So after a day or two of slightly less oppressive weather, Nova Scotia is back under a heat warning. It’s no wonder I’m thinking ahead to cooler seasons and crafting a few cards for Christmas. While I’ve already seen the Stampin’ Up! 2018 Holiday Catalogue, I’m still waiting for my pre-order to arrive, so I turned to the 2018/2019 Annual Catalogue and the Christmas Pines and Sheet Music Stamp Sets. Add to that the new Blended Seasons Stamp Set and I had everything I needed.
THE STAMP SETS
The Christmas Pines Stamp Set is one that I’m drawn to for both the images and sentiments. It’s a 22 piece see-through photopolymer stamp set designed for easy two-step stamping. You can create two-tone pine boughs with pine cones, there’s a great background image, and a tiny holly image too. Plus, if you’re looking for big, bold sentiments, Christmas Pines is definitely one to consider.
Sheet Music is a large single stamp perfect for creating backgrounds. I’m always drawn to it when any sentiment I’m using reminds me of a song, and that’s what happened today. I’ve been reliably informed that this is a real piece of music from Beethoven’s Für Elise and one that would be familiar to many people. Of course with no words in the image, it’s perfect for adding a musical element to any project.
Finally I chose the holly image from the limited availability Blended Seasons Stamp Set. I wouldn’t need it all, but a small section would add colour to the sentiment.
STAMPARATUS
I wanted the project to be fairly clean and simple, with a layout that could be reused with other images and for other occasions. So the most complicated tool I planned to use was my Stamparatus with the large Sheet Music Stamp.
From all the videos that have been created by stampers you might think that the Stamparatus was designed for fancy two-step stamping, or for creating wreath-type layouts. While that’s true, I have found that the Stamparatus meets another, more basic need for me.
You see I have issues with my thumbs, and at times simply can’t hold the large acrylic blocks needed for background stamps. Using the Stamparatus means that I can mount my background stamp and use it without smudging the image, or worse still, dropping it. Today I simply stamped the image onto a layer of Whisper White Card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
Also using Tuxedo Black Ink I inked up the large ‘Tidings of comfort and joy’ sentiment from Christmas Pines. It has a squiggly element in the corner that I didn’t want so I covered that with sellotape. With the squiggle covered I could then stamp the sentiment onto a piece of Whisper White Card.
Finally on a scrap of Whisper White Card I stamped one end of the holly image from Blended Seasons.
SIMPLE LAYERS
I created a card base using my Stampin’ Trimmer to cut and score a piece of Real Red Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Next the Sheet Music layer was attached to the front of the card base with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). Then more liquid glue was used to add a piece of Gold Glimmer Paper to the centre of the background.
After that came the sentiment, mounted onto a layer of Real Red Card with liquid glue. The layered sentiment was then fixed onto the Glimmer Paper with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
All that was left was the holly image, and using Stampin’ Blends in light and dark Old Olive and light and dark Cherry Cobbler, I coloured in a set of three holly leaves and berries. Once that was done I used Paper Snips to cut out the coloured section, and then added it to the corner of the sentiment with Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.
CHRISTMAS PINES COORDINATION
I always make a point of coordinating the inside of my cards and envelopes in some way so I went back to the Christmas Pines Stamp Set. Taking the small holly image, I used the brush tips of a Real Red and Old Olive Stampin’ Write Marker to colour directly onto the stamp. I breathed on the stamp surface to re-moisten the ink and stamped it onto a layer of Whisper White Card in the centre near the top. The Whisper White layer was then fixed inside the card base with liquid glue.
Finally I stamped the same small holly image in the centre of the flap on a Whisper White Medium Envelope. I was finished before I knew it.
I really like the simplicity of this card and the fussy-cut holly is a nice addition don’t you think?
OTHER CHRISTMAS PINES PROJECTS
The Christmas Pines Stamp Set has been around a while so here’s links to some of my projects from last year:
BLENDED SEASONS – WHILE STOCKS LAST
The Blended Seasons Stamp Set I used today is only available to purchase this month, and only while stocks last. Also only available in August (while stocks last) is a set of coordinating dies called Stitched Seasons Framelits. Buy the stamp set and dies together using a special bundle code and you’ll get a 10% discount. It’s a great deal so although I didn’t use the dies today I’ve included links below in case you’re interested.
Product List
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