This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi friends! I am back with another installment of my Songs of the Season holiday series, where I use Christmas songs throughout the year as inspiration for a holiday card! This is a great way to get ahead on my holiday cardmaking by building up a little stash throughout the year so that the long list of names to whom I will send a card doesn’t seem quite so daunting come December! This month, I was inspired by that most classic of holiday songs: Silent Night. I jokingly said a few years ago, when my little boys were still babies and still up multiple times a night, that all I wanted for Christmas was a silent night. (I didn’t receive it, haha!) But the mental imagery that that song provides, of a peaceful, deep blue night sky with snowflakes gently falling to the ground, gave me some serene inspiration for today’s project. Let’s get started with the details!
One of my favorite ways to create unique projects is by stamping, or in this case die cutting, my own completely custom patterned backgrounds. I have been moving my craft room to a new space recently, and so have been “shopping” in some of my un- or under-used supplies, and I found a stash of gorgeous pearlescent colored cardstocks, including this stunning peacock teal cardstock. Tip: pearlescent or foil cardstocks die cut beautifully, especially with intricate dies like these snowflake dies for today’s project! I die cut Simon Says Stamp’s Sophie snowflake, Kate snowflake, Alicia snowflake, and Daphne snowflake dies from that pearlescent peacock teal cardstock, then turned my attention to the card base.
To create my vivid, peaceful blue background, I started by trimming down an A2 panel of Island Blue cardstock. I then blended Island Blue ink around the edges, keeping the center clean, then lightly blended some Galaxy Pawsitively Saturated Ink around the edges, keeping this dark blue area fairly subtle and right up against the edge. The combination of these two ink colors on this super saturated colored cardstock creates the most gorgeous glow! I also splattered some handmade glittery watercolors to add some shimmer to the blended background. Once my card front was dry, I began arranging my snowflake pattern, beginning with the largest snowflake die cuts, turning them so that they were falling at different angles, and trying to keep the spacing random so that the pattern would not look forced. I trimmed off the overhang, then used those leftover bits and bobs to fill in some of the edges of the card front. The combination of these steps helps to make the pattern look cohesive and continuous!
Finally, I die cut the Snowy Greetings die from some glittery turquoise cardstock. I chose this lighter shade of turquoise as a bit less saturated version of the peacock teal pearlescent cardstock, in order to ensure that it would stand out from the super vibrant background. I heat embossed a coordinating greeting from the Simple Holiday Greetings stamps using silver embossing powder on a strip of more Island Blue cardstock. I popped up the sentiment pieces with foam adhesive, then added a smattering of iridescent gems for some sparkle!
Well, that’s all for this month’s Songs of the Season post! I hope you will try using your favorite Christmas songs and carols as inspiration for your holiday cardmaking. It’s such a fun way to incorporate more music into your life, and it even gives you an excuse to listen to Christmas music all year long! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
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