Almost Done with Christmas Cards

Well we're on Day 5 of my Christmas card extravaganza, and here's another fairly simple card.

I love the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies, and had seen some samples using the larger one as a wreath.  So this card features a wreath in three shades of green:  Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, and Garden Green.  Layered together, they look so pretty.

The card base is Early Espresso.  There's a piece of This Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper, and then we took a piece of Very Vanilla and stamped Hardwood in Early Espresso ink.  We also sponged rather heavily with the same color.

The wreath pieces are all layered, and we added a Real Red Stitched Satin Ribbon bow.

The sentiment is from Oh, What Fun, and is stamped in Garden Green with a Real Red embellishment.  It's cut out with the Lots of Labels Framelits dies and we cut a second label (same size) from Early Espresso.  This one is cut in half, and "spread", creating a "shadow" behind the Very Vanilla label.

All supplies can be purchased here. 


Product List
Stamp : Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set [140386] , Hardwood Wood-Mount Stamp Set [133032] , Hardwood Clear-Mount Stamp Set [133035]

Ink : Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974]

Card Stock : Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686] , This Christmas Designer Series Specialty Paper [141628] , Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650]

Tools & Adhesive : Stamping Sponges [101610]

Ribbon & Trim : Real Red 3/8" (1 Cm) Stitched Satin Ribbon [141693]

Big Shot : Lots Of Labels Framelits Dies [138281] , Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies [141497]

Expressing Thankfulness

"Thankful" is such a nice word.  It conjures up more than "thank you"; there seems to be an added sense of "heart", something deeper, when you talk about being thankful.  Do you feel that way too?

I send a lot of thank you notes at work.  We like to thank our employees for a job well done, even if it's just something small, but a gesture that made someone else feel better.  So I find myself making lots of thank you notes.

But every now and then I need more.  Someone really goes out of his or her way to make someone feel special!  And that's when I think "thankful".

So here's a card that's a bit more, something a little bigger than thank you.  One that I hope a recipient would understand how much I appreciate what they've done:

This card has a lot of layers.  The base is Early Espresso, with an off-kilter layer of Very Vanilla.  Next up is another layer of Early Espresso with Hardwood stamped on it.  (If you need help stamping these large background stamps, check out my Everyday Stampin' video here).

There's a strip of Bohemian Designer Series Paper (doesn't that look like corn on the cob?) and then a gorgeous leaf.  (Full disclosure:  you'll see acorns on this card.  Acorns come from oak trees; this leaf is a maple leaf.  There's an oak leaf in the set, but it was skinnier, and didn't look as good, so I chose the maple instead.  I apologize to all my arbor-correct friends).  The leaf, from Vintage Leaves, is stamped in Always Artichoke.  Then it is cut out with the Leaflet Framlits.   I crumpled the leave into a ball, and carefully straightened it out, then I sponged Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, and Old Olive inks all over it.

On the back of the leaf is a Dimensional; I scrunched up some Gold Cording and stuck it onto the Dimensonal, and then added the leaf to my card.

The acorns tops were stamped in Crumb Cake, and I used the Acorn Punch to punch out the acorns (Crumb Cake cardstock) and the tops, which were added with more Dimensionals.

The banner was stamped in Old Olive and cut out with the Banner Framelits.

So what do you think?  Is this a "thankful" card?

All products can be purchased here. 

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A Time for Sympathy

My daughter-in-law's Grandma Millie recently passed away at 90-years young.  I'd met Millie on many family gatherings, and I know she'll be missed.

I happen to be one of the luckiest mothers-in-law I know, as I consider the parents of both of my DILs friends.  So when I heard about Millie's passing, I knew I had to send a card to the family.

I saw a card like this on Stampin' Connection, a demonstrator-only website, and decided it would be perfect as a sympathy card.

The Hardwood background stamp is so beautiful!  I truly looks like a wooden fence or door or side of a barn.  Stamped in Early Espresso on Sahara Sand cardstock it became a delightful background for a lattice of flowers.  The lattice is punched from the Chevron punch; two strips were layered to create the fence.  This is then decorated with a bunch of Petite Petals in Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe and Daffodil Delight, all punched with the Petite Petals punch.

Leaves of Garden Green were cut, using the Little Leaves Sizzlet (love this one!) as well as from the Bird Punch. 

One of the framelits from the Chalk Talk set was just the right size for my sentiment, from Love & Sympathy.  Stamped in Garden Green on Whisper White, it's then layered on Garden Green and Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock, all cut from the same framelit (can you guess how I layered them?  Just cut the colored ones in half and line them up). 

Now because I let the flowers run off the edge of the card, I had to make a slightly-oversized envelope.  Have you seen the Envelope Punch Board yet?

This nifty little tool is one that MUST be part of your collection!  It makes envelopes in 66 sizes!  From small to large, just about all your envie needs will be met! 

So easy to use!  Choose your envelope size and note the "paper size" column; cut your paper and

use the lines to place, punch and score your envelopes.  So easy!  And you can make your envelopes to match your cards (as I did here using the Regals Designer Series Paper Stack in Garden Green). 

The Envelope Punch Board is not in our annual catalog yet, so if you are interested, head over to my on-line store and enter Item Number 133774; just $19.95 for one of the coolest tools you'll own!

Let's get creating!