Christmas Pine Branches Card

Blessings to you this Sunday.  It looks like the rains might have passed on for a while and we're back to sunshine.  I still find it amazing to be standing outside in November with no jacket on just feeding our fish in the pond and enjoying the afternoon.  I can't believe the temperature is 75 degrees!  I have to admit that so many leaves have fallen in the last two days though that I can't even tell where the driveway is!!  How crazy is that?  But the weather today is just gorgeous, and I'm enjoying it.  In fact, it's so enjoyable that I don't want to come inside and get back to work.  But here I am ready to go, so let's get creating!  The card I'm sharing today is one that I made for my Hostess Club ladies to make themselves.  I hope they like it even though the colors are non-traditional.

Here's the card I sent to each of them.  The colors I used are Sweet Sorbet, Soft Succulent, and Basic White.  Sure, it's still a red and green sort of, but oh my, the difference!

To make this card, I started with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Sweet Sorbet cardstock that is scored at 4 1/2" and folded in half.  There are two pieces of Basic White cardstock cut at 5 1/4" x 4" - one each for the inside and outside layers of the card.  The outside layer is embossed with the Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder which is found in the 2022 July - December Mini Catalog on page 23.  This is a carry-over item from last Christmas so you might already have it.  I used the coordinating die for this card a little later on in the process.  

After embossing the white layer, I used a Blending Brush and Soft Succulent ink to go over the embossed areas.  This really makes the images stand out more in my opinion.  Considering the plan for a design I had, the embossed design would have been lost under the other layers.   

I could have stopped at this point, but why not add more to make the card really pop?

Next, I used the thicker Christmas Pinecone Die to cut some Soft Succulent cardstock.  This gave me oodles of pine branches to use for the next layer.  I cut apart the die-cut piece of Soft Succulent into all these separate pieces with only the pinecones on the right left over.  As I was cutting, I was arranging them on the embossed layer to see how it looked.  When I was happy with the look, adhesive was used to attach the cut ends of the pines onto the rectangle center of the card layer. The outer edges remained loose so they stand out from the layer a little.  This layer was attached to the folded Sweet Sorbet card base using Multi Purpose Liquid Glue.

On to the sentiment on the card.  Here is where the Merriest Frames Hybrid Die comes into play.  The stitched layer of Basic White is the die that fits right inside the rectangle that was embossed earlier.  The sentiment comes from the Hope & Peace stamp set found on page 40 of the 2022 July - December Mini Catalog.  (This has turned into my go-to sentiment for Christmas cards.  Both the sentiments for the inside and outside of the card are perfect for me.)  The sentiment was stamped with Sweet Sorbet ink towards the top of the rectangle area.  A skinny layer of Sweet Sorbet cardstock was cut to frame this and make it stand out nicely.  This measures 2 3/16" x 2 15/16".  Of course, you could cut it just a bit bigger if you don't want to play with those tiny numbers.  But if you want a really skinny layer, this is the way to go.  The sentiment was attached to this layer with adhesive.  Then it was attached to the card front using Dimensionals.

I used a retired punch to give me the holly I wanted on the sentiment layer.  They are punched from Evening Evergreen cardstock.  An extra pine branch was tucked on and then the holly leaves were added using adhesive.   Adhesive-backed Sequins were the final touch on my card.  One large sequin was added near the holly and four of the small ones were tucked around in the pine branches.

That's it for today's post. Hope you enjoyed the look of all these elements added into one finished piece.  Like I said earlier, I hope my Hostess Club ladies like this card.  I'm sure happy with how it turned out.  Thank you for taking the time to see what's new.  If you're placing an order soon, please consider using the Host Code at the top of the post.  I'm very grateful for all of you that do use the code.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Merriest Frames Christmas Card

 Ok, I think I'm back again.  Whew, it's really been an ugly three weeks dealing with the flu.  I'm surprised how badly it knocked me off my feet.  Rick and I are still in the recovery mode trying to get back our full energy.  It's amazing how quickly we tire out doing such little things.  But I wanted to take a minute to thank so many of you that have been keeping us in your prayers every day.  It has really made a huge difference in our lives.  We could have been so much more worse off, but instead we're on our road to full recovery.  Thank you for your prayers and thank God for touching us with His healing hand!

Today I want to share a card I had ready to go and I'm just now getting around to it.  The colors are not your everyday red and green, but I love how the colors interact.  It starts out with a base of Thick White cardstock cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", folded in half.  The first layer on the card is Pool Party cut at 5 1/4" x 4".  This was embossed with Timeworn Type 3D Embossing Folder to give it some lovely texture.  It was attached to the card base using MultiPurpose Liquid Glue.

Next layer is Just Jade cardstock.  Love that color!  I used the Merriest Frames Hybrid Die and Embossing Folder.  Doesn't it give just fantastic detail?  To make it stand out even more, I used a Blending Brush and Just Jade ink on the edges of all the die-cut details.  This was also attached to the card front using MultiPurpose Liquid Glue.

The sentiment is stamped on Basic White cardstock that was die-cut from the Merriest Frames Dies to fit right into the embossed frame.  The words are from two stamp sets, Perfectly Plaid and Heartfelt Wishes.  I thought they went together nicely.  Both Just Jade ink and Polished Pink ink were used for this. 

The accent pieces on the card were cut using the Merriest Frames Dies.  The holly leaves were cut from the retired SAB Be Dazzling Specialty Paper.  They were attached under the flowers using Mini Glue Dots. 

The small poinsettias were cut from Basic White cardstock.  The color is added using a Blending Brush and Polished Pink ink.  The flowers underneath on each of them were colored darker than the top flowers.  I love the extra contrast of the colors on the poinsettias.  Each of the poinsettias were added with a Mini Dimenisonal.  

To add the final bit of glitz, I added the smaller Garden Gems to the center of each flower.  The colors of these gems are just a perfect color touch with an iridescent sheen with the pinks and greens.

Ok, I think I remembered to add all the information on this card.   Surprisingly it's only taken about 4 hours total to get this written.  (I had to take a rest in the middle of it 'cuz I got too tired!  Gee Whiz!!)  Anyway, hope this card inspires you to try different color combos for Christmas.  And consider trying the awesome Merriest Frames Hybrid Dies and Embossing Folder combo.  These really do make up some fabulous images.

Thanks for stopping by today to see what's new.  Thank you also for your prayers and caring.  We truly appreciate all the prayers!  Keep checking in.  Hopefully I'll be back soon with another idea for you to try.  

Stay well and keep creating!

Sharon

Christmas Pines Card

 Hello dear friends.  Hope you had a wonderful, meaningful Thanksgiving.  Did you have a turkey with all the trimmings?  We did, and I think I'm still stuffed.  I might only have enough energy today to type up a blog post, and that's about it.  Today's card is a mix of several die-cutting sets.  Seems like I've been doing that a lot lately.  I start out thinking I will focus on this one set today, and next thing I know I'm pulling out other stamps and/or dies to add to the card.  So I guess you just take my ideas and work with them however it works for you!  That's what usually happens with me.  I see something on my computer upstairs.  By the time I get downstairs and start pulling out stamps and paper, I've totally forgotten just what it was I saw and work out something else entirely.  CASE - Copy And Share Everything is a way of life when it comes to stamping.  We all share, and everyone's ideas seem to come together just a little differently.  And that's part of the magic.

Today's card starts out with a base of Cherry Cobbler cardstock cut 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".  This was scored and folded in half.  

The first layer is Basic White cardstock that was embossed with the Merriest Frames Hybrid Embossing Folder.   This layer had actually been embossed over a week ago.  I had already used the Blending Brushes with Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen inks to softly color the embossed images.  And I tried to do something with this off and on for the past week with absolutely no success.  How frustrating!  But today my creative muse must have been sitting on my shoulder because the ideas just flowed and here we are!

The coordinating dies have a stitched rectangle that fits inside the embossed frame with some extra room. I die-cut it in Basic White for the sentiment.  Then cut a very thin frame around it with Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  I wanted a specific sentiment for this card, and unfortunately the sentiment is from a retired set - Peaceful Boughs.  I love the wording and use it for my cards each Christmas.  So it was stamped on the white using Cherry Cobbler ink.  Using adhesive, it was attached to the Cherry Cobbler cardstock then set aside until needed.

In the picture here, you can easily see the soft color on the embossed images.  So pretty as is, but I wanted more.

Ok, the next step is where things get a little off the wall.  I wanted to add some greenery under the sentiment layers, but wasn't sure what I wanted to use.  I ended up die-cutting some of the pine needles from Evening Evergreen cardstock with the Christmas Pinecone Dies - the more detailed one.  (2nd die set)  It was too much greenery and covered up the embossed layer, so I cut it apart and attached just sprigs of pine needles behind each corner of the sentiment.  When I added more along the sides, it got overpowering.  So those came off to be used at a later date.  The Christmas Trimmings Dies have some small holly leaves that I die-cut from Soft Succulent cardstock and tried those.  (3rd die set!)  Yay!  Looks like I had a winner!

After attaching the pine needles to the Cherry Cobbler layer, I attached the whole layer to the card front with Dimensionals.  So far it was looking good.  The holly leaves were tucked around the design and attached with a Mini Glue Dot each.

I wanted a bow under the sentiment.  Both the Evening Evergreen and Soft Succulent 3/8" Open Weave Ribbon would work, but I liked the softness of the Soft Succulent color best.  The ribbon was tied into a bow and attached with two Mini Glue Dots.

Now we come to the options of bling or no bling.  And if yes on the bling, which one?  I almost left it plain, but it seems I'm turning into a bling-aholic!!  Oh No!  So after trying several options, I settled on the Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels in the Cherry Cobbler tone.  I couldn't stop at my usual three and ended up tucking in five around the design.

Whew, one stamp set, but three different sets of dies to complete this card.  But I love how it turned out!  So it's all worth it, right?  Now I need to get down to my work table and get everything put away again so I can find the top of my table.  What a mess!

Hope you like my card and got a chuckle from my foibles with making it.  I'm sure your card making efforts go much more smoothly than mine.  By the way, my son's down visiting from Michigan and today is his birthday.  Happy Birthday Michael!!!  Man, is he ever getting old!  😏  Oops, I guess that means I'm getting even older!!  ha ha

Hope you're having fun going crazy with all the Black Friday sales.  I'm happy to be tucked in here at home and spending my time creating.

Blessings and love,

Sharon