Northwest Stamper

Christmas Card Joy with Peaceful Pines

I really did have grand plans this year to get all of my Christmas cards out early. After years of being terrible about NOT sending out cards at all, last year I sent out around 70 holiday cards and it felt great to be putting a little cheer out through the mail. So, I was all gung ho that I was going to be all organized this year and get them in the mail at the beginning of December.

But then suddenly, I turned around and here it is December 16th and they have yet to hit the post office! Anyone with me? How many times do we have grand plans but one reason or another keeps us from making it happen? Well, I’m here to say, it is never too late! In this case, there is still time to make and send Christmas cards (or send the cards you have!) Today’s share is a simple card idea that you can pull together quickly for those people who need some holiday cheer from you.

I actually made this card as a swap for the November OnStage Local regional event. I decided the day that we were leaving that I wanted to make swaps after all and so I pulled these together. They are clean and simple, and easy to pull together!

Tips for making this card:

Keep it simple and cost effective by choosing ONE color plus white – I picked Always Artichoke because I had an almost full pack on my desk and thought the muted color would be good for this design. Use that color for your card base and for your smallest layer. Then just use Whisper White cardstock as your matting layer to create a nice border around your stamped images.
Use heat embossing for an easy-to-create WOW – I kept in the deep green theme by stamping a tree and my sentiment in Mossy Meadow ink, but added layers and dimension by stamping one tree in Versamark ink and then covering it in White embossing powder. Heat set for a snowy tree that really catches your eye.
Make your embossed images more interesting with sponging – I sponged over my white embossed tree with Always Artichoke ink to give the tree some depth. This is a great technique to use on any project you are heat embossing though. Just match the ink color with the color of the underlying cardstock for a rich addition to your image. You can also make your central cardstock have more dimension with the same trick only by sponging the edges of the cardstock with the same color ink.
Try out different size banners! – I had left over Always Artichoke cardstock strips after cutting for the smaller piece on this card. So I decided to use them by cutting them in half and stamping my sentiment (the Joy from the Your Presents stamp set). I normally do longer and skinnier banners, but this smaller size was just right for this card.
Make banners more easily with the Banner Triple Punch – The best part about adding banners is that I don’t have to try hard to make the ends look even and nice thanks to the Banner Triple Punch (I still want to call it the triple banner punch!) Even if your piece is small, you can slide it in to this punch and with a press, you have perfect banner ends! Easy Peasy!

So, if you still have Christmas cards to make, you still have time!

And if you need to order some extra supplies, you still have time for that too! If you are on the west coast, orders typically come in about 2-3 days. If you are on the east coast… well, orders will arrive before Christmas if you order by tomorrow, so you can still make “thinking of you at Christmas” cards. Smile Have questions or need help? I’m here for you! Email me at jennifer@nwstamper.com