Sweet Sorbet card base using Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.

On to the sentiment on the card.  Here is where the Merriest Frames Hybrid Die comes into play.  The stitched layer of Basic White is the die that fits right inside the rectangle that was embossed earlier.  The sentiment comes from the Hope & Peace stamp set found on page 40 of the 2022 July - December Mini Catalog.  (This has turned into my go-to sentiment for Christmas cards.  Both the sentiments for the inside and outside of the card are perfect for me.)  The sentiment was stamped with Sweet Sorbet ink towards the top of the rectangle area.  A skinny layer of Sweet Sorbet cardstock was cut to frame this and make it stand out nicely.  This measures 2 3/16" x 2 15/16".  Of course, you could cut it just a bit bigger if you don't want to play with those tiny numbers.  But if you want a really skinny layer, this is the way to go.  The sentiment was attached to this layer with adhesive.  Then it was attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

I used a retired punch to give me the holly I wanted on the sentiment layer.  They are punched from Evening Evergreen cardstock.  An extra pine branch was tucked on and then the holly leaves were added using adhesive.   Adhesive-backed Sequins were the final touch on my card.  One large sequin was added near the holly and four of the small ones were tucked around in the pine branches.

That's it for today's post. Hope you enjoyed the look of all these elements added into one finished piece.  Like I said earlier, I hope my Hostess Club ladies like this card.  I'm sure happy with how it turned out.  Thank you for taking the time to see what's new.  If you're placing an order soon, please consider using the Host Code at the top of the post.  I'm very grateful for all of you that do use the code.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon