It's Christmas Season

Hello!  Hope you're having a great weekend so far.  I thought it was time to give the Christmas Season stamp set a little love.  I don't know why I've been ignoring it lately, but today is the day to change all that.  This set is a carryover from last Christmas and is found on page 44 in the current Annual Catalog.  It has a set of dies that coordinate with the stamps, but I didn't use them on the first card, just the second.  There is also a sentiment set called Christmas to Remember on the next page that works nicely with it.  In fact, it's the sentiment set that I used for both of these cards.  Yes, I have two versions of a simple card that feels like Christmas when I look at them.  Hope you like the ideas.

This is the first card done up in the traditional colors with a very traditional feel to it.  If you like the basic red & green of Christmas, this is for you.  I started with a card base of Crumb Cake cardstock cut to measure 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", then scored and folded in half.  There is a piece of Real Red cardstock cut at 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" to make a skinny frame around the Vanilla layer. There is a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock cut at 3 3/4" x 5" for the outside of the card.  Another piece of Very Vanilla was cut at 5 1/4" x 4" for the inside layer of the card.  

Let's get on to that stamping next.  I mentioned using the Christmas Season set.  The first part stamped was the larger branch of leaves.  It was stamped first up towards the left corner using Garden Green ink. It was stamped again downwards at an angle to the opposite corner with the stems overlapping a bit.  The third time the stamp was not re-inked but stamped pointed directly down.

The next piece to stamp was the pinecone solid stamp using Crumb Cake ink.  It was stamped just about in the middle of the green branches.  The detail pinecone was stamped over this with Soft Suede ink.  The small berry twig was stamped with Early Espresso ink.  Then the berries were added afterwards for placement using Real Red ink.

The pine branch was stamped next using Soft Succulent ink.  These were tucked in around the other stamped elements.  I stamped four with full strength ink, and another 3-4 times with off-stamped ink to give it more dimension.  Lastly, I tucked in some of the dots using Crumb Cake ink to fill out the look.  One last thing I couldn't resist adding was a spattering of Wink of Stella to add a touch of shimmer and glitz to the card.

This Vanilla piece was attached to the Real Red layer using adhesive.  Then it was attached to the folded card base also using adhesive.  Three Real Red Rhinestones were tucked in around the stamped images.

The sentiment is from the Christmas to Remember stamp set.  It's stamped on 3/4" strip of Very Vanilla cardstock using Early Espresso ink.  The ends were finished off with the Lovely Labels Pick A Punch.  Then it was attached to the card front using Dimensionals.  The bow is a sheer Real Red Ribbon that I believe is retired.  It's added with a Mini Glue Dot.

The inside of the card was finished to coordinate with the card front.  The sentiment is from Christmas to Remember and stamped with Early Espresso ink.  The berry stem was stamped with Early Espresso ink and the berries with Real Red ink.  The pine branch was stamped in multiple times using both full strength and off-stamped Soft Succulent ink.  I did add a skinny scrap of Real Red cardstock along the bottom edge to finish.

The second card I did with the same stamps and inks was turned on its side and is a top-fold.  This card version does not have the pinecone added but does have extra berries tucked in and around the design.  On this design, I moved all the stamping to be centered more in the middle of the layer.

This sentiment also comes from the Christmas to Remember set.  This time it's stamped with Real Red ink onto a label from the Seasonal Labels dies.  After die-cutting it out, I used a Sponge Dauber to lightly add a little Garden Green ink to the edges to make it stand out a little more.

I used another retired Real Red ribbon.  This time it's a ruffle-edged ribbon.  A few more of those cute little Real Red Rhinestones were added to this card also.

I didn't take a picture of the inside of the card as it's very closely resembled the first one.  I did use a different sentiment inside, but it's also from the same Christmas to Remember set.

Hope you liked these two versions of the card.  I do love the Real Red and Garden Green colors for a traditional style of Christmas card.  It's fun to get a little more modern sometimes, but I still prefer the old-fashioned basics.  Thanks for stopping by to see what's happening over here.  Let me know which style of card you prefer - modern or traditional?  And how about the card layout - which is better in your opinion?  I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.  😄

If you're placing an order soon, please consider using the current Host Code at the top corner of my blog page.  I really appreciate your orders and will be sending out thank-you cards as usual, in between the Thanksgiving and Christmas cards!  Thank goodness I love making cards!!

Blessings,

Sharon

Peaceful Holly Card

Today I have a bold and bright Christmas card to share with you.  It took me awhile to get it right.   I shared the first version of this with my friend Ruth and my sister Connie.  They both agreed that it was way too busy and really needed help.  Connie and I brainstormed a bit, then I went down to my craft room, tore parts of it off, changed up parts of it and put it back together again.  Both ladies now gave it a thumbs up.  So here it is being shared with you today!

In person, it really is a bold, beautiful card with lots of layering and textures for all of you, like me, who are always 'touching' the cards that come in the mail.  I love the different textures and layers that make a card really stand out as different.

The card starts out with a base of Real Red cardstock that's cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  There is a section of the Painted Christmas 12 x 12 DSP that is cut to 5 1/4" x 4".  This is attached to the folded Real Red card base using MultiPurpose Liquid Glue.

Over this is a section of Real Red cardstock that is 2 1/8" x 4 1/4".  This has two pieces of the 1/4" Gold Shimmer Ribbon wrapped around it and attached on the back.  Then this is attached to the front of the card, just a little lower than center.  To give this area some texture and interest without becoming overpowering, I added a layer of Real Red cut 4" x 1".  Before attaching to the card front, this was embossed with the Tasteful Textiles 3D Embossing Folder.  I think this bit of extra texture really adds so much to the finished look.  If you don't own this embossing folder yet, you need to get one for yourself!  It's such a wonderful basic look that enhances just about any card you might make.

Now on to all the 'fun stuff'!  The sentiment label was cut from Basic White with the Seasonal Labels Dies.  The sentiment was stamped with Real Red ink and is from the Inspired Thoughts stamp set.  A Blending Brush and both Shaded Spruce and Evening Evergreen inks added a little color to the edges.

The holly, berries, and pine needles are all from the Christmas Season stamp set.  The berries were stamped with Real Red, the holly leaves with Shaded Spruce, and the pine needles with Evening Evergreen inks.  Each were die-cut using the coordinating Seasonal Labels dies.  This makes it so easy to add all those wonderful pieces!

All of the stamped and die-cut pieces were added to the card front at this time.  They were either tucked under the sentiment or were attached with Dimensionals over it into a pleasing cluster.  While arranging all the pieces onto the card front, I decided to add 3 of the Gold Holly Leaves.  This brought out the shine of the bands of gold ribbon across the card.

One last picture to show the finished inside of the card.  I had a couple extra holly leaves and one little berry left over.  I couldn't neglect them, so I just had to tuck them in right next to the sentiment.  This sentiment is from the Perfectly Plaid stamp set. I love the font on this Merry Christmas and it seems to be the perfect size to use on so many cards.  For this card, it was stamped with Real Red ink.

As a finishing touch, I had a 1/2" strip of one of the smaller prints from the Painted Christmas Designer Paper.  I thought it was a cute addition to add to the bottom of the Basic White layer and ties all the colors together.

That's it for today.  I know I'm cutting it really close to Christmas for sharing these cards.  But at this point in time, I'm really not making much of anything else.  I'm trying to get all my own cards out in the mail.  Unfortunately, at last count I'm about 15 cards short of my goal.  Guess I need to get back to my craft room and make a few more.  Hope you're farther ahead than I am and have all your Christmas cards out in the mail already.  Oh well, better late than never is going to be my motto this year.  I might even get around to making a cookie batch or two during the Christmas break for the grandsons and they can have some fun helping.  I don't think they'll care too much that the cookies weren't made weeks ago!

Christmas Blessings to you and your family!

Sharon