All is Calm, All is Bright

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season so far! I'm behind, but that's okay.....the true spirit of Christmas burns deep and bright in my heart despite not having all of the secular things in place! I wanted to pop by to share this card that was featured in the Papertrey Ink Newsletter this week for this Project Inspiration feature.

This card was made up almost entirely from leftover pieces from a few different projects over the last few months. If you stop by regularly, you might notice which card projects they may have been leftover from! ha ha!

 I will share step-by-step photos and extra details on how I created this card.

The background wasn't leftover, so I got to work creating a stenciled background using the Seeing Stars Stencil Collection with Blueberry Sky and Spring Rain ink.

I added some ink splatters for extra detail, depth, and contrast.

I added Blueberry Sky ink around the edges and cut the harsh lines off by trimming the panel to 4 by 5 1/4 inches.

The poinsettia was leftover from the second card features in THIS post. You might remember the frame of the Stained Glass Window came from THIS card. I did inlaid die cutting for the first card, but was left with this beautiful watercolor frame! I actually had two, which you can see in the finished card. I had a few snowflakes leftover and they are die cut from the Border Bling: Snow Flakes Die. These are my go-to snowflakes when I need different shapes and sizes to use as fillers on cards!

I layered the stenciled panel on a top-folding A2 Dark Indigo card base and then glued the window frames over the top. Please note, I did cut four extra frames from white cardstock and then glued each window with stack of three; the watercolor piece and two white frames. I wanted dimension and it would be almost impossible to use foam tape or squares on those tiny lines.

I placed the poinsettia over the top using foam squares, added the snowflakes and gave it a good spritz of Shimmer Spray. The sentiment, which is from the Deerest Blessings stamp set, is heat embossed in silver on a strip of Dark Indigo cardstock and added using strategically placed foam squares on the poinsettia. I added glitter as well!

I was so thrilled to finally put those leftover pieces to good use!

I hope you have a blessed day and thanks for fluttering by!

 

The Greetery {Nordic Noel}

I’m so excited to be here today sharing a pair of cards Christmas cards featuring an unexpected color combination! They use bits and pieces from a few different collections, but I think they work really nicely together! It’s that time of year when I just want to have all of my Christmas products close at hand so I can mix and match to my heart's content!

To begin this pair, I die cut a panel of white cardstock and a panel of Cameo Coral cardstock using the A2 Stitched Scallops Die. I was so thrilled to discover that the large frame stamp included in the Bookish Holiday Frames Stamp Set fits perfectly inside the scallops! I used Cameo Coral ink on the coral panel and Stampabilities Metallic Gold ink on the white panel. I set those aside and started getting all of the accents created!

The Noel card is simple and elegant and would be perfect to mass-produce for sending out this holiday season. I die cut the main foliage piece from Antique Gold and the snowflake/flowers are die cut from Scarlet Jewel ink. I added sequins, gems, and pearls to each of the flowers and then adhered them to the stem using foam squares for the larger pieces and liquid glue for the smaller pieces.

I layered it in the middle of the frame using additional foam squares for added dimension. I stamped the Noel sentiment in black, which is from the Winter Crest Stamp + Stencil. I used the coordinating die to cut it out and then positioned it near the bottom of the panel using mini foam squares. The entire panel is added to an A2 panel of Antique Gold cardstock and then that is glued to a top-folding A2 card base using liquid glue. I had someone ask me about this particular gold cardstock and I feel bad, but for some reason I can't reply to comments anymore! Anyway, I hope you are reading this post because HERE is the link. I get the 105 lb weight in the 8 1/2 by 11 size. It is such a beautiful cardstock and that heavier weight is simply divine!

To begin the coral card, I stamped the “Greetings” portion of the sentiment, which is from the Scripted Holiday Sentiments Stamp Set, with black ink. I also stamped the “Christmas” portion on a scrap of white cardstock, stamped it in black, and then cut it out using the coordinating Scripted Holiday Sentiments Die. I used mini foam squares to pop it up just above the other sentiment at an angle.

I used the Nordic Birds Die to create the little bird; the body is Pure Poppy cardstock with some Scarlet Jewel ink around the edges with an Antique Gold wing. I die cut two sets of foliage using the Ornamental Tag Die from Antique Gold cardstock. I added a few sequins from the Crystal Sequins Mix,  pearls, and adhesive gems to the sprigs that include a little “bud”. I glued them together and then added one of the snowflake flowers included in the Frost Buds Die using a foam square for dimension.

I created two *almost* identical clusters for each of the corners of the coral card. I tucked the bird off to the side, gussied it up with some holly and gems and finished it off like the Noel card. I did add a few white snowflake/flowers here and there to add a bit of contrast.  I plan on spritzing each one with Shimmer Spray….I generally don’t like to do this before I take photos because it shows up on the finished photo in a distracting way. It looks great in real life, though! Ha ha! Does that make any sense? I sure hope so! Anyway, I had so much fun creating this pair of Christmas cards and I’m not sure when, if ever, I’m going to be able to put the new Icicles Collection away! Thanks for fluttering by!