This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi friends, and Merry Christmas! I can’t believe it’s finally here. I could easily make Christmas cards all year long, and I’m not quite ready to put my holiday supplies away yet. Traditionally, Christmas lasts until Epiphany, so I still have a bit more time, right? I have been experimenting with coloring on different textures and specialty papers using some of my holiday stamp sets that I illustrated for Simon Says Stamp. I used my Joyful Anemone stamp HERE with OLO markers and Neenah Desert Storm cardstock to create a unique red-on-kraft holiday card, and today I have paired my Holiday Blossoms stamp set with some new-to-me specialty vellum papers from Tonic. I have two cards to share with you today, so let’s get started with the details!
For both of my projects today, I began by embossing the two large floral arrangements from my Holiday Blossoms stamp set onto Tonic Silver Pearl cardstock using Platinum Sparkle Embossing Powder. This combination looks marvelous on it’s own, but I wanted to add some vibrant color with my OLO markers. Coloring on special papers can sometimes be a little tricky, but I was able to get a beautiful pearlescent stained glass effect by flipping my embossed images over and coloring on the back of the pages! Because of the pearlescent coating on the paper, I had to do only minimal blending, because the streaks will be visible once you flip the paper over. I am totally in love with the finished product. The pearlescent coating can make the colors a bit dull, so if you decide to try this technique, be sure to choose bright colors so that they’re visible!
For this first card, I chose to use the magnolia image from my Holiday Blossoms. When I was drawing the illustrations for this stamp set, I was super inspired by the addition of magnolia flowers to holiday arrangements. I wouldn’t have thought this springtime flower would be a typical addition to a holiday floral arrangement, but I was surprised at how many images I saw of magnolias paired with berries and holiday greenery! Because magnolias are traditionally white, I used the colorful greenery and berries to do some reverse psychology to create a “white” magnolia. I colored the areas around the magnolia with bright colors, then colored very minimal shadows with a light gray OLO marker and blended out the edges with the colorless blender marker. The contrast between the colorful foliage and the lack of color on the magnolia makes you think it’s a crisp white!
To accent the large floral arrangement, I used the Pepperberry Embossing Folder to add some texture to 3/4 of my pale gray cardstock card front. I simply left part of the card front out of the embossing folder as I ran it through my machine, which adds the embossed texture to part of the panel and leaves the bottom portion clean! I added a strip of silver pearl cardstock beneath the seam to help make a clean transition between the patterned embossed area and the plain section. I popped up the colored magnolia arrangement using foam adhesive, then added a greeting from Holiday Blossoms, which I heat embossed onto pale gray cardstock using Platinum Sparkle Embossing Powder, adorning the open area with a double twine bow. Finally, I added a few sparkling gems for one last hint of shine!
My second card is a large A7 card. The poinsettia arrangement from Holiday Blossoms is very generously-sized; I wanted to make an image that could easily stand alone as a focal point on the card while also offering options to create a detailed floral background, colored or not! I colored the detailed arrangement using the same technique as the first card, flipping the embossed image over and coloring the back with vibrant OLO markers. After I’d colored the entire image, I used the coordinating die to cut the flowers out super quickly (so nice to have the dies available… my wrists were very grateful to not have to fussy cut this super detailed image!).
I wanted to create a simple background that still had the feel of the detailed botanical floral arrangement but wouldn’t overpower it, so I die cut the Corner Pine Frame twice from some more silver pearl cardstock and trimmed off the frame edges, leaving only the pine boughs that fit conveniently in the corner of my pale gray 5×7 card base. I adhered them on one side of my card front using liquid adhesive; there was some slight overlap, but the floral bouquet will cover it up!
For the greeting, I heat embossed one of the large sentiments from Making Spirits Bright using Platinum Sparkle Embossing Powder on some more of the pale gray cardstock. I trimmed out the sentiment strip using my trimmer, then die cut the large sentiment using the coordinating dies from the Making Spirits Bright set. (Can I just say how much I love the level of detail included on these sentiment dies?) I popped up the die cut greeting with a double layer of foam adhesive and added the strip with a single layer of foam tape and liquid adhesive. To accent the floral bouquet, I colored a strip of faux silk ribbon using one of the same OLO markers that I used to color the image so that it coordinated perfectly! This is a great way to make sure that your ribbon coordinates perfectly to your project without having to have an endless supply of different ribbons. I tucked the cool reddish pink bow amongst the floral bouquet, then added a few more shimmering gems for some more sparkle!
Well, that’s all for my projects today. We are nearing the finish line for Christmas. I hope you’re all caught up on your holiday crafting, wrapping, and baking! I have been baking like a madwoman the last couple of days: gingersnap molasses cookies, Grinch cookies, orange chocolate truffles, two different flavors of biscotti, buckeyes, and iced sugar cookies to give out as gifts for friends. I love this time of year! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happiest of holidays to you!
