... Hi! I'm here with my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. I love making Christmas cards - which is why I make them throughout the year - and it makes things so much less stressful in the coming months. I currently have 56 cards in my stash, and today I'm adding another 2! I really like the new Concord & 9th Christmas release and got a few (several) of the sets, and I'm using them here combined with MFT and Lawn Fawn. Here's the first card:
Stamps: Concord and 9th - Yuletide Ornament, Big On Christmas; MFT - Itty Bitty Holiday
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress & Distress Oxide - Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet
Dies: C&9 - Yuletide Ornament
Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Blushing Bride; Tim Holtz Watercolour Card; Clear Embossing Powder; Imagine Crafts - Sheer Shimmer Frost
I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#29 where they want us to use pink and purple. I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Christmas - HLSXMAS#09 where it's anything goes, with the option of non-traditional.
I started by stamping the bauble on watercolour card with Versafine ink and embossing with clear powder. This helps me as I'm not brilliant with watercolours!! I wet the card with water and some frost shimmer spray and used a brush to drop in some distress inks. The great thing with distress inks is that is loves water. I allowed the colours to flow and blend and, once happy with the design, used a heat gun to dry the inks. I used the matching die to cut out the finished bauble along with two plain white ones which I layered behind the finished ornament. My plan had been to have a very CAS card with only the ornament, but instead I created a festive text background using words from various stamp sets. I used the oxide inks to stamp the words. I adhered the bauble and finished the front with a bold black sentiment across the bauble. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer from pink card and on the white panel I stamped the bauble in pink ink and added a simple greeting in black.
My next card features a background panel that I made using some of the smaller stamps that come in stamp sets:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn - Giant Holiday Messages; C&9 - Yuletide Ornament
Inks: Versamark; Gina K - Applemint, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Ocean Mist, Turquoise Sea, Blue Lagoon; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: C&9 - Yuletide Ornament
Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Costal Cabana; Clear & Gold Embossing Powder; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush
I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#560; they gave us a super sketch to use. I'm also playing along with Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - MLCCB#38 where it's always anything Christmas goes.
I started by stamping the little snowflake stamps from Lawn Fawn's Giant Holiday Messages in Versamark ink. I heat embossed with clear powder. Then the fun part - I added blue and green inks to reveal the snowflake background. I trimmed the panel to 3" x 5½" and adhered it to an A2 notecard. Using my MISTI I stamped the holly sprig three times on white card, removed them and coloured the images with Copic markers. I returned the coloured images to the MISTI and restamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold powder. I used the matching die to cut out the coloured holly sprigs, along with several plain white die cuts. At this point I realised I wanted a gold trim to edge the coloured panel. None of my gold cardstock matched the embossed holly, so I made my own. I rubbed Versamark along the edge of white card, applied gold powder and heat set. I repeated this process for a second time and the end result is a smooth gold panel that matches the gold embossing on the holly. I trimmed it to ½" wide and adhered it to the card. I adhered white die cuts to the back of two of the holly sprigs and adhered them at the top and middle of the card. The other holly sprig I adhered directly to the card. I finished the front with a simple greeting. This was stamped with Versafine black ink, heat embossed, die cut and layered onto three white die cuts. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of aqua card. On the white panel I stamped one of the large greetings, used Copic markers to colour the leaves and open letters, restamped with Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I layered the finished panel onto the aqua mat and added to the note card.
I now have 58 cards in my Christmas stash. I need about 65 for my regular list, so I'm almost done. I'll keep making cards as I do like to have some spare, and I also make special cards for my family.