My regular blog readers will know that I always make a few ‘thinking of you cards’ at this time of year. I know first hand how hard Christmas can be at times, having lost my son suddenly last year. Seasonal thoughts can be tricky, and not everyone wants to be told to have a “merry Christmas”. Sometimes it’s enough just to say you are thinking of them.

SEASONAL THOUGHTS

I began this project with the sentiment from the Winter Woods Stamp Set. Using Gray Granite ink I simply stamped it onto a piece of Whisper White Card. Then I mounted it onto a piece of Fresh Fig Card using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

I wanted my background to be quite subtle but with a winter feel and I found it in the Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack. One of the designs is a white sheet with tiny random dots and it was perfect for what I needed. I cut a strip of the DSP and then mounted it onto some Fresh Fig Card with liquid glue.

Next I decided to use a piece of the same DSP to decorate the envelope for my project. So using liquid glue I attached the DSP to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. Then I used my Paper Snips to cut the DSP to shape following the edge of the flap.

WINTER TREES

To complete the design I reached for the In The Woods Framelits Dies and cut two of the bare trees from Gray Granite Card.

TIP (HINDSIGHT) – If I’d thought it through I would have attached some Adhesive Sheet to the back of the card first. Then I would have only needed to remove the backing to stick the tree to my project. I’ve added Adhesive Sheet to the product list below in case you’d rather use that option too.

Now I’d chosen my colour palette I decided to use the Gray Granite Card for the card base. So I cut and scored a piece using my Stampin’ Trimmer then folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

On the front of the card base I began by attaching the layered DSP with liquid glue. Then I fixed the layered sentiment on top. Finally with more liquid glue I added one of the die-cut trees.

On the inside of the card base I used liquid glue to add a layer of Whisper White Card. Then a second die-cut tree was fixed in the bottom right corner to complete the project.

I’m really pleased with how this seasonal thoughts project turned out. It’s uncluttered and has a peaceful feeling to it. What do you think?

PRODUCT LIST

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

• Fresh Fig Cardstock
• Tropical Escape Designer Series Paper