A Thrill of Hope

I'm back today with a pair of cards that are *almost* identical. I had the two "gift/present" die cuts already put together that never got used last year, so I decided to take some time to put them to good use! 

I cut the base and lid of the gifts using a pad of holiday pattern paper using the Perfect Present Die. The bow portion is cut from Antique Gold cardstock from the Cardstock Warehouse. I used liquid glue and foam squares to attach everything. I think I was planning on making a pair of tags last year, but I can't remember for sure.

For both backgrounds, I used a retired stencil from The Greetery. This particular stencil has really precise and delicate pieces, so I used Pixie Spray on the back of the stencil. It can leave sticky residue, but it's easily removed with a quick swipe of an Adhesive Eraser. I definitely needed the eraser for both backgrounds, but it's worth it for the precise lines that are achieved when  using the purple spray on the back of intricate stencils. I trimmed both panels to measure 4 by 5 1/4 inches and rounded the corners on one of the panels.

I layered the stenciled panels onto A2 top-folding card bases using foam squares. I also added the gifts that were ready to go using additional foam squares.

The greenery and foliage is cut mainly using the Into the Blooms: Swag Die but I did pull in a few other pieces I had already made that were laying in my "leftover" pile.

I arranged everything around the gifts using foam squares and liquid glue until I was satisfied with the placement. The sentiment, which is from the Just Sentiments: Heaven and Nature Sing mini stamp set, is heat embossed in gold on Stormy Sea cardstock and then cut using one of the dies included in the Hold That Thought Die.

Now, if the gifts weren't already assembled, I would have threaded the cord for the little tag around the bow, but since they were already glued down, I simply arranged it over the bow as best as I could.

I added glitter and a trio of sparkling clear sequins to finish off the two cards. This was a really fun project to work on and I was thrilled to use those two neglected die cuts. Thanks for fluttering by!