Aloha, all!
After a brief break for a birthday card, I was eagerly back to making Christmas Cards, and got so much done as I devoted yesterday to being just a day for crafting. Today is a bit more devoted to domestic chores as I have a neighbor over for a crafting session with some of my new (that is, unused) Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog products. We're having lunch before our crafting, so the house has to be in a bit better order!
Actually for today's project I opened up a stamp set that hadn't seen the light of day until I decided to use it with this layout. As with all of my December 2014 cards, I'll be using layouts from my 2010 eBook. This approach has really helped me focus more quickly on my projects.
All three of the stamps that I used for this project are from the Stampin' Up! Ornamental Pine Stamp Set. I used another stamp from the set, "Christmas Wishes," on the inside of the card. Now that I think of it, I think I may add the pine cone to the inside, too! I love it when I come up with an idea after the card is finished, photographed and posted online! No problem with changes until the card is signed and mailed.
I used three colors along with the Silver Stampin' Dazzle Marker, for this project. For the pine image, I inked up the stamp using Garden Green, and then used an Aqua Painter to remove the green from the branch. Then I used my Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker to color the branch. I planned how I was going to orient the stamped image after I had cut the layer to the right, although I added the stamp before I adhered the right layer.
The ornament was stamped using Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink. I was really surprised and pleased at how well the image in this ornament stamped onto the Very Vanilla paper. I did touch up in few spots using a blender pen with the ink. I just love this image!
The slim layer on the right was just the perfect size for the sentiment from the stamp set. Once again, I stamped the entire image using Garden Green ink, then wiped the ink off the upper case M and colored it again using Cherry Cobbler ink. Once I finished with this, I sponged the edge of the layer using Cherry Cobbler Ink. I think the sponged edge sets this layer off from the rest of the Very Vanilla card.
To tie the ornament together with the pine sprig, I made a "string" bow at one of the branches, and drew a straight line – with a ruler! I do not draw straight lines well at all – all using the Silver Stampin Dazzle Marker. Then I punched a four-petal design using one of the Itty Bitty Punch Pack punches and placed that at the center of the "bow" and added a Cherry Cobbler Candy Dot to the center.
At this point I hadn't decided what I was going to do with the blank area on the slim layer – even leaving it blank was an option! But once I used that Candy Dot on the pine branch, I just felt like adding some to the right. I chose both the Cherry Cobbler and Graden Green Candy Dots as both are in the Regals Collection of Candy Dots. And that finished my card!
I love all the products I used in this project! You can learn more about them and even order them right online by clicking on the product picture below. I hope you have fun with it!
