Christmas in july !!

 

 for those of you who like to be prepared.. here's an idea that gives you 5 months to get making !!

 

 

stamps: polar party from stampin up!

inks: memento(tuxedo black), archival ink(jet black), distress ink pads from tim holtz (festive berries & crushed olive), promarkers and copic spica glitter pens (http://theglitterpot.co.uk/products/Copic_Spica_Glitter_12_Pen_Set_B/21255/1040). 

card: digi cardstock from craftwork cards, 4 x 4" card blanks from craft uk limited

other: scallop circle and circle dies from sizzix and the big shot machine. 

 



 

start by making the toppers, I did this in stages to make multiple cards. stamp the trees with memento then die cut using the appropriate size circle. find a scalloped circle to layer under and cut as needed. I coloured mine with the promarkers to match the image, but you could obviously use coloured card instead. colour the images next, if you are making several card use the same colour on each image before moving on the next one ( do every bauble, then every trunk, every star etc) . accent  the tree decorations and snow using the glitter pens for that special festive sparkle. glue the layers of the topper together with

double sided tape.

 stamp a background onto your card blank in archival ink to decorate. I picked the little stocking from this set, and coloured them in a variety of ways to coordinate. I chose to watercolour, by picking up the pigment from the distress ink pads (don't do this directly, instead you need to squish some of the colour onto a brown craft matt, acetate or clear stamping block) using a wet brush, for a softer look. if you don't fancy doing this, you would need to stamp onto cardstock and colour with promarkers, then layer the piece onto the card blank. as you can see I have left the centre blank (nobody can see the bit under your topper, so you might as well save time and resources!!) all that's left to do then is stick down your topper and add a sentiment inside if you like

 

if I haven't explained anything well enough, feel free to ask ... there's plenty of time before Christmas !!

Mx