Holiday Season Inspirations

Hi Everyone,

One of the things I love about attending Stampin' Up! events, are all the wonderful card designs and ideas that inspire me with my creations.  At the Denver Regional, I had the opportunity to take photos of hundreds of different cards and projects on display that were generously shared by demonstrators.

Today I thought I would share a few photos of cards created that have that Wow! factor without being overly complicated.  Some feature punches, perhaps some Designer Series Paper or maybe some ribbon to make the design pop.

These first two cards are examples of how different techniques can provide a different look to your card design. The top card focuses on stamping, with the ornaments arranged with the smaller ornament stamped separately and die cut before adding to the card.  There is a classic elegance to this card design which is  in contrast to the card below it.

 

The bottom card was created using punch art and has a bold, fun feel to it.  The background has been embossed with the Petals a Plenty Embossing Folder. The "pom poms" on the elf shoes were created with a circle punch from Silver Glimmer paper for a little sparkle.

Both cards have that eye-catching quality without being overly fussy or difficult to create. The next two cards show how you can take die cutting and give it a little twist for an unexpected look.

The Season's Greetings card features Designer Series paper as the focus of the card.  The opening was cut with the large framelit from the Apothecary Accents set.  By filling the negative space with strips of Designer Series paper from the Be of Good Cheer DSP pack, you take a simple white card base and make it a Wow card.  The Cherry Cobbler 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon adds the perfect embellishment to the sentiment for a quilted look to a traditional Christmas card.

This next card was created using the Holiday Collections Framelits set, which can be purchase separately or as part of the Scentsational Season Bundle in the 2012 Holiday Catalog. Once again the negative space created by the framelits has been filled, this time with various ribbon scraps to add color and dimension to this card design.  The little tags and Early Espresso Bakers Twine give the card a rustic, country feel.

 

Christmas ornaments are a popular theme with Christmas cards and this pretty card features the stamp set Chock Full of Cheer. I love the combination of Gumball Green (one of the new 2012-2014 In Colors) with Cherry Cobbler.  The Designer Series paper provides a wonderful background and the Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon makes a great accent to the ornament.  This is just one of the five 2012-2014 In Color Ribbons that you can earn for free during the month of September with a $40 purchase of Stampin' Up! products.  Just think how many Christmas cards you could make with a free spool of ribbon.

 

The final card that I am sharing today, also features my favorite combination of Gumball Green and Cherry Cobbler.  This time the focal point is a Santa created using various punches.  Isn't it cute! I love the Cherry Cobbler 1/2" Seam Binding used to embellish this card. It really pops against the polka dots of the Gumball Green Designer Series paper.

 

I hope you have enjoyed the card designs I have shared with you today and I hope it helps demonstrate how you can create amazing Christmas cards to fit the style that best works for you.  Using a similar color palette, you can create something classic and elegant or something more fun and bold. It doesn't have to be overly complicated or fussy to have that Wow factor that will have you friends and family loving the cards you send them this holiday season.

Until Next Time.
Happy Stamping,
Tricia Butts
http://www.triciabutts.stampinup.net