Arrange a Wreath Christmas Card

Hello, Crafters.

Welcome to another weekend! Hubby isn’t working this week and has several jobs he’s planning to do including writing our Christmas newsletter. We always send a copy to our family and friends to give them a quick overview about what’s happened in our lives in the past year. This was something Othman introduced me to when I first started dating him. I thought it was a strange idea but when we started getting newsletters back from his family and friends, I really warmed to the idea! It’s a good arrangement, i.e. he writes the newsletter and I make the cards! On Sunday we’ll work as a team getting all the cards written and into the post box by the end of the day! I have a goal which is to have all my cards sent out by the beginning of December – I’ll do it one year! LOL!

I have one bit of news from Stampin’ Up! which came as a big surprise to us all and that is Whisper White Cardstock (CS) has retired! It’s being replaced by new cardstock called Basic White CS which fits in nicely with Basic Black and Basic Grey CS. This decision was thrust on Stampin’ Up! because the company that produces Whisper White CS has, unfortunately, closed. The colour of the Basic White CS is very close to Whisper White which is what I’d describe as Winter White. This change will also affect Notecards & Envelopes, Thick CS, and Memory & More Cards. Knowing how careful Stampin’ Up! is with the quality of their products and the excellent reputation they’ve built up over 30+ years, I’m looking forward to seeing this new cardstock and getting to know it!

I created today’s card using the Wreath Builder Dies, which has a matching stamp set called Arrange a Wreath. The only stamping required for today’s card was the sentiment SEASON’S GREETINGS which is from the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set. I started by die-cutting a “bobbly” wreath is Whisper White CS and I thought it would look nice if it had a matching vellum wreath underneath. When I reached to take a piece of vellum out of the bag I saw a piece that I had dry-embossed but never used. I decided to see what a dry-embossed vellum wreath looks like! When I separated the die-cut out of the negative vellum the wreath became very curled all round, to such an extend that I decided to curl the Whisper White CS wreath to approximately the same extent!

It was a great effect but it will get flattened when it gets sent through the post. The top layer of my card was Whisper White CS and I embossed it using the Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder. I adhered the vellum wreath first and then the Whisper White CS wreath on top. There are three small four-petal flower dies in the Wreath Builder Dies and I cut fifteen of them. One by one I placed each flower in the palm of my hand and used my Paper Piercer – the rounded end! LOL! – to press down in the centre to make the petals curl up. I adhered five flowers around the circle of the wreath and then added a second one to each flower making sure I offset the petals. In the centre of each flower I adhered a Gold Glitter Enamel Dot – my take on poinsettias!

I chose a ready stamped and die-cut SEASON’S GREETINGS sentiment from the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set. I cut a piece of Adhesive Foam Sheet that fit the size of the sentiment – more or less! – and adhered it to the sentiment and then onto the card front. I took a Whisper White CS card front, added a middle layer of Real Red CS and then adhered the ready prepared top layer. Inside the card I adhered a middle Real Red CS layer and then a top layer of Whisper White CS. I had four red flowers leftover and adhered two together to make two double flowers then adhered them in the bottom right-hand corner. After punching two three-eights of an inch diameter circles using my Crop-o-dile, I adhered them inside the two flowers.

After painting them with my retired Gold Wink of Stella Glitter Pen, I painted the red part of the flowers using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen. Once they were done, I painted the flowers on the front of the card the same! After adding a small bow made with some retired Solid Red Ribbon, I added three more Gold Glitter Enamel dots to the sentiment.  Another satisfying card!

That’s it from me today. I’ll be back with you tomorrow with my Sunday video! In the meantime, 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 DECEMBER 2020 is SNBSKN44. Thank you. xx

Real Red A4 Card Stock [106578] £8.25	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] £9.00	White Vellum A4 Card Stock [106584] £9.25	Arrange A Wreath Bundle (English) [154109] £49.50	Wreath Builder Dies [152722] £35.00
All Dressed Up Dies [151665] £33.00	Pinewood Planks 3D Embossing Folder [152320] £9.25	Real Red Classic Stampin’ Pad [147084] £7.00	Real Red Classic Stampin’ Ink Refill [103287] £3.50	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] £7.50
Gold Glitter Enamel Dots [152155] £7.50	Stamparatus [148187] £46.00	Simply Shammy [147042] £7.50	Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] £112.00	Paper Trimmer [152392] £23.00
Paper Snips [103579] £9.25	Bone Folder [102300] £6.50	Grid Paper [130148] £11.75	Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] £5.50	Multipurpose Liquid Glue [110755] £3.75
Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] £3.75	Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals [144108] £3.75	Foam Adhesive Sheets [152815] £7.50

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”