Pink Poinsettias to Start

 Hello friends!  I'm finally getting around to playing with the Pretty Poinsettia bundle.  I don't know why it took me so long to get to this set, but I finally did make two card yesterday.  I started with one using current items, and the 2nd card has a few changes that use retired products.  Let me know which one you like the most.

This picture gives you a side-by-side look at the two versions.  The upper version is all current items that are available right now.  Let's start with that one.

Start with a Peaceful Pine cardstock piece that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

There's a layer of the beautiful Luxe Foliage Designer Series Paper next.  (This was a September Product of the Month that is still available if you haven't gotten it yet.)  This measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This print is a floral gold foil on Peaceful Pine background.  I figured not enough of the design would show for a floral to be a problem on a Christmas card.  I was just looking for those glints of gold showing through the leaves and around the edges of the design.  The DSP print was attached to the center of the card front with adhesive.

Next a piece of Soft Sea Foam cardstock was cut to measure 5" x 3 3/4".  The leafy border die from the Botanical Expressions set was used to make a diagonal cut on the cardstock.  The edge of the die was about 1" from the bottom edge on the left and about 1/2" on the right edge when cutting to give it that angle. 

The sentiment is from the Pretty Poinsettia stamp set.  It's stamped with Peaceful Pine ink on the bottom right corner. 

The solid edges of the Soft Sea Foam layer were attached to the card front with adhesive.  There is no adhesive on the die-cut area.

Now, for that Pretty Poinsettia.  The 3 largest poinsettia petals were die-cut from Barely Blush cardstock.  Then they were run through the embossing machine again with the Impressions Plate which is a silicone mat.  This gives the petals all that wonderful texture.  The stem and leaves were die-cut from Peaceful Pine cardstock and then run through with the Impressions Plate also.

Before attaching anything, the petals had some White Craft ink brushed over the raised edges to enhance the texture.

The branch of leaves was attached first.  I only used adhesive along the stems, not the leaves so it would be more fluid.  

The largest petal was attached over the leaves using a Dimensional under the center.  The next largest set of petals were attached with a Mini Dimensional.  The last petals were attached with a Mini Glue Dot to hold it well.

The tiny "flowers" were die-cut from Gold Foil Paper.  I cut several to have extra to play with.  One of the larger ones was attached in the center of the poinsettia with a Mini Glue Dot.  Two more were scattered on the design.

A double bow was made from a retired White and Gold Baker's Twine.  It's tucked close to the stem and attached with a rolled Mini Glue Dot.

After this card was finished, I kept thinking it was a little too bland.  I didn't want it to be too bright but just needed a little more color on the poinsettia in my opinion.

For this card, the base and layers were the same.  When I got to the flower, instead of adding white highlights, I dug out a retired Pretty in Pink ink pad and did a little blending on the outer edges of each petal.  It's still a pretty soft pink color, but just a bit darker.

On this design, I also wanted to go a little bolder on the sentiment wording.  Nothing I owned that was current really fit what I wanted here.  So, back to my retired stamps and I dug this one out that has always been a favorite.  I think the boldness balances the card a little better.

I forgot to mention that each of the petals was curved by hand to give the flower more depth before attaching to the card.  I just love how these poinsettias turned out.  These will have to be hand-delivered in my opinion, so they aren't totally crushed by the time the envelope is opened.  But they are so gorgeous, they are definitely worth the effort.

Thanks for stopping by today.  If you haven't heard yet, Stampin'Up! is having a 3-day Flash Sale October 21 - 23.  You can get a 15% discount off selected dies.  This is only while supplies last during this sale.  So check out the availability on some of the dies you are waiting to purchase.  This might be the time to order them.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon