Christmas Card Variations - Mix and Match

 

Christmas cards already?  My husband just shook his head when I showed him these cards - he doesn't understand that Christmas comes very early in the crafting world!  I had an idea that I wanted to try and you could use this technique for any kind of card - I just happened to decide that I wanted some snowflakes...

The Cricut Artbooking cartridge is the third in a series of absolutely full and fabulous cartridges that are available through Close To My Heart.  Each cartridge has used all of the available key positions (14 for each button) and there are 700 items that can be cut with this cartridge.  The section at the front of the book that shows the images takes up 28 pages - so many choices!  

This cartridge has a focus on mini books and scrapbook pages but there are many ways to expand on the use of the images.  I decided to try using one of the overlay images to make some cards (and of course they had to be sparkly!).  I started with the overlay image on page 52.  The overlay is meant for a summer sun page but it can easily be switched up for other purposes.  I cut the design at 4 inches (Real Dial Size) to fit a standard A2 card.  It is important to note that you will need to use Real Dial Size often with this cartridge if you are cutting something that you want to use for a different project than the project shown on the page in the book.

I cut the ray design in three colors of glitter cardstock (Core'dinations Core Couture).  Then, while one frame was still on the mat, I rearranged all of the cut out rays, alternating colors to create three card toppers.  (I did not use any software to alter the size of the image to fill the card front but you could do this with the Cricut Craftroom or the Gypsy).

I adhered the overlay to a white card and then added the individual rays.  If you have them set up on the mat it goes a little more quickly but the shapes are easy to distinguish so it is not strictly necessary to do this.

I find it easiest to place the frame on the card and then scribble in the empty spots with a glue pen.  The photo above shows the card with the dark blue background so you can see the glue more clearly.

The cut pieces are easy to arrange and you can just pick up the stack and fit them into the proper openings - it's sort of like doing a jigsaw puzzle.  This method saves times since you don't have to flip over each individual piece and add glue to the back.

In keeping with my wintry colors, I looked through the cartridge book for some snowflakes and found several pretty choices on page 76.

I cut a few samples and decided that the best size for the cards was 2 1/2 inches (Real Dial Size).  If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love snowflakes and I think these are very pretty.  If you were using the Gypsy or the Craftroom to cut your images, you might want to hide the small inner cuts on the bottom right snowflake - they are tiny and a bit tricky to poke out but they do give a nice effect.

The "Happy Holidays" sentiment from this set (B1412 Perfect Fit-Holidays Holiday) is just the right size to fit at the bottom of the card.  There are several of these sets available for different holidays and they coordinate with Perfect Fit Frame stamp sets (Perfect Fit - Frames and Perfect Fit - Frames 2) that have perfectly sized openings in the centers - just pop in the circle you want to use.

I didn't have embossing powder in the right shade of blue but I discovered that the Tim Holtz "Broken China" Distress Ink was a "close enough" match so I stamped the sentiment and then used clear embossing powder to give it some dimension and shine.

I chose this snowflake for the first card but I wanted to pop it up and didn't want the adhesive to show.  It turns out that a 3/4 inch circle (punched out but you could cut it with the Cricut) is a perfect fit to fill in the central area of the 2 1/2 inch snowflake.

The contrast of the light blue and white is subtle but pretty.

A large pop dot can now stick to the snowflake without showing...

I added a clear gem to the center and some more gems in two sizes to the left of the sentiment.  Card number 1 - finished!

For the second card, I centered the white overlay on the dark blue card base and added the two contrasting blues as shown above.  I chose a blue snowflake for this card...just to be different.  A clear gem in the center of the snowflake adds some more sparkle but the sides looked too plain.

I pulled out some silver "peel off" sticker borders that a friend sent to me a long time ago and they added just a nice bit of sparkle on each side.

I chose not to add a sentiment to the front on this card.  I'll add a white liner and stamp the message inside the card.

For the third card, I turned the overlay to place the circle at the top right.  For this snowflake I used a bright blue gem in the center.

I wanted to add a sentiment on the front but it looked odd to have the white area showing so I cut a piece of the dark blue cardstock at 4 by 5/8 inches and placed it at the bottom of the card.

The "merry & bright" sentiment is on page 56 of the book.  I set the machine for "fit to length" at 3 1/2 inches.  It can be a bit confusing to see the calculated size pop up - it said "cutting at 7 1/2 inches" for the 3 1/2 inches fit to length.  This is because the sizing is based on the design of the project - in other words a 7 1/2 inch album size instead of the 10 inch album the cut was designed for.

The dark blue strip gives the sentiment a place to rest and helps it to stand out on the card.  It is hard to show the brightness of the glitter in a still photo but it really sparkles in person.

I cut the word art from the DCWV "Glitzy Glitter" stack.  This super shiny glitter cardstock is thin and cuts easily, even for very intricate cuts.

Here is one more look at each of the three snowflakes...

I can think of so many ways to use these!

This same procedure can be used on many of the overlay designs to create interesting multi-colored patterns that won't add a lot of thickness to your card.  This is a great way to use up all of the pieces so nothing goes to waste.  I think I may try a set in Autumn colors next!

The Artbooking cartridge and the stamps I used are available from a CTMH consultant.  My friend Joy Tracey of Obsessed with Scrapbooking is a consultant and she would be happy to help you with an order.  I am hosting an online Gathering on her CTMH website HERE.  If you decided to shop for the cartridge or other items, please click on the link on the home page of the site to join "Diane's Gathering."  If you don't see it listed, please try back a little later today.

There are some great specials this month, including the Stamp of the Month for just $5  and a special National Stamping Month triple set for just $10 when you spend $50 or more.  Joy has all of the details and lots of projects on her blog.  This cartridge could keep you busy for months!

Thanks to all of you who left comments or sent notes of support for our family in Jamestown, Colorado.  It will take a long time to rebuild and we are hoping that the insurance and emergency funds will be sufficient for everyone to get back to normal.  I haven't had a chance to answer all of you yet but I will and I wanted to let you know that your words have been comforting and very much appreciated.

It's "Talk Like a Pirate" Day - aarrrgh!  Happy Birthday to our nephew Jason who always has a reason to celebrate this day!

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Christmas Medallion Card

I finally had a chance to visit my craftroom so I could do a test cut of the design I shared yesterday.  The original design was quite large - filling a 12 x 12 mat - and I needed to size it down to fit a card.

I drew some squares in the Silhouette design software to represent a five inch card base with two layers (4 3/4 and 4 1/2 inches).  Then I grouped the layers of the medallion design and sized it so the bottom shadow layer was four inches.

One thing that I have learned about cutting intricate designs is that you will get a better result with a shallower blade depth/lighter pressure and a double cut.  I made two trial cuts of this design.  The cut on the left was a single cut at blade depth 5, speed 3 and thickness 33 on the Cameo.  Everything cut properly but I had to do lots of "poking out" to finish the medallion.  On the right you can see that when I used a double cut, the result was perfect - I simply lifted the finished cut off the mat and every bit of the cut out design stayed on the mat (yes that is a Cricut mat - I use them interchangeably).

Both cuts were lovely when they were finished - the double cut on the right is a little cleaner at the points.  I used the first cut to make this card.

I cut three layers for the medallion.  The top lace is cut from Core'dinations Gemstone cardstock.  The red layer is American Crafts foil cardstock and the green plaid bottom layer is from the DCWV Christmas Combo stack.

The card base is Core'dinations Core Couture glitter cardstock cut at 5 x 10 inches and folded to 5 x 5 inches.  The red layer (4 3/4 x 4 3/4 inches) is the same American Crafts foil cardstock that I used in the medallion.  The top white layer (4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches) is white embossed cardstock with little swirls and dots.

I assembled the layers of the medallion and then pierced a hole in the center so I could insert a gem brad.  The colors of the brad gems influenced my choice of cardstock for the card with the dark red and sharp green.

I inked the edges of the green and red medallion pieces with distress ink to cover the cut white edge.  Since the layers are formed with the offset function in the software, I needed to line up the layers properly so I put a pencil mark on the back to show how they fit together.

This is the fully assembled medallion.  I thought it needed some extra gems to line the center of the design so I alternated clear and bright green gems at the points of the inner circle.

Here is a closer view of the center with the added gems.  The gem brad is from the Christmas Cheer collection by K & Company.

I added large foam circles to adhere the medallion to the card front.

The medallion stands out from the base and creates a shadow line.  If you wanted to make this cut as a tree ornament you could attach it to the card front but include a hanger (and finish the back of the ornament).

 

The red foil cardstock is so shiny that it is tricky to get a clear photo that shows the true colors.

I'll have to try some other color variations.  I think this would be pretty in shades of blue too.

Year End Clearance Sale

Last night I got a notice about the year end clearance sale at Creative Memories.  There are quite a few items at greatly discounted prices of up to 60% off.  You can find the complete list and more information on my Creative Memories website HERE.  The sale ends December 27th at 10 p.m. Central Time. 

You can sign up now for $39 and get an immediate credit for $39 (making the club essentially free).  Every order you place will earn you a credit of 15% for a future order.  This offer is available until January 1, 2013.  You can get all of the details and sign up HERE.

We had snow and ice yesterday - I took a few photos of the ice coated shrubs.  The ice is so pretty but also dangerous.  I am still working on Christmas trees and need to get out to do some shopping before it is too late.  I hope you are getting everything done that you need to do!

I saw a lovely tribute to the Sandy Hook school victims done by the judges and contestants from the TV show "The Voice" - here is a LINK if you'd like to see it.


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Sparkling Ornament Card

Here is a quick peek at the card I made using a new technique (for me) with some Martha Stewart glitter.  Please check back a little later for all of the details.   

I've had a few computer issues but I'll have them sorted out soon!

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!


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Christmas is Coming

The weather turned cold after our snow earlier this week but they say the weekend will warm up.  The cold weather made me realize how quickly Christmas is approaching.  I decided to start making a few holiday cards. 

The limited edition Holiday Frames & Tags Cricut cartridge has a wide variety of multi layered shapes that are lovely for cards.  The shapes remind me of the type that were on the Lacy Labels Lite cartridge.

The frames and the tags are designed using four layers.  This frame is on page 69 of the handbook (letter M).  The top layer cuts in two pieces to reveal a shadowline of the lower color - in this case, red.

You could use some of the frames with just two layers and make different combinations to suit your project.

This frame is designed to have a top layer that reveals just a bit of the layer below.

By leaving the center section of the top layer off you can have a different look.

I tried one version of the card using the frame without the center top layer and then heat embossed the word "JOY" from a Martha Stewart stamp set with white embossing powder.

After trying several variations, I ended up using all of the layers of the frame and embossing the stamp with red glitter embossing powder by Zing.  The frame would look nice on a plain red card front like this.

I decided to add more layers and used this green foil cardstock from the DCWV "Merry Christmas" stack from last year.

This is the stack I used - there are so many Christmas stacks with similar names from DCWV that I thought it would be easier to show you the exact one.

I cut my card layer carefully to make sure that the foil design was centered.  I added a second white cardstock mat to add a thin line of definition around the green foiled mat.  The finished frame was raised from the card front with foam circles (you probably don't need this many, I get carried away sometimes!).

The frame ends up to be quite thick when the four layers are assembled.  I used DCWV Shimmer cardstock (green and red) and Core'dinations Gemstone and Core Couture white glittered cardstock for the top layers.

In hindsight,  I think it would be better to use a smoother cardstock for the top layer if you are planning to heat emboss the sentiment - particularly if you are using glittered embossing powder.

It's hard to tell from the photo but the glittered word works very well with the shine on the green cardstock.  It is important to cut the green layer so the pattern will be symmetrical on the card.  This frame was cut at 3 1/2 inches and fits the card and the design in the cardstock perfectly!

While the cartridge is called Holiday Frames & Tags it is really suitable for almost any occasion.  You can vary the look by using papers in colors that suit the occasion - pastels, metallics, etc. 

Creative Memories has designated this cartridges as a "Limited Edition."  The "Limited Edition" items are only available for two months (until the end of December) and could sell out sooner.  You can see the full handbook for this cartridge HERE.  If you don't have a local consultant and you are interested in buying this cartridge, I'd be happy to help you.  You can order on my website HERE and have the cartridge shipped directly to your address.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  I think that I have sent my Dad's address to everyone that requested it so they could send a card.  He'll be 88 on the 17th.  If you didn't get an email with the address, please let me know right away - Thanks!


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