May I be the first to wish you seasonal greetings and a happy Christmas for 2018!  I, like many crafters, get very busy in the second half of the year preparing for craft fairs so I plan to spread my Christmas crafting over the next six months in the hope that I’ll manage to avoid the last minute rush that seems to stalk me every year.

I’ve started slowly with two cards so far, and I wanted to show you this one that uses a new stamp set from the Stampin’ Up! 2018/2019 Annual Catalogue along with some pretty new Designer Series Paper.

GOLD ACCENTS

I chose some of the new Shaded Spruce Card for my card base.  I wanted to make this card a little different so I started with the normal 5-1/2″ by 8-1/2″ piece of card and scored it on the long side at 2-1/8″ and 4-1/4″.  Then I folded the card in half before folding the other scored line in the opposite direction.  This creates what’s known as a Z-fold card.

Once I’d sharpened the creases with my Bone Folder, I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach this cute reindeer design paper to the front section of the card base.  Then I added two narrow strips of Gold Foil Sheet.

Next I wiped a layer of Whisper White Card with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static,  Next I stamped the ‘celebrate the season’ sentiment from the Mistletoe Season Stamp Set in the bottom right corner using VersaMark Ink.  I sprinkled the sticky ink with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder, tapped off the excess and removed a few stray specks before melting the rest with my Heat Tool on 2 (high).  Then the completed layer was fixed to the inside of the card base with liquid glue.

FOCAL POINT

The focal point is one of the large mistletoe images, stamped onto Thick Whisper White Card with Shaded Spruce ink.  The mistletoe images have been designed so that the bow images (one outline image and a second solid image) can be stamped in a small gap near the top.  For today’s card I stamped them using Shaded Spruce ink for the outline and Real Red for the solid colour.

Next I took my die-cutting machine and cut out a large oval from Shaded Spruce Card using the #8 plain-edged die from the Layering Ovals Framelits (counting from the smallest up).  Then I cut an Old Olive piece using the #4 oval die from the Stitched Shapes Framelits.

I assembled the pieces using liquid glue to attach the two oval pieces together.  Then with Stampin’ Dimensionals under just the left half I fixed the them to the front of the card.  Finally I cut out the stamped mistletoe image using Paper Snips.  This was fixed onto the layered ovals with more Stampin’ Dimensionals and the card was done.

All that left was to make the Whisper White Medium Envelope coordinate with the card.  I used liquid glue to attach a piece of the reindeer design paper to the flap, and then cut it to shape with Paper Snips.

I think I’m in love with this new green, Shaded Spruce, it’s simply gorgeous and plays beautifully with Old Olive and Real Red don’t you think?

PRODUCT LIST

UPDATED 2020: Sadly the following products have retired and are no longer available from Stampin’ Up!

• Under The Mistletoe Designer Series Paper
• Mistletoe Season Stamp Set
• Embossing Buddy