Hello, Crafters.
Yesterday I had a card design in mind using the Joyful Holly Stamp Set which I hadn’t used. I tested the arrangement I needed for my planned card using my Stamparatus and scrap paper cut to the size of a top layer. The direction that the two branches went in wasn’t conducive for my plan so I moved onto plan B which didn’t exist! LOL! What I had wanted was to have the two branches starting near the base of a horizontal top layer and the end branches overlapping near the top so they looked like a curve.
My next step was to have something in the middle but it wasn’t meant to be so I have shelved the idea for the time being. For plan B, I decided that I’d have both holly branches as if they were a small “bouquet” tied together with a bow from the Gift Wrapped Stamp Set which I used for the first time last week. My Stamparatus was given a good workout stamping the two holly branches, all of the bows in the Gift Wrapped Stamp Set on some offcuts of Whisper White Cardstock (CS) and a part of one holly branch in the bottom right-hand corner of the top Whisper White Cardstock CS layer for inside my card.
Although I didn’t have time to do it yesterday evening, I stamped one image of all the bows so I could have a go at colouring them all. The three large bows that fit the Bow Builder Punch all have patterns stamped into them and I like to know what way to paint them to make them looked the best. For example, the bow I used for today’s card has an outside stripe on the outside edges of the ribbon. I painted mine with my Light Real Red Stampin’ Blend on the middle section and the Dark Real Red Blend on both outside edges. In my mind’s eye I see the dark edges as a shiny satin and the inside strip as a matt layer of ribbon.
To colour the leaves I used Light and Dark Olive Green Stampin Blends and Dark Real Red for the holly berries. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but recently I have moved away from having a card base as the same colour as my top layer – today’s card would have been Whisper White. If you have noticed, which way do you think looks better?
When I was ready to put my card together I needed a sentiment and I thought I’d leave it till last and die-cut it with a fancy shape. Once my card had been fully assembled I decided I’d rather have the sentiment stamped directly on to the top layer. A big part of me was telling me not to do it! It’s a mistake! You’ll be sorry! I persevered with arranging the stamp on my Stamparatus and testing it on some scrap paper! When I was happy, I decided to go for it and stamped! I survived and I wanted it a bit darker but all my courage had expired so I left well alone! 
By the way, after I had painted the bow I punched it out using the Bow Builder Punch and then I fussy cut around the edge. To finish off the front of my card I painted the bow, the holly leaves and the berries with my Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Pen! I adhered the middle Basic Black CS layer inside my card and then adhered my top Whisper White CS layer with the stamped image. To colour this I used the same Stampin’ Blends that I used for the front of my cards and finished off by painting over with my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen. 
Not the design I had planned but I’m still happy with how my card turned out! That’s about it from me today. I hope you have a terrific Tuesday and whatever your plans are for today, please take care and stay safe! Happy crafting.
JanB. xx
Products used for this project: please click on any of the links to be taken to my 24/7 online Stampin’ Up! shop. The Hostess Code for AUGUST 2020 is GP4JNSXV. Thank you. xx
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Cardstock Layer Sizes: A4
Card base 8¼” x 5¾” scored and folded at 4 1/8”
Middle layer: 2 pieces 3 7/8” x 5½”
Top layer: 2 pieces 3¾” x 5 3/8”
Cardstock Layer Sizes: Letter-size
Card base 8½” x 5½” scored and folded at 4¼”
Middle layer: 2 pieces 4” x 5¼”
Top layer: 2 pieces 3 7/8” x 5 1/8”
Really lovely Christmas card Jan.
Many thanks, Carmen. xx