A Very Elegant Christmas Card

Time to go more traditional with a Christmas card.  Actually this card is inspired by first--a sketch, second--a Christmas Greens centerpiece, and third-- a perusal of my leftover scraps from a past Christmas layout.  I often make cards with the scraps from a layout, which I typically keep together in a small plastic bag in a bin just for that purpose.  

The greens of my centerpiece had me thinking about what dies in my stash I could fashion into a sprig of Christmas greens for a card.  Spellbinders Foliage has a sparse leaf, the Wild Flower set from Quickutz picked up on clearance had a stem that could be made into red berries, and a free set of dies from Sizzix, Susan’s Garden Yarrow had leaves that looked by evergreen boughs.  Checking my flower dies, the Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret could be pressed into service to make passable pinecones.

How To:

1.     Start with an A-6 base card, (9”x 6 ½” folded in half) to match the Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles die set.  I used red card stock and embossed the largest die on the front of the card.  Canford made wonderful light-weight metallic card stock that I still have a small amount in my stash, and this was die-cut with the next dies in the set.  Green cardstock die cut makes the next layer.  From the scrap stash is the My Minds Eye Festive Signature Christmas by Jen Wilson circa 2007 that makes the final layer of the front of the card.

2.     The sentiment is Stampendous circa 1995, and only the Joyous Christmas portion is carefully inked with Zig marker in Antique Burgundy.  It is stamped on Kraft card stock and die cut and embossed with the smallest Spellbinders Fancy Tags die.  I fussy cut around the sentiment to layer it on a Canford gold die cut with the same die.

3.     Die cut a variety of coordinating colors of Spellbinders Foliage and Sizzix Yarrow leaves.  Die cut one Quickutz Wildflower in Kraft and one in red card stock.  (Shown is the first set I die cut, and the second that matches the card base.)  Fussy cut the berries from the red and adhere to the Kraft stem.

4.     I shaped all the pieces a little before I applied Liquid Pearls White Opal and added Martha Stewart Snow loose glitter.  My color cards have the same glitter applied with glue and the glue has yellowed slightly.  I also wanted to have a snowy look even if some of the glitter did not stay adhered to the greens.       

5.     I applied a little GlazOn to add a slight glossy sheen to the berries. 

6.     To make the pinecones I used the Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret die and Open Vintage Floret PreCut set.  I discovered a new way to stamp these lovely little die cuts . . . rather than stamp first and then carefully line up a mask and then die cut the image I now do the following.  Die cut several of the three smallest dies from the set using brown card stock.  Lay the stamps face side up on the acrylic block and carefully line up each die cut.  Once the direction is determined the rest of the same size are laid out in the correct orientation.  Ink up the stamps (I used Tsukinenko Memento Luxe Rich Cocoa) and carefully place the die cut on the stamp with tweezers.  Place a thin acrylic sheet (typically used for positioning stamps) and press down.  Remove the stamped die cut with tweezers.  This method gives me impressive results and is MUCH.LESS.TIME.COSUMING!  Try it you might like it!

7.     To shape the pinecones I pinched the petals together as I glued them into place.  I did not try to place the centers together, but formed more of a tube to achieve a pinecone shape.  A touch of Liquid Pearls White Opal adhered the Martha Stewart Snow glitter. 

8.     No Christmas Green centerpiece or sprig is complete without a metallic bow! I recently received the Zutter Bow-It-All V2 for my birthday (Thank you Mom!) and put it to good use.  It is very easy to use for huge bows all the way down to this miniature one.  There are great tutorials on how to use this tool and make this style bow with five loops.  This is the third bow I have made with the Bow-It-All, so it is super fun and quick!

The little details

9.     For the inside front I die cut a variety of scraps from the MME Signature Christmas and layered them up.  It is fun to play with the Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles die set to achieve different looks.

The inside of the card

10. Spellbinders Label Seventeen was the right size and shape for the full Stampendous sentiment, which is stamped in Distress Ink Fired Brick.  The layered die cut is Spellbinders Decorative Label Eight which has a very similar style to the rest of the die cuts. 

11. Once the inside embellishments are adhered the front of the card can be assembled.  Various thicknesses of dimensional foam adhesive are used to create a realistic layering of the greens.  The dimensional foam also allows the backing layers to stand out a bit more. 

Now it is your turn . . . look through your supplies and make them work for a new purpose!

This card is entered into the following challenges:

Cardabilities Sketch 112

Craft Hoarders Anonymous #21 Christmas Hoard

Scrapbook Stamp Society #55 Use Glitter

Crafting By Designs All Things Christmas    

Sparkle N Sprinkle Creative Challenge Use Loose Glitter

Jellypark Challenges Use Ribbon and bows