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 

Another DSP Christmas Card

Hello friends!  I don't know about you, but at this time of year with so many things to do and my lists getting longer and longer, I'm always on the lookout for ways to make things easier and to conserve my time.  I've run across one of my card layouts that went together very quickly with odds and ends that were clogging up my work area, but I think it's really special.  Tell me what you think of this.

I love everything about the card singly, and when you put them all together, wow!  The card design started with the Winter Meadow DSP that is such a wonderful mix of colors with whimsical prints.  You just can't miss with this DSP.  I had a piece that measured 5 1/4" x 2".  That would make a perfect starting place.

The DSP piece is backed with Lost Lagoon cardstock.  It's cut to measure 5 1/4" x 2 1/4" and they're attached with adhesive.  The card base is also Lost Lagoon cardstock.  It measures 11" x 4 1/4".  It's scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half.

Next a piece of Basic White cardstock was cut to fit the card front.  It measures 5 1/4" x 4".  As you can see, it was embossed with the Snowflake Sky Embossing Folder.  I love the delicate background the embossing gives to this layer.  It's then attached to the Lost Lagoon card base using adhesive. 

When adjusting where I wanted the DSP strip, I realized it could use another strip of cardstock or something to add more contrast to the card.  The slight glimmer in the peacock color of the Three Color Glimmer paper pack would work nicely.  Yes, this is still available in the Online Exclusive section of the Stampin'Up! store.  This is such a pretty accent paper!  You can see the subtle shimmer in the picture.  I had an inch wide strip left over in the package.  It was cut to fit the 5 1/4" length.  Then it was eased behind the DSP layers and attached with "green glue" with only about a half inch showing to the right side.  The layers were then attached to the card base using "green glue" to hold it securely.

The sentiment I chose for this card is from the Greetings of the Season stamp set.  The two words are separate stamps so you can line them up however you prefer.  They are stamped on a Basic White label made with the Thoughtful Expressions dies.  The sentiment is stamped with Pretty Peacock ink.

The four pieces of holly are die-cut from Pretty Peacock cardstock.  They are cut with the holly die in the Hang An Ornament Bundle.  Two holly leaves are attached to the top left area of the label using Mini Glue Dots.  Only the tips of the holly have adhesive on them.  The label is attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  After attaching, I tucked in two more holly leaves on the bottom right of the label.  It seemed like it needed just a bit more contrast.  There is a stem in the Thoughtful Expressions die set that fit nice.  It was die-cut from Lost Lagoon cardstock.  Then it was tucked in with the two holly leaves.

The last addition on the card was the bits of bling.  After trying several different possibilities, I settled on the blue gems from the Tinsel Gems Four Pack.  Three gems are added to the label to look like holly berries.  Another two were added to balance out the design.  When the sun shines on these gems, they look just like they are glowing!  So beautiful!

Another card to add to the finished Christmas card box.  With all the card making I've been doing I find I'm running low on cardstock.  Right now, Stampin'Up! is having their Seasonal Sale going on.  What a perfect time to stock up on all those staples that you'll be needing for your holiday crafting.

This sale will run through Friday 11/15.  If you need a demonstrator, I'd be happy to assist you.  When you order either today or tomorrow, please consider using my Host Code shown at the top of this blog post.  Thank you so much for any order you might place.

From the 2024–2025 Annual Catalog:

• 10% off ink, including pads, refills, markers, and Stampin’ Blends. Ink pad bundles and third-party ink pads are NOT included. 
• 10% off cardstock. Close To My Heart cardstock is NOT included.
• 20% total off all stamp and die bundles and stamp and punch bundles. (Stamp bundles are normally 10% off. With this sale you get an additional 10% off.)
• 20% off all Designer Series Paper  (Annual Catalog only)

Isn't this a super sale to stock up on all your cardstock, ink, stamp bundles, and DSP.  It's like getting a Christmas present early!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon