I really enjoyed teaching my "Christmas in August" this past Sunday, even though it's the third time I've taught this class since early August. It's always a major kick for me to teach a new technique to people and see their reactions when they look at the cards they're going to make and when they actual finish their projects. Those smiles of joy and satisfaction get me every time.
Before go on with this post, I want to share my preclass experience, so you don't fall victim to the "smell". So here goes. While I was waiting for my guests to arrive I decided to spray some air freshener in my studio just to freshen things up a bit. Big mistake!!! Let me tell you!
Never try a new deodorizer or scent without first testing it. I reacted big time to this beautiful Vanilla spray scent by sneezing, wheezing and stuffing up to the point I had to take an antihistamine to get things under control.
Fortunately for me no one else had the same reaction. Thankfully my lovely guests were able to deal with my frequent trips to the other room to "sneeze my brains out" and grab more Kleenex. I guess this was one of those classic examples of what not to do before a class! Anyway the "magic" pill kicked in about an hour into the class and all is well that ends well. Luckily they are seasoned stampers and were able to carry on while I was out of the room!
While all four cards were fun to make, I especially enjoyed demonstrating the
"herringbone" technique. Here are some instructions for the card we made:
"herringbone" technique. Here are some instructions for the card we made:
HERRINGBONE TECHNIQUE and SUPPLIES
Card Base: 5 ½” x 8 ½” Very Vanilla
First Layer: 5 ¼” x 4” Cherry Cobbler
Herringbone Layer Cardstock: 3 ¾ x 5” Very Vanilla
Mulitpurpose Adhesive Sheet: 4 x 5 ¼”
Peel back Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet to expose glue side.
Place Very Vanilla cardstock over top of adhesive sheet and burnish to adhere glue, then remove Very Vanilla cardstock. The adhesive has transferred to the cardstock. Work with this side up.
Lay DSP strips of patterned paper across sticky side of Very Vanilla cardstock creating 4 quadrant areas. See Dawns video on Youtube at :
Working in different directions, lay varying sizes of DSP to fill in the gaps. Always complete one area before moving to the next quadrant. This ensures your strips are going in different directions.
When you've laid all the strips of DSP on the cardstock place this layer in the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and run through the Big Shot machine. This seals your work to the cardstock and gives the layer a real quilted look. Adhere this layer to the Cherry Cobbler layer.
Finish Decorating the Card Front:
Stamp small ornament from Ornament Keepsakes stamp set in Gumball Green Ink and again in Cherry Cobbler on scrap piece of Very Vanilla cardstock. Cut out the ornament with Holiday Framelit Die and the center of the Cherry Cobbler ornament with a 3/4" punch. Mount the Cherry Cobbler piece on the Gumball Green ornament with dimensionals. Note: If you purchase the Ornament Keepsakes bundle which includes the stamp set and the holiday framelit dies, you'll save 15% off the individual pricing.
Punch a 1 3/8" circle from Glimmer Red Cardstock using the Circle Punch. Adhere ornament to the glimmer paper with dimensionals.
Cut a 2 x 2" piece of Gumball Green cardstock and then cut out a medallion using the Perfect Pennants Die cut and the Big Shot Machine. Glue the red glimmer circle and ornament to the medallion and mount with dimensionals to the center of the finished card front.
Here's the finished card:
And the inside:
