Hi Stampers. Have you ever looked at a card and thought, it’s so cute, but it’s not quite what I need? Modify it! I have taught many classes where the students think they have to do the card EXACTLY the way I did. That’s not true. It’s YOUR card, do it YOUR way! Today’s post is a great example. In one of my recent classes, I had made this Christmas card (top photo) and a few people said they didn’t need anymore Christmas cards. So, I adapted the same parts to make a different (non-Christmas) card.
The Christmas card started with a Marina Mist card base (8.5″ x 5.5″, scored at 4.25″). I used the softly falling embossing folder t0 dry emboss the front of the card base. Next I used two pieces of Whisper White card stock (5.25″ x 2.5″) and tore them across the long edge into the shape of snow drifts and overlapped them on the front of the card base. I then cut the tree out of Garden Green card stock using the Santa’s Sleigh Thinlit dies and my Big Shot. The deer was cut from Early Espresso card stock and the sleigh from Marina Mist and Basic Gray card stock using the Santa’s Sleigh thinlit dies and my Big Shot. The sleigh is two pieces that over lap. Because of all the detail in the Marina Mist layer, I used my fine-tip glue pen to add glue before adhering it to the Basic Gray base.
Stampin’ Tip: The fine-tip glue pen is great when working with delicate die cuts and small embellishments, etc. It has a super fine tip that allows you to apply a tiny amount of glue and the lid has a “pin” in it that slides into the tip keeping the tip free of clogs.
I used my Basic Black stampin’ marker to color the hooves of the reindeer and his eye. I used a basic rhinestone jewel colored with a red sharpie pen as his nose. I then stamped “Merry Christmas” from the Star of Light stamp set in Early Espresso ink onto a 3.25″ x .75″ strip of Whisper White and then flagged the end of the strip with the Triple Banner Punch from Stampin’ Up!. the banner was adhered with stampin’ dimensionals.
For this version I created a basic winter scene. The card base and snow drifts were made the same way. In this version I used the snowflake stamp and Marina Mist ink instead of the softly falling textured embossing folder. This card has the tree in front of the snow drifts, so I colored the tree trunk darker. I omitted the sleigh and the Merry Christmas and it could be used for many other occasions or a non-occasion, such as a simple “Thinking of You” card.
So, next time you look at a card – open your mind a little and you may be pleasantly surprised. Merry Christmas!