Papertrey Ink Project inspiration {Have Yourself a Merry Christmas}

Hello and welcome, friends! I'm happy to be popping in today to share this weekend's Papertrey Ink Project Inspiration! It's included in the newsletter and on the Papertrey Ink blog, but I always like to share it here, also! I hope you're having a fabulous weekend! November is really putting on a show here and I'm soaking up all of the last bits of autumn before we transition to Christmas/winter!

 Have you ever created a card you ended up liking so much, you wanted to make it again? That has happened to me a few times but I never actually do it! Ha ha! I decided to put a twist on an old favorite of mine by switching up some of the colors and other details to create something altogether new and fresh! You might remember the original and you can see it HERE. I think it will always remain a favorite of mine!

I used quite a few products from the latest release along with some older favorites to bring this bright and cheery Christmas card to life!

As always, this card comes together in six easy steps, so follow along as we dive into the creative process! I'll also share some helpful tips along the way!

Step 1: Foil an A2 panel of Mint Julep cardstock using the Merry Motifs Hot Foil Plate. Trim it down close to the foiled design and then use a corner rounder punch on the four corners. Blend some Mint Julep and Stormy Sea ink around the edges with blender brushes.

Step 2: Cut the ribbon and bow using the Wrap-it Ribbons Die from Pure Poppy cardstock. Add the same color ink to create dimension. Assemble the bow using liquid glue and foam squares. Attach it to the foiled panel.

Step 3: Heat emboss the “Have Yourself A” portion of the sentiment, using gold powder on Vellum. Wrap it around the foiled panel and secure in the back with clear tape.

Step 4: Die cut the Merry Christmas sentiment, which is from the This is Big Sentiments: XL Merry Christmas Stamp Set three times for each word from Stamper’s Select White cardstock. Stamp one word each with Pure Poppy and Scarlet Jewel ink for an ombré effect. Stack the stamped words on the plain die cuts for a sturdy piece. Attach the sentiment to the card front using foam squares.

Step 5: Cut and color all of the foliage and berries {I used Hang the Lights and Build-a-Bell} using a blender brush and dye ink. Give them all a good spritz of Hickory Smoke Distress Spritz. Once they are dry, arrange them around the sentiment and bow using liquid glue and foam squares. attach the panel to an A2 top-folding white card base.

Step 6: add glitter to the foliage and berries and a trio of sparkling clear sequins.

I used three colors of ink on the holly leaves: Mint Julep, Stormy Sea, and Pinefeather.

I like adding quite a bit of greenery to many of my cards and sometimes it hangs off the edge; I just use a larger envelope to put these types of cards in. I don't like my creativity to be limited to the size of an envelope! haha!

I like to use a blender brush when creating an ombre effect on stamped images like this; I simply tap it where the two colors meet to avoid any harsh lines from the edge of the ink pad. 

I had so much fun creating this card and I hope you've enjoyed today's post! Thanks for fluttering by!

The Greetery {District Twelve25 Collection} Christmas Confectionery

Things are getting sweeter and sweeter around here! I'm thrilled to be here today for week FOUR of the District Twelve25 Collection reveals from The Greetery! This week we are showcasing the darling new Christmas Confectionery suite of products that will make you wish you had a plate of Christmas cookies to snack on....I know I do! haha!

As always, make sure to head to The Greetery Blog for the official "meet and greet" for all of today's featured products! Also, make sure to leave a comment here, and on each of the designers' blogs, for a chance to win one of two product bundles!

My card for today features the new Christmas Confections Stamp+Stencil Combo, the coordinating Die, embossing folder and the cute new Christmas Confections Sentiment Additions Stamp/Die. To begin this card, I used the Christmas Confections Stencil and coordinating stamp set. In hindsight, I think I may have embossed a white panel and then done the stenciling over the top for proper alignment. There are a few areas where I was guessing where the stamped images should go and that didn't turn out well! ha ha! In the end, it didn't matter because I was just using the individual pieces anyway, rather than the entire panel as a card front!

Once I had all of the pieces ready, I set them aside and got to work on the sentiment. I cut the word SWEET and the accent sentiment using the Christmas Confections Sentiment Additions Die and then stamped them with the coordinating stamp set. 

Next, I got to work on the foliage and cutting board. The board is cut using the Char-cut-erie Board Die from Kraft cardstock with Walnut Stain Distress Oxide ink blended around the edges. I cut the board three times and glued them together for a sturdy piece.

Next, I got to work on the greenery; this was accomplished by cutting the Bigger Holiday Botanicals (Holly 1 and 2, Waxflower) from white cardstock and then coloring them with dye inks and blender brushes. I also gave the finished sprigs a spritz or two of Hickory Smoke Distress Spritz. I let them dry and got to work on the background. I cut a 4 3/4 by 6 3/4 inch piece of Pure Poppy cardstock and then embossed it using the Shortbread Shapes: Snowflake Embossing Folder. Once it was embossed, I rubbed Fresh Snow ink over the top to catch the raised portions for contrast. From there, I layered everything onto the background using foam squares and liquid glue! Oh, before I forget; the little bow on the candy cane heart is from the new Market Tote Die.

I had all kinds of bits and pieces left over, so I decided to make a few tags. I cut them using the Crimped Circle Tags Die and then embossed them with the same folder as the background.

I tucked the greenery behind the sentiments and had fun with the peppermints and stenciled/embossed pieces.

This was such a fun project to work on! As always, don't forget to leave a comment here, and on each of the designers' blogs, for a chance to win one of two product bundles! Thanks for fluttering by!

Caly Person

Dana Kirby

Dawn McVey

Kelly Lunceford (you are here)

Laura Bassen

Laurie Willison

Lea Lawson

Melissa Phillips

Wanda Guess