Christmas in July | Carols of Christmas Blog Hop

Hello, crafty peeps! I hope you are enjoying the Carols of Christmas blog hop. You should have arrived here from Jennifer’s blog, but if you started here that’s okay, the links to all the talented designers are at the bottom of this post. This hop is focused on the new Carols of Christmas stamp set, which is part of the new holiday catalog.

Beginning on August 1st Stampin’ Up! customers will have the opportunity to purchase this set or the bundle, which includes the stamps and coordinating dies. I love this bundle. The stamps are lovely with these large sentiments that create great focal images for your holiday creations. The Card Front Builder dies are quite innovative with a beautiful border, a night sky, some poinsettia corners and other wonderful elements.

I know, I know, I know … Christmas already, it’s still summer! Decorations and treats seem to arrive earlier and earlier each year. On the positive side, it’s a great chance to get a jump on your handmade cards and gifts.

The Merry Little Christmas suite is being called a “mega” suite as there are two stamp sets, a die set, and a punch, not to mention two coordinating DSPs and several trims and embellishments all coordinated together. The suite is located on pages 10 – 13 in the holiday catalog. Today I used the Carols of Christmas stamp set, the Card Front Builder dies, and the Merry Music Specialty DSP. I also used some of the new Boxwood Wreaths and the Silver 3/8″ metallic edge ribbon, which I dyed using my Cherry Cobbler reinker.

My first card uses the largest stamp in the set, Deck the Halls, as the focal image. I began with an A2 (4.25″ x 5.5″) Cherry Cobbler card base. I cut a piece of the white Merry Music DSP to 4″ x 5.25″ and mounted it to the base. Next, I cut a 2″ x 3″ piece of the black Merry Music DSP and using the Banner punch, created a banner. I die cut the largest oval from the Layering Ovals out of Cherry Cobbler and the largest scalloped oval out of Whisper White and stamped “Deck the Halls” on the scalloped oval in Cherry Cobbler ink. I adhered the scalloped oval over the Cherry Cobbler oval. I wanted a matching trim, but none of the red ribbons I had looked right. What to do? Dye white ribbon, of course! If you haven’t dyed your own ribbon, you’re missing out (check out this post for more on dying ribbon).

Once the ribbon was dry I cut two pieces and attached them to the back of the oval using mini glue dots. HINT: I prefer mini glue dots over liquid glue or tape runner for adhering ribbon and other trim to paper. I find it holds faster and better in the long run. I adhered the oval and ribbons to the banner and finished off the front with one of the new Boxwood Wreaths, which I glued down with mini glue dots.

For my second card I decided to make a shaker card. I began with an A2 Whisper White card base. I cut a Garden Green panel to 4″ x 5.25″ and ran it through my BigShot to cut out the three trees. Using multi matte medium, I glued a piece of acetate in place behind the trees, creating the front of my shaker card. Using the small star cluster stamp from the Carols of Christmas set, I stamped it all over the front of this panel using Garden Green ink for a tone-on-tone effect. HINT: Rotate the stamp to maintain an “organic” feel on the panel. Next, using the largest Layering Circles die I cut a panel in Whisper White and stamped “Peace on Earth” in Garden Green ink. I also cut the largest scalloped circle in Cherry Cobbler for a matte. I glued these two panels together and sat them aside.

Now it’s time to build the shaker. I wanted to make sure the shaker bits stayed within the tree shapes so it was the Stampin’ Up! Foam Adhesive Strips to the rescue. These strips are perfect for getting into small nooks and crannies and creating custom shaker cards. I filled in the rest of the panel using standard foam tape. Using a paint brush and my anti-static embossing buddy, I went around the inside edges of the foam tape. This helps reduce static between the acetate and the shaker bits and neutralizes any adhesive on the side of the foam tape. HINT: Make sure to do this step BEFORE you expose the adhesive. I added shaker bits (if you’re like me, you’ve glued the backing panel on with no shaker bits inside at least once) and adhered a piece of Merry Music DSP to the shaker panel. The final touch, a deer die cut out of sparkling silver paper.

There is a ton of inspiration throughout this hop. Since you started here, I encourage you to grab your favorite beverage and visit the other talented bloggers listed below. Next up is the talented Diana. Until next time, remember, creativity and imperfection live together in all we do. “Grace is the face love wears when it meets imperfection.”

~xoxo

Supplies Used:
Carols of Christmas/Card Front Builder Bundle (146037)
Banner Punch (138292), Layering Ovals (141706) & Circles (141705)
Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Cherry Cobbler (119685), & Garden Green (102584)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (126966) & Garden Green (126973)
Paper & Embellishments: Merry Music Specialty DSP (144623) & Boxwood Wreaths (144176)
Foam Adhesive Strips (141825) & Silver 3/8″ metallic edge ribbon (144213)