Hi, crafty friends. We only have about a month left until Christmas, and today’s card would be great to mass produce if that’s your jam. I always create one offs, but multiples of this one would be fast and easy to do.
This all started with patterned paper from Maja Design and the Sleigh full of cheer dies from Concord & 9th. Die cutting presents like this is a great way to use scraps. I used the Christmas Nostalgia collection for this. I’m a sucker for anything blue, so I wanted a dark-ish blue at the bottom, a lighter blue at the top and a contrast in the center. You could do this with any color, even plain cardstock. There are actually some images in the coordinating stamp set that will allow you to add patterns to your die cuts using just ink, but I opted for the patterned paper version here. I die cut the bow, the ribbon for the presents and the sleigh using champagne foil cardstock from Concord & 9th and added those for a touch of shine. The sleigh itself is a few layers thick to make it stand out against the background, and I did some ink blending on the seat using Wheat ink to make it stand out even more, as I have the same cardstock color for the seat as my background.
Speaking of backgrounds – I used one of the stencils in the Splatter Textures stencil set from Kristina Werner on a panel of Wheat cardstock from Concord & 9th. I added Altenew embossing paste through the openings and sprinkled on rock candy distress glitter while the paste was still wet. It’s important to clean your stencils quickly when using paste, or you’ll have a really hard time making it come off. Nobody wants to clean, but when dealing with pastes, you need to. I stamped my sentiment from the Joyful and merry stamp set from Kristina Werner using Wheat ink on Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used the coordinating die set to cut out my merry, and added another three die cuts on the back for dimension. I cut down everything to a nice strip, added another strip on the back for strength and adhered the sentiment to the largest present to finish the card.
The Yuletide Lane bundle caught my eyes as soon as I saw it. It’s easy to create a big row of houses with the die set, but I opted for a simple shaped card for this one. If you love putting together die cuts, this is the set for you. I cut two houses from Ballet Slipper cardstock. Onto one of them, I stamped one of the stamps in the coordinating stamp set using Ballet Slipper ink for a tone on tone look. this particular stamp is very forgiving. It’s just two lines spaced about half an inch apart, but they’re not completely parallel or straight, which means you don’t need to be too precise when stamping. I glued the two houses together on one flap and cut the other flap off, leaving a standard side fold card base.
Time for the bells and whistles. This die set is packed full of so much stuff you can add, there’s really no limit to what you can do. I chose a fun color combo of Cranberry, Midnight, Artichoke, Pistachio and Sea Glass to match the Ballet Slipper nicely. I doubled up the die cuts on nearly everything, even adding white glitter cardstock from Kort & Godt for the snow. On the door, I stamped the coordinating door stamp in Midnight ink, I popped up the letters, added a thick layer of Glossy Accents to the berries on the wreath, a somewhat thinner layer on the Sea Glass ornaments and some gold enamel dots to finish. I even used a gold enamel dot for the doorknob.
I started by stamping the little decorations on the trees with VersaMark ink onto Artichoke cardstock from Concord & 9th, before heat embossing with white embossing powder from Ranger. I then used the coordinating tree die to cut out my trees. I added foam tape to the back and put the trees aside while I worked on the rest of the card.
Onto a panel of Wheat cardstock from C9, I stamped and white heat embossed the snow flurries from the Sleigh full of cheer stamp set from C9, as well as a sentiment from the Joyful and merry stamp set from Kristina Werner. I used one of the dies in her Gift bows die set to cut a thin strip of Champagne cardstock from C9, which I adhered below the snow flurries and sentiment. I also die cut a star from the same cardstock using a die in the Yuletide Lane die set from Concord & 9th. I mounted my trees to the card and added the champagne star on top of the tallest tree to finish.
This was my inspiration for my card. Very clean and simple with lots of white space and the snow flurries in the background to ground the trees. It’s an awesome card!
I die cut the “map” from the Joyful Wreath die set into a panel of Nectar cardstock. This die doesn’t actually cut anything, but is a great placement guide when gluing all the leaves on top. I die cut the leaves from Eucalyptus, Rainforest, Grasshopper and Champagne cardstock and put a drop of liquid glue at the base of each, which made it possible to lift the leaves off the panel for an airy feel.
I die cut the top layer of the berries from Cayenne cardstock, opting for the darker Cranberry for the base. I glued them directly to the leaves, tucking parts behind some of the leaves. I went back and forth on the sentiment, trying a few different things before choosing this simple Kort & Godt sentiment to stamp in the center using Cayenne ink. I trimmed the Nectar panel slightly and adhered it all to a top fold white card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I stamped the large floral image using Memento Espresso Truffle ink, which sits somewhere between brown and grey, it’s a nice color to use when you don’t want black. I then die cut the image, before I used the coloring stencils and fresh dye inks from Altenew to do the “coloring”. I used the North Shore set for the blues, Sun-kissed Delights for the yellows, Jade Dreams for the greens and Warm Gray for the gray (which I covered up with the green). I didn’t want the centers green, so I started out with grey, which got very flat and dull. I covered it with green, which then made it very dark, and still pretty flat, so in the end, I went over with lots of dots of a white Sharpie paint marker and a black glaze pen. It turned out okay in the end, but if I were to remake this card, I think I’d go in with a couple of greens anyway. Live and learn, I guess.
I created a large card base (5 x 6 1/4″) and ink blended Winter Lake ink onto the bottom for a nice, gradient effect. I used the Stippled Plaid press plate from Pinkfresh Studio to create some subtle interest in the background on a separate piece of paper. I inked up the plate with Icy Water ink, spritzed water on the back and front of the piece of white cardstock, then ran it through my die cutting machine with an embossing mat to create some deep texture. I then adhered this panel in the center of the card base using foam tape.
Behind my die cut floral, I stacked another 3 die cuts from white cardstock and adhered my stack to my card, letting equal amounts hang off the sides on the left and the right. I also die cut the Waterbrush Hello die from Altenew four times from white cardstock. I inked up the top layer with Arctic Mountain ink and adhered it to my flowers.
To finish off the design, I added some ombré glitter drops from Pinkfresh Studio in a visual triangle across the card.
I started with a panel of white cardstock. I put down the first stencil, which is for the background, and used Harbor and Powder inks. The second stencil does the stems and leaves, and I used Sprout with a bit of Parsley at the base for those. For the large part of the flowers, I used Ballet Slipper and for the fourth and final stencil, which is for the smaller part of the flower, I used Honeysuckle. I also used the small circle burst stamp in the stamp set to add a little more detail. I stuck to Honeysuckle ink, and I just love the way these flowers turned out.
I used the cover die to create a frame from white cardstock that I glued on top of my ink blending. I mounted sentiment sticker strips from Kort & Godt using foam tape and adhered the sentiment in the top third of the card. I rarely add my sentiments to the top right, but I think it works. I finished off very simple with a few iridescent dew drops from Pinkfresh Studio.
The Blended petals set from Concord & 9th is a very versatile one with a large flower image that you can color up any way you’d like. There are even coordinating stencils that let you add color very easily, which is what I used for my card. As much as I love coloring, stencils make everything go so much faster!
I stamped the image in black ink, let it dry and used the coordinating stencils to color it in using Creamsicle, Sweet Pea, Wildberry, Sprout, Tidepool and Peacock inks, all Concord & 9th colors. I then used the coordinating die to cut out the image, adding a couple of blank die cuts behind it for dimension.
I used the Twist Pattern press plate from Pinkfresh Studio along with some Pistachio Fresh Dye ink from Altenew to create a subtle pattern in the background. I die cut it using the coordinating die and added two more die cuts behind it before adhering it to the front of a top fold card I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, which is the same white cardstock I used for everything except the sentiment.
Speaking of the sentiment – I used the Sweet Sentiments die set from Altenew. The top layer is from white mirror cardstock from Kort & Godt, the black is black mirror cardstock from Kort & Godt, and then I put three additional die cuts of the shadow die behind for dimension. I finished off the card very simply with Iridescent Dew Drops from Pinkfresh Studio.
Play really is the right word to use, because this is the Pattern Play die set from Concord & 9th. It’s one of those die sets where you have a large die that creates a road map and several smaller dies that cut out the shapes to go on top of the map. It’s like a puzzle, and I love playing with tiny pieces of paper, so this is right up my alley.
I die cut the smaller pieces from Pebble, Sprout, Sunflower, Sorbet and Harbor cardstocks, all C9 colors. I stacked the Sprout four layers thick for dimension, the Harbor three layers and the Sorbet two, while gluing the Sunflower and Pebble directly to the map. This creates more movement and interest to the background, and it makes the card very tactile. I cut off 1/4″ from each side, popped the panel onto foam tape and adhered it in the center of my top fold A2 card base.
With such a colorful background, I knew I needed a bold black sentiment. I chose this hallo (hello) die from Kort & Godt, which I die cut four times from black cardstock and layered for dimension. I also added a tiny sentiment sticker strip (you are cooooooool) on top of the die cut word.
To finish off the card I added enamel dots in colors that match the cardstock. Since they’re the same color as the cardstock behind them, they don’t distract from the sentiment or the background, but they do still add interest to the card.
I actually shared this one on the Papiria blog back in December, but I thought I’d share here, as well. I die cut the parts for the florals from Watermelon cardstock and the leaves from Juniper cardstock, both are C9 colors. I ink blended the petals with Watermelon ink and the leaves with Rainforest ink, which is a darker green than the Juniper color. I curled all the petals and leaves back before assembly, and adhered them all to a white card base. I used gold glitter cardstock from Kort & Godt for the centers of the flowers.
I used a die set from Kort & Godt to create my sentiment. I stacked three of each die cut and used liquid glue to adhere the sentiment to the florals, before finishing off the card with Satin Gold sequins from Altenew. Super simple, and I love all the white space!!
I started by stamping the big floral stamp in the Blooming Delight stamp set from Altewew using Altenew Obsidian ink onto watercolor paper (cold pressed Fabriano Artístico), before coloring with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. When my coloring was complete, I die cut the flower with the coordinating die and also cut a few extra from white cardstock to build dimension.
I used the Stippled Plaid press plate from Pinkfresh Studio with Pistachio ink from Altenew to create a subtle background. I matted it with some gold shine cardstock from My Favorite Things and adhered my florals pretty much in the center. The flowers stick out on both sides, but I just made a larger envelope to accomodate the larger size.
For the sentiment, I used a konfirmant die set from Papirdesign. I die cut the shadow layer from white cardstock and the word itself from the same gold cardstock that I used previously, with a few white die cuts stacked behind it for dimension. I even stacked a few behind the shadow, so it looks like the shadow floats on top of the flowers. For a sub sentiment, I used a sentiment sticker strip from Kort & Godt that I ink blended with Misty Sage ink from Altenew, before finishing off the card with a few Iridescent Dew Drops from Pinkfresh Studio.
Papirmølla 