Hi bloggers!

Happy Monday to you! I’m super pumped to bring you TWO amazing holiday cards made by the amazing Ronda Palazzari featuring some gorgeous stencils that she designed for The Crafter’s Workshop! I’m really starting to get excited for Christmas.  Usually it’s closer to Thanksgiving, but for some reason this year I’m ready to go find that tree and decorate it NOW! While I hold myself back from doing that, let’s have Ronda share her expert tips on how to make these great cards!

Enjoy!

Hope Card Instructions:

1.     Cut 8.5 x 11 Butter Mint paper in half at 5.5 inches down the paper.  Fold these halves in to half creating two 4.25 x 5.5 cards. Set one aside for later use.

2.     Smear Fire Brick, Aged Mahogany, and Festive Berries onto craft sheet and spritz with water.  Drag cream cardstock through the mixture creating a beautiful background.  Using a blender tool, add more color to get your desired effect.

3.     Trim down a 6×6 patterned paper down to 5.25 x 4 to mount on the background of the card, keeping in mind this pattern will be shown in the hope window.

4.     Using a small piece of watercolor paper, create a blended background using Peacock Feathers & Evergreen bough.

5.     Spray 6×6 Ceiling Tile Stencil with water and place waterside down onto blended background.  Wait 10 seconds and lift up the stencil.  Wait 10 seconds more and roll paper towels over area to reveal the Ghosted Background.  Trim paper to 5×3.75 inches.

6.     Using the Hope die, cut out the word on the bottom right corner of the ghosted background. Layer this background onto patterned paper and then mount onto the now red tinted cardstock.

7.     For the Poinsettia, you will need three 1×3” strips of patterned paper plus a 1.25” circle.  Fold the strips into half from left to right, and then again from top to bottom.  Using your scissors, cut in an arc from the outside to the fold part. This makes the point of the poinsettia.

8.     Unfold the pattern paper and you get a “squashed”  oval. Fold this oval in half top down, you will see the backside of the pattern paper.  Fold one side back up. Flip over and do the other side.  Fold in half again. Holding the center, run your finger under the pattern paper to pop it out.  Add strong glue between the two petals, pinching & holding them together until the glue sets.  Repeat this process for all the strips.

9.     Take the three petals pieces and glue them down onto the circle base using a strong glue.  Once it’s dried, you can decorate with stickles adding those extra touches.

10.   Using the Abstract Stencil and blending tool, spread ink through the stencil onto watercolor paper the leaf of your choice creating two leaves.  Cut them out and add stickles over the leaves.  Adhere the leaves and poinsettia to the card

SUPPLIES:

Winter Tree Card Instructions:

1.     Trim Grey cardstock down to make a 5.5 x 4.25 card base.  Using a palette knife and 6×6 well-rounded stencil, scrap white embossing paste through the tiny squares section at the top of the card to create a snow like effect.

2.     Add white embossing paste to palette knife and scrap on the bottom of the card to create a snowy hill side.  Repeat this a couple times to create depths in the hills.  Immediately sprinkle wet embossing paste with Rock Candy glitter to give it that sparkle.  Set card aside to dry.

3.     Spray Lime Metallic Mist directly onto the Dots & Dashes Stencil.  Flip over and stamp the stencil onto the watercolor paper.  Roll paper towel over stencil to remove excess ink.

4.     With the stencil still in place, blend inks over stencil using multiple colors to create lots of depth.

5.     Cut the watercolor paper into wavy strips about .5” wide. These strips become the tree.

6.     Add walnut ink to square button to create the base of the tree.  Add the button to the cardstock and begin layering the strips from the bottom up, cutting them shorter as the tree grows taller.

7.     Stitch the branches into place.  Add decorative buttons and enamel dots around the tree to complete the look.

 SUPPLIES:

Thanks so much for reading today and thanks to Ronda for being our guest!

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From: Crafting with the 2013 Holiday Card Kit Inspired by Tim Holtz: Colleen F.!
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