In case you weren’t aware, this time next month Christmas will be over. You know even though I’ve been providing you with regular reminders, somehow, once again, Christmas has crept up on me. So now I’m back in that mad rush to get things done in time. I still have cards to make and mail, and other decorative items and gifts to assemble. This weekend I’ll try to plan my shopping so I can buy the bulk of my groceries well ahead of time. Then with that done I’ll spend a few hours in the craft studio enjoying what’s left of the Christmas crafting season.

CHRISTMAS COORDINATION

The inspiration for today’s project came from the “Have a holly jolly Christmas” sentiment in the Christmas To Remember Stamp Set. So I started there, using Evening Evergreen ink to stamp it onto Basic White Card. Then I set that aside while I worked on the other elements of the card.

The key focus of this card was holly so for that I pulled out the Christmas Season Stamp Set. From the set I chose the pair of holly leaves and the image with four berries. On Thick Basic White Card I stamped the leaves three times using Evening Evergreen ink. Then I stamped the berries twice in Real Red ink.

Now it was time to do some die-cutting using the Seasonal Layers Dies.

I began by cutting out the holly and berries images using the coordinating dies from the set. When die-cut the berries stay together as a single piece, however the stamped holly leaves are separated. Once I was done I set everything aside while I worked on my sentiment layers.

As you might expect the Seasonal Layers Dies also has a number of dies designed to cut decorative layers. I chose one that was perfectly sized to fit my sentiment and cut that out. Then I picked out the die that was a little larger and cut some gold card from the Brushed Metallic Cardstock pack.

Now I was ready to start putting the pieces together.

LAYERS OF HOLLY

First, using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored some Evening Evergreen Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

The background would need to be fairly light but I didn’t want just plain card so I went looking for patterned paper instead. I found the perfect piece in the Painted Christmas 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack; holly, berries and pine needles in white on a Soft Sea Foam background. I cut the paper at 3-3/4″ x 5″ along with a 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″ piece of Real Red Card. Then I mounted the paper onto the card with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

Next came the gold metallic layer, followed by the sentiment, both attached to the background with liquid glue.

From my holly and berry pieces I picked out three individual holly leaves and with a little liquid glue fixed them together. Then I glued two more holly leaves together as a separate piece. Next, using Paper Snips I cut one berry off each of the two stamped and die-cut images. By cutting a different berry off each one, I was left with two quite different looking pieces. Then I added one set of three berries to each of the assembled holly leaf pieces. Finally I added the completed holly embellishments to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals so they overlapped the sentiment a little.

Before moving on I decided to give the piece some extra bling with a scattering of Rhinestone Basic Jewels. Once they were firmly in place I attached the completed layers to the card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

TIP – Attach rhinestones and other similar embellishments to a layer before putting Stampin’ Dimensionals on the back. This will make them less likely to fall off later.

FINISHING TOUCHES

While the front of the card was done I still had to decorate the inside and an envelope. I could have used the same holly patterned paper from the background layer but decided to use stamps instead.

So going back to the Christmas Season Stamp Set I took out the berries again. However this time I also picked out the small stalk stamp for a little two-step stamping.

Next I took out a Basic White Medium Envelope. On the envelope flap I used Evening Evergreen ink to stamp the stem image. Then I inked up the berry image with Real Red ink and stamped the berries on the end of the stalk. This was a really simple task as I could look through the acrylic block and see-through photopolymer stamp to get the placement just right.

With the envelope done I cut a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Then I repeated the same two-step stamping process to stamp the berry sprig in the centre at the top of the layer. All I had left to do was use liquid glue to fix the layer inside the card base and my project was complete.

For another card created using the Christmas Season and Christmas To Remember Stamp Sets see my earlier blog post Christmas cards for friends.

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. I’ve included links to both bundles in case you want to explore these options.

BUNDLE DISCOUNTS END SOON – Just a quick heads-up about the Last Chance promotion that starts on December 1st. The Christmas to Remember and Christmas Season Stamp Sets, and their coordinating Christmas Pinecone Dies and Seasonal Labels Dies will not be retiring. However, the two discounted bundles containing these items will only be available until January 3rd.

Due to ongoing global supply issues Stampin’ Up! will be changing it’s policy so that with effect from December 1st orders can only be placed for items actually in stock. I’m not currently seeing these bundles in my low inventory report but that can change without warning. So if you want one or both bundles and want to save, I’d recommend placing your order as soon as possible. For information about this important change to the ordering process see my blog post Harvest Dies make the cut.