Fairless Stampin' Flair: CHRISTMAS IN THE MEADOW

Now that it is September, I have decided I need to increase my production of Christmas Cards. I know it is still early, but if we don't start early, we pay for it later, right?

One year I decided to try to create at least one Christmas card each week using whatever stamp set I was featuring that week -- it didn't matter if it was a "Christmas" set or not. That became a good exercise for me in trying to think of untypical ways to use each stamp set. It wasn't always easy, but it was a great challenge. So, I have decided to try it again this year.

So, since this week I have been featuring the Quiet Meadow stamp set and the coordinating Meadow dies, today I used the Meadow Dies to make my Christmas card. Once I had a plan in my mind, this was actually a very quick and simple card to make. I tend to never make more than 4 or 5 of the same card design because I get easily bored with it, but if you are into mass producing a card, this card could easily be mass produced.

I used Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, and Silver to turn the Meadow Dies into a Christmas card. I don't think there are any more traditional Christmas colors than red, green, and silver.

The beautiful Specialty background paper is an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE called Naturally Gilded. The design looks a bit like a silver, winter woods, so I thought it would be appropriate for a Christmas Card. It was die cut with a Deckled Rectangle Die and backed with a die cut piece of Basic White cardstock to give it a little more rigidity so I could pop it up with dimensionals. The Cherry Cobbler Cardstock that the Naturally Gilded DSP is layered over has been embossed with a new embossing folder from the 23 Fall Mini Catalog called Snowflake Sky.

I chose the die that I used for the Cherry Cobbler flower stems because I thought, if I used my imagination, those flowers looked a bit like the shape of Poinsettias -- not really, but I needed an excuse to use that one because I liked it.

I used Metallic Enamel Effects to make tiny little dots in the center of each flower. This is the first time I have used this product and I really like how it looks. It adds a textural soft shimmer to the flower center. You do need to give it some time to dry. Obviously, you could also use small silver or white pearls on each flower center if you do not have the Enamel Effects product.

The sentiment is from the Hope & Peace Christmas Sentiment set. This stamp set is available as an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE. I love the Christmas Sentiments in this set, and I am really happy that Stampin' Up! made it an ONLINE EXCLUSIVE after it was no longer in the catalog.

The sentiment is stamped with Mossy Meadow ink and was also given a border of Mossy Meadow cardstock to set it off. I used the same Deckled Rectangle die to cut the edges so that it fits perfectly with the background.

For the inside of the card, I used a triple mat of Basic White and Cherry Cobbler and then I added a decorative strip of the same DSP as was used on the front. The sentiment from Hope & Peace is stamped with Mossy Meadow ink.

If you would like a detailed tutorial for today's card, use this link to download a free copy.

You can learn more about any of the products I used by clicking on their image in the Product List below. The new Snowflake Sky Embossing Folder from the Mini Catalog is not shown below, but the item number is as follows: