Merry Monday #259 "Wishing you Peace, Love & Joy"

It's good to be back today sharing another Christmas card for this week's Merry Monday Challenge! I'm getting so excited to use all of the these holiday cards I've been making! 

Deanne has asked us to add a Christmas tree to our cards this week! Seems simple enough, right? Today's card is my THIRD attempt at creating something for this challenge. I decided to go for a "Boutique Chic" look and I really like how it turned out, despite all of my previous failed attempts at anything decent.  You can check out the rules and details for this challenge HERE as well as see what the other designers have come up with. I hope you get a chance to play along!

To begin, I stamped the tree and stand images using Versamark ink onto a piece of Pure Poppy cardstock and then heat embossed it using gold powder. I've had the Tree Trimming Trio stamp set for years, but I don't think I have EVER used this particular image. I was glad to put it to good use. I like how striking it looks all in gold.

I stamped a few of the included "ornament" images onto a scrap of Stamper's Select White Cardstock using Pure Poppy ink and then punched them out with a small circle punch. I added them to the tree image using foam squares for some added dimension. I also added some Wink of Stella on the top of each one as well as some Nuvo Glaze for some realistic shine. The finishing touch to the tree is a handful of gold sequins glued to the centers of a few of the gold circles making up the tree. I just love how it looks...simple, but special.

I thought the tree looked naked without a star on the top, so I cut a star shape from the center of one of the Fancy Flakes Dies using glitter paper. I attached it to the top using a foam square for some dimension.  

The sentiment, which is also included in the Tree Trimming Trio set, is heat embossed in gold as well onto vellum and then wrapped around the card. I didn't want anything to hide the base of the tree, so vellum was the perfect finishing touch.

Merry Monday #257 {Love from our House to Yours}

It's Monday and that means it is time for a new Merry Monday Challenge! I am so excited to be getting a head start on all of my holiday cards! 

                                               
This week, Sue has challenged us to add a decorated tag to our cards using texture, bling, and die cuts! Sounds fun, right? It is! You can find out about all of the details HERE and see how the rest of the team incorporated tags into their designs!

To begin, I die cut a postage looking piece using the "Post and Parcel" kit from Papertrey Ink. It has been discontinued, but it is one of my favorites! I sponged some Peacock Feathers distress ink onto the die cut and then layered it with different die cut pieces from the kit. I just love the vintage vibe, especially the bird pulling the bow!

After all of my bits and pieces were attached, I tied some red ribbon onto the tag and then a bow of True Black Baker's Twine and a red jingle bell. I usually buy a few packs of all of the jingle bells at the Dollar Tree as soon as they come out. I am sure it will happen any minute now! LOL!

The tag is attached to a piece of red card stock using foam squares and then adhered to the dry embossed piece. 

The finishing touch is a few drops of "Duck Egg Blue" Nuvo drops here and there for some added detail. I also added some Nuvo glaze to the ornaments in the arrangement on the mailbox. Thanks for fluttering by!

Merry Monday #255 {Joy to the World}

 Hello and welcome to a NEW Merry Monday challenge!! I am so excited to have been asked to be a part of this amazing Design Team! I was feeling really sad when "The Challenge" ended and I am so glad for this opportunity and you ALL know how much I LOVE Christmas!! I really hope you get a chance to play along! Nothing says "Happy Labor Day" like sharing a Holiday Design! LOL!
                   
You can read all about it HERE! I just love this inspiration photo and as much as I wanted to take an absolute literal approach, I resisted so I could challenge myself as well as try some new ideas! As soon as I knew what the challenge would include, I  searched online stores for a  "JOY" stamp set because I wanted something new. There are a TON of fabulous sets out there, but I ultimately decided on Concord and 9th's JOY stamp set and coordinating die. I really like the style as well as the many possibilities that it holds. 

 During the design process, I also decided to use Fair Isle Motifs to enhance the word JOY and the Spruce and Sprigs stamp set as well as the coordinating DIES. It's a potpourri of products, but I love how they all work together!

To begin, I die cut 5 of the JOY words from Kraft cardstock so that I could stack them up for a nice focal point. 

 Once they were all cut, I placed one of the words BACK into the negative space in my MISTI. I placed the fair isle image that I wanted directly onto the center of the "O" so I would have proper placement. Now, you might be wondering why I didn't just stamp it first and then die cut it? Well, I knew that I was going to be doing some heat embossing and I didn't want to run the embossed piece through my Cuttlebug. I didn't want to run the risk of smashing the raised detail or tarnishing the shine. So...I stamped it like this and then sprinkled gold embossing powder over each piece and used tweezers to heat them so I didn't burn my fingers or smudge the intricate design.

Once that was done, I was able to glue all 5 of each letter on top of each other using Tombow Mono Multi for a strong bond. While those were drying, I created a die cut circle piece as a base for the die cut JOY. I stamped the same image as I did for the letters and heat embossed it using gold as well. Once that was done, it was very easy to line up the letters over the top for perfect alignment. Even though the letters are so thick, I also popped them up using foam squares for even more dimension. I just love how they look floating above the circle. The inspiration piece used a snowflake in the center, but I thought this fair isle pattern was a perfect alternative!

 I like the wood of the sign on the inspiration piece as well, so I thought a wood background would be nice as well. I used the Wood Grain Impression Plate on a piece of green paper for some nice texture. I cut it into two pieces and adhered it to a base of white flecked paper. It is super old from SU! and I can't remember what it is called...rustic something or other, maybe? It is my last piece and I am sad. I also used this same paper for the circle detail. The "to the world" sentiment is gold embossed onto a strip of the same green paper and then glued over the top of "JOY".

 The gold embossed lined strip uses another image from the "JOY" stamp set and I adhered that to the card in between the two green pieces, but I popped it up. I can see lots of possibilities with those lines. I almost left the card just as it was, without the sprigs of greenery. It felt done with the design in a CAS way, but felt it needed something else.

I added a few sprigs of greenery as well for a festive touch. Each of the pieces were spritzed with just a hint of shimmer spray and then some Wink of Stella on the holly leaves. The trio of berries got a nice coating of Nuvo Crystal Glaze for some added shine. I arranged them in a little cluster and then added them to the card front using foam squares. Of course, I just HAD to add some Bright Gold Nuvo Drops for some fun detail! I had so much fun with this challenge and I hope you will all find some time to play and get a head start on your holiday cards! Thanks for fluttering by!