Vintage Style Good Cheer

Many years ago, one of my passions was collecting paper memorabilia, including old Christmas cards. I would display them on my mantel, as well as nestle some of them within the branches of my Christmas tree. Therefore, you can imagine my excitement when Stampin‘ Up! released the Good Cheer stamp set. Coupled with patterns from the Merry Moments Designer Series Paper collection, the result are cards with a definite vintage flair! With this particular card, I switched out the “Happy Christmas” greeting, which is actually on the main stamp of Good Cheer for the “Merry Christmas” image from the Hostess Set, Holiday Best. I wanted to add a little burst of color and bling, and this greeting afforded me the opportunity. The holly berries on St. Nick’s wreath have also been “glammed up” with Red Micro Beads. Combined with ink distressing, I have the best of both worlds…”vintage bling“!

• Prepare a 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ card base from textured Very Vanilla card stock. Round the two upper corners using the Corner Rounder. Distress the edges using a Sponge Dauber and Chocolate Chip ink.
• Ink the “Santa and Deer” image from Good Cheer with Basic Brown and stamp onto Very Vanilla. Color the images using a Blender Pen and the following inks: Close to Cocoa, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand. Using the Handsome Hunter Stampin‘ Write Marker, accent the holly leaves. Snip out the image with Paper Snips.
• Using Tombow Adhesive, adhere Red Micro Beads onto the holly berries.
• Mat the image onto Real Red, Chocolate Chip, and Real Red that has been zipped through the Big Shot with the Stampin‘ Up! Textured Impressions Petals-a-Plenty Folder (available September 1st!) (Stampin‘ Tip #1: To make the flowers on the embossed card stock “pop”, I brushed over the top with a Sponge Dauber inked with Chocolate Chip ink. Stampin‘ Tip #2: To simulate the vintage look, ink distress all edges with Chocolate Chip.)
• Position and adhere the image mat to a selection from Merry Moments Designer Series Paper. Add a Chocolate Chip scalloped edge to the bottom, punched using the Scallop Edge Punch. A snippet of Chocolate Chip 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon completes the look. Position and adhere to the card base. (Stampin‘ Tip #3: Paper piercing the scallop border allows the Very Vanilla card base to peek through for even more visual interest. I did not adhere this edge to the paper, since I did not want to “smoosh” the paper pierced holes!)
• Ink the “Merry Christmas” sentiment from Holiday Best using Chocolate Chip and Real Red Stampin‘ Write Markers. Stamp onto Very Vanilla, and mat onto Handsome Hunter. Paper Piercing and a Red Circle Fire Brad add interest to the sentiment block. Position and adhere to the image with Stampin‘ Dimensionals.

Stampin‘ Schach Design Tip: When mixing stamp sets, keep in mind the styles of the set. When using a vintage style image, it is best to stay with a vintage style sentiment, such as what we see with today’s card!

What a relaxing feeling it was to be able to create a card today! Last week was a whirlwind, with three days of meetings, an open house, the first two days of students, and taking Brady back to college. Whew! However, I was able to visit the Pals Paper Arts challenges, and leave comments on your entries. Wow! What great projects there are! Of course, there is still plenty of time to participate in the “Anything But a Card” challenge. Mr. Linky will not close until Noon (CST) Tuesday. If you haven’t checked it out this week, head over to the PPA!

I want to thank all of you for your patience as I transition into the school year! Your support and understanding about my reduced blogging have been overwhelming. I always knew that stampers were wonderful people. This just validates what I always knew was true! As always, your comments are very important to me. Please add a comment before you leave! And, if you have any questions about any of the techniques that I have used, don’t hesitate to ask! Until next time…

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