Hi there!! This is my second post for today, so hopefully you didn't miss out on my 'Holiday Jumpstart' post -- it's just above this one.
How's that first photo for getting your creative juices flowing?!!! I'm in LOVE with today's projects for several reasons. One of them though, is that I loooooove this color combo!! I think it's easy for me to sometimes get bogged down with the traditional Christmas green and red so shaking things up a bit and creating an entire collection of cards and tags using a very non-traditional color combo just gets me super excited! I have TONS of photos and tips to share with you today so hold on to your hats and don't say I didn't warn you!! LOL! There really are a lot of photos! Let's get started!
Some of you have asked me to share with you the process I go thru when I sit down to create. The truth of the matter is that my process changes depending on what I'm trying to accomplish but I can definitely share the process that I went thru today, to create these projects and I think this is a process that ANYone could use at ANY time to get their creative juices flowing. I started by cutting standard 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of card stock in half length-wise and stamping lots of different patterns on them, keeping in mind what general color scheme I was in the mood for. Are these patterns totally Amy Butler-ish or WHAT?!!! Oh my lordy bees, I LOVE all of these patterns and colors together!
I made a few ink/card stock color discoveries today that I thought I'd share with you! As I've mentioned before, Papertrey has released new pigment inks in 3 colors -- spring moss, aqua mist and sweet blush. They are FABULOUS because they show up well on colors of papers that you otherwise wouldn't have been able to stamp them on. They have great, even coverage and you can see in the top of the above photo, what it looks like when you stamp the aqua mist ink on aqua mist card stock, and what it looks like when you stamp spring moss ink on spring moss card stock. But check out when you reverse the ink colors and stamp them on the opposite card stocks! Cool, huh???
As I continued stamping and experimenting with patterns, I discovered this BEAUTIFUL pattern that I stamped using one of the images from the new Vintage Labels set! (Watch Nichole's blog this week for more info on this fab new set!) I loved this pattern so much, in fact, that I decided to stamp some more of it, in PINK!
Are you swooning?! Let me show you how to create this gorgeous pattern.
I've showed you this before, but I always start my patterns by stamping in the center and along the bottom edge of my card stock. This helps me to keep everything lined up.
Now stamp the image again on either side of the center image. See how the points on the straight line are lined up?
Now flip the stamp upside down and stamp it, tucking it right down in between the images on the first row. Notice how the center point of the stamp goes right in between the two straight lines from your first row? And see how this new straight line, points at the center of the image on the bottom row? Are you totally confused yet? LOL!
Repeat what you just did, on the left this time.
Now this time, you want to flip the image upside down again, but rather than tucking it in between images, you're going to line it up exactly with the images you just stamped. Be sure to use those center points as your guides so you get them straight.
Again, repeat on the left side.
Now, flip the image upside down and this time, you're back to tucking the point of the image in between the two from the previous row. Can you see how the pattern is forming now?
The end result is this. Be still my heart! Now that I had all of my patterned papers stamped and ready to go, the creative wheels in my little brain were a-turning! I knew that with so much color on these projects, I wanted to tame them down and tie everything together by using kraft card stock as my anchor. I cut out some card bases (all 4 1/4" x 5 1/2") as well as some simple rectangle shapes for tags. Then, I just began layering and embellishing!
Here are the tags all together. Oh, they make me happy! And notice how you can totally tie one of these on a simple, plain kraft bag, add some tissue and you're ready to go! When your tag is as layered and busy as these, you don't really need to do a ton of extra stuff to your bag. Just think of how fun and easy (& affordable!) your gift wrapping could be this year! I added simple sentiments from Signature Christmas to each of these tags. Don't you just LOVE how versatile these sentiments are?! They go with just about any color or style you prefer!
Here are close-up photos of the tags so you can check out all of the details. The poinsettia and leaves are from Melissa Bickford's new Peaceful Poinsettia set and I used Background Basics: Text Style and Polka Dot Basics II as well.
This one uses another one of Nichole's stockings from the new Stocking Prints stamp set, plus I added dots from Polka Dot Basics II, Damask Designs and the stripes are the same ones I can't seem to put down from Background Basics: Retro.
More Polka Dot Basics II here, and Damask Designs as well as the new Vintage Labels.
One side note: these tags fit perfectly in one of Papertrey's Nugget clear top tins! What a fun thing to give a teacher or a neighbor!
Once I got to creating with these patterns, I couldn't seem to stop. I made 3 gift tags and 5 cards with those 4 strips of patterns I showed you at the beginning of this post! On this card, I used one of my Signature Christmas sentiments, as well as a tag from the 2008 Holiday Tag Collection stamp set.
A couple of things I wanted to point out regarding color on this particular card.....first off, see the raspberry fizz card stock at the top of the card? I stamped that line/dot pattern (from Background Basics: Retro) using PURE POPPY ink! You might not have considered stamping red ink on bright pink card stock, but the result is a rich, vibrant pinkish color that totally works on this card!
Also, it might be hard for you to see but the hibiscus burst strip (below the raspberry fizz) has dots from Polka Dot Basics II stamped on it using SWEET BLUSH ink!!!! Surprised that you can use a really light pink on a medium pink like that?!! Well you can, if you're using that new sweet blush pigment ink! The result is an almost orangey-pink dot and I LOOOOOVE how it looks in conjunction with the other colors on this card!
This one uses lots more dots and a Signature Christmas sentiment as well as one of the tree and ornament images from the new Tree Trimming Trio set. Um, ca-ute, right?! Again, I put epoxy circle stickers on the tree ornaments and I added glitter to the scalloped border on the tree as well as to the swirls.
Gracious, this may be my favorite one yet! I seriously want a quilt that looks just like this!!! Haha. (Susan Weinroth?? Could you whip one of these up for me?! Hee!) The snowflake tag is another from the 2008 Holiday Tag Collection stamp set. It's punched with a 1 3/4" circle punch and layered on a super jumbo scalloped circle punch.
The tag on this one is punched with a mega scalloped rectangle punch and is stamped with another poinsettia image from Peaceful Poinsettia. I added a little green rhinestone to the center of the flower.
Well, are your creative juices in overdrive yet?! I'd looooove to hear your thoughts on today's posts. Are you feeling motivated to get crafty??? Are you getting excited for the holidays now?
Don't forget to head to Nichole's blog for the design team projects with lots more gift and card ideas. Hope you can make it back here tomorrow for even more Signature Christmas ideas!
Toodles!
{Tag & Card Set supplies}
Paper: kraft, vintage cream, aqua mist, spring moss, hibiscus burst, raspberry fizz
Stamps: Signature Christmas, Peaceful Poinsettia, Vintage Labels, Tree Trimming Trio, Stocking Prints, Background Basics: Retro, Background Basics: Text Style, Polka Dot Basics II, Damask Designs, 2008 Holiday Tag Collection
Ink: dark chocolate, aqua mist, spring moss, sweet blush, raspberry fizz, fresh snow, pure poppy
Other: topnotch twill ribbon - aqua mist, spring moss, hibiscus burst; aqua mist classic grosgrain, hibiscus burst bitty dot ribbon; raspberry fizz/hibiscus burst/aqua mist/spring moss vintage buttons; rustic cream button twine, EK Success embossed curve punch, Fiskars apron lace punch, SU! corner rounder punch, SU! scalloped edge punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, super jumbo scalloped circle punch, mega scalloped rectangle punch
