This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi friends! I am hopping along with Simon Says Stamp for Day 2 of the Sugar and Spice Release Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Sandi MacIver, and your next stop is Lisa Addesa. You can check out the full list over at the Simon Says Stamp Blog for Day 1 and Day 2! This new Sugar and Spice release (check it out HERE) is filled with gorgeous holiday dies, which are one of my favorite products with which to create. I love customizing standalone die cuts with various mediums, especially alcohol markers. I am entering my vintage Christmas era, so I selected a mint and fire engine red color palette for my card today, pairing lush holiday greenery with that most ubiquitous winter bird: the cardinal! Let’s get started on the details for my project.
*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*
To begin, I die cut the new Beautiful Cardinal and Ho Ho Holiday Greens die sets from plain white cardstock. I then used my OLO Markers to add lots of vibrant color to the plain die cuts, keeping the colors crisp and bright with that vintage mint and red color palette. I used the colored guide on the die packaging to know where to add shadows and highlights to the finished images before assembly. I used both liquid and foam adhesive to assemble the cardinal, giving him lots of dimension and texture!
For the background, I embossed a panel of Simon Says Stamp Mint cardstock using the new Festive Wreath embossing folder. I then used a blending brush to blend Pawsitively Saturated Spring ink around the edges of the embossed panel, leaving the center that soothing pale green and creating a kind of reverse halo. To help enhance the gorgeous 3D embossed imagery on the card front, I swiped my White Pigment Ink Pad directly over the raised areas, then splattered the entire card front with some iridescent glitter watercolors. So much gorgeous texture and sparkle on this card front!
Before I began assembling my greenery and feathered friend on my card front, I die cut the new Loopy Bow from some Crimson Glitter Cardstock, as well as the “joy” from the new Holiday Duo, cutting the shadow layer from vellum and the detail layer from Rich Red Matte cardstock before layering them together with liquid adhesive. I arranged all of the die cuts on my blended and embossed card front using both liquid and foam adhesive, tucking greenery beneath the bow to create a festive swag and adding the greeting directly over the top of the arrangement. Finally, I added a smattering of Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for an additional pop of sparkling red!
Well, that’s all for my project today! Now for some fun giveaway information:
Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop, to be selected from each blog’s comment section. The more comments you leave along the hop, the more chances you have to win! Winners will be selected and posted on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday the 15th of October.
You can also receive a fabulous, not-yet-released freebie with any purchase from the new Sugar and Spice Collection! Click HERE to see the full collection and your freebie will be automatically added to your purchase after checkout!
Your next stop on the hop is Lisa Addesa. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!
I love working with dies too, Emily. You have put these dies together beautifully for a Christmas card! I love how this elegant, sparkly bow fills the bottom corner!
I was watching the Sugar N Spice live with Heidi and it seemed like every time a card was really beautiful, it was one of yours. Now following you for inspiration – thank you!
Love the detail on the Cardinal!
So very pretty!
Such a beautiful card! I especially love the background and the sparkly bow!
I knew when I came to your name on the list that I was going to see a beautiful card and I was right. The Cardinal was a perfect focal point to draw ones eye in but all the elements on your card are spot on. The foundation of the Wreath embossing folder was a great platform to build on, the colorful greenery enhances both the embossing folder and adds interest behind that stunning Cardinal. Ironically, as I’ve been strolling along the blog hop this morning I can hear a Cardinal singing outside, I’m not sure if I’m totally smitten by Cardinals for their sound/song or their bright, beautiful looks, but it is safe to say they are probably my favorite bird. The Joy sentiment and the big red loopy bow are the explanation points on your card. Using “JOY” was a great sentiment choice as your card is JOY !!!
Stunning card, so many fabulous details!
Emily, your card is so beautiful. Love all the details.
Love the way you used multiple elements and embossed background. Very inspiring.
This is gorgeous, Emily!
The card really inspires joy!
Absolutely beautiful
Very nice card; love the shadows and highlights!
I love the embossed background and gorgeous cardinal!
Absolutely stunning! I love the foliage die cut!
Very lovely,
So lovely
Very pretty! I love that grand swirly bow!
Oh wow! I am blown away by your card! I love the layout and colors. So beautiful!
so pretty – love the pop of red against the green
Pretty card.
What a great idea to layer these dies on an embossed background. Beautiful work.
Gorgeous card. Loving the colors.
So beautiful!!!
What a bright, fun card! Love it!
Such a beautiful card! I love what you hae created!!
Pretty Cardinal scene.
Gorgeous! Love the pretty foliage and that fabulous Red Cardinal!
Such a beautiful card!
Gorgeous card! Loving the red sparkly bow and the beautiful cardinal! So pretty with the embossed background and lovely greenery!
So pretty Emily!!
Love the color choices and layout. beautiful card.
Lovely card, that cardinal is so nice.
Gorgeous card! Love it!
OH Emily!!!!! Sooooo Gorgeous!!!!
Your Cardinal is just beautiful. I love how you put this together with the plants.
I love all the dies you combinedto make this beautiful card!
Beautiful design share!
What a beautiful card!
Hola, Emily! Such a beautiful card. 💜
Beautiful card ❤️. I loved to read how you made it.
Your card is beautiful!
Fabulous card! The Cardinal give it a perfect finishing touch.
This is gorgeous. I love it with the bow at the bottom too. What a clever idea!
Gorgeous card. I love cardinals.
I love how you added color to the cardinal! Beautiful card!
Just love this little cardinal. So cute.
Lovely! Your card will bring ‘joy’ to the receiver of it!
I do like the Cardinal and big bow.
Lovely, a great job on this card design.
Gorgeous card
Very Beautiful card!!!!!
That cardinal is beautiful on all the cards!
Beautiful card!! I love that cardinal!
Very pretty card!
Fresh minty card with so many details that worked well to make this card stand out. Appreciate you sharing your card for inspiration. Stunning card!
Gorgeous card! Love the color pop you did with the red cardinal.
What a pretty card Emily. Love the layers and the dry embossed background.
The birds always get me – and this is simply beautiful! I love the colors and textures. Thank you for sharing!
Beautiful holiday card!
Absolutely beautiful with wonderful shading detail. Gorgeous background as well.
Lovely! the cardinal is beautiful with the greenery!
Love the texture and details! Gorgeous design!
Such a beautiful card!
Beautiful card!! Just love the cardinal!! Thanks for sharing.
Beautifully done, and so classic! LOVE the cardinal you added to really make it POP!!
This is indeed a joyful card! Love that blended embossed background; perfect to show off your gorgeous cardinal. The bow is the icing on the cake!
Love your cards Emily. this just sings “Merry Christmas “
So, so, so pretty!
You make such pretty cards! I am (sort of) waiting patiently for my order.😃 Had to get that cardinal.
Emily, this is soooo pretty!
Such a pretty card! I like the layout with the foliage, cardinal, bow and sentiment in the lower right corner!
Loving all the inspiration ✨️