Red and Gold NOEL

Hey friends!  Are you having a good day?  I started my cookie baking on Sunday.  Then I made a batch of peanut butter cookies this morning.  I hope if I do a little baking every day, maybe I'll get my usual plate of cookies made in time for sharing.  Why is it when I was at the grocery store with my list of things to make all these cookies, I either forgot to put things on the list or forgot to pick it up at the store.  Looks like another trip to the store is necessary for making more cookies.  I can never have enough different flavors of cookies!  They are my downfall.  Well, let's leave the cookies alone for a while and get on with the card making.  OK?  

Today's card comes with two versions again.  When I'm making my cards, so often I can't decide to make them one way or the other, so of course, I make two!  That's what happened with this card.  I had the idea in my head with general thoughts on DSP and ribbon accent, but then got bogged down trying to decide which color to feature and which to use as an accent.  Take a look and choose which one you prefer.

Both cards start with a Thick Basic White cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  No surprise there, just a basic card base.

Let's focus on this card first.  The first layer on the card is Cherry Cobbler that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  Do not attach to the base yet.   

Next is a layer of the gorgeous Joyful Specialty Design Series Paper.  This print is a delicate design of gold leaves, holly and evergreen branches accented with Cherry Cobbler berries.  So pretty.  I used a piece measuring 3 1/4" x 5".  This is attached with adhesive to the right side of the Cherry Cobbler layer framing the top, bottom, and right side to match.  Just a heads up - the dimensions on the width of the DSP might change with your choice of ribbon.  

The ribbon I used is retired from possibly last Christmas.  Some of you must still have some of this ribbon left.   It's a beautiful woven Cherry Cobbler and Gold ribbon that is 1/2" in width.  When you look at the ribbon it changes to show more of the Cherry Cobbler or the Gold depending on how the light hits it.  I thought it would be a great match with this lovely DSP.  A 6 1/2" strip was wrapped around the open area left from the DSP.  It's attached in back with adhesive.

This layer is then attached to the card base.  I used Dimensionals to attach it.

The ribbon looks so much more gold here because it's angled to catch the light.

On a piece of Basic White cardstock that measures about 2 1/2" square, the NOEL letters were stamped in the center with Cherry Cobbler ink.  It's die-cut using the Joy of Noel Bundle.  The square die fits the lettering perfectly.  After cutting, I added a 2 3/8" square of the Distressed Gold Specialty Paper behind it.  This beautiful paper can be found in the Annual Catalog.  They're attached together with adhesive.

The detailed die from the Joy of Noel Bundle cut a layer from Cherry Cobbler cardstock.   I did have to run it back and forth in the Big Shot several times to get the detail to cut nicely.  The NOEL lettering layers are attached to the detail die-cut using adhesive.  This is all added to the card front using adhesive.  

On this card I used the gold pearls from the Festive Pearls set as an accent.

Now we'll take a closer look at the opposite design.  This card starts out the same with the Thick Basic White card base, the Cherry Cobbler layer, the DSP layer, and the ribbon added to the side.  The NOEL lettering is still Cherry Cobbler ink on the Basic White and die-cut. 

The Cherry Cobbler layer was cut 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" square, so it's a little larger than the distressed gold layer on the other card.  The detail die cut the Distressed Gold Specialty paper to make the detailed layer.  Again, I ran it through several times just like the first time. 

The Distressed Gold layer is attached to the card base flat using adhesive.  The NOEL and Cherry Cobbler layer were attached over the gold layer using Dimensionals.

For an accent, the same Festive Pearls were added, but this time I chose the Cherry Cobbler pearls.

I hope you like these two NOEL cards.  Like I said, I really couldn't decide which one I preferred.  So, it's up to you to decide which one you like better.  Let me know which one you prefer.  I'd really like to know what you think.

Make sure you shop in the Last Chance areas to see what's retiring.  These items will only be available until January 3rd unless they sell out before that.  Some of the Designer Series Paper packs are already gone.   And don't forget to visit the Clearance section to get some really great bargains.  Please consider using the Host Code at the top of this blog.  I really appreciate it when you do.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been creating.  Hope you're inspired by something you see and get out your stamps to create something beautiful yourself.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon