A Christmas Contender!

The Framed Blue Bride Bird Print (shown) was my inspiration from Stef to get my behind in gear and design this year's Christmas card.

I wanted it to be simple, yet elegant. Last year's card had many, many pieces to cut and adhere. I wanted to avoid that this year, and send a meaningful message in a time of uncertainty on so many fronts.

When I bought the SU! set To You and Yours, I was shaking my head at myself. I have so many Christmas stamps and such a small window of time to use them. However, it was the dove that convinced me of its versatility. This could be used for many occasions when I want to wish someone the peace of the Holy Spirit. Yes, I was inspired by God to buy that set... I know... nice try, JoLynn. :)

However, I love the simplicity of this card. As you can see in the close-up, I added some glitter with my Gelly Roll pen. I argued with myself about masking... stamping the swirls with a metallic ink, then stamping the dove with a SU! Basic Gray. The metallic inks, however, take forever to dry and, after saving a few things I had done with them in the past and observing them, I noticed that these inks do not have staying power. The Gelly Roll pens dry almost right away and you get nice, subtle glitter without a big ol' mess. I saved the messier part for the inside sentiment (shown), which will be stamped in white craft ink. It looks great! The last time I used that ink on Night of Navy, I didn't give it time to dry and ruined an entire stack of stamped cards. I salvaged it by only using parts of the stamped images, but I wanted to scream... wait, I DID scream, when I did it.

Of course, I needed a little texture and dimension with this card. I used my new Long Classic Rectangles Nestabilities dies. Of course, I had to search the net AGAIN to remember how to put these through my Cuttlebug. I really need to use them more often! I also used my Scor-Pal for a few more lines to frame the image.



Size: 4.25 x 5.5 inches
Paper: PTI white, SU! Night of Navy
Ink: SU! Basic Gray, SU! white craft ink, silver Gelly Roll pen
Stamps: SU! To You & Yours
Embossing: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, and Scor-Pal