Greetings!! It’s time for the last Fusion Card Challenge of 2015!! And as we ramp up for Christmas, here are some wonderful inspirations to get your inky fingers going!
I was immediately drawn to the bright reds of the holly berries and the lush greens of the evergreens in the inspiration photo. I thought I was going to go in a rustic Christmas direction, but as often happens, my card ideas turned on me as I went along!
This is one of my favorite cards this holiday season! The stamp set is Peaceful Wreath by Stampin’ Up! I love that it utilizes the Wonderful Wreath Framelits from last year’s holiday catalog, giving me more designing bang for my buck š
I stamped the wreath image in Soft Suede ink and then used Old Olive, Real Red, and Soft Suede to color it in. You may notice that some of the green leaves are slightly darker than the others, I felt the wreath was too monotone once I was done coloring, so I went back and added another layer of Old Olive ink to some of the leaves. Here’s a close up of the wreath, hopefully you can see the shimmer that I added to the holly berries with Wink of Stella, it is so beautiful in person!
I die cut the bow twice in white cardstock and then once with DSP, layered the three together to create a dimensional bow. I also stamped the bow image on top of the die cut, it’s a subtle detail but adds to the overall design of the card.
Design Tip: Stampin’ Up! has always recommended die cutting the center of the wreath first, then stamping the wreath next, with the idea that you will be able to align the image perfectly. I can align the image fairly well, but the indentation left from the die cut makes the image stamp poorly. Well, I discovered a way around all of that!! First, I stamped and colored my wreath. Next I took a piece of tissue paper and die cut the center out of it using the Big Shot. I then laid the tissue paper over my stamped wreath, lined the die cut opening up perfectly with my stamped image and then used small bits of micropore tape to tack the tissue paper down. I laid the center die cut over tissue paper (it aligns easily because of the cut in the tissue paper) and ran the whole thing through the Big Shot! Voila!! Perfect alignment!! The outside edge of the wreath is much easier to line up because it’s an open die. Try this tip for a perfectly due cut wreath!
I used greetings from the retired stamp set More Merry Messages by Stampin’ Up! It’s always nice to have lots of options when designing a card! And as you can tell, the Merry Moments DSP is hands down my favorite paper this year, and really of all time!
Thank you so much for visiting today! I hope you have a moment to check out what the other Fusion Card Challenge design team members have dreamed up for your inspirational pleasure!
- Julia Aston
- Katie Brooks
- Brandi Hall
- Lyndal Higgins
- Jeanne Jachna
- Karren Johnson
- Betty Juchum
- Deanne Kay
- Lynn Mangan
- Sandie Munro
- Stephanie Serevin
- Michelle Lupton
- Kimberly Wiener
- Michelle Williams
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and we will see you in 2016 with a very special anniversary challenge!!
Products Used:
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Real Red by Stampinā Up!
Pattern Paper: Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Pack
Ink: Real Red & Soft Suede by Stampinā Up!; Old Olive, Real Red & Soft Suede Stampin’ Markers by Stampin’ Up!
Stamps:Ā Peaceful Wreath and More Merry Messages (retired) by Stampinā Up!
Dies: Wonderful Wreath and Envelope Liner Die by Stampinā Up!; Stitched Mats: Rectangles by Lil āInker.
Tools:Ā MISTI
Embellishments: Wink of Stella
