Did you know that there’s only 59 days until December 1st!  So if you’re planning on getting your handmade cards in the mail by then, it’s time to get going.  Sending 30 cards?  You’ll need to make one every other day.  Somehow pulling out my new Merry Christmas to All Stamp Set this morning doesn’t seem so premature after all.

Today I fancied making something with a luxurious feel, but without lots of work.  With the help of the Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) I think I succeeded.

THE BASICS

I began by using my Stampin’ Trimmer to cut a piece from the Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP).

I love the richness of the Merry Merlot background of this DSP with copper foil accents.  So instead of bright Whisper White, I chose the warmer Very Vanilla Thick Card for the card base.

I cut and scored the card with my Stampin’ Trimmer, folded the card along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.  Then I fixed the DSP directly onto the front of the card base with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

I started my stamping with the one of the flourishes from the Merry Christmas To All Stamp Set.  Stamping it first on the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope with Merry Merlot ink.

Then I stamped the same image in the centre near the top of a layer of Very Vanilla Card.  This layer was fixed inside the card base with liquid glue.

For the front of the card I decided to emboss the sentiment using Copper Stampin’ Emboss Powder.

I began by wiping a piece of Thick Very Vanilla Card with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static.  Then I used VersaMark ink to stamp the sentiment.  Next I sprinkled the sticky ink with embossing powder and tapped off the excess.  Finally I removed a few stray specks of powder and melted the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

TIP – If your embossing doesn’t seem to shine or puff up like you expect there could be a few reasons for this.

1. You are over heating the embossing powder while trying to get it to puff up.
2. Not enough embossing powder, this happens if the VersaMark ink pad needs reinking.
3. Not letting the Heat Tool get really hot before pointing it at the embossing powder.  I switch on my Heat Tool while I’m removing stray specks of powder from my image.  Then it’s good and hot when I’m ready to use it.

FINISHING TOUCHES

I finished the sentiment using the corner rounder option on the Detailed Trio Punch to shape the top left and bottom right corners.  This is such a simple detail but really enhances what was rather a boring square.  With that done I attached the sentiment to the background layer on the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally I tied a small double bow using a piece of the 1/8″ copper/Very Vanilla ribbon from the Tea Room Ribbon Combo pack.  This was added to the sentiment layer with a Mini Glue Dot and I was done.

I love how this card turned out.  It’s pretty quick to do but certainly not dull and boring.  What’s more I can get 6 cards from one sheet of the 12″ x 12″ Joyous Noel Specialty DSP too.

If I were to change anything, I’d probably emboss the flourishes instead of stamping them with ink.  What do you think?

You’ll find other projects using the Joyous Noel Specialty Designer Series Paper in these earlier blog posts:

Joyous Noel with copper foil

Use your scraps and stay in control

BUNDLE BONUS – The Merry Christmas To All Stamp Set can be bought by itself, or you can buy it as part of a bundle with the Merry Christmas Thinlits.  Ordering coordinating items using the single bundle item number will save you 10% off the cost of buying them separately.  I’ve included a link to the Merry Christmas To All bundle at the end of the product list in case you’d like to look at this option in more detail.

PRODUCT LIST