Template for a Christmas Card

Hi all!  Time is running out to make any more Christmas cards, but I just had another two I wanted to share with you.  The cards both use the same template and the same stamp set, but the colors were changed because I couldn't decide which to use.  So, when in doubt, do both.  I've been a real paper hog for awhile.  Or maybe I should say a paper hoarder instead.  Does that sound better?   But I am trying to be better and actually use my lovely DSP.  That's what started this card making session.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to use the Sentimental Christmas Designer Paper or the Season of Green & Gold Designer Paper.  Both have very nice designs and they're such different styles you'd think this wouldn't be a problem.  But indecision is my middle name lately.  So, that's why we have two versions on this template to share. 

Here are the two cards together.  See, they are similar in design, but still different.  The main components of the card template is the large circle for the main focal point and three 1" strips of DSP that are different but complimentary.  Let's go through and explain how I made these.

I'll start with the second card I made, the one on the right.  The DSP strips are from the Sentimental Christmas.  I liked that they were not a true green but more on the Pretty Peacock color tone.  It makes a more mellow look on the card.

I had done so many red & green cards, I was looking for something slightly different for this time of year.   Three different prints from the Sentimental Christmas DSP were cut here.  The center one with the trees is 1" x 4 5/8".  The two on the sides measure 1" x 4 3/8".  They were laid out and attached with "green glue" to a Basic Beige cardstock piece that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  There is also a Basic Beige cardstock piece measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that's scored and folded in half and is used for the base.

After attaching the strips to the cardstock layer, it's added to the card base with Dimensionals.

Next is coming up with which die to use to cut the main piece - the circle.  I really love the circle dies that are part of the Spotlight on Nature Bundle. Each has its own different design on the edge to make it stand out.  This is the largest circle.  It was used to die-cut a circle of Basic Beige cardstock.

Across the center of the circle, a line of small trees from the Peaceful Evergreens Bundle were stamped with Lost Lagoon ink.  I love the misty look of this tree line.

Under the trees, the sentiment from Greetings of the Season was stamped.  The 'Christmas' was stamped first leaving space to stamp the 'merry'.  The ink used here is Pretty Peacock so it's a little darker and more prominent on the card.

The gold bow is from the Gold & Silver 1/8" Trim.  It's attached with a Mini Glue Dot.  The extra bling added here are gold snowflakes from the Adhesive-backed Snowflakes.  These can only be found in the Online Exclusive section of the store.  I thought they added a nice, festive touch here.

The inside of the card is stamped with a sentiment from the Greetings of the Season stamp set.  It's stamped with Pretty Peacock ink.

There is a small line of trees in the bottom corner.  They are stamped with Lost Lagoon ink to match the card front. 

Okay, this is the second card I made.  I'll share with you the first card and my mistake.  It still works, but I like the 2nd version better.  You decide.

The basic card idea and the measurements are the same as the other card, except the center strip is 4 3/4" long.  Small thing, but looking at both cards, you can see the difference.  You decide which you prefer.

The circle is the same except Basic White cardstock was used this time.

The trees are the same, except they are stamped with Old Olive that was off-stamped before stamping onto the circle to keep them nice and light.

I thought it would be cool to have the sentiment on strips of Basic White cardstock and have them partially off the circle when attached.  I think I like it the other way better this time.  The ink used for stamping the sentiment is Mossy Meadow ink.

For finishing, the same gold snowflakes are used to accent the design.

The ribbon used this time is a retired Gold Shimmer Ribbon from a few years ago.  The subtle gold shimmer of the ribbon is the perfect match for the gold accents on the DSP prints.

Just for an added bit of glamour, the circle had a bit of Wink of Stella spattered on it.  Unfortunately, the picture didn't want to pick up the soft glittery splatters.

There you have it.  Two cards that used the same template as a starting place.  They even used the same stamp sets.  But tweak a few things and it really changes the look.  I really like both of them.  If I'm in the mood for the elegance of lots of gold touches on my card, this is the one to make.  If I'm going for a more mellow look, the other one with the Pretty Peacock and Basic Beige do the trick.  Either way, the template is a great one to use, especially when you've got lots of strips left over from all those other projects.  Start thinking birthdays or even Valentines Day!  Hmmm...

If you want to start panicking, today is the 15th.  There's only 10 more days until Christmas.  No, my cards are not in the mail, my presents are not wrapped, and my cookies are not baked.  Why the heck am I still making Christmas cards???  Gotta go...

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Hang the Ornaments!

Hello, hello.  Do you ever see a stamp set and fall in love with it?  You know you'll be able to do so many things with it and it will be so wonderful to have.  But, oh my, not so much.  Yup, I seem to be having that problem.  I love the Hang an Ornament Bundle and was sure I'd have oodles of fun playing with it.  I'll admit it's been at least a month since I played with it and made a couple of cards.  But I'll also admit, I wasn't happy with either one, and I had no intention of showing either one of them.   So yesterday I went with a fallback plan and just used the ornaments with DSP.  Now, that was fun, and a very festive look too!

I really wish I had ordered the Take A Bow DSP.  It would be perfect for these ornaments.  But I didn't think I needed it, so time to make do with something in my retired stash of DSP.  I don't even remember the name of this paper or how many years ago it was available.  It was in my stash, so I used it.

The first step for making these cards was finding some prints that would work with the ornaments.  These old prints were from the same pack and were a mix of Old Olive, Real Red, Garden Green, and Certainly Celery.  (remember that color?)  I chose three prints that I liked together and die-cut several ornaments from each one.  I also die-cut those tiny ornament tops from some Gold Foil Specialty Paper. They're so tiny, but they really add just the right touch to your ornaments.

Next was choosing the card base.  I was planning on using either Old Olive or Real Red but decided to keep the background clean and simple, so it didn't detract from the ornaments.  As you can see I went with Basic White for the card base and again for the layer on top.  The base measures 8 1/2" 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The layer is 5 1/4" x 4".

Next was choosing a sentiment for this design.  'Celebrate' comes from the Iconic Imagery Bundle which is an Online Exclusive item.  Love the font and especially the size of this word.  It was stamped near the bottom left of the layer using Real Red ink.  Keep it low to accommodate the ornaments.  I wanted to add the 'Christmas' to the sentiment and found one in the Greetings of the Season set.  This is also an Online Exclusive Bundle.  It's stamped with Read Red ink too.

Next, it was time to play around with placement of the ornaments.  If you check the first picture closely, you'll find that all three are layered differently.  This is the last one I did, and I like it the best.  You can always choose a different layout to suit your fancy, but this was my favorite.

After laying out where I wanted the ornaments, I lightly marked with a pencil underneath where the ornament cap was located.  Using the gold ribbon from the Gold & Silver 1/8" Trim combo Pack I added the hangers.  It's added without cutting the ribbon first.  I put an inch of Tear & Tape from my pencil mark down into the ornament area.  Then attached an end of the ribbon on this and pulled to the top of the card.  Trimmed it an inch or so above the card so there's plenty of overlap to attach to the back of the card.  Do this for all three of the ornaments.  Turn the layer over and use Tear & Tape to attach all three ends to the back of the layer.

Next the ornaments are attached.  On this card, the two outer ornaments are attached flat to the card front.  The middle one is attached with several Dimensionals.   At this time, I used 'green glue' to attach the layer to the front of the card base.

And then for the bling.  After playing around with several ideas, I realized I would really prefer to add these tiny Real Red Rhinestones that are retired.  But they were perfect for this card.

Hope this card gives you some ideas for using this set.  It's such a simple card to make, but it looks very festive and fun.  If you don't want a red and green card, try some other combos, or even just gold and silver prints together.  Wouldn't that be elegant?

That's it for today.  I really need to get going on getting the house festive looking too.  And did someone mention cookie baking?  Not a single one so far.  I'm really slipping this year.  But four of us ladies did get all the cards for the church shut-ins put together and mailed out yesterday.  One thing marked off my list, but there's at least a hundred more things on that list to take care of yet.  Yikes!  I need to hurry quicker!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon 

Playing with the Evergreens Again

 Hello my friends!  It sure doesn't look like winter here yet.  Not that I'm complaining or anything.  The weather's up to 58 degrees today, but the heavy rains coming down make it feel much chillier.  These temps will be staying around for a few more days, but unfortunately so will the rain.  Guess I'll just stay inside for a while and get some more stamping done.

Yesterday when I was stamping, I had the Peaceful Evergreens out again and was concocting a card design and playing around with color combinations.   It was fun to see how color can change the two cards so much.  I have to admit that the color difference is much more noticeable in person.  But it was fun, and I'll have to try this idea again.

Here are the two cards.  So similar looking until you start noticing the colors on the 2nd card.  Definitely not traditional colors!  I started by making the card on the top with the traditional Real Red and Garden Green color combo.  

The card started with a base of Real Red cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" that is scored and folded in half.  Next is the Garden Green layer that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  Then comes a layer of Basic White cardstock.  This measures 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" so there will be just a skinny bit of the Garden Green frame showing when put together.  

Next, the Basic White layer was embossed using the Painted Trees 3D Embossing Folder.  The cardstock was positioned so I could get the tops of all three of the trees to show.  After embossing, this layer was attached to the Garden Green layer using "green glue".  Then both layers were attached to the folded Real Red card base using Dimensionals.

Next, the smallest single evergreen in the Peaceful Evergreens stamp set was stamped on a scrap of Basic White cardstock.  Garden Green ink was used.  I love how these simple trees have so much depth and detail in them just by inking them up!  It does all the work for you!

After stamping, the coordinating die was used to cut it out and it was ready to use.

The 'Christmas' comes from the Peaceful Season die set.  I used a 1 1/4" strip of Real Red cardstock. Then backed it with some of the Adhesive Sheets before cutting.  This makes it so much easier to attach the letters to the card without trying to get glue on the small areas.

The 'merry' comes from the Greetings of the Season set.  It's stamped on a 1/2" strip of Basic White using Real Red ink.  The ends were trimmed and flagged.

Putting it together was easy.  I put the wording on first to get the placement, then added the tree and little label using Dimensionals to attach them both.  

I was happy with the look of the tiny White Snowflake Loose Embellishments that were added to the card.  Five of the larger ones were added.  They're attached with Micro Glue Dots.  Now on to the non-traditional card.

 I was getting a little played out with the traditional Christmas cards I was making.  Thought I'd go retro on this combo.  The green is Shy Shamrock and the 'red' is Berry Burst.  Whew!  What a change, but it sort of grew on me and now I love it!  I know, crazy!

The measurements of the layers are all the same, just different colors.  The tree was stamped with Shy Shamrock and die-cut.  

The 'Christmas' sentiment was cut from the Berry Burst, Old Olive, and White Shimmer Paper pack.  The strip of Berry Burst was backed with the same Adhesive Sheets as before.  I tried to angle a picture to show the glimmer on the paper, but none of the pictures really showed it at all.  The 'merry' was stamped with Berry Burst ink.  The strip was trimmed and flagged before attaching to the card front with Dimensionals.  This time the sentiment was put on at an angle to see which I liked better.

For this card, the Iridescent Faceted Gems seemed to be the favorite choice.  The facets really enhanced the colors already on the card.

The inside of both the cards was done the same except for the color choices.  The row of tiny trees in the Peaceful Evergreens set was stamped on the bottom edge of the cards using the coordinating green ink for the cards.  The sentiments were added with either the Real Red or Berry Burst colors.

So which one do you like?  Are you more of a traditional girl?  Or do you like to stir things up a bit with something bold and different?  I'm thinking I just might try the Shy Shamrock color with a paler pink and see how that works out!  Or maybe an Old Olive with Cherry Cobbler combo.  What do you think?

Thank you for stopping by today to see what's been going on here.  I'm almost finished with my cards and getting ready to move on to something else.  Well, maybe just a few more Christmas cards.  They are fun to make.  I'll just have to add a few more people to my list so I can use them all.  😂

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Another Fun Fold

Hey peeps!  Hope you're staying warm wherever you are.  We've been having overnight freezing the last few nights and it really hasn't warmed up a whole lot during the day.  Brrr!  Even our goldfish pond has been skimmed over with ice the last two days.  What happened to our nice, warm, Southern weather??  We certainly haven't had any around here lately.  Thought I'd freeze my fingers off getting some outside decorations up.  We're not finished yet, but we're waiting for warmer weather next week.  At least, that's what is being predicted.  Fingers crossed!  Anyway, on to the stamping reason for this post.  I found another Fun Fold that I really like and thought I'd make a bunch for different uses.  Well, it's taken me a couple of weeks to get back to working on these, but they are well worth the wait.  I have six cards made with this Fun Fold to share with you, so hang on tight.  We've got a lot of ground to cover here.  First things first - this Fun Fold came from Lisa Freeman.  She is a talented stamper that has a slightly quirky sense of humor.  When I watch her videos, I always find myself chuckling at some silly story she relates.  If you have time, look her up and enjoy yourself.

This is my favorite card of the bunch I made so we'll start with it.  The first order of business is deciding which DSP print to use.  On all of my cards, I used the DSP print that had a scene that spans across 6" to fit the card.  This card uses the Nests in Winter Designer Series Paper which measures 12" x 12".  I cut across the 12" wide paper at 5 1/4" for the height of the card.  Then it's cut in half at 6" to fit this card design.  So, from each piece of scenery print that is 6" x 6" you get one card.  Always cut 3/4" from either the top or bottom of the print, whichever looks better.

When you have your piece that measures 6" wide and 5 1/4" tall, it needs to be cut into sections - 3 1/2", 1/2", and 2".  Make sure you keep these in order.

The card base measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2.  For this card, I used Copper Clay which matched nicely with the Nests in Winter DSP.  Scoring on the base is at 4 1/4" and 1 7/8".  After scoring, make sure the largest piece (5 1/2" x 4 1/4") is on the right side when you're working on it.

Fold the card base.  Then attach the largest piece of DSP to the front of the folded card.  Make sure you only put adhesive on the fold-back area on the front to attach the DSP so it's loose on the right side.

This picture does a good job of showing both the folds on the card base and also the placement of the 1st piece of DSP.  While the card is open (above pic) attach the little 1/2" piece of DSP just to the left of the score line.  Attach the 2" piece of DSP just to the right of the score line.  Make sure all three pieces of DSP are even on both the top and bottom of the card.

Cut a 2" x 5 1/4" piece of Basic White cardstock for the inner panel.  Stamp a sentiment on this using Copper Clay ink.  Attach inside the card lining up the edges with the other pieces.  This sentiment and the one on front are from the Comforting Thoughts stamp set.  I really like the choice of sentiments available in this set.  

The front sentiment was stamped on Basic White cardstock 1/2" tall using Copper Clay ink.  It was trimmed to 2 3/4".  It's layered onto a piece of Copper Clay that was trimmed tight to fit it.  After layering together, it was attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

A double strand of Linen Thread was tied into a small bow and trimmed.  This was added to the corner of the sentiment with a Mini Glue Dot that was rolled tiny.  

Three of the Adhesive-backed Textured dots were added as an accent.  These dots kept the look more masculine and country in my opinion.

Now on to the rest of these cards.  I'm not going to go into the dimensions for cutting and folding as they are the same as this one.  Just sharing a few highlights of each card.

This design used Melon Mambo cardstock and ink along with the Simply Zinnia DSP.  Big change in the look, isn't it?

I used the same sentiment outside of the card but chose a different sentiment for the inside.  I love these Comforting Thoughts sentiments for any health-related cards I need.  So special.

The pearls on this card are from the Adhesive-backed Pearl Trio.  The plummy-rosy tones of the pearls really blend nicely with the zinnias.

Another zinnia card but using Blackberry Bliss cardstock and ink on this one.

Sticking with the same sentiment for this card.  I've been needing so many of the get-well style of cards lately, so several of these are to replenish that stock.

The gems on this one are different.  These are the Purple Fine Shimmer Gems in the medium purple color.  Think they go nicely here accenting the purple flowers.

I also added a ribbon bow.  It was Fresh Freesia in color which didn't match.  So, I used the Blackberry Bliss Blends in the Light color to darken the ribbon color.  Make sure you let the ribbon dry for a minute or two, so you don't end up with inky fingers!  (Ask me how I know...)

 

This card uses Balmy Blue for the card base and Meandering Meadows 6" x 6" DSP.  Love the look of this wildflower meadow.  And the skies are so gorgeous!  

The sentiment is from the Changing Leaves stamp set.  It was stamped on a 1/2" tall strip of Basic White cardstock using Shaded Spruce ink and trimmed smaller when finished.  The little tag was edged with just a little of the Shaded Spruce ink on the edges.

There are several die-cut leaves tucked in behind the sentiment for interest.  

This time little golden birds from the pack of Adhesive-backed Dragonflies and Birds were used as an accent.  The print looked like it needed the birds flying around instead of gems.

The card base on this one is Moody Mauve.  This gorgeous print is from the Splendid Autumn 6" x 6" DSP.  Love this print!

The sentiment from Changing Leaves is used again.  This time stamped in Moody Mauve ink.  It has a large loopy bow of Linen Thread attached behind the sentiment to accent it.

Sneak Peek Alert!  I tried to stick with the current products, but I just had to use these darling new golden bee accents on this card.  They were the perfect size for flying around this field.  They are NOT adhesive backed, so each one was attached with a Mini Gue Dot to hold them in place.

OK, just one more and I quit!

This is another Balmy Blue card base.  I love it with this Queen Anne's Lace design which is another from the Splendid Autumn DSP pack.

The same sentiment as the last two cards was used here.  It's stamped with Mossy Meadow ink this time.  This one also has the loopy Linen Thread tucked under the tag.

And more bees!!  Can you tell I love these little bees?  Not sure if I'd love them as much if they were real and flying around my head.  But these are just right!

Whew!  I see you stuck it out with me right to the end.  I'm impressed with your determination.  As you can see, this is a wonderful Fun Fold and so easy to make.  Just by changing the color of the card base to match whichever DSP print you want to use; you now have a totally new card to share.  And I'm sure these cards will brighten someone's day!

Wow, that took me a good long while to write out and make sure I had all the products listed that were used.  Of course, you can always use something different with your creations, but I like to give you all the information you might need.  Remember, all the dimensions are listed with the first card.  The rest of the ideas are just frosting on the cake.  Or something like that anyway.  Thanks for spending time with me today.  Hope you enjoyed this new Fun Fold technique.  (At least, it's new to me!)  I'd love to hear/see what you make with this idea.  Keep in touch!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

p.s. Just a note to let you all know that my "piles of stuff" as hubby calls it is now pretty much gone.  Yay!  Wonder how long it will take me until those piles are all over the place again?  😉😂

More Winter Meadow Cards

 Hello my friends!  It's good to be back again with more cards finished that had been languishing on the corners of my table and all over my counters.  It's wonderful to see blank counter space showing!  There are just a few more piles I need to finish to feel I've really accomplished my goals.  Today's cards were actually planned as one of the designs for my shut-ins Christmas cards.  After consideration, I was worried that the ladies that are now helping make them would get a little frustrated trying to get the circle layers straight and also attach all those tiny snowflakes.  So instead, I finished the cards myself and also prepped a different batch of cards for the shut-ins here at church.  Yesterday afternoon was a very busy time.  If you want to try your hand at making these cards, it's really not hard if you have some crafting experience and can follow directions.

I totally love the look of a black and white card with a touch of Real Red to make it really pop.  These cards really fit the bill.  The gorgeous watercolor print found in the Winter Meadow Designer Series Paper pack is a perfect starting place for the card.  It's a misty looking forest with one deer peering out of the trees.  It's all in shades of gray but has just enough detail to be really interesting.  This sheet of paper can be cut in half, then cut into three 4" wide pieces to make six cards from one sheet of DSP.  As you can see, I had an extra piece, so I have seven cards.

Each piece of the DSP was trimmed to 4" x 5 1/4".  These pieces are attached to Real Red cardstock that is cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and folded in half.  They're attached with adhesive.  Now on to the good stuff!

I had a whole stack of white circles that were die-cut already but left over from another project.  These were cut from Basic White cardstock using the 2nd largest circle from the Stylish Shapes Dies.  I thought a red frame would look nice and was going to just cut a larger Real Red piece to lay under this.  But that would cover up too much of the DSP print.  Instead, I used both the 2nd and 3rd largest circles together and die-cut a frame that would fit over the white layer.  

It took a bit of hunting to find the sentiment that would fit nicely inside of the circle.  Not finding what I wanted to use in the current stash, I retreated to my retired stamps and found a wonderful sentiment.  It is from the Peaceful Cabin set from several years ago.  I loved that the sentiment really connected the winter scene with the wording.  It was stamped in the center of the large white circle using Real Red ink.  The Real Red frame was attached to the white circle with a small amount of "green glue" to hold in place.  This was all attached to the card front with Dimensionals.  

The last touch to finish my cards was the teensy weensy White Loose Snowflakes that are currently available.  Love these itty-bitty snowflakes!  They are small enough that they don't overpower the design but really enhance it.  I ended up using six snowflakes on my card.  I usually use an odd number for aesthetic reasons, but this card seemed to need six.  They are attached with a dot of "green glue" under each of them.  Wish I had some more micro glue dots which would have been quicker and easier to use, but I'm out at this time.

There is a layer of Basic White inside the card.  It measures 5 1/4" x 4".  Real Red ink was used to stamp the sentiment inside.  The small row of trees in the Peaceful Evergreens stamp set was stamped in the bottom corner with Memento Tuxedo Black ink as an accent.  It was the perfect idea to connect the outside design to the inside of the card.

Whew.  Another batch of cards finished and ready to roll.  I'm getting antsy to create with my new stash of goodies.  I've been doing a really good job sticking with my plan to get my unfinished clutter, I mean cards, under control before I get to play with new stuff.  I've held out for another day.  We'll see how long I can manage.  Or maybe I'll get all those unfinished projects out of the way?  I'll have to check if there's anything for a get-well card in the piles.  I'll be needing a couple soon for friends and acquaintances having upcoming surgeries.

Hope you like these simply lovely cards.  I can't believe how simple it is to make a card when the DSP print does all the work for you.  Easy peasy.  The hardest part was attaching those little snowflakes.  But I think they really make the card special, so the time was really worth it.

Come back for a visit soon to see what other treasures I'm unearthing from my counter clutter.  Should I say how much dear hubby is loving my de-cluttering efforts?  And I'm getting some of those wonderful designs thought out and finished!  It's a win for both of us!! 

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon