Aloha, all!
I just love the Stampin’ Up! staff’s sense of humor. The stamp set I’m using today is called “Tree Angles,” which is a fun twist on what you might expect for Christmas – Tree Angels. The “angles” part of the set name refers to the triangular shapes of the images that can be used to die-cut Christmas trees for some fun Christmas cards.
All Those Triangles!
Stampin’ Up! has occasionally featured triangles in its catalogs over the years. But this year it introduced a stamp set AND a set of dies that feature nothing but triangles. There are right triangles, isosceles triangles, and equilateral triangles – all of which are “stitched” and can be layered several times! I thought it was a cute idea, but did not buy the bundle or either of its parts.
Then came the Christmas stamp set, Tree Angle. I just love to use geometrical shapes on cards, and I couldn’t resist some triangular shaped trees. So off I went to order the Tree Angle Stamp Set as well as The Right Triangle Bundle, which included the Stitched Triangles Dies. The stamp set for Christmas also includes some fun sentiments that I can use with all kinds of stamp sets!
A Challenge Made Me Do It!
Even though I’ve had this stamp set since early in the life of Stampin’ Up!’s current Mini Catalog, I hadn’t used it until last week. It was then that a small Facebook group to which I belong posted its monthly card challenge. Each month the challenge usually has several parts. To stay in the group you only have to complete one of the challenges. But it’s a “challenge” to try to get two or three into one card. This month one part of the challenge was to make a Christmas card. No problem! But then another part was to make a card using triangles and pink and gray colors. OK, out came the Tree Angle Stamp Set and those stitched dies!
Fun With Unusual Christmas Card Colors
What is it about this card that screams, “Christmas”? Something does. It’s definitely a Christmas card. But those trees would work in a lot of different scenarios. When I first laid the card out, I thought the poinsettias on the one tree would gently pronounce that this was a Christmas card. The sentiment somewhat does that, too.
But oh those snowflakes! Once I added a layer texturized with the Winter Snow Embossing Folder, there was no doubt about this card’s “Christmas-ness.” And once this was done, all the pieces of the card fell into place. Once I added little squares to resemble tree trunks and topped each “tree” with Rhinestones, the design was complete.
Using the Colors
When I’m using only two colors in a card, I like to mix and match the way I used the colors. I want each color to have its day on the card front. But then I like to make sure that I pull the whole design together with at least one element that contains both colors. For this card, there’s the tall isosceles triangle in gray and the small equilateral triangle in pink. Then there’s the large equilateral triangle with the gray diamond-shaped background and the pink stars filling the diamonds to bring both colors together. That took care of that!
The Bottom Line
Get involved in challenges! When I stay in my craft room (which is a lot these days of Covid), I tend to make the same basic type of cards – some layers, some fun folds, a few CASEs now and then. But when there’s a challenge, especially a color challenge, I have to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. When I do that I feel refreshed and ready to try something else different – at least different to me. There are so many artistic styles “out there,” and I’ve just scratched the surface in trying them out. Join me to try something different!
Have a great time crafting this weekend!
