Winter White Snowflakes

Hey there, friends.  Sorry for the delay in getting another post finished.  I've been having a little bit of a struggle lately, but another cardioversion will be done tomorrow.  I truly hope that helps and my aFib gets under control.  It will be nice to have more energy afterwards too.  Please pray for me. 

Today's card features some gorgeous snowflake vellum specialty paper.  Unfortunately, as I sat down to write out this post, I noticed it is totally sold out.  But if you already have some, give this card a try.  It is absolutely gorgeous in person.

Let's start with the snowflake vellum layer.  The vellum was cut to 5 1/8" x 3 7/8". A Basic White layer was cut to match.  Using small amounts of Tombow Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue only behind the snowflake flocking, it was adhered to the Basic White layer.  This is so pretty all by itself with the frosted look of the vellum and the velvet flocking of the snowflakes.  It was layered onto a Thick Basic White cardstock base that is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.  The snowflake layer was added with Dimensionals to hold it up from the card base.

Next was added one of the Wonderful Snowflakes found on page 83 of the July-December Mini Catalog.  It was attached with the iridescent side up on the card front with only one Dimensional right in the center of the snowflake.  To the center of this was added a silver snowflake that I die-cut using the larger snowflake from the Chic Die set.  It was attached to the first snowflake with one tiny Mini Dimensional right in the center of this.

The next step was deciding on a sentiment for the card and how I wanted it on there.  I decided on a sentiment from the Leaves of Holly stamp set.  After trying it with Smoky Slate ink on white cardstock, I decided to go with white embossing on vellum to stay with the white-on-white look.

After embossing, the ends were trimmed with the Banner Pick A Punch to finish.  I left enough room on each end for one the Seasonal Sequins in white, of course.  One of them was also attached to the center of the silver snowflake to finish it off.

There you have it - a truly gorgeous, elegant Christmas card that really wasn't as hard to make as it looks.  If you're looking for a wow factor on some of your special cards, this is it!

Thought you might like to see my sister, Connie's version of this card.  She used a different flocked velvet snowflake paper as you can see.  She didn't add the die-cut silver snowflake like I did.  

She also chose to change the sentiment.  This one comes from the Framed & Festive stamp set that is a limited edition set.  The set is only available until the end of this year or while supplies last.

She did use the same iridescent white sequins for her card like I did.  They were just the perfect touch for the all-white card of hers.

Hope you liked today's card offering.  I'm having a problem sharing ideas because so many items I've used are out of stock right now.  How frustrating!  Maybe I should just pretend that you've got everything I've got so it won't make any difference.  You can always substitute anything similar that you have.  It'll work just fine.

If you're ordering soon, please consider using the Host Code at the top of the blog post.  It's greatly appreciated.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Leaves of Holly Traditional Card

Hello Friends!  Today is such a beautiful day with sunshine and blue skies overhead.  We found a small pumpkin patch to visit this morning.  I was worried the boys are of an age where they might not think it was "cool" to spend time there with family.  But I was so wrong!  We all had a great time.  Of course, there was cold cider and yummy apple cinnamon donuts involved in the festivities.  And we all came home with some unique pumpkins too.  What a lovely day!  But now I need to get back to work.  I had planned another Christmas card for today, so let's think about cold noses and mitten weather instead.

Like I mentioned, today's card is much more of what I'd consider a traditional Christmas card with the red and green colors and poinsettias and holly.  Guess you can't get too much more traditional than that unless you add a Santa also.  And that's not gonna happen today!  So here we are with a Real Red cardstock base that's 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

The green layer is Old Olive that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  I usually tend to let the DSP guide my color choices, but Old Olive wasn't listed.  It did seem to brighten up the colors more than the Mossy Meadow cardstock that was listed did, hence the color change.

The DSP used here is from the Boughs of Holly Designer Series Paper found on page 25 of the July - December Mini Catalog.  I just love all of the prints found in this paper.  So fabulous!  Anyway, the poinsettia print measures 5" x 3 3/4".  Before doing anything else with this, spatter it heavily with Wink of Stella.  This gives it a lovely, goldish-speckled background. After drying for a couple minutes, this is layered onto the Old Olive layer using adhesive.  Then it's attached to the folded card base and set aside until we're ready to put it all together.

Next up is die-cutting the pieces we'll need.  The Holly Berry Dies that coordinate with the Leaves of Holly stamp set is what was used for this card.  The label with the open holly leaves was cut from Distressed Gold Specialty Paper.   The double holly leaves behind this were cut from Old Olive cardstock, along with three of the pine needles.  The holly leaves had some Garden Green ink sponged through the middle of each to darker the centers.  A sentiment from the set was stamped with Cherry Cobbler ink onto a Basic White strip of cardstock.  Then it was die-cut using a label from the die set.

Just a few more steps before putting it together.  The little wood berries are Textural Elements also found on page 25 of the Mini Catalog.  I used Real Red Stampin' Blends to color the berries - the lighter red first and the darker around the edges to shade.  The Old Olive Light Blends was used on the stems to give a little color.  Lastly, Wink of Stella was brushed on the berries to give some shimmer.

Ok, now to get everything layered and on the card.  The double holly leaves were attached behind the open leaves on the label.  Figure out the placement of the label and attach the three pine needles to the card front with adhesive.  Attach the wood berries using Mini Glue Dots behind several of the berries.

 Attach the gold label with Dimensionals to the center of the card placing it over the needles and wood berries.  Attach the sentiment strip to the center of the label.  At first, I used adhesive for this and took the finished pictures.  After looking at the card for a day or two, I peeled off the sentiment.  Then I used Dimensionals for this too.  Much nicer look in my humble opinion.  Finish up the inside of the card as you prefer.  I used sentiments from the Hope & Peace stamp set.

Ok, that's one more Christmas card made and ready to send out.  How many more do I need?  1, 2, 3,......75, 76, 77 and so on.  Better get moving on these soon!  I don't even want to think about how soon Christmas will actually be here!

Thanks for stopping by today to see what's happening here.  I'm always happy to have you stop by.  Why not leave me a comment just to say hi?  It would make my day.  If you're planning to order before the end of the month, please use the Host Code at the top of the blog.  I really do appreciate it!  Some of you lucky ladies will be getting this card in your mailbox so you can make it yourself.  Hope you enjoy!!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon