The Last of the Christmas Cards

Hi Peeps!

Hope everyone is having a splendid week so far!  First off, I want to welcome my new followers!  I'm very glad to have you along!

I probably don't have to remind any crafters of how close Christmas is getting...so in my haste to finish up my cards, I made a few quick cards that are the same, but a little different.  Though they are simple, I think they are very elegant and I love how they turned out. 

To simplify things, here is a list of supplies common to all four.  I will then list supplies unique to each card below that particular card's photo.

Common Supplies:
Paper - metallic cardstock (gold or silver) and white cardstock
Stamps - Inkadinkado Spirit of Christmas for sentiment and corners, embossed with fine gold or silver embossing powder
Other - focal shape cut with Cricut Sentimentals cartridge, Stickles in gold or Star Dust

Unique supplies - Martha Stewart snowflake punch (sorry I forget what this particular one is called), dazzling diamonds glitter

Unique supplies - Stampin' Up Tree Trimmings stamp set stamped in gold or silver Color Box pigment ink and embossed with Stampin' Up Iridescent ice embossing powder.

And the last one:

Unique supplies: McGill pine branch punch, Spellbinders Shapeabilities Layered Poinsettia cut from white card and painted with Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals in Poinsettia Red Gold.  I love this paint - it is red with gold mica, which you can see when the light hits it just right.  Brad for centre of 'flower.'

These cards (one or all) are for the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp - photo inspiration (and a stunning photo it is!)

Papertake Weekly - anything goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y is for Yippee! (anything Christmas goes!)

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Snow (1st card)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Mainly Monochrome

Top Tip Tuesday - Let it Snow (1st card)

In the spirit of sharing, I have two tips this time.  My first tip is for the snowflakes.  I love this snowflake punch, but the tips sometimes just seem to fall off so easily.  So, to avoid this problem, I cover my cardstock with a piece of sheet adhesive - I use Sookwang, and before removing the top protective layer, I punch out the snowflake.  Once the snowflake is punched, remove the top film, exposing the adhesive.  Cover with your favorite glitter, and not only will the tips stay put, the snowflake is now sparkly and gorgeous! 

My second tip comes from the last card.  I really wanted to use what I had in my stash to make these cards, but I didn't have anything that I liked for the centre of the poinsettia.  So, I altered a brad.  The sparkly gold brad in the photo started out as a pastel purple brad with a 1 on it.  I started by taking a file (or you can use coarse sand paper) and scuffed up the shiny finish on it.  I then covered it in gold stickles and allowed it to dry.  Once dry, add a second layer of stickles to ensure complete coverage and allow to dry again.  What a transformation!

Thanks for stopping by and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment - I love reading them and it gives me the chance to pop by your blog to admire your handy work too.  Enjoy the rest of your week!

Hugs,

Dawn