I’ve been counting down the weeks to Christmas for a while now and it can’t be ignored any longer. Today is November 25^th and the big day is only a month away. I’m not sure how it snuck up on me but I may be officially in panic mode! It’s a good job I designed and made a stash of cards during my recent personal challenge. Today I have a Christmas card featuring squirrels. They aren’t usually associated with Christmas but somehow these particular squirrels just seemed the perfect fit.

INKED EMBOSSING

I didn’t start out thinking about squirrels, in fact I began with the pine tree design from the Wintry 3D Embossing Folders pack. I opened up the embossing folder and felt the inside surfaces to find the smoother side. Then I gently pressed a Garden Green ink pad onto the embossing folder until I had a good even layer of ink.

With that done I placed the open embossing folder onto my Cut & Emboss Machine so the uninked side was flat on the platform. Then I placed a 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Garden Green Card into the open embossing folder and gently closed the inked side on top. Finally I added the 3D embossing folder plate #4 and ran it forwards and backwards through the machine. When I opened it up the ink had transferred from the embossing folder into the embossed design on the card.

TIP: The Cut & Emboss Machine platform and thin adapter plate are printed with the correct ‘sandwich’ for the various cutting and embossing tasks. I always check there when unsure.

As my card was actually larger than the embossing folder I had an uninked section I could use to handle the piece. So I set it aside to dry while I rinsed the remaining ink off the embossing folder under running water.

With the Garden Green ink pad still on my desk I decided to stamp my sentiment next. I chose “Season’s Greetings” from the Brightest Glow Stamp Set and stamped it onto some Thick Very Vanilla Card. Then I cut it out using the long label die from the Labels Aglow Dies set.

TWO SQUIRRELS

It was at this point I began to thinks about the focal image for my card. As I was looking among my stamp sets for inspiration my eyes settled on the Nuts About Squirrels Stamp Set. Squrrels in a pine tree? Of course!

So I started by using Early Espresso ink to stamp the outline of the squirrel holding the acorn onto some Crumb Cake Card. Then I stamped the solid image inside the outline using Cajun Craze ink, before cutting him out using my Paper Snips.

I did think that perhaps the acorn he was holding wasn’t quite right for Christmas. So I pulled out the Painted Christmas 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. On one of the sheets I found some perfectly sized pine cones and I simply cut one out. Then after cutting around my squirrel’s hands I was able to insert the pine cone. All it took was a little Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) on top of the acorn and you’d never know it was there.

For my card base I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Thick Very Vanilla Card. After folding it along the scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Then using liquid glue I attached my embossed Garden Green layer to the front, followed by the sentiment. The squirrel came next, attached using Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I was almost done, but now I wanted the second squirrel from the set.

Using Early Espresso ink I stamped the walking squirrel coming in from the left side on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ layer of Very Vanilla Card. Then I reinked the stamp and stamped him again on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Next, using Cajun Craze ink I stamped the solid image inside the two outlines. Finally using liquid glue I added the Very Vanilla layer to the inside of the card base and my unusual Christmas card was complete.

I have to say I love these squirrels. If you’re a squirrel lover too, check out these earlier blog posts:

• Hoarding like squirrels
• A simple Sunday with Nuts about Squirrels

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Brightest Glow Stamp Set and Labels Aglow Dies using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This saved me 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included both options below in case you want to explore these for yourself.

EARLY WARNING – This time next week the Last Chance Sale will be in full swing and many items from the July to December Mini Catalogue could already be out of stock. During this promotion the Painted Christmas DSP will be on sale at 60% off, but only while stocks last. Also retiring will be the discounted Brightest Glow bundle, although the stamp set and dies will continue to be available at least until the end of the January to April 2023 Mini Catalogue.