There was a time when I decorated in forest green and Christmas red. We had a pre-1750 farmhouse in Rhode Island and my husband created the look of a raised panel wall on the loft. It was gorgeous! Because of the vintage and the “churchy” look, I used the two Christmas colors for the overall decoration, and it was striking.
And then I was done with it…never to have returned again!
That’s how I am feeling about the Christmas cards that I have offered so far. And we are fast approaching the date where it is too late to order supplies and it is too late to make cards for mailing if Christmas or Hanukkah is the goal.
I love the icy pastels…and I use them a lot. And add some iridescence to them, and I am all over it! So here is an offering for those of you (read: “us”) who may have missed the big holiday. This offering wishes the recipient(s) a Happy New Year as you will see below.
Here are the card cuts:
| Pcs | Measurements | Description | |
| Stampin’ Up Tahitian Tide cardstock | 1 | 5-1/2” x 8-1/2” | Scored on the long side at 4-1/4” |
| Stampin’ Up! Balmy Blue cardstock | 1 | 4” x 5-1/2” | Mat for the card face. |
| Stampin’ Up! Basic White cardstock | 1 | 4” x 5-1/4” | Inside panel. |
| Stampin’ Up! Vellum Cardstock | 1 | 3-3/4” x 5-1/2” | This panel was embossed using the Stampin’ Up! Wintery 3D embossing folder. I used the snowflake option, but the evergreens would work well too. |
| Stampin’ Up! Tahitian Tide cardstock | 1 | 2-3/4” x 3-1/8” | This is the mat for the medallion. |
| Stampin’ Up! Basic White cardstock | 1 | 2-5/8” x 2-1/2” | This will support the inked Vellum panel. |
| Stampin’ Up! Vellum cardstock | 1 | 2-5/8” x 2-1/2” | This panel will be alcohol-inked to show through the beautiful snowflakes on the medallion. See below for technique! |
| Stampin’ Up! Wonderful Snowflakes embellishment | 1 | 2-5/8” x 2-1/2” | This is just genius!! The Wonderful Snowflakes are those beautiful embellishments that you just plop on any card, and it adds elegance! But this is NOT the embellishment! This is the “negative space” around the snowflake – something that we usually throw out. Don’t throw it out!!!! |
| Stampin’ Up! Vellum | Scraps | Enough to create several stamped and heat embossed snowflakes. | |
| Stampin’ Up! Gold Foil | Scraps | I used scraps for the snowflakes that adorn the top of the tree, cut from Frosted Flurry Dies. However, you can actually die cut this from the center of the panel that you have cut for the mat on the card face. It will be covered by the tree panel, and no one will EVER know! | |
| Stampin’ Up! Soft Suede cardstock | 1 | ¾” x 1” | I made strips of this cardstock that were longer than 1”, embossed them with the Timber 3D embossing folder, and used 1” pieces for the truck of the tree at the bottom. Verdict: embossing adds a nice touch but superfluous as the truck is barely visible…but for those of us who like the perfectionist thing… |
I chose this card because it was blue (obviously) but even more so because of the gorgeous medallion in the center. There is a “window” that is created by the negative space of the Wonderful Snowflake embellish material. We are going to add one of the embossed snowflakes from the Joyful Flurries Bundle to it. But the panel in back offers a beautiful, stained glass type effect.
You will want to use Tahitian Tide, Balmy Blue, and Polished Pink Markers for this. I have seen this referred to as the “scribble” technique. In essence, you just scribble these colors in a random pattern on the Vellum cardstock piece like this:
Once this is done, you will be spritzing the panel with 70% alcohol and letting the colors run together. They will look fluid and watery – but the inks will dry quickly, and you will have this beautiful panel for your card.
I created the medallion by gluing the small Basic White cardstock panel to the inked Vellum Cardstock panel first. Then I added the negative space from the Wonderful Snowflake embellishment to it and let it dry thoroughly. Once dry, I was able to trim everything down so that it was even.
Then it was mounted on the Tahitian Tide mat panel to create a very narrow frame.
The larger Vellum Cardstock panel was dry embossed with the Wintery 3D embossing folder. I glued this panel to the larger Tahitian Tide mat so that the adhesive would be located under the medallion. Remember that most adhesives show through Vellum in an ugly way. You always need to place glue or tape under an embellishment or panel to hide it…sad but true.
I also decided that the Stampin’ Up! Frayed Ribbon would be the perfect embellishment for this lacy blue card as it has a rougher texture – but a very soft feel to it. Once wrapped around the Tahitian Tide and Vellum mat, the ribbon provided a great mounting for the medallion. I decided to use a couple of white, heat-embossed snowflakes from the Joyful Fluffy Bundle, along with a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels as the centers of several of the snowflakes.
Wow, I am in blue-white-silver heaven with this card!
The inside sentiment simply says “Sending you all the best this new year” from the Joyful Flurry Stamp Set, which will be retiring soon. (Ahem…this is another great addition to your permanent collection…when have snowflakes ever gone out of style?) I added a couple of partial snowflake images stamped to the lower right corner and the panel was ready to be mounted into the card.
So, my suggestion for this – if you did not get your cards out…or if you discovered that you received cards from folks who had not originally received one from you, this is that perfect “save”! I know that I am still basking in the glow of the holidays, especially as all the cleaning, cooking, company duties have ebbed away. Making some holiday cards let me relax and bathe in the memories of the celebrations just passed…
Do it! It’s a great way to let the spirit wash over you all over again!
Most of the products that I used are still available, although some are on that retirement list. Here they are, just in case you need any of them:
Yet another stunner Susan. Thank you for this idea, I’ll be CASE-ING this card today…many times over. It will make a beautiful birthday card too.
Thanks so much, Sue!! I just love the nontraditional colors…add some sparkle and I am a happy girl! So glad that you liked this one!
So pretty! Love the vellum embossed snowflakes. Beautiful colors! 🙂
Lovely card – the icy blues and purples are wonderful for this time of year. And your vellum coloring technique is really cool! 🙂
Thanks so much, Mary! I love using that negative space on the iridescent Snowflake embellishment!! I just hate throwing those things away – and here is a perfect use for it!