February's Christmas card

Whew! I managed to get my February Christmas card done just in the nick of time. Luckily I was off work today, so this morning I sat down and created several cards of this design:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Good Tidings
Paper: Whisper White, thick Whisper White, Early Espresso card stock
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Garden Green, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Stardust Gelly Roll pen (Sakura)
Accessories: Linen thread, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), Sparkling Clear sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute Glitter), Dimensionals

I bought this stamp set around Thanksgiving, but I never had a chance to use it for my Christmas cards last year. So today was the perfect time to try it out.

I love the detailed look of this holly image. It's actually a total of six stamps -- two stamps each for the leaves, berries and stem -- that layer together. Here's a little tip: If you are using a layering stamp set to create multiple cards, do each step on all of the cards before moving on to the next step. I had all my card stock layers cut and stamped the first leaf stamp on all the white panels. Then I stamped the second leaf stamp on all of them, and so on. That made it easier to get in a rhythm of lining up the images, and I also wasn't opening and closing six different ink pads for each card.

It's hard to see in the photo, but I used a glitter pen to color in the little details on the bold letters. It's just a touch of sparkle that catches the light when you move the card. And of course I had to add a few sequins. I chose sparkling clear sequins to go with the clean and simple design.

Inside the card I stamped the longer sentiment from the stamp set as well as the small holly image. It also would have been cute to make coordinating envelopes with this holly image, but I didn't get that far. (I think decorated envelopes are really cool, but in all honesty, I'd rather spend that time making more cards!)

So that's two Christmas card designs -- and a total of thirteen cards -- done for the year. So far, so good! I already know which stamp set I want to use for my March Christmas cards, so maybe I'll be able to get those done before the last day of the month.

For my next post, I'll be back to sharing some valentines/love cards. Thanks for stopping by!