Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas - little tree

O Christmas Tree!!
I used the little tree Movers and Shapers die (SX) in my Ornamental die (TH)which cut both shapes at the same time from a quarter sheet of cardstock with one pass through the Big Kick!  Gotta love that!!  At class everyone embossed their shapes with their favorite embossing folders, sponged the edges and surface as much as they wanted and glued them down onto a card front that has been layered with a rectangle of decorative paper.  Really makes that little tree pop!!  We added the little sequin stars with a glue dot and the little window punch (SU) colour printed greetings with a strip of 3D foam tape.  This was a good card to finish with as it provided some design choices but was still relatively simple to create!!
Great class today!!  I so enjoy the creativity everyone puts into their cards!!

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas - Oval greetings

These worked out so well!
I embossed the card fronts with a scroll oval embossing folder to which we added an oval greeting that was layered to a coordinating cardstock oval.  The digital images are from Arthurs Clipart.  They were laser printed and cut with an oval Nestibilities die.  I cut the cardstock layer with the next largest die for a perfect layer.  We embellished our greeting ovals with a bit of sponging on the edges and coloured the little elements with glitter gel pens or added clear glitter over them after we coloured them with colour pencils.
Everyone was grateful for cards that were a little easier to put together!!

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas - warm wishes

These card were fun to create!!
I used a rectangle Nestibilities die to cut out the center section from the decorative paper which was then layered over coordinating cardstock and layered back over the opening!  A great layered look as well as an efficient use of paper and the added benefit of keeping the weight of your cards down.  It can be disheartening to find out you have to add extra postage to all your Christmas cards!!
I used glittered decorative paper for these cards.  To add some variety to my card kits I added glittery elements to several sheets of decorative paper using Versamark ink and glitter embossing powder.  The top example is one that I glittered.  Hard to see the difference on these scans.
So we layered a trimmed strip of vellum, colour printed with a greeting, over the small rectangle of decorative paper and glued the ends to the back.  Added the ribbon to the left by wrapping around the back and tying a double knot on the front.  Layered this over a rectangle of coordinating cardstock and layered that over the decorative paper that was glued to the card front.  Nestibilities makes this card a breeze!!  Cutting all of these by hand would be a lot of work and a challenge to make them all neat so you could reuse the cut out section.

 Here is how I set up a jig on my platform so I could cut all of my decorative layers exactly the same. I used the black design on the left and lower edges of the platform as a corner guide and taped the rectangle Nestibilities die to the platform using painters tape so it would be in the center of the space.  I made a mark on the left and lower edges to help center my decorative paper.  On the right you can see the Nestibilities in place, on the right I have placed the decorative paper and am ready to run it through the Big Kick.
Made these with a bunch of different glittery paper so had lots of different looking cards!!

Therese

Thrifty tips - custom die cuts & maximizing paper

I cut the labels for the previous card using my Sizzix die - Frame back, Ornate #3.  I trimmed my cardstock to 2 5/8" wide and placed it on the center of the die to create a slim label die cut with ornate ends at the top and bottom. I placed my trimmed cardstock right in the center of the die aligning it between the two cutting edges at the top and the bottom. If you click on the photo you will see that with my cardstock centered in the middle section I avoid cutting the outer rounded section of this die.  One die - two labels!  I could have cut the whole die and cut off the rounded sections which would have worked reasonably well for one or two die cuts but I had to cut LOTS of these and this method was a more efficient use of cardstock.  So, see if there are ways you can use your dies to create custom die cuts by cutting your paper differently!!

To maximize my decorative paper for this card I cut my 12x12 into 2 3/8" strips and cut half circles instead of full circles. As you can see I marked my scallop die with painter's tape so I could easily line up the edge of my decorative paper with the half way mark.  I cut the first half circles at the very top of the paper, flipped it over and carefully lined up the next cut very close to the last one.  Flipped the paper again and cut one more half circle out of the last section. Being careful yielded 15 half circles - trees - from each sheet of decorative paper - a very efficient use of paper!!
So a couple of ways of using your dies differently to get some custom shapes and to make the best use of your paper!!

Therese

Cards, Cards, Cards - Christmas folded tree

Made Christmas cards with a great bunch of ladies this morning!!!
We started with this folded Christmas tree card which had a bit of a learning curve but we eventually got all the trees folded!!  I originally found this concept on Splitcoast Stampers but had to find a combination of steps that worked best for this scalloped circle (SU) and was slim enough to fit in the label die cut (SX) I had created. The shape of the tree changes depending on where on the center line you fold to.   It took me a "forest" of paper trees before I hit on a winning combination so I would recommend making your trees first and then working up a sketch that works with it.
The tree is folded from a half circle of paper - this scallop die cuts a 4.5" circle.  I used the following formula - on the center line mark 1" below the dip of the top and fold from that mark to the dip of the second scallop to make the top of the tree.  At the other end, fold from the dip of the fourth scallop to the 1" mark to form the bottom of the tree.  The other two folds pretty much line up with the sides of the tree.  Once you have all your creases, ensure that the tree is accordion folded which leaves your main pattern showing at the top, middle and the bottom.  Here is a tutorial where you can download a template for folding this tree:  http://inkspiredtreasures.com/cards/stamping-411-folded-christmas-tree/
With our trees made, we embossed our labels, added the red layers below each end, cut a stem from brown cardstock for our tree and glued all the pieces to the label.  Finally we added a little star punchie using 3D foam tape. The ribbon was glued to the back of the card with double sided tape and trimmed long enough to be glued to the inside front of the card.  We glued our tree element over the ribbon and tied the left over ribbon to the ribbon on the front just to the right of the element, using a single knot to simulate a bow.
I created the glitter paper we used for our trees..  I stamped "bubble wrap" in red on the back of my 12x12 sheets and embossed an overall swirly design in a red/green glitter mixture of embossing powder on the green fronts.
So consider adding some glittery embossing to a plain looking paper to step it up a bit!!  These trees work best with double sided paper which is the reason I stamped the back of my paper with an overall design.  This lighter weight paper was much better for the folding necessary to create the trees.
Check out my next post to see how I maximized my glitter paper and created a custom label die cut using the label die I had on hand.
Have you started on your Christmas cards??  If not, consider joining a few challenges and making a few cards every weekend in November to get yourself ready for the season!!  My sister has a monthly Christmas card challenge so check out her blog and see if you find any inspiration!!

Therese