Card: Joy


Welcome to my blog, Paper Crafting With Rebecca! 

I know, I know... it's not even Thanksgiving yet and here I am working on Christmas! I simply don't like feeling rushed during the holidays, so I start working on Christmas cards a bit early so that they will be ready to mail after Thanksgiving. Everyone on our card list receives a unique one-of-a-kind handmade card and it takes some time and planning to accomplish this feat!

Today's card is simple, fun, and a bit on the traditional "red and green" side. My hubby prefers the traditional red and green Christmas colors this time of year. Once I completed this card it was "hubby approved" when he viewed it on his way past my crafting table, so I thought you might like to see how to make one yourself!

I started by using my snowflake embossing folder in my Cricut Cuttlebug to emboss a piece of 4" x 5.25" white cardstock. You can use any embossing folder you may already own. I could have used dots, stripes, etc... it is up to your creativity!


Next I used a border die to cut two strips from some red cardstock scraps in my stash. Again I used my Cricut Cuttlebug to keep it simple, but you could use ribbon, lace, or hand cut cardstock using decorative edged scissors for this part.


I folded a strip of 4.25" x 11" white cardstock in half in order to make an A2 top fold card. This card could easily be adapted to other sizes, too.


Next comes the stamping part. Using a small piece of white cardstock, stamp whatever holiday themed stamp you want to use. I chose a Christmas tree and used CTMH Willow ink.


Next I lined up my "decorations" stamp to my tree so that I could stamp it with VersaMark and then use red tinsel embossing powder to add a little "sparkle" to my tree. Once I had completed the stamping I cut out the tree (I used a die, but it could have been cut out by hand, too).



Now the main components are gathered and it is just about time to assemble the card. First, however, you will want to stamp your sentiment on your card base. I used a "Joy" stamp and my CTMH Willow ink.


Time for assembly. I used tape adhesive for all the parts except the tree. I used foam tape for the tree to allow for a bit of dimension.

Attach the red strips, then trim the ends off before adding to the front of the base card.



One of the many fun perks to handcrafting your cards is that you can make the envelope to match. I kept the envelope simple using my stamps and two CTMH ink colors (Willow and Ruby).


And there you have it... a Christmas card ready for whatever sentiment you want to add to the inside, full of Christmas cheer and JOY!

I will be sharing other Christmas cards with you as we draw nearer to Christmas, but in the meantime watch for my Thanksgiving cards blog coming soon (it is completed, I am simply waiting to publish that posting until my friends and family receive their cards... I don't want to ruin their surprises).

As usual, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you have any questions regarding technique or supplies, please leave me a comment below. Of course I welcome all comments, suggestions, and messages you may want to leave me.

Happy Paper Crafting,
Rebecca

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