The Heart of Christmas - Week 21

Hi there

Welcome to week 21 of Christmas inspiration from the Art with Heart Stampin' Up! team. I finally managed to get my act together to participate this week. I have had my first play with the 'Good Tidings' stamp set and I really love the large greeting and the beautiful holly image. Each part of the holly (both large and small) is a two-step stamping process. However, in my opinion I don't think you need the second step with the berries or the stem. I then the berries get a bit 'muddied', but then I like the clean look.  

 

I wanted a nice vibrant green for my holly, as that I what I remember of the real plant, so I have chosen Emerald Envy and Tranquil Tide. The Tranquil tide provides the darker shading in the image. The berries were added in Real Red in and the stem is stamped last in Soft Suede ink.  I did find it takes a couple of goes to get the lining up spot on, so I recommend you practice first. 

         

I stamped the large greeting in Basic Gray Archival ink on thick Whisper White and cut it into a flagged banner and added a narrower and longer banner in Gold Glimmer underneath. The 'joy'was stamped in Real Red and fussy cut and popped up for extra dimension. To construct the card, I layered some of the black star design from the 'Merry Little Christmas' designer paper pack onto a Real Red card base. I positioned the banner to the right side and added the fussy cut holly. I stamped and cut out some extra berries and popped them up on the small holly. Once you have the holly stamp and fussy cut, the card comes together quickly.

For the inside, I have stamped the smaller greeting from 'Good Tidings' in the centre of the writing panel in Basic Gray Archival ink. At the base there is a strip of retired holly washi, topped with the narrow gold washi from the Year of Cheer Speciality set. I have added one the small holly sprays in the top corner to finish it off and then added the panel to a black mat.

All of the new products in the Holiday Catalogue are available to purchase from my Online Store now.

Project Details
Stamps	Good Tidings
Card stock & Papers	Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Merry Little Christmas DSP, Gold Glimmer
Ink	Basic Gray Archival, Emerald Envy Tranquil Tide, Real Red, Soft Suede
Accessories	Year of Cheer Specialty Washi
Tools	Banners Framelits (retired), Big Shot, Dimensionals

If you would like to see more Christmas inspiration, hop over to Claire's blog to see who else is participating this week

Thanks for visiting today!

Comments

[Kate Morgan]

Love how you have fussy cut some of the images and popped them up, Judy, it really adds depth.

[Caroline]

What a beautiful card Judy. The choice of DSP really makes this card dazzle! I love how you fussy cut 'Joy' for the stamped greeting and the colour choice for your holly is perfect. The inside is just as beautiful as the front of your card. :)

[Tina Gillespie]

Your card is gorgeous, Judy! I'm not usually a fan of black on a Christmas card, but I love how you've used it!