Joyful Tidings

Each Christmas it seems a particular theme stand out to me. This year it was the miraculous appearance of the angel to the shepherds and the heavenly host singing praises to the King.  I thought the beautiful 18th century hymn by Charles Wesley, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, would be the perfect starting point for my card inspiration.

I created my own Designer Series Paper in My Digital Studio.  I took the lyrics for Hark the Herald Angels Sing and used the font called "Jefferson" (for 18th century appeal) which I downloaded from Google fonts.  I printed it on Very Vanilla card stock and used it as the back ground for my angel.

• The angel is cut using my Silhouette Cameo E-cutter (maybe you'll get one for Christmas!)
• The angel layer is embossed with the Wood Grain Embossing Folder and daubed with Champagne Shimmer Paint (sadly, discontinued.)
• The sentiment (Christmas Messages stamp set) is embossed with Gold Embossing Powder and cut with the Deco Framelits

Merry Moments Simply Scrappin' Kit

I'm not a traditional scrap-booker (but I LOVE to do it with My Digital Studio), so I generally overlook the scrapbook kits that Stampin' Up! offers.  However, this year, the kits in the Holiday Catalog are so beautiful and enticing, I took the plunge and ordered the Merry Moments Simply Scrappin' Kit to see what projects it would inspire.

I used a layout from a card I admired at the Stampin' Up! Convention - made by the creative geniuses at the Stampin' Up! home office.  That card wasn't a Christmas card - but a good layout is a good layout.

• The printed borders look beautiful when combined together
• To cut them to my desired length without having to pull off the whole sticker, I used my "quilting rotary cutter method"
• Use a grid mat and ruler to measure a straight line at the distance you want to cut
• score the sticker with the edge of a sharp pair of scissors - using the edge of the ruler as your straight edge
• peel the sticker to the score - which, with a fold or two, should separate easily
• The various printed circle stickers are a great accent to the edge of a card layer
• The stamped images are from the Open Sleigh stamp set and are embossed with Pewter Stampin' Emboss Powder (which is so beautiful and has an "ooh" and "ahh" factor that leaves other embossing colors in the dust).

Product Highlights:  Click on the images to go right to my online shop and more product details!


Merry Moments Simply Scrappin' Kit:

It's just a beautiful combination of paper and design elements that have endless uses for all your Holiday projects:  cards, scrapbook pages, gift tags & bows, etc.

 

Pewter Stampin' Emboss Powder:   It's a color somewhere between silver, bronze, & gold and it is gorgeous.  It still wows me every time I'm waving my heat gun over it and I see it start to shine.  

Open Sleigh

The Open Sleigh stamp set from the main catalog is one of my favorite Christmas sets.  It has a lovely old-fashioned "Charles Dickens" feel to it. 

Here's how I put this one together:

• I stamped the sleigh on Crumb Cake CS with Basic Black ink and trimmed it out with my paper snips
• I daubed the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint on the sleigh for sparkle
• I used Coredinations Card Stock and the Floral Framelits die for the big flower and embossed it with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder
• The strip of Designer Series Paper is from the Merry Moments Simply Scrappin' kit in the Holiday Catalog
• The tag is from the Mixed Medley hostess set in the Holiday catalog

Product Highlights:

Open Sleigh is a versatile and beautiful stamp set for vintage themed Christmas projects.




The Coredinations Card Stock is awesome to work with and adds an effortless vintage/distressed look to your projects when combined with an embossing folder.  The lighter colored core comes through even without sanding - but you can deepen the effect with Stampin' Sanding Block.  It's also lovely just "plain" and has a pretty textured finish for an elegant card base.





If you've been reading my blog, you may know that I LOVE the Mixed Medley hostess stamp set.  It coordinates with the super cute 1 1/4" scallop circle punch and make a perfect little tag for a variety of occasions.  Use your hostess dollars to purchase this little gem - earn them with every individual order or party over $150.