Heart of Christmas - Week13

Hi there

Welcome to another week of Heart of Christmas. Each week, the talented ladies from the Art with Heart team will bring you inspiration for your holiday craft projects.

This week I'm having my first play with the Decorative Tree Dies and I don't know why I waited this long! There are lots of dies with lovely details and overlays to add interest and texture and so many options for mixing and matching. I wanted to make use of our beautiful glimmer papers again for lots of sparkle and shine. The dies cut the glimmer paper beautifully even the finest of the overlays.

I started by die cutting some solid trees from the white glimmer and overlays in various colours to get a feel for the dies. I decided to keep it simple and go with just the red and white and I found a panel of Pool Party that was already embossed with the Snowflake Sky 3D embossing folder ready to use - don't you love when that happens! I added some Craft White ink to the embossed panel to bring some more definition to it and then layered it on Real Red to create a tiny border.

The first tree has the plaid overlay and the second tree the very fine detail centre overlay. To make it super easy, applying Adhesive sheet to the reverse first would be recommended. However, using my Silicone Mat I just added tiny dots of Tombow on the reverse of the die cuts and waited until it went tacky. This ensures the die cut adheres easily without slipping around and getting messy. 

The 'Christmas' greeting was cropped from Gold Foil with the Peaceful Season Dies and adhered at the bottom and the 'MERRY' from the Greetings of the Season stamp set was heat embossed in white and cropped into a banner with the Stylish Shapes Dies. The trees were placed in position and I decided to add the smaller greeting from the Peaceful Season stamp set at the top, that I cropped with a banner die from the Nested Essentials Dies. To finish, I added a star from a scrap of retired Gold Glimmer to the mainly white tree and sprinkled some cute peppermint embellishments.

For the inside I have a Basic White writing panel with a tiny border of Real Red and I've added some die cut parcels using the Reindeer Fun Dies. I don't usually put embellishments on the inside but I couldn't resist putting the tiny peppermints in the centre of the bows. I added Wink of Stella to the Pool Party parcel and bow so they could have some sparkle, too.

The camera can't do justice to how pretty and sparkly the trees are!

 

Project Details
Stamps	Peaceful Season, Greetings of the Season
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Pool Party, Real Red, Festive Glimmer Paper, Gold Foil, Berry Burst, Old Olive & White Glimmer Paper, Gold Glimmer (retired)
Ink	Versamark, Real Red, Craft White
Accessories	Real Red & White Adhesieve-Backed Peppermints
Tools	Nested Essentials Dies, Decorative Trees Dies, Stylish Shapes Dies, Peaceful Season Dies, Reindeer Fun Dies, Snowflake Sky 3D EF, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, White EP, Heat Tool, small Star punch (retired), Wink of Stella

 

Now it's time to hop along to see the fabulous project Andrea has made for us this week.

If at any time you find a broken link and the next blog doesn’t come up, please click on the link for our lovely host of the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, Sharon Davern, and she will have the list of all who are participating.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

CASE-ing the Catty - Sentimental Christmas

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week. 

If you've come from visiting Monique, then welcome!  If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today! You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the CTC Crew by clicking on the button at the bottom of the post.

This week we are taking our inspiration from the Sentimental Christmas Suite on page 28 of the 2024 September-December Mini Catalogue.  The imagery in this suite is reminiscent of Victorian times with soft tones and fine details. The Sentimental Christmas Designer Series Paper is the Stampin' Up! Product Giveback product this holiday season. For each pack of the paper that is purchased in Australia, $4.25AUD will be donated to support children's literacy in Australia. This is a really worthwhile cause, as I'm sure you would agree.

I've chosen the project in the photo above for my inspiration, which is a gift box using the gorgeous deer design from the Sentimental Christmas paper pack. I've taken the layout from this project and turned it into a card. 

I started with the Christmas tree design from the Sentimental Christmas Designer Paper which has a lot of blue in it, although there isn't a blue listed in the coordinating colours. I chose Azure Afternoon to create a tiny border around the panel of paper before adding the vertical strip of Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/4" Satin Ribbon down the left side. I tied the ribbon around the panel horizontally and finished with the bow over the top. I have used other Cherry Cobbler accents as I think it adds a richness to the olde world design. I popped up the panel onto a Basic Beige side opening card base.

For the tag, I did a wash with Azure Afternoon ink onto watercolour paper and then cropped the panel with the tag die from the Something Fancy Dies. The gold foliage was cropped with a die from the Unbounded Beauty Dies and Gold Foil. The predominant green in the patterned paper is Old Olive, but I wanted a lighter tone, so I ink blended a panel of Basic White and used the die from Winterly Tree Tops to crop the pine fronds. The foliage was arranged on the tag with the greeting from the Peaceful Seasons stamp set popped up in the middle and I added some Cherry Cobbler berries. The tag was attached under the ribbon with Linen Thread and adhered to the card at the base. I finished with some sparkly champagne Drusy Adhesive-Backed Embellishments.

For the inside, I have a strip of the patterned paper down the left side of the Azure Afternoon mat and I have stamped the greeting from the Reindeer Fun stamp set on the writing panel on the right. 

 

Project Details
Stamps	Reindeer Fun, Peaceful Seasons
Card stock & Papers	Basic Beige, Azure Afternoon, Basic White, Sentimental Christmas DSP, Gold Foil, Watercolour Paper
Ink	Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Azure Afternoon
Accessories	Cherry Cobbler & Gold 1/4" Satin Ribbon, Drusy Adhesive-Backed Embellishments, Linen Thread, Cherry Cobbler & Pearl Adhesive-Backed Berries
Tools	Stylish Shapes Dies, Something Fancy Dies, Winterly Tree Tops Dies, Unbounded Beauty Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Water Painter,

 

We would love to see your CASE of a Sentimental Christmas project from page 28 of the 2024 Sep-Dec Mini Catalogue this week. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog. 

You can head over to Rochelle to see her lovely project and follow the hop to see the inspiration from the rest of the CTC Crew.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

Heart of Christmas - Shepherd's Care

Hi there

Welcome to another week of Heart of Christmas. Each week, the talented ladies from the Art with Heart team will bring you inspiration for your holiday craft projects. 

This week I have a CASE of a lovely card created by Beth Rush using the Shepherd's Care stamp set from the 2024 September - December Mini Catalogue.  You can click on the link to see Beth's version of the card. This is a lovely set if you like to create cards that represent the true meaning of Christmas and would be an easy one for creating multiples as well.

I wanted a lighter version of the card, so I have used Smoky Slate card stock to stamp the shepherd image using Night of Navy ink. I used a white Chinagraph pencil I found in my stash to add some shading for the light falling onto the shepherd. You could also use a white Watercolour pencil,  which gives a softer look. The star was stamped in Versamark ink and I used the (retired) Shimmer White embossing Powder to give a beautiful sparkle, which unfortunately, does not really show in the photos.

To create the beam of light, I have adhered Night of Navy card stock each side of the shepherd and then trimmed it off at the edges, but you could also mask it and ink blend with Night of Navy ink as Beth did. The panel was layered onto sparkly white glimmer paper from the Berry Burst, Old Olive & White Glimmer Specialty Paper pack and then onto the Night of Navy card base. I love the touch of brightness the glimmer paper brings to the card.

The greeting, also from the Shepherd's Care stamp set, was stamped in Night of Navy ink on Basic White and cropped with the perfectly sized die in the Something Fancy Dies set. I added a layer of the Silver & White Sheer Ribbon under the greeting and then popped it up on Dimensionals. I finished with a large sparkly Drusy Adhesive-Backed Embellishment in the centre of the star and two small rhinestones under the greeting.

For the inside I have a Basic White writing panel and I have stamped the greeting, Bethlemen image and stars from the Shepherd's Care stamp set in Night of Navy ink. 

This card will be going go my Mum, so I hope she likes it.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Shepherd's Care
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Night of Navy. Smoky Slate, 'Berry Burst, Old Olive & White Glimmer Paper'
Ink	Versamark, Night of Navy
Accessories	Drusy Adhesive-Backed Embellishments, Silver & White Sheer Ribbon, Basic Jewels Rhinestones
Tools	Something Fancy Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Shimmer White EP (retired), Heat Tool

 

Now it's time to hop along to see the fabulous project Sharon has made for us this week.

If at any time you find a broken link and the next blog doesn’t come up, please click on the link for our host of the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, Sharon Davern, and she will have the list of all who are participating.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

CASE-ing the Catty - Annual Catty Bundle

Hi there

Welcome to CASE-ing the Catty for this week. 

If you've come from visiting Andrea, then welcome!  If you're visiting me, I appreciate you stopping by today! You can continue your journey to see the other inspiring creations from the CTC Crew by clicking on the button at the bottom of the post.

This week we are taking our inspiration from a Bundle on pages 57 - 73 of the  2024 -2025 Annual Catalogue.  There are lots of great samples to choose from in these pages!

I've chosen the project in the photo above for my inspiration, which is a (US) slimline card using the cute Hearts & Hugs Bundle. I don't have this particular bundle, so I've created a version of the card using the Reindeer Fun Bundle from the 2024 Sep-Dec Mini Catalogue. 

I started with a Basic White (metric) slimline card which is 9cm x 21cm when closed and added the bright Granny Apple Green Christmas lights design from the Reindeer Days DSP, leaving a narrow border of white to frame it.

I cropped 3 circles from my favourite red spotted design from the Take A Bow paper pack using the Spotlight on Nature Dies and adhered them to the front of the card.  The reindeer were fussy cut from a sheet of the Reindeer Days DSP and I popped them up on Dimensionals with the bottom two slightly overlapping the greeting. The first reindeer is bounding off to parts unknown! The greeting from the Reindeer Fun stamp set was stamped in Garden Green onto Basic White and cropped with a die from the Countryside Corners Dies. It was tricky finding something to fit the greeting without being too long.

On the inside I have a another piece of the Christmas lights paper at the base of the writing panel and I've stamped the greetings from the More Wishes stamp set in Garden Green and Real Red.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Reindeer Fun, More Wishes
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Reindeer Days DSP, Take A Bow DSP
Ink	Garden Green, Real Red
Accessories	Neutrals Adhesive-Backed Sequins
Tools	Spotlight on Nature Dies, Countryside Corners Dies, Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals

 

We would love to see your CASE of a Bundle from the 2024-2-25 Annual Catalogue this week. Click on this link or the image below to go there. The first time you will need to click on the 'Join Group' button at the top. Once you have been added to the group, you can go ahead and post your creation and you do not need to have a blog. 

You can head over to Monique to see her lovely project and follow the hop to see the inspiration from the rest of the CTC Crew.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store

Heart of Christmas - Sparkly Forever Forest

Hi there

Welcome to another week of Heart of Christmas. Each week, the talented ladies from the Art with Heart team will bring you inspiration for your holiday craft projects. 

We have lots of choice in Glimmer Paper at the moment, so I've pulled out some colours and created a very sparkly forest for my cards this week. Apologies for the oversize photos, but Typepad isn't playing nice with uploading images at the moment (so frustrating!).

This first combination is Summer Splash and Shy Shamrock from the the 2024-2026 In Color Glimmer Paper. I've used the Forever Forest Dies to crop trees of different heights and then I've cut and joined a couple to give me some taller ones.  Unfortunately, the camera can't do justice to the gorgeous vibrant colours. I added the trees to a panel of basic White dry embossed with the Forever Plaid 3 D Embossing Folder and added a couple of rows of the 1/8" Gold & Silver Trim Combo at the bottom to ground the trees.

This photo gives you a better idea of the amazing sparkle. The Summer Splash Trees are popped up on Foam Adhesive Strips and the Shy Shamrock are adhered flat. The panel was added to a Thick Basic White card base and I finished with a trio of Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems. The greetings are from the Greetings of the Season stamp set, stamped in Shy Shamrock ink, trimmed and popped up.

For the inside I have a Basic White writing panel with the strip of silver trim at the bottom. The greeting from the Peaceful Season stamp set was stamped in Shy Shamrock ink and I added a couple of leftover pines at the bottom corner to finish.

The second colour combo is Garden Green and Granny Apple Green from the Festive Glimmer Paper pack and I've paired it with gold trim, gold sequins and the greeting from the Decorative Trees stamp set heat embossed in gold and fussy cut. The background panel has been dry embossed with the Snowflake Sky 3D Embossing Folder. I actually made this card first and used Dimensionals to pop up the Garden Green Trees. It wasn't as easy manually cutting strips off the edge of the Dimensionals sheet, but I think I prefer the slightly lower profile it gives.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Peaceful Season, Greetings of the Season
Card stock & Papers	Basic White, Festive Glimmer Paper, 2024-2026 In Color Glimmer Paper
Ink	Versamark, Shy Shamrock
Accessories	Adhesive-Backed Sparkle Gems, Neutrals Adhesive-Backed Sequins, 1/8" Gold & Silver Trim Combo
Tools	Forever Forest Dies, Forever Plaid 3D EF, Snowflake Sky 3D EF,  Stampin' Cut & Emboss, Dimensionals, Foam Adhesive Strips, Gold EP, Heat Tool

 

Now it's time to hop along to see the fabulous project Catherine has made for us this week.

If at any time you find a broken link and the next blog doesn’t come up, please click on the link for our host of the Heart of Christmas Blog Hop, Sharon Davern, and she will have the list of all who are participating.

Thanks for visiting today!

• Shop my Online Store 24/7
• See the latest Stampin' Up! Promotions
• Request a FREE Catalogue
• Check out my Tutorial Store