Hello! I’m Tami Hewlett from California, USA. Today, I’m sharing some holiday cards featuring the Leaves of Holly Bundle that I designed for the for the Stampin’ Up! Facebook and Instagram Pages. As a member of the Artisan Design Team, I occasionally get this wonderful opportunity to contribute to their corporate social media sites. This time, I decided to demonstrate some creative ways to use the Fabulous Frames Dies to add unique background designs.
The photo below shows all the supplies I used to create my projects. I’ve also included them in the Product List below for easy access.
Christmas Wishes Watercolor:
On my first card, I created a border with the Fabulous Frames Dies. I cut multiple photo corner die-cuts from Poppy Parade Cardstock and adhered them to a narrow strip to form an overlapping pattern. That way, I could add the entire strip in one shot.
For the remainder of the card, I used the Holly Berry Dies to cut shapes from Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper, and then I watercolored them with Shaded Spruce, Mossy Meadow, Soft Succulent, and Evening Evergreen ink. I mixed up the color combinations for each pair, so they would stand apart visually.
In the background, I created a watercolor wash with Shaded Spruce ink and then added gold splatter. To create the splatter, I mixed liquid glue with water and then used an old Water Painter to splatter it over the background layer. Next, I added gold embossing powder and heat set.
For the berries, I inked up the stamp with Poppy Parade ink and then added Cherry Cobbler ink with a Sponge Dauber, gave it a little spritz and stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock.
To complete the card, I wrapped it with two different types of ribbon including the Natural Woven 1/2″ Ribbon and Gold & Vanilla 3/8″ Satin Edged Ribbon. They layer together just beautifully and the gold brings out the Distressed Gold Specialty Paper that I used in the background.
Finally, I added some 2021-2022 In Color Opal Rounds in Soft Succulent and a bow tied with that beautiful satin edged ribbon (cut in half lengthwise.)
Peace & Joy Card:
For my next card, I cut multiple Fabulous Frames photo corners from Boughs of Holly Designer Series Paper and adhered them to a slightly wider strip of cardstock to create a border with a geometric pattern. The paper has distinct light and dark area, so I positioned the die-cuts accordingly to create the subtle pattern.
To complete the card, I stamped the Leaves of Holly “solid” leaf and berry images with multiple colors by inking up the stamp with a lighter color of ink and then using a Sponge Dauber to add a darker color to only a portion of the stamp. Next, I lightly spritz the stamp with water and stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock. Then, I used a Stamparatus to align and stamp the “detailed” stamps over the solid images and cut out the images with the coordinating dies. I don’t know about you, but I’m not very good at aligning two-step stamping images, so the Stamparatus is a game changer for me, because I can align the stamps perfectly every time.
I cut the center frame from Distressed Gold Specialty Paper. That paper is stunningly elegant; I just love it. Since it’s fairly thin, I mounted it over another frame cut from cardstock and then attached both with Dimensionals.
In the background of the frame, I used a layer of Shimmery White Cardstock which, similar to the first card, I watercolored with Shaded Spruce ink and splattered with gold flecks. Then, I added some 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds in Evening Evergreen.
I hope these cards have inspired you to use the Fabulous Frames Dies in some different ways.
Have a wonderful and creative day!
Use Host Code 9ZEM4RAE for purchases at my online store to qualify to receive free exclusive project tutorials. This month’s PDF includes 12 fantastic tutorials designed by my demonstrator friends and I to inspire your creativity! The projects feature products from the 2024 Annual Catalog, Online Exclusives, and new January-April Mini and Sale-A-Bration Catalogs. Enjoy!
