Country Chic Christmas Card - Details and More Photos

Hi everyone!  After running into the storage dilemma on Google, I found that I had to purchase additional storage in order to continue adding photos to my blog posts.  I was surprised by this change, but the world is always changing, isn't it?

I'd like to continue my previous post so I can show you some close-ups of the Country Chic Christmas card featuring my sepia tone Santa.  I also wanted to show you the two cards side-by-side, so you can see how one stamp can be used to create very different cards.

So let's begin with the close-ups of my Country Chic card and a few details describing how it was created.

I don't know about you, but I LOVE to recycle and/or upcycle things to use as embellishments on my cards.  I've added some things like that to this card.  Can you find them?  Let's take a closer look...

The corrugated cardboard I used for the plaque is made from a coffee sleeve!  My husband and I love to go to Barnes & Noble, drink coffee at Starbucks and read our favorite magazines.  I always save the Starbucks coffee sleeves to take home for projects.  Now I've got too many, so I have decided I can't save any more until I use the ones I've got, lol!

 

Here is a view from the side of the card.  In order to add dimension, you can see how many of the elements are set away from the card base at various depths using different thicknesses of foam tape and pop dots.

I added a white "brick" center border to separate the two red and white patterns.  Then beneath the border I added some braided trim I found in my sewing stash.  I has a slight sparkle to it for added interest.

The cardboard background for this embellishment was cut from the remaining coffee sleeve using my circle punch.  Then I added crackle medium to the focal point, as well as to the berries on Santa's hat, to add a little more vintage feel.  I love the way it turned out!  Here's a better look...

For the sparkly effects in the pine sprigs and holly I used Stardust Galaxy Gelly Roll pens.  They work great in adding detail to things such as these!

These little tickets are from Whimsy Stamps-Holiday Ticket Sentiments.  I actually stamped and cut these tickets first from kraft cardstock and then again in off white cardstock.  I fussy cut the second set and inset them onto the kraft set so they would stand out a little more.  The doily I used was actually a little small for this project, so I cut in half and placed it strategically to give the appearance of something a bit larger.

For the inside of the card, I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with Die-Namics-Wellworn Die and Stamp Set.  I used a little twine and a small vintage Santa image popped up to finish it off.  Here is a close-up of the sentiment.

Now I'd like to show you the two different cards I made using the same Santa image.  They each have a very different feel...

 

One a bit more elegant in cranberry and gray tones...

 

And the other with an aged feel in a sepia tone pallet of off white, red and kraft.  Both cards make a big statement.  Which one is your favorite?  I can't seem to choose.  I actually made the Country Chic card to send to my grandchildren with the "Believe" sentiment and the cute Santa tickets.  :o)

 

Well, thank you for joining me today and I hope you enjoyed today's post.  I'll be back soon with another project to share!

 

Happy Holidays!

Merilee

 

Recipe:

 

Pattern Papers and Cardstock:  DCWV-The Downtown Love Stack, Main Street Stack; Me & My Big Ideas-Mambi Sheets; Recollections-Solid Cardstock

Stamps and Die Sets:  Flourishes-Santa I Believe-SS085, Sentimental Christmas-SS179; Whimsy Stamps-Holiday Ticket Sentiments-10210; MFT Stamps and Die-Namics Set-Wellworn

Embellishments:  K&Company BW Evergreen Adhesive Paper Borders; American Crafts Baker's Twine; Wrights-Loop Braid Trim; My Stash-Doily, Jingle Bell; Starbucks-Coffee Sleeve

Ink, Pens and Markers:  Tim Holtz Distress Ink-Brushed Corduroy, Festive Berries; VersaMagic-Jumbo Java; Stardust Galaxy Gelly Roll Pens; Sharpie Ultra Fine Point Markers

Adhesives:  Inkssentials Crackle Accents; Zig Two-Way Glue, Pop Dots; Glue Dots; Zots; Scotch- ATG, Mounting Tape

Tools:  Fiskars-Paper Trimmer, Easy Stamp Press; Scotch ATG Gun; Cutter Bee Paper Snips; Paper Shapers Circle Punch; Hole Punch; Martha Stewart Score Board; T-Square; Sizzix Big Kick Machine; Ink Daubers