For my April installment, I started out with the Sugar Plum paper pad from My Mind's Eye. I bought this pad of paper a couple years ago and am not sure I've ever successfully made a card with it! I loved the soft pastel, non-traditional colors, but something almost always draws me back to red and green for my Christmas cards. I didn't really stray too far, though... a soft green and pink.
I also had in my head some beautiful marbled looking pink poinsettias I saw at the grocery store last season and wanted to try to recreate them with stamps. So I pulled out the Pinecone Christmas stamp set and my trusty MISTIs and got to work inking up the outline image in archival black. Next came the solid poinsettia in rose quartz. Then I applied puffy heart to just the center of each solid poinsettia stamp and used a waterbrush to spread it out and stamped again. I used the same technique with the green inks for the leaves. This was my first real attempt at multi-step stamping with the MISTI, and oh my word does it make it easy to do multiples! I had both my original and mini MISTI out so I could keep the stamps in place and just turn the paper as needed. Such a time (and sanity) saver!
The poinsettias are cut with the coordinating Poinsettia Pinecones die set and then accented with some rhinestone stickers. The sentiment is from the Beyond Measure stamp set. I cut it out with a stitched circle die and then used the die as a stencil to sponge some of the rose quartz inside to pull some more of the pink into the design of the card. I matted this with a scallop circle die cut. For the trim, I cut both of the dies from the new Lacey Trim Duo die set in white, then layered them together for an elegant accent.
Since I was having so much fun making poinsettias I decided to make a matching box to go with this card. The design is a 3.5" square soap box (click here for the tutorial I used) made from thin white cardstock using the envelope punch board. It seemed like the perfect size to tuck in a treat, gift card or other trinket for the boys' teachers next year. I used the same basic design as the card, with a slightly smaller circle and a different sentiment from the Beyond Measure set. I attached my stamped pieces directly to the belly band, which I also adorned with 3.5" lengths cut with the Lacey Trim Duo die set. That way in December I can just slip off the belly band, fill the box and I'm ready to rock and roll!
Okay, now it's time to hop along and check out all the other fabulous posts on the hop. I'm so excited to hop along and see everyone's creations! The hop is hosted on the fabulous Kelly Lunceford's blog, so head over there to start from the beginning. Or continue on to visit Kim Heggins if you've already been hopping along!
Lesley Croghan (taking a break this month)
Broni Holcombe (taking a break this month)
Julee Tilman {You are here}
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Enabler's List
Stamps: Pinecone Christmas, Beyond Measure (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Sugar Plum (MME), white (Neenah)
Ink: rose quartz, puffy heart, moss, frayed leaf (Altenew), black archival (Ranger)
Accessories: Poinsettia Pinecones and Lacey Trim Duo die sets (A Cut Above by VERVE), rhinestone stickers, MISTI, stitched circle die, scallop circle Nestabilities (spellbinders), Envelope Punch Board (WRMK)
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