I went to a Holiday Card Workshop at my Stampin' Up demo's house last Friday and made five cards amidst lots of laughter and snarky commentary. I had so much fun! Amy (my demo) is amazingly creative and had us trying several techniques, one of which was completely new to me.
I did this card first and it is definitely my favorite. I love the soft colors and the sponged torn edges, not to mention the adorable snowman. (You're wicked, Amy! I was trying very hard to ignore this stamp set despite my weakness for snowmen.) I haven't used chalks in ages and after doing this card, I need to break them out again. It's such a soft, pretty look! I embossed the brown panel using a folder and then sponged it before layering everything together.
I love the embellishment although it makes the card more of a hand-deliver type. The inside was torn and sponged like the front panel, and it looks so neat against the dark cardstock. Just ignore the crooked sentiment. (ugh!)
I was also trying to ignore this next stamp set with its matching punch. (Thank you SO much, Amy! Can you hear the sarcasm? lol) It's just way too cute with that silver glitter paper and the teeny jingle bells. Darn those holiday mini catalogs!
I absolutely loved making this card. It took the longest, but it was so worth it! First I embossed the card to get that great border and then sponged the paper with Crumb Cake ink and some fabulous Soft Champagne liquid ink stuff that added tons of shimmer. The image was stamped with Stazon ink and then I used watercolor crayons and an aquabrush to add color. I've seen the watercolor crayons before, but had never tried using them until now. I loved the process and how pretty it looks. (Curse you, Amy! You know those are on my wish list now, don't you? I'm sure that was your plan all along.) :P Seriously though, I really like them and need to add them to my stash.
These are my last two cards. They took the shortest time to make, and that's a good thing for mass Christmas card production. One of the fun things about doing workshops is that I don't have to design anything. It's already done for me! :) So thanks, Amy, for a really fun night out getting inky!
Stamps: Snow Much Fun, Stitched Stockings, Aviary, Festive & Fun, Bells & Boughs, Beautiful Season
Embossing folders: Vintage Wallpaper, Petals A-Plenty, Framed Tulips, Perfect Polka Dots
Punch: Stocking Builder
(all supplies Stampin' Up)
Since Verve Stamps was this month's sponsor, I had plenty of images to choose from for my card. That can be a good thing AND a bad thing. lol It makes it so hard to decide! I used Ornamental Christmas for the main panel. After stamping the pine sprig several times to make a branch, I hung the large ornament from it and used pop-dots to raise the ball image above the curly outline. I then used a long sentiment from Blessed Christmas instead of the narrow strip in the sketch. It just worked much better that way for my card.
