Christmas Part Two

The green card is almost identical to the one in my last post but I just wanted to show how rearranging the layout can make for a more (or less) interesting card. Yes, there is horrible staining on the ribbon of the other card. A lesson was learned there!

Rating: Dodgy ('cause of the staining)

Rating: Decent



These cards are made in the same way and use the same materials as I have listed in my previous post. The only differences are that I have added a thin strip of Jolly Holiday DSP to the right of the green card (I adhered it with 2 way glue) and the base of the other card is Crumb Cake cardstock, I've used Old Olive grosgrain ribbon on it and have coloured the stocking stamp with markers (Old Olive and Real Red).

The staining. The ribbon was popping up a little bit so I used a bit of 2 way glue to stick it down, which it did do but, as you can clearly see, it has stained the ribbon. So you can learn something at my expense - DON'T use a 2 way glue pen for sticking ribbons!!

Christmas is Upon Us!

Here are some of the Christmas cards I have made this year. I say some because I made about 8 different sorts but have sent most of them to friends and family. The design was cased from a google search but modified and morphed into what they are now.

Rating: Decent



Materials:
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Jolly Holiday DSP.
Inks: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip marker, Real Red marker (for Rudolph's nose), Versamark Champagne Frost.
Stamps: A mix of 'Season of Joy' and 'Sparkly and Bright'.
Other: Stampin' Up- Crystal Effects glue, oval punch, scallop oval punch, paper piercer and mat, dimensionals and stick on Rhinestones.
Non Stampin' Up - Embossing powders - Antique Gold and Silver Dollar, embossing buddy, Silver Christmas Tree brads, Heat tool, Fiskars decorative border punch, deep red ribbon (from Stampit Australia)

Tips and Hints:
1. To make lots of cards I broke it down into stages over a few nights- I made all the card bases first, then all the decorative border strips layered with DSP and ribbon, then the scallopped ovals with their sentiments, etc.
2. Use Versamark Champagne Frost to stamp a background on the card bases. It's amazing how much it lifts a card.
3. Also use Versamark over the Christmas tree for a bit of shine and to apply embossing powder to the star at the top.
4. The words 'Merry Christmas' and the star at the top of the Christmas tree are embossed in either gold or silver.
5. I used markers for Rudolph so I could have his body brown and his nose red. Cherry Cobbler wasn't bright enough so I used Real Red. I put a dot of Crystal Effects on his nose to make it shine, however on 90% of the Rudolph cards, the Crystal Effects is dull and almost opaque when dry. Maybe I received a duff batch.
6. Handle the ribbon as little as possible because it frays easily.
7. The rhinestones are used inside the card on the sentiment that says 'May your season be sparkly and bright'. The rhinestone sticks on top of the 'i' in 'bright'.

Stuff Ups:
The Crystal Effects - as I said above plus sometimes I put on too much and it spread.
Embossing - I forgot a few times to use an embossing buddy pillow so some of the embossing was a bit skewiff.
Stampamajig - I should have used this inside the card to get the sentiment straight and non-wobbly.