Yesterday’s blog posed the question of “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Christmas” as a sentiment. But sometimes it’s nice to do something completely different. Christmas To Remember is a sentiment only stamp set that offers some alternative options for cards and other Christmas projects. While most of the sentiments are most definitely for Christmas, there are a couple that could be used at other times. Imagine today’s sentiment on a hockey or other sports-themed card. In fact there’s lots of ‘seasons’ made special by being with friends. Today though I decided to pair it with the Christmas Season Stamp Set for a simple Christmas card.

CHRISTMAS SEASON

This project started with the pine-cone images in the the image only Christmas Season Stamp Set. There are two different sized pine-cones with each one using two stamps to create a two-tone image.

Having selected the two parts of the larger pine-cone I chose Soft Suede and Crumb Cake inks for my colour scheme. Then I cut a 1-7/8″ x 5-1/8″ strip of Kraft Paper and set to work.

TIP – Practice stamping the two parts of the pine-cone image onto scrap paper first. This way you can feel more confident with lining them up on your actual project. That said, the images are quite forgiving if they’re not lined up exactly.

As I was stamping onto coloured card I thought it would be easier to stamp the darkest colour first. So with the slightly smaller of the two large pine-cone images I began to stamp onto the Kraft Paper with Soft Suede ink. Once I’d covered the card strip I was then ready to stamp the second part of the images.

Changing to the slightly larger of the two large pine-cones and Crumb Cake ink, I began to stamp the second image. This more rounded pine-cone filled in the gaps in the first part and completed the pine-cones.

At this point I was very happy and decided to make the pine-cone the coordinating feature for my project.

So using the same stamps and inks I stamped a single pine-cone in the bottom right-corner on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Then I stamped another one in the bottom right corner on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card.

CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER

With the images done I was ready to stamp my sentiment. From the Christmas To Remember Stamp Set I chose “Friends like you make this season special”. Then using Soft Suede ink I stamped it onto a piece of Very Vanilla Card.

To cut out the sentiment I decided to use the Label Me Lovely Punch. This punch is great for larger sentiments and images, and the shape is more interesting than a plain layer.

Finally I was ready to put the project together.

For my card base I opted for Shaded Spruce Card, After cutting and scoring the card using my Paper Trimmer I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the stamped Very Vanilla layer to the inside.

Next I cut a 2″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Poppy Parade Card. I mounted the pine-cone panel onto the strip with liquid glue, then attached it to the card front. This was was followed by the punched sentiment, added using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally I tied a large simple bow using Gold 3/8″ Shimmer Ribbon. Once I’d fixed it at the edge of the sentiment with a Mini Glue Dot, my project was complete.

I love how this card turned out and it’s really not as difficult as it may first appear. The Christmas Season Stamp Set is made from clear photopolymer material so you can look right through the stamp and acrylic block to get the placement just right. As I look at the finished card though, I’m wondering if I can do something with heat embossing? I’ll add it to my list for next time I’m in the mood to experiment and let you know how I get on.

For another project featuring the Christmas To Remember Stamp Set see my blog post Christmas card making in bulk.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Christmas To Remember Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Christmas Pinecone Dies (not used today). Placing my order using the single “bundle” item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. Also available separately or in a discounted bundle are the Christmas Season Stamp Set and Seasonal Labels Dies (these dies were not used today either). I’ve included links to both bundles in case you want to explore these options.