Thursday, December 18, 2014

Ornamental Pines Christmas Card


Today I'd like to share one of the cards I made for friends and neighbors during this holiday season.  It's made with the Ornamental Pine stamp set and I think you're going to love it as much as I do.

Here's My Card Inside and Out:

 

Supplies:
Stamp Set:    Ornament Pines #
Classic Ink:   Early Espresso, Old Olive 
Card Stock:   Old Olive, Whisper White, Early Espresso
Accessories: Early Espresso Twine Cord, Dazzling Details Glitter, White Gel Pen, Adhesive, 

How It's Made:
1. Cut an 11" x 4 1/4" piece of  Old Olive Card Stock and score at 5 1/2" for the card base.


2. Cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Early Espresso for 1st layer.  See picture for how I make the most of my card stock that is layered and not visible. 
 
I used a thinlet from the Labels Collection to remove the center part of the card stock that will be layered; in this case from the Early Espresso card stock.  I'll be able use that piece in another project and as another bonus I've lightened the weight of the card a bit by taking away this piece.  You can see the Early Espresso layer on the card base in the final sample above. 
3.   Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock measuring 5 x 3 3/4" for the final layer and cut an additional piece measuring 5" x 3 3/4" for the inside of the card.

4.  For the front layer stamp the pine branch from the Ornamental Pine set in the bottom left hand corner of the Whisper White layer in Old Olive ink.  Stamp it twice more in the upper right hand corner, overlapping the branch. I started with the largest image and then moved back to the corner for the second image.


5.  Ink up the pine cone image with Early Espresso ink and stamp it twice in the upper right hand corner of the card face.  I used the downward branch as a guide for laying the pine cone in and making it look connected to the branch. 
I coloured the white pieces on the pine cones with my white gel pen.  The moment you do this the pine cones just pop, almost like 3-D.  I also added Dazzling Diamonds for the smallest amount of sparkle on the snow areas I coloured. 
ite
6.  Stamp the "Christmas Wishes" from the Ornamental Pine Stamp set below the pine branch. The original card I was CASing (see below) had a banner that was layered with Old Olive card stock across the front of the card, however I chose to stamp directly to the card face.  

Before layering this layer onto the card face I wrapped two lengths of Twine Cord Early Espresso around the white card stock tied it in a knot and then tied a single loop bow.  Tip:  To ensure the cord doesn't swivel around on your card fix it permanently to the back of the card stock with a small piece of scotch tape right over the middle of the cord.  Burnish it down so it doesn't cause a bulge on the front of the card, and voila problem solved. 

Here is the original card I cased showing the added sentiment banner and only one layer of butcher's cord ribbon.  This was one of the samples that Cheryl Lefore displayed for her Christmas stamp-a-stack.  I chose not to add the banner and instead stamped directly to the card face, and double-wound my cord.  
7.  For the inside of the card I stamped the pine bough on the bottom left hand corner of the card in Old Olive ink.  The sentiment, which I think is absolutely beautiful and so meaningful for Christmas is stamped in Early Espresso Ink.  Tip:  To make sure the sentiment is centered I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig 
and every card was exactly the same.  Also when adding ink to your stamps with the new pads don't squish the stamp image down on the ink pad, just tap it.  Rule of thumb, tap, tap, tap and then look at the image to make sure it's fully covered then stamp. 



I hope you liked this brief tutorial on how to make this card.  I'll try to post some additional cards using this set over the coming days. After using this beautiful stamp set I can say with assurity that Ornamental Pines is going to be one of my favourite Christmas stamps of all time.



Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

3 comments:

paper bag create said...

Just GORGEOUS!!! Love it. hmmm...might need to order that stamp set after all... ;)

Penny Hanuszak said...

Thanks Sheri. It's an awesome stamp set. If you don't get it I'll be sure to share!

Betty Lee said...

Beautiful card.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Rainbows, a Pot of Gold, Leprechauns green beer and shenanigans are all part of celebrating St. Patty's Day on March 17th. I have a sma...