Christmas Stockings

Hello everyone,

Today's final Christmas In July post is another pretty non-traditional Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler.  The printed paper is Dovercraft layered on Bazzill Aspen.  The sentiment is Magenta stamped in Close To My Heart Ponderosa Pine on Recollections White.  The ribbon and snowflake embellishment are of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with Silver Stickles.

The was the perfect paper for using a vertical sentiment.  While I'd hoped to coordinate with pink elements, I couldn't find the right shade and I just had more dark green elements in my stash.  As you know, I'm not all that fussy with rows but again, because the scale of the images was just right, this paper works.  It's a really wonderful result.

I hope you enjoyed this card as well as this Christmas In July series and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Pink Holidays

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very pretty non-traditional Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry.  The image/sentiment is Inkadinkado Winter Trails stamped on Whisper White in Rich Razzleberry, clear heat embossed and layered on a shimmery pink of unknown origin.  The printed paper is BoBunny Carousel Christmas layered on more shimmery pink.  The card is highlighted with Petal Pink Liquid Pearls.

This is yet one more image/sentiment that I found in my leftover bin.  It was likely relegated to the leftovers because it ended up much more pink than I'd planned.  It works perfectly however with this great pink poinsettia printed paper which I likely didn't have when I originally stamped this element.  This very feminine Christmas card has hints of shine with the layering paper and heat embossing which just makes me happy.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

'Tis The Holly Season

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas In July post is another pretty holly card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Handsome Hunter.  The printed paper is Echo Park Very Merry Christmas layered on Real Red.  The image is Stamps Happen Inc. Tara Reed Swirl of Holly stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White, painted with a variety of LuminArte Twinkling H20s and layered on more Real Red.  The sentiment is Stampendous Script Greetings also stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White.  The brad is American Crafts.

This is another great piece of holly paper.  The card base is a little on the darker side but works well with the image which I'd stamped and painted years ago.  This sentiment is perfect for the long retired Stampin' Up tag punch.  It's feels great to use up some of these older stamped images.  Especially when the results are so wonderful.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Glittered In Purple

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas In July post uses more leftover glittered elements.

The card base is Stampin' Up Orchid Opulence.  The printed paper is Wild Rose Studio Frosted Lace layered on a white of unknown origin.  The image is a Peel-Off's outline sticker filled with a variety of glitter.  The sentiment is My Favorite Things stamped in Altenew Deep Iris on a white of unknown origin and layered on more Orchid Opulence.  The embellishment is an American Crafts mini glitter brad.

This post uses another leftover Christmas element.  I'd put together a number of glittered pieces a long while back and didn't use them all at the time.  Crafting with glitter is very messy so I tend to put together a number of images at the same time.  I particularly like the silver and purple colour combination and in this case, it works particularly well with the printed paper.  A great non-traditional result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Tree Trio

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a more masculine/neutral French Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The printed paper is Simple Stories Merry & Bright layered on a red Bazzill.  The images are Peel-Off's outline stickers filled with a variety of glitter.  The sentiment is Bonnidée C'est Noël stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla.

I crafted these glittered trees a number of years ago and found them in the leftover bin of bit and pieces.  As with many of these cards, I'm trying to use up some of the leftovers in my stash.  I love the trees against the tree paper.  Even though they're very different, they still speak well to each other.  The sentiment also nods to trees.  It's a great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Yet Another Christmas Plaid

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great neutral or masculine Christmas card.

The card base is a red of unknown origin.  The printed paper is of unknown origin and is layered on a dark green also of unknown origin and Recollections White.  The sentiment is cut from a shimmery red of unknown origin with Joy Crafts 6002/2027 Merry Christmas die.  The nutcracker embellishment is Crafts.  The card is highlighted with Golden Rod Stickles.

I'm rather shocked at the number of plaid Christmas cards I've crafted.  This card was purposely a more masculine card.  I thought the plaid and nutcracker helped with that effort.  I love the sentiment on the angle but wish I'd managed to align it just a little more in the center.  I had to angle it otherwise the nutcracker wouldn't fit all that well. 

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Another Simple Chrismtas

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas In July post is another very traditional card.

The card base is a green Bazzill.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a red Bazzill.  The sentiment is Hero Art Holiday Sayings stamped in Altenew Moss on Recollections Vanilla.  The mini banners were punched from a red Bazzill and are highlighted with Candy Cane Stickles.

I have enough holly paper that I'd be able to use nothing but for my Christmas cards until I'm unable to craft anymore.  It's a rare holly Christmas paper that I just don't love!  This is a very simple holly paper so I kept the layout equally clean and simple.  The sentiment is rather large but doesn't cover up too much of the printed paper.  Adding three mini banners is a layout I just love and use fairly often.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Traditional Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a much more colourful and traditional Christmas card.

The card base is Bazzill Red Devil.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a dark green Bazzill and and ivory of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 808 stamped in Altenew Evergreen on more ivory and layered on more Bazzill Red Devil.  The brad is of unknown origin.

I really dug into the scrap bin to pull this wonderfully traditional card together.  I can't remember where most of the elements originated.  I'm loving all the layers with the variety of reveal amounts.  The printed paper is fantastic (I know I've used it before) and is the perfect scale for a card.  In a nod to the traditional card, I used a font that was equally traditional.  It's a great result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Monochromatic Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today's post is very neutral monochromatic Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Crumb Cake.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Recollections Vanilla and Black.  The image is Sweet & Sassy Christmas Silhouettes stamped in Close To My Heart Slate from Recollections Vanilla and cut with the coordinating die.  The sentiment is Flonz Merry Christmas 809 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  The card is highlighted with Platinum Liquid Pearls.

I've had this piece of die cut holly in my leftover bin for eons.  I can't for the life of me figure out why on earth I used Slate ink which has made this leftover very hard to use.  When I came across this piece of printed paper I knew I'd finally be able to use this holly branch.  I was particularly happy to be able to stamp the sentiment on the printed paper.  This is one very non-traditional Christmas card but lovely all the same.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Shine

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a shiny blue and silver French Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is Recollections Winter Frost layered on Paper Accents Glossy Mirror Silver.  The sentiment is Bonnidée C'est Noël heat embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl embossing powder on a white of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with White Opal Liquid Pearls.

Blue and silver are a favourite colour combination for a non-traditional Christmas card.  I really love the shine of the silver even though it doesn't make for the greatest of photos.  I did have to ensure that I didn't place the printed paper upside down.  The music notes would have looked pretty funny if I had.  I love the dots of Liquid Pearls but they're a bit of a pain because they don't seem to really dry and tend to stick.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Layered

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great card using more Christmas scraps.

The card base is Recollections Kraft.  The printed paper is Authentique Classic Christmas layered on Bazzill Red Devil and a light olive green Bazzill textured with Sizzix Holly Swirls texture plate. The sentiment is Hero Arts Merry Christmas Writing stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla.  The ribbon and felt tree embellishments are both of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with Candy Cane Stickles.

I wanted to use a few more Christmas scraps and I've found one of the best ways is to use these types of layered squares and rectangles.  The ribbon is also a scrap as I had just enough to go around the printed layer and add a little knot.  The Stickles add just that little bit of glitter.  It's a great result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

So Simply Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today's post is yet another really quick and easy Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a red also of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Annabelle Stamps stamped in Stampin' Up Real Red and layered on more red of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with Holly and Xmas Red Stickles.

Similar to the last two Christmas In July cards, this card uses a great piece of paper and a wonderfully simple sentiment.  I left a large reveal on the card base which I repeated on the horizontal aspect of the sentiment.  Stickles adds glitter without any of the bulk, making this a great card for mailing.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sweet Snowmen

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another very simple Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White. The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Rose Red and Lucky Limeade.  The sentiment is Penny Black Festive Snippets stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White.  The snowflake embellishment is of unknown origin.

This sweet snowman paper is perfect for a card.  The scale of the images is just right and the variety of colours allows for any number of options for colour coordination.  I love the font in this Penny Black set which contains a wide variety of sentiments.  As you may have noticed over the past while, I love stamping the sentiment on a banner.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Merriest Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas In July post is a really simple card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Real Red.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a green also of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Stampendous Merriest Wish stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollection White.  The embellishments are Martha Stewart Felt Ribbon and the glittered holly is of unknown origin.

This card was very quick and easy.  Once I'd picked this great piece of holly paper, I chose a fairly large sentiment with a well scaled font.  The embellishments fit perfectly at the top of the card affixed as an anchor for the sentiment panel.  This is a very repeatable card that would look entirely different with a change of printed paper and embellishments.  A great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

More Simple Christmas Plaid

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a wonderful sentiment-less Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Old Olive.  The printed paper is Recollections Classic Christmas layered on a white of unknown origin.  The image is Inkadinkado stamped in a Stampin' Up green on Recollections white, heat embossed with Close To My Heart silver pearl and layered on more Old Olive.  The card is highlighted with Avocado Liquid Pearls.

This is yet one more image retrieved from my bin of leftover Christmas bits.  I love Christmas tree images but I find it very challenging to add sentiments when I use them.  To solve that problem, I decided not to use any sentiment on this card.  Notwithstanding the whimsical image, I decided this plaid background worked.  I think the contrast of the two styles is great! 

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Winter Fun

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas in July post is a great vintage winter card.

The card base is a lightly textured ivory of unknown origin.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Bazzill Red Devil and Recollections Black.  The sentiment is Frog's Whiskers stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla.  The card is highlighted with Frosted Lace Stickles.

I love these happy snowmen!  I didn't have a very large piece of this scrap and had to do some careful trimming to ensure I didn't lose too much of the images.  It's not the greatest scale for a card and I felt pretty lucky to get even these three images.  The background is a lighter blue which was tricky for coordinating layers but there was enough black and red to make it work.  The layers have a little larger reveal to trick the eye into thinking there is a large piece of printed paper.  It's a great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

A Holly Branch

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a fairly traditional Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Old Olive.  The printed paper is Flonz Vintage Papers - Happy Merry Christmas layered on a khaki of unknown origin.  The image is Penny Black A Wish for Peace stamped in Stampin' Up Mossy Meadow and coloured with Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive Blendabilities markers on Recollections Vanilla.  The sentiment is Magenta stamped in Altenew Vineyard Berry on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more khaki.  The brads are Recollections.

This image is another leftover I found in my scrap bin of Christmas bits.  To be honest, I was grateful to have finally used it.  I thought it worked very well with the background paper and the simple lines of the font of the sentiment.  It took a while to find an appropriate paper for layering and I think the khaki works rather well.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Simply Sophisticated

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a beautiful flourished Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a glittered white, also of unknown origin, and Recollections Black.  The sentiment is Stampabilities Merry Christmas 06 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Recollections Black.  The ribbon is of unknown origin.  The card is highlighted with Star Dust Stickles.

You can't go wrong with a red/white/black colour scheme.  I love the 'worn' aspect of this printed holly paper and black seemed the best colour with which to coordinate as I was pretty sure I wouldn't find just the right red in my stash.  This is a great scale sentiment for a horizontal card.  The black ribbon really brings it all together.  A great result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon!

Gisèle

More Christmas Critters

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas In July post is a great masculine French card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The printed paper is of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Bonnidée C'est Noël stamped in Early Espresso on an ivory of unknown origin and layered on Bazzill Red Devil.  The embellishments are My Mind's Eye Sleigh Bells Ring wood dots affixed to mini Bazzill Red Devil banners.

This is the perfect masculine Christmas paper.  I love these critter silhouettes!  This piece of scrap was perfect for a vertical card which allowed for this slightly larger vertical sentiment.  French one on top of that!  There is just enough red in the printed paper to coordinate with bits of red.  The wooden embellishments work perfectly with the wood grain background on the printed paper.  A wonderful result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gis:le

Christmas Argyle

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a great neutral Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Glorious Green.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Serendipity stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on a white of unknown origin and layered on a red Bazzill.  The embellishment is Martha Stewart.

Like plaid, I love a Christmas card with an argyle pattern.  The red and green argyle is awesome!  It was the perfect print for using a vertical sentiment.  This sentiment has a great font and is great for adding a larger embellishment.  While the colours of this piece of felted holly are a perfect match for the printed paper, it's allowed for a Christmas card.  This is a wonderfully simple card!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Cars

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas card post is a more masculine card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  The printed paper is Simple Stories Merry & Bright layered on a red Bazzill.  The sentiment is Stamp Barn stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections White and layered on more red Bazzill.

In my mind, this is the perfect masculine Christmas card.  I just love these vintage cards!  I'm not always thrilled about rows of images as I don't find they necessarily work all that well on cards but this printed paper is the perfect scale for cards.  This layout is extremely simple because I didn't want to cover up any more of the printed paper than necessary.  Also, it is a masculine card so no extra frou frou was needed.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sophisticated Christmas Plaid

Hello everyone,

Today's Christmas post is another pretty plaid card.

The card base is a black of unknown origin.  The printed paper is also of unknown origin layered on Recollections Vanilla.  The holly sprig is Penny Black's Holly Berries die, cut from mirrored green of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Creative Expressions Santa's Sentiments stamped in Stampin' Up Cherry Cobbler of more Recollections Vanilla.  The card is highlighted with Burgundy Stickles.

All the elements of this card were found in my leftover bin of Christmas bits.  Though just a few elements, this card took forever to come together.  It was a challenge until I was inspired to trim the large circle and adhere it to the side of the card.  I love that there was enough space to place three dots of Stickles to the left of the sentiment.  The black adds another level of sophistication that fits in with the mirrored green sprig of holly.  The card isn't actually as dark as the photo appears.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Cute Christmas Critters

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is another non-traditional Christmas card.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin’ Up Bermuda Bay.  The sentiment is Gina K The Magic of Christmas stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and highlighted with Mermaid Stickles.

This is the sweetest Christmas paper.  I love the cute little critters.  It's also wonderfully non-traditional.  This is a very simple layout that makes for a really quick and easy card.  The background snowflakes are perfect for adding a bit of glitter with Stickles and the Mermaid is a perfect non-traditional colour.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Skiers

Hello everyone,

This post is a more non-traditional Christmas card.

The card base is Stampin’ Up Baja Breeze.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Recollections Black.  The sentiment is Impression Obsession Christmas Sentiments stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Recollections Black.  The ribbon is American Crafts.

This is such fun winter paper.  It has a very retro style which was a lot of fun to use on a card.  There were a lost of colours with which to coordinate and I loved using the blue card base.  I carefully trimmed the paper and because the font of the sentiment is quite bold, the layout was kept quite simple.  A simple flat ribbon treatment finished the card nicely.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Another Christmas Plaid

Hello everyone,

Today’s Christmas card in July post is another lovely plaid card. 

The card base is a black Bazzill.  The printed paper is of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Verses Rubber Stamps stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more black.  The ribbon embellishment was cut with an unknown die from a piece of red velvet ribbon and is highlighted with Silver Stickles.

This is another great plaid.  It wasn’t necessarily a Christmas paper, but the result is fantastic.  I love the pop of red in the ribbon as it certainly finishes the card wonderfully.  This layout is very simple and traditional because with a sentiment this size, a lot of space is needed. 

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Plaid

Hello everyone,

Today’s Christmas in July post is a lovely plaid card.

The card base is Recollections Black.  The printed paper is Echo Park ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Volume 1 layered on Bazzill Red Devil.  The image is a Peel-Off’s outline sticker adhered to velum and painted with a variety of LuminArte Twinkling H2Os.  The sentiment is Bonnidee Layering Trees stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on a white of unknown origin.  The glitter brad embellishment is also of unknown origin.

I’ve always loved using plaid for Christmas cards.  This red/white/black colour combination is sophisticated.  This particular black outline sticker coordinates perfectly with the plaid.  It was actually a finished sticker that I found in my stash.  A simple red glitter brad finishes this card in the best possible way.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Goodies

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is the last of the colleague Christmas cards I crafted last fall.

The card base is a green Recollections.  The printed paper is Carta Bella Santa’s Workshop layered on a white of unknown origin and a red Recollections.  The sentiment is Magenta stamped in Altenew Ruby Red on a white of unknown origin and layered on more green Recollections.  The cookie cutter embellishments are of unknown origin, highlighted with Xmas Red, Cinnamon and Green Stickles.

This colleague has two young daughters, so I was really drawn to the playfulness of the printed paper.  I also thought the cookie cutter embellishments were inspired.  The is a fantastic French Christmas sentiment because it works vertically or horizontally.  The mix of two fonts also makes it a pretty versatile stamp.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Cardinals

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is another Christmas card that I crafted for a colleague.

The card base is Stampin’ Up Baked Brown Sugar.  The printed paper is Kaisercraft Peace & Joy layered on a red Bazzill.  The sentiment is Bonnidée C’est Nöel stamped in Stampin’ Up Soft Suede on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more red Bazzill.  The holly embellishments are of unknown origin.

The colleague who received this card has a couple of cardinal pictures in her office, so it seemed very natural to use cardinal paper for her card.  I love the brown card base as it suits the theme of the printed paper.  I used more bulky embellishments because this card wasn’t going to be mailed.  It’s a great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Sweet Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is another Christmas card that I crafted for a colleague.

  

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is Wild Rose Studio Frosted Lace layered on a light blue Recollections and a pink Bazzill.  The sentiment is Stampendous Merriest Wish stamped in Close To My Heart Juniper on Recollections White and layered on more pink Bazzill.  The card is highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen and Diamond Stickles.

This is a favourite non-traditional Christmas card.  I love the colours, and this is one of my all-time favourite Christmas sentiments.  The colleague who received this card is a very feminine woman but also a little quirky, so I knew her card had to be a little different.  This is a very straightforward card with a very simple layout.  A great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas Owls

Hello everyone,

Today’s Christmas card post was crafted for another colleague.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is Echo Park Keepin’ Cozy layered on Stampin’ Up Smoky Slate and a white of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Bonnidée C’est Nöel heat embossed with Stampendous Sterling Silver embossing powder.  The ribbon is Crafts.  The snowflake brad is of unknown origin.

Several my colleagues are Francophones, so I was especially pleased to be able to craft a number of French Christmas cards.  I love these three owls and trimmed the paper so they would end up in the design ‘sweet spot’.  The light blue background was perfect for stamping the sentiment and I decided to emboss in silver to coordinate with the Smokey Slate layer, the silver in the ribbon and the silver snowflake.  It’s a very quick and easy card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Christmas In July

Hello everyone,

Today’s post Begins the 2019 I SPI Christmas In July series.  Most of these cards I crafted in late 2018 but never got them posted.

The card base is Stampin’ Up Night of Navy.  The printed papers are Echo Park Celebrate Winter layered on a red Bazzill.  The sentiment is Crafter’s Companion Festive Phrases die cut from more red Bazzill and stamped in Stampin’ Up Real Red on a white of unknown origin.

This card was crafted for one of my male colleagues.  I used a new die cut/stamp set to which I was drawn after having so much fun with ‘happy birthday’ die cuts.  I really like the blue and red colour combination, finding it very suitable for a male recipient and just different enough to appeal to my colleague.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle