Snowy Delights Card

Hello friends.  I didn't get a chance to share this idea with you before because of IT issues, but I'd love to hear what you think about making this type of card into a winter birthday or thinking of you card.  It's basically snowflakes so it's not a Christmas card per se.  Please tell me what you think. 

I love the crisp navy and white look with just the large snowflake.  It's quick and easy to do, but I think it looks stunning.

Start with a Basic White Thick piece of cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This card will be made using the Snowy Delights dies only.  It will have the snowflake outline die-cut from it.  I didn't use the largest outline die, but the one that more closely follows the contours of the larger snowflake.   

Using the segment that you just cut out, center the large snowflake die on this and cut again.  Don't throw out the excess you just cut from around the snowflake.  I've got plans for that too.

Ok, let's do some stamping and layering to put this card together.

On the Thick Basic White cardstock piece, stamp the sentiment.  I used this one from the Peace on Earth set along with Night of Navy ink.  I thought it looked lovely along the bottom area.

Next this white layer is attached to a Night of Navy layer.  This measures 5 3/8" x 4 1/8".  This will give you a tiny navy edge that is so elegant surrounding all that white.  And don't you love the navy showing off that snowflake cut-out?  I used "green glue" for this step, so I had a little wiggle time to get it nice and straight.  

These two layers were then attached to a Basic White card base.  It was attached with the "green glue" also.

Now to get that lovely snowflake attached to the center of the navy snowflake.  I used some Mini Dimensionals that had been cut in half.  When you look closely at the snowflake, you see in the outer star at the "V's" there is no light showing through.  This is where I placed the Dimensional half pieces so they wouldn't show through.  Another half Mini Dimensional was also placed under the circle of each snowflake arm where the glitter dot was placed later.  That half of the Mini Dimensional fit there perfectly.  This is just enough to hold the snowflake in place on the card.  (Make sure you carefully put this in an envelope so none of the little details get messed up.)

The final touch on this elegant card was adding just a touch of bling to draw the eye around the design.  the cute little pale blue sequins are from the Traditional Sparkling Sequins found in the Sept - December Mini Catalog.  I debated about using the clear Basic Rhinestones for the bling, but I think the light blue sequins enhance the frosty appearance.

In case it's bothering you, at this point I need to mention that I did go back and pop those last three holes in the die-cut.  Yes, the picture is driving me crazy, but the card has already been long-gone in the mail so I can't take new pictures!  

Now, I need your honest opinion.  I was considering sending some of these style of cards to the shut-ins in January.  I'd change up the sentiment to something like - a warm hello.  Yes or no???  What do you think?  I need some opinions here.

Now remember that extra piece that was die-cut from between the outline of the snowflake and the detail of it?  Well, just keep reading and you'll see what I did with it.  

I thought the piece was just too interesting to throw out and I needed to do something with it.  

The card base is Lost Lagoon cardstock.  It has a snowflake cluster from the Snowy Delights set stamped in each corner with Lost Lagoon ink.  This gives just a bit of subtle interest to the card background.

The Thick Basic White snowflake left over piece was attached to the card front with "green glue".  I was going to use the same snowflake die to cut a sparkly snowflake but decided to use the smaller one instead.  This way I still have two completely different looks on the card that complement each other.  I used the Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper in the soft greenish color for this design. 

The sentiment and oval die are both from the Snowy Delights bundle.  The sentiment was stamped with Lost Lagoon ink to match the design.  It's popped on the card front with some Dimensionals. 

The little snowflake embellishment on the sentiment label is just the tiny center piece from the large snowflake.  Isn't it perfect here?

The only extra bling on this card is a pretty retired white "ribboned" gem that seemed to be just the right one.

That's it for today's card idea.  Yes, I know you've already got you cards all finished and sent out.  But I thought these ideas were too good to ignore.  Just because I couldn't share any ideas with you for two weeks doesn't mean I didn't have any ideas that I wanted to share.  Again, I wish to make a sincere apology for not making any posts throughout the month because of my IT issues.  This whole teaching an old dog new tricks is really hard on me.  Thank goodness my hubby is better at finagling things than I am, or I'd be totally lost!

Merry Christmas!  and have some fun stamping and creating,

Sharon

A Child is Born

Now that the weather is officially more autumn than summer, I can really get into creating Christmas cards.  I just struggle making Christmas cards when the weather is touching 70 degrees or higher.  It has to be at least chilly to get in the mood.  But I've been going through my stamps and singing Christmas carols as I've been working today.  Yup, I'm finally in the mood for Christmas!  I figured I'd be smart and get a head start on the cards needed for mailing to the shut-ins from church for the month of December.  I hate doing all the same cards, so I usually make them in lots of 8 or so cards.  Today I had fun planning out one of the designs and getting everything cut for them.  The stamp set I chose to use is A Child is Born.  It's found in the September - December Mini Catalog and is a stand-alone stamp set.  I wish it had dies to coordinate, but we'll work around that.  Thought you'd like to see the finished card.

Seems like I do at least one card that falls in the blue and white category every year.  I usually stick more with Night of Navy or Misty Moonlight blues.  This time, I went bolder and brighter with Blueberry Bushel.  I just love the finished look of this card idea!  It all started with the idea of using the Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper and just went on from there.  What do you think?  Shall we get started?

Like I said, the card base is Blueberry Bushel that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".  It's scored at 4 1/4" and folded in half.

The layer is Basic White cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This is embossed with the Peaceful Greenery 3D Embossing Folder.  I love all the detail that keeps all that white layer from being boring.  So pretty!  This layer is attached to the folded card base using Tombow Liquid Glue (green glue).

TIP:  If you're running into a problem with the detail not showing up great, I add an extra layer of cardstock when I'm embossing.  Basically, embossing two at a time.  This gave me much greater detail.  Might want to think about trying that.

The dies for the Peace on Earth set have two label dies that fit into the recessed area of the embossed design.  I used the larger of the two to die-cut the blue Peaceful Garden Glimmer Paper.  This is so beautiful.  I really hated to cover it up.

So, instead of using the smaller matching die and having almost no blue glitter show at all, I looked through my all my label dies to see what I could use.  The 2nd largest circle die in the Stylish Shapes die set fit nicely for my idea, and I liked the stitched edging.

Then I chose the Layering Circle Dies with the scalloped edge to frame the image.  This is the 2nd largest size also.  It's cut from the Blueberry Bushel cardstock to match.

On the white circle die-cut, first the manger from the A Child is Born set was stamped with Night of Navy ink.  I wanted this to be a little darker than the rest of the stamping.  Above this, one of the sentiments from the same set is stamped with Blueberry Bushel ink.

A Wink of Stella brush was used to add a soft glimmer to the straw area.  I added a tiny bit of extra ink to darken the indentation of the straw.  These two things make the manger stand out a little more.

The white circle was attached to the scalloped circle using adhesive. Then these two layers were centered onto the glimmer paper and attached with Dimensionals to raise it up.

I used the Basic Rhinestone Jewels for the bling on the design.  I tried coloring with Blueberry Bushel Blends, but they weren't dark enough.  I added the dark Night of Navy over this and liked the nice dark look.  Three of these gems were added to the design and it was finished.

I think the design turned out great. It certainly isn't what I first had in mind when I set out to make a Christmas card. But I am really happy with this idea. Hope you like it too and if you have some of these materials, give it a try. And don't be afraid to put your own twist on it and come up with a card that your family or friends will treasure. Plus, it reminds every one of the true meaning of the season! 

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Quick and Elegant Christmas Card

Hello stamping friends!  I'm going to be skipping around on the seasons from now on.  There's just so many Autumn and Christmas ideas I want to share with you.  Today's card features the new Peace on Earth stamp and dies bundle.  From the name I would have expected a Christmas themed set, but not so much.  There are sentiments that work for caring about you and lovely sympathy words.  But... that doesn't mean we can't make it into a very elegant card that is right up my alley when it comes to Christmas cards.  I don't usually do too much of the cutesy genre for my own cards.  This one would be perfect for my style.  Maybe it will work for you too.

Isn't this perfectly lovely?  Using Cloud Cover and Basic White makes for a calm and peaceful looking card to start.  The Cloud Cover measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is scored and folded in half.  

The Basic White layer measures 5 1/4" x 4".  This is embossed with the new Peaceful Greenery Embossing Folder.  Isn't this a beautiful design? The embossing folder leaves a plain open area in the center that perfectly fits the layer dies in the Peace on Earth Bundle.  After embossing it was layered onto the folded card base and attached with "green glue".

The larger label die was used to cut a Cloud Cover piece.  The smaller label die cut a piece of Basic White cardstock.  

On the white piece, the Peace on Earth sentiment was stamped in the center.  Secret Sea was used for this for a darker accent.

The two labels were attached together with "green glue".  Then they were centered in the open area on the white embossed piece and attached with "green glue".

Next the dove was die-cut from Basic White cardstock.  There are two different doves in the set and either one would work for the card.  Using the other dove, you would need to add it to the right side instead.

I was having trouble deciding if I wanted to use the "olive branch" or the "good news note".  So of course, I made two cards so I could have one of each.  The "olive branch" was die-cut from Lost Lagoon cardstock to keep with the soft, muted theme of the card.  The dove was added to the card with Dimensionals.  The "olive branch" was attached with a rolled Mini Glue Dot behind it and tucked under the dove.

To stay with my simple and elegant theme, the Rhinestone Basic Jewels were used.  I debated about added color with either the Cloud Cover or Secret Sea Blending Brushes but decided to keep them a clear silver.

Did you get a good look at the detail on the dove?  Isn't it great?  Next time I'm thinking about adding just a touch of Cloud Cover ink to the detail of the die before cutting.  Not sure if it would work, but if it does... wowza!

Exactly the same on everything except the little note that is die-cut from Cloud Cover cardstock.  It's tucked under the beak and has a Mini Dimensional to hold it in place.

What do you think?  Elegant?  check  Quick and easy?  check

Want to give it a try?  You'll need the Peace on Earth stamp and die bundle and the Peaceful Greenery Embossing Folder.  That's all you need then get to work.  I think this would be lovely with Misty Moonlight for the accent color or maybe a green?  Try it out and tell me what you used!

Hope you're enjoying perusing the new Mini Catalog.  Don't forget to check out all the new Online Exclusive items too!  There's just so much to choose and so little time to stamp!  I'd better get back to it.  Thanks for stopping by.  Leave a comment and tell me what you think of this card idea.  I'd love to hear your feedback.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon