Usually when I make my monthly Christmas cards, I focus on a particular stamp set, or maybe a die or stencil. This month I decided to do something a little different: I played with paper. It started with a pack of eeBoo holiday paper chains that I received as a Christmas gift from a friend a few years ago. I had never put the paper chain together because I thought some of the designs could be used to make Christmas cards. Well, I finally tried out that idea:
Supplies:
Stamps: Christmas Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Paper: Long Notes cards and envelopes (Stampin' Up!), Basic Black card stock (Stampin' Up!), paper chains (eeBoo)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Accessories: Frosted sequins (Stampin' Up!), Box of Chocolate sequins (Craft Medley), All Year Cheer washi tape (Sstampin' Up!)
What do you think? They're not terribly fancy, but I love the colors and images for a different style of Christmas card.
I will admit that I struggled with a layout for these cards. The strips for the paper chains are about 10" long, so obviously too long for a U.S. standard A2 card size. And I like the images, so I didn't want to cut off too much of the pattern. I thought for a loooong time and then finally remembered that I still have some of the Long Notes cards and envelopes that Stampin' Up! sold years ago. (I think these colors are Cool Caribbean and Wild Wasabi.) They are about an inch longer and an inch narrower than an A2 card, which worked perfectly: I could use a longer piece of the paper chain, and there wasn't a lot of card space left to have to fill.
I made two cards of each of these designs by glueing the paper chain strip to the card base, trimming the ends, and adding a border on the top and bottom with either thin strips of black card stock or copper washi tape. That left just enough space to stamp a sentiment on the bottom, and I had to give the cards a little sparkle with a few sequins.
While I had been looking for the Long Notes cards and envelopes, I came across a stack of vintage choral sheet music that I got at a church several years ago. I decided I wanted to use some of the pages from Christmas carols to make some collage-style cards. Here is the first group:
Supplies for all collage cards:
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Crumb Cake card stock (Stampin' Up!), gold foil sheets (Stampin' Up!), Christmas on Market Street paper pad (My Mind's Eye), vintage choral sheet music (unknown)
Ink: Crumb Cake (Stampin' Up!), gold Wink of Stella glitter brush pen (Kuretake)
Accessories: Snowflake punch (Stampin' Up!), green tree glitter tape (Paper Source), Country Houses die (Poppy Stamps), Christmas on Market Street enamel dots (My Mind's Eye), jute twine (May Arts Ribbon), puffy gold star (unknown), sponge (Stampin' Up!), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)
I have to say that I have a deep admiration for people who make collages. I have a hard time being "free" enough to do it well, and my left brain prefers more structure. (One of the reasons I've never been able to get into keeping an art journal, even though I really want to.) But when all was said and I done, I love the way these cards turned out; they might be my favorites so far this year. (I think they look prettier in real life than in the photos.)
Not only did I upcycle some old sheet music for these cards, but I also used up a bunch of leftover strips of patterned paper and a sheet of enamel dots. Even the gold snowflakes were already punched out (I must have planned to use them on a previous project and then changed my mind). Gotta love that!
For each card, I started by flicking gold Wink of Stella ink over a Naturals Ivory card base and then sponging the edges of the card base with Crumb Cake ink. Then I layered on the patterned paper (there are two separate strips on each card) and added a torn piece of the sheet music on top. Here's a tip for tearing paper: to help your tears go in a fairly straight line, use a slightly damp paintbrush to trace along the line where you plan to tear. This weakens the fibers a bit so they will tear easier.
Once the sheet music was glued down, I also sponged those edges with Crumb Cake ink. Then I added the embellishments: a strip of green tree glitter tape, a gold snowflake, a twine bow, and a few enamel dots.
These last three cards had little twists in the layout. For the left and right cards, I used different patterns for the papers above and below the sheet music. I also swapped the placement of the trees and the star.
For the card in the middle, I had two strips of sheet music left, and I wanted to use both. So I combined them with a Crumb Cake die cut of country houses and trees and used a puffy gold star instead of a snowflake. I still wanted some color, though, so I used a couple tiny scraps of patterned paper to make little banners and tucked them under the top piece of sheet music and then added a few enamel dots.
I love that the music for this card is from "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." That little village seems perfect for the lyrics.
That makes fourteen Christmas cards made this month! Whew! I'll have to count up how many cards I have and start making a card list so I know how many more I still need to make. Pretty soon I'll need to start working on other Christmas projects. Thanks for stopping by!
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