"Did you know that there are only 21 weeks left to Christmas! It’s time to make a start on your preparations!
"We are showcasing the fabulous Tim Holtz Products this week! You don’t have to use them to join in, but I think most, if not all, of us have at least one of his products in your supplies so please use them!"
Well, no, I didn't know that there were only 21 weeks to go until Christmas and I really, really didn't want to hear that. When put into actual numbers, it is downright unnerving! But hand-made Christmas cards had been on my mind of late so I decided to experiment ... using a new Simon Says Stamp stamp set and lots of Tim Holtz product!
I started with a card base using Idea-ology paper stash papers from the "Tidings Collection" and a white base card:
Now for a topper. I have this ziplock bag of pre-cut ovals, rectangles, and squares, source lost in the distant past. I pulled some of those in Christmas colors and set to work making an focal image using an elf from the Simon Says Stamp "Naughty & Nice Elves" set, stamped in Archival "Jet Black" on an antique white oval. The elf was too large for the oval in the stash so I stamped him so he'd overlap onto a red square (which I used as an off-set mat). I colored the elf with Intense pencils, Distress Markers, a Signo Uniball white gel pen, and black, gold and silver markers. I assembled the "topper" using the aforementioned red square and a forest green oval, also offset.
I stamped a sentiment from the "elf" stamp set in Archival "Red Geranium" and edged it in gold. I added gold dots to the center of some of the strs/snowflakes in the base card and attached the topper and sentiment to it:
Products used in the making of this card were:
- Stamps: Simon says Stamp "Naughty & Nice Elves" (SSS101914)
- Inks: Archival "Jet Black" and "Red Geranium"; Inktense pencils "Poppy Red" (0400), "Apple Green" (114), "Ink Black" (2200) and "Madder Brown" (1920); Distress Markers "Festive Berries" and "Mowed Lawn"; Signo Unibazl gel pen "white"; Snowball "gold" pen (EFGP); Pigma Micron 05 "black" archival" pen; "Marvy Uchida "Liquid Silver" Marker
- Papers; Idea-ology 8x8 Paperstash "Tidings" (TH93325); Paper Studio noetacrs "white" (225649); pre-cut ovals in antique white and forest green and square in red; cut of white hand-made paper
- Adhesives: Wendy Vecchi "Perfect Paper Adhesive" (WVA62134); RedLine 1/8" Embossing Tape