Christmas cards - shiny ornaments

Who knew that sequins could make such cool looking ornaments!!! To convert sequins into ornaments I created little strings with words in them and bows on the ends to hang them from!! I just used double sided tape and attached the sequins below the laser printed strings!! Cute!

I layered the ornaments onto cardstock, added a snowflake border (MS), a length of ribbon using double sided tape and a snowflake sequin with a brad to my stamped card front to complete my card!! As you can see, the border can be used in several different ways and the girls got really creative with these!! The best part of teaching is the opportunity to see others be creative in ways you simply could not have envisioned with the supplies you have provided!!

THRIFTY TIP: Of course, you could substitute circle punchies instead. These are 3/4". It would be a great way to use up the little scraps of cool paper you have been hesitant to throw out!!!

Two more classes to go, so am still in Christmas card mode!! More later!!

Are you inspired yet?? I hope so - make a few cards today!!

Therese

Christmas cards - sketchy images

I just love these little images!!! I downloaded them (Christmas themed Sketchy) from All Free Download sometime in the last few weeks and really thought they would make great Christmas cards. I had to separate the elements electronically so I could use them individually which took a bit of time in Photo Elements. I laid the images out in Corel Draw and laser printed 16 to a sheet of 8.5 x 11!! I am super happy with the way they turned out.

A simple layout - embossed kraft backgrounds with a bit of sponging around the edges, cording in white or black and colour printed images layered onto black cardstock!! I added a little stamped greeting (SU) in black to the images!!

NOTE: I just did a bit more research on these graphics and found the artist!! They can also be downloaded from his blog - Blog.SpoonGraphics!

Therese

Christmas cards - poinsettias

I love the texture of these flowers - a beautiful velvety surface!! They were beautiful, the perfect size for cardmaking and a good price - needless to say, several bunches came home with me from Michaels last week!!

To ensure that the flowers were the star of these cards, I layered them onto a simple green label die cut (TH -SX) through which I had threaded a subdued gold ribbon. I glued the label to a piece of white cardstock which had been shimmered, embossed (SU) and also had a colour printed greeting. I laser printed the greetings before I shimmered the paper so was a little concerned that the printing might be affected by the alcohol in the shimmering process. No problem!! I used Gold Interference Pearl Ex which because it has no binding agent required that I seal the surface before proceeding with the embossing. I used aerosol hairspray as a sealer.

The flowers had chunky glittered centers which I removed and replaced with a little punchie and a brad to hold the layers together. I dug through my stash of silk greenery for leaves that were more appropriate in size than what came with them. I found several options which worked. I positioned the flowers and leaves on the die cut, removed the flower and glued the leaves in place and then added the flower using double sided tape. I had no trouble getting mine to stick but it is possible that glue dots might be a better adhesive for that purpose. With ribbon ends wrapped to the back and adhered with double sided tape I glued the whole layer to my card front. The flowers have some dimension but I think they will not pose a problem when being mailed as they should flatten easily when inserted in the envelope.

Therese

Christmas cards - sanded snowflakes

Spent another wonderful morning with a great bunch of ladies making Christmas cards!!

I love the look of these snowflakes - a bit shabby chic!! The look is the result of sanding embossed white core cardstock!! For these cards I thermally embossed a greeting in the top section of the cardstock layer and dry embossed the bottom section using a snowflake embossing folder (CB). Just a bit of sanding removes the printed colour to reveal the white below. Less sanding gives a more subtle look and a bit more reveals more of the white core and gives a more pronounced look!! For sanding, I used a piece of fine sandpaper over a wood block but you can use what you have.

To the sanded layer I added a snowflake border (MS) in white. a coordinating ribbon and adhered a snowflake confetti using a brad. This whole element was then glued to my card front. It was fun to create these in different colours but that left me wanting snowflakes in colours which I did not have on hand so I altered white snowflake confetti to coordinate with my cardstock by applying ink to them using my Sharpie markers and using a cotton swab dampened with alcohol to blend and/or dilute the colour. Worked perfectly!! You could use Copic markers or alcohol inks in a similar way.

THRIFTY TIP: You can make your own white core cardstock by simply painting a quarter sheet of white cardstock with acrylic paint and letting it dry thoroughly!! The great thing about making your own is that you can make it any colour you want and it is also cost effective!! You can check out my double embossed backgrounds here where I used the above technique for creating white core cardstock.

Therese