Warmth and wonder at Christmas

I think I've mentioned before that I really like to make nature- and animal-themed Christmas cards. So I was excited to see the Warmth & Wonder hostess set in the 2013 holiday catalog from Stampin' Up! (It's an easy set to miss -- it's on the last page of the catalog, and it's pictured slightly smaller than actual size.) I especially love the deer and the tree in the set, so I decided to make a card with those two images first:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Warmth & Wonder
Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Bermuda Bay 1/8" taffeta ribbon, small oval punch (retired), Dimensionals

Doesn't that deer look regal in this winter forest scene? To make the trees, I inked the stamp with Soft Suede and stamped the image once. Then I repositioned the stamp and stamped the image again. I repeated that a third time before reapplying ink to the stamp, which results in three different shades of Soft Suede and creates a sense of depth. I stamped the deer image between the trees and added a few pieces of torn Whisper White cardstock to create the look of snow. After adhering the panel to a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock, I tied a piece of coordinating ribbon around the bottom and attached it to a Soft Suede card base.

The open space between the treetops seemed to be waiting for a greeting, so I stamped the sentiment on a strip of Whisper White cardstock and trimmed the ends of the strip into V shapes. (I know a lot of people are done with this flag/banner trend, but I think it adds a nice finishing touch.) I wanted to add just a bit of Bermuda Bay at the top of the card, so I punched a small oval out of Bermuda Bay cardstock, glued it to the card and then used Dimensionals to adhere the sentiment over it.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Warmth & Wonder
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip cardstock; Season of Style Designer Series Paper (DSP)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Baked Brown Sugar, Always Artichoke markers
Accessories: Labels Collection Framelits dies, Festive Paper-Piercing Pack, paper-piercing tool and mat, large oval punch, corner rounder, burlap ribbon, pearls, Dimensionals

For my second card, I wanted to create something with a little more color. I knew I wanted to use the Season of Style DSP, so I selected two prints -- one lively and one a little more subtle -- and cut two 1-3/4" by 2-3/8" pieces of each print. (That size allows for 1/4" border around the card and between the pieces of DSP.) I used a corner rounder to round just two corners on each piece of DSP and then adhered the pieces to the Chocolate Chip card base.

To create the focal image I used markers that coordinated with the DSP and colored directly on the rubber stamp. (Note: The green I meant to use -- and the color that is in the DSP -- is Old Olive. I mistakenly used Always Artichoke, and I didn't even realize it until I put the marker back in the case when I was finished with the card. Oops. I need to distinguish the caps of those two markers some how, because that's not the first time I've used Always Artichoke when I wanted Old Olive.) After stamping the image on Whisper White cardstock, I punched it out with the large oval punch. I wanted to give the focal image a little more "weight," so I die cut a label shape from Chocolate Chip cardstock, paper-pierced around the edge and used Dimensionals to adhere it to the stamped image. For some embellishment I added a piece of the new burlap ribbon (I frayed the ends a little bit) and a couple of pearls.

It's fun to make two very different-looking cards from the same stamp set, and I'm sure I'll be using this set to make more Christmas cards. Thanks for stopping by!